The Bill-inning

Chapters

Chapter 2 (edited and spellchecked version)
Chapter 3 (edited and spellchecked version)
Chapter 4 (edited and spellchecked version)
Chapter 5 (edited and spellchecked version)
Chapter 6 (edited and spellchecked version)
Chapter 7 (edited and spellchecked version)
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23 (Partially edited)
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 1 (edited and spellchecked version)
Chapter 13 (Edited)

Chapter 2 (edited and spellchecked version)

Nightmares!

*A year later*

Luna, with a gentle trot, moved through the hallway interiors of her and her sister’s castle in the Everfree. Most of the guards were asleep and the world was at peace; the only detectable sounds being the silent ambience of the Castle of the Two Sisters. A calm wind blew through the corridors and hallways, but it was a gentle breeze, one that you would enjoy on a really sunny day, but which still keeps your body heat up enough to prevent freezing.

The business of the day had been concluded, all taxes had been addressed, and all visitors to the castle had now had their one hour and had been sent on their back home to Ponyville for the night. Celestia had already teleported off to bed the minute visiting hours were over, but she had decided that she wanted to have a nice time enjoying the quiet and beautiful ambience of the castle at night.

Passing a nearby window, she stopped and turned her head to look out at the moon. She smiled as she saw it, but her smile faded as it became a frown upon her face. She sighed, exhaling a deep breath, her eyes trailed down, and her head turned back, staring down the hall as she continued down its path. On the walls fell a certain shadow, which silently followed her.

With a gentle turn she rounded a corner, her head still held low at the sad truth that filled her mind. She did not like admitting it to herself, but everything had just changed so much in these recent days; the terrible defeat that ended in no songs of victory, the defeat of a powerful evil, and the discovery of a new power having just entered their world was too much for her to bear. She wanted to leave, she wanted to forget, but she had a duty that she could not ignore. Despite what was demanded of her as a ruling Princess of Equestria, she just wanted a small break, a moment to clear her thoughts and just… feel refreshed for once. Was that too much to ask?

Suddenly, before she rounds the corner fully, shadows erupt from the walls, reaching out for her!

"GAH!" she manages to scream!

In a different part of the castle, Celestia’s eye shots open, one of her ears perked up as it detected a loud scream echoing from the hallway.

Her body shot up, her eyes wide as they stared at the door at the other end of the room!

"Oh no! That was Luna’s voice!" She exclaimed, throwing the covers off her and rushing to the door! Her horn started to light up, and with a *Pop* she disappeared out of her bedroom, re-appearing in the hallway outside her room. Another ear-piercing shriek sounded down the left corridor! She quickly spun, and started running down the left route!

As quickly as she made her turn down the left corridor, she extended her wings, rising up into the air after a mighty flap. With great beats of her mighty wings she flew down the corridor to help her sister. No one lets out a scream like that unless they are in serious trouble. But just because they are both immortal goddesses their bodies are not, they can still be killed.

Flying through the castle at intense speed, the shockwave in her wake was strong enough to make pictures become unhinged, hanging sideways on the walls, armor sets were knocked over and even the walls had large cracks rip their way through the once-thought to be durable walls.

As the screaming finally got loud enough to precisely pinpoint its origin, her horn started to glow with a golden aura of magic, she disappeared shortly casting her teleportation spell. In a few seconds she popped back into reality, appearing in another part of the castle. She quickly got to running the last distance. She rounded a corner, but immediately stopped in place, her jaw dropping, and her eyes growing wide from pure horror.

Out of the walls, black tendrils reached out, wrapping themselves around the limbs, body, and especially the horn of a restrained Luna. Like veins, shadows were moving through the wall, spreading out to other parts of the castle.

Luna's eyes were clenched tight; her face had a frightened but also disgusted look as the black tendrils, while gripping tightly onto her hooves started to move over them, working their way up along her arms and legs. As the tendrils held her in their grasp, a black goo seemed to drip from them, splattering onto the floor where they were absorbed into the ground, and like the blackness in the walls, started to spread out into the rest of the castle. As it passed underneath her hooves, Celestia nervously raised them up, not knowing what would happen if she let them touch her. But instead of doing anything, it moved past her, following the rest of the castle. In very little time the entirety of the castle had been turned to pure black, with the edges being outlined by white. Windows, pictures, tapestries, doors, and even the books, etc. Everything in the castle was turned into a literal black and white version of itself! Just without the filters.

The entire castle started to shake, the torches swapped out the regular flames for white ones, and paintings and tapestries changed into a figure that looked to not have a specific form, merely a shadowy shape. The shadow wore a white cape which was fastened with a red broach. It held a cane with a shadowy arm, wore gloves, and a rather large hat atop its head. In front of its left eye was a monocle. In the many pictures, paintings and tapestries it seemed to be wearing the same clothing, but still had the a certain calm, collective air about it.

Outside the walls, the shaking castle finally managed to crack open, breaking apart from the ground, and rising up into the air. The castle was suspended high above the ground with a large crevice left behind in its former resting place!

Backing away from the nearest window, Celestia directed her eyes towards the black goo that was steadily encasing Luna. Her face frowned, glaring up at her sister in growing rage, her horn having a buildup of magic that she would use to free her sibling from that terrible… whatever it was!

However, when it was discharged from her horn, an arm suddenly seemed to shoot out of the wall and formed a shield in front of Luna, Celestia’s attack did little more than just be deflected off the shield, ricocheting off the walls as she ducks down to avoid being hit by her own attack. It breaks through the glass window, and flies off into the distance. With wide-eyed shock, she watches as the window regenerates itself back to its original state.

She turns her head back, casting a shocked, jaw-dropped stare back at her sister, watching as the blackness completely submerges her entire form in the black goo. "Sister!" Luna cries out in a fearful, screeching voice, before her face is swallowed up.

"Luna!" Celestia calls out, extending her hoof out to her sister, as if she was going to break free and begin reaching for her. But what really happened was that the tendrils that originally bound her, and had been restraining her while also covering her by the goo now retracted into her, separating from the wall. A flash of light erupts, shining so bright that it blinds Celestia, who must raise a hoof up to shield her eyes from the violent light!

When the light dies down it returns to a level that is tolerable enough for her to lower her hoof. The bright light continues to shine for a few more seconds before dying down to the way it had been before the light had begun to shine. However, the figure that greets her already distressed eyes did nothing to help reassure her in the slightest. It was an Alicorn!

The Alicorn’s entire form was black, except for its jaw which was filled with sharp fangs, and completely blank eyes. Its wings were still in the shape of a wing, but was heavily deformed with tendrils in place of feathers. The front hooves were broken with black bones jutting out. The mere sight of it disgusted Celestia so much that her expression said it all.

Taking a step forward, this shadow version of Luna fell down, landing face-first against the floor.
"Oh my! Luna, are you alright?!" Celestia asked with deep concern, and was about to approach her collapsed sister. However, the figure in front of her started to move, lifting its body up from the floor and suspending itself in the air. Luna’s old legs disconnected from her shoulders, dropping to the ground, and dissolving away into a puddle that melted through the floor, dripping the remaining leftovers down onto the far-away ground underneath the castle. New limbs started to grow out, but not the ones that one would expect. A much longer arm grew out, resulting in three spider legs that took the place of her formerly digit-less hooves on the end of her new arms. Tendrils grew from her back, as well as sharp spiky protrusions. Out from her blank eyes, blood began running down her face, dripping from her cheek, and splattering onto the floor, but it too started to burn through the floor, once again the floor resealed itself shut.

She tried to take a step forward, but did not get an inch closer to the small equine in front of her. She turned her head to look back and noticed that her hind legs were not co-operating as they just stood still in place. She growled through gritted teeth, which just sounded like Luna screaming. She raised one of her clawed arms and with a fell slash pierced her own flesh, severing her lower-half from the upper-half! Instead of simply falling down, she was suspended in mid-air while her other severed half exploded into a large mass of black goo that splattered onto the walls and floor, burning them – Again, it all regenerated back.

Gasping, Celestia took to shaking her head in denial at what she was seeing happen to her own sibling! Her jaw was completely dropped.

"L-Luna?" she inquired in horror to her deformed sibling, backing away just as frightened as her voice indicated.

Out from just under her waist, black slime shot out! The slime solidified, re-sharping into the slender, sharp legs of a spider. Gasping at the deformed monstrosity that was her sister, she backed away from it nervously.

"Luna…No!" She said softly to herself, shaking her head in denial at the creature before her. Raising its head with a terrible crunching sound, her deformed sister gazed at her through eyeless holes.

Luna’s jaw dropped, hanging open as it appeared to be letting out a terrible growl at her, but instead of an animalistic growl, it was the voice of Luna screaming in agonizing pain! Moving her left arm, she reached out towards the perfectly normal Alicorn in front of her, its claws opening up to grab her! Before reaching her, Celestia acted on impulse and leaped to the side just as her monstrous sister’s arm instead crashed into the wall, breaking through the floor and wall! Luna retracted her arm, the damage being re-sealed.

Luna's head turned to the side, staring out at the Alicorn in front of her with her bleeding eyes – Her quick movements causing the melting blood from her eyes to splatter onto the floor and the walls, making it all start melting! Her jaw dropped, emitting a hollow moan from it!

That was it! Celestia had to get away from her. This was not the Luna she knew! She was long gone!

She turned to face the other direction, and quickly jumped up into the air, taking to flight! The Luna-creature was already moving its right arm towards her in a slow fashion as it thought that she would not resist! But as it watched the elder sibling fly away, the slime peeled away, revealing real flesh! It extended an arm, then moved the other, and then the other, and the other again, and every time it moved another step its pace quickened, until finally it was finally running after her!

Its terrible howls echoed through the castle, ensuring that its prey never truly escaped the pain of the loss of its sibling. A tearful Celestia hurried down the halls with all the strength her very being could conjure! But no matter how fast she flew or how much she flew in random throughout the nightmarish castle the Luna-creature’s roars were always just as close, and never got anywhere close to fading into the distance!

Out of the castle walls, tendrils shot out at her, but because they could not predict where she was going to go she eluded them by teleporting away! Monstrous chests with sharp legs and teeth on the inside, books that flew through the air with teeth, Ponies made out of actual glass and giant eyeballs with wings, all of these abominations she encountered on top of fleeing from the already monstrous version of her sister!

After chasing her through several enlarged hallways, making room for it to move through them, their little game of tag had finally come to a stop. The Luna-creature had led her to the throne room! Or at least something that vaguely resembled a throne room.

At hearing the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps her eyes got wide with horror! The Luna-creature was getting closer! She turned around to look, but when she did she jumped back in panic. Standing right in the doorframe of this throne room, was the Luna-creature!

Celestia gasped, realizing that now that it had her cornered there was no way out of this terrible place! Never mind the Ponies down on the surface. Who knew what had happened to them at this point?!

Luna’s jaw hung open, the steady and continuous moans of a pained Luna being the only sounds to fill the chamber. She stumbled back till she reached the base of a raised, triangular pedestal. Atop the platform stood no one.

Behind the platform was a large, circle-shaped window, and this entire room was completely black, but there were outlines in rainbow colors around them.

She looked around the chamber for any potential means of escape. Unfortunately, she had been so caught up in looking for an escape route that she had completely ignored the creature itself. It gripped its spider-leg claws around her, grabbing tightly as it raised her up towards Luna’s face.

Celestia tried resisting the Luna-creature’s grasp on her as best as she could, but her efforts were like throwing pebbles at a river that had burst its banks!

The Luna-creature held her up in front of its face, fixing its blank bleeding eyes at the normal Alicorn. Its nose trills flared as it breathed, emitting fractions of the blue from Luna’s mane. When Celestia saw this, she averted her eyes, releasing a choked sob at the sight of it for it reminded her that this monstrous deformity was or had been her sister.

Raising its left arm, it touched the tips of two of its claws to the side of Celestia’s head. She soon started to shrink, being reduced down till she was the size of an eye. Luna grinned evilly. Her jaw dropped, exposing thousands of sharp teeth inside a spiraling maw!

Celestia, upon seeing this, started to move frantically, once again trying to get away from her "sister's" grasp. She did manage to free herself, but before she could escape, the Luna-creature shot one of its tendrils, which wrapped around the shrunken sister, restraining her in place.

The tendril moved in front of the creature's mouth, holding the small struggling Alicorn mare in its grasp. Looking down into the maw that awaited her, she could not avoid the motion-stopping horror that was in front of her!

The Luna-creature let out a loud moan as its tendril prepared to swing the miniature pony into its maw, but right before did so Celestia closed her eyes, tightening her face.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, something shot past her, which made the Luna-creature let out a loud howl of pain, dropping miniature Celestia. However, before she could fall into her sister’s maw she suddenly landed on something and she felt herself being pulled back. At which point she finally opened her eyes. She was sitting on a hand. It was obvious that she was up in the air as she had to look down to see the Luna-creature, whose bleeding eyes were now looking up at her.

"Don’t worry, it can’t get you now." A voice said from behind her and she turned her head to look.

Unsurprisingly, her eyes grew wide again, but this time from just plain confusion for the figure that had her in its hand was a one-eyed triangle, which wore a bowtie and a top hat, with arms and legs.

"Hey, how you doin’?" it asked casually, smiling its eye at her.

"Uh…" she stuttered, "fine, I guess?" she shrugged.

"Ah good, I was beginning to worry that I was too late." the triangle said.

The Luna-creature frowned, snarling through its sharp teeth.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I almost forgot about you", the triangle says.

He extended a hand, pointing his finger towards the monstrous form underneath him.

With rapid turns, Celestia looked back between the Luna-creature and this odd triangle-creature, and she realized all too clearly what he was trying to do. In her panic to save this monstrosity which was still her sister, she suddenly pushed her hooves against him, but lost her balance and fell off his hand, accidentally firing a blast from her horn up at his eye.

"What the -?"

But before he could finish his sentence the beam hit him in the eye.

"Ahhh! My eye!" he screamed, dropping her and instead reaching up to his eye in panic. But she was far from focused on his pain as she soon came to regret her decision in attacking him to save Luna. Watching with wide-eyed horror as the Luna-creature shot its maw open, a tendril shot out from inside the maw, grabbing her, and twirling itself around her. It quickly pulled her back inside and closed its teeth down on her!

In that moment, the dream ended and Celestia's eyes shot open. She quickly sat up in her bed, panting heavily and sweating profusely! In quick succession, her head turned, looking around the room to check if it had all been real as she was breathing heavily. She was so terrified of what she had experienced in the dreamscape that she did not know whether it was over or if the nightmare was still going.

Chapter 3 (edited and spellchecked version)

Return to the Nightmare Realm

The next morning Celestia was still shaken from the events of last night’s dream, the Luna-creature, and that strange one-eyed triangle creature with limbs. True, it had saved her from the monstrous version of her sister, and even the darker version of their castle. It was a small detail, but large enough to leave a real impact. One thing she knew for certain though, the darkness that had possessed the dream version of Luna was much too…well, it was exactly something out of the deepest of nightmares that had not been seen since the Dark Years. Celestia shuddered as old, painful memories resurfaced, and she did her best to suppress them again. Sitting on her throne her head was held low. She had not been thinking of much else beside the horrible nightmares since she awoke.

The doors to the throne room opened as her sister trotted inside, trotting along the red carpet up to the throne at the other end of the room. Stopping in front of it, and looking up at the depressed figure that was sitting atop it. She brought a hoof up to her mouth and let out a cough loud enough to get the white Alicorn’s attention. Celestia’s eyes slowly looked up, falling upon her sister’s face.

"Sister, you have not been yourself ever since awakening this morning. What is troubling you?" asked Luna. Celestia only let out a heavy sigh.

"I had a nightmare last night, and not a very good one at that. I was being chased by…", her eyes grew wide, looking up at Luna nervously, "eh, that’s not important, it resulted in me being saved by an odd creature in the form of a triangle with a top hat, a bowtie, though it looked like two smaller triangles pointing at each other, with arms and legs protruding out of a stick figure, and a single eye in the center, with bricks at the bottom." Luna blinked her eyes a couple times, processing what she was hearing. "The triangle saved me, but I was attacked by what was chasing me and eaten." Luna narrowed her eyes, giving Celestia a deadpanned look. She exhaled a deep sigh, lowering her head. "I know, it sounds extremely -"

"Eerie." Luna interrupted.

Celestia looked up, narrowing her eyes to give her sister a confused look.

"Why do you say that, sister?" Celestia inquired with a nervous tone.

"Because last night I could not gain entrance into your dreams. Like something was purposely keeping me out. Normally I would just shrug it off as me purposefully preventing myself from spying into your dreams, but with what you have described, and that casket found at the bottom of the hole where you claimed to have felt a strong source of power, I am beginning to worry that last night’s events were no mere coincidence."

"Then if that is the case, and it was really just a ploy to frighten me, I need to snap out of this depression and-"

"No!" a frowning Luna interrupted her.

Celestia's face contorted into a look of shock at her sister’s response.

"No?" Celestia replied.

"Precisely. If we wait till tonight, then we can go to sleep together, and I can connect my mind to yours so that I can be with you from the beginning, because if I try to enter your mind after you have fallen asleep, I might just be blocked out again, but if I’m with you from the start, nothing will be able to separate us."

"Hmm." Celestia grumbled. Her eyes looked up, giving Luna a stern look. "You do understand that if we do this I cannot be held at fault for what you might see?"

"I do." Luna nodded. "But if it means purging your mind of the demon that is tormenting you, then I deem the risk worthwhile. Equestria cannot survive without its leader, especially is she cannot rest her mind without fear for dreadful nightmares that will traumatize her to the point where she will always be paranoid about going to sleep for fear of seeing those things again."

She lowered her head, her eyes peering down in great thought at the floor, before being raised back up, as she looked into her sister’s eyes before a twitched smile appeared on her face. However, it became a permanent one.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let it be night!" she shouted as she extended her hoof out in front of her in a triumphant manner. Luna, though, only raised a confused brow at her sister.

"Um, Celestia?" she asked looking up at her sister. "You do know that it is still a good eleven hours until night falls, right?"

"Oh" she replies nervously. "Um…" she brings a hoof up, touching it to her cheek as she ponders over that revelation.

"You want to get something to eat? I’m quite hungry myself." She lowers her hoof, giving Luna a nervous stare and shrugging her shoulders.

"Uh, sure?" Luna replies.

"Great! Let’s go, sister!" she beams. She stands up, and trots down from her throne, starting for the door. Luna turns around and joins her as they make their way across the room.

Luna turns, giving her elder sister a coy smile. "So, sister, how long has it been since you’ve eaten your last cake?’’ she asks.

Celestia turns, raising a brow at her little sister.
"Like, slice?"

"No…a whole cake?" Luna corrects.

Turning away, Celestia blushes as she understands the full meaning of the question.

"Um, shut up’’ she replies, trying to hide the embarrassment in her voice. Suffice it to say she failed, earning a giggle from the blue Alicorn beside her. She looks away, but continues to blush.

As they round the corner, closing the door behind them with their magic, the room is left completely empty. However, movement was seen, as a mask started to vibrate, coming lose from the wall and hovering down through the air. The mask itself had one half that was black (right side), while the other was white (left side). The eye on the left side was black, and the one on the right was yellow. However, the mouth itself was just red.

"Ah ha ha ha hah," it spoke to itself, as the nearby shadows came out, forming a single figure, which the mask attached itself to. "My master was right. They are doing just as he predicted." He held out a disembodied glowing hand and snapped his finger, his form disappeared, emitting a small wave as it passed through the air.

*Meanwhile, in a faraway place*

In a dark room with rainbow-ish outlines on the things within the large space, a literal shape was hovering in the air, its eye narrowed, and its hands were behind its back. It was deep in thought, when it brought a hand up to its non-existing chin. Scratching it.

"Hmmm…" it grumbled. "There has to be something that works. I- I’ve tried everything I can think of, but nothing fucking works!" he exclaimed, raising his fist, and then slamming it down into a table causing it to crack and shatter into a million shards of glass.

"I promised her, and how can I make good on my promise if I cannot even complete my side of the bargain?"

He snapped his fingers and disappeared. Shortly after, he reappeared floating in the air, sitting upside down on a throne. "Hmmm…" he continues, his hand still on his non-chin, and his eye narrow, deep in thought. "I have already found a way for how to bind it to a single form, but it’s how to make it an everlasting supply that I have yet to understand." He sighs, closing his eye, and letting his arms hang. "If only the real Bill Cipher was here. He would certainly know how to do something so simple." He snapped his finger, disappearing, but this time re-appearing vertically instead of horizontally. Arms crossed, with an angry eye.

"I could try looking for an Infinity stone, but it would take millennia to find such a gem, even in this part of the universe it would take me years to search on every single planet. Not to mention all the constellations where one could potentially be created, all the asteroid belts that might hold one, and all of the endless galaxies in the universe! It’s impossible!" He spun on his heel, reaching out, pointing his index finger out in front of him, and firing off a red finger-beam. The beam shot out, flying across the room until it penetrated another, virtually identical clone of himself. Leaving behind a large hole where the bricks were.

"Whoa! Whoa! Hey! Don’t take your frustration out on me!" his doppelganger said angrily, extending an arm out in front of him, and pointing another index finger back at himself. "After all you were the one who made that stupid deal with her!"

"Yeah, well what else was I supposed to do?!"

"Brainwash her into giving you control of this realm!" the doppelganger shouted back, while the hole regenerated itself, patching up the hole.

"Nah, that’s not how I do things." his doppelganger just shrugged back.

"Well, now that you’ve mention that Infinity stone, why would it be so difficult to find one?"

"Because there is only one in the entire universe…" his voice decreased its speed, slowing his tone down significantly, "Only…One!"

"Well, what makes them so important to you?" the doppelganger asked, pointing a finger.

"Any energy you see fit to store within them can be harnessed later, but the beauty of an infinity stone is that it will never run out of said energy, and will continue to supply you with as much energy of said deposited energy for whenever you wish. It does not matter how much you seek to deplete, as soon as it has recognized any form of energy it will forever continue to replicate the energy. As long as the stone survives, the energy inside it will endure for all eternity!"

"Hm. Then I can easily understand why you would want to get your hands on it."

"Indeed…" the original Bill turned away from his doppelganger, crossing his arms. "But I have yet to find one, and since there isn’t one that I can detect that is ready for use I have no options concerning how I am going to hold my end of the bargain."

"Hmm…" his doppelganger replied, putting a hand to its non-chin in deep thought. Growing wide, its eye looked back at his original self.

"But what if you have been looking in the wrong place?" it asked, grinning its eye. The original Bill turned around, his hands hanging down.

"That is impossible, but go on." He made a motion with his hand for the doppelganger to continue.

"I know that we are looking for an empty Infinity Stone, but what if the stone we are looking for isn’t empty?"

The original Bill’s eye narrowed. He moved forward through the air, reaching out his arm. A cane suddenly appeared in his grasp, which he started to lean on.

"Explain!" he said in a loud, demonic voice, as his body suddenly got uncomfortably closer to himself. His red eye staring at him with bright red shooting out from it.

"Well, consider that the Ponies have existed for thousands, maybe even billions of years, doesn’t it seem likely that in all their history that they would have come across an object that could prove useful to them, say, having fallen form the skies. Maybe it already contained the energy source, or maybe it was sealed in at a later stage, but the point is that they have found a powerful source of magic that they can use to protect themselves. However, unfortunately, it seems like the only way for them to actually access this magic is to use the same magic that is inside of it…and once unleashed, nothing can stop it!"

He flies up into the air, extending his arms and legs out, causing fireworks to appear all around him. "Ah hah ha hah ha ha ha ha!" he starts laughing manically until he hears a cough and looks down to see the original Bill looking up at him with an annoyed glare in his eye.

"Get to the point." His eye glows momentarily bright red, holding out a hand as a red flame appears in it. Both the red in his eye and the flames disappear a second after appearing. The doppelganger-Bill flies down. Returning to his spot.

"What is heart-shaped, and very powerful?" he says putting a lot of emphasis on the "very".

Bill’s eye grows wide in shock, and both he and his doppelganger, at the same time, say in unison what the Infinity Stone might be. "The Crystal Heart!"

"Ding, ding, ding! What do we have for him, Johnny!" the doppelganger exclaims while making a bell ringing motion with his hand.

"You have got to be kidding me! The Crystal Heart, in the Crystal Empire, is an Infinity Stone?! B-but how could the Ponies have the knowledge of how to put such simple energy into something as complex as an Infinity Star?!?!"

"Dude, you’re an all-powerful triangle with limbs, clothing, and one eye. Does this seem like a situation that should make sense?"

"I guess not!" he replied in a newly joyful tone.

"Then what are you waiting for?! Go get that damn heart so we can get this fucking thing overwith!" he shouts, pointing towards the wall.

"Great idea, I’ll be off then!"

He snaps his finger, but instead of teleporting out of the room, his body merely flies back towards the wall, crashing through it, and once out dissipates into bubbles.

"Hey! You owe me a new wall!" the doppelganger calls out after himself through the fresh crack in the wall.

"I owe me jack!" Bill's voice echoes as the bubbles pop.

*Later that day*

As the light of the sun begins to fade with every inch of it that falls below the horizon, the sky becomes gradually darker, but somewhat illuminated as the moon begins shining high above in the sky.

Inside the Castle of the two Sisters, Luna and Celestia are trotting back to Celestia's bedroom to go to sleep. Tonight is the night that they will capture the fiend that had been tormenting Celestia all of last night.

They return to Celestia’s room, locking the doors behind them. Celestia undresses from her royal regalia, and gets into her wide queen-sized bed. Luna merely flies up into the air, suspending herself in mid-air with a steady beat of her wings.

Celestia gives Luna a look of concern, but Luna merely counters Celestia's nervous paranoia with a friendly smile, which only makes Celestia’s frown grow worse.

"Look, sister…" Luna says, "everything is going to be fine. As long as the link between us remains unbroken, and I am able to concentrate on keeping it, nothing will happen."

Celestia lowers her head, looking downward. She closes them, inhaling a soft breath. Flaring her nostrils as she exhales back out again. She raises her head, staring back into her sister’s face sternly with determination.

"Let’s do this."

Luna's smile grows, as she nods her head. She closes her eyes, her face shifting into a more concentrated look. Closing her eyes and laying her head down on the pillow, Celestia slowly returns back into the dream world.

Tapping further into her magic, her face started to strain, grimacing as she was forced to use a whole lot more energy than when she simply entered the dream world. White threads of magic started to move up along her horn, which once at the tip of her horn started to extend out like a thin magical thread. The thread extended down until it reached Celestia’s head, connecting to her forehead. An impulse went from her horn, passing down through the thread until it reached the end of the thread.

When Celestia opened her eyes again, she found herself no longer laying down in her bed, but instead standing up. Her head turned, looking around at her surroundings. It had been done. She had returned to the dream world.

Luna’s eyes slowly opened, looking out at the surroundings of the formerly peaceful dream world of her sister’s mind. To her great astonishment, it was not as bad as she had made it out to be. Sure the walls were dark with white outlines marking them, but aside from just looking like a darker version of the castle, there wasn’t really much that could be described as belonging to a nightmare. At least, not one that was that bad.

Remembering Celestia and what they had come there to do, her eyes grew wide from the sheer shock of having virtually forgotten her for a moment, gasping as she called out "Celestia!" her voice echoing down through the hallways, eventually fading off into the distance. All she was left with was the dead silence of the seemingly abandoned castle hallways.

"Drat! We didn’t end up in the same place." She cursed, striking the air with her hoof. "The only explanation as to why this might have happened, is because the mastermind knew we were coming and planned it so that when we entered into the dream world together, she would be placed away from my position." She growled, shaking her head with a frown. Slowly, she started down the massive hall. Making her way through the eerie silent, dark version of the castle. With a soft growl her face frowned, her eyes looking off to the side.

"I hate admitting it, but that was actually quite ingenious on its part. Still using the dream realm to separate us, even though we are technically in the same dream. Brilliant!" she muttered quietly to herself.

Looking up on the walls she saw multiple pictures, paintings, and other illustrations. The ones to truly catch her attention were the full-body portraits that depicted a bunch of odd creations. Three of them being a figure that had Discord’s body, but instead of wearing nothing, he wore a white cape with a red broach, a really big hat, a monocle in front of his left eye, and holding a cane with his tail, but instead of having the color scheme of the normal Discord it was all green, except for the eyes which were still the same old yellow with the red, disproportionate pupils. The second was what looked to closely resemble identical versions of herself and Celestia, but with mismatched colors, and wearing crimson versions of their regalia. Celestia especially had a fiery mane, and skin like molten rock.

Coming to the end of the hallway she stopped in place, casting a confused grimace up at a picture frame that looked to be covered up, dust gathering over it, with cobwebs indicating that it had been millennia since anyone had tended to it. She could not make out much, but she could vaguely tell that the frame was made out of gold.

Flying up towards it, she extended out a hoof to try and move the covers away. But before the opportunity could even be presented, multiple black tendrils extended from the walls, which quickly shot towards and wrapped themselves around her, restraining her in place!

Growling behind gritted teeth, her horn glowed with a sudden dark-blue aura! She swipped her head down, the magically empowered horn cutting through the tendrils that held her. Once severed, the tendrils retreated back into the wall, while the remnants that held her dissipated away into smoke, and then…into nothing.

Extending her wings, she caught herself in mid-air before her body had the opportunity to fall. She looked at the covered up frame, narrowing her eyes at it. Again, her horn came to life, the aura enveloping the covers, and gently started to pull the covers away so she could finally see the picture that awaited her eyes…

But suddenly, the frame leapt to life! Jumping forward, leaping over her, at the bottom of its golden frame, it started to grow many legs, which it used to catch itself with as it came into contact with the floor! It started to run, hurrying down the hallway!

"Hey! Come back here!’’ Luna called after it, after finally snapping back from her stunned shock at watching a picture frame actually jump over somepony and then begin to move on spawned appendages. With a quick flap of her wings she took up the chase after the moving still-covered-up frame! Chasing it down through the dark hallways of the castle.

Chapter 4 (edited and spellchecked version)

Mini Boss Part 1

She was not too sure where she was. The castle was so vast and held so many varying pathways, corridors and hallways that it was not surprising that she had become somewhat lost. Fearful of the Luna-creature finding her again, she had stuck closely to corridors with windows or other escape routes.

Letting out a deep sigh she cursed under her breath. Still paranoid about Luna’s whereabouts in this terrible nightmare world, she was mentally kicking herself for bringing her sister into these things. With her on the long journey through this maze of darkness was the thought of encountering the Luna-beast, or even worse things. All she wanted now was just to return to having her sister by her side. She was alone in this terrible place that was ironically somewhere deep within her own mind.

She had not encountered anything as terrible as last night’s monstrosities, but the fear of them eventually turning up was ever-present. Especially in a place where literally anything can happen and anyone can appear at any time. Just as she was thinking about all this, her ear perked up at the sound of a deep clanking of machinery starting up! Her head turned, looking in the direction of where the sound had come from. But when she looked, her horn was empowering an offensive spell.

Her head turned, as she slowly rotated in place while looking down the hallway and without knowing when the approaching steps would finally reach her.

The running stopped and, as evidenced by the sudden whoosh, it had leaped into the air and taken flight. But it did not seem too slow, as it was still moving down through the hallway at a much faster speed.

As it flew through the dark spaces down the hall in front of her, it did not sound like the typical beating of wings. It was formless, like a shadow.

Standing her ground, she narrowed her eyes down the hall, preparing to cast the spell.

*Creature’s Pov*

With great speed it flew down through the corridors and hallways in its path. Its vision was uneven, constantly shifting from side to side. It was rather…unfocused to say the least!

However, eventually something stood out against the black walls with white outlines as it entered its field of vision! A quadruped form was standing at the end of the hallway and staring straight back at it. Its eyes narrowed, and while picking up speed, it was moving towards her at increasingly faster and faster speeds!

It released a hazed breath, letting it echo throughout the hall! Soon it was right in front of her, almost hitting her square in the face!

*Celestia Pov*

However, as Celestia turned her head, looking all around, nothing happened and there was nothing to be seen.

All of a sudden, the floor started to shake. In fact, everything was shaking! Debris started falling from the ceiling, cracking to pieces upon impact with the floor as the walls started to crack, letting beams of light shine in from the outside world. However, no matter how much she wanted to run, she was somehow paralyzed in place!

‘’What?!’’ she shouted, looking to both sides. ‘’No!’’

But in spite of her intense struggling, nothing she did seemed to be strong enough to move her hooves out of this terrible paralysis that had taken her over body.

Suddenly, the cracked wall shattered like pieces of glass, revealing a dark-purple sky with waves moving through it and moving toward the left.
The ground suddenly started to shake again. But it did not last for very long this time as a black figure emerged from underneath the cracked wall! The form of the creature looking down upon her was that of a demonic-looking worm! Four pink tentacles sprouted from a giant maw that was its mouth, and five eyes on both sides of its head. There were aquatic-looking fins on its head going back down along its blue body!

The large serpentine body of the creature moved through the air, just staring at her in silence. That was until the point at which, inexplicably, a box appeared in front of her, followed by text.

"Fool! I am the Great Blue Serpent, cursed to roam these wretched halls for all eternity…!" as some text within the box read.

"Huh! What is an 'Azetlor'’?" she responded, once she noticed a smaller box up in the left corner of the first box, displaying the name 'Azetlor' inside it. She absolutely had no idea what was happening!

"I have been lenient on you by granting you access into the deeper regions of my master’s castle… But no more… Our little game ends here! Prepare to die, mortal!" The box disappeared shortly afterward, leaving her staring up at the giant worm, but she was unable to read its face well.

It let out a mighty roar, which distorted her vision of it – despite the fact that she was looking right at it just as she had been doing this entire time. However, she saw it more clearly once the roaring stopped.

Suddenly, she felt that she could move again, and her ear twitched. Her head turned as she looked around at her surroundings with a confused glare on her face.

"Where in the world is… that coming from?" she asked herself confused, though despite moving her jaw up and down, she could only hear the words in her head. Seriously! This was a dream, but the weirdness was way off!

Meanwhile, the strange…music, or at least that is what she guessed it to be, because it didn’t sound like regular sounds, continued to surround her airspace.

Suddenly, a shadow formed above her, shrouding her in darkness. Becoming wide-eyed, she looked up above her as the creature labelled as "Azetlor" suddenly dropped down, its head crashing into the spot where she was! However, when she tried to move her legs normally, they wouldn't budge! Quickly looking down at her hooves, her face strained as she tried to once again get them to move, only to fail yet again! She looked back up, but when she did so, she was hit by the Azetlor-creature! Dust blowing up off the ground.

However, instead of being flattened, or worse, she was just knocked back out of the way. Her body flickering momentarily red, and then just in an unfocused manner.

"Ow!" she heard her own voice speak as it hit her, but without her actually opening her mouth.

"Okay! Seriously! What is going on?"Her mind screamed as the confusion exploded within her head.

As unexpectedly as everything else, a sudden box of text appeared in front of her. Before looking at the box, she looked up above her to make sure that it wouldn't hit her. Her jaw dropped as she saw Azetlor just… standing there, still directly above her.

"Not even going to bother asking this time!" she tells herself before guiding her eyes back down to the box, and beginning to read it.

"Hm…" she grumbled after reading it.

"Welcome, 'Princess' Celestia to a literal game of life and death. This game, as you might have noticed, is unlike any game you have ever played… However, your sister has played something like this many times so if she were here then you would have no trouble beating this little mini-boss in my service."

She growled internally to herself, turning her head to look around the hallway. Still, Azetlor was not making his move.

"Good. At least I won’t get injured in a realistic manner," she thought. Her eyes shifted back down to the box of text, staring at it with her "reading eyes".

"If you want to have any chance of progressing beyond my guardian, you must first defeat him, and you can only do so with the spells I see fit to leave you with."

"Wait, what?!"

"Have fun, kid!" it actually said to her. As she was freaking out from the sudden voice, jumping back away from the box, it disappeared amid a gentle and magical flurry of pixels.

The first thing to pull her back into reality was her restored mobility, which she became aware of just as Azetlor resumed slamming his body down against the ground!

As he picked himself up off the ground, she struck a stance, as if to show that she was ready to fight this demon. Suddenly, before she could even finish thinking, another box appeared in front of her, earning a frustrated groan from her. Instead of wasting time thinking about it too much, she instead quickly read the message. Once again, Azetlor was frozen in place. She quickly resumed scrolling through the text.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention that your normal movement is useless in this 'virtual-world'. You can only move left and right, and even then you can only do so by thinking about it; your normal movement has been shut down." She groaned hard as this sunk in. "Also, all spells aside from levitation and a weak energy blast attack are useless here. However, the blast attack can be charged up in advance for greater damage, but don’t wait too long or it will only give your opponent enough time to strike you before you get a chance at him…"

"Huh, surprisingly helpful" she thought with a certain air of comfort.

"The only spell you are allowed to use is a shield "spell" which when well-timed allows you to get physically hit, but sustain no damage. The second is your standard teleportation spell for a quick last-minute save should you become desperate. Although I should warn you that you have a limited supply of these. Lastly, you have a heal spell that will allow you to recover all AP (Attack Points) and HP (Health/Hit Points), but these too come in a limited supply so use them sparingly. However, you will be able to restore your energy so that it can be re-used, but this takes one point from your HP. Aside from that, you can restore as often as you wish. K', got it? Okay, ciao!"

The text box folded in on itself until it was gone, immediately followed by reality resuming.

"Okay, I think I got most of that." she still heard herself say without actually moving her mouth.

"Let’s see… maybe if I…" she uttered in her mind while concentrating on achieving simple movement.

"Move left!" her mind called out.

Suddenly, as if some unnatural force inside her was manipulating her own body, she ran to the left. But, looking really awkward in the process. It was comparable to how a picture would move in the second dimension. She now had a greater respect for those simple tapestries on the walls in their castle back home.

The music started up again, and she quickly looked back up towards Azetlor, who with so many eyes, could not tell where he was looking exactly.

Narrowing her eyes, she started to run out, hurrying across his unfocused range of sight.

Suddenly, multiple red beams started appearing on the floor. She looked up, seeing that his eyes were starting to glow! She could only jump to conclusions about what it meant about his intended action! She looked back down towards the floor, which made here grow even more nervous when she saw that she was actually standing in the place where the presumed eye-beams would be fired!

Quickly, she did the only thing she could think to do. Closing her eyes, her horn started glowing! – Meanwhile his eye-beams are just about ready to fire! – Her horn erupted, surrounding her entire body in light as ten beams shot from his eyes, flying down through the air at speeds greater than even the fastest Pegasus! Colliding with the earth, and making the floor explode! Leaving behind a large, gaping crack in the floor.

Turning its head, it looked from side to side, staring down in many different directions as it looked for her. Its eyes started to glow, shortly projecting multiple beams down onto the ground, which scanned along the floor for her whereabouts. Meanwhile the crack in the floor resealed itself.

While it was searching for her, something suddenly exploded against the left side of its head. Its jaw dropped, and its entire body was shown to be red. It flickered for a minute, before being returned back to normal again. Its head turned, shifting its searchlight-eye-beams down at the spot where the blast had come from. But when it looked, there was nothing its eye-beam projections could detect.

Growling, Azetlor narrowed its eyes. Its head turned, looking first left, before briefly turning right. It snarled in frustration as it activated its eye-beam projections, looking them down on the ground.

With a loud growl, its head retracted back out of the of the cracked wall. Its body gently moving back and forth, almost like it was locked in some sort of movement pattern.

Jumping up into the air, her horn glowed, removing her invisibility spell. The eyes on the side of its head looked out, widening from surprise when they spotted her out of the blue! A red exclamation appearing above him, suspended in the air!

Her horn glowed, building up energy to fire at it! She figured that a normal attack would cause some damage, but powering up would probably double or even triple the damage being done to him!

Just at the moment when she had almost reached a high enough level of power, she suddenly faced an unexpected complication.

A slimy appendage suddenly wrapped itself around her leg. It pulled her out of her concentration, interupting the spell process and hanging her upside down. She struggled to free herself, punching the tentacles with her hooves and even kicking them. But nothing she did seemed to have any sort of impact. No matter how much it looked like the blows would have hurt someone else, they did not seem to have any effect. Her deduction was based on the consideration that the only time she had seen it be affected by her attacks was when it flickered red, then just flickered, before returning back too normal.

"Urgh! Let me go!" she shouted, continuing to bang her hooves against the tentacle. One other tentacle slithered up to her, grabbing her left hoof, while another took the right, and another took her hind legs, grabbing both the left and the right.

Another text box appeared, followed by readable text.

"Impressive, very impressive…" it then scrolled down, showing more text.

"But I am afraid that it is time to end your games, thus awakening you from your dream…"

Once again, it scrolled down to reveal more text. "You will never interrupt my master’s plans!"

The tentacles tightened their grip, squeezing so hard that she was on the verge of feeling bones breaking!

"I will rip you limb from limb! It is going to be fun!" she begrudgingly read with her eyes. Becoming wide-eyed with a frightened face as she looked back at it.

The box then disappeared, leaving her with a growing pain in her limbs, which was hurting more and more by the second!

Author's Note

I added the image of Azetlor from the stylized version of Ghostbusters in case i didn't do a good enough job of describing the demi-god from the Ghostbusters Video Game :twilightsheepish:

Chapter 5 (edited and spellchecked version)

A little visit to the Crystal Empire wouldn’t hurt Part 1

Night hung over the Crystal Empire. The entire city was quiet. The only sound indicating any form of life to be heard throughout the previously bustling streets was the wind. All the houses were dark, as everyone had turned their lights off. Everything was quiet, and yet there was some form of life moving through this quiet and peaceful city.

"But Mom, I’m not even tired yet!" a Unicorn filly whined as her mother escorted her to bed.

"I know you’re not, but you know that school starts tomorrow, and we cannot have you being late, again. Your teacher is complaining way too much about your tardiness."

"Okay, first off, he is not my teacher, he is just my 'substitute teacher',’’ she said, indicating with her hooves, "since we’re on vacation, and secondly, I am already learning enough from just reading the books I find at the Crystal Empire's Library. They're really educational."

"That they may be, and I do know that you are learning quite a bit from them, but I doubt your teachers are going to look at that way," she said, ruffling her daughter's mane.

"Learning history is one thing, but you need to be exposed to a wider variety of things if you are going to make it in today’s society."

"N’awww!" she whined, dropping her head down in disappointment. Her eyes shot open, and her head shot back up, as she turned back to face her mother.

"But since I'm not feeling too tired yet. Can't I at least read a little in the bed?" she asked. Quickly she noticed uncertainty on her mother's face about whether or not she should allow her to do it, but she appeared to be leaning more towards the negative option. "Pwease! I can at least get some reading done so I can show my teachers I didn't slack off during the weekend," she said with pouting her lips while her eyes were widening which made her pupils twirl.

Chuckling, her mother smiled, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, you can read a little, but only for ten minutes. I don't want you staying up too late… and especially on a school night."

Smiling back, she nodded her head.

"Will do, mom," she hurried into her room, leaving her mother behind in the hallway. She quickly returned, planting a kiss on her mother's cheek.

"Thanks, Mom."

Upon seeing her mother's smile, she was quick to leave again, disappearing off to her room.

Shaking her head, her mom turned away, heading back to the living room. A clear smile on her face.

"That girl really needs to get some friends," she chuckled slightly to herself as she went.

Shutting the door behind her, she crawled into bed. Getting herself comfortable as she pulled the covers over her body, getting cozy. Reaching out with her hooves, she grabbed a book from the nightstand next to her bed, and pulled it over to her and then placed it down on the bed.

Supporting herself on her hoof, she opens the first page with her magic, and starts reading it.

"Chapter 1, History of the Two Trees," she read aloud to herself, but in a tone more fitting of whispering as her eyes began following one row of words till they reached the end where her eyes moved down to the next row and she continued reading.

Slowly her eyes begin to close and her head starts leaning forward. But before her head can collapse onto the pillow, she catches herself in mid-air as her head was about to fall off her arm. She lifts it back up, blinking her eyes. She then brings her hooves up to her eyes, wiping them clear of any sleep, and looking back down into the book before she continues her reading.

Suddenly, there was a sound coming from outside her window. Her head shot up and her ears perked. With a turn of her head, she looked up towards the window.

She removed her covers, stood up in her bed, and approached the window. Placing her hooves on the window frame, she looked out.

It was not very clear, actually quite blacked out by the night, but from what little she could see, something was hovering through the air as it passed by her house. Though despite being so close, its true form could still not be seen amongst the darkness of the night.

"Hmm..." she grumbled. She stood there by the window for a few seconds, silently observing it. It might not be too big of a deal.

But when she saw where it was headed, she quickly retracted those thoughts. The hovering form was heading for the Crystal Castle.

Whatever it was, the fact that it was making its way for the castle meant trouble. That it was doing this at night was also not helping and basically meant bad news.

With a turn of her head, she gave a quick glimpse back at the door, then down at the book on her bed.

"Hm" she uttered with a stern expression settling in place of the blank one from a few seconds ago.

Pulling herself up with her hooves, she gently climbed out the window, easing herself down onto the pavement. Looking carefully from side to side to make sure nopony saw her before she started after the silhouetted figure.

A shadow peeks out from behind the edge of one the houses, looking from side to side. Scanning its surroundings. When the coast is clear, it runs out, hurrying across an open street. Not stopping until it has reached the next house.

Once safely hidden behind the walls, it peeks back out, making sure no one saw it before ducking down behind the wall, and continuing on its way up the small alley.

Rounding multiple turns and passing through several surprisingly narrow alleys – considering that it was a rather small place to begin with.

After much strife, she finally reached her end-destination.

Extending a hoof out, she grabbed the edge of the wall. Gently peeking her head out from behind it. She made certain she did not make too much noise, but when she laid eyes on the floating form in front of the Crystal Castle, a soft gasp escaped her. However, now they were in a much more open area, where the moonlight shined down upon the hovering figure's silhouetted form.

She quickly ducked back behind the wall, hiding herself from the eyes of… whatever that thing was.

"Huh, that’s odd!" she said to herself, rubbing her chin gently with her hoof.

"I swear that its body had the shape of a triangle, with arms and legs."

She touched her hoof to her chin, having a thoughtful expression settle on her face.

Suddenly, the triangular shape turned around, an eye looking behind itself.

"Hmm…" a voice said, its eye first narrowing. Looking for a moment, until it turned its back on her and started floating up towards the main entrance doors. It snapped its fingers, and a cane appeared out of the blue, which it gripped tightly with its fingers.

Peeking out from behind the wall, the little filly looked up in direction of where she had last seen the hovering triangle. But instead of being suspended in midair, it was no longer there.

Her eyes grew wide with shock, but mostly with fright since she did not know whether it had spotted her or just moved on to complete the task it had come here to do. With a rapid turn of her head, she looked from side to side. Trying her best to find it again, quickly.

At the snap of a finger, her attention was suddenly drawn to the front entrance of the Crystal Castle… where she saw a tip disappear inside two doors. She gasped, bringing a hoof up to her mouth.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, quickly bursting out from her hiding place and running out towards the castle.

She stopped at the opened doors.

"It’s gone inside the…"

She swallowed down, staring nervously into the darkness that awaited her, "the Crystal Castle."

Her body shivering from fear, she did not want to go inside the castle, especially at night, and without adult supervision, but the floating triangle had gone in there for a reason if it was violating the privacy and majesty of the ruling government of the North.

Swallowing her fear, she reluctantly moved a hoof inside the open doorway, taking her official first step into the castle. First, it was just her hoof, but eventually she subjected her entire body to the darkness that awaited her inside the castle hallways and corridors.

"I have to do this… for the Princess, and the Crystal Empire, itself," she told herself as if to prevent her morale from wavering.

She would not lose herself to the horror that awaited her inside those darkened halls.

Author's Note

Oh my, what is this? What's happening in the Crystal Empire?
:pinkiecrazy:

Chapter 6 (edited and spellchecked version)

A little visit to the Crystal Empire wouldn’t hurt Part 2

The halls of the castle were dark and the ambience of the night hanging prominent in the air. An eerie silence existing throughout every corridor and hallway that she passed through. While the torches illuminated some of the darkness, they still did not provide enough light to make it possible to see what awaited her.

While she was not too skilled in magic, she could use simple spells such as illumination and levitation. Looking back behind her at the darkened corridors, then back up at the darkness in front of her.

With a turn of her head, she looked around at the darkness all around her. The illumination from her horn shone down the corridors before her. But in the unmoving shadows there was nothing of life, so she continued on her way. The clips and clops of her hooves travelling down the hallways, surrounding her.

However, once she turned away from the corridor, one of the shadows started to move and went slithering through the darkness of the corridor. While the torches illuminated quite a bit of the castle's entryway and passages, they still did not shine upon every corner of those pathways.

Behind her as she continued down through the hallways, black tendrils started to emerge from the castle walls. As the tendrils grew longer, they all started to turn and follow after her. Silently slithering through the air towards her.

In the all-enveloping darkness, she felt utterly helpless and exposed…fragile. Inside her, the fear of something lurking just behind her grew, her eyes continued to peer behind her…

But when she did look – quickly turning her head back around, and looking down the corridor that was behind her, there was nothing there. The hallway was still being vaguely illuminated by the torches along the walls.

The light from her horn illuminated the hallway, and she proceeded to check every last nook and cranny of the hallways to make sure that there was nothing there.

A loud sound of something clattering down onto the ground was enough to pull her attention back toward the dark space before her, down the hall.

Starting to run, she hurried down the hallway. Following where the sound had come from with great interest.

Up behind her, on the walls, shadows started to move, slithering through the 2-dimensional space they inhabited as they followed her.

After running through the castle hallways for a while, she eventually stopped upon arriving at something that looked to be a fork in the path. One corridor lead right, and the other lead left. With a simple turn of her head, she looked back and forth between both passages. Both corridors were dark, so nothing could be seen beyond where she was. There weren’t even any torches along the walls of these hallways.

"Hmm, I don’t remember hearing about any 'Separating Paths' in the books," she said to herself. "Either way I don’t like the looks of this."

She continued to look back and forth at the dark pathways ahead of her. But coming to no conclusion on which one she wanted to take.

Perking her ears up, she noticed something. A faint sound coming from the left corridor. It was not very loud, and it was... running, flowing, bearing close resemblance to a great ocean. There was also… something else, but it was not something she had heard before so could not pinpoint anything specific.

Giving a quick look back at the right corridor, she turned back to the left. Then, with an uneasy feeling, stepped forward, heading into the darkness on her left. Her body being quickly subjected to nothing but shadows. The only thing that was left untouched being her horn, which even then was only being illuminated from her spell.

Trotting through the darkness, she did not stop for anything, nor did she raise any questions about any of this for fear of stopping to think about them. It was not that she was afraid of taking the time to analyze what her eyes were seeing or what she was hearing. Occasionally, she would turn her head back, trying to look behind her. But she would stop herself each time, reminding herself of the water that lay ahead of her.

She had come too far to simply give up now, or lose herself to the fear of being all alone in the castle of one of the greatest kingdoms on this earth.

Eventually, she entered into a large chamber, which was still very much darkened, except there were torches on the walls so she could reduce some of the intensity of her light spell. The chamber looked to have been built from stone bricks, which was odd considering the whole castle was made out of crystal.

In the center of the chamber, there were three doors. One made of rusted steel, the other of a black, hardened substance, and the third one, which looked to be composed of two white trees whose branches were connected to one another – In fact, it was more of an archway than a door, she decided to save that for last. But the thing about them that got to her was that they were not connected to the walls. But the advantage of being a Unicorn is that one gets to experience all kinds of weird magic all the time. But doors? That was just plain weird.

She nervously approached the first door (rusted one), using her magic to turn the knob, and then pushed it open with her hoof. Its hinges creaking as it moved inward away from her. When it was all the way opened, she gently trotted forward. Disappearing on the other side of the door.

Unexpectedly, the darkness that had once surrounded her quickly disappeared. Being unfortunately replaced with a sudden bright, white light. Averting her head away, she quickly brought a hoof up in front of her eyes in order to shield them from the blinding light.

Gently lowering her hoof, she dared to look back out at the sight that awaited her.

Taking a step forward, her hoof touched down against a steel surface. Evidenced by the obvious sound of her hooves against its hardened surface. She lowered her head, looking down at the floor of whatever place she had come to. She tapped the steel floors, hearing it clatter underneath her hoof.

All of a sudden, the floor started to shake. Moving from one side to the other. The floor creaked underneath her.

"Wha-... W-where am I?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes to try and get a better grasp on the world surrounding her. However, this world was nothing but pure darkness. But eventually it did let up, and the world came into focus.

The blackness transformed into more defined imagery before her eyes. Skies, water, and dark-red steel.

When a sudden spurt of water came up from underneath the edge and the floor creaked, rocking to one side again, she finally understood where she was. It’s not every day she gets to see one, but she knew that this was a vessel frequently used by the Equestrian armed forces to contest the rogue Ponies on the seas.

"By Celestia, I am on a ship." she said aloud to herself.

All of a sudden, the side of the ship is hit by another wave, causing it to rock slightly. The sudden rocking causes her to lose her grasp, and she slides down to the left side of the ship, hitting the steel gunwale.

As she rises to her hooves, she is accidentally bumped in the back by somepony. But when she turns around she does not have time to see or what it is. But there is nothing behind her.

She turns and trots towards the nearest spot where she can stand. With her hooves, she grabs hold of the edge, and lifts herself up onto it.

Turning around, she looks out at the large sea that had been just out of her vision behind all the steel. Her jaw dropped, and her eyes grew wide with shock.

"No!" she protested, shaking her head in defiance of what her eyes were seeing. "It cannot be."

But as much as she shook her head or spoke out against it, the truth of the matter was that what she saw was definitely real.

"Catapults!" a voice suddenly called out.

With a sudden glance to her left, she watched in sheer horror as large siege engines thrust upward and forward, hurtling large forms of fire up through the air. She quickly turned, looking to where the flying objects were landing. But as with everything that she had seen, this sight also troubled her.

"No!" she called out as she watched the flying fire crash into the strong walls of a large castle and causing them to collapse until nothing but large gaps remained. Throughout the entire city, flames started reaching up from behind the walls as screams of pain and cries for help echoed far into the distance as the ships continued to approach the now burning harbor. The city’s fleet had been destroyed long before the siege had begun and was now nothing more than an open gateway for the invading fleet to seize the city. From up high on the mountainside, the foundation of a tower became so weakened that it could not maintain stability. It fell, crushing the inhabitants who could not escape in time.

"Prepare to dock!" a gruff voice shouted out once again. The winds around the thousands of ships started to fill their sails, increasing their speed, and greatly reducing the travel time it would take for their enemies to get reorganized to mount a suitable attack upon arrival. The skies above darkened, blotting out what little remained of the sunlight.

She turned her head back away from the terrible carnage that was taking place. She was refusing to bear witness to such death and destruction. Choked sobs made their way out, and despite her desire to look away, her eyes were drawn to view what was happening. Maybe the citizens of the city would be able to mount a suitable defense against the invaders, and fight back. But no great charge came, no banners of noble colors, no giant tidal wave that would destroy the entire fleet. No victory came for the Ponies.

While the invaders fought the Ponies on the beaches and in the forest, the ship’s siege engines started up again. Releasing another terrible barrage upon those still trapped behind the walls of the burning City of Temples, which was once known for being the location where the first real pyramid was built… Now, a burning ruin that will fade with time.

Back on the ship, she watched with horror in her eyes at the massacre that she had just borne witness to.

"Hurts, doesn’t it?" a voice suddenly spoke up from behind, making her turn around to face whoever it was that had spoken out to her. What she saw was a tall dark, hooded figure standing by the door that she used to get here. It stepped forward with the movement of its legs visible behind the robes that obstructed any direct view of its legs.

"The pain, the sorrow, the loss of one you care about," it said, and she frowned back at it, fresh tears still running down her chin.

"I don’t care about one Pony, but all of them." She turned around, directing her eyes back at the city in flames. "It’s not fair…" she sobbed, "Pointlessly destroying lives for what? Conquering lands?"

"There is not a single nation, creature, dead or undead, whose mind is not defiled with the thought of conquest. It is a natural desire that resides in the heart of every creature in this realm of creation."

"Well, it’s something I don’t approve of. Wars accomplish nothing, only making those caught in the crossfire suffer for no reason."

"Precisely" it said. Her head lifted, her eyes narrowed, and a stern frown settled on her face. She turned her head, looking back at its hidden face behind the hood.

"What do you mean?" she asks it, obviously confused.

"You finally understand the consequences of your actions" it declared.

This only confused her even more, adding some element of hostility into the mix.

"What are you talking about? You’re talking to me as if I'm in need of learning something". She backed away nervously, fearful that she would fall off the edge of the ship.

"I am… And if not for your sins, I would not be here" it replied with a cold tone to its voice.

All she could do was stare at it, paralyzed with fear from every word it spoke.

"You, my dear, can still be forgiven. Your crimes can be claimed by history as nothing more than mistakes, and abolished all together. Everything can be forgotten…"

It raised an arm, extending something that looked to be a claw out at her.

"The souls of the dead, the tormented, and the suffering will be at peace…"

A flesh-less, bony claw reached out toward her from behind the large sleeves around the figure's arm, extending itself further and further until it was only an inch away from her nose.

"...once you are dead!"

Before she could react, the claw tip pushed lightly against her chest, and while she was standing securely on the ship, the deck underneath her seemed to vanish away, fading into nothing!

With a mighty splash, she landed in the water, and her body started to sink down beneath the water regardless of her efforts to stay at the surface.

Further and further down she went, the dark waters enveloping her more and more as the light from the surface became weaker. Soon, the entirety of her was submerged by the dark waters.

Some bubbles escaped from her mouth. But right in front of her, a large red eye with a slit pupil opened, staring out at her. Without hesitation, her jaw dropped and a loud scream could be seen to be uttered, but not heard! The eye only blinked as it watched her freaking out in front of it...!

Her real eyes shot open, and she fell forward, landing against the soft pages of a book. She was still screaming her lungs out, but stopped when she realized where she was. She was back in her bed, in her bedroom in the Crystal Empire.

Panting and grasping her chest, she left her bedroom, her eyes wide with horror at the things that she had witnessed in that apparently crazy dream.

Her mind snapped back to reality as she heard the sound of muffled panicking coming from outside the house.

"What in the heck?" she asks confused.

With all the speed her little hooves can manage, she rushes for the door, opens it with her magic, and runs outside. To her surprise the streets are crowded, as Ponies are hurrying towards the Crystal Castle.

"Oh no! This cannot be good!" she thinks to herself. Her eyes momentarily trail down towards the wall, falling upon her shadow. But wait-something is a little…different about it today. It's triangular with strange arms and legs, and a hat on top. A sudden red slit pupil opening, catching her off-guard.

"Gah!" she exclaims, jumping back in shock.

She turns around and starts to run in the direction of the Crystal Castle with as much strength as she can muster.

On the wall of a nearby building, the shadow of a triangular figure with arms and legs and wearing a hat appears.

It is holding what appears to be gem. With a simple snap of its fingers it vanishes, laughing as it disappears.

Chapter 7 (edited and spellchecked version)

The Force at the Heart of Darkness

Panting like mad, Celestia ran through the dark hallways of the castle. Not bothering to look back as she knew what was there and that doing so would only be wasting time.

Rushing toward her, and at an increasingly shorter distance, was the notorious Luna-creature. The monstrosity that she had first-hoof witnessed being possessed by evil and transforming into the beast that was now pursuing her through the darkened halls of what could be described as a nightmare-ish version of their castle.

As she charged after the normal-looking, white Alicorn, her eyes narrowed and her jaw dropped, hanging open. Black tendrils extended outward, reaching through the air towards her. Black claw-like digits taking shape as the tendrils turned into a pair of arms.

With a violent slam of force, the claws crashed down against the floor! Missing her by mere inches due to her continued running. The floor shattered and crumbled into pieces, which fell down into the black void below, before resealing itself.

"ONCE I GET AHOLD OF YOU I AM GOING TO TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!" a demonic voice shouted from… somewhere. It could not have been from the Luna-creature’s jaw as it was currently sprouting those black slimy tendrils from its mouth. However, even then, the voice sounded like it was a deep echo emanating from the surrounding walls of the now more appropriately namable "Castle of Fears".

Already panting heavily, she could feel her heart racing faster and faster from the fear that was being generated for every second her monstrously deformed sister was chasing her!

Thrusting her black tendril claws towards her, Celestia quickly leaped up into the air, her wings extending out, and with one mighty beat, she started to fly up in the air! Meanwhile, the Luna-creature’s arm crashed down into the floor, creating a much larger hole in the floor.
Because of her impaired vision, she could not see where she was going, and at the moment when her vision was weakest, her left claw accidentally slipped through the open gap, causing her entire mutated, shadowy form to crash down onto the floor with a loud thud.

In her current state of worry, she could not bring herself to look back at the apparent commotion taking place. She could care less if it had tripped on a banana peel as this moment of hesitation on its part had presented her with an opportunity to finally elude it and lose it within this twisted temple of madness.

She turned left with quick maneuvers, rounding a corner as she came upon it. Flying down the rest of the corridor. The growls and shrieks of the Luna-creature could be heard from behind her in the furthermost parts of the corridor where she had just been.

"I WILL FIND YOOOOUUUUUU…!" that terrible voice echoed behind her.

A flash of light occurred. When it faded, there was a loud echo of multiple, sharp legs crawling along the floor…and the walls…and the ceiling! Everything sounded like it was being assaulted by a physically destitute creature that was made up of billions of crawling forms.

"AND WHEN I DO…YOU. ARE. GOING. TO. SUFFEERRRRRRR!"

Hearing this only made her increase the intensity with which she was beating her wings.

*Ten minutes later*

Every turn she rounded. Every fork in the road she encountered. She was just forced to take a chance. Some of them, though, unfortunately had some…less than pleasing obstacles: A tall and slender yet completely skeletal, face-less figure wearing a suit had tried to grab her with the black tendrils growing out of its back.

Her body was now pouring sweat, and her heart was literally on the verge of exploding…

Back in the real world, she was moving around uncomfortably in her bed. Her eyes twitching and wanting to open in order to put an end to this nightmare. The stress it was putting on her heart was quickly driving it towards a fatal overload. The sheets were completely drenched with sweat from the physical ordeal she had been through in this unwoken state. Whatever she was actually experiencing, it was no normal dream - or nightmare - by any means. It had actually been designed to wear her down physically while perpetually trapping her mind and soul in the dream world.

But who, or what, could conjure such power to actually control her dreams to that extent? The thought alone was too unnerving to even contemplate.

*Back in the Dream Realm*

She continued flying through the darkened halls and corridors of the castle for as long as her body could hold out.

However, her concern about the durability of her body back in the real world were put on hold as, without knowing about it, she had flown inside a completely different part of the castle. It was a large chamber, which did not really stand out that much from the rest of the castle's dark style, outside of what this room contained.

Obviously, the room was very big. But on the walls, it was aligned with a few stained glass windows, and an especially large one in the center of the room, through which a bright red light shined down upon the floor below.

Three loose parts of the floor (that looked like they had just been up-rooted from the ground) hovered throughout the room, with a fourth one being higher than the others. It was not difficult to see that this must be a throne room of some sort. But the question as to whom it belonged was another story.

With the little energy she had left, she floated up towards the nearest platform and landed, planting her hooves against its stone-cold surface.

"Whoever… or whatever resides in this place must clearly hate decorations. There isn't a single tapestry here; absolutely nothing in this place." Celestia said as she scanned the room, taking in every single detail that she could.

"AH HAHAHAHAHA! That you are correct about, Princess!" a voice uttered before starting to laugh in an insane manner.

The voice echoed for a few seconds, while she looked around the dark room to make sure what she was hearing was "real". In this insane dream, it hadn’t exactly been easy to tell what was normal and what wasn't. She could not pinpoint its source as it was echoing all around her from a multitude of directions, but she could identify its gender: it was… neither. It was an omnisexual voice, meaning it had traces of both male and female voices all blending into one.

She did not know if this was the same being that was responsible for the creation of the Luna-creature, last night, but if it was, she relished the thought of kicking its flank for putting her through such a horribly traumatizing experience. And in her own head of all places!

Her anger started boiling to the surface, and as she was no longer able to repress her frustration, she let out a loud and angry, "Where are you?! Show yourself demon!!"

"As you wish…!" it said.

All of a sudden, a black slimy substance started leaking from the walls, pouring inside the room. However, instead of running down along the wall, it suspended itself in the air as it moved towards the highest platform, splattering down onto it, where it reassembled itself back into a solid mass that stood up, reshaping itself into a tall, dark hooded and robed figure.

With a lift of its hood, it looked down towards the platform where she was standing. Its arms hung down beside its body, where skeletal claws could be seen emerging from the sleeves. Her eyes grew in shock and her face gave it a deadpanned look.

"Then I obey it" a voice finished.

After this, a silence fell over it, during which it did nothing but stare back at her from behind its hood. Being the one to break the silence, it raised an arm up, extending a finger and pointing it towards her.

"You…" it said. Its voice still heavily drenched with no explicit gender. "...are the one I have come for."

This piqued a newfound interest in her towards this strange being. She raised a brow, giving off an aura of intrigue on her face. But for her own safety's sake, she slowly backed away. Worried that it might be provoked by any sudden movements.

It raised its left arm, holding up another skeletal claw.

"I have tormented many of the greatest criminals throughout the history of this universe… But you, you are undoubtedly the worst that I have ever been tasked with sentencing."

It extended both its arms, connecting its fingers, popping them, hearing the joins snap.

"But then again, that is why I am going to enjoy tormenting you…" it said as it waggled its claws in excitement, and then disconnecting them from each other.

"It is not often that I get to enjoy the pleasures of breaking an actual goddess."

She swallowed down. This was beginning to get serious now.

But there might still be one chance at survival. An opportunity to fight back, to live to wander this earth one more day, assuming that this truly was someone sent to kill her. An idea popped into her head. Yes… it was not much, but if she put everything on the line, it just might work. If only for a moment.

She lowered her head, hiding her eyes from its sight. She dropped to her knees – still staring down at the floor. Tears flowing, streaming from her cheeks. Dripping down onto the floor far underneath her, where it dissolved once coming into contact with the dark stones.

"Then, if this is to be my final hour, and if you really are my angel of death having come to claim my essence…" she said, trying her best to make her voice sound as broken up as possible. Everything depended on her fooling this creature into giving her an opportunity to enact her plan.

"Then please tell me one thing, one solitary thing. What is your weakness?"

As calm as possible, she started building up a supply of magic in her horn.

A wind blew through the room, tugging gently at the figure's cape and sleeves. It lowers its arms, letting them hang down on the sides.

"Very well, then, Princess Celestia," said the figure.

It raised a hand, touching it to the right side of its chest.

"I have used a crystal from the Mindscape to travel here. It is what sustains me in this realm. It is what allows me to remain inside your mind for as long as I want without the need for inhabiting your body. It also grants me the power to manipulate your dreams," it explained.

‘There we go!’

"And so, if I am summarizing correctly, you cannot remain inside my mind without that crystal?" she asked, hoping that she had got most of the details correct.

"Correct" it replied, nodding back.

Her eyes narrowed, and a hidden grin settled on her face. She raised her head, staring back at the figure with a grin on her face.

"Good to know!" she said.

"What?" it replied in confusion.

"You really thought I was going to just die, like that? I don't think so! I plan on going out in a manner worthy of my abilities to protect my little Ponies!" she said as she lowered her head, obviously pointing her lethal horn in the direction of the exposed crystal adorning the figure's chest.

"NOOOOO!" it screamed out, raising a clawed hand to cover its most exposed weakness. It finally realized what she was planning on doing. But it was too late to move out of the way of her strategically aimed horn.

Suddenly, the entire castle began shaking. Celestia lost her hooving and at a rather inopportune moment, as she had just fired off the stored energy in her horn! As it shot through the air, the figure became surprisingly calm as if he were feeling somehow relieved. He stood there completely still. His hood could be seen turning to one side as he was following the beam. He calmly watched as it missed him.

‘’NO!’’ It was her turn to scream out.

Both of them watching as her energy blast impacted the wall, causing a powerful explosion. One great enough to create a large crack in it. Like everything else that had been damaged, the wall regenerated itself back to how it had been just a few seconds ago. This time, it was finally her turn to feel despair and worry.

Her fear-stricken eyes looked to the side, falling upon the figure in front of her.

"Well, well, well…" it said.

The hooded figure turned back, and looked down upon her.

"Seems like your one and only plan has failed, my little Princess," it said, mocking her, and pointing a sharp claw at her. The look of despair on her face told it all it needed to know. From behind its hood, an eye narrowed, staring out at her with evil intent.

Taking a step out from behind the platform's edge with legs hidden behind its cloak, it was suspended in mid-air. Its cloak blowing in the wind that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Slowly, it descended down towards her until its hidden legs planted themselves down on the stone surface of the platform she stood upon. Its cloak trailing down behind it, obstructing any view of its concealed body. It now wished so badly that she would be cowering in fear from the thoughts of what it might to do her. But instead of fearing it, she stood strong and proud against it.

"I cannot believe that nopony has ever tried that before. Asking me my weakness, and then turning the tables on ME!" it said while touching its claws to its chest as if to accentuate his standing in the universe.

"I admire your bravery and audacity for carrying out such a feat against me, but that will not diminish your punishment in the slightest, 'Princess'."

Suddenly, black tendrils shot up out of the ground, wrapping themselves around her front and hind legs, neck, wings, and especially her horn. A dark crystal appearing at its base, which prevented her from using her magic.

Grinning madly, it stared back at her. Enjoying the sight of her helplessly struggling to free herself from the tight grasp of the tendrils on her body. Their tight hold was scorching her flesh, leaving behind burning symbols around her hooves, wings, and throat.

In the real world, her body did indeed suffer burns, but the only marks to become visible on her was the one on her neck. The symbols in the real world were scorched, flaming, burning (You get the picture).

Suddenly gasping in the Dream world, Celestia raised her hoof up to her throat. Gagging, choking on her own breath, her lungs ceasing to work properly anymore. The breath that was inside of her lungs was beginning to dissipate, leaving her lungs decaying.

Behind the hood, a smile of pure evil settled on the figure's hideous face at how she was suffering.

"You know; it's not often that I get to destroy a being such as yourself. It really should be considered quite an honor." Putting an arm behind its back, it bowed in front of her.

"W-what? The fact that you get to destroy me?" she asked, her voice gagging as she desperately needed air.

"No, that you get to die by my hand. That I was what it took to bring you down once and for all."

It giggled excited at that thought. It was itself impressed with its accomplishing such an undisputable feat.

Suddenly, the ground shook once more, violently spreading throughout the entire room. A deep rumbling followed causing cracking across the ceiling. Stones loosened and fell down, but this time the ceiling and walls did not regenerate.

All of a sudden, the sound of approaching hooves sounded in the distance making both of them turn their heads to see who it was. The sounds grew louder and louder for every second that passed.

Just then, around the corner, hurrying into the giant chamber was a large portrait, which disintegrated into nothing once it was inside.

"What the-?" its voice pierced the wall of silence between the two of them.

"I thought I sent you to- " Suddenly, before it could finish, Princess Luna entered the chamber after swiftly rounding the corner, and she came to an abrupt halt once inside the chamber. She was obviously confused by the new surroundings, and she looked up at the different things about this chamber that attracted her attention. Her gaze eventually falling upon the four platforms hovering in mid-air, and upon the two figures on the one.

She gasped, bringing a hoof up to her mouth in shock.

Celestia's eyes went wide as she stared back down at her sister. She turned her head. Her eyes looking fiercely at the figure before her, tears streaming down her cheek, and through an angry voice she managed to squeeze out the words:

"No! Not my sister! You leave her alone… I'm the one you want! She has nothing to do with this!" she screamed out at the creature who barely acknowledged her remark. It turned its head, looking down at the blue, winged Unicorn below. A devilish smile forming.

"I have no need for Luna, she is of no consequence to me. You, Celestia, are my sole target, not her."

It raised its right arm. Holding it up as it reshaped into a fierce-looking blade, which was interspersed with flesh, and a reptilian eye in it.

"Either way, I believe that it is time for us to conclude our business together, my dear."

A shining glimmer could be seen along the sharp blade, as it was held in the air. Clenching her eyes shut, she awaited the forthcoming pain from the weapon with which it intended to end her life once and for all.

*ZAP!*

*SHATTER!*

However, instead of a painful sensation, which never came, her ears picked up the sound of something altogether different:

The firing of a beam, and something being shattered into bits.

Her eyes slowly opened. Blinking them a few seconds, before turning her head towards the spot on the large floor where she had last seen her sister.

With great astonishment visible in her eyes, she was amazed to see smoke rising up from the tip of Luna's horn, which she blew away with a single breath.

With a smirk upon her face, her eyes narrowed, and an overwhelming confidence came over her, which shocked even her big sister.
Raising her hoof, she suddenly felt herself being gripped by magic that was pulling her down and safely away from the now less menacing figure, who had been standing there motionless the entire time. Not moving an inch from the spot where he stood. With gentle care, she was placed back down on the floor again. The black tendrils around her body dissolved into small fragmented pieces that drifted upwards into the air and vanished.

"Celestia, are you okay?" a concerned voice asked her.

Her head turned, and her look fell upon a figure that she never expected to find herself being saved by.

"Did he hurt you?" Luna asked, putting a hoof on her sister's shoulder. But the only thing Celestia could do at this moment was stare with a dropped jaw. Shaking her head in disbelief.

"Luna…" She said and then paused.

"H-how did you do that?" she asked in astonishment.

Luna’s mouth opened, and she was about to speak, when an unexpected voice weakly uttered the following words from above them. Both Alicorns heads turned, staring up at the platforms again.

"Yes, Luna…" the figure said.

"H-how did one such as yourself manage to destroy my enchantment?" it asked, clutching at dead air with its left arm, while also looking to be in terrible pain.

Luna smirked back at it.

It continued, "There is no way you could have known about the crystal…"

"You are right…" she replied. "But never underestimate me, Judge." Her voice was suddenly changed into… well, not the normal voice of Luna. Both Celestia and the Judge seemed to realize this. Celestia gently backed away from the form disguised as her sister.

With a raise of her hoof, a finger-snapping sound filled the room. What followed next was so bizarre and so strange that even Celestia was shocked by it. The form disguised as her sister started to morph. Her eyes were forced to watch as the fake Luna's form shrank down into that of a triangle, while her royal regalia changed into a top hat and bowtie. Her hooves then changed into arms and legs. Her face faded away, leaving only a large eye with a slit pupil in the center, with bricks at the bottom.

"WHAT?!" the Judge reacted, screaming out in disbelief. "Bill Cipher?!"

Lacking a mouth, the floating yellow triangle called Bill Cipher was still able to make a clicking noise, pointing one of his hands up at the platform where the Judge was standing.

"That’s my name, don’t wear it out," he replied in delight.

"B-but how can you be here?! YOU SHOULDN’T BE HERE!" it shouted down at them.

Its restored claw tightened, still grabbing at nothing but the dead air in front of it.

"Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!" its voice was loud, dripping with rage.

"Yeah. I’ve just stopped you from killing the Princess of Equestria, duh," he said, summoning a yellow cane out of nowhere, and leaning on it. It growled, its fists tightening.

"You may have destroyed my crystal, Cipher, but I can still kill Celestia with the little time that I have left in her mind."

"You so sure about that buddy?" Bill’s eyes narrowed, showing delight, his hand pointing up at the ceiling above them.

"What are you talking about, Cipher?" Its eyes narrow, staring at the triangle with an angered, but also weary confusion.

"Don't you know, Judge?" His eye grins.

"NOPONY... messes with my FRIENDS!" he says. His voice oddly shifting back between normal and demonic. He snaps his fingers, causing the whole room to shake like mad.

The entire chamber then starts to shake, as if being ravaged by a terrible earthquake!
The bricks of the ceiling are ripped away from their place, tearing the ceiling to pieces, as the fragments started flying up into the air!

This creates an even larger and larger opening up into the sky.

"Wha-what is this?! What is happening?!" the figure asks in horrified confusion, as it looks down, watching as the sleeves of its robe start to be lifted up. A pulling sensation taking hold on its form.

Raising her head, she looks up into the sky. Her jaw dropping as she laid eyes on the force behind the violent shaking!
"Oh…My...Mother…of-"

"Celestia!" Luna utters in another corner of the castle. Her face is practically plastered to one of the glass windows. Her eyes are peering out, staring up at a large form of light above the darkened castle.

A large tear in the fabric of reality is in the skies above the castle, or what little could be seen of its contents, and it is spilling out a bright red and orange light down upon the world underneath it! Waves of swirling energy are moving around inside of it. Multiple colors are presented to its observers! Fragments of its edges are being pulled up into this other reality, but are still clinging tightly to the crack in reality.

The pulling force grows stronger.

Slowly but surely, the invisible force is getting a more secure hold of the Judge, and it is beginning to lift him up off the platform.

The Judge is moving around frantically in a desperate attempt to free himself from the gravity of the tear!
Turning his head downward, he looks back at Bill and Celestia.

"NO!" he screams, his form is already beginning to glitch out (in the form of TV static).

The time has come. He could no longer sustain itself inside her mind without the crystal. He pulls his arms back, and then thrusts them forward. His arms extend forward, turning to black slime, which grab at the floor, which stops it from being pulled into the crack.

While Bill is not looking, the Judge lunges with his arm extending outward at Celestia. His black mass envelopes her, and forms a giant claw that grips her tightly in its hold!

"I AM NOT GOING UNLESS SHE GOES WITH ME!"

His arm is finally starting to deteriorate along with the rest of the Judge’s form. The black slime cannot remain solid, and becomes a runny liquid, loosening his grip on the floor, and his arm retracts, and is incorporated into its original source.

His other arm retracts too while still holding Celestia in its grasp. Despite her best efforts to fight back against it using her (somewhat) fiercely pounding hooves against its still-solid skin.

The arm returns to the Judge without releasing its grip on her. Celestia looks back up at the dark hooded face of the Judge and stops struggling with it.

"Yesss, that’s right, Princess. Resistance is useless now…It will all be over soon," he said, sounding slightly friendly for the first time during this entire encounter with her.

"Hey, Judge?" a voice calls up from the floor below them.

Both Celestia and the Judge turn their heads, looking back down. "Did you know that Celestia is my girlfriend?!"

Raising his brow as he turns around, the Judge looks back down at Celestia, and is confused by Bill's remark.

"What is it, now, Cip-?" he says as his form freezes in place upon noticing a bit too late that a fist is heading directly towards him.

With violent force and a painful impact, he is punched in the stomach, causing him to flinch from the intense hurt he was feeling after taking a blow from the over-sized, cartoony glove that had done such damage to his form.

"Which means hands off, creep!" he heard Bill’s voice, as he reeled from the pain in his stomach. Both of his hands reached down to grab at where it had been hurt, causing him to release his grip on Celestia in the process.

With a snap of the finger, she is suddenly teleported away from the Judge and re-emerges back on the floor beside the hovering triangle, Bill Cipher.

Wheezing as it regains its breath, it is unable to do anything about being sucked into the rip. He lets out pained groans as the two entities watched it being sucked up towards the rift.

In the last moment before it vanishes into the rip, it manages a last stare back down at the two of them. It weakly raises its arm, and points a claw down at Bill.

"Heed my words, Bill Cipher... a day will come when you will look back...and you will regret interfering on this day!" it shouts down at them…before finally being sucked back into the wild flurry of colors of the rift and disappearing from sight.

From out of the rift, a concentrated wave of energy erupts. Coming down from the sky, it passes over the castle as it makes contact with it. It goes down all the way until it reaches the surface of the world underneath.

In the Real world, the scorch-marks start to disappear.

Smoke and steam emerge from the parts of her body that were afflicted.

Back in the Dream world, everything is calm. A silence hangs over the castle… alas, it was nothing but a temporary calm…

The castle starts to shake. This time much more violently than the first as tremors are striking in full force! All throughout, in hallways, corridors, chambers, rooms, it is all starting to come crashing down on itself. Pieces of the wall come loose, as the bricks start to float upward and are sucked directly into the rift! Windows shatter and float up along the same path as the bricks.

"W-what is going on?" Celestia asks with her hooves reaching out towards Bill in panic.

"The castle is coming undone. Without the Judge to control it, or maintain it with his power, there is no longer a reason for it to exist. It is coming undone,’’ he explained.

"Well, what are we gonna do?!" she asks him.

Looking into his one big one, she hopes that he has the answers.

"Well, duh, we leave…" he replied, but the look in his eye revealed to her that he was being rather smug about the situation.

"Here, let me show you," he says holding out a hand to her. She hesitates to take it at first, but when the ground tears open, and several of the bricks start floating upwards, she flinches, and takes him up on his offer. She extends her hoof, grabs his hand, and he take a firm grip on her hoof.

He snaps his fingers, which causes both of them to quickly disappear with a POP.

Running through the crumbling castle, Luna does not know where she can go. Ever since that rift in the sky had opened, everything has gone to Tartarus. But oddly enough, it did not start destroying the castle at first, as it had instead hesitated for a few minutes, and well…now she is in her current position.

At the moment, she is just running for her life through this cursed place. When it started to collapse she had tried to exit Celestia's mind the normal way, but something must have happened to return control to her sister, as her magic was not strong enough to break through the mental barriers of her sister's mind.

The floor is crumbling to bits and the bricks are starting to float upwards. They vanish upon reaching the void above!

"AHHH!" she screams as she falls down through the collapsing floor.

However, she does not fall because someone, or rather something, grabs her hoof and holds her.
She looks up…not believing the sight that greets her. Namely, a yellow triangle with one eye, limbs, and clad in a top hat and bowtie is holding her up with his arm.

'Tia was not kidding when she said that she was saved by a triangle in the first dream.' Luna thought.

"You know, you could help me a little?" the triangle said with a strained voice, which seemed to snap her out of her stupor. She shakes her head, and with a swift motion thrusts her other arm up, so the triangle can grab it – which it does.

With an almighty pull, she gets lifted up. She lifts herself up over the edge of the collapsed floor, and returns to standing up on her hooves.
Raising her head, she immediately sees Celestia and the triangle beside each other – Celestia’s face betrays her concern.

"Come on, Luna! Quickly!" she says with a lot of urgency in her voice. She extends a hoof, holding it out for her sister to take. Luna leaps forward, grabs it and clings firmly to her sister’s hoof!

With a turn of her head, Celestia faces Bill. "Now, get us out of here!" she instructs him.

With a raised hand, Bill is about to snap his fingers when Luna opens her eyes. She looks down and notices that he is not standing beside her sister, but rather hovering!

"Wait, are you…hovering?" she asks.

But in that moment Bill snaps his fingers, which causes the trio to disappear out of the crumbling hallway.

The rest of the castle is swallowed up, stone by stone. Every one of the castle’s battlements, towers, and great dungeons all crumble to pieces, reducing it from a solid mass to a large gathering of disconnected stones that all get sucked up into the rift! Not one stone is spared or forgotten. In the end, the Dream world is returned to how it had once been: Nightmare-free.

Back in the real world, Celestia’s eyes shoot open!

Author's Note

Thought i might as well release a new chapter since i was feeling a little up to it. Don't worry, i will still release a chapter on friday like i always have. This was just something i thought i'd do for the heck of it.
I hope i did well on this one too :twilightsmile:

Edit: saying that this chapter was hard to edit doesn't even cover it. For anyone who read this chapter previously i appolagize for all the mistakes that you must have experienced. This was one of the worst chapters that i and my editor have gone through.

I just hope that he will continue to be my editor after this one.

Link - Doctor Who Unreleased Music - Forest of the Dead - River's Death

Chapter 8

Bill Cipher and Luna meet

Finally, it was over. Celestia’s mind had been returned to its original state, the invader that had attempted to seize control of it had been driven out, and control of the mind had returned to its rightful owner.

*Return to the Present*

Quickly sitting up in her bed, Celestia let out heavy pants as her breathing was still trying to catch up with her after such an experience.

When her breathing became a little more controlled, she narrowed her eyes, and started focusing in on some of the more important information that she had obtained while purging her mind of this horrible nightmare.

‘’Bill Cipher…’’ She said, still remembering the name quite freshly in her head. Gaining a serious face for a moment, she stared off as she thought about this mysterious character that had just and out of nowhere entered into their lives. She did know why, but she had the nagging suspicion from the back of her head that she needed to keep a close eye on him.

Secondly for security matters, but firstly because he seemed a little…eccentric. They had dealt with an energetic being before, and that had been during the battle for the whole of the Equestrian race. ‘’Why can’t I shake the thought that he is a distant cousin of Discord?’’ She asked, shuddering at the thought of having to deal with somepony like the likes of him again. Not because he was a true danger to Equestria, he really wasn’t. But because he might just annoy her.

Sleeping idly on the floor beside the bed was the gently breathing body of Luna. Her eyes closed, and her horn no longer connecting them to the same dream. A smile upon her face as she wandered the Mindscape.

In the Mindscape, there was a green hilltop overlooking a beautiful plain of green grassy fields. A single tree growing out of the ground at the center of the hill.

Opening her eyes, Luna saw that she was no longer in her sister’s version of the Mindscape – Thankfully – but instead in another that could be said to belong to her. There was afterall no one else there, so it had to be hers, right?

Exhaling a sigh, Luna became more relaxed in her face, feeling the gentle intake of air leave her lungs as she sighed from relief. ‘’Thank Celestia that the nightmare is finally over.’’ She said outload.

‘’Indeed, but hey, every nightmare had to come an end sometime, right?’’ A disembodied voice suddenly interjected itself amidst the silence of this green, nice place.

Her body tensed, and eyes stared out, wide with shock that it was now her turn to be plagued by dreadful things in her dreams.

‘’Heheh, no need to worry about me, Princess. I am not a being of pure evil like the Judge.’’ It replied. ‘’I am friendly, despite that little show I had to put on back in your sister’s part of the Mindscape.’’

With multiple turns of her head, she looked around her surroundings. Hoping that she could see something that looked out of the ordinary enough to pinpoint where the origin of this invisible voice was coming from.

‘’’Well, if you really are such as you claim to be, then reveal yourself to me.’’ She spoke out. However, the only sound to linger on the air, was the blowing of the wind as it passed her by.

‘’Hm.’’ She grumbled, her eyes narrowing and face growing sterner in appearance. ‘So I guess he isn’t going to show.’ She thought. ‘’Such a shame.’’

The hill all of a sudden started to vibrate, shaking as an earthquake came over it. Her former stern look changed to instead wield a deadpanned look of surprise at what was happening.

However, instead of being meet with a rift in the skies above – or the ground – she simply heard a voice speak to her from behind. ‘’Hey, how you doin’?’’ Followed thereafter by the click of a tongue.

She turned around, and to her great surprise, she saw a triangle leaning against the tree, supporting itself with an arm which touched against the tree. The triangle itself was virtually identical to the one she had received help form in the – More appropriately named Nightmare realm version of their home. It was pointing a finger towards her, and wearing a friendly smirk.

Luna turned her body around, staring back at this…strange creature with confusion, but also great curiosity.

‘’Who…are you? What are you?’’ She asked the triangle.

‘’The name’s Bill Cipher.’’ He replied, reaching up and grabbing his top hat, but instead of moving it, his entire body moved in its place, before being moved back into place, he let go of the hat, and lowered his arm back down. ‘’Self-proclaimed Dream demon.’’ He held up his left hand, almost pointing up into the sky.

Luna’s face frowned, raising a brow, she nervously retracted her hoof back away from him – She had raised it when he had first said his name, but now retracted it after hearing that second bit.

‘’Dream demon?’’ She asked skeptically. At seeing this, Bill’s arms dropped, hanging down as he leaned forward, his eye closing. Some of the stern in her expression deflated, and she looked back at him with…pity in her eyes. She could sense that she had somehow hurt him.

He let out another deep sigh, tightening his hand into a fist that was shaking, which made it all the more alarming to her. Not just because he might attack her, but that she may have accidentally taken a step too far in wanting to know about someone that she had done something unintentionally.

‘’Look…’’ He said, his eye opening, but looking off to the side, away from her. ‘’I know when I am not wanted, and…’’ The triangle turned away from her, looking the other direction. ‘’If you do not me around, I understand that, I know not to overstep somepony else’s boundaries unless they want it of me.’’ He raised his hand, ready to snap his fingers and leave.

That was, until he heard a voice calling out to him from behind with a sporadic ‘’No!’’ Stopping him from doing anything else while. He turned around, his eye moving the side until it reached the center of his back, his arms, legs, and bowtie doing the same.

‘’What is it?’’ He asked in a really downer tone of voice. His eye moving back behind him, and staring at her angrily. Okay, that was a little freaky for her to witness.

‘’Look! If you really are going to just interrogate me because I’m different, I-…’’ He sighed. ‘’I understand your reasons for doing so. I mean, a anthromorphized, sentient triangle-shaped creature, who possess the ability to do whatever he likes with reality, would be worth asking a few questions. I get that…’’ He motioned with his arm, which was facing the other way.

‘’But I am just so sick of people/ponies like that, always considering me a danger to them because I have powers beyond their comprehension…But did any of you ever take the time to actually figure out WHO WAS THAT POWERS BELONGED TO?!’’ His voice raised at the end, sounding down-right demonic. His eye even larger, staring down at her completely white. She had to raise her hooves up to shield them from the bright light, and the intensity of his anger.

When the light lessoned, and the shape could be felt to be backing away from her, she lowered her hooves. Seeing just Bill back to his original appearance – Without the eye on his back. His arms folded, and an angry look on his ‘’face’’.

‘’Do you know what it feels like? This feeling of being alone, judged by others who don’t even know you?’’ He asked. ‘’To be ignored, your feelings, you’re very being…nothing them.’’ He raised a fist up, tightening it to the point of having the ground shake slightly, and the skies to darken.

Lowering her head, Luna thought about what she had just been asked by this…Bill Cipher. She did know what he was going through, to an extent. She too, had feelings that went unnoticed by others.

She remembered back to that day when she first ever raised the moon with her magic. She had been so proud of herself. Her sister had complimented her about that first time, saying that it was a means of beauty to see her accomplishing such a feat of magical prowess. All on her own too.

*Flashback*

‘’Great job, Luna. That was amazing what you just did!’’ Her older sister’s hoof went down to her shoulder, patting it.

‘’Thanks, Tia...But then again, I didn’t do it on my own.’’ She said with a turn of her head, looking back up at the warmly smile of Celestia.

‘’No, but you did.’’

‘’But I didn’t, did I…?’’ She replied, shaking her head. ’’I may have been the one who used the magic, but it was you who cheered me on. Motivating me to keep going…Even when I was at my breaking point, and about to give you still kept me pushing, never giving up.’’

‘’Oh, Luna.’’

‘’Oh, Tia.’’

Jumping up, she suddenly hugged her sister tightly. Her small hooves grasping tightly at her older sister.

Her ear perked up when she started to hear a slight gagging. Opening her eye, she raised her head up. Looking at her sister’s face.

‘’L-luna…Chocking.’’ Celestia’s voice wheezed out. Lunas eyes grew wide in surprise, and her hooves immediately let go of around her sister’s throat.

She fell down to the ground. When her eyes opened, they looked up into her sister’s heavily breathing face.

*Squee* She smiled.

‘’Hehe...heh. Sorry.’’ She said nervously.

*End Flashback*

Feeling a tear run down her cheek, she brought a hoof up to her chin, wiping the tears.

‘’Yes…’’ She said softly. Eyes looking down, and a slight smile forming. ‘’I know what it feels like.’’ Her smile faded away as soon as she raised her head, her eyes looking upon Bill in a sad manner.

She watched as his eye one again did that moving thing where it moved along his body to reach his back, but instead it got to where arm, and looked back at her while he crossed his arms – which were still the right way forward.

‘’What was that?’’ He asked.

‘’I…’’ She sighed, eyes closing. ‘’I understand what you’ve been through.’’ His eye narrowed itself, but the rest of his body seemed to turn around. Finally looking back at her right way this time – Though his arms were still crossed, and his eye was giving her a suspicious stare. ‘’When you asked me if I have felt anything close to how you felt, not being acknowledged as an entity but just as…a thing, obsolete…’’ She lowered her head, her eyes looking down as tears started to begin running down her cheek. ‘’And despite being up high in the sky where they can see it, they never do.

They never notice the work I put into it…For them, they notice it! They always just sleep through it as if it is not-optional to enjoy the opposite of the light!’’ Her eyes tightened, and her contorted, the expression on her face becoming angrier and angrier…But also sadder. It was obvious that she had been holding these feelings looked up for a long time and never really talked to anyone about it.

The once-suspicion in his eye started to pull back, the hate for her not wanting to trust him over a simple little detail, turning to sympathy as he watched her breaking down right in front of him. He, like her, knew full what she was going through. That burning feeling of being the only one who had a passion about something and wanting others to share that passion. Of course, he knew where this would all lead. Being alone like that, and never truly finding another, would inevitably drive someone to do things that they would never in their wildest dreams thought they would ever do.

Lost in his thoughts, he was suddenly ripped back out of them when he heard her beginning to break down emotionally. Her voice was breaking, and she was struggling to stand upright in a regal way.

She broke down into tears, her body almost collapsing onto the ground. However, Bill moved in, and caught her, grabbing her with his arms, and holding her up. But she almost seemed to deliberately ignore him, crying into him. Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her warmly.

‘’Shshh…It’s okay, it’s okay.’’ He calmed her, gently stroking her back up and down with his hand, his voice speaking to her in a soothing calming tone. Letting her continue to cry.

‘’Just let it out...’’ He began stocking her mane, which albeit was a little weird – Creepy even – but she excused on not exactly knowing how to calm her all that perfectly. ‘’Is obvious to me now that you have suffered greatly, but instead of talking about it with someone, you have kept them all bottled up inside of you, and thus you have never needed to face them.’’ His hand moved away, instead moving up to the back of her head, holding her in a soothing way.

‘’I-it is true, what you speak of…’’ She sobbed. ‘’I have never had a friend whom I could talk to – Sniff – Not even about just basic things, not necessarily the night. Things which interest me, dislikes, etc.’’ She sobbed against him. His eye opened, staring out in front of him with a frown upon.

‘I understand that – his eye narrows – I am way too familiar with it.’ He thought. Gently, his eye moved down, looking at her.

‘’Hey, hey…’’ He gently moved his hand down along her neck at a slightly faster pace. ‘’It’s okay…It’s okay…You won’t ever have to worry about being alone like that ever again.’’

She sniffled, raising her head, and looking up at his lone eye.

‘’H-how?’’ She asked, wiping the tears with a free hoof. ‘’I have no friends, and while I consider my sister a close enough friend, she cannot have a lengthy conversation with me about the wonders of the night…’’ Her face contorted into a frown, and she laid her head back down against his lower body, looking it to the left. ‘’I will always be alone.’’

His eye shook back and forth. ‘’Not anymore.’’ Her ears picked up, twitching at first. Her eyes narrowed, gaining a confused appearance about them. ‘’Wh-what do you mean w-when you say that?’’ She asked. Slowly, her head raised itself back up, staring up at him, as she backed away from him a little.

‘’If a good friend is what you seek, then I will try best to be one for you.’’ He said, looking his eye off to the side. ‘’Y-you know, if you wouldn’t mind being friends with- ‘’ he was interrupted mid-sentence as he felt himself being suddenly embraced in a powerful hug.

‘’Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!’’ Were the only words he was able to hear as she did not break away from giving him a whole barrage of hugs. He was not able to miss a single one. ‘’A thousand thankyous!’’ Once again she was crying, but not from sadness. But from joy.

Rolling his eye, he moved his arms in, hugging her back.

‘’Y-…you’re welcome.’’ He hesitated slightly.

She tried gently nuzzling her mussel against him, but remembering that he was not a Pony she scratched that idea as soon as she saw the yellow bricks at the lower half of his triangular-shaped form.

After holding his eye closed for a few minutes he opened it again. Starring out in front of him.

‘’Okay, okay, okay,’’ he gently moved her away from him, interrupting the hug. He turned back, seeing that she only gave him a blank stare, coupled along with several blinks of her eyes at being pushed away so sudden. ‘’So, should I start, or do you want to go first?’’ He asked her.

‘’First at what?’’ She replied, a tone of confusion evident in her tone.

‘’At socializing of course.’’ He held out his arms and legs in the air in excitement.

Lowering her head, she looked down at the ground. Her mind thinking about what she could say.

‘’I-…I don’t know.’’ Her eyes looked up, looking back up at him. ‘’I’ve never talked with anyone outside of my sister, and most of the time it is just about the wellbeing of our government, and not as much just friendly chatter.’’

‘’Pfft!’’ He swatted his arm through the air. ‘’That is no fun at all. Hm,’’ he struck a sitting position whilst hovering in mid-air. A hand going up to his front, presumably where his chin would have been if he had one.

‘’Oh, I know!’’ He jumped, snapping a finger.

All of a sudden, the ground shook gave a violent quake, cracking open to create a crevice, out from which burning tentacles emerged. Luna turned, staring at it wide-eyed.

‘’Whoops!’’ He exclaimed, getting rather wide-eyed, himself. ‘’Sorry about that.’’ He snapped his fingers again, to which the crevice resealed itself back up, forcing the flaming tentacles back down into the ground. Afterwards, it looked like it had not been there at all.

She turned back, giving him a raised eyebrow and a stare.

‘’Eh heheh…’’ He laughed nervously. ‘’I-I’m really sorry about that. But it is just a habit of mine, every time I get a thought or an idea that I like I snap my fingers. It was just something quite simple that I used to do back in the old days, sometimes just because it easy, or, like I stated before, because an idea popped into my head that I liked particularly well,’’ he shrugged, ‘’Or it was just something that I liked doing for the hell of it. Here, watch.’’ Her eyes grew wide again, and she almost jumped down in expectance that when he snapped his fingers that something maybe much worse would happen.

But when it did happen, her ear twitched a little from suddenly hearing it again, nothing occurred. When opening her eyes, she saw that the Dream world was still the same as when she had closed her eyes a few seconds ago.

‘’There, no biggie.’’ She heard a voice from the side say. She turned back, seeing Bill hovering in front of her. ‘’See? Nothing bad happened.’’ His eye closed, and he swiped his arm to the side.

Smiling back at her, he tried his best to keep the protective bubble around up as it was still not safe to go out of it. For outside it loomed a giant form of ethereal substance, a long crown upon its heed, as it had long locks of its ethereal hair flowing through the air. Soft lips on a face devoid of whether any eyes or a nose.

‘I’ll deal with her when I leave.’ He thought to himself.

His form suddenly descended down to the floor, planting his feet against the soft grass, and then stretching out like one would when waking up in the morning. Joins snapped, and bones popped.

‘’Ahhhh!’’ He sighed, looking his shut eye up at the skies above. ‘’Reminds me of the fresh air back…home.’’ His eye opened, looking out at the mare in front of him. Seeing him stop mid-sentence like that certainly earned a lot of her attention.

Her horn lit up, and a single POOF later, a bench appeared beside them. Smiling, she motioned towards the couch with her hoof. Taking her up on her offer, he bowed his form, snapping fingers, and then re-appearing seconds later, sitting on the bench. He gave her a warm smile, patting the seat next to him for her to get that he wanted her to join him in enjoying the view. She smiled, lightly shaking her head, and then with her extended wings flew up, seating herself down next to him.

Both of them looked back at each other, smiling warmly back at one another – Of course, Luna could guess what emotion he was displaying cause the only sign to telling her such was his lone eye.

While their eyes were locked, the sun started to move down past the horizon, being replaced by a dark-blue background – Which was the sky – All over the backdrop were these small, but marvelous sparkling forms of light. It was the stars, but the greatest one was yet to arrive on the scene.

But lo and behold, up from behind the uneven, ragged mountains far away, a shape that was at first glance nothing but one half of a circle. But as it reached higher up into the sky, its light shined much brighter, giving off a beautiful shade of white.

Drawing their eyes away from each other to see, they immediately found their attention stolen away by the world that surrounded them.

Returning her eyes to look upon Bill, she could not refrain from smiling as she how much the night sky seemed to have drawn his attention…Or it could be because he had some problem seeing, you know? He only had one eye.

‘’So, you said that you snap whenever an idea that you like, you think of?’’ She asked him. He turned back at her, meeting her eyes, as he watched her smile back at him in anticipation of whatever answer he was going to give her.

‘’I,’’ he turned his back to her a little. He fumbled with his hands, nervously. Despite thinking that he did not let her see what he was doing, she still allowed him to think so.

She raised a hoof to his side, gently touching it. His eye returned to being on his back, and stared up at her.

‘’It’s okay, Cipher, you can tell me.’’ She said. His eye looked down, obviously thinking about it.

Looking back up, the eye gave her a stern stare, before moving back along the body till it returned to being back in its original place. He exhaled a deep sigh.

‘’I’d rather not say. It’s too private that I feel ready to share with anyone else…Uh, no offense.’’ He pointed a hand back up at her, seeing only her smile back.

‘’None taken.’’ She said, both hooves going to the sides of the bench as she turned back, eyes looking up at the night sky.

‘But I promise you, Cipher, secrets do not stay hidden from me for long.’ She chuckled, only earing a single stare from him before he turned back to staring up the night sky.

‘’You really have outdone yourself this time.’’ She heard him speak up beside her. She turned and looked down at him. ‘’I don’t mean to be brash, but you’ve really outdone yourself with a sky like that.’’ He complimented her, raising his arms up. Trying to hide it by turning away, her face blushed.

‘’Oh, stop.’’ She swatted a hoof.

‘’No, I’m serious when I say that your night sky is the most beautiful,’’ her head turned back, staring down at him, ‘’The stars you have created grace a truly magnificent sky…Like diamonds upon a sheet of the nicest blue wrapping,’’ her jaw dropped slightly, hanging open as she had never anyone describe her night like that before. Not even Tia had used words like that to describe it.

‘’Bill…’’ She unintentionally let slip from her mouth.

‘’However, there is one thing missing on this picture.’’ He said, holding up both his hands and making a triangle shape with his fingers. Sudden confusion settled on her, as she turned, looking back up with eyes that scanned the whole of the sky above them.

‘’What? What’s missing?’’

‘’Ah! There we are…Almost forgot…’’

He snapped his fingers, causing a diamond to suddenly appear in the sky, almost as big as the Moon. She raised a confusing brow at this action, and turned back to him.

‘’A diamond?’’ She asked. He turned, looking up to meet her gaze.

‘’It’s nothing much really…Just another diamond up there on the sky to shine brightly.’’ Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped to hang open.

Judging from the expression that followed next he seemed confused about something or other.

‘’N-no good?’’ He asked, nervously. ‘’I can take it down if you- ‘’ He stuttered, raising his arms up.

‘’No!’’ She suddenly snapped, holding out a hoof in front of him to stop him. He quickly jumped up to his feet, giving her a worried look.

When she seemed to calm down, her warm smile returned to occupy her face – First one, then followed by many tears.

‘’It’s beautiful.’’ She said, wiping one of the tears. He seemed to beam, evidenced by his eye.

‘’Really?!’’ He hoovered up into the air, holding his hands together eagerly.

‘’Yes,’’ she said, ‘’This, more than anything is more than anypony has ever said or done about my night.’’

‘’I couldn’t agree more.’’ He said. ‘’My favorite time of the day is when it is dark, I mean, I do see sunlight from time to time, and it is something I cannot live out…But if I had to choose, I will always choose the night.’’ Her eyes just couldn’t stop watering, could they? ‘’Also, the sun doesn’t burn my eye if I try to get a better look at it.’’ He shrugged. Saying that got her to let out a small chuckle.

‘’You actually do that?’’ She asked, wearing a cross between a smirk, and a raised brow.

‘’Meh…’’ He shrugged. ‘’I cannot help myself. I’m a sucker for the details about things I find interesting.’’

He turned back, putting both arms behind him as he continued to look up at the night sky.

‘’Yeah…Me too.’’ She said, turning back to stare up at the Moon high up on the sky. A soft smile appeared, followed by a gentle chuckle.

‘’Hey,’’ her head turned, looking down at him, ‘’want to see something I can do?’’ He asked. She shrugged her shoulders, giving off a dumbfounded but excited smile.

‘’Surprise me.’’

‘’Okay, just give me a minute.’’ He turned his back to her, crossing his arms.

For some time, he didn’t move, which finally seemed to get to her. She crossed her brows, giving him a confused look.

Meanwhile, up high in the sky, something was happening on the surface of the Moon. A black formation was moving across it.

Suddenly, all of a sudden, a light was switched on, shining down on her whole body. Her eyes grew wide from the sudden appearance of the light, turning her head to the side – Looking out in front of her.

The light was a little bright, but she could see that it was coming from up above. Her eyes looked up, staring at the Moon.

‘What? It’s just the Moon. What’s so special about the- ‘But upon a second glance, she noticed something moving across the surface of her precious Moon. She leaned forward a little on the bench, narrowing her eyes to try and get a better look at what she at first believed to be just a simple trick of the eye, but now seeing as being something a little more…complicated than simple trickery.

Though, she flinched a little as she watched it continue to move across the surface of the Moon, not stopping until it was at the center – At which point the projection of light from it ceased, making it a little easier to look up at it.

Across the very surface of the Moon was a slit.

Her eyes widened from shock once she realized what it was she was seeing. Her jaw dropped, and with a quick turn of her head, looked to the side of her, down at Bill’s form still sitting on the bench. Her jaw dropped, and eyes grew even wider when she, to her greatest of shocks, witnessed Bill’s beginning to move on its own.

He put his arms behind his back, and then stood up onto his legs again. But the most jaw-dropping moment of the whole thing had to be when it turned around, revealing to her that the lone great eye in the center was gone. Crossing his arms, it just stood there, facing her in an eerier way than when the eye had been there.

‘’B-but that’s…Impossible!’’ She stuttered, hesitantly believing that which her eyes told her was the real deal.

‘’No trickery here, I’m afraid,’’ at hearing Bill’s voice again, she turned back to look up at the Moon. Still seeing his eye on it. ‘’everything you see is real.’’

‘’H-how? I-I know you were powerful, but this?’’ She stuttered once again.

‘’It was nothing. A simple parlor trick…’’ From the sides, several bricks started to fly towards the Moon, forming themselves around the slit iris. Once connected, there was a spark of lightning, which following after that, Bill was seen to once again be returned to his usual self once more. ‘’But it’s a dream, right? Shouldn’t I already be able to do whatever I want? I mean, hey, isn’t your limit the creativity you can put out in a place like this?’’

Twirling a cane in his hand, he descended down from the sky towards her. But even when he reached her, she was still jaw-dropped by what he had done.

‘’I don’t care how much creativity one has, that somepony can just ‘’leave’’ their body like that is still astonishing…Even in the Dream world.’’ After saying that, she finally closed her mouth, smiling back at him.

‘’Eh, I don’t find it to be that impressive anymore.’’ He swatted his arm, looking his eye off to the side. ‘’When you’re as powerful as me, who can do anything, it tends to get kinda boring after a while,’’ his eye looked down at the ground, ‘’things usually are when you are alone.’’

Luna’s excited smile deflated into a sympathetic frown, as she looked back at the triangle. Having an idea pop into her mind, her smile returned to her face.

She trotted forward, getting a little closer to him. Drawing his eyes attention back to her.

‘’But we’re not alone anymore, are we?’’ She raised a hoof up to his hand, touching her hoof against his fingers. ‘’We have each other.’’ She looked up, meeting his one eyes staring back at her.

He suddenly embraced her, wrapping his arms around her, hugging her tightly. His eye closed, gently holding her in his embrace.

A little taken aback by his sudden hug, her eye looked to the left, falling upon him, smiling warmly. She raised her hooves, wrapping them around her triangular companion’s form. Eyes closing shut, and her warm smile growing ever stronger…

However, her eyes opened a little, as she felt something on her being. Her pupils looked to the side, back at him. Down along her chest fur, something was felt to be running.

‘’Thank you...Princess!’’ A slightly muffled voice said, she blinked her eyes a few couple times, starring back at him with her smile still untouched.

‘’Heh,’’ she gave a gentle chuckle, ‘’just call me Luna.’’

‘’I will…I will.’’

Standing there, the two of them did not move an inch away from each other. Their embrace being so strong that not even if her sister were to enter into the dream would she be able to rip them apart. The warmth of the friendship that they both felt being something that both had never really felt as strongly before…Until now.

Slowly, the world around them started to change. The already beautiful backdrop of this dream changing to become a dark-blue one, white shapes of varying sizes appearing in a randomly dispersed manner. Behind them, the Moon appeared, shining brighter than it ever had this whole evening.

Slowly opening their eyes/eye, they meet each other gaze, both smiled as they saw one another again. With a turn, both, looked to their side, their eyes staring up at the Moon before them.

Out of nowhere, the bench appeared, and they both sat down on the bench together, their arms hold around the other as they watched the Moon shine amongst all those stars, which while quite bright on their own, could not hope to come close to shining greater than the Moon.

‘’Bill?’’ He heard her speak to him, he turned, looking towards her.

‘’Yeah, Princess?’’ He heard a gentle chuckle from his side.

‘’I never want this moment to end,’’ Luna said, ‘’I just want this moment to go on forever and ever.’’ He gave a scoffing laughter.

‘’Me too…’’ He said, his voice a little down. But there was no hiding it from her. She could tell that something was troubling him.

‘’But?’’ She asked, raising her head up to look at him, he turned, their eyes meeting. But his did not look to chipper, in fact it looked downright sad. She stood up, adjusting her sitting stance on the bench.

‘’What? What is it, Bill?’’ She inquired, worry in her voice, and on her face. He turned, looking up at her, their gaze holding, before he suddenly broke it. Looking down at the bench.

‘’Bill?’’ She asked – Obviously – a more worry in her tone.

Raising his hand, he gently touched it to her hoof, letting out a sad sigh, before looking up. Their eyes locking once more.

‘’You said you wanted us to be together,’’ he shook his eye from side to side. She knew something was coming, something bad, but she just didn’t want to hear it.

‘’No.’’ She protested, shaking her head in objection to what he was saying.

‘’I’m sorry, Luna, but I cannot stay. Here, our ways must part…’’

‘’No!’’ She said again, much more of a worried tone being inserted into her word.

Suddenly, reality around them started to become brighter. A witness was swallowing up the reality around them. Everything faded, the stars, the Moon. Everything was consumed into it.

‘’Noo!’’ She pleaded, grabbing tightly at him, and holding him up against her. Holding him tighter than she had ever done anything. Her eyes clenched. ‘’I won’t let it take you!’’ She sobbed, refusing to let him go.

‘’Luna…’’

Her eyes shot open, and she pulled back from a little so their eyes could meet. Her frown meeting his sad eye.

He leaned in, raising a hand, and putting it to her ear.

‘’I will see you again.’’ He whispered into her ear.

Then, everything went white, the two of them being swallowed up by the whiteness.

Luna’s eyes stirred awake, gently opening themselves one at a time, though being put under some strain as the sunlight shined right into her face. She had to shield herself with her hoof while they adjusted.

‘’Oh thank goodness,’’ a familiar disembodied voice spoke up. Luna turned to her left, seeing a white Alicorn standing beside her. She leaned down, a worried expression upon her face as she looked down at her younger sister. But Luna ignored her. Luna’s face just frowned.

Looking down, she saw, to her great disappointment, that Bill Cipher’s triangular body was not there anymore. He was gone.

Her already sad frown grew rose, becoming sadder as she realized that he had truly been lost. Her sister took notice of her sister’s saddened state.

‘’Luna? What is it? Is something the matter?’’

Exhaling a deep sigh, she shifted her body onto its side. Laying down as her eyes looked out at the wall in front of her.

‘’No,’’ she shook her head in reply at her sister, ‘’he isn’t.’’ She mumbled to herself.

‘’Oh. Well okay then, but hey,’’ Celestia said, her voice changing into a much happier tone, ‘’on the bright side the nightmares are gone. We did it, we liberated my mind.’’

‘’Yeah…’’ She mumbled, her eyes looking down at the floor.

Being no fool, Celestia could tell that something was on her sister’s mind. Something was bothering her.

‘’Uh, are you sure that there is nothing on your mind?’’ She asked again.

‘’No.’’ Luna replied, gently blinking her eyes.

‘’Um, okay then,’’ Celestia’s horn started to glow, a magic aura enveloping Luna, gently removing her up off the floor. Slowly, and with gentle care, Luna’s body was put back down onto the bed, and the covers – held in a telekinetic grasp – moved up over her body. ‘’Well, you’ve certainly earned a good night’s sleep.’’ She smiled. ‘’You were brave in there, facing off against those dreadful nightmares, all just for me.’’ Luna slowly nodded.

‘’Yeahh…’’ She let out.

Leaning down, she planted a gentle kiss on Luna’s cheek, then turned and trotted off.

‘’Good night, Luna…You sleep tight, and maybe we’ll talk again later?’’

‘’Yeah, sure…’’

Celestia not did say anything else after that. She just shot her a smile, and then activated her horn’s magic, teleporting out of the room in a silent POP that Luna did not hear.

With her magic, Luna closed the windo

ws of her room, shrouding the entirety of it in the darkness.

‘’Maybe tonight…we’ll see each other again.’’ She sniffled, feeling her pillow becoming a little wet where her head lay. ‘’Another day, another dream.’’ She sniffled, wiping the tear with her hoof before laying her head back down on the pillow.

Despite what her sister had said, Luna had already gotten a whole night of sleep, and thus there was currently no need for her mind to rest. She knew that if she wanted to see Bill Cipher again she would have to wait for the night to return.

And it just couldn’t get here any faster.

Chapter 9

Meeting with the Empress Part 1

‘’I will see you again.’’

Those words continued to echo in his head. His mind being unable to concentrate on anything else other than the continuous echoing of his last words to Luna.

Slowly, his eye opened again. But instead of being meet with the fading sight of the dark-blue Alicorn mare, he was instead faced with an entirely grey void devoid of anything. He was no longer in Luna’s Dreamscape, having been already pushed out of it when her dream had ended. His eye narrowed, its expression changing into a saddened one as he was once again all by himself.

He raised a hand, and with a gentle snap of his fingers disappeared. Teleporting away, out of the Mindscape.

Returning back into the real world, he appeared in a room that was impossible for him to forget. Stretching his arms. He continued till he heard the joins snap, and bones to crack. He then lowered them, exhaling a soft sigh.

His eye shot open, looking to be returning to its usual eccentric attitude.

‘’Ahhh! Another day, another hour or more to get weird.’’ He pumped his fist into the air. Looking forward to what the new day was going to bring.

His arm went back behind him. Returning shortly, holding a heart shape in his hand. ‘’While I am honestly surprised that I had to confront the Judge, I cannot say that the whole night was entirely wasted.’’ His iris looked, falling upon the gem in his hands. ‘’I would have never been able to nab this if he had not caught Celestia’s attention. Now, word of its disappearance will never reach her pesky, prissy, princessey ears.’’

Suddenly, everything started to change, becoming completely grey. His eye looked up from the crystal in his hand. Staring out, randomly at the world turning nothing but grey.

A flash appeared, which only seconds later is followed by the appearance of a female figure. The figure appears to be Humanoid – except for the arms – with a plaid skirt, each square being in multiple colors, and with a head at the top, but instead of having anything other than five eyes in place of the usual features of a face. Its scalp was blank. Out of the sleeves of a purple shirt, two tendril appendages, both with blue tips on the end, stretched out. With its legs being the same as its arms. The rest of it was indisputably belonging to a Human female.

All her eyes looked down at him, her tendril-arms touched against her sides.

Taking the hint that she was clearly upset about something, he floated over to her, putting the craved crystal away. He asked her what was wrong, at which point her eyes twitched. She crossed her arms, and turned away from him – something of a frowning expression being the one to occupy her lacking in detail face. He raised a brow as she did this.

‘’How dare you try act so casual as if nothing has happened.’’ She huffed, her aura glowing along with her as her voice spoke.

‘’Oh, come on. Seriously, what did I do to suddenly get you so mad at me?’’ Bill asked in an ever growing frustration.

Two of her eyes opened. Still glaring back at him.

‘’You haven’t called me-er-us in a week.’’ Her other eyes opened, still glaring at him bitterly. ‘’I-we have been worried sick about you.’’

His eye merely blinked a few times, confusing mounting on his faceless front.

‘’Oh, come on,’’ he swatted at the air. His eye looking off to the side. ‘’Did you ever, really think that anyone on this world, in this abundant universe could match me in strength? To them, I am a God…Even the Princesses admire my awesome powers.’’ He rotated his hand in mid-air.

She exhaled a heavy sigh, and undid her crossed tendrils. Moving one of them up to him. Touching the tip against his side. His eye looked down at it, giving it a momentary glance, before moving up. Staring back at her, her eyes now shown to be frowning.

‘’What?’’ He held out his arms, not knowing what she was trying to get a cross to him.

‘’Do they know…?’’ She asked. Her eyes blinking. ‘’Do they know that you can use those powers in real life, and not just in the Dreamscape?’’ As she asked, his eye returned to how it looked normally. Blinking, as he remained silent for a while. His eye then looked away.

With slow movement, she hovered through the air towards him, putting another tendril on his other side of his – triangular – body. Stopping in front of him, his eye looked up, staring at her multi-eyed head, their gazes meeting.

‘’You do know I care about you, don’t you, Cipher?’’ His eye just blinked.

‘’I know, Ann. But- ‘’

‘’But what?’’ She interrupted, her three upper eyes glaring at him, while the other two gave him a sad look. ‘’What could be more important than simply letting others know that you are okay? Since we’re not there to look out for you, to have your back against whatever danger you may face,’’ all of her eyes changed to reflect a saddened gaze. ‘’You may be powerful, Bill Cipher, but there are some things that not even you can defeat…Even with your incredible power of reality.’’

Crossing his eye, it was now his time to shoot her a glare. He stretched out his arms, pushing her tendrils away, and then backing away from her with an angry stare staring back.

‘’HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!’’ His voice changed to sounding demonic. ‘’Do you know how long I suffered in that hellhole of a dimension?!’’ His voice once again changed to sounding demonic for one of the words. ‘’A flat world with flat minds. Sure there was one place I knew I might find happiness to saint me for the rest of my life,’’ his eye narrowed, changing his usual color scheme into blood-red and bright white. ‘’DO YOU?!’’ His sudden outburst caused her to slowly back away from him. Staring up at him with horrified wide eyes.

‘’Once I liberate this world, I have big plans! And I will SUCCEED…’’ his body suddenly shot towards. Her body being covered in the bright light of his eye. Hovering above her. ‘’where the Cipher failed.’’

‘’AHAHAHAHAHAHA!’’ He started laughing. Holding out his arms, as violent blue lightning started to be discharged.

‘’No! Stop!’’ She reached out a tendril towards him. With a quick motion, his eye looked down to her, a beam of bright white light being projected down upon her.

‘’What…did you say?’’ He asked in a somewhat calmer tone, which was surprisingly even creepier when his voice was demonic sounding.

‘’I…Uh…’’ She stuttered, eyes looking off in every possible direction to where she might escape if things began getting too violent.

‘’Y-you cannot do that!’’ She shouted up at him, eyes glaring, as she pointed her left tendril up at him.

‘’Oh yeah, and why not? What’s to stop me from just destroying that pathetic world in its entirety?’’ His eye was completely white, projecting such a bright light that it was making it difficult to see his eye.

‘’Because you are not Bill Cipher.’’ His eye seemed to loosen up. The bright light projection dimmed, until finally she was looking back into his eye, which alongside his form, was back too normal. ‘’I know that there is frustration in you, hatred for what…they have done, and you just want to see an end to this suffering.’’ She raised her right tendril, touching it to her chest. ‘’But take my word for it, you do have his temper…’’ She did several motions in the air with her tendrils. ‘’Despite how much I wish that you didn’t. Your scary enough.’’ She mumbled to herself.

‘’Then what’s keeping you back?’’ Bill asks. She elevates the brow of her eyes, giving him a confused stare. ‘’If I’m so scary, then why are you here? You can leave my side whenever you’d like. No one is forcing you to stay.’’ He puts both his hands on his sides, staring at her with an angry eye.

Her multiple eyes grow wide with shock. ‘’Do not think that just because you’re in the Mindscape that you can hide what you say in my presence. I. SEE. EVERYTHING.’’ In his eye an image of a green and blue planet appears in his eyes.

His fists tighten, holding them out beside him. His eye turns red, and his form is about to revert back to how he had looked when he had started to get angry. Like, REALLY angry.

‘’Now…Tell me,’’ he paused, ‘’why are you not leaving? You know you can, so what’s- ‘’

‘’Because I can’t leave you!’’ She suddenly cries out to him, clenching her eyes shut.

His eye widens in surprise, and his fists loosen. ‘’What…?’’ He says.

‘’I can’t leave you, because I…’’ Her upper three eyes open, staring back at him with tears welling up in her eyes. She brings a tendril up to her face, wiping the tears away. Quickly, she turns her back on him. Hurrying to hover through the air, her voice heavy with sobbing as she hurried away from him.

When there was a good distance between her and Bill, she swung her tendril down to slice it through the greyed-out fabric of existence, opening a disfigured rift into another dimension that looked to contain a world of hellish colors, and odd waves of multi-colors.

‘’Ann! Wait!’’ He called out, extending a hand, and reaching out to her. But she failed to give him any attention. However, her form did hesitate in its place for a single second, before it suddenly leaped out into the rift.

‘’NOO!’’

Her eyes opened as she heard his voice cry out for her like that, but nothing stopped her from changing her mind about her decision to flee from him. Back out in the Mindscape, the rift started re-sealing itself up, the grey colors disappearing alongside it, and gradually returning the room to its original self before her arrival.

His eye shot open, looking rapidly around him at his surroundings for any sign of her. But unfortunately for him, she was already gone. The world had returned to normal, meaning that the grey that had once been – almost – the only color for his eye to see, was now replaced with a darker one, with rainbow-colored outlines.

Realizing that he was all alone in the room, his eye closed, and a heavy sigh exhaled from his non-existent mouth.

‘Guess I should just maybe get this,’ reaching behind him, he pulls out the crystal he had been eyeing earlier, ‘to her majesty. I doubt the Matriarch enjoys ponies be late for their meetings.’ His mind thinks, staring down at the gem in his hand for a few longer seconds.

His eye looks up, seeing a door in front of him. Moving through the air, his hovering form approaches the door. Snapping his finger, the door opens. Closing behind him as he leaves out through it.

Author's Note

A rather short one this week :twilightsheepish:

Just a little experiment with how well smaller chapters like this do.

Chapter 10

Meeting with the Empress Part 2

Inside a dark-green castle, sitting on a lone throne inside a great chamber, a dark, armored, insect pony was sitting on said throne. She was motionless, with a stern look on her face, and only occasionally blinking her eyes. On both sides of her throne were two guards, however their armor was very different from the usual drone’s. Standing by a large door are also two other guards, clad in the same armor as the ones by the throne.

Suddenly, her eyes grow wide, and she raises her head, looking out in front of her at the throne room.

First, the ground begins to violently shake, drawing the attention of the guards in the room. Then the walls begin to quake, cracks appearing in the skin of them. The cracks begin trailing down along the wall until it reaches the floor, and begins moving through the skin of the floor. On the opposite side of the wall, the same happens.

The cracks in the floor join together at the center, but instead of just cracking or crumbling together, they start moving around on the floor, forming a wheel shape on the ground, six symbols forming on the outer wheel. But one the inside, a triangle with a giant eye in the center, arms and legs, a top hat and bowtie emerges in the center.

A blue begins to glow, filling the cracks. A wild, manic laughter begins to sound, filling the entire chamber with it. A sudden wind blows the doors open, and a howling wind starts to fill the entire room in a matter of seconds, making everyone inside it to begin shaking from the cold. A surprise because they’re not usually easily chilled by the reverse of heat.

A light shots up from the triangle in the center, followed by a flash of light…

But after it has vanished, everything is now back too normal, restored to how it had all looked before all of this craziness happened, the symbol on the ground is gone, as well as the cracks in the walls.

However, one small detail remains of some significance in the room.

A triangle with one eye, limbs, and a top hat and bowtie is not hovering in the room. A gleeful delight on its eye.

Rolling her eyes, she stares up at the triangle in front of her.

‘’Oh, it’s you.’’ She says in annoyed tone, swatting her hoof at the air. Her guards stand down, resuming their original positions beside the throne.

‘’Did you miss me? Admit it, you missed me.’’ He touches a finger to his non-existent cheek, grinning his eye at her.

‘’Well, it has hardly been this quiet, even without you.’’ She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, frowning a little deeper at him.

‘’Oh, you!’’ He waves his arm through the air, eye momentarily looking away from her, before then returning to look upon her again.

Following the sound of clicking teeth, he raised his hand, pointing his index finger at her.

She scoffed, shaking her head as a visible smirk made its way onto her face. Her eyes were momentarily closed.

‘’No fooling you is there, Lord Cipher?’’ Her voice now in a much chipper tone as she asked him that.

‘’Nope, you are going to have to try harder if you are ever going to convincingly prank me.’’ A straight finger pointing back at his chest. She merely scoffed back.

‘’Yeah, well…’’ her eyes looked away, smiling a little wider. ‘’It’s kinda a little one-sided when you are essentially pranking someone who, if he wanted to, could just you and your species out with a single second.’’

‘’True…’’ he put a finger to his non-chin, thinking it over. ‘’I am pretty impressive, wouldn’t you?’’ He suddenly vanished away in a POOF, returning seconds later standing a leg up on a rock, a crown atop his head, and a golden cane in his hand as he struck a pose.

‘’Cipher,’’ she shook her head. ‘’Your attempts at humoring me, is humorous.’’

This time he rolled his eye at her comment, as he returned back to his normal self again.

Hovering in the air, he put his hands behind his arms behind his back, connecting them. His lone eye staring at the Changeling Matriarch before him in patient silence.

‘’So what do we owe your…sudden meeting that you have desired to have with me?’’ She asked a lot regally than her humored tone earlier.

‘’Empress Pollus, Ruler of the Changeling race’’ he greeted her, putting a hand to himself, his eye closing in respect. ‘’I, Bill Cipher, beseech thee,’’ his eye slowly opened, staring out at her. ‘’For I bring great news that are of grave value to the whole of the Changeling race.’’ His eye narrowed, giving her a sense that he was most likely smirking at her.

Her eye grew wide in surprise.

Something important? But that could not be…that could only mean, her mind thought, racing to try and fit the pieces of what he was trying to tell her.

Her face started to reflect the feelings of excitement she felt.

‘’You do not mean…’’ Her jaw dropped, hanging open from the overwhelming enjoyment her mind was telling her that she should be embracing. She knew that Bill would never leave her with too high hopes about anything unless it was important, and if he was normal that must mean that it must be REALLY important.

‘’My Empress, Changelings,’’ he extended his hands, extending all of his fingers, and holding them out in front of him.

A bright flash erupted out in front of him, erupting into a blinding flash of light that blinded everyone other than Cipher, himself. The Empress and all her Changelings had to use their arms to shield their eyes from the terrible intensity of the light.

When they finally lowered their eyes, once the light died down to tolerable levels of intensity, they were still meet with a glowing shape of light, but this time it was not as bright as the first time.

Lowering her hoof, she finally saw what it was that Bill had brought with him.

Her eyes widened, and jaw dropped, along with every other Changeling in the room.

The reflection of the shape hovering in the air being reflected in their eyes…their large eyes.

‘’That cannot be…It is impossible…’’ She spoke in denial, shaking her head in protest that this was not real. It was just a trick, it had to be!

‘’But not even my greatest legions could acquire it...’’

‘’Well, am I your legions?’’ She heard him ask.

She lazily/awestruck shook her head as her eyes seemed to be almost glued to the sight of the hovering gem that he was showing them.

His smirked with his eye, grinning madly.

‘’My Empress, Changelings of this earth,’’ he gently lowered his arms a little, ‘’I give you, the Crystal Heart!’’ His voice echoed around the entire room as he emphasized the name.

Hovering teen inches from him, was a still glowing, projecting small beams of light, Crystal Heart.

All eyes are on him as he holds the faintly glowing shape out for all to see. Every one of the Changelings jaws are hanging open, staring up at the crystal in shock that the artifact that they have been seeking for so long has finally fallen into their possession. The greatest weapon for the defense of the greatest city in the world, was finally theirs.

But one question lingered in the back of her mind, how had he procured such an invaluable treasure?

Eh, it doesn’t really as much…As long as we finally have it now, she thought, her grin growing wider by the moment her eyes could not rip themselves away from the heart. Its form spinning around in the reflection in her eyes.

‘’AHAHAHAHAHA!’’ Bill’s laughter echoed around the whole room. Whether the Changelings were put off by it or not was something that neither really seemed to care about, due to their overjoyed expressions, and stares that they could divert in any other direction than the Crystal Heart.

Then, the Empress started to partake in the laughter that Bill was letting loose, filling the whole throne room with her own mad cackle.

However, amongst the loud laughter from both Bill and the Empress, the giant twin doors of the throne room creaked open, providing an interruption to this moment of great rejoice for the Changeling race.

Looking away from the heart to the door, Pollus stared glaringly at it as she expected an average Changeling drone to be the one to interrupt a meeting like this, but when she actually saw who it was, her eyes eased, and a soft smile settled in place.

‘’Ah, my daughter,’’ she paused, earning the attention of Bill and the other guards in the room. They turned around, and looked in direction of the door, their gaze falling upon a small Changeling filly that was nervously looking her eyes up at her mother on the throne at the other end. ‘’Come in, come in. Join us.’’ She held out her hoof, waving towards her daughter, motioning for her to enter into the room.

‘’What brings you here to my humble abode so late in the evening?’’ She asks the timid filly at the doors.

With nervous eyes – that constantly look around the room, shifting from one spot thing to the next – she gently walks into the room, approaching her mother’s throne.

When having reached the throne, she stops, looking up at the calm smile of her mother.

‘’I-I was just coming by to see how you were doing, mom.’’ Her eyes nervously look down at the ground.

Smiling, Pollus stands herself up, about to go down from her throne to get closer to her daughter. However, someone else beat her to that idea.

‘’Well, well, well,’’ a male’s voice speaks behind her back – Behind her back, Bill slowly descends down towards her – her eyes shoot up, getting chills as metaphorical hairs stood up on her back, her eyes tensing up, and pupils shrinking from paralyzed fear. ‘’What do we have here?’’ The unseen asked, seeming to have gotten closer.

A shadow fell upon her – and the floor – showing the shape of a triangle.

She turned around quickly, only to stare up at a figure that she didn’t even know what was, and coming face-to-face with one large eye that looks similar to theirs in that it has a slit pupil. However, unlike their eyes, there is only the one.

The lone eye, however, is not the only thing to catch her attention, her head looking the hovering shape up and down with her eyes. But what truly gets to her enough to cause her to suddenly jump up, leaping away from it, is when the eye in the center blinks. This is not fake, it is real…and it is alive!

Letting out a frightened scream, she suddenly jumps back away from the creature in front of her, softly planting her hooves down on the slimy surface upon which her mother’s throne stands.

Rushing behind her mother’s front legs, she gently peeks her head out from the side to see that if the creature was still there. But when she looked, she let out a gentle yelp as she saw that it’s lone eye, that big eye, was still staring back at her. It blinked at times.

The creature’s body was a triangle shape, with bricks underneath the eye, arms, legs, a top hat, and a bowtie.

Twirling a yellow cane in its hand, that seemed to have materialized out of thin air, it leaned on it, staring back at her in a manner that would have actually been quite creepy to her, if her mother had not been there by her side.

She gently tugged at her mother’s hoof, hiding herself a little from its eye. That big eye.

‘’M-mother, wh-‘’ she shyly asked, pointing a nervous hoof out at the figure in front of her and her mom as her eyes could be drawn away from the triangle-thing.

Turning her head and looking back at him, Pollus’s confused frown changed into a smile, a smile that calmly looked back down at her hiding daughter.

Putting a hoof to her smaller shoulder, making her daughter first look at it in confusion, before then looking up into her mother’s face, her nervous nature of a few seconds ago being replaced with a blank stare that could not describe the confusion inside of the little filly’s head.

‘’Um, Chryssie?’’ she asked in a very motherly tone, always a good thing to use when calming one’s child. ‘’You know how mother said that she had struck a deal with somepony very special long ago?’’

‘’Mhm?’’ She nodded back, not knowing where this was going.

Her mother’s eyes looked away from her, staring back down at the figure in front of them with a warm smile on her face. Slower than her mother, she also turned her head, looking back at the figure’s non-existent face. Aside from there was hardly any easy detectable emotion on it.

Raising a hoof up, she pointed it at the triangle.

‘’Well, this is him.’’ She was obviously proud as she said this, it was obvious in her voice. ‘’This is the extraordinary being, Master of the Mind, Bill Cipher.’’ She proclaimed proudly.

Suddenly, he took a bow, closing his eye, looking to be calm as he struck a respectful bow to the two royals, striking a regal stance,

‘’Princess, Empress.’’ His golden aura around his whole form glows alongside his voice.

Sounding off a friendly scoff, the Empress shakes her head, smiling a little wider at what the triangle is doing.

Will he never learn cease trying to impress me?

‘’Well…’’ she pauses, her eyes look down at the filly behind her leg, seeing that she is actually coming out a little more from behind it, her fear gone…and instead replaced intrigue for this creature called ‘’Bill Cipher’’. She has never heard the name before, but immediately knows that it is not one used by their tongue, or any in Equestria…as far by creatures that yet to be discovered.

‘’Bill Cipher, meet my daughter, Princess Chrysalis, future Matriarch of the Changeling race.’’ She moves her leg out of the way, no longer obstructing the view of the shy little thing.

Immediately, without the cover of her mother’s front left hoof, she feels vulnerable, afraid of this…Bill. Despite having been introduced to him by her mother, she cannot help but feel nervous in his presence, timid, a little too shy to move up or even get close to him.

Cowering, she lets out a soft wince, ducking down to hide behind her hooves.

‘’Oh, it’s okay, sweetie,’’ Pollus tries to calm her daughter. Arching her neck, she looks up into her mother’s face. ‘’Bill is a close friend of mine.’’ She touches her left hoof to her chest, but Chrysalis was not paying attention to her anymore. Her mind had blacked out when her mother had mentioned that whole ‘’close friend of mine’’ bit.

Wait! Did she just say…friend?

Turning her head, she looked down at him, meeting his gaze.

‘’He has actually done a lot of good for our race.’’ Her smile grew wider, her eyes following her daughter as she had looked away, and was now staring back at him. ‘’Probably the biggest way he has done so, is by bringing us the legendary Crystal Heart from the Crystal Empire, itself.’’

This additional news made Chrysalis’s eyes go wide with shock.

Wait, he did what?!

Turning back, she shot her mom a jaw-dropped, stare of impressive shock.

‘’Mhm, I know,’’ She nodded. ‘’Quite impressive.’’

This guy...this Bill Cipher, what are you? Why are you helping us? We are Changelings…Nopony helps out Changelings

Turning back, her eyes once again fell upon Bill again.

‘’Here, let me show you even.’’ He said, raising a hand, and then snapping his fingers, immediately summoning a heart shaped crystal out of nowhere.

‘’Wow.’’ Chrysalis said, as her eyes could not deny that what she was seeing was real. This was actually it, the legendary Crystal Heart that was said to be that empire’s most powerful weapon, and artifact.

Her eyes could not look away from it for even one second. Pollus and Bill saw that this was clearly the case.

‘’Beautiful, is it not?’’ She heard him ask. All in which she could nod her head back in response with a sounding ‘’Mhm.’’ Alongside it.

‘’But mother, I must ask,’’ she turned back, looking up into her mother’s face again. ‘’How did Bill come by such an object of great importance?’’ She asked.

Her mother’s face frowned slightly, giving her an idea of her answer.

‘’Honestly, I don’t know,’’ her eyes looked up, falling upon him. ‘’I was wondering the exact same thing myself.’’

She looked up, raising a confused brow, and stare at Bill.

‘’Actually,’’ she started. ‘’How did such an elusive treasure come into your possession, Cipher?’’

Bill’s eye looked away, staring off to the side.

‘’Oh, I called in a favor from a friend.’’ Chrysalis and her mother turned to each other, exchanging confused looks.

‘’What kind of ‘’friend’’?’’ Pollus asked, raising a suspicious brow and suspicious stare. ‘’Was it somepony you meet while on your travels?’’

‘’You could say that.’’ Bill replied, putting his arms behind his back.

‘’So,’’ a smaller timid voice spoke up. ‘’This pony, whoever it is, can master time travel?’’ Chrysalis asked, drawing the attention of both Bill and her mother.

‘’Well, so can I,’’ he said pointing a finger back at himself. ‘’But I thought it would have been boring to go by myself to obtain something that important, but when I asked him if he wanted to go he said that he had other plans. Respecting his wishes, I left him to attend those matters.’’

‘’Then how is it a favor if you didn’t manage to collect it?’’ Pollus asked.

‘’Did I say that it was a successful collection of a favor?’’ The two of them shook their heads. ‘’There you go. I went by myself to the Empire, got what I needed, and then left.’’

Swatting the air for a second, he shrugged.

‘’But enough of details, details, details,’’ his eye looked back, staring at Pollus and Chrysalis. ‘’Why can’t we just celebrate our greatest moment of victory?’’ He asked.

‘’You know, enjoy what might be the greatest moment for all Changelings?’’

Pollus looked down at Chrysalis, smiling at her daughter in that warm, soothing fashion.

‘’That is true, Cipher,’’ she blinked her eyes a couple times in a soothing manner in front of her daughter.

She looked up, before briefly returning her gaze down to the filly. Raising her head, she looked up at Bill.

‘’You know; this might actually be a good time for you two to get to know each other.’’ Chrysalis’s eyes went wide, and she quickly looked back down at Bill. ‘’I should see to that the news of our acquiring of the Heart is delivered to every Changeling in Equestria. This news is too important not to be sent out at once.’’

‘’B-but, mom,’’ she tried protesting, grabbing onto her mother’s hoof tightly, looking up with a sympathetic, worried frown to her face. Her eyes looking back at Bill with worry in them. ‘’I-I don’t want to go with him.’’ She paused, holding an unbroken gaze with the triangle’s eye. ‘’He scares me.’’

Pollus looked up from her daughter, her gaze temporarily falling upon Bill, who just shrugged his shoulders in response.

‘’But, sweetie,’’ she chuckled nervously. ‘’Bill Cipher is really a nice guy when you get to know him.’’ Her eyes looked up, staring back at the heart shaped crystal. ‘’Doesn’t the fact that he brought us the Crystal Heart say a little something about who he considers his friend?’’

‘’We are Changelings, Chryssie, we’re not particularly popular in Equestria.’’ A sad frown plastering itself to her face. ‘’I think you should at least give him a chance…’’ She turned her body around, lowering it down to be closer to Chrysalis’s height. Putting a hoof on her shoulder, she smiled warmly back.

‘’After all, no one gave us one. They judged us by our appearance.’’ Nudging her heads – and her head – to the side, Chrysalis turned, looking back at Bill as he hovered there in front of them. ‘’How do you think he must feel?’’

Blinking his eye at moments, he was absolutely silent as the Empress explained these things to her heir.

But this is different, mom! Chrysalis thought.

Lowering her eyes, she looked down.

Slowly, she turned around to face him, though she didn’t look up, or meet his eye’s gaze.

‘’Chryssie?’’ Her mother’s voice spoke up. ‘’Are you sure you don’t- ‘’

‘’Pollus, just stop.’’ A sudden voice spoke up, drawing both Pollus and Chrysalis’s attention to it. To both of their great surprise it was Bill.

‘’Pollus,’’ he said, holding out a hand. ‘’I appreciate the gesture that you want me and your daughter to bond, after all, we two are such good pals.’’ He nudged the air with his shoulder, as it nudging her. ‘’But I don’t want her to feel obligated to know me if it is not what she wants.’’ His eye looked down, his gaze falling back upon Chrysalis, who was still staring up at him blankly.

He hovered closer to her, which only made her back away from him.

‘’Hey, kiddo,’’ he said, gently extending out a hand to her. But all she did was stare down at it. ‘’You may not want it now, or ever for that matter…But if you ever want to hang out, or even just talk about anything, you can always come visit me.’’ He held out his hand, and a blue flame appeared in his palm.

The flames passed away to reveal a glass triangle.

‘’Here, for you.’’ He extended his arm, reaching the strangle glass triangle to her. But all she did was look at it confused.

‘’What is it?’’ She raised a hoof which she points at it.

‘’It is a little something to make visits a little easier for someone your age.’’ After he said that, she just looked at him with a scrunched frown. She clearly did not understand what he meant by that he said.

‘’And what is that supposed to mean? Are you telling me that I am too young to defend myself?’’ Her eyes narrowed a little him. ‘’Because I will have you know that I may look small, but I do know quite a lot of defensive and offensive spells, mister.’’

Bill and Pollus chuckled at the little filly’s attempt at being angry, when in reality all she ended up being was just cute.

‘’No, hardly…A big girl such as yourself does not need protection like that,’’ his eye chuckled. ‘’But she does need a key if she wishes to come visit me in my part of your mother’s castle.’’

Chrysalis, Pollus, and even the guards were shocked at finding out that it was a key.

‘’B-bill? W-what are you trying to- ‘’ Pollus asked nervously, having Bill’s eye stare at her.

‘’You want your daughter and me to become friends, well the first step at friendship is being kind to others and not expecting anything back…’’ Her mouth opened, but she clearly stuttered at finding the words she wanted to speak. ‘’After all, why did you think I sought you out?’’ She was still stuttering well after he finished speaking.

His attention was however drawn away from the Empress, instead falling upon little Chrysalis, who was now suspending the triangle in a telekinetic grasp, and looking down at it.

‘’T-thank you…Bill.’’ She looked away from it, staring up at him with a shocked face.

‘’Hey, don’t mention it, kiddo.’’ He was about to extend an arm out and ruffle her mane with his hand, until he all of a sudden stopped himself, holding it there for a couple seconds, before pulling back away from her.

‘’Well, it’s been fun,’’ he said, hovering back away from them, gently tipping his hat for them, their only response being slow nods. ‘’But I am afraid that I have other plans for the evening,’’ he chuckled in a slightly nervous voice. ‘’And I do believe that I have taken up quite a lot of your time already.’’

Coming to a stop, he lingered there suspended in the air.

‘’Empress, Princess.’’ He took a bow, putting one arm behind his back, and one in front of him, which he touched to the front of him. ‘’See ya later, ciao.’’ With a raised hand, he snapped his fingers, making him suddenly appear away in a small form of light.

When the light passed, he was no longer there.

Chrysalis continued to keep her eyes plastered to the place where he had been. While her mother stood up from her throne, and trotted down the steps. Proceeding to trot up towards the other end.

‘’M-mom? Where are you going?’’ Chrysalis asked, once she noticed that her mom was heading off somewhere. Her mother, however, did not respond, and just continued walking.

‘’N-nowhere, honey…I-I’m just going to…retire back to my room…for the remainder of the day.’’ She replied.

‘’Huh?’’ Chrysalis replied to her mother’s reply.

‘’’J-just go back to your room, Chryssie. I’m going to be a little busy for a while.’’

‘’Uh, mom?’’ She asked, even more confused this time. But this time, unlike the first, she did not receive any reply from her mother, her horn only started lighting up. And when the spell was utilized, she disappeared with a POP, leaving Chrysalis by the throne.

I guess I’ll just go back to my room, then…I guess, Chrysalis thought to herself.

Stepping down from throne, she headed back towards the door she had used to enter. Quietly slipping out through it, and leaving the guards the only occupants in the throne room, carrying the glass triangle with her magic as she headed down the hallways towards her room.

Opening her door, Chrysalis trotted inside. Behind her, as the door closed, she did not look away to see what her magic was doing, having been so used to it by now, as she approached her bed.

Extending her insect wings, she started to flap them as she flew up towards her bed. Her hooves being planted down on the soft surface of her covers, as she landed down atop it.

Her magic levitated the triangle that Bill had given her up onto her nearby nightstand. She lay her head down on the soft pillow, turning her body on its sides.

Occasionally blinking her eyes, they looked silently at the glass triangle.

‘’I don’t know who you are, Cipher,’’ her eyes narrowed, staring off at the triangle angrily. ‘’But if you do anything to harm mommy, then there will be no one, no matter how powerful, that can keep you safe from me.’’

She still didn’t trust Bill, he looked too weird to even be considered a trustworthy…whatever he was. Her mother may trust him, but that does not mean that she will…

But, just because he might not be trustworthy doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t get to know him, find out more about him, maybe try to find out enough that she can make her own assessment of him. Either way there would be upsides, she would please her mother by getting to know one of her closest friends…actually, her only friend, or if she is right in her assessment that he cannot be trusted, then she can at least prove herself to her mother that she is not just some small child.

‘’Then it is decided,’’ she stood up off the bed, supporting herself by her hooves, her eyes looking out to the wall in front of her. ‘’I will befriend this…Bill Cipher.’’

‘’Who knows, he could be a nice guy, and his attentions are really just to help out somepony in need…’’ her face, blank and thinking, changed into an angry frown. ‘’But then again, there has still not been an instance where somepony who shows eccentric characterizes have really proven to be of benefit to anypony…other than himself.’’

It’s odd…He does seem frighteningly close to Discord. Aside from appearance, they could practically be brothers, she thought to herself. They are both equal freaks.

Chapter 11

Adventures in the Dreamscape Part 1

*Meanwhile, in a faraway land…*

Standing close to one of the windows of her bedroom, Luna’s face was pressed up against the window, staring out, and watching as the sun descended gradually lower and lower down to the horizon. Its light diming as it got closer and closer to the ground.

Just a little more now…And we’ll be in business! She exclaimed excitedly in her mind as her pupils now followed the slowly dropping orb of fire.

Her face was obviously tense, as she was soon going to be returning to the Dreamscape, where she would – hopefully – meet with Bill Cipher again, that kind, generous soul who had shared a conversion with her for longer than two minutes, and spent actual time surrounded by the night, giving her compliments, and just generally treated her with the respect and admiration that she had expected to receive from her ponies out in the real world.

It was just too bad that he did not possess a physical form of his own, then their interactions could have lasted for longer than just a few hours before she had to wake up and leave him for a certain number of hours that was higher than the time they spent together.

Smiling, her eyes looked down to the side.

It is going to be great to see Bill again. After all, we did not get to spend too much time together due to Tia’s nightmare, she raised a confused brow, as her face contorted into pure confusion. Does that mean that my sister getting attacked at the mental level was a good thing? Without the parasite, or whatever that entity was, Bill would never have had to enter my sister’s Dreamscape, and if he had never visited her, then he and I would have never…

She shuddered at thinking not ever meeting an individual such as himself. Equestria may be a big planet, but it was somewhat limited by various cultures, and even some of the beliefs of superiority that dominated it, but belief in one’s superiority was not always the path to true peace. Bill may be a bit unstable, and possess both a chaotic side and a controlled side, but he could to some extent control it to where he did not necessarily believe himself the ultimate being just because he could do things that other could not.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her depressed thoughts, as a shadow fell upon her face. She looked up, being just quick enough to witness the last shreds of daylight fade into the horizon.
Her face lit up with life, as she lifted it up, staring even more intensely out of the window as this news hit her. Grabbing the stone walls to better support her body.

Outside, the skies darkened, the eventual glow of starts following shortly after it got dark enough for them to shine brightly.

Closing her eyes, and grinning like mad, she knew that it was time, time for her to enter the Dreamscape.

Giddy like a schoolfilly, her horn was enveloped in a magical glow. From underneath the horizon, a round shape slowly crept up, moving up high, finally finding a place on the night sky, and shining brightly, illuminating the night of the world.

Pulling her head back away from the window, her smile ‘’demoted’’ itself down to a calmer, controlled one, instead of that super excited one that she had worn a few seconds ago.

‘’There,’’ she says out loud to herself, letting out a satisfied sigh at her handiwork. ‘’Now, on to more pressing matters...’’

With a turn of her head, she looks behind her, staring to right, looking upon the bed.

‘’Mhmm.’’ She calmly batts her eyes, inhaling deeply first, and then exhaling it shortly following.

‘’Finally, we shall see each other again.’’

Turning her body, she walks across the stone floor, the gentle sound of her hooves clopping on the floor accompanying her. Moving the covers out of the way, she gently gets into bed, moving the earlier-moved covers back over her, she lie her head down on the pillow, staring out, and meeting the wall in front of her.

Her eyes close shut, and a smile appears. Her mind calms itself, opening itself, and finally allowing her to enter the Dreamscape, and forget about the worries of the day.

When she opened her eyes again it became immediately clear that she was no longer in the real world, as she was no longer in her and her sister’s castle, but instead a castle throne room of a castle that looked to have been made with cream colored bricks of stone. Aside from a few covered up tapestries, torches on the walls, there is nothing really decorative outside of banners depicting an unrecognizable appendage. The closest thing she could come to was the paw of a Dragon. However, this one lacked the sharp claws on the end, and was white…Also sprouting an additional finger/claw.

Not far from where she stood was the entrance to a balcony, where outside was a clear, blue sky. It all seemed so calm and serene…if not for that small flock of winged eyeballs that flew across the sky.

Wait, what?

With a growing confusion and curiosity mounting itself in her head, she could not resist the urge to go and investigate what all of that was about.

As she started trotting up towards the balcony’s doorway, while flying by the balcony, one of the winged eyeballs stopped in mid-air, flapping its wings – that was standard Pegasus wings, aside from being a little bigger – as it hovered in place. It’s lone eye watching her as it was approached by her.

While watching her step out onto the balcony, several other by-passing eyeballs stopped in mid-air, their eyes also being drawn down to the blue Alicorn that was approaching her.

With a curious mindset at the moment, she gently turned her head, gradually observing as more and more of them had their attention drawn towards her. Now with her being out onto the balcony, she could better make out that faint sound that she had heard coming from out here. It had sounded like the chirping of birds, but the only creatures here were…

Her eyes went wide with realization, and she slowly looked at each of the eyeballs again. The original shock of the eyeball’s appearance was now being degraded back into just a simple shock with confusion in it.

All she could do was raise a confused brow, as she reached the end, stopping in front of the rail. The eyeballs almost surrounding her, just as confused like her by the creature that they were seeing.

‘’Wha- ‘’ she was about to ask, not knowing whether these creatures were actually sentient to speak, but before she got the chance, her attention was drawn away as a familiar voice sounded off to the side behind the small flock of eyeball…birds?

The eyeballs too turned around to see who the voice was coming. But rather unexpected a hand moved towards them, waving them off.
‘’Shoo, shoo!’’ He said, as he waved at them, getting the message across that he wanted to move. Which they started doing, flapping their wings much faster in order to move away from him as they headed up, or pretty much any direction as they scrammed away from her.

Once the eyeballs were gone, most likely have flown up to the roofs, Bill floated over towards her, a hand behind his back, and one just hanging. Coming to a stop in front of her, he raised his arm, holding it out, gesturing with his hand.

‘’Well, well, well, wellwellwell.’’ He said, his hands on his side, as he started to create duplicates of himself, which as more of them appeared, they surrounded Luna in a circle. ‘’Princess Luna of Equestria, my old pal.’’ His voice echoed as all the other Bill’s spoke along with…whichever one was the real one. Probably the one right in front of her.

Her smile returning, growing in place on her face.

‘’Bill Cipher,’’ she said softly, ‘’How are you?’’ She asked after greeting him.

He groaned, crossing his eye, and looking suddenly annoyed at being asked that.

‘’Well, it has been hell having to wait an entire day before I could hear your graceful voice and look upon your beautiful face once more.’’

She scoffed, ‘’Yeah, tell me about it.’’ She rolled her eyes, emphasizing the point that she too had been through Tartarus having to wait through the entire day before finally being able to go to sleep again.

Smiling his eye, he let his arms drop down.

‘’It really is good to see you again.’’ He said.

‘’And you too, Cipher.’’ She smiled.

After both of them finished talking, an embarrassing silence started to hang in the air between the two.

Luna gently touched her hoof to the back of her right, her eyes looking off to the side, and Bill just kicked a non-existent pebble.

‘’Sooo…’’ He said, finally interrupting the awkward silence. ‘’Want to see my airship?’’ He pointed behind him – his hand doing a thumbs-up – giving her a confused look.

Her squinting eyes suddenly opened more, giving it her face a more normal look about it. A smile returning alongside it.

‘’Yes.’’ She replied dumbfounded.

‘’Well,’’ he raised a hand and snapped his fingers, holding it still. ‘’Jump aboard.’’

Up from behind the balcony, the sound of spinning propellers followed suit. With time the propellers got louder and louder, and evidently closer, as up from behind the edge a large object suddenly emerged, flying up, but backing away from the balcony so that its large size did not collide with it or the nearby walls of the castle.

The airship looked like a regular ship that is used on the water, but the primary differences with this one and those were the elongated propellers that suspended it in mid-air, the three cannons on its sides, and the obvious grey Bill Cipher triangle on the front, which had everything except for the arms and legs.

A ramp descended down, crushing the rail of the balcony, and creating a perfect access point for Luna to ascend upon the ship.

Floating over towards her, Bill bowed respectfully in mid-air. Closing his eye, and putting one arm behind his back, and gesturing one towards the airship for her to board. ‘’My Lady.’’ He said.

Looking her shocked eyes up at him, she closed up her hanging jaw. Staring down at the bridge for a few seconds she was hesitant on crossing it, but then decided to just do it, and gently took a step out on it.

A step, which at the first was slow, but that eventually lead to her mustering up the courage to proceed further.
Soon enough, she was walking across it with no problems, no worries, and no concerns about it managing to support her.

Once on the other side, the bridge retracted itself back, standing up at first, but then just vanishing in a POP of magic. And speaking of vanishing and re-appearing…

Bill suddenly teleported beside her, wearing a Captain’s hat instead of his usual top hat.

‘’Welcome aboard, Lady Luna’’ He said with a gentle bow, closing his eye. Suddenly his eye opened, and he held out both of his arms. He touched his hand to his Captain’s hat, gently tipping it.

‘’I will be your Captain for the evening.’’ He put both arms behind his back, looking back at her with a blank look. ‘’If there is anything you require from me or the crew feel free to let us know.’’

He clicked his tongue, pointing his index finger at her, before turning away and floating over to some stairs that lead up to the bridge. The he positioned himself clearly enough so that he had a clear sight of what was in front of him.

‘’Okay…’’ He began saying to himself as he held out his arms, gesturing with through the air, moving them in strange patterns. ‘’Let’s see if I still have it.’’

The Airship’s blades started to spin a lot faster. Especially the one on the back, which turned right in synch with Bill holding out his right hand. Going up as he instructed it to. But having a gradual ascendance, eventually reaching the clouds after nothing but a completely clear sky.

While he was busy tending to…whatever it was that he was doing, Luna’s un-diverted gaze shifted away from him. Though, her calm state was interrupted by a double-take as confusion started to settle on her, and she stopped moving, and with the raise of an eyebrow, she asked, ‘’Wait, ‘’me or the crew’’?’’

Suddenly, something passed her by, distracting her from her train of thought. But as her eyes followed it, she that it was just Bill…no longer wearing the Captain’s hat, and instead a Sailor’s hat, holding a bucket in his hand as he walked away.

Her gaze, which had not been shaken by his movements, watched as he walked out towards the deck of the Airship, put the bucket down, and several more Bill look-a-likes downed their cloths with the water from the bucket, and began scrubbing it on the deck. Washing it clean. All of them wore the same Sailor hats, but some were a different color, like one was red, another blue, and one green. These three Bills were not doing anything, aside from point out jobs for the other duplicates to do.

One of the ones with the different color schemes looked away from his job. Eyes falling upon Luna. His eyes momentarily flinched, before calming itself. Hovering towards her through the air, he stopped a few steps away from her.

He raised a hand, moving the other behind him, and giving her a smile.

‘’So how are you enjoying the journey your travels so far?’’ She was asked. The question caught her off-guard, and she hesitated before answering him.

‘’Y-yes, I am enjoying it quite fine…Though,’’ she replied, looking her eyes off to the side. Intrigued, he moved closer.

‘’Yes? Is something bothering you?’’ He asked in concern. Her eyes being drawn back to him.

‘’Well…It’s just that It’s a little unnerving to see so many of you all at once. It messes with my eyes a little.’’

‘’Oh…Um,’’ his eye looked off to the side, putting his hands together and started fumbling with them as he tried to think of something that he could to make it a little easier for her. His eye moved along his body to the back where it looked out at all the other Bills going about with their chores. When it turned back he meet her eyes for a few seconds exhaling a soft breath, and turning his whole body around to face the other Bills.

‘’Eh hem.’’ He coughed. But none of the other Bills seemed fazed by him sounding off for their attention in the slightest. Crossing his eye, he stared back with anger predominant in it.

‘’EH HEM!’’ He coughed once again, his voice sounding demonic in its tone. The other Bills look up from their current jobs, staring back at the angry blue Bill.

Realizing that they would do best to not get him angry again they get up, and walk over to him. Forming a formation line, staying absolutely still as they await him to deliver the message that he was trying to get across to them.
‘’Now,’’ he began as he hovered in front of them. Both his hands behind his back, and a strict tone in his voice and his eye. ‘’You may have been given duties for the day. However, I am terminating those orders, and instead having you crew retire for the evening.’’ He said. His statement doing nothing other causing the other Bills to groan in frustration.

‘’But sir…We’re going to have to do the entire again. Never mind what we are skipping out on now.’’ One of the Bills said as it held up a hand to show which one of them that was talking.
‘’Yeah.’’ Some of the other Bills started muttering.

‘’We do deserve some kind of a break for all the work we do on this ship.’’ Another spoke up. Looking equally not as pleased as the others.

‘’If we are going to be forced to go through with being put on forced leave, we are going to get pay leave.’’ Another said.

‘’Yeah! Pay leave!’’ The whole group shouted in unison.

‘’GRRR…Fine! You won’t have to work, and you will get full pay for the time you are not working now! Just get out of here!’’

‘’WHO-HOOOO! Cancelled work, and paid leave!’’ The group said as they burst out into cheers at the news.

‘’Fine, fine…Just get out of here.’’ Blue Bill demanded, pointing his arm off to the side. Motioning for them to leave already in an ever growing frustration.

With happy snaps of their fingers, the overjoyed Sailor Bills all teleported off. Disappearing from sight, leaving only the Red, Blue and Green Bills, as well as Luna as the lone individuals on deck.

‘’There you go, Mrs. Luna.’’ She hears Blue Bill say to her. Hearing a sense of pride in his voice. With a turn of her head, she looks at him as he floats towards her.

‘’Thank you.’’ She says back. Smiling at him. ‘’It was getting a little weird with so many Bills on deck. One is enough.’’

To her surprise, she sees his expression changed into a blank stare.

‘’Oh…So does that mean that you would like for me and those two to leave you two together?’’ Blue asks.

She looks at Red and Green, and smiles as Red just looks angry, and Green just stares back at her with no particular expression.

‘’If it’s not to be a bother.’’ She smiles warmly at him.

‘’Well then, who am I to say no to such a lovely Lady such as yourself.’’ He says with a tip of his hat, making her blush at his comment.

Red just rolls his eye, and mutters ‘’Showoff.’’ Earning a look from Green.

‘’Thank you…Bill.’’ She says, a little confused by the whole naming thing at this point.

‘’Don’t mention it…After all,’’ he shrugs as he floats back towards the others. ‘’We are here to make your journey comfortable.’’

‘’Oh yeah, that reminds me...Where are we going?’’ She asked the trio. Gently she watched Blue’s eye become excited. He gently raised a finger up over where his mouth might have been.

‘’Spoilers…’’ And with that he snaps his fingers making the three of them teleport away, now leaving her as the sole occupant on the deck.

Looking her eyes around the deck, she smiles calmly as she sees that those Sailor Bills did do a good job of keeping it clean.

Turning around, she headed for the stairs leading up to where Bill was. Gently trotting up the steps as she ventured up to where he was controlling the ship from.

Gradually the ship started to lift upwards, flying increasingly higher and higher. Though it seemed to be something that she was not aware of.

‘’Bill?’’ A voice his non-existent ears heard was speaking to him. With a turn of his head he looked to the source of the voice. With a blink of his eye he watched Luna stepped towards him.

‘’Mam.’’ He said with a slight tip of his hat.

‘’Captain.’’ She replied with a gentle bow of her head.

While going back to controlling the ship with his powers, his eye turned back to her. Looking at her blankly for a couple seconds.

‘’So…I saw that you dismissed the crew.’’ He mentioned passively. His eye looking at her while awaiting an answer.

‘’Mhmm.’’ She nodded. ‘’I can get a little…crowded with multiples of one entity.’’ Her eyes grew wide as she said that. Her head turned, looking at him as she said ‘’No offense.’’ As a nervous smile of a grimace settled on her face.

‘’None taken.’’ He held up a hand to illustrate that he was fine with her speaking her mind. Her eyes looked down at the deck. Frowning a little.

‘’Hey Bill?’’ She asked, attracting his attention. Having his eye look at her, though she did not realize that his attention was on her until she heard him speak up with a ‘’Mmm?’’

At which point she turned around to face him.

‘’You never said…’’ She said, pausing, and turning her head to look back at him. ‘’You never said where we’re going exactly.’’

His eye smiled. Giving her a look that she couldn’t tell if was being creepy or just downright weird.

Raising his hand, he extended it up above him. Extending the index finger, and gently swiping it forward, touching something that appeared to be invisible at first, but then appeared to be disintegrating away.

‘’Why don’t you look for yourself?’’ He replied, holding out a flat motioning hand. ‘’I think you will the mere sight enough to answer any questions you have about our destination.’’

Raising a confused brow, but still heeding his suggestion, she turned around. But once she looked all the way to the left she held her gaze for a few seconds before turning back towards him.

‘’What? I don’t- ‘’ Her face suddenly froze, taking on a wide-eyed shock. She did a double-take, returning her attention back to that which lay beyond the railing of the deck.

The vast space that greeted her ever widening eyes and hanging jaw was almost impossible to describe in words. The only one that even close was Beautiful. But even then it could not capture that which she was seeing.

She trotted slowly up to the railing, stopping only when her body connected with it.

A black backdrop, upon which billions of billions of stars lay, all of them shining brightly, illuminating the darkness that outnumbered them. The Moon, undoubtedly, being the biggest contributor of light.

Thousands of planets were interspersed with the stars. Some black, some red, green, some yellow. Even some that were both green, yellow and red.

The Sun shone brightly, but its light was not as strong as the Moons, which seemed to be the primary provider of light.

‘’Space, the final frontier.’’ A voice said behind her, though she was still much to mesmerized to turn to face it. ‘’This is the voyage of the Airship Bill-O-War…It’s ongoing mission, to explore the unknown, and…’’ He paused.

A soft WHOSH moved through the air, moving up towards her from behind.

Gently, an arm draped itself around her shoulder, something that caused her to turn her head, looking to who had put it there…Only to come face-to-er-eye with Bill. A calm, soothing expression upon his face.

‘’And ensure that we have an enjoyable evening together…now that we finally have a chance to get to know the other better.’’ He smiled back.

‘’This…All this,’’ he said, reaching out with his arm to point out at the giant space of the universe that was before their very eyes. ‘’Is just for you.’’

A smile started to form on her mouth, as she stared back at him.

‘’B-bill…’’ She stuttered a little as she spoke.

‘’Wait, wait! Here comes the best part.’’ He suddenly interrupted her.

He gestured with his left hand, doing several motions. When the motions were done, the ship slowly started to turn right.

For a time, the ship only drifted soundlessly through the black waves of space.

‘’Wait for it…’’ He held up his finger, emphasizing the point that something was about to happen.

‘’NOW!’’ He retracted his hand from her, and pointed out in front of them.

Just as he was pointing, a large round shape came into view. Its bright light shining down on them as the ship moved in front of it. Putting the two of them in front of it.

Luna suddenly had to raise a hoof up to cover her eyes from the brightness of the light.

‘’Oh…What is that? It’s like it’s made of diamonds.’’ She groaned.

‘’That, my dear Luna…is the Moon.’’ He said. Luna’s eyes could be diverted from it as he said that. But they did widen when he said that it was the Moon. ‘’And not only is that the Moon…But it is a Moon made out of pure diamonds.’’ This was enough to get her to finally look away from it, and instead onto him. His eyes then meet hers, looking just as calm and comforting as his words.

‘’Do you remember the last time we saw each other? I said that the Moon was a diamond in the sky…And I meant what I said.’’

With once again a dropped jaw, she turned to look her eyes back upon the now revealed to be made out of diamonds Moon.

Gently she lowered her head.

‘’I always intended to- ‘’ But when he saw what she was doing he interrupted himself.

‘’Luna?’’ He inquired, putting a hand on her back.

That was when he noticed her lip was quivering, her breath was slower, and she was avoiding eye contact with him. He did know, however, not to let something that big of a sudden thing be ignored.

‘’Is something wrong?’’ He asked, moving in a little closer with more concern in his voice.

Down along Luna’s cheek ran a gentle trickling of soft water. Followed thereafter by a smile.

‘’Thank you…’’ He faintly made out as she mouthed it.

‘’What?’’ He inquired. ‘’Luna, you’re going to have to-WHOA!’’ Then, in mid-sentence he was suddenly tackled by her to the deck.

Looking up after she separated their bodies for breath, he looked up into her face. Seeing only what could be described as pure joy. Her eyes watered.

A single drop fell from her cheek, splattering against his golden form.

‘’Thank you, Bill Cipher *sniffle*…F-for….’’ She sobbed a few more times, having some difficulty forming cohesive sentences.

‘’For what? Being ki-‘’

‘’For being my friend.’’ She interrupted, clearly not having finished speaking to him.

His eye widened in surprise at hearing her say that.

‘’Y-you’re welcome.’’ He replied nervous. Their eyes locking with each other’s.

Luna, lowering her head, saw that she was standing over him. Her cheeks quickly began to blush, beckoning her to step back, getting off of him.

‘’Oh, dear me,’’ she said in obvious embarrassment. ‘’E-excuse me.’’ She smiled back. ‘’I-…Uhhh…’’

She quickly spun on her heel, and trotted away from him. Extending her wings at the steps, and quickly taking to the air, flying down to the deck, where she trotted up to the front. Seating herself, she immediately stared out into space. Her attention being taken up by the immensity of the universe that was quite literally on all sides of the Airship.

Getting to his feet, Bill started hovering in the air again. He got back to his spot, holding his arms out as he began to pilot the ship again.

While controlling the ship through space took up most of his time, his eye occasionally looked away from the limitless stars, planets, asteroid belts, and nebulas that they flew by, looking down to Luna as her attention was all but stolen away by the sights that they passed.

His eye smiled as she seemed to be enjoying herself, even if it was in the same manner one would entertain one’s child…

But hey, curiosity of the great mysteries of the universe is something that can dazzle a child as much as any adult.

For a time, they ventured across the galaxy. Seeing planets as they passed, great forms of nebulas and vast asteroid belts, the sea of stars and comets that flew across, riding the invisible waves of space.

The final sight of their sailing across space were the giant Moons and Suns that were always to be found in the hundreds of other galaxies.

Re-summoning the three differently colored Bills he set them to work on keeping the Airship on track. That way he and Luna could have some time together.

Sitting at the front, they spent the rest of journey together. Galaxy after galaxy, planets, whole portions of creation passing them by as the two sat there.

Standing in a corner, Red just frowned, Blue rolled his eye at Red’s unreasoned anger, while Green was piloting the ship by doing the same thing that had the original Bill had done with his hands.

Other than Red making a constant nuisance of himself with his pointless bickering there was nothing that disturbed the ship’s journey through the galaxies.

With time the ship started keeping a fixed course with one of the planets. This one, unlike many others, they were not going to try and avoid.

With the space behind moving like waves as the ship moved towards it, they truly had sailed far. Who would have known that a simple airship could get this far?

After landing the Airship on the surface below, Bill and Luna disembarked from it. With a snap of his fingers Bill used his magic to teleport both of them off to another part on the planet where they could be by themselves.

Leaving the three brothers behind to look after the ship.

On the other side of the planet re-emerged Bill and Luna, standing atop one of the towering mountains.

Stepping away from him towards the edge she dared to peek her head out to see how far down it was.

‘’Hey, Luna…Don’t stray too far!’’ Bill’s voice called behind her from the unseen spot of ground he was hovering over. ‘’It wouldn’t be much of a trip if you ended you getting lost.’’

‘’Yeah…’’ She said, holding on her only word before leaning herself a little further. ‘’It would be a real…shame.’’

‘’Anyway, let us just enjoy ourselves while we have the night for such things.’’

*SNAP*

*POOF*

All of sudden the entire mountaintop became covered in smoke.

Fortunately, the smoke did not last long. And when it started to fade away, she was gradually able to see what he had summoned with his snap.

But as the smoke completely faded, leaving the mountain peak as it had once been. However, as her eyes set their sights on what he had done with his magic, she was a little shocked by what it really was.

With a raised brow she stared back at him. ‘’A picnic blanket?’’ She asked, somehow confused. Staring back up at him with a deadpanned look.

‘’Heheheh…One does not need to have the most advance of setups to have an enjoyable time on another planet. Even the simplest of things can become fun.’’ Replied Bill as he floated down towards the picnic blanket he had made ready for them to sit on while they enjoyed the sights of the planet they had come to.

‘’Come,’’ he said patting the blanket with his hand. ‘’Let’s just unwind…relax…do whatever we want.’’ Putting his hands up behind his back – where his eye would have been – and lay down against the blanket. His eye closing as he started to relax.

She was a little hesitant at first since it was a little too simple of a setup. But wearing something of a slight smile on her mussel, she stepped towards the blanket, sitting herself down on it.

Shifting around in her seat a little before finally getting into a position she found enjoyable.

Looking around at the surroundings she was surrounded by, her gaze fell upon Bill, some of the other mountains around, and the setting Sun in the horizon. Causing a flash of green light to flash up from the horizon. But instead of simply vanishing a second later, they instead spread across the sky like a wave, changing the one normal sky into that of a crossbred with blue, with yellow trimmings.

Sitting up in his seat, Bill watched as Luna’s eyes looked out towards the horizon. His gaze holding on her for a few seconds.

‘’Uh…Pie?’’ Her ear twitched upon hearing the voice, causing her head to turn in the direction it had come from in order to see it.

On her side she saw a suspended plate with a sliced piece of Pie on it and a fork. Looking beyond it, she saw Bill sitting up with his arms down on the carpet. She chuckled a little, smiling back at him.

‘’Sure…Thank you.’’ She said, grabbing the plate with her magic.

*SNAP*

Suddenly another plate appeared of nowhere floating next to Bill. He grabbed both the plate and the fork with his hands.

Eyeing him as she ate she was a little surprised to see that when he made a small slice with his fork that he just held it there for a few seconds without anything happening.

What are you…

*CHOMP*

Suddenly the slice disappeared as it looked like someone had taken a bite out of it. Her eyes went wide from the surprise of seeing it just disappear like that.

Slowly turning her head back, she tries her best to shrug of what she had just witnessed, and instead just enjoy the time they have to spend here on this planet…

But she, like Bill, is unaware that a pair of eyes is watching them from across the giant gap of the mountains.

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ The figure laughs by itself. ‘’What is this? Two armed guests who are not of pleasing?’’ It says. ‘’Quite interesting this could be.’’

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’

Author's Note

Appolagies for the delayed release...Had some personal matters that got in the way of it being posted yesterday.

Chapter 12

Adventures in the Dreamscape Part 2

Sitting atop the towering mountain peak, Luna and Bill were just enjoying each other company. Both individuals exchanging social topics as they were trying to think of other ways they could make their small excursion a little more enjoyable while they were there.

While the surrounding landscape was beautiful to look at, it could only get you so far. Instead they had taken to begin discussing various things about each other. Particular the being at their very core.

‘’Something most ponies don’t know about me is that I…play video games when I am alone in my room.’’ Luna said, turning away as she blushed.

Bill thrust his fists into the ground, causing the whole mountain to send a shockwave down through it.

‘’No way!’’ He said with a tone of shock, merely earning a confident nod from her.

‘’Yepp…I play whenever I’m feeling down, or just I want something to take my mind off of things.’’

‘’I never took you of all ponies to be interested in video games. I almost imagined your sister would be more qualified to fill that position.’’

Luna just rolled her eyes, her smile fading into a frown.

‘’Unfortunately that seems to be the more popular of the things our subjects think about us. Not just about hobbies, but about the two of us in general.’’ Luna said. ‘’Everypony thinks Celestia is the more fun, the more interesting, the kindest…While I am for the most part left in the shadows, and considered the brooding one. The one who always wants to be alone…yet,’’ she lowered her head, hiding the beginning of her tears. ‘’they never consider that I might be alone due to me not being quite as liked as my sister.’’

‘’I hear you, I hear you…’’ he said, as he leaned forward putting a hand to her shoulder. ‘’I too know what it is like to be judged rather unfairly based on your appearance.’’

Lowering his eye, looking down, it turned sad.

‘’I can still remember it…’’ Raising his eye, he looked up at the sky. ‘’I was shunned, avoided, not even given a chance by anyone because of the way I looked. I was avoided, never given any attention by anyone. Outside of a few questions…though, not a single one was about me as a person,’’ he said bringing a hand up to the side of the bricks. ‘’Everyone assumed that because I was a nerd I was not worth the time getting to know…’’ his hand moved away, and started gesturing in the air. ‘’The only ones who ever showed me any kind of attention was my family…But they were my family, they pretty much had no choice.’’ Luna’s gentle vanished away, contorting itself into a saddened frown.

Wait, what did he say? Ne-

‘’Sure, I had other things to occupy my mind with, video games, movies, and a whole worldwide web of things…’’ His voice lit up, becoming relatively happy…for a moment. His body hovered up off the blanket, suspending itself in the air. Shrugging his shoulders. But they quickly fell down, hanging beside him. ‘’But honestly what can replace the warmth of at least the slightest of social interactions?’’ He finished. His eye grew sad once again, and the top of his triangular form leaned forward. A sigh followed close behind it.

‘’Oh, Bill…’’ Luna said as she stood up from her spot, and with gentle trots stepped over to him. Standing herself beside him.

Feeling something touch him on the shoulder, his eye moved to his right side. Looking towards the figure that was standing beside him. His eye meeting Luna’s as hers did his.

While their gazes were locked, a gentle smile started to settle on her face.

‘’You won’t have to worry about being alone like that ever again…’’ She said, while her smile grew a little. In response to her increasing happiness, his eye smiled back.

‘’Tha-‘’

But before he completes the end of what he was about to say, he suddenly felt soft fur around him. His eye watched as Luna slowly wrapped her hooves around him and pulled him into a warm hug.

Her eyes closing, and her smile fading slightly, turning into a much smaller one. Though, it was not to say she wasn’t happy, she was just using a much subtler smile to illustrate it.

A little taken aback by her sudden – but slow – hug he remained still. Eventually, though, with his own arms, he moved them to her back. Hugging her back the same she was hugging him.
‘’Luna…?’’

‘’Yeah, Bill?’’ She replied, gently opening her eyes in the processing.

‘’Promise me that you will always be there for me…’’

She chuckled softly, nuzzling her head a little against him. ‘’Don’t worry, tough guy, I will always be there to- ‘’

‘’No, you’re misunderstanding.’’ He interrupted her before she got the chance to finish. From the confusion of being interrupted when she clearly gave him an answer her head pulled away from him. Staring back with a confused look on it.

‘’What do you mean?’’ She raised a confused brow.

‘’What I mean when I ask if you will be there, is will you always remain in Equestria so I can find you?’’ He replied as he asked the question again. ‘’The thought of losing you would completely destroy me…and I cannot stand to think about what would happen if you were taken out of my life.’’

His eye looked down in a broken sadness.

‘’Oh, Bill…’’ She brought a hoof up to just underneath his eye. His eye saw it, directing his slit pupil back up to her face, which smiled back in a most comforting manner. ‘’You will never have to worry about losing me. I am not going anywhere.’’ She grabbed both of Bill’s hands, gripping them tightly. ‘’Equestria is my home, and I would never abandon the place I grew up in…Least of all hurting the friends that I have made.’’ Her eyes grew comforting while her smile grew a little wider.

‘’Thank you, Luna. I don’t know what I would be doing with myself now if I hadn’t meet you in your sister’s mind.’’ Adjusting her hooves and his hands so that he was holding her hooves.

‘’Well, technically we only saw each other in my sister’s mind. We officially meet in mine.’’ Moving a little closer to her, Bill’s eye changed into looking like he was calm. But his voice indicated that he was trying to sound romantic.

‘’And what a beautiful mind it is.’’ She rolled her eyes at him, smiling as she adapted a cool attitude to her.

‘’Shut up.’’ She said, causing him to chuckle in response.

‘’But seriously, what say you just turn around and stare at the sun for the few that we can see it on this planet?’’ he asked, pointing with his thumb-up hand behind him. She chuckled softly, responding back to him with a ‘’Sure.’’ Earning his eye to smile back.

They turned around. Standing beside each other as they watched the sunset. Watching the Sun slowly be swallowed up as it passed further down behind the horizon. After its light was extinguished, a darkness fell over the planet, which was shortly after illuminated by the stars and other wondrous constellations, planets, and Moons in this corner of the universe.

With Bill by her side, Luna gently lay her head down against him. His triangular form supporting her as they stood there together. Their eyes watching the newly brought night that had come to the planet they were on.

After finishing up their little excursion, Luna and Bill finally decided it was near time to be heading back to the ship so they could return home. Clearing up after themselves, Bill and Luna stood beside each other. Bill snapped his fingers, and with a *POOF* they vanished from the mountaintop.

*POOF*

Standing once again on the mountain peak where their airship was parked. But immediately when they saw it, something seemed…off about it. It didn’t look like it should usually when they had last laid eyes on it. There was a good reason why. It was damaged…badly.

Smoke was rising high into the sky from multiple still burning holes in the side of the ship. The propellers poles had been bent, and there was a great crack down the center of it. Their eyes going wide from the sight of the state it was in…or lack thereof.

‘’What the hell happened here?!’’ Bill suddenly shouted, holding out his arms and legs in sure astonishment at what had been done to his ship.

‘’Something must have attacked the Bill-o-War while we were off on our little trip’’ Luna spoke up, snapping him out of the stupor at the loss of his ship.

‘’That would seem most likely…’’ He drifted upwards, floating up towards one of the nearest and biggest of the scorched holes on the ship’s side facing them.

His eye examined it, studying it closely for hint of what might have happened here, what kind of energy based assault the ship had been subjected to.

‘’Regardless, whatever did this, I’m gonna find whoever did this to my precious Bill-o-War.’’ He touched his hand to the side of the ship, gently brushing it across the scorched wooden planks.

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ A creepy laughter suddenly started sounding on the air.

Both Luna and Bill were surprised by its appearance, thinking that whoever had destroyed the Bill-o-War would have come back to finish them off now too. Quickly, Bill hurried and descended back down to Luna’s side. Standing close by as his eye looked out at their surroundings.

‘’Who are you? What do you want?’’ He called up in the air. But no response came, just the gentle howling of a growing wind.

‘’Show yourself, coward!’’ He shouted out, holding his arms and legs out as his rage began to mount itself. Getting stronger by the minute the more this annoying voice was going to keep playing hide and seek with them.

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ It laughed again. But this time with a more normal pitch to, instead of sounding like an echo.

’’I have chortles.’’ A voice finally spoke. Two red dots started opening up. Suspended in mid-air, the red orbs began to have spirals in them. Followed thereafter by a smile that could not be described as anything but creepy. Especially with how it was showing off its big teeth.

Slowly, a body started to become gradually more and more visible, as a green head appeared. A red robe appeared around what to be its concealed body. Aside from a hood covering what little they could see of the figure’s head they weren’t really allowed to see much of what this newcomer looked anything remotely like as its body was all but hidden. The answer to how this being was suspending itself in mid-air was shortly answered, as it was revealed that it was standing on a small platform that was holding it up.

‘’W-who are you exactly…? And why did you destroy our ship?’’ Luna asked the strange creature.

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha…’’ It suddenly laughed once again its child-like glee after she asked it.

Spinning around, causing its robe to spin around in the air as it struck a bowing pose. Its creepy teeth still being shown to them. It never shut that disturbing mouth.

Unfortunately for Luna and Bill, the newcomer only allowed them a slight moment to see what lay behind the robe. But it was wearing some sort of black clothing, and seeing the actual body was impossible with how fast it had been spinning.

‘’Ah, that is indeed the question that is the lunch to end the hunger of curiosity that you are experiencing…’’ It said. ‘’But instead it is I who shall inquire as to your identities, and your intentions for trespassing on the planet that is mine.’’ Bill and Luna both turned towards each other, exchanging blank looks with each other. Turning back, they faced this strange creature, who was apparently the owner of this planet.

‘’W-well, I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of the Kingdom of Equestria…’’ She turned, pointing her hoof at Bill. ‘’And this is Bill Cipher, Dream Demon, and Master of the Mind.’’

‘’Hey, kiddo.’’ Bill said, clicking his lips, and pointing a gesturing hand back towards the little green figure.

‘’Hmmm…’’ The figure hummed to itself as its mind thought.

‘’Well then, as a businessman who meets the commoner I shall greet thee…’’ A pair of arms pushed the robe out of the way to the side, revealing the rest of its body underneath. Standing proud on its little hover pad.

‘’I am the being who is called Fawful. I am the master of this planet and all galaxies around it.’’ His words made Luna raise a confused brow at it.

‘’Master of all the surrounding galaxies? How would we know that we have trespassed on one of your planets?’’ She asked.

Retreating his arms back into his robe, he just returned to standing normally on the pad. Or as normal as it could with that grotesque grin. ‘’Each of Fawfuls planets have a flagpole on it that shows the glorious face of Fawful. It is the calling card that will forever announce the fame of Fawful to all galaxies.’’ It let out a soft chuckle, looking surprisingly more disturbing by just doing random things with that mouth.

‘’Oh, well…we’ll be more aware of that next time we are moving throughout your galaxy, Lord Fawful…’’ Luna said as she started to back away from the little figure. Nudging with her head towards Bill to signal for him to do the same. Seeing Luna signaling him, he responded by doing the same as she was, and gently floated back away from Fawful.

Turning her head, she looked back at him. ‘’Anyway, I think it would be best if we head back home now…So, yeah, bye, Lord Fawful. May we meet again in another corner of- ‘’

‘’No!’’ He interrupted her. His eyes crossing themselves, and that creepy laughter of his to sound from his mouth.

‘’Allow your sudden departure from the presence of Fawful I will not…Least of all you.’’ Extending a hand out from behind his robe, he pointed back at Bill.

Confused, Bill pointed his own hand back at himself. ‘’Me?’’ He asked confused.

‘’But of course.’’ This caused Luna to narrow her eyes a little closer in a sudden, but newfound curiosity for this Fawful creature.

Luna raised her brow, giving Fawful a confused look. ‘’What do you need him for?’’ She asked.

‘’A simple favor, but of course.’’

‘’What favor?’’ Bill asked, crossing his arms as he meet Fawful’s demented spirals, that could easily be mistaken for glasses rather than glasses. Maybe they were, but just looked too…freakily real to actually be real.

‘’This.’’ He held up both his hands to show what to do. ‘’Do this.’’ He instructed, raising his index fingers to point up.

Confused more than anything, Bill raised his hands up, holding them up in just like Fawful had illustrated. Raising his eye up as well to see if he was pointing at anything specific.

‘’What, this?’’ He asked, confused by what he was even doing this.

‘’Your willing to assist is excellent.’’ Fawful replied, chuckling a little as he returned his own hands back down inside his robe.

‘’Now…’’ Suddenly, pushing the robe open to the side, he is now pointing his right arm directly at Bill. But unlike before he was now holding something in his hand. ‘’Freeze!’’

*ZAP*

*BOOM*

From his handgun he had fired off a beam of blue energy. When hitting Bill, it had caused a lot of smoke to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Shrouding the entire mountain top in icy cold smoke.

Coughing when the smoke started to fade into a much more seeable clearing, Luna could only see Fawful still standing on his hover pad. Bringing a hoof up to her head to scratch the side of her temples, she watched as his grin grew even more.

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ He giggled again, attracting her attention now more than ever.

‘’Well, it seems the time of Fawful’s leaving has arrived sooner than I would have liked. Shame, Fawful would have enjoyed humiliating one such as you.’’ He said, now longer seeming to be focusing his attention on her. But instead onto her left. ‘’Headgear!’’ He called out, snapping his finger.

Down from the sky a strange shape started floating down towards the location they were at. From Luna’s perspective it looked like a shape of glass with two sticks poking out on either side with strange dome things attacked to the end of them, and an even more confusing hose that reached out, the end of which was attached to a strange jaw. A golden band aligning the side of the underside of the glass shape. Letting out another one of his little giggles, the headgear started created suction. The suction lifted Fawful up off the hover pad, and fitted itself to his head.

Wow! Now he just looks like he’s wearing a really stupid hat, she thought to herself as her former look of horror started to change into a deadpanned look.

The hover pad suddenly disappeared out of existence, leaving him suspended in mid-air as flames had come out the bottom of the two domes attached to his headgear’s sides. ‘’Now onto the takings of Fawful’s prize.’’ The strange hose at the top of the headgear started to extend itself forward. Moving once again to the left of Luna’s beckoning her to finally turn her head and see what all of the commotion was about her left side. Also, why didn’t Fawful even act like she was there?

With wide-growing eyes, her jaw dropped at the sight that she saw. Her body turned around to be better aligned.

‘’No…No…!’’ She was backing away from the sight that greeted her. The desperation in her voice penetrating through the icy cold silence that was returned to her from where Bill had been moving only seconds ago.

‘’No…Bill!’’ Her voice started to break as she shook her head. Trying even harder to protest against the sight that was left Bill Cipher.

‘’Yes, you are correct…’’ Fawful’s chipper voice interjected amidst the whole moment Luna was having. ‘’Your precious Bill Cipher has been frozen as stiff as the coldest refrigerator.’’ What Fawful said was true. Bill Cipher had been frozen solid, now encased in a massive block of transparent ice. With a sharp turn, Luna glared back at Fawful with gritted teeth.

‘’Change him back, at once!’’ She shouted at the small figure. But instead of receiving any sorts of words she was meet with another giggle from Fawful’s creepy teeth.

‘’You are irrelevant. Waste too much time on the likes of you Fawful shall not.’’ The extended stalk stood up, displaying the teeth on the end.

‘’Fawful senses hostility coming from your pointless corpse which I spit on.’’

‘’Your damn right I’m hostile.’’ Luna retorted, putting her hooves out, and getting into an offensive stance.

‘’While Fawful would enjoy just leave you here, as clearly you are alone, Fawful must admit that the heat of battle is…invigorating.’’ Said Fawful. ‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ He laughed shortly after. Gross, she instantly thought after hearing him say that.

‘’Well then, why not show me what you are made of?’’

Fawful’s gleeful expression suddenly deflated into an angered frown, and a sound of anger sounded from him. ‘’Fawful grows tired of your pointless existence…’’ The stalk atop his headgear opened its teeth, as if ready to launch something from it. Fawful’s creepy smile followed shortly after.

‘’Feast on this, Fink-rat!’’ The headgear suddenly fired a good multitude of green spheres from its teeth down towards her. Luna’s eyes widened from the sight of such a quick and sudden attack being unleashed against her.

But instead of simply standing still while she was hit, she jumped up into the air. The blasts hitting the ground where she had once been, exploding as they impacted the ground.

She extended her wings out, and with bats of them started to suspend her body in the air. Fawful shooting her an annoyed glare.

‘’You can fly?’’ He questioned her.

A cool smile forming on her mussel, and a stare which told him that she was overconfident.

‘’Surprised? What did you think they were?’’ She asked, a little confused, herself, about how someone could mistake her wings for anything else the second one would have seen them.

‘’The hairiest of extra arms.’’ Fawful giggled, smiling back at her mockingly. Giggling as she got angry at him.

‘’You are going to regret that you little- ‘’

‘’Fawful thinks not…’’ Fawful interrupted her. ‘’Fawful think it is time he disposed of thee. You are the very weed in my garden of evil that I am unable of removing.’’

‘’Hah. Just face it, Fawful. I am stronger than you.’’

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ He suddenly laughed. ‘’While your words are true, you are forgetting of something of the utmost importance.’’

With an angry glare upon her face, she raised a confused brow at him. ‘’How so?’’

‘’I was not aware of your wings.’’ He reached inside his robe, rummaging through it. ‘’But that sickness is easily remedied…’’ He said as he pulled out a remote and pressed a giant red button.

Suddenly the ground started to shake. Two giant beams of light being projected up into the sky. With great tremors that shook the entire mountain, something sounded to be stomping towards them. But exactly from which direction she could not be sure.

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ Fawful just chuckled.

Turning her head around. Looking from side to side with worried eyes, she could see not seem to get any better of a fix on where the sound was coming from. Or from what direction Fawful’s summoned attack was going to come from.

Up from the sides of the mountain, giant metal legs started to grab hold of the mountainside. Surprising her by how durable it was to resist such powerful weights being lowered down onto what would have been a very fragile mountain back in Equestria.

‘’Rise, Megaleg. Autonomous creation of mine!’’ Fawful shouted, raising his arms up into the air. Up behind Fawful, a giant shape emerged. Revealing itself to the very point of origin for each of the three legs that it was using to stand up.

Towering high over Luna, at the front where two emotionless eyes projected out large beams, and a large cannon-like protrusion on the front serving as its snout. Underneath it, was a protrusion that could not be mistaken for anything other than a cannon. It was likely this was one of the means it was going to use to attack her. Aside from potentially just slamming its massive body down on top of her. Possibly trying to squash her underneath its large size.

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ Fawful’s annoying laugher could be heard, which drew Luna attention away from the giant metal creature, and instead onto himself.

‘’Fawful does regret to be leave you now at this glorious moment in the spotlight of your moment of destruction.’’ He floated on over towards Bill. Hovering above his frozen form. ‘’But Fawful will remember to inform the Great Bill of your defeat.’’

The teeth-appendage reached down, grabbing its teeth down hard on the block of ice holding the Dream Demon. ‘’Eeeyah hahahaha.’’ Flying up into the sky, he brought the ice cube with him as he flew away from the mountain top.

Luna, with her wings at her disposal, tried flying up after him. But Megaleg suddenly shifted his stance. Looking his eyes giant eyes down, the light projected from them fell directly upon her. The blinding light stopping her in her tracks, and unable to move.

‘’Eeeyah hahahaha...’’ She heard echoing, as the voice that the laughter belonged to vanished further away into the horizon. Vanishing shortly from her sight, as all she was left with now was Megaleg.

Hearing the clanking of engines and wheels of its machine body, she watched as it started to move one of its many legs as it adjusted its positioning on the mountaintop.

A shadow moved up over her, indicating that it was going to slam it down there onto her. Hah ‘’Too easy.’’ She said with a confident smirk on her face. Building up a little of strength, she leaped out to the way to the side.

However, as she extended her wings out, using them to brace her movement through the air. Her ears suddenly heard a loud boom from above. Followed thereafter by something apparently picking up speed as it moved through the air.

Arching her head up, her eyes instantly grew at the sight of a black tip shooting down towards her. For the split second that she had time to take in its additional details. Her mind was baffled as to why the sharp tipped object speeding down at her had a pair of eyes, arms, and a crazed smile similar to Fawful. Even the glasses that she had originally mistaken for eyes were in the same spiral pattern as Fawful’s. With a mighty flap of her wings she just narrowly avoided. Passing to the side while it grazed her crown.

It continued to shoot downwards till it crashed against the ground. The exact same spot where Megaleg’s leg slammed down into the mountainside. The entire mountain shook violently from the impact. Several cracks tearing through the skin of the mountain. In result of the mountain being that badly damaged the cracked parts of it started to fall down. The pieces rolling down the mountain and colliding with whatever lay beyond the foggy mist.

Adjusting its leg to better grab onto the mountainside, Megaleg lowered itself down a little so now it wasn’t directly above her. Which meant that now it was vulnerable, and with Luna being airborne now she could get a chance to fight back properly against it.

Wearing a stern expression, she held her hooves out in front of her as she flew back up towards it. Her eyes narrowing themselves towards Megaleg’s eyes as that seemed to be its weakest spot.

Her horn started to glow with her magic building itself up to be fired down on the eye. Turning its head around, it was now looking for her. Smirking to herself, she made certain to try her best to stay out of its lights. This battle would be over without them anyway.

But raising its head a little, Megaleg’s lights finally spotted her. As was to be expected from such bright lights falling upon the unsuspecting eyes of a pony, it blinded her.

She accidentally discharged the beam from her horn prematurely. Her ball of concentrated magic shot down towards the right eye, it was not strong enough to do sufficient damage to its eye.

Adjusting its stance, and raising one of its giant legs up into the air. It swung it down hard against her. Hitting her body, and bringing on quite a lot of pain from the impact alone. Her body was sent flying downwards from the violent impact of Megaleg’s leg against her.

She was sent crashing down against one of the mountains. Hitting the side of one, and creating a small crater in its side. Reaching both hooves out and grabbing the sides of the crater she had unwittingly created, she pulled herself out of the crater.

Coughing slightly as her head peeks out of it. Raises it up to stare back at Megaleg as it is re-positioning itself on the collapsing hilltop. Studying it with her eyes, her face twists itself into a confident smirk. She now knows a great way that she might possibly distract Megaleg enough to land a strong enough blow to it.

With a turn of its head, Megaleg looks in her direction. Its lights falling upon her once again. Watching her as she crawls out of the crater. Brushing herself off.

Raising her head back up. Staring her stern eyes back up at it, her stern expression growing only bitterer and bitterer the more she is forced to look upon this dreadful thing.

Her horn starts back up her magic aura, as she extends her wings at the time. Pressing her hooves down against the ground. Preparing to suddenly fly up towards the giant monstrosity of metal and wheels.

*KA-BOOM*

With a great explosion erupting from the crater as she took off she now flew back up towards Megaleg’s face once more. Her eyes narrowing themselves onto the eyes specifically.

But this time she made certain to cast a spell that would shield her eyes from the bright light. She had greatly underestimated the intensity of the projections from its eyes. This time she would not make that same mistake again.

Charging her horn up, she smirked back at the giant beam of light that she was being surrounded by. All too easy

However, it seemed Megaleg heard that, as on the sides of its head protrusions started to emerge. They looked like thin black tubes, but she failed to see their significance right away…
That was until the cannons, just like the ones underneath it, suddenly fired several sharp tops. But this time it was much worse than she had originally assumed, as instead of seeing only two tops shot down at her – once again wearing those creepy Fawful faces – it turned out to be that there were far more than she had originally assumed, because there were now five or six of those things. The rest of them appearing as they flew up from behind its head. Joining with the group of others that were now forming a circle formation in the air.

The look of worry that had formed from seeing so many at once was pushed aside, and she tried concentrating on simply defeating them. Not being afraid of them.

Her charged spell, which had almost been shut down from seeing all of the tops speeding in her direction, fired from her horn. Shooting up at the air towards the bullet-fast things.

*WHOOSH*

*BOOM*

Her spell managed to get two or three of those bullets. But the rest were still coming towards her. Three of them started to increase their speed. Flying down much faster than the rest from the group. Thinking fast, she simply fired off one quick burst energy up towards the one closest to her.

It exploded upon being hit by her spell. But the second closest one was now too close for her comfort. Once again she started activating her magic up again.

*POOF*

Surprising, and confusing it, she teleported herself out of the way. Quickly resuming her flight when she could.

However, she had forgotten something. The third one…Lifting her head up, she saw the bullet approaching her. Being far closer to her than the other one originally was.

In a moment of panic, she just discharged a random burst from her horn. It engulfed both her and the bullet. An explosion erupting, and surrounding both in black smoke and small flames that shot out and started raining down towards the surface below.

The other bullets altered their course. Flying away, and avoiding the explosion. Gathering themselves back into a group in front of it. Their spiraling glasses/eyes watching as the explosion died down…

Even Megaleg’s eyes was looking to see what had become of her. But when the dark smoke calmed, there was nothing left to be seen. The only hint of anything having been there was the faint fire that was falling through the air.

There was no sign left of Princess Luna or the bullet with Fawful’s face on it. Thinking that they had done a job well done, they chuckled in the same manner as Fawful, and about to begin flying back towards Megaleg to be stored away for later use…When a sound suddenly reached them…

*BA-ZAAP!*

A beam suddenly shot out of a nearby bush up towards Megaleg’s left eye…

*KA-BOOOM*

Suddenly, Megaleg’s left eye exploded. A beam of highly concentrated energy having been strong enough to penetrate the sturdy steel used to construct it.

Caught off-guard by the blast, and the sudden loss of sight on its left side. Megaleg flinched! Its giant mechanical limbs moving erratically. Slamming them back down against the mountainside, Megaleg finally managed to regain control, and lifted itself back up. Standing once again tall. Towering over the mountain it was using to support itself on.

Lowering its head, it directed its still functioning projection of light down towards the ground. Moving it around the surface like a searchlight in search of whoever or whatever had attacked it.

Their eyes looked down towards the mountainside. Spotting several bushes where something could have launched a successful strike against Megaleg without being noticed while they were occupied with their defeat of Princess Luna. Flying around in the air the bullets with Fawful’s face, started to fly around in the air. Looking around for any sign of the attacker that had greatly crippled Megaleg.

Down in the nearest bushes, a blackened Luna was peeking out at the surveying bullets as they flew high across the sky. Turning her head, she focused her attention on Megaleg.

Great! He seems to be distracted...,

she thought to herself with a smirk forming.

He’ll be easy…pick-…ings…

Her thoughts seemed to trail onwards as something seemed to have taken notice of something, all of a sudden. She narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look of it.

What is that?

She mentally asked herself as she seemed to have spotted something at the very top of Megaleg’s head. Atop the automaton’s head was a steel cage in the form of a dome. A light was spinning around from inside it.

Narrowing her eyes, a little, she tried a good look of some sort of ethereal field at the center of the dome. Ignore the other eye, this was of much greater interest.

Hmmm…, she said within her head in thought. It is another possibility…and it is less defended on top of things. I just might have a better chance of taking Megaleg down if I can shut disable its hold over whatever is at the core of that field. The best I can hope for in any case that it will cause an overload.

She looked up, seeing that the bullets were now circling above her and Megaleg, though, occasionally a few would fly down to patrol around the virtually unprotected machine.

I’ll do it!

Putting all of her hooves down against the ground, she started pressing down, building up energy, holding her wings up into the air. Then…

*BOOM*

With great intensity in her speed, she shot up into the air with just a single flap of her wings A giant crater being left in her wake in the side of the mountain. The explosion happened behind Megaleg, who immediately started reacting to it. Slowly turning himself around to face the source of the loud and sudden racket that had occurred on behind him. Behind her, as she soared up high into the sky, she was leaving a streak as she flew through the air. Fortunately for her Megaleg was not quick to see it before it dissipated.

Above her, she saw that she was quickly coming up on the circling bullets. She was worried at first, but then got an even better idea instead of the one she had planned for dealing for them. Smirking, she started outputting magic into her horn…

Then firing it from her horn in a violent blast up the circling group. Her solution being to merely blast them to smithereens, since they did not seem to have caught wind of her taking off from the ground in such an extreme way.

Two or three bullets were claimed by the beam as it shot up from underneath, one in the middle being destroyed completely, and the two being almost grazed by it, but being close enough to get caught in it. From the sheer touch of her powerful attack, they exploded. Caught off-guard by the blast the bullets all stopped circling around, and all started looking back and forth between each other.

All of a sudden, she suddenly flew up from underneath them, surprising them even more, once again. However, unlike the first time, their eyes became crossed and completely red, and smiles turning into angry ones. Uttering the same laughter like Fawful steam started to emerge, before all at once they started shooting up. Speeding after her.

Looking down behind her she could see the remaining bullets having finally taken up the chase after her. She smiled once seeing this.

Perfect. I seem to have gotten them interested.

Folding her wings back down against her body, she stopped in the air for a second…before starting the eventual fall downwards. Energy being outputted into her horn, which she used to instinctively teleport away from the bullets. Re-appearing with another *POP* down behind where they had just gone. They were left confused for a few seconds as they all stopped in the air and turned around. Their confusion was cut short, as one of them spotted her plummeting down towards the cage atop Megaleg’s head. Realizing what she was doing they immediately started taking up pursuit again.

Extending her wings back out, she instead of flying began speeding down towards him extended wings. Gravity would do the job of picking up speed for her well enough on its own. Taking a few short and rapid breaths she began concentrating. Fired from her horn a few seconds afterwards is a blast of equal strength to the one she had used to damage one of Megaég’s eyes. Being too far away the bullets can do nothing to stop the blast from hitting the cage. The cage shatters, causing quite a substantial hole to be left in its wake, a hole big enough for one remaining task. The final blast. Luna smiles as she sees that she has a free shot directly down at it.

Thinking that she has another free shot, she forgets that she is quickly coming up on Megaleg, having ignored all this time that she was getting closer and closer to him. Seeing this, her expression changes into one of first shock and then frustration. Think quickly, she adjusts herself in mid-air, allowing the air to catch her by the wings. Blowing her away, up, away from Megaleg, just barely missing him.

The bullets are unable to pull up in time, but instead of it being a good thing, they instead adjust themselves so that instead of hitting Megaleg’s uttermost greatest weakness, they instead simply shoot down into the side of its head. Exploding upon impact.

Finally flapping her wings again, she keeps herself suspended in mid-air. Her eyes looking down at Megaleg with victory in her eyes. Scoffing at the sight of it trying to adjust itself on its gradually crumbling mountain. An alarm has gone off, and several gritted fences have come up, forming a protective wall around the innermost ethereal dome. Inside of which Luna can faintly make out a star shape, its colors which are greatly faded. This, more than anything, confirms that this battle will be over with a simple blast to that ethereal shield pinning it in place.

‘’All right, let us get this over with.’’

Flapping her wings, she started quickly gaining speed as she flew down towards Megaleg. However, before she got too far, Megaleg suddenly having protrusions pop out around his head. However, unlike the first time, though, there were plenty more canon-like protrusions emerging. When they launched the bullets this second, there were a whole lot more of them. Nearly twenty in total. The appearance of them swarmed together forced her to stop in mid-air. Soundlessly watching as all of them flew towards her.

Her eyes looked up at each of them. Analyzing what possible strategy she could utilize against all of them. She couldn’t possibly fight every single one of them, she would tire herself very quickly if she had to use too much time recharging her blasts. She would hardly get a chance to attack the core thing.

‘’Hmm.’’ She grumbled. Touching a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. Raising her eyes back up, staring them out at that giant wave of bullets. ‘’Maybe…it’s my only shot. They should do the rest of the work for me.’’

Dropping out of her thinking, she suddenly stopped flapping her wings. Her body dropping downwards. The approaching wave of bullets following after her as she did.

Adjusting herself in mid-air, again, she held her hooves out in front of her. Her body picking up more and more speed. When she had got enough speed, she extended her wings out again, flapping alongside her plummeting down towards the surface. Right before hitting it, though, she vanished with a *POP* Re-appearing up in the skies above Megaleg and the wave of bullets. But unlike the first wave, these ones were smarter. Turning around and looking more thoroughly until they spotted descending down towards the top of Megaleg’s head. Acting fast, they gave a sudden boost of their speed. Flying up fast to intercept her.

Seeing them finally following her again caused a smirk to appear on her face. Good. Luna thought. She only needed to focus on flying correctly. Her whole plan depended on her maneuverability.

A black form shoots up at her. But some of the bullets started to break away. Instead approaching from directly beneath her. This was indeed a problem. But their numbers were a little more reduced than the main wave. From the tip of her horn she fired several well-energized bolts down at them. Most of them exploding upon impact with her attacks. But some managed to narrowly dodge them, but even these ones were caught, and exploded. Some managed to completely dodge her attacks. But once getting too close to her, she was given better aim, and destroyed them before they could do any sufficient damage, aside from causing black soot to stain her coat.

Folding her wings back onto her body, she gently makes small adjustments of her body as she is beset upon by all of the bullets. All of them swarming to hit her, but because she has reduced her size a little, she had therefore made it a lot harder for them to hit her like this. Almost because there are so many of them are trying to be careful not to hit each other, thus increasing their hardship even more since their size is a little bigger than hers. Without her wings out, she is not as big a target for them, putting them at a greater disadvantage because of their larger numbers.

Aside from some soot from the already destroyed bullets, she has escaped virtually unscathed…And now with free range to the exposed core. Making a sharp turn up in the sky, the bullets prepare themselves for another attempt to get her. This time they split up, spreading themselves out a little more. Creating a first and secondary wall of defense that, should she try and make another run for it, the second line would be ready for her. In order to maximize their chances of success, they form a round wall, getting as close to the other as they possibly can.

Putting a large deposit of magic into her horn, Luna grins to herself, as she readies herself for the final part of her plan. This will take a lot out of her, virtually everything she has, but it is truly her last chance of destroying Megaleg once and for all. She has had to increase the amount of magic used in her spells, but it is something that has to be done.

Extending her wings out, they catch the upcoming drift of air, slowing her descent down. Getting to a point where she can gently plant her hooves against the steel surface of Megaleg’s head. The metal clanged underneath her hoof as she walked around the core cage. Arching her head up she watched as all the bullets continued to come speeding towards her. She inhaled deeply, releasing a soft breath. Magic started flowing into her horn, gathering magic far faster than she was used to.

Up above, once the bullets saw this, started to fly down even faster. Increasing their speed. Time really was of the essence now…for both sides.

‘’Almost…come on.’’ She remarked, as she watched the bullets get closer. Almost being where she wanted them.

‘10…9…8…7…6…5’ she began counting down, watching as they closer and closer with every number.

‘...5…4…3…2…1…NOW!’

*POP*

Suddenly, she vanished once again. Having teleported away. The bullets stopping in mid-air. Once again confused by her sudden disappearance and then re-emergence. It was getting to be quite obnoxious to say the least. Coming together, they gathered around Megaleg, and closely to him to ensure that she did not try any funny business again.

What either Megaleg or the bullets failed to be take into account was that Luna was already where she wanted to be. POOFing back into existence high above them. And with an already charged horn, all she had to do was point it.

‘’NOW!’’ She screamed with all of her might, as from the tip of her horn, she fired an immense beam of devastating energy down at them from the heavens above. The beam still had some ways to travel. But with the intensity she was outputting, it would only prove to be beneficial, as every second spent travelling towards Megaleg would only make it all the more devastating when it finally hit.

Sensing the energy hurtling towards them, and also by simply just looking up above them, the bullets watched in shock at the beam that was approaching them at a rapidly growing speed. In desperation, half of them tried to intercept it. Hopefully they could cause it to go off in mid-air, far from Megaleg’s core. But their attempt was meet with an unexpected result. The bullets did indeed cause an explosion to occur in mid-air, but instead of their explosions being enough to stop it, the beam only continued to shoot down. Its speed, as Luna had predicted, growing fiercer as it approached him by the second…Until finally, it hit!

Shattering the field surrounding the star held captive inside it, allowing it to escape, Megaleg was not only forced to content with no longer have any source of power to draw from. Its legs shook and quaked. Gears broke free from their positons, and fell to the surface, explosions erupted form the side of its head, and the pieces connecting its legs came loose. But to add insult to injury, the mere contact of captured star and the energy beam, was rapidly causing a violent reaction. And while Megaleg’s crumbling and dismembered head collapsed down towards the surface underneath it, a violent explosion occurred, stretching out far. Engulfing up both Megaleg’s remains, the other bullets that had momentarily survived, and the surrounding mountains in a violent and intense explosion of light and energy.

Back up high in the sky, Luna was having trouble keeping her eyes open. She tried fighting it for as long as she could, but finally could not contend with the undisputable fact that she was exhausted. Having spent every single last part of her power in that one last teleport, and that one last attack.

Her body became motionless, unable to keep herself in the air anymore she just fell. Plummeting down towards the explosion that was taking place on the surface. Soon she would be engulfed by it, and she would cease to be in this dream. Losing the last chance of being reunited with Bill again…However, as her body fell down towards the surface, it was unexpectedly caught by the star that she had freed by destroying its prison.

With its rapidly becoming unconscious savior, Luna did not observe as the star flew up into space. It bringing her along, as it flew out into the unknown.

Author's Note

Link1 - Fawful is There - Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Music Extended
Link2 - Megaleg - Super Mario Galaxy Music Extended

Chapter 14

Adventures in the Dreamscape Part 4
Battle at Fawful Castle Part 1

Silence, that was all that dominated every corner of the vast and infinite space that surrounded one planet in particular that always is enveloped in darkness, even during the day…for it is really is a day of darkness a Dark Day as created by this planet’s ruler who bears the name of Fawful.

The Sun is dark, the Moon is dark, even the rays of light that penetrate through the – even dark – skies is nothing but a black a wave shining down from a world beyond that consists of nothing but the great dark.

All across the world from which Fawful rules her great empire there are great and terrible camps where the local populace has been made into slaves to serve her foul war machine of eternal desire for conquest, in these terrible factories great war machines are forged, great beasts whose skin are iron and their very breath is flame from their cores.

In great castles Fawful’s governors rule their respective sectors as set up by Fawful, they report to her on the success of progress of the construction of various projects…

But recently contact with these production plants have been cut, and at a steady pace more and more of them seem to be forcefully cut off from communicating with Fawful Castle…As time have passed more and more of these production plants have been crossed off as no longer operable due to abrupt interruptions.

Because of these interruptions Fawful have been forced to constantly reschedule her weeding with Cipher for fear of attack on that particular day if she is too lax, thus she cannot take any chances.

A fleet of Airships have gathered to form a protective perimeter around Fawful Castle, but Fawful will not do anything until this annoying revolt has been crushed and her authority is once more the one that reigns supreme.

*Present*

Standing atop the deck of the main Flagship in Fawful’s armada a creature with a small body that is hidden behind green robes and a white mask that bears the same facial expression as Fawful is scouting the landscape from the Bridge of its particular Airship.

Moving around down on deck several other identical clad figures are attending various duties, all standing at the ready in case the enemy suddenly appears to attack the castle.

‘’Captain,’’ a random crewmember speaks up as it approaches him.

‘’Speak soldier.’’ He instructs.

‘’No sign of the enemy has been seen as of yet, though, the other ships are reporting in the same news.’’

‘’Hmmm…’’ he raises his – stubby – arm up to touch the underside of his mask. ‘’Inform all ship Captains that at the first sign of anything suspicious report back to me, no risks are to be taken that will devastate our armada.’’

‘’Yes sir.’’ He said before away and walking off to tell Communications Guy to relay that message to the rest of the armada.

With only the sound of the ship’s propellers sounding on the air the Captain put both arms behind his back as he continued keeping his eyes peeled on any signs of trouble approaching the castle.

The Bullet Bill cannons were full loaded and ready to fire so unless they were attacked from above then there was nothing that could penetrate their prepared defense.

(Listen to this track until the next music track)

Behind the castle walls, out in one of the courtyards a column of six with two rowed battalion of mask-wearing creatures were marching. However, unlike the ones on the Airships these ones were riding sword tipped pogo sticks.

After rounding a corner, the battalion vanishes from sight, probably further down the hall, a sudden *POOF* flash emerges in the courtyard, standing in the once vacant space is both Princesses Luna and the one to be named Peach, someone who had her kingdom stolen from Fawful.

With multiple turns as she looked around the courtyard she made certain that no one had seen them in there since it had been a longshot in teleporting there in the first place with just the two of them.

‘’Okay, the coast seems clear,’’ Luna assured Peach, guiding her attention along the stone walls until she spotted a pair of doors. ‘’There, -! that door should lead into the main halls that lead directly to Fawful’s throne room.’’ She pointed her hoof towards the doors to show.

‘’Indeed they should.’’ Said Peach.

Stepping/trotting up to the doors Luna’s horn started to glow as magic flowed to its tip, an aura enveloped the handles of both doors, pushing them open for the two females to enter inside the dark corridor leading into the deep inner workings of Fawful’s castle…

But despite the doors being closed behind them a figure atop the nearby battlements peeked its head out from behind the wall that it had hidden behind, a devious grin forming on its face.

‘’Heehee…Won’t this be an interesting tale to tell the master?’’ It chuckled to itself as its eyes narrowed towards the door. ‘’But just who exactly were they? I have never seen that blue horse thingy before, and that other pink dressing Human is not one that my memory is telling me that I should be familiar with…’’

‘’Bahh…Whatever, I have a message to deliver.’’

It turned around and started to bounce along the top of the wall.

After some time of bouncing the figure started following a stone bridge that lead out across a gap between the wall and the main castle, vanishing down into the darkness of the open doorway as it ventured deep into the castle.

After some time of continuously bouncing through various corridors and hallways it arrived at a pair of rather large doors.

Knocking on them, it was suddenly startled when an angry, ‘’What?!’’ Shivering it was hesitant on opening those doors at first, but finally did.

Pushing one of the doors open the inside of the room was nothing but pure darkness, gulping down before stepping into the room he slowly bounced inside the barely illuminated shadows. The light from the opened door being the only source of light.

He did not stop until he reached the center of the room, though, not of his own wish to do but because raspy breathing could be heard throughout the room.

Nervous, his head started looking throughout the room.

A pair of large, blood-red veiny eyes looked back out at him from the darkness, narrowing as they only continued to make him feel uneasy about coming here.

‘’Speak...’’ The voice instructed, a predominant metal tapping beginning to accompany it as those angry eyes looked back in expectantly at the new arrival.

‘’W-well,’’ he stuttered nervously shifting the attention of his eyes around the room. ‘’Intruders have somehow breeched the Airship armada and snuck into the castle.’’

‘’Intruders?’’ The eyes bulged wide from surprise, accompanied by a hint of lightly uncovered rage. ‘’What did they look like?’’ The eyes asked in anger as they became cross, a loud of something being gripped tightly sounding shortly after from behind the shadowy veil.

‘’O-one was a blue horse and the other was a Human in a pink dress.’’

‘’Hmmm…’’ The eyes grumbled, shrinking back down as they looked away. ‘’The former sounds familiar, but the latter is all but a mystery that I cannot catch.’’

‘’She was wearing regal attire so she might originate from one of the conquered kingdoms.’’

‘’Perhaps…’’

‘’S-shall I go and deal with them, master?’’ He asked.

The eyes looked up staring back out at him again.

‘’Yes, we must stop them from delving any deeper into the castle…Go,’’ out of the shadows a clawed hand reaches out to him. The rattling of chains being the sound that accompanied its slow movement out of the darkness and into the partial light. ‘’Assemble your squad and begin sweeping the halls, corridors and all other corners of the castle. We cannot allow them to overstep their boundaries more than they already have.’’

‘’Y-yes master, I will see to it immediately.’’

With a bow the newcomer gently started to bounce back the way it had come, making sure to maintain a continuous visual fix with the eyes in front of it…

Slowly, the claw retracted back into the dark, vanishing from sight.

Behind him he closes the door as he bounces out of the room, returning the room to its dark and lightless environment, the only source of light, ironically, being the only to shine any sort of illumination is the pair of glowing eyes.

*15 Minutes later…*

Wandering in through the halls and corridors of Castle Fawful Luna could not help but think it was more or less, kind of…dull, it wasn’t as awe-inspiring as she had expected from a place that was described as belonging to one of the cruelest rulers, instead it mostly consisted of dark stone walls, purple flame torches aligning the wall and banners that depicted that ever maddening grin of Fawful. Even the carpets had her face.

While on their small journey they came upon a long hallway part of the castle that had these glass windows through which shone black light.

Outside the windows the two females could see the vast armada of Fawful’s Airships forming a protective circle around the floating castle, their banners flying the always present face of Fawful on it.

Scrunching her face at it Luna could not help but still glare angrily at it, Fawful’s joy was but the misery of others, it was sickening…and somewhat disheartening since she could make out, not too well but well enough, the crews of the Airships moving to and fro in tending to their respective job.

It was the fact that they stood up on all fours that got to her.

Behind the duo further back a small formation of those hooded/masked individuals were bouncing down the hall on their sword like pogo sticks.

One of the masked bouncers at the back did a turn of its head looking down the hall on its left.

Oh it’s just a Human wearing a dress and a horny blue horse with wings, it gently resumed its bouncing, following after the rest of its companions shortly after having that thought pop into its head.

Wait, what? W-was there anything about that that made sense? Its mind screamed as it poked its head back out from behind the wall at realizing how bonkers that sounded.

For the next ten minutes the duo of females trotted/walked down the hallway, Luna was looking around at the hallways which despite looking fairly similar still had some elements that drew her attention and made it difficult for her to look away, the paintings, the tapestries, and especially some of the more spiked windows were all things that her eyes, no matter how she wanted to, could not look away from.

Peach hung her head low, holding one of her arms with her hand as she walked beside Luna.

Gently raising her head, she then lowered it again back down, but not before noticing something that looked to be rather sudden, and just enough to get her to do a double take.

Her body tensed freezing in place, and not moving another step further from where she was now standing.

Luna’s peripheral vision did not fail her, as while she was admiring the right side of the hallway they had been travelling down on she had suddenly noticed when Peach vanished from her sight.

She stopped and turned back towards the motionless Human who was wearing a look of frozen shock, beckoning Luna to not only raise a confused brow at her, but also turn her own and look back down the hall where Peach had seen whatever had caused to just suddenly stop in her tracks like that…

But when she looked down the hall her eyes grew wide from surprise…but mostly from shock at what meet them.

‘’Well, well, well, boys,’’ a figure riding spring knife at the back – with a pair of floating eyes – which is ridden by a red round horned figure said. ‘’Looks like we’ve found ourselves a good couple of trespassers.’’

‘’Yeah!’’ One of the figures of the formation spoke up in synchronized bounce.

‘’Ooh, you’re going to get it!’’ Another said as it too bounced in its place.

‘’Listen up gang, these two are obviously intruders who intend on crashing master’s awesome party so it’s our duty to make sure that these two intruders don’t get any further than where they have come.’’

The smaller figures started bouncing up and down, cheering as they were all getting hyped up to contend with these two unfortunate souls who thought that they could defy their master’s word and come here unannounced without an invitation.

While the group cheered in front of their leader, Luna and Peach merely turned to eachother, exchanging confused looks with one another.

‘’Um…I’m sorry, but who are you?’’ Luna asked as she turned back to face the group.

The cheering suddenly went silent and all eyes fell upon her, an uneasy silence hanging on the air.

‘’What?’’ Luna asked confused from all the stares she was receiving.

‘’Y-you seriously don’t know who we are?’’ One of the small creatures asked.

‘’Uhh-‘’

‘’Yeah, seriously! Like, what rock have you been living under?’’ Another one of them rudely interrupted her.

‘’We are the proud Shysters, and this,’’ all of them moved out of the way, extending their arms back up towards their leader who stood behind them. ‘’Is our great leader…’’ with a sudden synchronized turn of their heads they all looked back at the two females. ‘’Who is going to pound you two rule ladies into granite after he is finished with you.’’

‘’Oh you guys…’’ The leader gestured with its hand, averting away in a voice that Luna and Peach knew to be feigned humiliation.

‘’Okay...But the issue still stands about who you are. You still haven’t told us your name. Which is…?’’ Luna leaned her head in a little closer, raising a brow at the spring knife’s rider.

Inside his eyes flaming orbs started glowing, smoke started coming out of his mouth, accompanied thereafter by actual fire.

‘’RrrrrRRRRGHH…!’’ He growled.

‘’My name’s MACK!’’ He shouted out in blind rage, elongating his neck, which was on a spring, out towards them. ‘’MACK! MACK! MACK! MACK!’’ He repeated with a deep and infuriated toned voice.

‘’OHHhh…!’’ Both Luna and Peach said in a perfectly toned and synchronization.

A silence hanging on the air as silence interjected itself inbetween what the two female had said and what Peach immediately followed it up with.

‘’Well that sounds pretty lame, whatever.’’ Peach suddenly said as she brought a gloved hand up in front of her yawning mouth. ‘’All that buildup for nothing...Aside from a pathetic little tantrum.’’

“GrrrRRRAAAHHHH!’’ Mack shouted in pure rage.

‘’KILL THEM!’’ He shouted, removing a hand from his handlebars to point at the two females.

‘’Yes sir!’’ The Shysters all said in a single voice, as they all started to bounce giddily in place.

(Listen to this track until the next music track)

Bouncing forward, they leaped into action against the ones that had angered their master to such an extent that he actually sent them in first instead of dealing with them first. But whatever, at least now they could get a chance to get back at that ignorant little blue horse for not knowing who they were.

Following the Shysters’s movements with her eyes, Luna suddenly let out a shout of, ‘’Look out!’’ upon finally noticing that the Shysters were riding sword-tipped pogosticks!

Magic flowed to her horn, and she suddenly raised a protective barrier around both herself and Peach.

*BRA-WOING*

Being deflected away by their sharp tips impacting the force field the Shysters were forced to back away, putting some distance between themselves and the females since their attack had relied on them getting in a first strike, but now they were completely exposed being so close – Luna meanwhile took down the barrier.

‘’OOhh…You’re going to regret ruining my fun like that, you female dog!’’ One of the Shysters bounced angrily.

Drain

He shot a fireball at Peach, hoping to get in one for his master – and now him, being insulted.

However, Peach was hit by the fireball, but it didn’t seem to do sufficient damage to her. Surprised, the other Shysters started exchanging looks with one another at his failure.

Drain

All the other Shysters all started sending their own fireballs towards Peach, five of them being sent in Luna’s direction, though, she just raised another protective barrier to fend them off.

Peach on the other hoof/hand was taking most of the fireballs without any problems, aside from her dress becoming darker and darker.

‘’Aw-rgh…Forget her, let’s focus on the horse.’’ One of the Shysters spoke up, his direction being shifted onto Luna. ‘’She seems far easier to take down.’’

‘’Yay!’’ The group of other Shysters agreed in one voice, happily bouncing in place.

The Shysters all got together in a single group, all of them banding together into a rather tight formation.

From his spot further back Mack watched the group with intrigue, trying to analyze their strategy. Their two opponents hadn’t even attacked them yet, and they had already done more to harm the Shyster’s pride, more so than any attack so far.

Hmm…I don’t like where this is going, Mack thought as he continued to watch the battle.

Lazy Shell

Pulling out a large – and noticeably lacking an inhabitant – Koopa shell, Peach immediately kicked it along the floor towards the Shysters…

*BRA-WOING*

However, the giant spinning Koopa shell missed them as all of them merely jumped up, dodging it.

Seeing this course of action, Luna hesitated slightly on taking her turn to attack, as she squinted her eyes a little, narrowing them towards the group of Shysters.

A smile forming as a plan was created in her head.

She leaned in closer to Peach, bringing a hoof to her ear as she whispered what she was thinking to the growing frustrated Human female.

Peach’s face changed from annoyance to a smirk that Luna returned back with a rapid synchronized tapping up of both of her eyes.

‘’Just let me do my thing first.’’ Peach nodded, holding up a thumb to her.

Luna nodded and then turned her head to look back in direction of the Shysters, her eyes narrowing upon them.

Upon closing her eyes an aura began enveloping her horn, growing brighter and brighter as she concentrated more and more energy into pulling the spell off in the way that she wanted it to.

Moon Beam

Luna’s eyes shot open – her eyes enraptured in a white glow – and the buildup energy in her horn exploded out across the hall, surrounding all the Shysters. Aside from Mack who was much further back.

When Luna’s eyes, and horn, died back down to their normal selves she blinked her eyes a good couple of times.

However, upon looking back towards the Shysters she saw exactly what she wanted to see.

Groaning and laying on the ground, the no longer standing up on the pogo sticks Shysters were all covering their eyes with the eyes of their masks.

‘’GAH...! It burns!’’

‘’I cannot see!’’

‘’MY EYES!’’

They all called out as they lay on the floor. Some even had spiraling eyes and starts above them from the mere impact against the floor had disoriented them.

*The enemy was Paralyzed by Luna*

With a smile Luna turned her head back towards Peach, to which Peach looked back into her face as well.

‘’Now!’’ She shouted as she pointed her arm back out towards the group of grounded Shysters. Peach just did a mere nod of her head before directing her attention back to the Shysters.

Lazy Shell

Once again she pulled out that giant shell out, and after putting it down on the floor kicked it over towards the downed Shysters.

*BLAM*

Once the Shysters were hit by the spinning shell they all experienced a brief but damaging hit from the shell when making contact with them.

‘’Ughhh…’’ The Shysters groaned as they all lay on the ground, beaten from the quite damaging damage sustained from Peach’s Lazy Shell attack.

Well...there goes their promotion, thought Mack as he watched with horror-struck eyes as his Shysters all lay defeated in front of him. Fine *Sigh*…Looks like it’s my turn to have to deal with these two troublemakers, myself.

As they both watched the Shysters lying motionless on the ground Luna turned towards Peach, a smile looking back up at the victory-struck woman who was pumping her fists in a victorious manner.

‘’Good job Peach.’’

Peach turned towards her, giving Luna a confident smile back.

‘’Hey, don’t sweat I,’’ she said as she extended a raised hand out to her, giving a thumbs up. ’’It’s a little thing called teamwork, pal.’’

‘’Sure thing,’’ slowly, she turned her head back in front of her, staring down the hallway that now looked to be free-range. ‘’Now, let us be on our way so that we- ‘’

‘’No!’’

A voice shouted at them from down the hall, earning both of their attention. Down at the other end of the hallway they could see the angry-looking Mack bouncing madly in place, steam was coming out his head, and both his eyes and mouth was flaming, black smoke appearing through it.

‘’I will not allow you to move another inch further through this corridor!’’

*BRA-WOING*

He jumped up high in the air. Both Luna and Peach’s eyes watching him as he rose first high up, and then descending back down, this time much closer to them.

‘’This is where I will end your whatever little game you think you're playing!’’

(Listen to this track until the next music track)

The floating eyes of his knife-pogo stick started to glow red as he pulled his head back.

Flame Wall

Suddenly moving his head forward in a quick motion, making it spring forth due to the spring that was his neck it was pulled back to his body.

In front of him, a giant tall wave of fire suddenly started to come hurtling towards them at a quick speed!

Peach narrowed her eyes towards the fire, and hurried to pull her arms up in front of her in a defensive stance…
Luna, however, only started pulling energy into her horn, but because the fire was approaching her at an uneven speed it was hard to properly defend from it. It ended up reaching her before she too soon and she was, unfortunately, intercepted by it and engulfed as its heat passed over her body. Getting Peach too in the progress.

As the wall dissipated Luna was left sizzling from the intense heat, while Peach had not suffered so much as a scratch on her, instead only lowering her arms back down, shooting Mack a confident glaring smile.

With her peripheral vision she noticed Luna had been roasted from Mack’s attack, her overconfidence fading at the sight of this.

‘’Hey Luna…!’’ Luna’s left-side ear twitched as it picked up Peach’s voice. She turned her head looking back at the Human standing beside her on her left side. ‘’Mack’s is going to use magical attacks to contend with us, but despite his appearance don’t be fooled since his attacks, while quite weak, they can be a little difficult to defend against unless you are skilled at fighting him.’’

Breathing a little heavier as she recovered from his attack, Luna just nodded back to Peach, despite not knowing what she was just told; ‘’difficult to defend against unless you are skilled at fighting him.’’ What did that mean?

‘’My turn.’’ Peach said, suddenly extracting another one of those over-sized shells out of her dress, holding it with her hands.

Narrowing his eyes in glee, Mack tightened the grasp on the handlebars of his knife-pogo stick, preparing himself to avoid her attack. Sweat beginning to run as he watched Peach’s hands begin to let go of the sides of the shell. The timing was everything here, it always was.

With rough strength involved, she suddenly kicked the shell with her foot, sending it spinning through the air.

Watching with interest, Luna, Peach, and Mack watched as the shell started to go down towards the floor. It was going to touch down with the floor and move along the floor like when they fought the Shysters.

There! Mack shouted inside his mind seconds before the shell hit the floor.

Jumping upwards, his pogo stick quickly started going where he wanted at quick speeds, which was up.

*BRA-WOING*

But when he was up in the air, about to begin gloating at how their attacks were not going to do much to him, he suddenly grew wide-eyed, as while in mid-air his red pupils looked down towards the floor just in time to see the shell suddenly, and very unexpectedly, ricochet off the floor, instead speeding up towards him.

‘’Wait, what?!’’ He shouted at seeing this sudden change in how events were supposed to go down.

*WHAAAM*

Those were his only words before the shell hit him point-square in the face. He was hit so hard by it that his head was sent backwards by his spring-neck, disconnecting his head from his body.

The pogo stick returned back down to the ground, along with him still standing atop it, but instead of looking the way he had when he hangs down behind him while his arms were trying to reach behind him for his head.

‘’I will get you for this…’’ Mack shouted while still struggling to get his head back. ‘’That is, once I get my thoughts straight.’’ He grunted when he only ended up hitting his own head with his hands instead of actually getting a grip on it.

*Mack was neutralized by Peach*

‘’Yess!’’ Peach gestured with her fist in a victorious manner as she saw Mack struggling.

With a turn of her head to her right, she looked back at Luna, who was still a little surprised by everything that had happened.

‘’Luna!’’ The voice of Peach shouting to her seemed to snapped her out of it, and she, like her, turned to her left, meeting the other female’s face.

‘’A little advice!’’ Luna blinked her eyes a series of times. ‘’Mack is weak to electricity, my recommendation would be to use it on him before his defenses come back online and he will able to counter it.’’

*DING*

Luna’s eyes widened, turning back towards Mack while watching him continue to struggle even harder to reach for his head now that he had overheard the two of them talking about his primary weakness.

She frowned at first, feeling somewhat remotely sorry for Mack, despite his attempts to impede their advancing deeper into the castle to reach Bill Cipher…

‘’Luna…now!’’ Peach shouted in pint-up frustration when she did not seem to be doing anything.

Mack grinned, his hands finally gripping onto his head, getting enough of a grip, and began to lift it back up into its proper place.

Luna was motionless, her body consumed by pity, clouding her mind, and holding her back, preventing her from doing what had to be done.

Suddenly, everything started to turn red, getting progressively redder and redder.

Peach, being the only one of the group who could turn her head, looked to her right, staring out through the glass windows, but in doing so also dropped her jaw and instantly widened her eyes as she saw what was approaching them at rapid speed.

‘’Luna, get down!’’ Peach screamed as she extended a hand out to her, her loud warning being picked up by Mack, who was very surprised by what he was hearing...

Was someone attacking them? If so, then he needed to hurry and get his head back on so he could better contend with it…

However, unfortunately for both sides, a rapidly approaching fireball penetrated the glass windows, shattering the glass into tiny little pieces.

With tremendous force the fireball shot down into the floor, crashing against it, which only seemed to ignite it as an explosion erupted outwards from the point of impact!

*KA-BLAAM*

The explosion had the intensity of ten nukes, which made its shockwave look tame.

Luna’s motionless body, before she was swallowed up by the flames, suddenly saw a black shape position itself in front of her, holding its arms up in a defensive stance.
Mack on the other hand was just engulfed in flames, and then forced back through the hall.

The flames did not merely stop once reaching both sides, instead it travelled out through the hall, destroying more and more that it came across, causing entire walls to collapse as its foundations were weakened.

Before long smoke could be seen rising up from the castle’s center. The tallest tower creaked as some of its standing strength was lost. However, this was not enough to bring it down.

*Five minutes later*

With giant cracks and holes in the blackened walls, small remnants of fire remained in the mostly destroyed hallway. Black soot and ash were all that was left of the paintings, tapestries, and other fragile objects.

Pushing several large stones of the wall and ceiling off him, Mack grunts as his body emerges out from behind a small mound of destroyed rubble on the floor. In the meantime, Luna, who had not flinched from her spot suddenly blinked her eyes as she noticed that the entire hall had seen quite some devastating destruction.

‘’Ohhhh…’’ A figure moaned in front of her, grunting in pain as her scorched, singeing form lay down on the floor in front of Luna.

Gasping, Luna rushed over to her side, holding her body as she lifted Peach’s still smoking body up off the ground to hold in her arms. ‘’Peach! A-are you alright?’’ She asked as she lifted the woman’s body up.

*Cough Cough*

‘’I’ve been better…’’ She said weakly, as a smile started to form on her face, before having it be interrupted by another onslaught of coughs, making Luna nod her head, smiling with the sound of a sniffle accompanying it.

‘’Look,’’ she weakly raised her head, averting her head away from Luna, to the side, as her eyes tried to look to her left. Raising a weak hand, she pointed a finger back out at the other end of the hall where Mack was stepping back out into the center of the room.

‘’Mack is still alive…Y-you need to finish the job, so you can…’’ her face contorted, being accompanied by a painful groan. ‘’So you can get deeper into the castle and reclaim that which was stolen away from you.’’

Back down at the other end of the hall Mack was weakly walking out to the center of the hallway, his torn and shredded cape blowing in the breeze.

He was noticeably lacking his knife pogo stick, and considerably weakened as evidenced by his walk, and one of his arms were hanging down beside his body in a useless manner, one of his horns were broken, and the other had chips in it, his mouth was missing several teeth, and his left eye was flickering back into being normal while also being damaged at the same time.

He breathed heavily, obviously still alive, but recovering at a very, very, VERY slower rate than he was used to.

Narrowing his eyes, he glared back towards Luna and the dying Princess whom he did not know who was.

Peach continually tried to speak, only to suddenly feel something inside her snap!

Her eyes suddenly shot wide, and she let out one mighty gasp for air as her lungs started failing.

‘’L-luna!’’ She struggled as she tried to get what she was trying to say out…-

But was cut-off mid-sentence as her face become blank, her mouth hanging agape. Her head, like her arm, fell back down against the scorched ground…-

All movement becoming silent, motionless.

(Listen to this track until the next music track)

Luna’s look of concerned sympathy only grew pale at the sight of Peach’s motionless form as it lay there in front of her.

She tried gently shaking the not-moving Human body with her hoof, but no matter what she did nothing seemed to affect her. She didn’t flinch, she didn’t speak, she didn’t even breathe anymore, as shown when her chest failed to heave with another inhaling of breath.

‘’Peach?’’ Luna asked in a more worrying tone of voice, her hooves holding the Princess closer to her, shaking her body a little, but nothing she did procured anything other than dead silence, outside of the flames of the destroyed corner of the castle.

Standing at the other end of the greatly damaged hallway, Mack’s eyes narrowed in evil delight as they watched Luna mourn the passing of her friend.

With a silenced grin, he watched as she brought the dead female’s forehead to her own…

Gently putting the body back down on the ground, and standing herself back up off the ground. However, she did not move from her spot as her head was looking down towards the dead woman.

This annoyed Mack, but there was nothing that said he couldn’t use this to emotionally toy with her even now.

‘’Hey! Will you stop being so down in the slums? Some of us actually have things to do!’’

But even with this provocation and vile taunting from him, she did not avert her gaze from her fallen companion.

‘’Hey, you’re acting like someone just died…’’ he called back to her, holding of until just the right moment…

‘’…someone important anyway.’’ He added.

Luna gently lifted her head up, slowly turning it to be facing him directly.

Finally! He had managed to lure her into his little mind game.

His grin grew, though, only making her stern frown, staring back at him from across the hall grow sterner with every passing second.

‘’Her name,’’ she finally spoke, surprising him with her daring to open her mussel to speak like this to him.

‘’…is Peach.’’ She said in a tone as strict and tough as an angry teacher who is unimpressed that the class bully will not bullying the other students.

He backed away by several steps, frightened at what how her voice was speaking back at him.

‘’I may have held back once,’’ gently, she shook her head back at him as some of her anger, surprisingly, was taken off her face. ‘’But I won’t this time…’’

‘’This time, I will make sure to not fail in destroying you…As I should have done earlier.’’

While he backed away a few more steps, the fire in his mouth started to burn a little stronger.

Grinning, he looked back at her with a more courageous look on his face.

‘’Well, it’s nice to see that some of us have not forgotten that we are supposed to be fighting, not just standing around and staring at bricks.’’ He said as he took several steps forward.

She narrowed her eyes angrily at him the way that he was gloating.

‘’I will make sure to leave nothing of you so that my master will reward me with the highest of positions in the armed forces.’’ He scoffed, holding a hand out, and gesturing with it.

‘’I was never one for castle duty, but with your death, like your friend over here,’’ he back his hand at the corpse of Peach. ‘’I will no longer be seen as useless! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA!’’

He raised his arms, holding them up into the air as he laughed manically at how he would be celebrating his victory after defeating her.

Her eyes shot wide open, but not from his plan, no, but from just how…how…how not-fulfilling it sounded.

‘’A-are you serious?’’ She asked casually, with a hint of genuine surprise introduced into it. Magic being charged up into her horn, as while she was taking the time to ask this, she was not going to just leave herself open to attack.

Mack, upon hearing her ask that, stopped laughing, looking back down at her with an annoyed look.

(Listen to this track until the next told to stop)

‘’What?’’

‘’Eh, nothing, ‘’ she shrugged non-gallantly. ‘’It’s just that your goals just seem to be quite…pointless if you’re going through all of this trouble to defeat me…’’

‘’Well, who is to say that I am not aiming higher in life?’’ He asked back to her.

The smoke from the fire becoming quite prominent as it passed through his broken and unbroken teeth.

Narrowing his eyes, he stared back at her with a newfound evil glee.

That’s it, just a little more now… Mack thought.

But his mistake, the one that finally betrayed him were his eyes. From where she stood, she did notice what he was doing with his eyes, and it all became clear to her…But instead of doing anything that posed a threat to him…-

She instead just closed her eyes, calming the rest of her body and mind, not giving in to the anger that he was trying to stir within her.

Her sudden course of action did bring a lot of confusion over Mack, but he still stood firm where he was standing.

He homed in on her, frowning angrily in built-up frustration at seeing her just ignoring him like this.

‘’That’s…IT!’’ He shouted in an intensly loud voice that shattered the glass windows around, though, did nothing to the walls aside from causing specks of dust to fall to the floor, as he slammed his foot hard against the floor in rage.

He shot his head up, extending his arms out, and holding them beside him with tight fists. Fiery black smoke shot out of his eyes.

With sudden movement he raised his hand out in front of him.

‘’SEE YOU IN HELL!’’ He screamed out in violent rage, just as a ball consisting of nothing but pure, fiery energy that shot out in front of him towards Luna, who was still standing completely still in her place.

An almost too-violent sudden eruption from his hand as he sent the ball of intense power flying across the devastated hall towards the spot where she was standing.

…But in single second, all of time seemed to stop, moving slower, as everything around her came to a halt…

Her eyes shot open, looking back out in front of her, catching enough of a glimpse of the approaching ball of flaming energy that was in front of her.

With a single thought the magic that had been stored up inside her horn was finally unleased, an aura of blue magic surrounding the sharp tip, the crackling of electricity surging throughout the aura embalming her horn.

*WHOOSH*

A sudden wind came over the devastated hallway, moving over Luna before the ball of fire did, blowing dust up off the ground, and shrouding both her and it in a wall of grains of broken stone and specks of dust.

With a sudden grunt, Mack’s hand started lightly shaking, as he could feel something fighting back against him. He could still feel the ball that he had tried to attack with still existing, but definitely meeting an obstacle.

‘’Grrr – Come on!’’ He grunted in a quickly mounted irritation that was only getting worse by the second he was faced with this unseen obstacle in the path of his attack.

The dust was blown aside as a light suddenly shined through the wall of the gradually descending grains of dust and stone.

The light fell upon his face, but only on his damaged eye, mixing its blue and red colors to create a purple pupil.

It did not distract him, but he was slightly taken aback by it.

He was about to question it all, but before he could, the dust was blown further away from the hole the light was shining through to project itself onto his face.

Out of the wall of grains, trotting out with a slow and calculated manner in every step she took

…was the, female unknown to him as, Luna.

His violently burning eyes started to grow wide, with a shocked and agape mouth, as he bore witness to not only her emerging out through the wall of dust, but also the still burning ball of fire that he had originally launched at her.

As she emerged from the wall, the dust fell down behind her, covering the ground behind her as she stepped towards him.

From the tip of her horn she was shooting beams of electricity towards the fireball, keeping it in check…But also infusing her own power within it.

The electricity of her spell was bonding with the fireball.

It started to flicker back and forth between red and blue flames, which was slowly starting to merge together in a mix of blue, electrical flames.

Sparks shooting out from it as a result, hitting the floor and causing random burn circular marks to be left behind where they had used to be.

With deadpanned, stern eyes she looked up from the ball of fire-lightning to Mack, seeing the mounting look of fear that was mounting on his face as he was still in quite the disbelief at what he was seeing this random female to be capable of doing.

‘’N-no! T-this can’t be happening!’’ He spoke as he was struggling ever more and more to keep the ball under his control, his power draining every second that the fireball failed to hit its target…and as a consequence, his strength to put a viable counter-defense against her.

His hand had gone from quivering to violently shaking as every attempt of putting out more energy to try and defeat her was just being harshly countered by her power growing exponentially, just as if to taunt him.

‘’NrrrrggghhHHHHH’’ He grunted in growing frustration.

He dropped to his knees, hearing only the violent crackling of the electrical flames as he could now feel the ball getting close enough to feel the devastating energy it was putting out.

He tried looking up to meet his opponent’s face, but all he could see, in this final moment, was the electricity growing fiercer and fiercer.

Again, sparks shot out across the hall, connecting with the walls and shattering pieces of the brick walls.

Still she only continued to slowly approach him, the ball of energy being forced closer and closer.

In that moment he watched as she was now so close him that all he could see were the blinding light of the lightning, -

But for a single moment, he could see her eyes, they were staring back into his fiery ones, but they were not the eyes of a weak little pony Princess, but instead the ones of someone stern, strict, and powerful.

He was, simply put, spellbound by them, his courage fading away into nothing, and all hopes of resistance leaving him, but when he finally noticed this, it was already too late to do anything about it.

Coming to his senses far too late, the flame in his eye finally went out as he realized that all hope had left him.

The mad crackling of the lighting finally beginning to tear at his body, even from his distance, causing cuts and chips in his body.

In his final moments he let out the only sound he could, -

‘’NOOOOOOOOO…!!!!’’

…an ear-piercing scream…

and with that, she finally did it.

She sent the ball forward with a sudden pulse of energy being released from her horn, his screams being drowned out by a violent light unleashed by the energy ball being free from Luna’s control.

It made contact with his body, he let out a final scream as the electricity contained within the ball ravaged him, bringing him more pain than anything he had ever felt during his entire existence!

But that was not all that the electricity did, it caused his entire body to turn grey, solidifying in place, despite his attempts to move, -

But nothing was proving to be effective against his body being turned to pure stone.

His loud scream was cut off as his face was petrified, putting out the flames in his mouth.

Now, nothing was left of him, except a statue that had Mack’s likeness.

The ball came to a stop at the center of him, and started to glow brightly, sending rays of light out through various cracks that it made in his stone body, cracks started running down along his skin, expelling more and more light out, the intensity growing brighter and more violent, ripping first small pieces apart, but then an internal chain-reaction caused an overload of the energy in the ball!

*KA-BOOOM*

His body violently exploded, scattering the bits and pieces of his body around the room as an explosion consisting of nothing but light erupted from his body!

The explosion was so violent that it caused Luna to be sent flying back away by the force of the shockwave, making her fall back down on the burnt floor a good while back from where she had stood.

(Listen to this track until the next told to stop)

Looking back up as she was still lying on her side, she watched in shocked awe, with wide eyes, back up towards where she had last Mack to be standing, -

But all she saw were what little remained of his feet, still petrified in their place, as smoke raised up through the air, but officially there was nothing left of him.

Her attention was suddenly gripped, startled as a matter of fact, as quite suddenly, a metal object suddenly CLANGED down in front of her, steam floating up off it.

Upon further inspection, she saw that it was a, still-petrified, side of Mack’s face. More accurately, his eye.

She, with a slightly nervous face, looked around the destroyed hallway in case any other enemies were headed her way, as she slowly stood back up on her hooves.

When she was standing all the way up, her head suddenly shot up and let out a sudden gasp.

‘’Peach!’’

Turning around, she quickly started to hurry back to where Peach’s body lay.

But when she actually saw it, she suddenly in her tracks, her newly acquired look of concern becoming a sad frown at the sight of the lifeless body of her friend.

Seeing how dirtied she looked, and how motionless she was, she was painfully reminded that she was dead, and that there was no hope of getting her back…not now at least.

Her eyes were closed, making her look so peaceful, so calm, like she was just sleeping, but of course she knew that was not case.

She averted her head, looking back the hall, before moving it back to looking at Peach, giving her once glance.

‘’I will not let your sacrifice go unnoticed, I will stop all of this madness…I promise you that.’’

(Stop listening to soundtrack here)

She was silent for a moment, before quickly turning around, and running down the other hallway.

She ran past Mack’s remains, but did not spare them a glance, he was the least of her worries now, as she hurried down the hall, hurrying with all speed towards where Bill was being kept.

After she had left, out of the shadows, a small and constantly re-arranging cube floated down from the ceiling.

It looked down the hallway at her, catching just a faint glance of her before she rounded a corner, disappearing completely from sight.

It turned towards the shattered glass windows, and silently floated out into the night, gradually flying higher and higher up into the air towards the tower.

Author's Note

*Phew!*

That was one incredible chapter, not just to get through correcting the ''last few'' mistakes before it was published, but also finding the good music ques to use.

I don't know if this new soundtrack inclusion is something that many would appreciate, but it is something, if received positive feedback, might be incorporated in every chapter from now on.
...Idk, it helped me.

Also, the additional litteral sub-title was just to distinguish it a little bit from the rest which i thought was just build-up for what is to come.

Link1 - Bowser's Castle (Second Time) - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Music Extended
Link2 - Fight Against Monsters - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Music Extended
Link3 - Fight Against an Armed Boss - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Music Extended
Link4 - Star Wars Episode III - The Immolation Scene
Link5 - 24. "Voldemort's End" - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (soundtrack)
Link6 - 18 - Loved Ones & Leaving - Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix Soundtrack

Chapter 15

Adventures in the Dreamscape Part 6
Battle at Fawful Castle Part 2

*One hour later*

Standing out in front of the door to Bill’s room, the tall, armored creature that had been ordered to guard Bill Cipher’s room was addressing several bipedal figures clad in armor (Their heads and hands)

“…and since no one has seen Mack since that great explosion in the Eastern corridor I am deploying you two to fight whoever is responsible”

“Mwee hee hee!” One of the figures that was being instructed to by the Commander laughed.

“Fear not, Commander Boomer, those puny insects were dealing with Mack, who, as we all know,” he gestured with his hand.

He pulled up his hand in front of his mouth, leaning slightly in to the left, towards the figure beside him.

“Is not the greatest warrior.”

He whispered.

“Hee hee hee!” The other figure laughed, its eyes displaying the devious joy in talking about one of their master’s weaker minions in such a way.

“He probably didn’t last more than five minutes against them.”

“I know, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Eh hem.”

The two of them had their attention drawn away from the fun they were having in making fun one lower than them, and instead looked back up at the tall, armored figure in front them.

Crossing her arms in frustration with their idiocy, she shot the two of them an angry glare.

Immediately, the message that she was trying to get across started to sink in, and the two of them resumed their original stance. Looking back up again with obedience in their eyes at the figure before them.

“That’s better…” She said in a much lighter, calm tone of voice.

Gently, but then getting louder and louder, she begins tapping her armored finger against her arm, -

But neither of them gets the hint that she is so obviously sending them.

“Well?”

“Well…what, Commander Boomer?”

Closing her eyes, she inhaled a soft sigh.

“Go and find the intruders!”

She suddenly shouted in an infuriated rage at the two of them.

“Yeeps!”

“Jeepers!”

Both exclaimed in startled fright as her loud voice caught them unaware.

“Y-yes, mam, Commander Boomer!” Both suddenly shouted out, saluting her off, before they both turned tails and quickly hurried down the hallway to get away from their frightening superior.

After watching the two of them rounded the corner, she shakes her head with an unimpressed frown on her face, and crossing her arms, once again.

“It takes an idiot to know an idiot.”

Still shaking her head, she turns and walks back away towards the two giant doors leading to Bill’s room.

Turning the knob, she opens the door and proceeds inside.

Closing the door behind her.

Bah, I couldn’t agree more. Not even I would have such idiots in my service.

A pair of floating purple eyes opened in mid-air.

Crossing themselves, the eyes looked out at the dark-purple hallway in front of it.

“Aaaaaahehehe.”

The eyes chuckled to itself.

With a shift, performed by its unseen body, the pair of eyes started to move towards the wall, vanishing out through them, as it started heading off to other parts of the castle.

*****

Back inside the room of Bill Cipher, the door creaked open, -

Standing by the open balcony, Bill suddenly turned around on the spot.

Turning around to face the tall, heavily armored, imposing form of Boomer as she entered into his room.

As her eyes fell upon the anthromorphized triangle she watched his eye become angry, his arms touching against the side of the lower part of his triangular form as he glared angrily back towards her.

“Doesn’t anyone ever knock around here?” Bill asked in angered frustration at her sudden, unannounced, entry into his room.

After closing the door behind her, she stood at his attention, bowing her head down in respect while bringing an arm up to her chest.

“My apologizes, Lord Cipher, “she apologized to him. “But a situation has arisen.”

The apparent reason for interrupting him like this caused him to extend his arms out beside him, and his eye to became relaxed, downright surprised at the news that he had just been given.

“Situation?” He floated up into the air, shooting her a suspicious look. “What situation?”

“Nothing that you needn’t worry with, Lord Cipher, my men have got it all under control.”

But what she said only made Bill raise an unimpressed brow at her.

“Uh huh…’’Your men’’,” he said while making bunny ears with his fingers.

“And by ‘’your men’’ I assume you mean the two incompetent morons I heard you talking to just outside my room?”

Crossing his arms, his stare did not waver as he kept it affixed on her.

“Uh…I…H-how did you- “

“I heard everything that you said,” he said, interrupting her small moment of confused shock. “You really should work on developing a much calmer voice.”

Nervously, she bowed her head again, trying to be respectful towards him.

“Y-yes, my Lord, I’ll- “

“I mean, seriously, what if Fawful is meeting with an important dignitary, and a situation develops, and if they still would want to continue discussions with each other it would be really inconvenient if suddenly they hear a loud, angry voice coming through the walls.”

She raised her head, staring back down at him.

“But, my Lord, I couldn’t lower the temperament of my voice,” she responded back with a light hint of feeling nervous. “My troops would not be able to take me seriously if I do not keep the demanding voice of a Commander.”

He rolled his eye at her returned response.

“I am not telling you to change your tone entirely, but just keep it at a much lower tone so that Fawful’s guests won’t have to be worried about hearing you barking orders through the walls.”

“Seriously, you’re so loud that you can shatter dimensional glass.”

With a sad expression mounting on her face after being told such…well, surprisingly helpful, yet devastating news, she lowered her head, hanging it low as a sadness came over her.

“It’s that loud, huh?”

With a closed eye, Cipher’s eye nodded back to her.

With a sudden, tensing face, she was immediately freaked out by it, but not to the point where it distracted her too much.

A gentle shaking of her head was enough to clear her mind of how weird that had looked.

“Aaaanyway, - “she hesitated slightly, holding on that note, before she continued.

“Oh! – Are you saying that you would like me to help you master your inside-voice?” He suddenly spoke up, his eye shooting open with newfound energy as he looked back up at her.

Her eyes flinched, shooting wide open, as she made certain that she understood what had just been said to her…

She had.

“Um, no thanks, L-lord Cipher…” She nervously replied back with a small hinge of undetermined certainty in her voice. “I’m fine.”

Lowering her head, she averted her gaze from him, bringing a hand up and holding her shoulder.

Raising a suspicious brow, Bill looked back at her with refusal to believe that her behavior was any indicator that she was ‘’fine’’ with the situation, but despite his chaotic nature there were limits to how insane even he would act with someone else, especially a complete stranger.

“Very well then, then would you please leave me?” He asked as he tried shooing her away. Having her attention return to him, she guided her eyes back to looking at him once more.

“I’ve got some band practice to get to if you wouldn’t mind.” He said whilst turning away from her, putting his hands behind his back as he floated off to his left side.

“Band practice?” She asked befuddled.

“But there isn’t any band performing here…Or anywhere for that matter.”

This caused him to suddenly turn around, staring back with an angry eye at her.

“Oh yeah?” he replied bitterly, silently raising a hand up. “Then what do you call…That?” He asked as he pointed towards the left.

Her head turned, looking off to where he was pointing.

With sudden widening eyes her face took on a surprised look when she saw that standing by the wall, upon which stood several other identical duplicates of Bill Cipher. Some of them having hair and some wearing clothing.

“Hey, come on! We’re practicing over here.” The guitarist said shaking a fist at her as he floated above the stage. His guitar being suspended in mid-air next to him.

“Yeah! We’ve got a gig that we need to be ready for in a… “ he raised his arm up, looking down at his arm while a giant clock appeared out of nowhere behind him. “A couple minutes.” He said as his eye looked back up at her causing the giant clock to disappear out of existence.

She turned back to Bill, giving him a confused look on her face that not visible due to being hidden behind the face-mask she was wearing that was part of her helmet.

He raised a finger, holding it up in front of his eye, -

But she must be seeing things because she could almost swear that his eye actually seemed to resemble a mouth going Sshhh to her.

Putting his hands behind his back his eye shifted its attention back towards the stage, which, shortly after she did too, directing her attention back up to the three figures suspended in mid-air on the stage.

The guitar floated on over to one of the Bill duplicates, allowing him to grab it before turning back towards those behind him.

“Ready, guys?” He asked the other Bills behind him.

“Ready!” The other bandmembers said in unison.

The Guitarist-Bill raised his hand up, ready to begin the first note of whatever they were trying to be practicing for, -

When suddenly the Bill that was hovering beside her snapped his fingers, out of nowhere summoning two large black boxes beside the Bills.

Their sudden appearance caused her to suddenly turn her attention back to the Bill hovering beside her, -

“Oh! I almost forgot the most important thing…The sound!” he swiftly raised his hand up, holding it up for her to see, her eyes looking down at it in shock.

“Wait!” She called out…

*Snap*

Uh oh!

*Meanwhile, in another part of the castle*

(Listen to this track until the next music track)

Suddenly the entire castle hallways shook violently, shaking like a terrible earthquake was hitting it…

But not only was that an impossibility, but the guards stationed outside on the walls had all their attention directed up towards the central tower where it was that their master’s groom was residing, as it, despite their best attempts to, could not deny that what they saw was…stranger than what they usually saw.

The entire tower was bouncing up and down in place, sending violent tremors through the entire castle as every time it landed down on the stone surface the entire castle experienced a wild shaking that caused the airborne castle to almost begin tilting downwards but not entirely.

Through the stone bricks flashing rainbow lights were accompanied by loud but muffled music.

*****

Out on the deck of an Airships, several of the crewmember’s attention was now directing itself up towards the airborne castle. Great surprise and awe taking over them at what they were seeing.

“Uh, Captain?” A crewman on the deck of one of the Airships asked out to its superior despite not being able to rip its eyes away from the sight of the strangely-behaving airborne castle.

“Yes-…Cre-w-…man?”

The Captain of the ship responded as he approached thee crewman, his at-first expression of annoyance from being summoned by a simpleton, but as he approached the crewman his pace slowed, eyes going wide from being just as shocked as the crewman was at seeing the castle the way it was, stopping in place beside him and staring back towards the wild castle as it was acting as if, -

…alive.

“Uh, do you think that is a signal for us to do something?” He asked pointing his stubby arm back up towards the castle that was behind them.

They both turned their heads, looking back at each other with blank, deadpanned expressions on both their faces.

“I think it does.” The Captain said before turning himself around and facing in a different direction, and heading for several stairs leading up to where he might better oversee things.

He shoots the individual standing by the large wheel that controlled the Airship a stern glare.

“Bring us around and take us back to the castle…I don’t like what is going on over there.”

It barked the orders to the helmsman, pointing its angry but still stubby arm towards it to make the order understandably more important.

“Yes sir.” The helmsman responded back with a salutation of its own stubby arm, before it quickly turned the wheel, spinning it around quite fast.

The ship creaked as it started turning the front tip of the ship back in direction of the floating castle behind it.

“Hey, that is turning back towards the castle!” The crewmember on one of the other ships called out, using its (stubby) arm to point to what he was referring to.

“What!?” The Captain of the ship shouted from the upper deck.

The crewman turned its head, looking back up at its confused superior on the upper deck.

“Yeah, he’s heading back to the castle!” It shouted up.

Rushing over the second deck’s safeguard rail, it held the sides as it observed that the other ship was indeed altering its course.

With incredible speed, it pointed its right arm back towards the helmsman on their ship, shouting “Turn us around, and take us back to the castle at once!” as it ordered the ship to change course, immediately!

‘’Yes sir.’’

The helmsman responded back with a salute, before quickly spinning the wheel fast around.

With slow movement, the ship started to turn, following the same course as the other ship was as it headed back towards the castle.

Soon following this other ships started doing the same, and before too long, the Airships all had their course set up on moving back towards the castle in the center of their great Airship armada.

However, a giant, swirling form of greens, reds, and blues all suddenly started to penetrate through the clouds high above the castle, speeding down towards the castle.

Starting to separate, the singular masses started separating into four, as each of those four went for an individual Airship.

The unsuspecting crews of the armada were completely caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of the swirling mass as its existence finally became known to them, -

Especially after the thousands of shells that composed it pierced the wooden ships like nothing, cutting them in half to the point of extremely crippling the ships to the point where it slowly started to fall out of the sky, its nose pointing down as black smoke started coming out of the two halves while the ship gradually lost orbit in the sky, plummeting down towards the ground.

As the mass of thousands of Koopa shells with wings turned around it started coming back up, ramming right into another of the Airships in the process, repeating the same that they had done.

However, unlike the first time, their speed was greater and when coming up through the deck it caused an explosion to accompany it, ignited by the gunpowder in the levels beneath deck for the cannons stationed at the ready there.

Devastated, the armada tried in vain to alter their course to fly away from the castle that was now being swarmed by hundreds upon thousands of Koopa shells.

Up in the air above the castle, Koopa with glasses and that rode clouds with faces were dropping small spiked balls down upon the castle.

After landing on the castle floors, the balls started to twitch, beginning to move.

Eventually, they all started to crawl on the floor, moving inside the castle, albeit at a far slower pace than the bipedal Koopas who used two legs they were forced to crawl on the floor. This would make their siege on the castle much slower than if the Koopas would have accompanied them.

Unlike the first attack, the stragglers were boarded by the shells, which when touching down against the wooden floors had the occupants of the shells popping out, standing up on their feet.

After a substantial number of them had gathered on the deck of the ship, their attention suddenly fell upon the short, masked figures in robes who were staring back at them.

Then, after a single moment of silence, a loud uproar of battle chants from both sides erupted as both Koopas and Shy Guys charged at each other.

However, as the two factions reached eachother true battle erupted from the center of the Airship’s deck as both sides went at it.

The Koopas used each other as footballs there were to be kicked across the deck, knocking the Shy Guys over with a single swoop…

To counter this the Shy Guys used Shy Guys with propellers attached at the top of their heads to be suspended above in the air. While in mid-air they used slingshots to take out the Koopas that were getting to be deployed against the Shy Guys on deck.

Some Shy Guys stood themselves up on poles and tried to use the feet of their poles to stomp the Koopas… However, the Koopas would fight back by using the same tactic to render their legs useless.

Continuously the Shy Guys would keep bringing forth newer and other variations of the Shy Guys to try and contend with the Koopas surprisingly overwhelming superiority despite being only turtles: Some of which included the fire Shy Guys who could launch fireballs at the Koopas. Now that did some damage to their push, for a while, but the Koopas’s response to that was to call in the Lakitu to come in and drop the Spinys on the Fire Shy Guys, knocking them out. The same went for Ice Shy Guys who were only slightly stronger.

Once cleared completely of crew the Koopas assumed control of the Airships and immediately got it ready to fire the on-board cannons against the Airships that posed a more substantial threat to the mass of airborne Koopas with their cannons form a safe enough distance.

With the Airship’s cannons, they wiped out the majority of the armada in a short period of time.

After moving on to the next Airship after the other they greatly weakened the Shy Guys abilities to combat them, and soon most of them resulted to changing into Shy Guys with propellers at the top of their heads, using the new airborne abilities to flee from the doomed ships, hoping to land on another and aid in the defense of that one, hopefully taking the Koopas by surprise.

*****

Back at the castle, Luna was running through the castle with all speed, and haste since she still did not know for how much longer the Koopas could hold Fawful’s defenses at bay. They had said that they had braved Fawful’s armies before with ease, but it was Fawful, herself, that was real challenge that had always stopped from fully retaking the castle.

Every time her hooves made contact with the floor the clopping of her hooves echoed all around her on the hallway walls as she passed by countless windows, torches, tapestries and horrific paintings that depicted nothing other than Fawful’s terrible visage in all manners of various victorious poses. Some that were even quite horrific, straight out of a nightmare.

After quite a long while of following these dark and dreadful hallways she rounded a corner, finally stumbling upon something new that she could understand…Sort of.

In the center of the room or rather suspended in the air above it, there floated a small constantly re-arranging glowing blue cube shape. The closest thing she could compare to it was ghostly emotions as smoke seemed to emanating off the bottom of the cube.

“What are y-?”

However, before an answer of any sorts could be provided, as she extended a hoof out to touch it the glowing square suddenly started to move forward, its current direction leading away from her as it zoomed down the hallway.

“What?” was her reaction as her wide eyes watched the cube moving on its own.

This sudden action startled her, causing her to flinch from its sudden movement-…Watching with shocked eyes as the cube speed down the hall away from her. Some of its ghostly mist trailing behind it as it shot through down through the air.

“Wait, hold up!” She called out with a raised hoof after it, only to observe that it was flying away from her.

Instead of doing positively nothing but stand still she immediately flared her wings out beside her, holding them out beside her body, and with a quick beat of them leaped up off the floor, delivering powerful beads in mid-air as she flew after the ghostly cube.

However, she was focused on following the cube that she failed to notice that a square shape emerged from a pulled-for tapestry, silently hovering in the air as it followed after her.

*****

Down the other hallway two figures were left in a confused state as they silently exchanged continuous confused looks between each other.

“Uh…Domino?”

One of them asked, having the other one beside him, causing him to turn his head, giving him a blank stare.

“Yeah, Cloaker?” Domino said, turning to face the…whatever Cloaker was.

“Where is the intruder? I thought she was supposed to be here by now.”

“Yeah…But she isn’t here.”

Cloaker turned back in front of him, staring back down the hallway. Domino looked too, staring in awkward silence as nothing seemed to happen despite his wishes that something would happen.

The duo turned back to face each other, staring back at each other.

“She still isn’t coming, Domino.” Cloaker said.

“I know.”

“…”

Both ‘’said’’ after another minute of nothing happening.

*****

*Meanwhile, in another part of the caste*

Flying after the cube like there was an obsession about it that she couldn’t shake, she followed it all around the castle, passing by corridors, entrances to the outside battlements, even the routes that lead down to the dungeons. She pretty much went wherever it did, if not just because her curiosity was unable to turn to other things until she had learned what was going on with this strange cube and why it had revealed itself to her or its reasons for acting the way it was.

After watching the cube rounding a corner she followed it, putting more strength in her wings flap to catch up to it again since it had been getting a little too ahead of her, and she really needed to find it since she did not know where she or even where she was going now.

But upon rounding the corner she was instantly meet with a sight that caused her to stop in mid-air, hovering above the floor.

Across a long hallway, at the other end of said-hallway there stood a tall, armored, Humanoid figure, with a sword in its scabbard.

The armor style was familiar to her, but she couldn’t remember quite where she had seen it from.

Raising its head look back down the hall at its sudden new arrival, the figure narrowed its crossed angry blue eyes at Luna.

Bringing a hand down to the handle of the sword in its scabbard it stood ready to pull it out at any sign of provocation from the strange horse creature that had somehow stumbled upon the place that it had been tasked with guarding.

Standing just as still, Luna’s eyes crossed as she narrowed them back towards this strange form.

There was a small moment of silent intensity between the two enemies as their long stare did not break.

“I take it you are the one that I was with protecting Lord Bill Cipher from?” It asked her.

Gently, Luna nodded back to it with a stern expression on her face.

“Indeed I am…” Luna returned.

Raising one of her brows she returned this creature’s stern glare.

“And I am to take it that behind those doors are Bill Cipher?”” Luna asked.

With a gentle nod of its head, its eyes narrowed.

“He is.” It said.

“Then I am to assume that you are the last guardian that stands in my way of reaching him?”

Instead of saying anything it just gave a gentle nod of its head.

Inhaling a deep breath, she exhaled it heavily as her face took on an annoyed look.

“Well, I had hoped that I would have that one day where I didn’t have to kick any evil-doer’s butts, - “

Her horn started to glow, storing up magic for a magic spell that she would have to use.

“...but I guess we can’t all have it our way…You least of all.”

Once more, an uneasy silence fell over the long hallway in-between them.

(Listen to this until told otherwise. Might have to replay it a couple times)

Boomer tightened her grasp on her sword, narrowing her eyes while Luna’s continued putting out more magic that she was storing for any signs of a confrontation, which all the evidence was pointing to was the case.

Both just stood silent, slowly watching the other for any signs of movement that suggest provocation, -

…and then, both started running towards each other.

Boomer drawing her sword from her scabbard and holding it down behind her as she ran, -

…While Luna’s horn started visibly glowing with a magical aura that Boomer could see through the eyeholes on her helmet.

As she was running as fast as she was Luna almost stopped in place for a single second before gaining enough strength to make her big leap off the ground and into the air.

While in mid-air she only flares her wings out beside her for a momentary boost as she only flapped them once, giving her a substantial speed-boost, propelling her body forward at an intense speed with her horn affixed so it was pointing straight ahead of her.

Boomer’s eyes grew wide with shock as she saw this, but still kept her speed building, even as she was essentially running towards her enemy who was attempting a quite bold move.

As she ran down her end of the hallway she raised her right arm up, holding it like she was expecting to be using it shortly.

As she speeds down the hall she lightly looked back up, taking notice of how far away from the very tall humanoid figure was in relation to her as she continually shot down the hall like a bullet… Her already activated horn glowed a little bit brighter.

Followed by an aura that seemed to envelop Luna completely, -

…while at the tip of her horn a small (but growing) ball of glowing energy started forming. Its intensity growing stronger getting stronger and more violent for each second that passed.

Around the ball electricity started crackling, having more and more frequent rapidly discharging energy.

While getting closer, Boomer could finally take enough of a notice of something about her opponent that she had not been able to see before, a quite big something too… She was not only growing her stored magic’s intensity stronger, but she had also enveloped her entire body in a magical barrier, a barrier that was already strong enough to render her blade as threatening as a straw of grass, which could only mean one thing: She was preparing for something big…very big!

Boomer’s mind immediately started to think over-time, trying to come up with anything that could be a (relatively) close answer as to what this blue horse was trying to pull off.

Then, like a shock, it hit her, -!

… And it was far from the most pleasing thing she could have thought of at this moment.

Oh no!

She immediately thought as she realized way too late what she had just walked into…Or rather run into.

Luna formed the biggest smirk on her face that she could conjure at this point. Pointing her horn straight out in front of her, she aimed it directly at her opponent’s chest and just sat back for the rest of the ride. Something told her that it was soon going to be over.

Suddenly pressing her boots down into the floor, Boomer could only watch with wide eyes as Luna only got closer and closer, her fears that the inevitable was coming filling her with more dread than anything else about this whole attack on her master’s castle.

In the final moment before Luna and Boomer physically made contact with each other, Boomer, all of a sudden did the last thing that was expected she’d do… She ducked down!

This unforeseen action caused Luna to actually give off a worried look – for a second – as she thought that this might have been a mistake. Especially while she passed over the tall figure, time slowing down as she watched her opponent outsmarting her, watching it as it was crouched down on the floor. Patiently waiting for her to pass by before returning to standing up again.

But then, while passing over, and watching her opponent be crouched down like that a radical idea entered her head.

Maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about catching her unawares with this great opportunity at her hooves.

Closing her eyes, she pulled all her attention away from trying to keep the ball of energy under control... and instead just letting it all be unleashed in that one final blast.

However, instead of just exploding right there and then, the ball of rapidly-becoming-unstable-energy detached from her horn, being left behind her, above the crouched figure…while she continued to speed forward. Her horn still being connected to the intensifying ball of energy by electricity that was coming from her horn’s tip, -

…when they were disconnected there was nothing to keep the ball of energy back from finally releasing all its restrained power.

Having picked up so much speed on her trip across the hallway, she crashed right through the door to the room that Boomer had been guarding.

She shattered right through the steel door, startling the figure that was on the other side behind I, causing it to flinch in response to her abrupt entrance, though, it recognized her immediately by the color of her fur.

“Luna!” He immediately called out after recognizing her.

Her body crashed down into the floors, leaving behind a rather long trail of torn up floor stone bricks.

Back with Boomer, she could finally feel the energy of the ball left behind by Luna above her or rather she could feel…something.

She moved out of the way, standing back up, only to be faced with a large, very violently dispelling electrical surging ball of raw destructive power.

Facing the opposite direction, she began running in the other direction away from the spherical form of energy, that by the looks of things had finally reached the end of trying to contain this violent eruption within it anymore.

Shaking in its place, the floor underneath it started to crack open, the loosened stone bricks losing their stability, and falling down to the rooftops and other sections of the castle that was underneath it. The whole hallway was ravaged by terrible tremors as well as being accompanied by the powerful electrical surges moving across its ceiling, walls, and floors, destabilizing every bit of the foundation’s once strong grasp on every stone. Bricks fell out of the sky, ensuring the castle’s inevitable destruction was just a few moments away from coming to fruition.

Spreading across every stone brick in the castle like a disease it almost activated something of a self-destruct that was telling the castle structure to just…come apart, leave nothing behind.

Even the main tower that Bill had been kept in was starting to show this as parts of the ceiling fell onto the floor, walls shaking with such force that they were completely ripped to shreds, wide-open cracks forming. Not much of the castle would be standing for long now.

Noticing that everything was going to hell, Bill gestured towards Luna with his hands, lifting her up off the ground, and suspending her now motionless body in the air beside him.

All around them stone and wood was falling and shattering on the floor around them.

“We’ve got to get out of here, and fast!”

With a snap of his fingers a large object suddenly poofed into existence outside the tower’s balcony.

Quickly grabbing Luna, he hovered out onto the tower’s balcony, smiling in relief as he spotted the large and around shape of a familiar sight.

Without wasting any more time he teleported both himself and Luna onto the ship, appearing in a large chamber where the self-sustaining ship already a course laid in: Anywhere but here!

Sitting down in two chairs and strapping themselves in with their seatbelts in front of a giant monitor. Holding Luna close to him he shut out everything else that was taking place beyond the Dalekanium walls of the ship.

From within the crumbled hallway, the ball of energy exploded into a large spherical shape of bright, blue energy that almost seemed to eat away at the stone bricks as it came into contact with it.

A violent shockwave shot out from the giant sphere of destruction, that only grew bigger, swallowing up more and more of the already decaying castle.

When the sphere of flame dissipated its earlier stages of pre-detonation had already done sufficient damage, but now with the additional damage from the explosion and the shockwave, that had virtually crippled the foundation utterly, every stone brick started coming loose, plummeting towards the ground underneath.

A good distance away from the castle, the crews aboard the Airships had stopped their fighting when they had seen the castle have a giant energy sphere just…come out of nowhere from inside the castle, itself.

While the shockwave and blast had settled the castle’s, magic had already been severely broken, leaving just a small sliver of hope that the magic originally holding it all together could reconnect to try and save the rapidly-declining state of the doomed castle, -

...but unfortunately it couldn’t.

*****

Meanwhile, in another corner of the rapidly decaying castle, in a darkened room, stones were plummeting from the ceiling down onto the floor, shattering upon impact, as the room shook with violent force.

“W-what is happening!?”

The voice of a pair of glowing eyes and a raised, worried hand watched everything beginning to collapse around it inside its chamber.

Dust fell from cracks in the ceiling and walls, and paintings and torches were shaken loose from their holdings on the walls, falling to the floor.

The two doors fell forward, crashing onto the floor, presenting the enshrouded figure with an open corridor.

Being quick on its feet it began running out of its chamber.

Once it was out of collapsed behind it into a giant flaming abyss.

Wasting no time, it began running down the corridor as more and more of the corridor that passed it by while it was running started to crumble away into nothing, fire rising through the violently shaking floor that had now been ripped into open gateways for the destructive flames to reach.

She was eventually lead outside to the castle’s battlements. Standing there, she watched as everything was collapsing down into itself, only to have fire erupt from within, shooting up into the sky.

With a look of pure shock, she could not avoid from looking out in amazement as everything…the very thought that she had once been invincible was seemingly falling into ruin all around her. This castle was meant to be a symbol of strength…but what would one see now as it was being reduced to nothing but fire and ash.

Hearing something from above that was not an explosion, and having a bright light fall on her, she turned around, looking up above her, a hand needing to be held up as the light was quite bright for her to see.

But shortly the light activated some sort of boost, as a loud humming noise followed by rapid movement as the light seeming to move away from her, heading up into the sky.

As the lights got calmer and calmer the further distance was put between it and the castle there was finally no longer a need to hold her claw up so to protect her eyes from its brightness.

More and more details of the light’s true form became clearer as she saw what little she could of its ever-distancing shape. But from what she could make out the shape had stood out the most to her: a round circle.

*****

Back onboard the saucer, once they were far enough into the upper atmosphere, Bill undid both his and Luna’s seatbelts.

With a snap of his finger, both disappeared, teleporting off.

They re-appeared shortly after in another room where there stood a large tank filled with some sort of fluid. Around the room duplicates of Bill were moving back and forth, all of them wearing lab coats and some were holding the equivalent of an iPad mini, looking into things on it.

Holding her in his arms Bill approached one of the closest Bills, who upon seeing them approach looked towards him.

Worry evident on his face (eye).

“Is everything ready as I instructed?”

The other Bill nodded, and gestured his hand towards the tank behind him.

“Just put her in and we’ll get on with it.”

Bill nodded before turning to face the healing pod, holding his gaze on it for a few seconds, before giving Luna a momentary stare of sympathy.

He looked back up towards the healing pod, and then hovered towards it…

*****

Outside the ship’s iron walls, it had seen the last of the planet, as it had put quite a lot of distance between itself and the planet.

Back on the surface of the planet, she watched form the battlements as the ship speed away, igniting its boosters, causing it to fly into the air at an enhanced speed.

Suddenly, something is shot from the saucer, which upon entering the atmosphere is sent hurtling down towards the surface.

Impacting the surface violently it starts digging down further through the earth until it reaches the core of the planet.

Once at the core smoke starts rising through the air of the hole that it had made, -

…followed shortly by a rapidly growing light.

Bright red light begins to shot out through forced cracks in the planet’s surface, wild tremors ravage its plains and fields, shaking mountains until they crumble, and having oceans rage till they bubble and boil, -

…and then it all stops.

…

Everything becomes silent, even the intense shaking ended, -

…but then it happens.

*****

Returning to present time, the ship resumes its flight away from the planet, its engines humming as it speeds away. Leaving behind a dreadful sight.

The planet begins to disintegrate, falling to pieces as central point at the heart of the planets begins devouring everything, every particle, every speck of dust, every living creature that once existed there…all of it disappears into a swirling blackness that swallows up everything, destroying it all by disengaging it until there is nothing left but dust and ash… But in the end not even that remains.

Back onboard the saucer, Bill is hovering in front of a giant rectangular glass casing, silently observing, with his hands behind his back, as the blue figure inside is floating amongst all that fluid. A breathing apparatus connected to her mussel as bubbles occasionally emerge from it, drifting upwards through the fluid within the glass tank.

It was slow, but gradual progress could be seen to slowly restore her back to the way she was.

Outside the tank, Bill just continued watching her, silently blinking his eye from time to time as he just hovered there.

Outside in space the ship’s top compartment continued to spin around as it moved through the blackness of space, uttering no order sounds than the gentle vibrations of the engines steady hum.

*****

Later, Luna gently stirred awake from her extended sleep.

Moving around, as her motor functions were being restored and her senses starting back up, she could feel her fur brushing against the soft fabric of a bed mattress.

“Mhm? What?” She inquired as she gently opened her eyes to look out in front of her…What she was a darkness that surrounded her on all sides. Surrounding the bed was an illuminating circle of light being projected from somewhere above the bed. But when she looked up she could only see a blinding white light, forcing her to squint her eyes to ensure that the light did not overwhelm them.

“Luna?” An echoing voice that was quite familiar, and most welcome sounded from the front of the bed. Lowering her head, she looked out towards the bed’s other end.

... Hovering in the air in front of the bed was the triangular form of Bill Cipher. Someone that she had not seen for quite some time now.

Her mouth dropped, hanging slightly open as she stared back in silence at him.

After some time of watching her stare at him, Bill raised a brow at her from the confusion that was generated from seeing her strange reaction to seeing him again.

“Uh, Luna?” He gently asked.

It seemed to snap her out of whatever she was under, and she lightly shook her head.

She blinked her eyes as she looked back at him, a smile starting to settle in, though, somewhat repressed at first.

His eye’s changed its expression after that, seemingly indicating that his worry had vanished after the adjustment of her expression.

He silently hovered over to her right side on the bed, raising his hand and touching it to her hoof which lay down on the mattress.

“How are you holding up? Are you feeling alright?” He questioned her with a look of concern, to which her smile only grew, and she let out a gentle chuckle.

“It would take more than that to stay me.”

Her reply seemed to confuse him, almost as if to indicate that she had swore in front of him in a most inappropriate manner.

“What?” She asked when she saw his reaction. ‘’Did I say something?” but there was no response from him…yet, he just stared in silence.

“Wait, you don’t…remember?” He asked her.

Now it was her turn to give him a puzzled him as she had no idea what he was talking about.

“No…What? What is the big deal?”

Bill suddenly raised a finger to underneath his eye, giving off a thoughtful stare out to the side.

He then turned back, staring back with a raised brow, watching her deadpanned expression staring back at him, while occasionally blinking her eyes.

“Okay…” he exhaled with a soft breath.

“You destroyed the castle.”

Her eyes widened from shock.

“W-what?” She asked with a tone that was very obviously confused, but also amazed at the same time.

His eye closed, nodding back at her.

Opening again, it looked back into her face.

“Yes, whatever it was that you were attempting, it destroyed the whole castle, piercing the magic holding it together and becoming too much of a stain…eventually leading to its destruction.”

“B-but I wasn’t even putting all that much-concentrated energy into that blast. How did I, - “

Before she could finish she was interrupted by Bill, who had raised a finger to indicate silence.

“I don’t want you to overthink any of what we went through, -” he hovered closer, moving his hand up to her shoulder.

“...I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I couldn’t stand the thought if you had died there.”

Luna’s blank expression immediately changed into a smirk.

‘’Didn’t I already tell you, Bill…” she giggled back. “I don’t go down that easy.”

His eye showed enjoyment, and a soft chuckle seemed to escape his non-existent mouth.

“I know, but even the greatest warrior needs a break…once in a while.”

His hand was slowly retracted from her shoulder as he started to drift back away from her, both still smiling at each other as their eye contact could not be broken.

“See ya as soon as you’ve made a full recovery, Lulu.”

She scoffed, chuckling slightly at the nickname given to him.

“Bye...Bill.”

*Squee*

She blushed as she smiled back at him from her rather embarrassing attempt at giving him a nickname like he had for her.

“Heh, it’s okay.” He gestured with a raised hand.

“Till our next meeting.” He lightly tipped his top hat to her. She had a good chuckle at that.

“Remember, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!”

He said before vanishing into a flash of light that almost seemed to warp reality around him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5IYT9FdTRk

Scoffing once he was gone she shook her head while wearing a humored smile upon her face.

“What a…Dream Demon.” She said to herself before she lay her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, silently and without concern drifted into a nice sleep.

Meanwhile, the blackness surrounding the circle of light dissipated, fading away to reveal her normal room.

… However, when the darkness was all gone, the grey filter that seemed to have been put over the background of her room returned to being normal colors again.

Outside her bedroom window, the moon shone just as brightly as it always had with tiny stars joining in and lighting up the night even more.

… However, outside the window several eyes started folding back into itself, forming a solid colorful cube that as soon as it was completed flew away from the castle.

Once far away the cube was consumed by a bright light, and disappeared.

Shining in through the crack of Luna's opened drawer there stood a small box that was just barely visible as a crack of light shone in through the open door.

Author's Note

Yeahhh...Looking forward to hearing what you think of this one.

Hope it isn't too much of a letdown, since i...you know, didn't have a big final battle with the main villain in this one. I hope the castle's destruction made up for it.

Link1 - Gravity Falls Theme Song 【EXTENDED Rock Version】Song by NateWantstoBattle
Link2 - Lord Of The Rings Soundtrack-The End Of All Things-Full Version.avi
Link3 - Gravity Falls│Weirdmageddon Part 3 Soundtrack│Stanley Forgets
Link4 - Gravity Falls / Feels│Weirdmageddon Part 3 Soundtrack│The End
Link5 - REALITY IS AN ILLUSION, THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM, BUY GOLD, BYE!

Chapter 16

Chrysalis and the Cipher

Several days passed and Luna and Bill continued to have their little meetings on the side, though, many of them were less dangerous as their first outing into the Mindscape together.

They went on a whole bunch of various other adventures within the Mindscape, but this time Bill was more aware of his surroundings than just picking a planet at random for them to enjoy themselves on. He created duplicate versions of himself that he sent down to make sure that nothing would be able to interrupt them this time.

They surfed on the waves of an exploding supernova, swam through the rivers of the world of the dead, and even had a game of chess with a Sumerian god, Gozer, itself, with the backdrop of a world in flames…

… That one was admittedly a little too weird…Even for Bill, not least because Gozer existed thousands of years ago and this was just a dream, but also because Gozer was in the form of what Bill had explained to her as being Humanoid, a creature from his home dimension.

However, it was the actual form of Gozer that confused her. Why was a gender-specific creature like Gozer in the form of a Humanoid female (seemingly) wearing slimy clothing, -?

… It wasn’t until Bill explained it to her did she finally understand. She was still confused, but understood…a little.

*****

Back in Changeling Kingdom, life continued like it always had with the Changelings always searching for other viable sources of love to feed on.

At the center of the Changeling Empire was the capital castle where future Queen Chrysalis’s mother ruled the entire empire. Every day news was delivered there at the castle about the constant updates relating to the matters taking place beyond the empire borders.

Far, far, far into the distance, a bright light emanated from beyond the horizon. Changelings looked to it, wondering endlessly what the strange lights were, -

…though, no one would actually dare to venture there.

Not least because of the dark clouds lingering above the area where this was taking place, but because ghostly shapes had been flying towards it. Their ghostly mist trailing behind them as they flew towards the ever-present green glow. The ground shook violently with tremors as if the very earth, itself, was coming to life.

The incredible thirst for answers as to what was causing the bright glow was one that every living creature, not just the Changelings, wanted to quench, but the fear of what lay beyond the horizon was unfortunately the thing that held them back, preventing them from going any further than they already had.

… They should have then just been fortunate that whatever was happening beyond the horizon did not reach them…yet.

*****

With the castle, inside her private room Chrysalis was sitting atop her bed in a bored state, lazily supporting her head by her hooves since there was nothing else for her to do at the moment.

Letting out a loud groan in annoyance she continually shifted back and forth on the bed. She rolled around atop her bed, unable to get into a spot that was comfortable nor even enjoyable, there wasn’t much else to do when there wasn’t anything for her to do.

Laying down with her head on her pillow she exhales a bored sigh, staring blankly up at the ceiling above her.

With a gentle turn of her head, she looks out to her left, staring silently at the small triangle form of glass. Her eyes blinking as they watched small grains of sand moving up from the ground, almost like the grains of an hour-glass…but in reverse, as they were instead moving back up.

Scoffing at it, she stood up on the bed, jumping back down onto the ground, immediately starting for the door to her room.

She picks up the glass triangle and levitates it along beside her as she trotted across the floor. With a deadpanned monotone stare mounted on her face, she used her magic to open the door, making her way out into the hallway rather quick for a filly her size.

As she wandered down through the large hollow hallways of her mother’s castle, she could not keep her eyes from wandering back to the triangle. Unable to look away from it, and the weirdness that was taking place contained within the glass casing.

“Mother would probably know what to make of you…At the very least she will be able to explain what this thing Bill Cipher gave me is” she said to herself while using her magic to move it around in front of her face as she walked so she could constantly get better glances at its strange shape, -

…but whenever she would look in through a triangle from another angle she always saw a different image in each one. The reverse sand grains could only be seen from specific angles.

She didn’t try to look for long in either of the other triangular ‘’windows’’ because what she saw on the other side of the glass were all kinds of horrific nightmares…Some she couldn’t bring herself to want to try bringing back up in her mind on for too long since they had been quite gruesome and she didn’t have any desires of seeing them for longer than was necessary.

Upon arriving at the doors of her mother’s throne room, she inhaled a soft breath before stepping inside.

The door creaked open, causing the inhabitants that were on the inside to have their attention be drawn towards the loud door that was being pushed open.

Seeing the small figure step into the throne room brought a smile to her mother’s face. Especially when she noticed the class triangle suspended in midair. Her smile grew even wider at that big detail.

Her guards ignored the arrival of the Changeling Princess, instead resuming their duties as they stood motionless in place.

Crossing the hall at an albeit slow pace Chrysalis wore a serious stare on her face as she watched her mother’s throne getting closer and closer with every step she took on the red carpet that reached all the way up to the two giant doors behind her.

Upon finally reaching her mother’s throne she raised her head so she was facing her mother. The only thing she could explicitly on her face in terms of emotions was a warm smile that was greeting her daughter as warmly as she could.

“Chrysalis,” Pollus stated. “Beloved daughter of mine, what has earned your kind visit?”

Chrysalis turned her head, looking straight at the triangle, following it as her magic levitated it up to her mother, whose own aura of magic grabbed hold of the triangle, lifting it up into the air, and suspending it in front of her face. Her eyes staring back at the transparent reflection in the glass, catching glimpses of grains of sand floating back up instead of down.

“I want to know what this thing does...I am bored that I’d like to do something, anything” Chrysalis said.

Her mother looked away from the triangle back down to her daughter, and then back towards the cube, and then back towards Chrysalis again.
Chrysalis only blinked back at her mother continued exchanges back between her and the triangle.

She scoffed softly at it. Her eyes may be looking at the triangle, but her was staring back down at Chrysalis.

“Yes, I’ve heard about things like this before–…” her eyes were guided back to look down at Chrysalis.

“… but I’ve never actually seen one in action. I’ve heard that all you have to do is put it down on the floor.”

Chrysalis raised a confused brow at what her mother was telling her, but she still complied, giving a gentle nod of her head.

She gently put the triangle down on the floor and looked back up at her mother.

“Okay, now what?”

“Hmm,” Pollus thought, giving off a thoughtful look as she brought a hoof up, holding it underneath her chin.

Her thought-filled eyes looked up from the floor, staring back at Chrysalis with more open eyes.

“Shatter it.”

Pollus’ instruction hit the filly like a brick, surprising her, and causing her to look back up at her mother with a puzzled look, scrunching back at her with a disapproving frown of the idea of stepping on glass.

“You want me to what?” her vocal response was.

This made her mother chuckle, showing an obvious sign of this when her serious face that changed to a sudden (and poorly done) repressed smile.

“Not you…Just break it with something.”

This immediately cleared it up, as evidenced when Chrysalis responded with a, “Ohhhhh…”

Outside the castle, the ghostly forms of mist suddenly stopped in mid-air, turning towards the castle of the Changelings, looking at it for a few seconds as they could sense…something behind those walls.

Something very powerful was behind those walls, but they dared not to go any further. Turning away, they floated away from the castle, heading out their original headings.

Using her magic Chrysalis’s mother summoned up a dark crystal for her to use to shatter the glass shape.

Holding it with her own magic Chrysalis could not help but give off confused glances back up at her mother and the triangle that was placed on the floor.

“A-are you certain that is what I’m supposed to do?”

She questioned her mother since her uncertainty was being quite dominant in her decisions right now.

After exchanging confused glances between her mother and the triangle she finally raised it up above her head.

She managed to hold it in place for a while, only staring back down at the triangle, her holding on it, before she eventually brought the crystal down with a sharp thrust, instantly shattering the triangle.

The top portion of the triangle was left exposed with evident damage to its top portion.

Slowly, Chrysalis stepped towards it, nervously leaning her head down to look inside it, but inside the triangle was…nothing.

It was empty.

She looked up at her mother with a raised brow, giving off a confused look as she was puzzled by how nothing was happening.

“Mother, I don’t thin-...”

…but before she could continue that sentence a burst of light shot out from the cracked triangle.

Catching Chrysalis, her mother and everyone by surprise, causing them to flinch at its sudden light!

Chrysalis especially immediately started to back away from it, fearful of what might happen if she gets too close to the broken triangle, and especially the light.

The light starts dying down, but that only made it take on a physical form, as while the light’s intensity was reduced, a ball of light and energy floated up into the air from the broken top triangles top.

However, it just hung there in the air, hovering suspended in mid-air above its former casing.

Chrysalis, her mother, and everyone else present had their eyes almost glued to the sphere, staring at it with wide-eyed stares of amazement at the ball of energy’s unexpected appearance.

“Touch it.”

Entranced by the sphere and beckoned even more by her mother’s suggestion to touch it, she slowly raised a hoof up, extending it out towards the sphere to touch it.

She gently touched the orb, but fortunately her hoof was prevented from going any deeper into the sphere, just being able to gently touch its surface.

It started to float up into the air, -

…but instead of doing nothing a sudden shockwave shot out from it, -

…and within a single second the shockwave moved out across the room, instantly changing everything about it within what would be the equivalent of one of the heartbeats that was in a minute.

Everything in front of her line of vision changes, transforming the dark-green slimy walls, floor, and ceiling into black stone with an almost rainbow-ish color outlines.

The room is dark, but somewhat illuminated due to a bright red light whose shadow has fallen upon her where she is standing on the floor.

“What the-…”

She questions as she turns around to see whatever is shining that light upon her, -

… However her eyes widen in sheer astonishment as she sees the source of the projected light.

Seeing what is behind her immediately causes her to flinch, almost jumping at the sight of a massive, red, stained-glass mural depicting an oval eye with a slit pupil. In front of it is what seems to be an elevated pedestal.

Nothing appears to be happening, -

…until a shape whooshed past her from behind.

Her attention was focused on the object, and after squinting her eyes narrowed them so she could get a better look of what it was.

“W-who is there?”

She called out towards the place where her ears had heard the sound.

However, nothing was there that she could see.

With gentle turns, she looked around her surroundings, staring up at the twisting forms of the ceiling, the odd and twisted architecture in general, and…just the weirdness that took place there in general.

There were several doorways on the normal ground, that was fine, but then there were also ones up on the ceiling. It looked like one of those paintings that she had heard so much about where the equestrians through that just by illustrating their artistry on a sheet of paper that it qualified as ‘’art’’. To her it just looked like the insane drawings of someone who clearly had waaaaay too much time on their hooves to be coming up with that stuff.

As her mind began thinking about other things with just as much ‘’creativity’’ put into them, -

…she failed to take notice of a figure that floated past her behind her back with no sound being made that her ears could pick up on.

The figure (seen to be a black silhouette) floated up from behind the elevated pedestal.

Putting its arms behind its back it was silent as it looked down at her, its shadow falling upon her as she was unaware of him hovering there atop the pedestal behind her.

With crossed eyes, she slowly turned her head to the side, looking out at the entire room to make certain that nothing was there in the room with her. She narrowed her eyes so there was no way that she would have possibly ignored anything.

“I know that there is something here.”

She guided her sight slightly upwards to the ceiling, staring up to where she had not been able to see what had been up there.

“My ears are never wrong, so whoever I heard trying to sneak up on me come out or face my wrath.” She spoke out into the room.

She received no response, aside from the ambient silence of the room she was in.

In a very silent manner the figure put its arms behind its back where it connected them, staring down at her in silence as she didn’t even seem to notice it being there.

“Hiya kiddo” a sudden voice spoke up from behind.

The sudden introduction of a voice was enough to make her jump in surprise in her spot, exclaiming as she reacted with the loudest and most terrified scream.

She instantly turned around, discharging a blast from her horn up at the origin-point where the voice had come from.

The blast shot through the air up towards the figure who only extended an arm, catching her energy with its hand, causing her to gasp when it happened.

It looked down at the ball of crackling energy, and with casual gentleness threw it away. The glass behind the figure pulled back, allowing the ball of energy to pass through it.

Outside the glass it fell till it reached a form of steel and exploded. Meanwhile the glass resealed itself back up.

Her brows jumped, startled at what it had so casually done with her given-form magic.

Putting its arm behind its back it just looked down at her in silence, an aura of menace falling over it.

*Gulp*

She swallowed down as she did not dare to break eye-contact with the figure. The figure just being silent and remaining motionless as it returned her stares.

Suddenly, it floated down from where it had been, moving towards the floor in front of her, to which she could only back away from it. Giving it room.

When its lazily, hanging limbs touched the floor it remained just as silent and motionless. Its eye remained transfixed on her where she was standing.

However, in a move that she never expected something this threatening and nerve-wracking to do it suddenly stood on its knee, bowing itself down in front of her in a respectful manner.

It was bowing to her!

“Welcome, your Highness.”

It said in an echoing voice that Chrysalis knew all too well, and instantly recognized from when she had heard it back in her mother’s throne room in the palace.

“Wait a minute, I know that voice.”

Hanging her head, she thought about it, and while she was doing trying to find the label that would better suit the silhouetted figure, -

…all while something was sneaking up on her from behind, its hands ready for whatever it was planning on doing.

Her head shot up, staring out at the silhouetted form with wide eyes as the name that she had been searching for finally came to her.

“Bill Cipher!” She said with an almost whispering tone in her voice.

*Poke*

*Loud horrified scream*

*Snapping of fingers*

*Poof*

“…AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

After having been poked on the back of her shoulder Chrysalis had the biggest freak-out she ever had, screaming like never seen, and instantly running around the room in wild panic.

Meanwhile, the two figures moved closer to each other, standing beside one another as they watched the insanity of the Changing princess freaking out the way she was.

Their eyes following her as she ran all around the room as if she was being chased by one’s worst nightmare.

She continued like this for five minutes straight before she, just lightly looking in their direction and noticing them watching her, she looked behind her, seeing that there was wasn’t anything there, and officially bringing this little moment of apparent ‘’hilarity’’ to an end.

Her previous look of pure terror contorted into an angry stare that she immediately directed towards the two figures standing idly by and watching her.

The veil that obstructed her from properly seeing the two figures was dropped, and their no-longer silhouetted forms were revealed to be that of the one that she had predicted it would be (based off its voice)

Her eyes widened as she saw her mother’s ‘’friend’’ standing beside his other identical clone, leaning against his clone, its arms crossed and just staring at her with such a casual mannerism.

Chuckling slightly one of the Bill’s stood back up-right, crossing its across, but she just groaned annoyed at it, rolling her eyes as she turned away from him, turning towards one of the hallways that lead out of this room. It was apparent that nothing was being achieved by hanging out here anymore.

When her back was turned to them all the way the Bill on the right (the one that had leaned against the other) raised a hand up, making it rotate 360 degrees.

The other Bill’s eye looked to his right, noticing the raised hand.

He gently raised his hand, clapping it against the already raised hand’s palm. The sound of it making Chrysalis stop in her place.

She would have looked behind her towards them, but decided against it since she knew that it would just be them rubbing their stupid scare of her in her face.

She just lightly shook her head and then resumed trotting towards the triangular doorway, all while the two Bill clones behind her disintegrated into blue mist that flew up towards the ceiling, passing the dark stones like a ghost.

Gently turning her head to look behind her she couldn’t see anything of the Bill clones or anyone for that matter.

She was (thankfully) alone.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, she conjured up a small smile now that she was free of Bill’s obnoxious voice.

*****

She continued down the triangular-shaped hallway, a look of determination on her face as she strode forward through the hallway.

Strange shapes could be seen all around the hallways, things looked like a mix between stained glass windows and crystal oval shapes could be seen on the walls in some parts, there were support beams in random places for no reason whatsoever, and then there was this room that resembled a giant black void filled with countless numbers of staircases going in random directions with glowing eye-shaped-windows placed in random places on the staircases.

“Somepony has clearly spent too much time admiring abstract art.”

Her face contorted itself into a confused grimace as she could not take her eyes off the weirdness that was taking place in this room.

Her eyes, which could not be ripped away from all the staircases going off in different directions, immediately snapped from one staircase to another as soon as she could not help but glimpse another one way sooner than her rapidly deflating excitement at seeing weirdly positioned staircases would have liked.

She even passed by a door at one point that had the initials OPEN TO PUBLIC COME IN! written on it.

… However she did not notice it since she was not tall enough to spot the sign in front of the door as it was shrouded in a thick fog of darkness that rendered it invisible to all but the one who shrouded it.

Continuing like this for a while as she explored the rest of…Bill’s home she finally seemed to be on the right track since there was a long red carpet that stretched down a lone hallway that did not seem to connect to the one she was currently following.

She decided it to follow it for curiosity’s sake, and also because it had an sign above it that read Throne room which was an obvious sign that this was where Bill would most likely be.

With a turn left she gently made her way down this new corridor, following it to wherever it leads.

After following the hallway for some time, she finally stepped out into a much bigger room.

Immediately the filly’s eyes widened and jaw dropped, hanging wide open as she was taken aback by the room that she had just entered…AND-…

*****

With crossed eyes, she muttered soundlessly under her breath as she saw the room, then proceeding to let out an angry groan in frustration.

“This is just where I started from!”

She shouted into the room as all her rage exploded to the surface at having gone around in circles and returning to the first room she had seen.

It was true, she had returned to that room with the strange raised pedestal and the weird mural glass-thing that was up on the wall behind it.

Even the strange pillar shapes were all in the same spot she had seen them.

“Ugh…I can’t believe this!”

She growled to herself as she trotted out into the room, an angry frown looking out across the room, making sure that everything was the same as before.

Coming to a halt at the center of the room she looked back up to the pedestal thing, staring back at it with a blank stare.

“Cipher, are you here!”

She called up towards the pedestal, expecting an answer to be given, -

…but receiving nothing.

The entire room was quiet, eerily silent.

Turning her head, she looked around the room to make sure that there weren’t any Bill clones there this time to scare her like they had earlier.

… But not even they were there.

The entire room was dead silent, the only lifeform capable of movement and speech being her.

Her gaze shifted around the room for several minutes, hoping to find something or someone else that could at least point her in direction of where Bill Cipher might be in this insane place, though, if they were anything like the rest of this place then maybe that was not such a bad thing.

With an annoyed groan, she spun on her heel and strode back down the way she had come.

After taking a good nine steps away from where she had stood one of her ears twitched as she heard a sound from behind her speak up as she was about to leave.

“Leave so soon?” An all-to-familiar voice reached her ears.

Her head shot up, staring out in front of her with wide eyes.

Slowly, she turned around, turning her entire body around so her eyes could indeed glimpse what she assumed had to be the real deal.

True enough, once she was now facing the pedestal and the large window she saw a triangle suspended in mid-air on the pedestal, its arms behind its back, legs crossed and a casual, calm demeanor about it as its lone eye looked back down at her.

“Hey.”

He extended a hand, waving it at her, but all the Changeling filly could do was stare up at him with shock.

She closed her mouth, but not because she was happy to have found him, on the contrary, she was furious with him. Evidenced when her face’s expression contorted into an angry glare that looked to be suppressing some of the anger she was experiencing at this moment.

She closed her eyes and looked a little of her head away from him, exhaling a heavy sigh as she suppressed her anger even more.

Upon opening her eyes again, she was about to begin laying the angry words she was saving up when she suddenly noticed that the room had immediately changed into something that was far from the room that she had been staring at seconds before.

Instead everything had been changed or re-arranged into a far more different layout…That was false, the entire room was still the same, except that the glass window had changed into a large oval window with a flat end at the bottom, inside which was an arrow pointing upwards with strange (but surprisingly well-crafted) shapes at the top and inside the triangle. There were banners on the both sides of a sharp and spiked throne that had taken the place of the pedestal, and the banners themselves depicted images of Bill Cipher with raised arms and the landscape of trees and other objects on fire.

Despite being a throne that he should have had no problems sitting on the Dream Demon that hovered above the seat looked to be far smaller compared to its large and grand size than was expected. Even the Bills on the banners looked big enough to sit on it.

“Yes, Princess Chrysalis- “

He said, his arms reaching out towards the throne’s armrests but not managing to reach due to the armrests being further away, and thus just falling right down.

He was surprised by it, and almost lost his stable hovering if not for catching himself half-way through falling with his arms that had failed to connect with the armrests, making him exclaim a “Whooahhh!” As he lost his balance.

Putting a hoof to her mussel she snickered at his failed attempt to put his arms down on the throne’s sides in a menacing display.

His eye looked up, his gaze falling upon where she was standing not that far away from his throne, narrowing his eye at her.

Her head shot up, staring back at him wide-eyed as his crossed eye met her staring pair.

With hanging arms, he locked eyes with her, creating a back-and-forth stare between the two that was not broken.

A silence devoid of any motion from either fell upon the room that lasted for a good couple of seconds, -

… it being only interrupted when Bill suddenly began to snicker.

What started out as a simple snicker eventually got progressively louder and louder before turning into a full-out laugh.

Seeing Bill reacting the way he was Chrysalis gently started to join him in laughing, not getting her voice any louder than that of a nervous laugh.

They went on for laughing for a solid five minutes with no signs of stopping.

By the end of it Chrysalis’ laugh had been reduced down into an annoyed laughter that was just so darn angry about things having gotten so drawn out.

Unable to take it anymore she snapped!

“AUUGHHHHH!” She shouted in a pint-up rage, her raised voice being enough to about the room being silenced.

Breathing heavily from having used her voice like that she guided her eyes back down towards the hovering triangle who was now looking back at her with a blank expression about its eye.

Reading its face was going to prove a little problematic.

Panting softly, she watched him adjust his bowtie before he floated through the air towards her, his hands meeting behind his back where they folded.

Watching him approach her with a look about his eye that told her he was either irritated with her and was now going to do something about that. She couldn’t know for certain unless she watched what transpired next, but whatever happened next would decide whether she would be relying on the precaution of a teleportation spell was indeed even more uncertain.

However, when the triangle reached her he immediately stopped right in front of her, he put his hands behind his back and directed his eye back to meet her gaze as he hovered in place.

Almost immediately a form of the ground started to raise up underneath, a rectangular box formed underneath him.

None of this made sense, but then again it was Bill Cipher, he was so strange and bizarre that he might as well have been Discord’s grandfather.

He then got down on one knee, bowing his…well…part of his triangular tip down in a manner that was close enough.

His actions confused her more than anything she had seen so far, in this palace of insanity

She had expected to see a few bizarre things, but one thing that she had never thought she would see was him, Bill Cipher himself, bowing before her like one of her subjects.

“Princess Chrysalis, what is thy bidding?” he automatically asked her as if this was just something he did on a regular basis.

She backed away from him, her paranoia growing with everything that he was doing now.

“Uh…what is happening?” she asked obviously weirded out by his strange behavior.’’

He looked up, both meeting the others eyes/eye.

“You are royalty, - “ he stood up, the floor sinking back down underneath him. Returning to normal. “Are you not?” he asked, doing random, but seemingly casual, hand gestures through the air.

Wait! He recognizes me as royalty…despite having the power to destroy our entire race under his boot?

Realizing that she had not answered him she quickly nodded her head to indicate that she had noticed his question.

“Y-yes, I am the Princess of the Changelings” she said with a little stutter unfortunately sneaking its way into her reply to him.

“Indeed… And as your mother regent I am in bound in servitude to you alike.”

His hands were behind his back and his eye looked back at her with a blank deadpanned look that greatly reminded her of her mother’s veteran guards back home who always responded to an instruction in the same kind of monotone voice.

“B-but you’re Bill Cipher,” she stated with a raising of her brow and a new mounting expression that perfectly suited the descriptions falling under suspicious. “Your far more powerful than even the Lord of Chaos, and I doubt the Elements of Harmony would have any effect on someone as powerful as you.”

She was taking a great risk on saying this to him since she knew full well that it could easily backfire, but her newfound curiosity towards this insanely powerful godly figure was behaving in front of her, something that could barely be considered a challenge with how strong her power was now let alone further down the line when she was older.

Outside of casually blinking his eye at her there was no auditable response from him.

“You forget that I don’t possess royal blood, thus I am not entitled to the throne of either the Changelings or any race on this world” he said while gesturing through the air with his arm.

“But that should hardly matter to someone such as you who can- “

“…control reality? Use the thread in the fabric of reality as a toothpick?” he interrupted her, gesturing with his hand in the air as he crossed his eye, narrowing it towards her.

Uh…How can one use reality as a toothpick? You don’t even have a mouth, she thought as she raised a confused brow at him.

“Just because I could move the Sun and the Moon with my finger does not mean that I am entitled to rule over everyone that cannot measure up to my levels of power…”

She was about to say something but he held up his hand, indicating to her that she was to remain silent.

“…If anything it just makes everything incredibly unfair for the those that I am subjugating under my rule, and what is the fun in just taking something because you can?” he asked as he held up his hands.

“I want to feel frustration at the possibility of losing, the heat of battle, and the sense of victory when I actually do win because it was through the might of my own power that brought it about.”

With a blank stare on her face, but raising a brow at him, she tried to not seem too surprised by his sudden change in mannerism.

However, in truth she was nothing but speechless at this since she had only seen him as being an insane party animal…like Discord, who did nothing but whatever he wanted. She had never in her entire life imagined him to actually have anything close to a moral standing considering he could so easily just do whatever he wanted if someone disobeyed him.

“But isn’t it…kinda…insane to not use any of the power that one like yourself who has such incredible powers by wasting it on such inferior creatures below?”

Putting his hands behind his back he folded them as his expression took on more of a smirk.

Thus, he hovered a little closer to her…Maybe getting a little too close for comfort.

“If I was to do that, Princess, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

After saying that he hovered away from her, providing her with some breathing space.

Raising a brow, she looked back at him confused by his statement.

“Why?” she asked, even though deep down she probably knew the answer to her own question but wanting him to answer it for her so she wouldn’t have to draw any conclusions that quick on her own.

“Because the Changelings rule Equestria?” she said nervously in an attempt, hoping that it was the correct answer to her question that she was looking for.

She only watched as his expression changed into a delightfully evil smirk.

“I would be ruling over Equestria…and would be the one holding your chains since you would be nothing to me but slaves.”

Her eyes wide in horror at the thoughts that entered her head.

Connecting his hands behind his back-Bill floats through the air – soundlessly – and approaches her with this creepy expression about him.

“How fortunate for us both that I am not like that…” he says right to her face.

*Gulp*

Upon noticing her swallowing down in such a horrified state, he hovered back away from her – his arms hanging back down beside him.

Returning to sitting in his throne his arms grew a little longer so that they finally reached the throne’s armrests.

Stepping back away from him a little she held a horrified expression upon her face as she beheld him sitting on that throne in the silent manner that he was.

“But enough about what I would like, what do you want to do, Princess?” he just – quite randomly at that – asked her as he adjusted his posture on the throne.

He raised his legs up to the right armrest, perching them there while his arms were brought up behind his triangular form.

His changed posture making him look quite relaxed.

“W-what are you doing?” she asked, her uncertainty surrounding Bill being returned in some small amount due to his quite…sporadic character.

Rolling his eye, he gently lowered his one leg down – letting it hang – while the other was still perched atop the side.

“Well, whatever you wish, your Highness…I assume you put yourself through so much effort to come here to seek me out for a reason.” he gestured in the air with his hand.

She tripped over herself trying to find the words that could dispute what he was saying, but there was nothing she could say that would not be the truth for her wanting to seek out Bill Cipher.

Finally, not trying to conceal it anymore, her expression turning into a blank frown upon her face, she meets his unbreakable stare that was awaiting her response.

“I’m bored.” she just blurted out in a deadpan monotone voice.

“There is nothing to do back home so I thought a little visit to you might find some way of making t a little…less boring, at least.”

“Hmmm…” he brought a hand up to his non-existent cheek, surprisingly thinking about it.

His eye looked up, staring back at her.

Standing back up in his throne he put his arms behind his back as he took to floating in the air towards her.

Stopping ten inches away from her with a deadpanned expression about him. It looked very serious.

Before the silence got to the point of getting silly, the floor was suddenly overtaken by violent tremors that shook the entire chamber with violent intensity.

She had a little trouble maintaining her balance, but it didn’t seem like it was necessary considering what came next.

With tremendous speed the floor suddenly caved in, a circular shape speeding downwards through the earth in something that was quite ludicrous, -

…and that was putting it lightly.

Holding on tightly with all possible strength that was enough to keep her from just flying off Chrysalis’ hind legs started moving up the more speed it continued to pick up.

Her skin started trail behind her, the sheer intensity of the speed being so strong that it was pulling on her skin back out of place.

Being able to spare a glance she could look out to the sides, seeing with her own eyes what this long tunnel was digging down through, -

… Instantly her eyes went wide in surprised shock at what she was seeing.

Everywhere she could see it was all dark clouds with large forms of light that were seen emerging from behind them.

All throughout she could see forms of various colors flying around. Some of them trying to get up-close to her.

However, they were unable to get within the carved circle since a protective green forcefield appeared whenever they tried.

Eventually some of them got bored and just floated away, though, there were still a few stragglers who could not bother themselves with doing something else and just continued following her despite not being able to penetrate the forcefield.

This is weird, she thought, but then again shouldn’t that already have outrun its use a while ago?

Just as she was beginning to delve deeper into her thoughts while thing carved circular piece of the floor was speeding down towards where wherever it was taking her…it suddenly stopped dead in midair.

This caused Chrysalis to be flung face-first against the dark stones.

“Urgh…” she groaned as she just lay there for a few seconds.

Lifting her head – as well as her body – she returned to standing up on her odd hooves.

Her pupil’s spine around inside her eyes momentarily, but a quick shaking of her head easily got rid of that, allowing her to return to full functionality once again.

“Ohhh…” she groaned as she rubbed the back of her sore head from that rough landing. “Let’s not do that again.” she moaned.

“I am sorry to say that it isn’t entirely over yet…” a familiar voice said to her.

She quickly spun around, staring directly back at the one who had spoken.

“… Especially if you are still feeling up for not spending the rest of the day in boredom.”

Crossing his arms, he looked back at her as his triangular form hovered through the air towards her.

Scrunching her face, she was suppressing some of her frustration with him doing all these…quite unnecessary things to impress her of his power.

Uttering a low growl, she looked back at him with a frown.

“Fine…” said Chrysalis as she returned to standing up on all fours in not such a dizzy state. “But you better deliver on what you’re promising me for the remainder of this day.”

Bill’s eye smirked at her. His arms hanging down.

“Oh, when have I ever disappointed you so far during your visit, Princess?”

*Snap*

The next to follow right after Bill snapped his fingers was that the platform suddenly exploded!

Each stone shattering into dust that no longer gave Chrysalis something to stand on, and instead just drift through…wherever in Tartarus this weird place was!

Moving around frantically in the air her panic was short-lived as a portal swirling in on itself opened right below her and Bill, who was just casually hovering there beside her while she was having some trouble with the gravity in this place.

Looking back him – despite drifting upside down – her eyes meet his lone, managing just a single stare before the two of them were pulled into the portal.

‘’BILL CIPHER!’’ were the only words uttered from her before they entered the tunnel of light.

*****

(Later, at night)

Sitting on her throne in a darkened chamber that was only being illuminated by the torches aligning the wall, Empress Pollus was discussing the foreign matters that was being brought to her attention by her Generals, who were all gathered in the throne room with her.

“Hmm…” she grumbled, going to her thoughts to think about what had just been brought to her attention. “That is indeed very troubling, General.” she replied, lowering the hoof form her chin, eyes looking up to meet him.

“I don’t think you would find a single Changeling here would disagree with you, your Majesty.” the general replied.

She managed to let out a gentle chuckle at his attempt at humor, intentional or not, smiling warmly at him.

Her former seriousness returned as soon as she looked back out towards the rest of the Changelings in the chamber.

“Has any attempt been made to-? “

Before she could continue she was mid-way interrupted by a bright flash of light, that shortly followed to reveal the hovering figure of Bill Cipher and her daughter, Chrysalis, hovering beside him.

Her initial look of surprise changed into a smile that she used to greet the two new arrivals with upon seeing them.

“Cipher... Daughter.” she nodded her head at them individually.

Bill grabbed his top hat, but instead of tipping removing his hat he lightly tipped it.

“Empress.” said Bill in a respective tone.

The triangle with his eye flipped itself so that it was facing Chrysalis while the rest of his lower body was still facing the Empress.

“I hope that I have not inconvenienced you, but I and the Princess was just hanging out a little, you know, getting to know each other.”

Chrysalis looked towards him, but just crossed her arms, rolling her eyes at him as she hovered there.

“Oh no, it has by no means been an inconvenience…I’m just glad that she has been safely returned to me.” Her eyes shifted down from Bill to her daughter, whom she smiled heartfelt towards as she continued to hover there in the air.

…and that my little girl and one of my closest friends are finally getting along, she thought as she continually looked and forth between the two figures in the air.

Hearing a gentle yawn from their side Bill and Pollus both shifted their attention towards the source of the yawn.

Seeing that it had come from Princess Chrysalis, who was by now looking to be quite tired.

Both chuckled a little at it, staring at her as she just hovered there in the air, before shortly looking back at each other again.

“Something tells me that the young one is ready to retire for the night.” Bill said, raising his hand – his fingers outstretched – which slowly brought her back down to hovering just above the floor.

“I could not agree more.” said Pollus, watching as her daughter once again let out another much softer yawn, wiping his eye with her hoof.

Looking back down at the Generals still in the room she asked, “Will you gentlecolts excuse me, I must attend to my daughter,” to which the Generals responded with a series of “Of course, your Highness,” before bowing in respect, and afterwards leaving the chamber, leaving only the Empress, the Princess, Bill Cipher, and a few guards as the sole occupants.

Enveloping her growing progressing more tired daughter in her own magic field Pollus brought her a little closer to her through the air.

Looking to face Bill she looked towards his eye, smiling warmly at him.

“Thank you, Cipher, for keeping her entertained for the day.”

“Ah, it was no biggie, just show her a little bit of this and a little bit of that and she had her hooves full for a few hours.”

She scoffed/chuckled gently.

With a turn of her head she looked at the exhausted filly in her magic field, to which her expression deflated a little, turning into a light frown.

“I must however apologize if she might have been…a little much, even for you to handle.”

“Eh, she wasn’t all that bad...” he shrugged back a little uncertain in his tone. “And besides she’s a kid, I give her a little more leniency in that she isn’t exactly fully matured yet.”

“Here here…” Pollus nodded in agreement.

“But enough about us adults talking about her, why don’t we take her to her room?” Bill asked, gesturing towards the main door with his thumb.

“I don’t think that would be such a bad idea.”

Turning towards the main entrance to the throne they headed down the brief steps, Pollus trotted up along the red carpet that lead to those two large doors while Bill hovered in the air beside.

Standing at their attention upon seeing her, the guards also used their magic to open the door for the Empress and Cipher.

Trotting out of the throne room the two barely paid them a second glance.

*****

Venturing down the long hallway towards the Princess’s room Bill hovered silently beside the Empress. Arms behind his back as he tried to seem as high-standing as possible with the few Changelings they passed by on their way to Chrysalis’s room.

Upon reaching her daughter’s room, Bill waited in the open door as Pollus put her daughter to bed.

Standing over her bed Pollus could not help but smile as she watched her little filly gently stir under her covers, moving around in her sleep.

“Good night, my little Chrysie.” She said before leaning in and planting a kiss on her daughter’s cheek.

Watching her return to him, Bill backed out into the hallway so she could get out.

She looked back inside one final time, her magical grasp holding the door in place just before closing it, the light from the door illuminating Chrysalis so that her mother could see her child perfectly from where she stood.

With a final smile, she closed the door, enshrouding the room in darkness so that nothing would interrupt the filly’s slumber.

Turning back towards Cipher she just stared at him happily for a few seconds, before waving her hoof at him, gesturing for him to follow her as she turned and started following one of the corridors in front of her. Him hovering silently beside her.

*****

Trotting silently beside the equally silent Bill Cipher Pollus hung her head low, staring down at the floor in front of her as she trotted.

Finally, she eventually came to a stop, while Bill just continued forward, having not noticed it.

“Cipher…Am I a good mother?”

A question of that caliber, asked as sudden as it was enough to make him stop in his place.

His whole triangular form feeling an uncomfortable tension just from the weight of such a thing being asked.

He turned around to face her, seeing that her head was hung low and staring down at the floor in front of her.

“Have I failed my empire…? Have I…” she paused, lingering on like that for some time. Her mouth wide agape as if she was going to continue.

Suddenly, she lightly collapsed to the floor, Bill rushing over to her in aid.

She did not require assistance, but was now sitting up straight with her back against the wall, a sad expression upon her face that was hung low.

She looked up, meeting his eye staring back at her.

“…Have I failed my empire?” she asked again, her tone filled with sadness.

“Why would you say something like that, your Highness?” asked Bill with concern.

She didn’t answer, and instead just hung her head down again.

“I feel like while I may have a chance to save the Changelings from extinction through political means…that it will all be undone by my daughter…” she raised her head a little, directing her pupils back to looking up at his lone eye.

“She is quite suspicious of all who are not Changelings, and she has every right to be, there is much that we have done to earn such potential hostility towards us…”

“But what if an opportunity presents itself that we Changelings may live in harmony with the Ponies?” she asked him, a soft smile forming. “It will be an opportunity to save the Changelings from the extinction that could become a reality if we continue down our war-like path…” her smile quickly faded again, being replaced by sadness. “What if after my passing that Chrysalis will try to undo all my hard work because she does not trust the Ponies? How will that reflect on me as her mother?”

Hovering a little closer Bill extended a hand out to her, touching it to her shoulder. She looked up at him, meeting his sympathetic eye.

“I don’t know what the future holds for everyone, not even me, but I can tell you that as someone who has experienced Chrysalis as an individual for the first time that she is not that paranoid of others as you might think.”

She raised a brow, looking back at him.

“How can you be so sure? I have been raising her since birth, and even I’m not certain if I did it effectively.”

“That is because she was only raised amongst Changelings, not allowed to experience the kindness and hospitality that she can experience in the company of others who want nothing but to live their lives and tend to their loved ones.”

“B-but how did you do that? How could you possibly convince her that you weren’t a threat to her?”

Bill scoffed, smiling warmly.

“By showing her kindness, giving her experiences that showed her that while I am a little insane that I am just insane enough to be understand and loving.”

Pollus could only blink as they exchanged stares.

“In fact, - “snapping his fingers he summoned several squares out of thin air, that he grabbed with his hand. Holding them out to her.

“I wanted her to have these.”

Confused, she took them with her magic, moving them up in front of her face to see.

“What are-…” before she could continue her eyes had already fallen upon the pictures, and once they were seen she was virtually enthralled by them.

“It’s not much, but it’s something that I hope she might appreciate someday.” He softly rubbed his left arm, looking off to the side.

Moving squares back to the end she continued to look at them all in a relatively silent pause, her eyes watering at every single one that she saw.

“Oh Bill…” her voice was breaking, unable to hold back an overwhelming abundance of joy that seemed to coming to the surface.

“T-these are wonderful.” she said as she continued to flick through the last of them.

Looking up at him she could only see the kind expression of the Dream Demon that she had known for so long.

“…”

She was about to speak, but Bill raised his hand, silencing her.

“You don’t owe me anything…” he leaned forward slightly, extending his hand out to her shoulder. “Just that you live your life to the fullest.”

She opened her mouth about to continue speaking, but then decided against it, and instead just looked back at the squares she held in her magic field.

“Thank you, Cipher.” she nodded gently.

His eye closed as he nodded back.

Gesturing through the air his hand, she suddenly felt her right hoof overtaken by magical field that lifted it up.

He cupped it with his own two hands, looking back into her eyes with a kind expression.

“It’s what friends do.”

Left speechless by that, she didn’t even pay that much attention to when he used he let go of her hoof and floated back away from her a bit.

“Well, it is late, and as such I must now bid thee farewell…” him speaking seemed to snap her out of her trance.

“’Huh, wha -?”

“Good night to you, your Highness.” was all she managed to pick up before she saw him ready to snap his fingers, and decided to just act as quickly as she could before he left.

“G-good night to you too, Cipher.” was all she managed to utter before he snapped his fingers, vanishing in a flash before leaving the corridor devoid of life save for her.

Looking around her to make sure he wasn’t still there or just playing a trick or something on her.

When she saw that she was alone she just chuckled softly to herself, and then activated her horn, teleporting out of the corridor and back to her own room to retire for the night as well.

Vanishing with *Pop*.

*****

(Meanwhile, far far away…)

Preparing herself for a good night of rest Luna trotted back to her room, encountering many guards and other ponies of high positions that passed her by on her way to her room.

Many of them greeting her in a friendlier tone than others since they did know that just because she was royalty that she wasn’t going to despise them because they showed that they had the ability to show emotions and be friendly.

Upon returning to her room the first thing on her agenda was getting out of her royal regalia and into something more suited for sleeping.

With the aid of her magic she removed her chest plate and crown, while simply slipping out of her horseshoes like it was nothing.

Humming a gentle tune to herself she telekinetically opened the two doors to her closet, -

…but instead of continuing like she had originally intended she became motionless, her brows crossing themselves as she looked towards something that had rather caught her attention a little more than getting changed into suitable attire.

“Curious.” she pondered as her magic activated, enveloping a rectangular box, and gently lifting it out of the closet.

Backing away, she levitated the paper box over to her desk, setting it down.

Opening it, she curiously raised a brow at what she found lying inside it.

Her horn activated, and started to pull out-

“…Books?” was her response as she gently put the book down onto her desk, looking down at it with a newly mounted confusion at what she was seeing.

“Why would anypony send me books…? Or Tartarus, use a big unmarked box to get it delivered?”

There was no short supply concerning this strange find in her closet of all places.

What in the world was a box with no identification as to who had it placed been doing there?

Who put it there?

Why was there a picture of six-clawed paw on the front?

Author's Note

Final chapter for a while.

I will not be posting any other chapters for a while after this one, at least not until 2017. I should have tons more chapters by then so rest assured that even though it is going to be a long hiatus i will have much more content for you guys this upcoming year :pinkiesad2:

Thank you to all my readers who have enjoyed and supported this story so far :raritywink:

I am really Looking forward to giving you guys much more awesome content in the future :pinkiehappy:

See ya all in 2017! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 17

The Book of Secrets

The next day after Luna had lowered the Moon and her sister had raised the Sun to welcome the new dawn, she turned her attention back to the quite surprising discovery that had been made in her closet last night.

The second following her adorning her royal regalia once more she immediately turned her attention to the book.

Staring blankly down at it as it sat on her desk with the strange fix-clawed paw insignia on the front (with no number) So many mysteries were stirring inside her head at just this book’s mere existence, let alone who put it in her closet.

While she did blink, she remained otherwise motionless as she sat on the floor facing it with great curiosity surrounding it. A stern expression mounted upon her face as she could not manage to look away from it.

“What are you…?” she asked none in particular since she was the sole occupant in the room.

Extending a hoof out to its front, she gently pulled the cover to the side, revealing a page that read;

Written by Alex Hirsch

“Hmm…Well, whoever you may be, Alex Hirsch, I assume that one day we will have to meet so we can discuss why you left a box for me in my closet.”

But as she finished that sentence it dawned on her how dangerous it was now that she had a name to go on – stopping her hoof in mid-air thus. A nervous expression settling on her face as her eyes could not divert themselves from looking at the book, especially now with those thoughts.

Is it possible that whoever this Alex is that he…could be one who serves my sister and I? Could it be that the one who left this for us was a guard or one of the other ponies who occasionally come and visit us? It is aftercall impossible to keep an eye on everypony that come here.

Nervous about her surroundings suddenly she slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder, checking her room to ensure that no one was there with her in this moment.

Crossing her brows, she activated her horn, causing a blue light to that reached up from the floor to the ceiling, but was as thin as a thread, that moved from one corner of the room to the other opposite it, making safe that the no one and no thing was in there with her.

Using her magic again, but this time to de-activate the spell, returning the room back to before she had cast the spell and turning back to look at the book in front of her.

Her worried expression changing to a more relaxed blank stare she used to look at the book with.

“Okay then, back to business like usual.” she said as she resumed movement with her hoof – that had been suspended in mid-air after when she became distracted – but instead of flipping the page with her hoof she simultaneously used her magic to flip it the page while doing a swiping motion with her hoof to humor herself…

*****

Her eyes immediately jumped, as well as her whole body flinching as her eyes fell upon the second page that depicted a bipedal, pale figure that was clad in black robes and holding dark-green robes with a bald head and a face that had the slits of a serpent for a nose, but primarily those of a skull.

The title was up in the corner of the left page written in big letters.

The Unmentionable, the title read.

Guiding her eyes back towards the pale figure she stared down at the page for a few minutes longer than she intended.

The writing on the two pages was very crude, as if it had been written in a hurry.

Phrases like, He cannot be trusted, Murderer, and lastly down in the corner on the right page were the words, I…am afraid of him, written.

On both the pages was a lot of text relating to this “Unmentionable.”

One of the photographs displayed an open grave that displayed the image of a casket that had been lowered down into the hole.

Per the snippets of information found on both pages she could piece together that this…creature was born in 1963 during the Victorian era.

As it grew up it was associated with some horrific murders that had believed to have connections with the anti-non-magic users who, in Equestria’s old days, had performed a series of ritualistic murders of Earth Ponies and Pegasus Ponies due to them lacking a horn to which they could magic with.

Sacrifices were made to a god whose followers were promised a ‘’purified’’ world to which they would roam once they were the sole species of this world.

One in a while a ‘’chosen one’’ was selected who would be the vessel for the god’s spirit that was pure evil.

Once possessed the ‘’chosen one’’ would be transformed into a tall bipedal creature that was the god’s true form in whatever dark dimension it originated from.

Often it would rip the remaining horn of the chosen vessel from its forehead and use it as a means of casing its dark magic. It could use telekinesis well enough without the use of the horn, but it was otherwise forced to use the horn due to it being unable to fully manifest itself in this dimension for longer periods of a week.

However, while prohibited from using all its power at once the possession was enough to create a link between its vessel and its imprisoned self in the other dimension it had been banished to, and with its huge reserves of power in the other dimension it meant that its stamina was never depleted.

Only in the last few days of its possession would it grow exhausted and tired from slowly being forced to leave the vessel and return to its prison.

The last thing she saw of this terrible creature was a newspaper clipping that had been attached to the right page that spoke of this society called ‘’the Purebloods’’ who had been apprehended after a series of gruesome ritualistic murders had been carried out in their name.

Months had gone by without too many leads that gave exquisite evidence as to who were directly involved, but one cult member had eventually turned himself in and revealed the location of the society’s meeting grounds.

Apparently, he had been feeling great guilt about the things that he had done and wanted to hopefully save himself by preventing more murders by taking place.

In the following days, several arrests were made concerning key-figures within the main councilmembers who were part of an inner circle that were in direct contact with the deity so that they could carry out its will.

Once they were in Equestrian custody the society disbanded, since without the council to interpret the will of ‘’the unmentionable’’ there was no longer any purpose for their existence.

Seeing that a peace had been created the council was secretly executed to ensure a permanent peace was established and to infinitely keep the society from ever resurfacing again to continue their mindless string of murders…

*****

Feeling disgust at what she had read her scrunched expression looked away from the newspaper clipping as her magic turned the page.

When her eyes spotted the next entry, she saw that it was quite a strange yet recognizable one.

“Oh, what was its name…” she held up her hoof, trying to snap her non-existent hooves just like she had seen Bill do when he had trouble remembering something.

“Ah, yes!” she exclaimed, smiling as she finally remembered the name.

“Gozer… Yes.”

She trailed slightly off as she gently nodded her head from remembering the name.

Staring down at the picture depicting the god she was less impressed since she had already meet the deity personally.

“Meh… Already seen that one,” she commented on this page before using her magic to flip the page again with her magic.

However, as the page was flipped she missed one of the newspaper clipping that had a rather interesting title.

End of the World prophecy or just mad ravings?

*****

After flipping through the book’s many pages, seeing nothing but extensive entries on various creatures and sometimes even whole locations.

The building in particular confused her since it was just a simple sketch of something that looked like it belonged in Manehattan.

One of the entries was even stranger. It just looked to be what could be estimated schematics or designs.

Flipping onto the next page she crossed her brows almost immediately as soon as she saw the next figure depicted.

Raising one of her brows as this one caught her attention on a level that she didn’t expect to.

Scanning the page for any identification she eventually found it in the top corner of the left page.

Lord O

With the use of her magic she lifted the book up into the air, moving it closer to her face so she could better examine the attire depicted in the image.

Not because the quality of the picture was inadequate to display it well enough, but because it was giving her the strangest sense of Déjà vu that she had seen this figure somewhere before.

Raising her head – and putting the book back down on the desk – she looked out the window in thought.

Trying to remember where she had seen this before her mind immediately connected the image to a memory, remembering precisely where she had seen this before.

Thinking that it was better just to visit the actual place her horn activated the teleportation spell, making her vanish in a flash of light.

Several moments after she had left the door to her room was gently pushed open and a lone figure stepped inside the now abandoned room.

Turning its head, its eyes falling upon the book with the open page it stepped up to the desk.

Extending a hoof, she flipped through quite a lot of pages until she arrived at the last page. Its eyes widening in shock.

[Far away from Canterlot…]

Re-appearing in another flash Luna immediately turned her head to look around at her surroundings to ensure that she had arrived at the place she had intended.

She had.

She had arrived in the center of a large clearing where most of what surrounded it was a forest.

Standing at the center of a circular clearing she could see nothing but the forest that surrounded her.

Closing her eyes, she began to concentrate. A second later her horn was activated, a far stronger concentration being used than usual.

Energy crackled seemingly at random in the sky, but was soon revealed to be a large forcefield that flickered to life as the magic could sense the one who originally cast it ordering it to undo the spell.

Obeying the command the barrier momentarily flickered, suddenly causing several structures to flicker into existence.

Becoming clearer to see as the spell was lifted, the structures finally looked solid enough to make it clear that the spell of concealment had been lifted fully.

Suddenly a shape rose high into the air behind her!

Thinking that it was something attempting to sneak up on her she quickly spun around to face it, readying her horn for whatever she might encounter.

However, when seeing the shadow’s origin with her own eyes she immediately froze in place, halting all further movement, -

…seeing that the figure to meet her eyes was a solid stone statue that depicted a bipedal figure.

Standing tall the figure it extended its arm out, holding a sphere that unlike the rest of the statue seemed to be made from obsidian, making it stand apart from everything that was just purely carved from stone.

If shown to Equestria’s grumpiest critic it could never be argued that it had flaws. Everything was flawless.

Trotting around to the front she looked up at the statue’s face.

However, there was just one problem with that.

Its face was hidden behind by a large mask that covered the whole head, hiding any clues to solving the identity of whoever it was, though, that seemed rather futile now since no one when crafting a statue creates both the face and the helmet that it was wearing in this depiction.

The statue itself was very old

Scanning it with her eyes, her attention was drawn to a pair of broaches that were part of the shoulder pad armor.

Frowning her brows, she narrowed her sight onto the closest one of them, extending her wings beside her.

Delivering a powerful flap of her wings she flew up into the air, trying to get as close as possible to the statue so she could analyze the emblem worn by this…whoever.

Leaning in as much as she is allowed she begins looking the emblem over – both essentially being the same so comparing both is just redundant – taking in all its details to not miss anything important.

Shifting her eyes back to towards the large tower behind it, more accurately the door she notices a symbol that is suspended just above it.

Continually shifting her gaze back and forth between the emblem and the door, something finally starts to click in her mind.

“There obviously has to be a connection here,” she said aloud to herself in a light frustration. “Why else would this symbol be on both shoulder pads and above a door leading into a tower that is…, - “raising her head she looks up towards the very top of the tower.

At the top, which is a ring of four sharp spires pointing up into the sky.

“…very unique to say the least.”

Guiding her eyes back down to the emblem once more she began to think even harder about what all this could possibly mean.

“Hmmm…” she thought aloud to herself as an idea seemed to come to her. “Maybe if I think much clearer an answerer will become clear.”

Flapping her wings in a gentler pattern she flew down towards the ground again. Planting her hooves against the ground.

Emptying her mind, she readied herself for the mental focus it would take to be able to think in the manner of which she was going to attempt.

Sitting down on the ground she folded her legs so that they crossed.

It forced her to utter a small grunt from her because of the momentary pain of forcing one’s legs to sit in a position like that.

Inhaling a calm breath, she exhaled it moments later with a newfound calm from that simple breath she had taken.

Keeping her eyes closed she begins to focus her concentration on nothing but embracing whatever answers to unlocking the mysteries between the insignia and the door that exists.

Her powers begin to tap into the otherworldly, going far beyond anything that anyone has ever done before in their whole life. Going so far as to almost abandon the hold over her body to join with the greater forces of the universe that knows all…, -

…how fortunate then that she only used enough to only have dropped a small pebble into that ocean and not the entire rock.

While searching for the answers she was seeking something otherworldly reached out to her instead of the one that she had originally intended.

Moving through the large like a ghostly mist a hooded figure enveloped in a blue aura and clad in robes with a concealed face behind a hood.

“My my my…what do we have here…!?” a lone voice asked, interrupting the calm and serenity of Luna’s achieved state of mind.

The sound of boots stepping on the ground got louder as a figure seemed to approach her while in the state she was in.

She could not see it, but its presence was all around her..., -

…like it had become the very air her physical body breathed in.

All around she could hear unnatural snarling and growling of dark creatures, voices whispering to her in a dark language that she could not comprehend, -

…but still she could hear the figure approach her by the sound of its boots, and the wind that was blowing through its robes.

Raising her head, she looked up, turning from side to side to track the dark power that she was sensing surrounded her like a storm…and she was at the center of where it would hit hardest.

“W-who’s there?” Luna asked, her concern growing stronger even before she got an answer…if she even got one. “What do you want with me?”

A motion through the air was done, accompanied by a loud whoosh, and while she couldn’t see it she was suddenly overtaken by…a presence that was moving through the vast library of her mind, memories being accessed and other details about her character.

“Ahhh...Yess...! “the voice reacted as it must have found the information that it had sought.

She suddenly gasped as, again, but while she couldn’t use her eyes to directly see what was transpiring in front of her she could see feel that something was pointing in her direction.

“Princess Luna, is it not?” she was asked by the figure that she could not see.

“…Princess Luna…” the disembodied echoed in her head.

Lifting her head to look out in front of her at the creature near her she was slightly taken aback by its confusing question to her.

However, it was difficult for her to tell whether it was an actual question or a statement.

“Y-yes,” she responded, trying to put as much emphasize of remaining calm in the face of such a powerful individual. “…it is I…who or whatever you are.”

“Hmm…good…, -!” the voice in a hoarser voice.

“Good…” the voices echoed in her mind.

“Now…open your eyes…and face!”

Her physical bodies’ eyes shot open, staring out in front of her towards the powerful presence she had sensed only moments ago, surrounding her body in the real world.

However, there was nothing physical to meet her eyes.

Becoming confused she turned her head towards both sides, scanning her surroundings for any sign of that great power.

“W-who are you?” Luna asked blindly, hoping for an answer to be given. “Why can’t it-“

‘’Not see me…, -?” that familiar voice spoke up, though, this time without the other voices accompanying it.

Caught off-guard from being interrupted like that, Luna collapsed to the ground from her sudden jump of fright. Her hooves coming loose from their fixed position, allowing her to stand up on her hooves again.

As she stood up she picked up that it started to speak to her again.

“… It would seem that the answer to that question is not as difficult as you might believe!”

Mounting a strict expression, she looked around her surroundings again, still uncertain of where the voice was speaking from…but any attempt to do so only resulted in failure.

It was like…it was all around her. Even the very ground she trod upon was imbued with the energy.

“Who are you?” she asked in a calm, but suspicious manner.

“At ease, your Highness, -!” the voice suddenly replied, a little more concern in its tone this time than heard previously. “I have no quarrel with a Princess of Equestria!” it explained itself to her.

“… In fact, I would far prefer to instead speak with thee rather than fight!”

Luna raised a brow in a visual response, allowing whatever this voice was to see her reaction.

“Talk to me? Why cannot you just do that now? You seem to have pretty good telepathic abilities,” she asked.

“While right you are, a telepathic converse is not as good as one that can be shared face-to-face with another entity!”

“Hmm…” she grumbled to herself, thinking over the alternatives at her disposal.

She could either turn around and leave this place now, abandoning the possibility of uncovering the truths hidden behind those crimson doors…, -

…or she could gain entrance to a place that had been inaccessible to her despite her magical capabilities, and learn the facts behind its origin, if any could be provided at all.

Turning her head her attention fell upon the dark doors behind the statue. Narrowing her eyes, she looked at the door with a strict intensity.

Unaware to her, something very powerful was awoken deep within her subconscious. Something that would forever dominate her future from this point on…should she want to proceed from here.

Standing back up again she stepped out of the way of the statue, instead having her eyes set on the on the doors with a strict stare.

Thinking that some form of magic was required to open the door she closed her eyes in preparation of using said magic to open the doors.

All around her everything started to vanish into dark, swirling smoke that blotted out the surroundings.

“What am I to do if I want to gain entrance?” she asked the disembodied voice.

If the voices could grin, they would have.

“Only one thing, child; let that which has long been buried return to the surface!” the voice instructed to her.

Her strict attitude of a few seconds ago was quickly transformed into confusion at what she was being told by the voice.

“Do what?”

“Look deep within yourself… Find the desire that you have buried deep within yourself for such long a time…and unleash it!”

She opened her mouth to speak, but it just hung open as she could not muster the words she wanted to utter.

“I-I-…I don’t know what my deepest desire even is,” she winched, struggling to understand the task at hoof.

“Do not quell it…! Let it guide you towards what you want instead of denying it!”

“B-but I don’t know what I want! I’ve never known!” she hung her head, clenching her head with her hooves.

Suddenly, her eyes went wide as something could be felt in her chest.

Bringing a hoof up before her legs gave away, followed thereafter by the rest of her body she clutched at her chest.

The great pain emanating originally from her chest then spread out towards her whole body, forcing her to endure what felt like knifes being forced up along her skin, cutting pieces of her skin, -

…and she was all but completely helpless to make it stop tormenting her.

Out of the swirling smoke a hooded figure stepped forward with its dark robes trailing behind it as it approached her where she lay.

Gently lifting her head as some of the pain seemed to reel back in the presence of this hooded figure she saw it coming to a stop in front of her splayed-out body.

Wide-eyed with a pale stare she looked up at this figure as she shook slightly from the extreme she had been put under for the past five minutes.

Looking down at her the figure was silent behind its hood as nothing of its actual face could be seen from behind that darkened hood.

What Luna could see was that it was an equine with a long-elongated horn, though, from her current angle on the ground she couldn’t tell if this figure was or wasn’t an Alicorn.

“Pathetic…Worthless…Weakling” a voice clearly belonging to a female commented as it made (invisible) eye-contact with her laying body.

Slowly raising her hoof, she extended it out towards the robed figure before her.

“H-help me…”

She begged it, but instead of being meet with a hood in response the dark robes only moved away from her.

“Help…you?” it lightly tilted its head as it responded.

Opening her mouth, she tried to say something…but instead found that she was incapable of speaking.

The mare ignored her all the same.

It looked off to the side, hanging its head low.

“How far you have fallen, - “she said.

Slowly the hood turned back, staring down at the blue Alicorn.

“I shall deliver the fate of weaklings upon you…but I will grant you a warrior’s death.”

Slowly she raised her hoof up, having long sleeves droop down from the hooves as she pointed it directly at Luna.

Before Luna could get another word out excruciating torrents of lightning suddenly shot out from her hoof, ravaging her body with anything far surpassing pain that she had felt before.

It made King Sombra’s Dark Crystal scythe feel like a letter opener compared to the pain exacted upon her by this hooded mare who had the ability to unleash lightning just from her mere hooves.

The longer the lightning continued to ravage her body and bring nothing but unspeakable pain along with it she could not hold it back any longer, -

… She began screaming in agony!

An agony that far surpassed having a knife penetrate one’s own flesh.

“Young fool,” she said, her voice dripping with contempt and a lack of sympathy for the one that she tormented.

Every bolt of lightning that hit Luna’s body continually supplied the dark powers that were hurting her the strength to keep her grounded and enraptured by the pain she was in.

“Controary to popular belief the Princess of the Night is nothing but a weak and frail shell of her former self.”

From behind the hood a sick twisted smile formed.

“If you cannot protect yourself then you are nothing to those you wish to protect, nothing but a tool…of which your sister uses you to great effect in shielding herself…but not her subjects.”

Slowly she shook her head in disappointment.

Managing to guide her eye towards the mare, Luna looked back at her while being intensely tormented. Her attention now gripped by the mare’s words.

“Hmm?” she responded upon noticing Luna’s eyes staring back at her. “Mmm…”

Ceasing her relentless barrage of lightning Luna’s screams came to a stop as her body collapsed to the ground, smoke trailing upwards from her injured form.

“What is this? Bravery?” she responded in shock that was intended to mock.

Slowly raising her head Luna used her hoof to stand herself up in order to support her aching self, staring up towards the hooded face of the one who was tormenting her.

Deep within, her rage had started to bubble, getting warmer as the suffering she had managed to endure for this long did nothing but continually add wood to the fire that was stirring inside of her at this moment. Only getting stronger every passing second.

She gritted her teeth, breathing heavily as her eyes saw the dark hood and robe before her.

“Oh…” the mare responded as her eyes finally started to become visible, -

…revealing that they were shades of fiery red-rimmed yellow that seemed to glow as they looked down at her where she was standing up on her hind legs.

“Understand it, at last, do you?” she asked, only to be meet by Luna’s angry stare. “Poetic.”

Tightening her face a little she now glared back at her with an expression that unleashed nearly all the hatred she felt towards her at this moment being displayed in its full potency.

“Only now, at the end, do you understand,” she said as her hoof was raised back up, pointing it directly point-blank at Luna’s face.

Hanging her head low she looked down at the ground, something wild stirring within her that was no longer seemingly under her control.

… Something within her snapped!

Suddenly, quicker than Luna ever thought that she was capable of moving she swiftly shot her hoof upwards, pointing it towards the mare in front of her!

The mare’s eyes widened as she was suddenly forced back through the air.

She came into contact with the dark swirling smoke, but instead of passing harmlessly through it like she had before it instead subjected her to the full power of the lightning she had forced upon Luna.

Screaming in the same kind of agony the back of her robes was burned away, no longer covering the other half of her body.

In that moment, she collapsed to the ground her body fell to the ground.

Smoke trailing up from the parts of her body that had suffered the burns. Her robe was all but disintegrated by the black smoke, aside from her sleeves and the hood.

Grunting and sputtering from the damage sustained she weakly raised her hooves up to try and use them to crawl along the ground.

… However, she did not get very far as she was meet by a pair of blue hooves that stood in front of her.

Weakly raising her head, she looked up at the figure that was standing in front of her.

Once again, her eyes went wide as she saw that the one to meet her gaze was an angry Luna with a hate-filled glare that was now displaying the very same shades of fiery red-rimmed yellow that she had once possessed.

… Now hers had returned to being purple.

Her jaw started to tremble, trying to conjure up anything she could say…but was failing.

Looking down she could see that Luna’s hooves were randomly generating small surges of lightning. Returning her stare back up she could see Luna’s eyes narrow.

“L-luna, no,” she tried to speak, weakly trying to raise her hoof to shield her white face from the penetrating stare given by her sister. “P-please!”

“You hurt me, insulted me…” Luna spoke with a voice that was both dark but still retained much of herself in it. “You are the one that is pathetic!” she spat with distain most prominently in her tone.

“You don’t deserve to live for what you’ve done to me.”

Behind Luna a strong wind suddenly blew the dark hood off the Alicorn’s face, -

…revealing it to being her own sister; Celestia.

Luna’s golden, fiery eyes widened for a moment upon seeing her sister’s face being the one that had caused her such pain and humiliation.

“Celestia?” she asked confused.

“Yes…I-it’s me, Luna,” Celestia said in the motherly tone she always spoke in.

Luna’s rage subsided slightly, causing the electricity to almost fade.

“H-help me, sister…” She begged as she extended a hoof out towards Luna in a plead for help.

Luna was motionless as she stared down at her sister with jaw hanging agape at the revelation that it was in fact her sister who had done this.

“Please, Luna…h-help me.”

Celestia’s burned lower looked to almost be attached to a molten rock as her organic fur started to solidify, the fire within burning brightly through the solidified stone.

“Help me…please!” she begged one last time to the standing Alicorn in front of her with an outstretched hoof.

Luna’s pupils looked at the solid body of rock that her sister’s lower half had become, -

… Looking back at Celestia directly when she started to scream from the fire of the rock burning her organic body.

For a moment, Luna did not act, only look.

Eventually Luna slowly started to extend her hoof, raising it out towards her helpless sister.

At seeing this Celestia started to manage a weak smile at seeing her sister trying to help her.

Slowly she extended her own hoof up to meet her sister’s, -

…but it was not to be.

Suddenly, Celestia was once grabbed by a powerful telekinetic grasp, and her body was violently lifted off the ground and into the air again!

“L-luna, what are you doing!?” she shouted in panic down to the blue Alicorn in surprised shock, -

…only to be meet by her sister’s blank expression changing returning to being hate filled rage.

“Instead Celestia…” Luna said, her voice returning to sounding the way it had moments ago, …

“…you will die.”

Without hesitation Luna’s pointed hoof suddenly unleashed equally as violent – if not more so – brutal torrents of extreme bolts of lightning from her hoof upon her sister’s body that was suspended in mid-air!

Screaming like she had before Celestia was struck by continuous wave of lightning that reminded her of the swirling dark smoke around them and how it had hurt her as bad as it had. Except this time would end it forever.

Celestia’s body darkened, solidifying as her limbs, face, and mane were all turned to stone that the internal fire started to spread throughout, illuminated through faint cracks in the skin!

When everything was over and Luna ceased the unleashing of her wrath she lowered her hoof back to the ground.

The now un-recognizable rocky formation that was Celestia that hovered in the air fell to the ground with a violent crack, shattering to pieces, and exposing the flame inside it exposed.

… However, the flames only scattered through the air, existing while they could until they faded into nothing.

Standing over what had once been her sister Luna looked down at the pile of broken rocks with nothing but her golden eyes that conveyed the hate she was experiencing at the moment.

Standing behind her, a tall figure wearing black robes and a hood covering its face stepped soundlessly back into the swirling dark smoke, causing it to vanish from sight as Luna’s senses were returning to her.

Luna’s eyes shot open, but unlike the dark smoke that she was expecting to see was just the front entrance to the tower that she was trying to gain admittance.

However, unlike earlier times when she had seen it there was a very noticeable difference, -

… The doors were now open!

No longer locked by the strange forces that she had encountered and engaged conversing with.

With her mouth hanging agape she slowly stepped towards the parted doors, following the steps that lead up to it, -

…and vanishing from sight as her entire body was submerged in darkness!

Outside, the sphere that the statue had been holding this entire time crackled slightly with red flickers of lightning appearing randomly on it.

Author's Note

Finally...we have returned to continue where the story last left off!

How has your 2017 been so far? Good?

Aside from just this general announcement proclaiming my return to FIMfiction there is not for me personally to say aside from just welcoming all who has enjoyed this story so far and hoping that they enjoy this chapter.

So now...with my resurrection complete, how about we resume we left off?

Link - Star Wars Soundtrack - The Emperors Death - Theme

Chapter 18

In my experience, there is no such thing as luck Part 1

Trotting through the dark corridors of the tower Luna’s eyes could not help but be drawn towards the many torches that aligned the wall. The flames being blue rather than the usual fiery red that now did not illuminate as much of the corridor as the fiery red ones. That must have been why there were so many there then.

A lot of the decorative things along the walls were sharp and pointed.

Coming to a spiraling staircase that lead up she merely followed it instead of stopping to debate whether it was a good idea to do so in the first place.

Reaching what must have been the second floor she saw that it was not too far to reach the next set of stairs leading up.

However, as she passed by what was assumed to be just a wall she could sense…something behind the dark steel.

Coming to an immediate stop she slowly turned head to the right, noticing a pair of door handles close together indicating the placement of a door.

Turning her body around to better face the doors she maintains visual contact with the handles for a few minutes, before activating her magic and using it to pull the two doors open.

With slow creaking accompanying them the doors slowly proceed to be opened, moving out towards her per her telekinesis.

As they bang gently against the walls Luna’s eyes slowly look from one side of the room to another, scanning everything inside.

Her attention being attracted towards a pedestal atop which rests a rather unique object.

Trotting into the soundless chamber her eyes, while still being undoubtedly stolen away by the pedestal and its object, is keeping on high-alert as she steps further into the wide-open chamber.

Once out in the open her head arches upwards, catching a better glimpse of the open space of the chamber’s higher points, above, -

…but her attention does not falter to remain on the pedestal and its triangular object.

Adapting a strict face, she looks down at the triangle as she stops three steps away from the pedestal.

Taking notice of literally everything in the chamber she remarks to herself how the defeated King Sombra would truly enjoy himself in this place.

“And then there’s you,” she says guiding her eyes down towards the triangle, staring it with intensity in her eye.

“What are you?”

“What are you-are you?” several whispering voices like the ones outside the tower begins to speak.

Their voices echoing around the chamber as if their presence were close...and in a way, it was.

Suddenly becoming alert she turns her back on the pedestal, facing the front entrance.

“Who’s there?”

She calls out, but is meet with no response…other than the dead ambience of the tower.

“Who’s there-there?” the voices once more speak, making their presence known to be inside the room with her, -

…but impossible to be physically seen.

“Whoever you are, I command you, as co-ruling official of Equestria to reveal yourself before,” she demanded, her eyes slowly scanning the room as her body turned around where she stood to better guard in case the voices made themselves known and decided to attack her.

However, this time…the voices were silent.

Not a sound filled the chamber outside of the clopping of her hooves against those black, shiny floors.

Behind her on the pedestal the strange pyramid started to gently lift off its surface, slowly rising into the air.

“The Dark Side-ide!”

The whispering voices suddenly spoke up again, immediately warranting her attention once more.

Silently her eyes darted between the many doors, even looking towards the dark throne not too far away from the pedestal.

Again, as if she had asked there was no response.

The top piece of the pyramid started to disconnect itself from the rest, hovering softly above it as a light suddenly emerged from the two disconnected parts.

Noticing a bright light suddenly shining behind her she turned around, her eye finally seeing the opened tip.

Her mouth hung slightly open, staring wide-eyed at the hovering triangle as it slowly spun around in the air.

With her hoof raised she averted her head from the glow.

She did not look back until she knew that the light’s intensity had dimmed.

Her ears heard a soft humming noise, but even from hearing this she did not lower her hoof.

… However, what she did not know was that a tall figure with a blue ghostly aura around it was looking down at her.

“To whom am I speaking?” a sudden voice spoke, but unlike the earlier ones sounded like its origin was directly in front of her.

Quickly lowering her hoof from suddenly hearing it she turned her head back.

With her hoof gone and eyes fully exposed to look upon the being before her, her eyes immediately widen in astonishment as they look upon a tall – and from the looks of him, very aged.

Having clear white hair and a beard on his face, his attire was black with a belt, boots and a brown cape that was connected by a chain. It was effective simplicity.

It wasn’t until she noticed the transparency and the blue aura that she understood he wasn’t completely flesh and blood like she had originally thought, though, she was certain he was most definitely some sort of ghost.

Blinking his eyes a couple times she finally remembered what he had originally asked her.

“Oh… Well, I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria,” she replied, trying to force a friendly smile onto her face.

“Hmm…” the ghostly apparition grumbled to itself, raising a brow as if not impressed by her name.

Lowering the brow, he then bowed his head before her.

“Greetings, Princess Luna, I am Lord Dooku, Keeper of the Holocron that you have activated,” he explained.

Her eyes looked down at the hovering triangle, watching as the light projected from the open tip shone brightly, showing the Lord to her as a ghost lacking his legs.

“Lord Dooku,” said Luna with a respectful bow of her head.

“Uh, but I did not activate this…Holocron, I didn’t even make physical contact with it,” she remarked, pointing back towards the hovering triangle with her hoof.

“While I understand your point of view, Princess…allow me to explain how it works,” raising his he touched it to his chest with elegance.

“You may,” she replied, staring back with a blank expression that attempted to display her composed regal mannerisms.

“You must understand that the Holocron is connected to what we refer to as the Force, a great cosmic power that binds and surrounds all living things… It has been used for both the Light and the Dark, in some cases benefiting both sides” Dooku explained to the Princesss who listened with great intrigue to this new concept.

“So…this Force is like Unicorn magic?”

“Not quite…but If that comparison helps, then yes,” replied Dooku.

“How does the Force work?” she asked.

“The Force works just like your magic…, - “gently two of the fingers on his hand were raised up.

Suddenly Luna felt herself being grabbed by an invisible force that slowly lifted her from the floor, suspending her body in the air.

Remaining mostly calm she slowly turned her head, looking around her as her body floated there.

“What is this? What is going on?” she asked with an underlying hint of worry in her tone.

Dooku turned to face her, following her as she slowly hovered above the floor.

“I am using the Force to telekinetically levitate you off the floor.”

Luna’s brows suddenly jump, eyes widening at this news.

“B-but that is impossible. You hardly did anything!”

Dooku slowly shook his head at her in response.

“That is incorrect, your Highness. While you did not see it, I used my fingers to indicate to the Force what I wanted it to do…which in this case was lifting you off the floor to illustrate a fragment of the Force’ power to you.”

Gently waving hand through the air Luna suddenly felt gravity return to her and she was slowly returned to the floor where she planted her hooves against the dark obsidian underneath.

“But how does that work? How can the Force be controlled through simple…gestures of one’s body?” Luna asked, obviously confused by the whole concept about how the Force works.

“Ahh… Now that is a simple question to answer; the Force is generated through living tissue,” he paused knowing this would make less sense than what she had heard previously. “In lemans term; the more your body remains as pure flesh the stronger your ability to control the Force is.”

“So…if I was to lose my arm and have it replaced with a substitute would I still be able to channel the Force?”

“Yes, you would…but the abilities available to you will be significantly reduced as you will have lost some of your potential due to the loss of your organic arm,” Dooku continued to explain to her.

Lowering her head, she looked down at the floor as she tried wrapping her head around all this.

Before raising her head back up she exhaled a soft breath, her head slowly lifting back, and having her eyes fall upon the humanoid figure.

“This is a lot of to take in, Lord Dooku,” she said, interjecting a little bit of a scoff into her voice as she spoke.

“Of course it is, your Highness,” replied Dooku. “I would not expect anyone to still be as sane as they were if they were to learn the secrets of the Force in one lecture.”

To this her brows jump again, making her eyes big with shock.

“I-is the Force really that complex?” she asked him nervously, somehow not wanting know the answer because she already knew it.

“Indeed it is,” he replied with a bow of his head. “Like your magic, much can be taught…but even more can be shown.”

Her mouth hung open, about to speak, but she just gently closed it, debating about it with herself as she debated with herself over the wisdom of this this choice that she was about to make.

Casting aside any final thoughts of doubt about this course of action she looked back up into the face of Dooku with a serious expression.

“Then, Lord Dooku, keeper of the Holocron, will you teach me the ways of the Force?”

The humanoid figure raised its right brow.

“Will you become my mentor?” she asked.

“The path that you are choosing to embark on will not be an easy one, your Highness… Where the Force takes one will forever change you. I cannot promise that you will be the same when you leave this place.”

Closing her eyes, she inhaled a gentle intake of breath, calmly exhaling it again.

Crossing her brows she looked back at the ghostly figure with a serious expression.

“I have mastered the light…I will do the same for the darkness. I’m not afraid.”

Holding his hands together his eyes did not deviate from where she stood in front of him.

“You will be…you will be.”

Her face lost some of the courage that she had been putting into making her come across as strong and confident as possible to the Holocron keeper.

“Please kneel before the pedestal, your Highness,” Dooku instructed, motioning with his palm down to the floor.

“O-okay,” she replied a little confused, but thinking little of it as she believed it just to be part of an initiation ritual or something along those lines.

Bowing before Dooku her lowered her head, keeping it low so as to not make him think that he needed to explain the obvious thing about keeping one’s head low.

Suddenly there was a sound of energy being activated, humming loudly through the air that caused her to feel sudden alarm…but still despite its presence she remained calm and her head lowered.

“With the power vested in me, I, Lord Dooku, take you, Princess Luna, as my apprentice, “he said. The energy hummed as something was moved closer to Luna’s left shoulder before then being guided to her right.

The humming vanished, and she slowly raised her head, looking back up at him.

With his hand extended forward he held it above her head.

“Henceforth you shall be known as Darth…Zannah,”

On Luna’s face a smile formed as she looked up at her new teacher, not objecting to the name he had granted her as it must be a tradition his species has when taking a student to teach.

“Now, rise…my young apprentice.”

Retracting his hand Dooku looked down at Luna with a serious expression.

Standing back up Luna’s eyes fell upon Dooku’s own, -

…which momentarily shined golden as something had started to take root in her.

A power unlike anything she had ever felt before, perhaps even stronger than her natural magic.

Gasping she suddenly staggered back, feeling overwhelmed at feeling such a strength that she had never before experienced in her entire life.

Falling back she fell to the ground in a sitting posture.

“That, my apprentice…” she heard the voice of Dooku speak to her from above, raising her head her eyes once again looked upon him. “…was the Force taking hold in you, claiming you as you seek to claim its wisdom and teachings,” said Dooku.

Panting from her experience she looked upon him with awestruck eyes, amazed at the power of the Force that was coursing through her very being at this moment.

“Well I- “she said as suddenly froze in place, this overwhelming power beginning to fade away, until eventually she felt like herself once more.

“Wha-… What happened? Why can I no longer feel its power coursing through my body?” she asked, looking back at him with a surprised expression.

“D-did I-… Did I lose it?”

Shaking his head from side to side Dooku put his hands behind his back, still looking her with as serious a look as ever.

“The Force was testing you, seeing if you were worthy of learning the deepest secrets of the Force,” replied Dooku.

Biting her lip worry began to overtake her as seeds of doubt were planted in her mind whether she had passed this unexpected test.

Taking slow steps forward to him she masked her concerned behind a blank stare that just showed her as being curious.

“Well? Did I pass?”

… However, there came no response from the old figure, outside of his blinking eyes.

Holding up his hand it tightened into a fist…opening one of the doors as an invisible force caused them to swing open.

Her eyes were guided to the door, staring blankly at it before moving back to his face.

“Come, walk with me…Darth Zannah,” said Dooku before the projected light of the Holocron vanished, and he stepped out from the pedestal with a full body.

He turned and stepped towards the doorway, walking with his arms hidden behind his cape.

Stunned that she had passed the test she held her head low, staring towards the floor with a great deal of surprise in her expression.

I-I can’t believe it! I was actually accepted as being worthy of studying the Force under this Lord Dooku.

Hearing the lack of footsteps her attention was snapped back to the moment as she heard Dooku’s voice ask her, “The Force may be patient, my apprentice…but I am not.”

She swallowed, knowing that she had forced him to wait while her thoughts reflected on the moment.

“A-apologies, my master,” she said as she hurriedly trotted up beside him. “It will not happen again” she said with a hanging head as the humiliation of her actions could not bring her to meet the old figure’s gaze.

“Do not concern your mind with such trivialities, in the grand scheme of the Force there is no such thing as ‘’time wasted’’,” she heard Dooku’s voice speak to her as they walked down the hallway together side-by-side.

Raising her head, she looked up at him, his own staring down into her own.

“You may have made the decision to become my apprentice, Darth Zannah, but to become a student in the ways of the Force is not something to be taken lightly.”

“I-I know, master,” she replied with her head being gently lowered as to hide her frowning face from him.

“Ones does not merely learn the ways of the Force, one must devote their entire life to its teaching,” Dooku said as his attention shifted back to what lay down the hallway.

Wait, my entire life! How can I aid my sister in the rule of Equestria if I’m not there with her?

Her head shot up, looking down along the hallway with worrying eyes.

Did I make a mistake when I confessed to him that I wanted to learn the ways of the Force?

“Master?” she asked.

“Yes, my apprentice?” she heard being uttered off to her right side.

“If I am to become your student I must know how long my training will take, as my absence will be noticed.”

Stopping in place Dooku’s eyes shifted towards her, staring back with a serious stare.

The lack of footsteps let Luna know that he was not moving and she too stopped, turning around to look upon him.

“As I said, those that have tried to understand the Force in a short days time have all gone mad, “Dooku said with a hanging head. “I will understand should you wish to return to your kind so as to not worry them, but if you still desire to study the ways of the Force as my student you must be prepared that all out-side contact with anyone else will be excluded for an unspecified amount of time.”

Lowering her head momentarily she thought it over, smiling as she raised her head to look at him again.

“All right, master, I will devote myself to your teachings.”

Holding his hands together his expression did not change as he meet her gaze.

“For security measures, so as to avoid the knowledge of the temple falling into the hands/hooves of those seeking to use it for evil the temple will for a time disappear from this world. Nothing will, and must not, be allowed to interrupt you during your time as a student in this temple.”

Her eyes widen in shock from this follow-up statement.

“N-no one? Not even my sister?”

Gently shaking his head Dooku resumed walking down the corridor, leaving her behind.

“Wh-where are you going?” she called after him.

Coming to a stop some ways down the hallway he was silent for a time as he stood motionless in place. A sigh being uttered.

“From what I have seen of your surprise to remaining with me for some time it has become apparent that I was unfair in not presenting you with the whole truth of how long one would be staying here,- ” Dooku said as he turned around, staring back at her.

She did not say anything, but lowered her head with a slight hint of embarrassment of having made such a impactful decision on her own in the first place. She was after all the one who had made the request to him of becoming his student.

“…so I will allow you to leave the temple so that you may reconsider if learning under my guidance…but losing time with this sister you have mentioned is indeed what you desire. Unless it is your own desire to be taught by my guiding hands...I will not force it upon you.”

Slowly raising her head her eyes returned to look upon the ghostly figure before her.

“I cannot wait for long, though, as when the Sun sets on this day then I and the temple will disappear…not to return until ten years of this world have passed.”

Luna’s eyes immediately jumped, surprised by the number of how long she would be gone if she chooses to become his student.

“May you chose wisely…Princess Luna, - “said Dooku with a gentle bow of his head. “I will be waiting here until I cannot wait any longer.”

Managing a momentary smile, he turned away from her and began walking down the hallway until he rounded a corner.

The sound of his boots against the dark floor fading into the distance.

Turning around she ran back down the hallway with all the haste she could muster.

Upon returning to the throne room she shot the Holocron a final glance, watching it slowly rotating around as it hovered in the air above its resting place.

[Outside the temple]

The distant – but growing closer – hoof steps of Luna suddenly ended when her form escaped the darkness inside the tower, leaping from the steps and extending her wings mid-air, catching herself before she fell.

With mighty beads of her wings she flew up towards the origin of the many warming rays of the Sun that fell upon her.

A quick turn around and she was looking back down at the tower that she was fast putting a lot of distance between herself during her flight as it continued to get smaller the further away she got.

Maybe I choose well indeed, she thought as she looked back in front of her.

On the tower’s balcony, the ghostly image of Dooku appeared, watching as she became an increasingly smaller and smaller speck on the sky the faster she flew away.

His slight smile suddenly vanishes as a thought returns to him, and he lowers his head before turning around and returning to the darkness within the tower.

Within moments of him returning inside the tower did Luna finally teleport away in a *poof* of magic.

Chapter 19

In my experience, there is no such thing as luck Part 2

Re-emerging from her teleport she glides through the air as she begins to make a slow descent towards her sisters’ and here’s castle from the sky.

“Ahh… Home sweet home,” she sighs.

Saying aloud to herself as a smile forms on her face from the prospect of having being back, albeit from a rather short trip, but a somewhat extended trip nonetheless.

I cannot wait for long, though, as when the Sun sets on this day then I and the temple will disappear…not to return until ten years of this world have passed…

Her mind is suddenly ripped away from the thoughts about seeing her home again after seeing nothing but black marble, -

…however, when her thoughts are almost forced to return to thinking about what Dooku had said her smile fades, changing into an immediate frown at being reminded about the upcoming choice that she must make.

With a lowered head, she exhales a heavy sigh, holding her wings still so she just continues gliding downwards to the nearest balcony where her hooves gently plant themselves against the soft surface of stone underneath them.

Raising her head her eyes look upon the transparent doors in front of her…but she doesn’t want to enter, fearful of the outcome should her choice be the wrong one.

It is not Dooku’s reaction should she return to the tower to tell him face-to-face that she is concerned about...but her sister’s.

Celestia might get a little too involved should she learn about this big responsibility that her younger sister had herself requested to undertake. Possibly even to the point where out of desperation she would imprison her within the castle until time was up and Dooku and the tower vanished, not to be seen until its ten-year absence would pass.

… Still, she deserved to at least be told about this decision and to prepare herself for the upcoming years where Luna would not be around to witness the advances of their civilization and culture. Ten years sounded reasonable to assume that there could be some big changes ready for her when she’d return.

Luna had already made her decision to become Dooku’s student, and to learn the ways of this great power called the Force…and nothing was going to stop her from achieving that end.

Finally, she would have something that made her stand above her sister, that would make her unique enough in the eyes of their people to finally be worthy of their love and adoration…as to them she was nothing more than ‘’the dark one’’ because of her dark-blue fur and that she operated mostly at night.

Trotting down the hallway her face contorted into an angry frown, and she began tapping deeper into that great power that she had felt earlier when confronted outside the tower.

What she had felt at that moment was unconquerable grief when it had been revealed that it was her own sister had delivered such pain and agony to her…but she had also felt something more in the moments as she was being mocked and tortured by what she had now come to describe as Dark Celestia.

Deep inside of her something had snapped, a power stronger than anything she had ever felt – or sensed – in her entire life, and while the pain of her sister’s lightning had stung her body with far more agony than should ever be felt she had felt her hatred grow stronger, this new power feeding it, empowering it with whatever energy it was, -

…and at the last moment it had ultimately been what saved her from certain death with the Dark Celestia, completely obliterating her with her own version of that lightning that she had just somehow been able to discharge from her hooves!

By giving in to sadness, pain…a path had been opened for her where the use of the very hatred she had felt for her sister at that very moment to survive the encounter and prolong her own life while Dark Celestia had been destroyed.

Gritting her teeth, exposing sharp fangs that very same anger was called upon once again as the anger and frustration was fueled by the frustration and rage at her sister being the only one to receive praise and love from the ponies of Equestria, -

…like she, and what she did, was worthless in the eyes of the population because most slept through it, giving way for them to think less of it.

However, as her hate and anger grew stronger within her she was fortunate enough to be pulled away from those thoughts by a voice that spoke to her from the right side of another hallway.

Quickly snapping her head in the direction of the speaker her eyes immediately fell upon one of her Celestia’s Royal Guards.

“What!?” she exclaimed in a rage that had been bubbling to the surface while her thoughts had been unable to think of nothing but the envy and jealousy of even basic kind gestures that she had yet to receive had continued to fuel her hate-filled fire.

The mare jumped as she saw the Princess’s staring directly into her own, giving off an aura that she had never before felt from the Princess of the Night.

“P-princess Celestia has summoned you to the throne room immediately, P-princess Luna,” she said as her body tried not to shake from the now-present fear surrounding her that had been created from the blue Alicorn’s unexpected outburst.

“Hmm…” was all Luna uttered as her face scrunched, still wearing nothing but an angry expression on her face.

Turning away from the mare she began down the hallway, having a subtle run in her pace so as to not be late for whatever her sister had planned.

As she rounded a corner the female Royal Guard that has been sent for her almost her eyesight was playing tricks on her, -

…but she could almost swear that the Princess’s eyes changed from a golden color back to its usual dark-green hue the second before her Princess’s head disappeared behind the wall.

“Uhhg,” she shivered as the uncomfortable aura surrounding the blue Alicorn vanished down the hallway along with her.

*****

As she trotted through the vast and long halls of their childhood home Luna could not help but smile as she passed by many painted portraits depicting the previous rulers of Equestria that had held the title before she and her sister had claimed governorship of the Equestrian race.

Her smile fading slightly as two figures entered her vision, bringing her to a complete stop where she stood.

Turning around she sat down there, staring up at the two warming faces of ponies that she deeply wished were still here right now.

“Mother…Father,” she said softly, extending a hoof out in front of her and touching it against the soft fabric used in creating this wool tapestries of two beings that she would nothing more to have seen them achieve greatness in the world that they now ruled over.

While the conflict had indeed shaken the foundations of the world when it ended and peace had been restored in the aftermath, the biggest loss and unhealable scar left behind of its existence was the death of their parents.

The Castle of Trinity Peaks may have been destroyed and the Forges and Mines deep underneath the surface had been buried and lost to time, itself, and the Dark Lord defeated and cast down into the burning pits of Tartarus to suffer for his crimes for eternity nothing could ever compensate the warmth and kind spirits of her and Celestia’s parents who were said to have used their combined might to take defeat the Dark Lord, himself, in single-combat.

The struggle had been long and hard-fought…but in the end both of their parents were able to deal a crippling blow that brought that murderer to his knees long enough for their soldiers to arrive at where their great battle had taken place and take him away to be tried for crimes against Equestria.

Both the King and Queen had already passed away, lying beside each other as they held hooves one last time before the end, their dead eyes facing each other.

Luna’s mind instantly flashed back to the moments when the surviving Generals had brought the news to them about their parent’s passing…

Lowering her head, tears started gently running down her cheek as images of their parent’s funeral began to re-appear once more, as if she was actually there like long ago, relieving the sorrow it had brought.

Moving down through the hallway Luna gently raised her head, turning it to look down the right side of the hallway where the sound of gears originated from a wagon that was carrying quite the load.

Narrowing her eyes and raising a suspicious brow she was surprised not only by the fact that the wagon was coming from the castle wing where her chambers were located, but also that they were under an escort of six guards.

Atop the wagon were multiple books, many that she recognized, alongside multiple boxes that had been sealed up. These items were bound together by a rope that held them together.

Wait a minute, aren’t those supposed to be... W-what is going on?

Turning her head to face the Alicorn directly one of the mares of the group gave her an odd look as they passed her by.

What is going on here!? she thought to herself as her eyes followed the group until they rounded the corner and disappeared behind the wall.

*****

Upon arriving at the doors to their throne room the guards stood at attention when she reached the doors.

Their magic activating and opening the two doors for her to gain entry inside the large room that lay beyond them.

With a friendly smile upon her face once more she nodded to both guards before disappearing inside the room, at which they closed the door behind her.

Raising her head and looking to the side as the sound of approaching hoof steps Celestia’s head turned away from a nearby stallion that she was clearly engaged in a discussion with to looking down at the blue Alicorn that was drawing closer to her.

Standing by the wall multiple guard’s eyes were clearly following the younger Princess as she stepped up towards their ruler’s throne, sitting

Guiding her gaze up away from the floor to where the two thrones were a smile settled on her face as she saw her sister on the throne that had the symbol of a Sun on it. The other beside it having a crescent Moon that was obviously her own.

… However, upon seeing Celestia’s face Luna’s warm smile faded slightly as she noticed that her sister was not smiling back, but instead wearing a newly-mounted frown that settled in after noticing her sister’s arrival.

“Sister, halt,” Celestia suddenly said with the raise of her hoof, signaling for Luna to not take another step.

Confused, Luna heeded her sister’s order, her hooves stopping in place, not taking another step.

The two sisters could do nothing but exchange silent stares between each other as the eerie silence settled in.

“Sister, is there some-“

“Do you have anything to say before we proceed?” Celestia so rudely interrupted her before she could finish inquiring about the situation.

Proceed with what? What is going on here!?

Luna’s face suddenly contorted into confusion that could be seen upon her expressions.

Turning her head around from side to side her eyes suddenly took notice of something that she hadn’t upon her arrival at the throne room; along the walls the standard guards stood, but there was far more of them there then she had ever beheld.

Unlike regular guards too their eyes were all on Luna, watching her where she stood.

Worry started to fill her as suspicions started to form, making her incredibly weary of her surroundings.

Looking back and forth between the unusually high number of guards in the throne room with herself and her sister Celestia thought it best to speak up, calm her sister before things accelerated to a point that they did not.

“Calm yourself, sister, I don’t know why…but it would seem that you are a little tense about something,” Luna’s left ear gently twitched as she once more heard the voice of Celestia reach out to her.

Gently turning back her eyes to where they once more looked upon the face of her sister, but this time a lot more calmly.

“Then explain yourself, sister, why are you treating me like I’m a criminal? What has warranted such suspicions?”

Several of the guards turned to look at one another, and some even stared directly towards Celestia.

For a few passing seconds her sister was quiet, unable to respond to the blue Alicorn, only locking eyes with her as a serious frown settled in on Luna’s face.

“Explain your actions, is- “

“A new threat has been revealed to us, Luna!” Celestia immediately replied, cutting her sister off before she could finish.

Luna’s courage was pulled back, listening with intrigue to what Celestia had to say now that she had at the very least given her something.

“Really?” she asked while raising her brow in a display that illustrated to Celestia that she was being very skeptical of her sister’s explanation.

“Have Sombra or Discord returned?” she asked the elder Alicorn.

“What, no! It is not they who poses a threat to Equestria…, - ” said Celestia as she gently shook her head.

“Okay, sister, my interest has been peaked-” Luna said replacing the suspicious stare with a blank stare, intrigued by what her sister had to say.

“…it is you, Luna.”

“W-what?” Luna replied in confusion and shock from what she had just heard what her own sister was accusing her of.

The first thing Luna felt after hearing this was sadness, sadness at hearing someone so close to her actually daring to say these things to her own sibling…

“Yes, sister…but I wanted you to know the evidence behind these accusations before you are taken away… Secretary?” Celestia said as she turned to face a stallion that stood beside her.

“Yes, your Highness. Here are the evidence items,” the stallion replied as he trotted up to her with several items suspended in mid-air by a telekinetic grasp.

First of the items was a book that Luna’s eyes immediately snapped to, growing wide-eyed as she clearly recognized that book, but was also confused as to why it of all things was being used as evidence against her in this preposterous ‘’accusation’’.

Hey, that is the book I found in my room…but what is it doing here? What does that book, which was a gift to me from someone anonymous, how is it incriminating evidence against me?

“Amongst containing pages with descriptions and illustrations of…creatures that are complete unknown to us and has never been ever seen before, there are also entire pages in this book devoted to have what I can only describe as ‘’Dark Magic’’ spells and enchantments.”

“Be that as it may, sister, from what you are telling me now there is hardly anything in that book, a gift to me, might I add, from what little I have seen is filled with descriptions of various, strange, creatures previously never seen before…, - “Luna explained to her sister.

“If anything, this book was more or less given to me because they felt I have proven myself worthy as a Princess of Equestria to keep it. That’s probably why they even bothered to go through the trouble of bringing it to my room in the first place!”

Reeling herself back from her post-aggressive tone she took steps back.

Standing still as she looked up at her sister again, a blank expression settling in on her face as she patiently waited for her sister to respond.

Atop the raised platform Celestia narrowed her eyes, staring down at her silent and patiently waiting sister with judgmental eyes.

“Alas, there are in spells in here, that after looking over them, I have deemed as not only dangerous but potentially world-ending. There are resurrection spells, as well as a few bookmarked ones that acts as a multiplier for one’s battle power…, -“

Said Celestia as she flipped through the pages of the book until she arrived at one of these bookmarked pages, which she then turned so her sister could see.

“…and if I don’t remember correctly, sister, your battle power is quite below my own…, - “

“Yes, that may be true, but there is no reason for me to want to- “Luna tried to explain but was interrupted by Celestia.

“…AND, there is also the issue of your continued stress over these past couple weeks. Was it not you, yourself that told me earlier today at breakfast how annoying it was that your night was not being enjoyed as much as the day?” Celestia suddenly spoke up, interrupting her.

Luna was immediately silenced, staring back at Celestia with her mouth agape as she tried to form words to speak, but not uttering anything outside of chocked sounds at her own disbelief that this was actually happening to her, -

…and it was her own sister that was accusing her of these things!

“B-but, sister- “

“Silence!” Celestia immediately snapped.

Her voice echoed around the room, making the guards that stood by the wall stand attention and look away and become stone faced once more.

“You are right, Luna, that I do know you…but recently a question has started to replace that trust…, - “Celestia said.

On her face, the smile that had slowly started to return, comforting Luna, now vanished as it contorted into a frown that glared down at the blue Alicorn.

“...and that question is: what?”

Luna, as well as everyone in the room was silent as it sunk in as much to them as it did Luna, though, probably in a different way than it did with them.

“What would Luna do to be loved by our subjects? What are the lengths she will go to in order to get some if not all the love you would say ‘’I have stolen from you’’? Who will she become if she sacrifices all to win everything…? -”

“Sister, please no. Don’t to this…” Luna spoke softly, -

…a single tear trailed down her cheek.

“…the only one that will be left for them to love and the only one left to rule them…, - “

Activating her telekinesis, she started to flip through the pages once again, -

…until arriving at the final page.

Narrowing her eyes, she intensified her glare so being almost hate filled.

“…which is also why you summoned this…Bill Cipher to aid you in your plot to not just destroy me, but usurp Equestria’s throne for yourself and him.”

Staring upon the page that Celestia had flipped to Luna’s jaw hung slack, staring in shock at the image on this particular page.

Her pupils shrinking as an image hearing Bill Cipher’s appearance greeted her eyes.

Surrounding him was a circle made up of various symbols that she had not seen in a long while, -

…except for when her sister and her first found and used the Elements of Harmony against Discord.

Her sister’s eyes shifted from the book’s insignia depicting the familiar triangular form of Bill Cipher surrounded by that wheel with all those various symbols around the band to staring down at the blue Alicorn who by now was looking back up at the white Alicorn with worried, wide eyes.

“But even if I did harbor these feelings, these schemes to which you are accusing me, you cannot seriously believe that I would put innocent lives at risk just to accomplish a goal that goes against everything we stand for as selfless rulers,” said Luna as she brought a hoof up to her chest, taking slight steps towards her sister.

However, the guards standing at the ready immediately pointed their spear’s sharp tips towards the accused, their stares growing sterner as they looked across the room, their gazes becoming transfixed on the Night Princess.

This action reached Luna’s attention as her eyes sharply looked back and forth to the guards that outflanked her both left and right.

“I would refrain from both saying and doing anything as you are placed under immediate arrest, sister…, - “Luna’s ears hears the voice of her sister’s voice as she begins to speak again, the warm tone of her usually motherly tone having all but faded as she now spoke to her with more stern strictness than had ever been heard before.

Slowly turning back Luna’s eyes looked up towards the white being who was staring back with a stern frown, but still did not hold a candle to the angry glare that she was now being sent by the blue Alicorn.

Her anger growing within her at the betrayal and lack of being given a voice to defend herself.

All the willpower that held her back her intensifying rage was quickly torn down, only being weakened even more by Celestia not deciding to close her big stupid mouth as anyone with a brain could have seen that the blue Alicorn’s rage was only growing stronger with every word that was spoken to her.

“... Until proven innocent you will be imprisoned and placed under 24-hour surveillance by only the strongest of guards,” Celestia said, but Luna had already stopped listening to her a while back.

She stopped speaking when she finally took notice of the lack of attention given to her by Luna.

Hanging her head low a heavy breathing could be heard as she deliberately diverted her eyes from the white Alicorn that sat at her throne.

“Sister?” she asked, but was only meet with the breathing intensifying as Luna’s left ear twitched ever so slightly as the mare’s words reached her ears, -

…and no response.

Celestia started to worry a little now, not for her sister, but for herself and everyone that was in the room with her.

“Luna?” she spoke again, but was again only met with the breathing getting stronger, almost angrier with every breath.

An aura of hate and rage surrounded the Night Princess, and Celestia knew it.

She turned towards multiple guards, giving them a nod that they may restrain her.

The guards nodded back before staring back at Luna, raising their spears at her as they stepped towards her.

Sweating, they nervously approached her where she stood, head hung low and eyes closed.

… However, as they approached the mare one of the guards, a Unicorn mare, noticed that her nostrils were flaring with a discomforting intensity.

However, that was not all…, -

…something, a presence unlike anything she had ever felt before stood towering over the Princess in front of her.

Something very…dark!

Her eyes immediately shot open, causing her to stop!

“Wait, stop,” she said to the guard beside her, extending her hoof out in front of him to prevent him from taking another step closer.

“What? She’s right there. Let’s go,” they would say in reaction to suddenly being stopped like that.

“No, look at her,” said Guard 1, nudging her head towards the blue Alicorn that seemed to almost be frozen in place by…something that from what she could sense was eating away at her from the inside.

“So? We should take her now while we’ve got the chance,” Guard 2 said with an obvious impatience in his voice as he asked her.

Something she slowly shook her head back at with a worried look on her face.

“I think that would be an unwise course of action. I don’t think she would like it very much,” Guard 1 replied.

“What are you talking about? It’s just Princess Luna, how bad can she be?” Guard 2 scoffed as he disputed Guard 1’s claims, slowly raising his spear back up as he aimed the tip back towards Princess Luna.

Slowly proceeding forward towards the blue Alicorn the mare instead only looked on towards.

In a second that lasted as long as a single heartbeat Luna’s eyes shot open, scaring everyone that was approaching her from the sides.

Jumping back, almost all the guards flinched when they saw that she was looking out at them.

Oh no!

She reacted internally the minute the blue Alicorn Princess’ eye looked directly at her.

This is not good!

“Surrender, sister, or you will leave us with little choice but restrain you until a proper holding cell can be arranged,” Celestia declared to her still sister.

Slowly raising her head, visibly seen to be experiencing some kinds of spasms.

Around her body small bursts of a blue power sparked.

With a stern frown, she looked back up at her sister, feeling nothing but contempt for her at this moment, -

…and that was hatred was doing nothing but turning a key inside a keyhole to a door that had already been ripped violently off its hinges.

A power she did not know she possessed had been unlocked to life once more.

All she had to do was use it…and this was the perfect opportune moment to do so!

Feeling her power rising way beyond what had ever been felt before, a smirk started appearing on her face, that had once been occupied by nothing but an enraged frown.

Watching her sister where she stood atop the raised platform where both their thrones stood.

“He he, he, he…, - “Luna chuckled as she closed her eyes, feeling that the time was right. “I think not, sister… for you see, I think your self-believed arrogance is finally starting to cloud that already mighty dense head of yours.”

Celestia’s only physical response to Luna’s remark was to frown even more sternly.

“It hardly matters what I think, sister. What I think and my opinions are something you are not going to be hearing in a long time where you’re going.”

“I don’t think so. I would think that the Princess of Equestria would have better things to do than transport a prisoner there, herself,” replied Luna.

“She does, which is why my finest guards will escort you to Tartarous where you will remain until a thousand years have passed. I should think that your evil delicious will have passed by then.”

“Hmh, hmh, hmh, hmh…” Luna chuckled.

Turning her head, she looked back at the multiple guards stationed throughout the throne room giving her serious stares.

“Oh, you mean- “

*Bzzt*

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye Luna completely vanished from sight!

Before Celestia’s finest could even react they all suddenly started to feel something hit them on the neck, paralyzing them.

Before their bodies collapsed to the floor they were suddenly grabbed and lifted up before the one carrying them vanished again.

*Bzzt*

Reappearing in what felt like a second Luna was seen holding up a pile of motionless Royal Guards, an evil smile on her face as she delighted in watching her sister’s stern frown suddenly contort to a surprised stare.

“Wha-… What- “

“…these guards, right?” Luna asked with a small underlying hint of malevolence in her tone.

Dropping the pile of unconscious warriors to the ground Celestia could not refrain from staring at their non-moving bodies in astonishment, before slowly shifting her focus back to her sister who was now hovering in the air with her hooves crossed and staring back at her directly with an unimpressed frown aligning her face.

“If that was indeed your ‘’finest warriors’’ then I pray for our subjects that she cannot find anyone strong enough to not only defend her but also themselves. Your unhealthy rule ends today,” Luna spat at her sister with contempt.

“Hmm. Not that I’m thinking about it, that does sound like a good idea…Yeahhh, maybe I’ll do that, replace you as the ruler of Equestria…Yesss, it is after all for the greater good.”

Holding her hoof up in front of her she tightened her grasp, feeling the new power that was flowing through her, what was even giving her the courage to say these things to Celestia.

“With this new power I didn’t even know I had but apparently I do, I now have all the strength I need to take you down…for good!”

Stumbling on her own words Celestia could not say anything besides uttering random words.

Good, I have her frightened! Luna smiled in joy as she watched her sister’s expression still retaining that initial shock from watching her deliver a pile of defeated soldiers in front of her.

With swift and sudden motion Luna suddenly threw her hooves out, letting her true power explode to the surface!

A shockwave shot out from her body that caused the entire castle to shake with violent force.

Stone pillars were shaken to the point where their foundations suffered tremendous damage strong enough to destabilize the whole thing and have it come crashing down…

Windows in the nearby proximity were shattered as the wave of force hit them…

The stone floors became cracked, and the dust started to come falling from the cracking ceiling, followed thereafter by whole stones falling from the crumbling ceiling, violently crashing into the already cracked floors.

An aura of blue energy started to appear around the power-emanating mare, growing stronger and fiercer for every second that she was unleashing everything she had.

*****

[Meanwhile, halfway across the galaxy on another planet…]

Suddenly raising his head a hooded figure raised its head in surprise.

Its hidden eyes looking up towards the sky, turning his head and looking over his shoulder towards the source of the great power that he had just sensed.

“Oh dear, that cannot be good,” he commented.

Standing up, interrupting his meditation he could feel some of the initial power fade away, but the cause of concern still existing quite prominently despite the slight fade-out.

“It has been a long time since I have felt such a high level of power. I must find whose power level it was. Hopefully I should still have enough to be able to reach them before anything unfortunate transpires.”

Telekinetically calling his cane to him he hurriedly walked towards his Starfighter that was parked nearby, starting up the engines, and shortly after flying away from the ruined temple that he had been meditating in.

*****

[Back on Equestria]

Still unleashing a loud shout of rage as her flaming aura now surrounded her, Luna violent aura finally started to lessen, reducing down into a normal aura that surrounded her whole body in blue flames.

Almost panting she slowly lowered her head back down, staring back down at her sister who was looking back down at her with frantic eyes.

A silence falling over the room as she stared angrily at her sister, her tears being dissolved by the energy that surrounded her form as she stared back towards her sister, who was now looking back awestruck at this incredible sight before.

“L-luna?” the worried Alicorn uttered as she could indeed feel a near extreme leap in power between Luna and herself.

For once, since the Dream Demon Bill’s arrival, she could actually feel fear, a fear that she had not expected to experience ever again.

As she looked back up into Luna’s eyes she could see deep down the jealousy that had been long-since been locked away in her mind…but was not unlocked by the unfathomable rage that she had experienced at her own sister’s treachery.

Somehow, I don’t know how…but somehow Luna’s power has surpassed what I thought she would ever be capable of! she hypothesized to herself as Luna seemed far more interested in flaunting this new level of strength that she was now in possession of.

P-possibly even to where she could…surpass me!

That was the final nail that doomed Celestia’s once-existing courage to waver, abandoning her in this moment of greatest peril.

Finally doing something again Luna gently inhaled a breath, calmly exhaling it.

Staring down at her sister, she was incredibly delighted when she saw that her face was covered in something she couldn’t quite recognize…oh wait yes, she could, it was fear.

Looking even closer at things she took notice of a small detail that brought a creepy, but subtle smile to her face.

Once more folding her arms she looked down at her tiny, almost insect-like sister with a more than confident expression.

“Ironic how easily things can change...I thought I was supposed to be in your shadow,” she remarked, raising her hoof to point down towards where her sister was standing.

“Huh?”

“After I dispose of you then Bill and I will rule Equestria in your place and lead us all into a golden age. Aftercall, how is a leader expected to defend an entire kingdom if one’s own safety cannot be maintained?”

“L-luna, y-you have to calm down. You’re not thinking straight, your letting this incredible power you’re experiencing,” she said in an effort of trying to at least calm her sister to where she would be more manageable to take down at least.

However, instead Luna’s smile contorted itself in a stern frown.

For a time, she was silent as anger became more that a growing anger was prominent on her face.

“Goodbye, Celestia, it was nice knowing you…for a time-,”

*Bzzt*

Celestia’s eyes jumped as she suddenly watched the blue Alicorn completely vanish from sight.

Oh no! Where did she go! I didn’t see where she-

*Ka-poow*

The next second before Celestia could complete her current thought she received an intense punch to the face!

She was violently sent back flying through the air until she crashed right through the wall, leaving behind a large open crater in the wall behind her as she re-appeared through the other side.

The first wall that she had crashed through was just one of many.

She collided through many more at the insane speeds that she was sent flying.

*Bzzt*

Appearing in front of the first cracked wall with her arms folded Luna frowned as she watched the destruction that just a simple had caused…No! Correction, was causing, as Celestia’s body could still be heard crashing through more walls that were further away.

Holding up a tightening hoof she smiled in delight as she looked down at it, truly feeling the power that had lain dormant within her.

“Hopefully she’ll at least provide some kind of challenge…it would be a pity if I got all this and was left with nothing to use it on,” she said to herself as her eyes looked back up, staring down into the darkness.

Her fiery aura ignited, once more surrounding her entire body, before she then started to effortlessly fly down through the many holes that littered the multiple walls she encountered.

As she left the throne room everything was silent…until gentle footsteps could be heard from outside the room.

“Hey, halt, the throne room is off-limits to anyone unless requested by the-… *Sudden impalement through the flesh* -… AHHH-…Urgghh.”

“No… No… NOOO -… *Sudden impalement through the throat* -… urrggghhh,”

*Bodies collapse to the ground*

The wooden door suddenly exploded, both being sent flying off its hinges and hitting the floor where it was destroyed even further.

With gentle steps a tall figure steps inside the throne room, a large puddle of blood forming behind it.

“Oh…, - “an impressed voice uttered behind a hood that obstructs its face, but out the top two red horns protrude.

Looking around the throne room the hooded figure smiles as it personally sees the devastating effect of what Luna’s hidden power had done to the room that it was now standing in.

“Gooood…everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.”

Holding its hands together its narrowed eyes looked up towards the large cracked hole in the wall.

A confident smile on its face.

“Hm hm hm hm,” it chuckled softly to itself as it folded its arms across its chest.

“Seems like she has already taken to her new gifts like a shark in an ocean…its already quite vast, but imagine the potential that awaits.”

Gently turning its head to look back over its shoulder he heard the sound of galloping hooves fill the entire chamber as shortly following the intrusion of the sound, then equally as intrusive the room was suddenly flooded by ten to twenty Royal Guards.

“Surround the intruder!” the Captain in charge of this small group of guards ordered as he pointed a hoof towards the tall figure surrounded by a dark hood.

“Yes sir!” a loud uproar of voices called back as they charged towards the tall figure clad in black, surrounding him and pointing their spears directly at the tall figure.

“He he,” he chuckled as his turned, looking at the individual equines that surrounded him.

Stepping up from the crowd of golden armor a mare and a stallion trotted up towards him.

Oh, this should be fun. My apprentice can wait until I have seen what these two want…though, if I have to be honest I think I already know what that they want.

Stopping just six steps short of him the mare and the stallion looked back at him with angry glares.

Hm. Surely, they aren’t upset about the mess, that was already here when I arrived, he thought.

“I don’t know what you are or how you managed to best so many of my most elite warriors…but whatever you did it just earned you a one-way ticket to Tartarous. I know the Princess would share my opinion, so there wouldn’t even be an issue worth discussing,” declared the stallion to him as if he was passing some sort of impactful sentence.

“What issue is not worth discussing?” a soft, well-mannered voice spoke out from behind the dark hood that hid the speakers’ face.

“The subject of whether to send you to Tartarous or putting you under arrest to be brought before the Princess, herself, but you won’t have to worry yourself with that,” the mare suddenly spoke up, taking a step closer.

Both males’ attention shifted from each other towards the mare, staring at her.

When she saw the stallion’s face she hung her head low in sadness.

“Apologizes for speaking out of turn like that, C-captain,” the mare apologized.

Turning back to face the hooded figure the stallion directed his attention back to the tall bipedal figure whose real form was hidden behind dark fabric.

“Now, where were we?”

His voice was almost faint and blurred as he spoke, probably because the dark-robed figure was no longer paying as much attention to him as he was to something else, -

…however, his enthusiasm shortly returned as the thoughts that had previously been in his mind returned, bringing with it a smile to his face.

His head turned towards the Captain, wearing a look of delight.

“I believe that what you said was you did not want to change your mind about going to hell.”

Becoming suddenly confused by his reply the Captain looked straight up at the hood’s darkness, trying to find a face.

“What are you talking about? I-I didn’t say that.”

“Oh…Well then…um…let’s get on with it. I don’t have all day, you know.”

“Ok-ay. All right, you two- “

“Oh, there is just one more thing I need to add before you take me away, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Groaning in irritation the Captain turned back to face the dark figure.

“Yes? And what would that be?” he growled through gritted teeth as his irritation in dealing with this difficult…whatever it now was.

“Say hello to Celestia for me when you see her.”

The Captain raised a confused brow at hearing this.

“But…the Princess is not going to Tartarous.”

“Oh, I am fairly certain you’ll be seeing her very soon in the hell that I am sending you to.”

Suddenly opening his mouth, he gently blew out small red forms of energy that moved through the room towards each of the soldiers surrounding him.

Beginning to spin around him the red energy then transformed into a powerful wind that when strong enough grabbed the guards with such violent strength that all of them were suddenly thrown up into the air as the spiraling air current threw them up into the air.

Screaming as they were tossed around like ragdolls some of them could see small glimpses of the others as they too were hurled upwards, but it never lasted for longer than a second before they were pulled away from their vision of sight or they, themselves, were moved around within the current.

Crashing through the roof they were thrown through the air with such wild intensity that none of them could recover quick to prevent their incredibly painful reunions with the ground.

Back inside the castle he looked up into the sky with a pleased smile.

He jumped up into the air with swift speed.

Once out the hole he suspended himself in mid-air just above it.

Thrusting his right arm out from behind his dark robes he pointed his index finger out towards one of the falling ponies, -

…and without hesitation fired off a red energy beam towards him.

Already experiencing great fear, he was not exactly in a good situation either way, but the moment when the energy blast pierced his body he felt more pain surging through his body than he believed was ever supposed to be felt.

When the screaming came to a stop so did his life, and he now fell to the ground a lifeless corpse.

Quickly turning himself around he pointed his finger at the other falling guards, and then another, and then another, and then another, etc…, -

… However, instead of merely shooting the rest like he had the first he shot the beams in random directions, opening portals that suddenly transported each of the beams to fire from random angles at the thirty-nine other guards.

As well as being accompanied by screams of agony the skies were filled with randomly discharging explosions.

Far quicker than even three minutes could supersede him. His finger beams had killed everyone that the whirlwind had flung up into the air.

Soon there was nothing remaining of them but the smoking lifeless bodies that plummeted towards the ground.

Returning his arm back inside his robes he slowly started to fly back inside the cracked ceiling, floating down to the floor where his three digited feet connected with the floor, his tail being the first part of him to physically touch the floor.

Regaining his composure as he stood up he could feel a wind gently tugging at his robe that was coming in through the multiple large cracked holes in the wall and through many smaller cracks that had been created when Luna’s hidden power had been unleashed.

“Excellent, soon everything can proceed as planned ~ He, he, he.”

Author's Note

What is this?

Celestia betrays Luna?...Anyone think she's gonna regret that?

Stay tuned...for a change is on the horizon.

Link - Dragon Ball Super OST 46 - Frieza is Resurrected

Chapter 20

Luna vs Celestia

The entire castles foundation was not only greatly shaken by the near-explosive release of Luna’s hidden power, but also the repeated smashing of walls that Celestia’s body had been forced to endure.

On top of that she had indeed proven when she crashed through the final wall, reappearing outside the castle with many bruises littering her body and left a single bloody wound on her face that exposed the flesh under and partially bits of the skeleton.

As more and more walls, had been smashed through by her body it had slowed the momentum greatly, thus when she crashed through this final wall, reappearing outside the castle, before she could hit a rapidly approaching tower its speed had weakened greatly, and instead of passing right through it she instead merely smashed into it with her whole body, but this time the stone bricks actually prevented her from going any further than where she was now.

Weakly reaching out and grabbing both edges of the crumbling wall Celestia pulled her badly battered and bruised body out of the crippling hole in the tower’s side.

*Bzzt*

Immediately hearing the same recognizable thing seconds before Luna had punched her directly in the face she suddenly looked up, eyes wide in shock from all that she had seen in these recent couple of moments of her life.

Her eyes were slowly guided down towards the hole through which she had come crashing through, -

…where to her shock and horror, she saw Luna hovering in the air with that strange blue fiery aura around her body and an unimpressed frown on her face.

Lowering her head, she aimed her horn’s tip directly at the cracked wall from which Celestia was trying to crawl out of.

Celestia may have been badly hurt but she still understood what her sister was about to do.

In a violent release of energy, a beam of energy shot from Luna’s horn straight towards the crumbling tower!

“No! Ey-arggh!” she shouted as she threw herself out of the tower, narrowly dodging Luna’s beam –the equivalent of a finger beam – seconds before it shot inside the tower.

*Ka-boom*

In the moments as she was falling through the air Celestia was able a final glance back at the tower before a flash of light consumed it in an intense explosion that scattered large and small fragments of stone in random directions.

With a turn of her head Luna’s eyes followed Celestia as she watched her falling through the air.

Her eyes narrowed, staring at her sister in contempt for having the audacity to make her miss.

Celestia! she thought as her rage started to return, but this time nowhere near close to the level of when she had gained access to this power that had for most of her life been locked off from her.

As her body fell through the air she shortly started to pick herself back up, feeling some of her own power partially rejuvenating the injuries from earlier.

Mid-air Celestia straightened herself up, her hooves facing the ceiling before shortly tapping as they touched the stone surface.

Panting she looked up, seeing Luna hovering there staring back at her with hate filled eyes.

Silently, her body started to float down through the air, gently approaching a nearby tower that had been hit by one of the hurtled stones, and thus been greatly weakened.

As her hooves connected with the rooftop she stood up on all fours, still holding her arms folded while staring at her with an unchanged expression on her face.

For a time, there was a silence between the two sisters, a gentle wind blew through the castle.

Blowing through both siblings’ fur as they continued to stare back at each other, Celestia with a clearly exhausted look and Luna with a furious glare that was only a fraction of the rage that she had felt.

“Hm. Don’t begin to get cocky that just because you dodged a mere beam that you still have any chance of standing up against me. Your fate is sealed no matter what you try and I will make sure that in the end you suffer for the hardship you have put me through.”

“The only thing on my mind at the moment…is how you and Bill are going to share the power once you acquire complete control over Equestria,” Celestia panted, holding her chest as she hoped that her breathing became more controlled before Luna made her next move.

Luna’s eyes narrowed even more, her glare growing angrier as her rage got a momentary boost.

“If I were you I wouldn’t be concerning myself with matters that does not concern you, especially when one such as you try to prevent me from seeing him in the most pitiful way you can think of…, - “a smile soon returned, lessening some of the rage in a way. “Seriously, imprisonment was the best you could come up with? You have no idea how much disappoint you have caused with this lousy scheme of yours.”

As Luna talked Celestia do nothing but pant, its intensity slowly going away.

“I would almost feel sorry for what I’ve done to your face, but after today I guess neither of us will no longer possess any weaknesses holding us from achieving greatness…, -! “she shouts as quickly swinging her arm out towards the side with a swift motion. “Though, only one will draw breath this day!”

Gently chuckling she lowers her head to point her horn towards the white Alicorn, whose eyes suddenly widen in surprise at seeing this.

N-no! I’m not yet strong enough to-

Before that thought can be completed another beam shots from the tip of Luna’s horn speeding through the air towards her!

Exclaiming in panic she can only do what she can think of now: dodge!

Leaping up into the air she quickly teleports away from the beam or any potential places where Luna might fire a soon incoming barrage.

Luna’s eyes suddenly wide as she sees Celestia’s sudden teleport, gritting her teeth furiously.

“W-what!? Where did she-!?”

*Pop*

Hearing the sudden teleportation Luna’s head shots up, -

*Baam*

…but before she can turn around to see who or what it is a punch is suddenly delivered directly to her face.

The force of the punch is so strong it sends her flying forward crashing through a wall.

When she re-emerges at the other end, before she could recover from the attack her eyes can only see white coming towards her.

*Pow*

Luna lets out a painful grunt as the hoof punches her square in the face.

Before her hooves can be brought up to cover her face and protect it from any other blows to the face/or head a kick with greater strength than the first punch hits her in the stomach.

Its intensity is violent enough to almost knock the breath out of her.

She is sent flying up into the sky like a bullet!

Teleporting to her position, Celestia is already standing ready to throw multiple punches.

Seeing Luna weakly open her eye Celestia knows that she has the all-clear to go ahead, and unleashes everything she’s got without hesitating or holding back anything.

Giving one after another Luna is subjected to an intense of barrage of punches hitting her in the chest, face and stomach, each pain-inducing pain forcing her to come to terms with the terrible pain as a direct consequence of defying Celestia.

Down at the castle at the same time as Celestia is giving Luna an intense beating a presence halts as it stops in front under a cracked portion of a tower.

Raising its head, it looks up into the sky, silently observing the battle between Celestia and Luna.

Perfect. Everything is going as planne-, the hooded figure thinks, but instantly prevents another thought from being uttered as it notices that the figure beating up on the other is not Luna, but in fact her sister.

Exclaiming in surprise his face contorts into a look of surprise as he realized that his potential future apprentice was actually being beat pretty bad.

No! This cannot happen! I won’t let it!

He would have leaped in to join the fray when he remembered something very important that held him back just enough.

No…I cannot interfere. This is Luna’s greatest test, and as is the meaning of the test I must see that my potential student is worthy of studying under my great and infinite wisdom.

Growling enraged at this fact he folded his arms across his chest and he looked up, continuing to watch the onslaught in patience.

No... Patience in this fight is what will bestow me with a great apprentice.

Down along his head a small bead of sweat ran.

Back up in the sky all Luna’s sight was meet with was a continued barrage of fists that flew directly at her face, each blow bringing a sharp pain with it.

With a sharp thrust of her leg Luna kicked Celestia away from her, leaving a bruised imprint of her hoof on Celestia’s stomach, making her cough up blood for the second time…whereas she had coughed multiple times due to the white Alicorn’s relentless punches.

Being afforded a moment to catch her breath Luna panted as she looked her sister directly in the eye.

However, Celestia was not about to take a brake until she saw Luna pass out from exhaustion, and immediately charged directly at her without hesitation, but this time Luna was ready for her.

As the punches started to fly Luna – while already mighty exhausted and badly beaten – managed to catch a good deal of the punches that Celestia sent her way, but most of the punches that got through were dealt to her shoulders and while ensuring pain was felt they were not enough to do any serious damage. Most of which concentrated on random parts of her chest.

Hmmm. It would seem she has learned a thing or two over the course of her life. She wasn’t just always just a whining mouth with a body attached to it…but how do I actually defeat her? Even if I manage to keep her occupied with defending herself for a time there won’t be anything either of us can do to end this stalemate we’re in…unless…yess, it could bring about an end to this pointless conflict, Celestia thought amidst throwing punches and doing her best at not giving her a single chance to strike.

Suddenly, before Luna could react Celestia teleported away, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye…, -

Huh!? What the-

*Pop*

*Impale*

…and before she had a chance of mounting a suitable defense against her sister’s speedy counter-attack sliced the tip of her horn across her back, leaving a noticeable wound – out from which blood immediately started running down her back, staining her fur.

Luna let out an agonizing scream as the sharp pain tormented her for all but a few seconds.

Recovering from the attack somewhat quickly she would have turned around to mount her own counter-attack in self-defense of what Celestia had tried to pull…, -

…however, all her efforts were suddenly undermined as another sharp pain suddenly pierced her left arm!

Her eyes shot open and her whole body tensed as the pain she was experiencing now was beyond anything she had ever felt before.

Shakily, and very slowly her head turned to look to the side, but when she looked down her eyes jumped yet again, and out through an open mouth she could utter no other sounds than chocking on her own words as she struggled to words which she could actually speak.

N-no! she thought gritted teeth as she the tip of her sister’s horn coming out the front side of her left arm.

Blood was dripping from the protruding tip and even running down through her fur, the feeling of which made Luna’s body shiver from the intolerable pain of one’s own blood moving down along her fur/flesh.

Growling through gritted teeth she tried to move, but every time she made another movement the horn twisted itself inside her wound, bringing back the original pain but also being accompanied by a secondary sharp pain that went on to last a few more seconds after the first finally faded, before the cycle all over again.

With the opportunity that was presented to her Celestia raised her right hind-leg and thrust it towards Luna’s back, kicking her hard in the back!

*Crack*

Like so many times during this battle with her sister Lunas’ eyes jumped at the shock from the sudden pain, and her mouth opened, letting out an intense painful scream as she could feel several bones begin to fracture.

While nothing but chocked stutter could be heard being uttered by her greatly wounded sister Celestia stared frowningly at the blue Alicorn in front of her as started to relentlessly deliver one punch after another into Luna’s back.

Each punch was hard and quite painful, but was separated from each other by an individual second that provided a second-long pause between one punch and the next of the nine – but was supposed to be ten – punches that Luna was forced to suffer through.

After the first eight punches Luna, finally couldn’t handle it anymore.

With quick enough movement Luna thrust her elbow back, punching Celestia hard in the stomach, interrupting her barrage of punches and momentarily knocking the air out of her, -

…and with even more pain involved as she moved it back out, her telekinesis quickly pushed Celestia’s horn back out of her wound.

Hearing an agonized groan Celestia was about to look up when her face was instead meet with another punch to the face that immediately caused her to move back away.

Moving back around to the front where they once again saw Celestia saw how badly bruised Luna’s face was, in response she folded her arms across her chest, glaring back at her defeated opponent.

“H-h-how?” Luna asked weakly. “H-how can you be this strong? I-I-I got a significant boost that should have rivalled your own power,” she stuttered.

“Simple, Luna, your power increase was unexpected, but you were so confident in your own abilities that it never dawned on you that perhaps you should use it conservatively.”

Panting, Luna did nothing but stare back at the white mare with her remaining eye.

“Evil-doers like yourself are always so confident in your superior might you never take the time to understand it properly, and once I noticed that you were starting to miss I could see a small window of opportunity.”

“B-but my power! H-how could it be wasted s-so fast?”

“Ah, a simple question asked by a simple mind deserves only the simplest of answers.” Celestia replied in a mock tone. “You have only just tapped into this power, but that doesn’t mean your body will be used to it. All of these attacks you have been pulling off required a huge amount of energy, and as such you unwittingly began drawing on your own so that you thought you would be able to finish me off,” she said, her smile spreading from ear-to-ear.

“You may have been strong enough to defeat me, and would have…if you did not recklessly waste it all in toying with me…, -” as Celestia continued to talk Luna lowered her head in defeat, feeling the blood that would not have been there if she had not failed run down through her fur. “…and based on that alone you give me no choice but bringing your body to the gates myself. You may try to escape and death is not a fate I have planned for you.”

With a new serious frown a ball of energy starts to form at the tip of Celestia’s horn, growing in strength for second that went by charging the level of energy in the ball.

Her eyes closing as her sister’s words sunk in.

“Luna…” a disembodied voice spoke to her, her eyes shooting open as a result.

Hearing a voice speak to her – and it did not belong to her sister – she slowly looked up back again, staring out at the source from which the voice was coming from…, -

…however, as she looked to see where the voice had come from she could not see anything but her sister hovering suspended in the air in front of her.

“Luna…” the voice suddenly said to her again.

With a turn of her head she started to look around at her surroundings…but seeing only white clouds and a blue sky overheard.

“W-who are you? W-where ar-re you? I can’t see you.”

“Hm?” Celestia reacted as her smile deteriorated slightly, staring back at the bad condition Luna’s body was in.

She watches in stunned confusion as Luna slowly looked around, staring in one direction after another as she was seemingly searching for something.

Maybe I hit her a little too hard? Celestia wondered as she just blinked at the sight that she was seeing.

Turning her head around Luna looked out through her remaining good eye to try and find this mysterious voice that she had heard speaking to her just moments ago, but wherever she looked there was nothing to be found of anyone present aside from her sister.

Turning back her gaze accidentally moved past her sister, and she would have just ignored her and continued her search if not for a single thing that had changed since last, she looked out in front of her.

It was not her sister that she was seeing anymore…but instead a being that she did not recognize now stood before.

Her eye shot open, staring back in stunned silence at the dark silhouette as its blue eyes was the only thing she could see of its face, but as soon as she took notice of its blue eyes they seemed to narrow.

“No!” she gasped in surprised shock. “B-but you’re…dead,” Luna said, the sensible part of her mind immediately telling her that this was not real to try and rationalize it.

However, as she spoke to him, he remained silent. Only returning her surprised expression with a stern one.

“Why?” the dark figure asked softly.

Her eyes shot wider again, surprised by the question it had posed.

Stunned into a silence she looked back into its eyes as she knew that it was impossible for her to avoid his stern gaze, uttering a constant stutter as she chocked on her own words.

“Why did you let everything I was die for nothing?”

After that was said to her eyes jumped in surprise.

“B-but your death was not in vain…y-you sacrificed yourself so that I could live to fight another day.”

“Hmpf,” he scoffed bitterly, narrowing his eyes so he looked to have gotten angrier. “I gave my life for you, and this is how you chose to repay me? By letting your weak, inferior sister defeat you in a battle where this would be nothing to what I could do?”

“N-no…I-I did everything I could to beat her…, - “lowering her head she hung her head in defeat. “…but in the end, it was still not enough to overcome her.”

“Hmpf,” the dark silhouette scoffed, once again showing its angry expression with its eyes. “Still you are a slave to your sister’s words. Just because she gives you an explanation for something it does not mean that it is the truth.”

What? she thought in her mind, but did not actually utter a single word in reality.

“While I will agree with her point that you have spent a considerable amount of energy and that has made you vulnerable, I can assure you that Celestia is still far weaker than she is letting on. She fears you, and believes that this final lie will be enough to bring you back under her boot long enough to forever doom your future.”

She lied? H-how could she still be lying to me after I’ve already threatened to obliterate her?

Hanging down beside her body, her remaining functioning hoof tightened in rage, small bursts of electricity appearing randomly on her body.

What!? No! She can’t be...!

“If you will not put your faith in anyone but her, then cast her truth aside and believe the one I am telling you now, which is the truth.”

Slowly raising her head again, she looked back out at the white Alicorn, whom she visibly sees was shocked by her no longer see her so defeated and broken because of her brutal defeat.

NO!

“Do you still remember the technique I taught you long ago?” he asked with his eyes that looked to be delighted.

“Yes, I still remember it. How to perform it at least, but I guess that is enough.”

Smiling a creepy smile, her fiery aura suddenly ignited again, flaring wildly around her form as she glared back at her sister very scared sister.
Raising her sole functioning arm up, she extended it out so that Celestia was unmistakably unable to escape from her attack.

“Ka…Me…Ha…Me-…, - “she said as a blue ball of energy started to form, imbuing it with what remained of her power.

Huh? What is happening? She suddenly seems to be preparing for battle…but wait, how can she still be kicking after an intense beat down like that? Surely, she would be done for already, he thought in reaction to what his vision was showing him.

NOOOOO!

“Good… now give her everything you’ve got, MAKE HER SUFFER AS SHE HAS FORCED OTHERS TO SUFFER! He shouted loudly before quickly jumping out of the way, once more revealing the sight of Celestia to Luna’s eyes.

Narrowing her eyes/eye she glared back at the white Alicorn, seeing at that moment that she was preparing to fire back at her even in this weakened state.

“…HA!”

Shouting as loudly as she could on the top of her lungs she quickly thrust her hoof forward, the ball of energy that she had been powering

Immediately thrusting her hoof forwards, an intense blast of energy shot forth towards the being hovering in the air in front of her.

“NO! I WILL NOT DIEEEEEE!” Celestia screamed as she saw the beam of golden energy towards her, -

…and just like Luna she too fired off a blast that contained nearly all the power she had towards the one that shot towards the blue Alicorn.

As both blasts clashed the moment both impacted the other it sent a powerful that flew out from its center point.

Sweeping across the castle it caused the large structure to suddenly begin shaking from the immense energy that had just hit it.

Watching from his spot, his previous look of concern was replaced by a look of pure delight.

“Perfect, she is holding her own against her sister far better than I was expecting,” he commented aloud to himself.

The surrounding trees all started to sway violently as the wave of energy washed over them, pulling at them with all its might, hoping to rip them from their place and send them flying through the air to be randomly dispersed, few were uprooted…but neither of them were sent further than crashing into another tree.

Cracks opened in the ground, swallowing up whatever once stood above the darkened crevices.

Back with the two sisters both were separated by two – differently colored – beams of violent rage that were both at odds with the other, the other threatening to swallow up the other as the ones that were firing them were putting all their energy into overwhelming their opponent.

Uttering chocked grunts through gritted teeth Luna was using everything she had put into this one attack, but even despite that fact she was surprised to find that not only was her attack not getting anywhere close to pushing her sister’s bac…but that her sister was actually starting to gain bit of an edge over her and slowly pushing her attack back.

Grunting she tried to stabilize her physical condition so that she did not suffer too great of strain to where it could lead to her downfall, but as things were going now they did not look too good.

Trying even harder to concentrate she closed her eyes.

It helped a little as she pushed her sister’s blast a little further back, but still it was not enough to keep her at bay forever.

On the other side of the intense clashing of energy Celestia had extended both her arms out in front of her so she could better control her beam as it seemed like they would be here for a while.

Wearing an expression-less frown she was in full control of her own attack, giving it all she could.

Back on Luna’s side, behind her a darkened figure faded into existence, its eyes narrowing as they stared back at her as she was failing to combat her sister…greatly.

“Luna! Give it your all!” She heard a familiar voice call out to her from behind.

Her eyes shot open and she slowly turned her head back, looking over her shoulder, her eyes jumping as she saw the figure hovering in the air behind her.

Luna and his surroundings all started to change from blue skies and white clouds to a vast chamber that had many columns along the walls of this circle-shaped chamber, each of the walls having giant rips and cracks in them, a part of the dome ceiling had collapsed onto the ground, the marble floors had lost their former shimmer as they were now covered by sand and dust.

The darkly silhouetted figure changed from hovering in the air to laying on his back on the cracked and ruined floor, a torn cape being blown through the wind that entered into the chamber, blood was running from his cut torso and from his left shoulder where he was missing an arm – his arm laying on the floor in front of him while the lower half of his body was nowhere to be seen.

“Mairon,” Luna whispered as she looked back at his badly injured upper body as it lay motionless on the marble floors.

Standing in the center of the chamber in front of his unconscious body she was now standing clad in battle-torn armor still in the process of doing the same attack that she was currently doing her head slowly turned back to look out in front of her.

Like currently she was also fighting off another powerful energy beam that clashed with her own attack, but because she was inside the chamber and the opposing beam was being fired from the outside she could not see the identity of who was firing back at her.

Like currently she began to focus, pouring everything she had into staying off this other attacker…, -

“L-luna…” but it was not until a faint and weak voice spoke up to her that she was distracted from the battle.

Once more looking over her shoulder she saw the poorly conditioned body trying to stand itself back up with its right arm, but clearly struggling as it was too weak to move anymore.

“L-…luna,” it managed to utter one final time, its stumpy arm trying to extend its arm out towards her…, -

…before both the bleeding arm and the torso fell back, falling back to the ground.

Grasping tightly at the floor it managed to shatter a few pieces of the marble floor, but with a final breath it lost consciousness, laying lifeless on the floor.

Underneath it the blood had formed a quite large puddle underneath him that stained him red.

Behind her the bright light of the opposing beam was growing stronger, being just mere moments from engulfing her.

As time seemed to slow down for her she was silent as her eyes could seemingly not look away from the body that she had just witnessed drawing his final breaths…and they had been spent calling her name.

A single tear ran down her cheek.

Through the opposing energy beam a dark silhouetted figure could be seen, being the cause of the energy beam that was weighing down hard on Luna.

Back outside the chamber a distorted laughter started to sound, echoing around the chamber, bouncing off the walls only to be meet with Luna’s ears.

Lowering her head, she soundlessly started uttering unseen noises that the being firing the opposing beam could not hear.

“Finally giving up are ya?” the dark and distorted voice inquired to her as it could see something happening with her. “Surrender is the only way out for you now, and even there I will not hesitate to enforce my will upon you.”

Watching her slowly raise her head the being clothed in darkness smirked as it could see that she was thinking about her options. She may be strong to endure quite a beating, but not even the mighty Luna could stand up to the might it wielded.

Sharply turning her head and looking back at the being she was battling, Luna breathed heavily through gritted teeth.

“Uhh!?” the dark entity was surprised by her enraged glare; its pride and sense of victory being greatly wounded by this sudden display of rage.

“I…I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!”

Screaming in terrible rage the structure suddenly vanished as an intense explosion erupted from behind its own walls, destroying the entire structure in little no more than a few seconds.

The shockwave generated from the explosion was so powerful that it would have destroyed an entire forest the size of the Everfree, leaving behind nothing but a single stone column atop which the foundation of the destroyed structure remained – as the only thing indicating its existence.

Calming itself, the wind eventually returned to where it was manageable, accompanied by the falling of destroyed stones, dust and – now cracked – stone bricks.

“Urgh…gurgh!” the dark entity stuttered as it took everything it could to not let up its attack as this would be its only chance to finish off the Princess Luna, herself.

“You miserable-…brat?”

…but as her eyes once looked in Luna’s direction they immediately shot wide open from fear.

Having re-ignited around her Luna was once more enveloped in the fiery aura from before, but instead of its usual blue it was now golden, but this time far more violent and intense than she had been battled before. Electricity sparked all around her in a matter of only one second, -

…and she was now looking up at Celestia with a rage filled glare that could not be simply ignored.

Gritting her teeth for just the loneliest of seconds Luna shared only the briefest of stares with her opponent before finally unleashing the loudest and most aggressive scream she had ever uttered before in her life.

A bright flash erupted from where Luna was standing.

It was so bright in fact that it blinded Celestia, making it impossible for her to see what was happening.

“GRAHH!” she exclaimed as she quickly turned her head, looking away from the bright light.

“DAMN YOU!” she shouted.

When the intensity finally dropped to a more manageable level she gently opened her eyes again, daring to see for herself if it truly had become more tolerable.

“You brat, I’ll tear you to-! “she growled, but a look of surprise suddenly overtook her face as soon as she looked down in Luna’s direction.

A loudly screaming voice tormented her ears to the point of almost making them bleed.

The fear of death consumed her heart, destroying any other thoughts that attempted to enter her mind.

“NO! NOO!! NOOOOOOO!!!”

Through her own eyes, she wanted to believe that what she was seeing was not true, that it was just an illusion, a trick of the mind that Luna was trying to pull in order to get the slip on her, but her mind as well as her body was paralyzed with overwhelming fear.

There was nothing she could do.

Luna’s beam was no five times bigger, crushing Celestia’s own beam, shattering the energy to pieces as it finally started to push back.

Celestia could not sustain her own attack, her hooves shaking too much to properly defend against such overwhelming power, as well as any of her remaining energy having already been spent on breaking Luna’s defenses.

“NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO…!” Celestia let out final screeching scream as Luna’s attack finally managed to cut right through her defenses, her own attack barely standing a chance of holding it back any longer.

Her attack was swatted aside like nothing, shattering it to pieces for a final time as she finally destroyed Celestia’s chance at delaying the inevitable, -

…giving her just a second before it all swallowed Celestia up too!

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Celestia screamed in a loudly agonized final scream as the blast finally consumed her whole body and blotting out anything else other than the intense golden light from Celestia’s vision.

The pain was unbearable, like hundreds of knives all penetrating her flesh at the same time, stabbing at her body.

Her entire vision was taken up with nothing but white as it finally came to a complete and utter stop!

*BOOOOOM*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXVhfKTpYrw

(It was a difficult toss-up between these two videos, so in the end i'll just leave it up to you to decide which one fits better)

As the beam hit Celestia with full force it forced forth an explosion the size of Luna and Celestia’s castle – being so big it was all Luna saw, sending forth a shockwave that this time uprooted many trees, scattering them randomly in separate directions, the ground was ripped wide open from the sheer force, and part of the castle was shaken to where it collapsed into a pile of broken stone bricks!

Grunting he held up his arm to shield himself from the explosion as it passed overhead.

Incredible!

While the outer reaches of the forest survived, the inner circles were all but uprooted, leaving nothing behind but a mere crater.

Up in the air with her one injured arm and the other still extended out Luna panted heavily as she finally started to the flames and the black smoke fade away.

I did it…

Suddenly, from out of the black smoke and scorching flames Luna noticed something fall down towards the ground.

Still panting she did not move as her eyes followed the plummeting flesh-and-blood creature as it fell out of the sky towards the castle.

Sister… she thought as she followed the white being fall through the sky, only stopping when she violently crashed into the ground, blowing up sand dust from where she landed.

Hm… she scoffed, her panting expression contorting into a panting frown.

Slowly, she began to descend down towards the ground.

Looking up from where Celestia’s body had crashed into a wall he craned his head back up, watching Luna slowly descend from the sky which made him grin in delight.

Excellent. I could not have asked for that battle to go in any other direction.

Turning around he walked back the way he had come, disappearing off into the castle.

[Down at the castle]

With the uttermost of strength was left in her body Celestia very weakly pushed the large stone up off her.

With a very frail and badly injured hoof Celestia gently pulled her body out of the pile of rocks, her entire body shivering from the pain that she had just gone through and was still experiencing way after the explosion had ended.

Laying on the ground her body spasmed, still feeling some smidge of leftover pain from her sister’s attack that she was no longer capable of just shrugging off as nothing anymore, but instead forced to endure.

“G-g-got to g-get to- “

*Tap Tap*

As fast as she could – in her current state – she turned her head, looking to her left side.

Her eyes widened as she laid eyes on the still figure as its glowing eyes meet her own.

She tried to crawl away from this being as fast as she could, but in her current state a fast escape was an impossibility. She didn’t even possess the strength possible to heal herself fast enough to even pull off something even resembling an escape.

“I-rgh-I won’t die!” Celestia said as she tried using what little functionality remained in her hoof to get away from the tall figure that she had spotted.

“There is no need to escape, sister, your fate was already decided long before this battle even started.”

Coming to a sudden stop Celestia hesitated for a few seconds before slowly looking back up above her.

Her eyes shot open, and chocked noises sounded from her mouth as she couldn’t find anything to say as she saw her sister descend from the sky towards her.

She too seemed badly beaten up, but like Celestia her condition was hardly a scratch.

Planting her hooves on the stone floor she looked down glaring at her sister.

Raising her right hoof, she pointed it at her sister’s face, her frown slowly contorting into a pure look of evil delight.

A few feet away from her the hooded figure watched the two sisters in anticipation.

He smiled at seeing the ball of energy forming at Luna’s hoof.

Just a little more now, you’re almost there.

As the ball grew to almost reach the size of Celestia’s head Luna’s eyes narrowed as they looked into the fearful ones her sister possessed.

“Don’t worry, Celestia, I will make sure your sacrifice was not in vain. Equestria will become a better place when I claim the throne for myself.”

The brightness from the growing sphere of energy now all but obstructed Celestia’s face, meaning she could not be seen at all.

“Yesss, do it!” a sudden voice spoke up from Luna’s left side.

“Huh?” Luna reacted.

Turning their heads both Princesses looked to their sides at the source of the voice, both staring wide-eyed in shock at the tall, hooded figure that stood before them. Its face obstructed by a hood that covered its head.

Luna found herself confused by this new presence.

If this was a new enemy she’d have to battle she’d surely fall since so much of her energy had already been spent battling Celestia.

“W-…who are you?” Luna inquired, still holding her ball of energy ready to kill Celestia.

“Who I am does not matter, but who is about to die, is.”

Extending a hand out from its dark robes it pointed a finger down at the weak and frail form of Celestia.

“You were about to kill her…you will not have to worry about me interrupting, as a matter of fact I want you to kill her and rid yourselves of someone so weak and pathetic compared to the overwhelming might you wield.”

Luna looked back down at her sister, staring back in shock.

“If we are to work together we should come clean so you know my reasons for wanting her dead.”

Suddenly turning back Luna’s original confusion turned into shock at what she had just heard.

“‘’work together’’? What!?” she exclaimed.

The hooded being smiled in approval behind the shadow cast by its hood.

“Correct, I have been searching for someone worthy of the knowledge I can provide…and from the list of powerful beings in the universe I have chosen you as my apprentice.”

“M-me?”

“Yes. You are the ideal vessel to wield the knowledge I possess, and with your wisdom I have no doubt that you will use this knowledge for the well-fare of your subjects.”

*Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap*

As he walked closer Luna couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“Kill your sister and complete the final test, and I will know that you are more worthy of responsibility than she ever was, more worthy to sit upon the throne and determine others’ lives. The choice is yours, your Highness.”

Returning his arms back inside his robes he turned silently towards Celestia, staring at her broken and beyond battered body, seeing every bruise and every wound that littered her body from not just the damage already sustained by Luna but from the intensity of her final attack.

Luna turned back, staring down at Celestia with a blank face.

“Hm. You hear that, sister, seems I’m not the only one who believes I’m more deserving of leading others than you ever were…would be a shame to disappoint him.”

A soft chuckle was uttered by him as his eyes narrowed, staring down at Celestia with a wicked grin.

Her charged energy ball had already grown big enough to where it would finally kill Celestia, so Luna finally saw no point in holding back her whole purpose for betraying Celestia in the first place.

“Goodbye, sister, you were useful for a time…but even you have now become obsolete.”

*Baaaaam*

*Whoosh*

*Crash*

Before Luna could fire her attack and finally end this something suddenly hit her, sending her crashing into a nearby wall.

“Huh!? What!?” he reacted as soon as he saw Luna get hit.

From a nearby wall he could see dust rising upwards, and a giant crack in the wall she had been sent to.

Sharply turning back around he laid eyes on the being that had sent her flying, his eye jumping at the sight of another tall figure clad in robes like it – except these robes were white.

“UH!” he reacted as he saw the newcomer’s extended fist. “Hm,” which was shortly followed by a scoff as he retracted his arms back inside his robe.

“Well well well, look what the tide hauled in, a nuisance,” he remarked as his eyes narrowed, and a bitter frown appeared.

“Still looking for an apprentice, I see?” the newcomer asked as he lowered his fist down beside his robes.

“Hardly, the apprentices find me.”

“Hm ~ Not impressed,” the figure’s whose hood was white replied.

“You don’t have to be, facts are facts no matter who says them…and the fact is that this young mare has the potential to be something great, and I plan on giving it to her,” he said with a sharp turn of his body, pointing a finger back at where Luna had crashed into.

“Is that the universe’ fact or your own? Cause sometimes it’s difficult to tell with you.”

“Rrrghh,” he growled in anger at being insulted like that.

“Hm…, - “he chuckled, his rage changing into a subtle smile. “Whatever, I’ve got more important matters to attend than the likes of you.”

Turning around he started to walk back towards the cracked hole in the wall that Luna had still not yet emerged from.

Stopping in front of the wall he reached his arm inside the hole, momentarily pulling the unconscious body of Luna out.

Hanging her over his shoulder he turned back towards the other hooded figure, staring back with a glare.

“Anyway, everything I need to see has been seen...and I think it is about time for us to depart from this tiny planet,” he said as he raised two fingers up to his forehead behind the hood.

Chuckling behind his own hood the newcomer smiled a delightful smile.

“See we shall.”

Watching the figure suddenly disappear Celestia’s eyes finally closed shut, too exhausted to keep looking anymore.

*Bzzt*

Before he and Luna both teleported away he was able to utter a soft growl.

For a brief moment after they had vanished from sight the newcomer held his position, staring towards where they had previously been standing.

A soft wind blowing through the devastated castle grounds, blowing through his hair.

“Hm,” he uttered with a grimace on his face, before turning around and hurrying over towards Celestia’s beaten and battered body.

Holding her in his arms he reached inside his pocket, searching for something.

“Princess Celestia, speak to me, how are you feeling?” he asked with genuine concern as he looked down at her.

She coughed several times, many of which indicated that she was still alive – for now – but included along with her rough coughs was also a lot of blood.

“Oh my, this is worse than I thought.”

Pulling out a small bag he quickly opened it and reached inside, pulling out a small green bean.

“Here, eat this, Princess.”

To his great surprise, he expected Celestia to not respond at all, but she actually opened her mouth as she was instructed to.

“There…now chew,” he said after inserting the green bean into her mouth – and obviously removing his fingers.

Her body was already so badly damaged that even the simplest of movements was causing her nearly unending agony just trying to move a muscle, but still she managed to push through it and at the least chew the strange bean that her savior had given her.

“Hey! You!” a voice suddenly shouted to them.

Looking up from the broken and crippled Princess his eyes shifted to where the voice was coming from.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see a large group of golden armored Royal Guards rushing in their direction.

When they had him and Celestia surrounded they quickly pointed the tips of their spears at him.

“Release the Princess at once.”

“B-but she hasn’t- “

“Release her or we will use force!” the Captain interrupted before he could finish.

“Rrgghh,” he uttered as a low growl at this stallion’s lack of respect.

*Swallow*

“Fine then,” he said releasing his grip and letting her drop to the ground with a thud.

Following her body collapse – and watching as it hit the ground – the Captain suddenly looked up at the tall hooded figure that he had seen looming over their beloved Princess.

“Rrggh – You are going to wish you hadn’t done that, bud,” he growled through gritted teeth as he entered into a battle-ready stance.

“Hmpf,” the newcomer scoffed as he stood back up, towering over the six armor-clad equines.

Narrowing his eyes he looked directly at the Captain, his arms folding across his chest as he waited for the first one to try and attack him.

“Hyaahhh!” a mare shouted as she leaped at him from behind with her hoof raised to strike, -

*Bzzt*

…only to fail in hitting her target, having her hoof pass down through air.

“Wha-… How!?” exclaimed the mare surprised as she failed to hit the hooded figure with her hoof, only to have it pass through the dead air his body used to occupy.

“Wha-!” the Captain – as well as everyone gathered – reacted at seeing this incredible mastery of what they believed to be teleportation, startling everyone present at the scene.

“W-where did he go, Captain?” a fellow guard asked with concern at such speedy teleportation.

“Right here,” a voice replied from behind.

Every single one of the guards suddenly tensed as they heard that familiar voice again, and so soon too.

Speedily turning around their eyes looked up towards the top of one of the less-badly damaged pillars that still remained after the intense battle that had taken place between both sisters.

Seeing the figure standing at the top they all gasped in surprised shock, not enjoying the sight that greeted them.

Still laying on the ground Celestia gently stirred where she lay, softly uttering sounds.

“My, my, my, you really are to learn some manners when addressing others, you know that?” he said down to them as it stood with his boots planted firmly against the top of the pillar with his arms folded as he looked down at the guards that had just attempted to attack him right after trying to arrest him.

Neither of the guards opted to say anything, all they could do was stare up in shocked awe.

“So, I see we’re finally done wasting time? Good,” he said while his body was slowly lifted up into the air off the pillar.

Hovering through the air he kept his arms folded as he slowly descended back down towards the surface that the guards stood on.

However, as the guards watched him descend back down to them it became evident that unless he was really good at hiding his fear that there was nothing they could to harm him.

Frightened by him they backed away as he descended.

*Tap Tap*

Planting his boots firmly back down on the ground this made all of the guards present utter chocked sounds as they did not know what his next move was.

Raising his head, he looked back up, eyes staring directly at them where they all stood surrounding the Princess.

“You are all right to be scared…but in the end, it will not be enough to save you...”

However, after what he had just said had been uttered it only made them cower from him even more.

Slowly extending his arm he pointed his index finger back at the group of guards.

All of them expected for him to fire a blast or something at them.

In a last-ditch effort to protect their sole hope they all huddled around Celestia’s downed body in order to protect her.

“T-then why don’t you just finish what you came here for?” the Captain shuddered as he held the Princess tight.

“Because even as we speak the great danger of which I speak is leaving the planet with its prize.”

[Equestria’s orbit]

Flying up into space a small spacecraft flies out into the vastness that is the universe.

Aboard the spaceship, a dark hooded figure is standing beside its two pilots that is wearing identical armor, looking out through the observation screen into space as the two of them pilot the ship.

Silently turning around the being walks towards a nearby door, which automatically opens for him to exit through.

Another door opens and he proceeds into a darkly lit room which only source of light is a bright blue that is emanating from the center of the room.

Raising his head his eyes fall upon a transparent rectangular pod that is connected to both the ceiling and the floor by a base.

Inside, the pod is filled with healing fluid, -

…surrounding a solitary being whose body is badly battered and bruised after its first real intense battle in years.

Its mouth covered by a half-mask – meaning it only covers the mouth but not the whole face – as a tube connected to the mask is providing a continued amount of oxygen to the being inside the pod.

Its eyes twitching slightly as if plagued.

“Yess, Princess, let the hate flow through you, let yourself be imbued with the strengths that would have been all but alien to while you were still Celestia’s slave,” he said with a delightful grin.

“Soon a new order will throughout the universe, and all who chose to dispute it will fall under its might.”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips as thoughts of the future started to come to him, visions of a galaxy united under a single name;

Frost

Outside in space the Starship flew towards the Moon, rounding the corner and flying to the back.

For a time, nothing was seen or heard until a large shadow started traversing across the surface of the large celestial body, its engines humming as they started to power up.

Once it was out in the clear, far enough from the Moon, a large Starship in the shape of a massive circle with many smaller circles aligned along its side, and with one large circle at the front rotated itself around until its Bridge was pointed in the direction it wanted.

With incredible speed the massive ship shot forward, disappearing from sight as it vanished to other parts of creation, where its true destination was but a mystery.

[Back down on the surface]

Sensing something in the skies above he craned his head up, eyes gazing up into space.

His blank stare contorted into a stern frown as he felt the presence vanish.

“It has begun…, -”

Finally realizing that he was not going to attack them the guards turned back as they looked at him, not understanding why he was looking up in the air.

“…and my advice to you for the days to come; watch the skies,” he said as he slowly lowered his head.

“Never take your eyes off the skies.”

His eyes staring directly at them.

Hovering high in the air, nothing but three outlines as golden light shone down upon the world below.

An eye with a slit pupil returned his stare, narrowing its brow.

Soon the outlines started to melt away into the golden sphere until nothing could be seen remaining of either the three lines or the eye with the slit pupil.

Author's Note

Sibling rivalry, mysterious newcomers who have observed them from the shadows, and a deviation from what you were expecting -

...this can only mean one thing; a new chapter is starting.

I like to be cinematic, was it too subtle?

Link1 - Dragon Ball Z Original Soundtrack - Solid State Scouter
Link2 - Dragon Ball Super OST 46 - Frieza is Resurrected

Chapter 21

A Warrior Reborn Part 1

Far across the galaxy on a distant green planet there exists a planet that is covered – for the most part – in greenery. The majority of its surface being vast open mountain ranges, stone formations and great canyons. A few consisting of small green plains and forests.

Flying to and from a massive multi-towered tall structure are many sphere-shaped spacecraft that enter/leave through opened hatches that are either on the surface or built into the sides of the open canyons and mountain ranges.

The surface may show a small base, but the inside is an entire fortress that is connected to fifty other bases like this one through a cave system that goes from one end of the planet to another.

Having been removed from the healing chamber the blue Alicorn is now laying on an operating table.

Aside from a pillow cushioning her head her whole body can be seen displayed on the operating table.

Down a hallway, a gentle tapping echoes down the hall as a silhouetted figure proceeds to walk down the hall, its dark silhouetted body being seen by everyone it passes.

Some grow nervous in its presence and others just remain still as it passes by them, beads of sweat running down their temples as its shadow moves away from them.

*Tap Tap*

In her operating table, Luna’s eyes began to twitch slightly while closed, a worried scrunch appearing on her face as she can see a dark being standing in front of her. A rip in the fabric of reality just over his shoulder.

“N-no! I refus-!” she gasps as her fear starts to skyrocket, rising higher than anything she has ever known.

*Tap Tap*

“N-rgh-no! -“

Turning back to her the silhouette’s eyes suddenly flash golden as their bright shine on her face.

*Tap Tap*

Panting unevenly her fear reaches its highest point as the dark silhouette stands in front of her operating table, staring directly at her with its arms behind its back.

Standing tall the dark figure slowly raises its hand, a ball of blue energy appearing as he holds his palm flat as the ball is aimed right at her face.

Her mouth twitches as her eyes intensifies – looking more like she was in legitimate real pain.

“No!” she protests as she disputes the being’s claims.

Turning its head the silhouette’s glowing eyes once again look back down at her.

Extending its arm out to the side a ball of energy begins to appear in the palm of its hand.

“Heed my warning, Princess of the Night, perish your evil will…and prevail once more good will.”

Without warning the silhouetted spiky-haired shadow suddenly threw the ball of energy at her.

“NO!” Luna screamed as her eyes shot wide open.

Immediately she sat up-right in her operating table from the shock of some dark silhouetted figure about to kill her with an energy blast that was similar to the one she had used against her sister back on Equestria.

Breaking the restraints of her right arm she suddenly extends her hoof out in front of her, a ball of immediate energy being fired as her rage suddenly explodes!

*Boom*

After the blast is fired it hits the ceiling, destroying a good chunk of it, and leaving behind only a giant cracked hole in the ceiling.

Only ten seconds after the explosion is heard a *Whoosh* is heard as two large steel doors open inwards…, -

*Tap Tap*

…and several footsteps is heard as something hurriedly runs into the room before coming to a sudden halt as it freezes in place.

Snapping her head to where the sound of footsteps came from her wide-open eyes look down at the shocked and petrified being staring right back at her.

Narrowing her brows, she looks down at the small creature with confused eyes, just as it is meeting those confused eyes with his own nervous ones.

“Yep. She’s definitely recovered,” the small reptile-looking Humanoid says as some of its fear began to fade as it saw her tensing eyes staring at it, her chest heaving as her nostrils flared with every breath.

Turning around so she couldn’t see he held up a small wrist-mounted device, atop which a blue glow started to appear.

Hunching slightly, she could make out indiscernible sounds as he was saying something to someone.

“Inform father that she has regained conscious and is now awake, and will soon be meeting with him,” he whispered to a holographic image of an alien that wore identical armor to what he wore, with a few minor differences like the color.

“Yes, my Lord,” replied the holographic image.

Deactivating the hologram on his wrist-device he turned back around, his eyes staring directly at the mare with nervous eyes.

Lowering her hoof Luna’s non-blinking stare was finally interrupted as she started to turn her head, looking around the room she was in various directions.

From what she could see the room itself was just a spherical chamber, with her operating table standing atop a slightly raised base that had a single walkway that led up to the front entrance, lights aligned around the table on the floor, illuminating the room.

After seeing the whole room for herself and what it contained, her eyes returned to looking back upon the alien – she assumed it was an alien – that was now standing across from her with its arms folded, still wearing a nervous expression upon his face as he was worried about her for some reason.

“Ohhh ~ my head,” Luna groaned as a sudden wooziness started coming over her.

Bringing a hoof up to her forehead she gently rubbed it as very slowly her body started joining in on feeling…off.

“Hey, kid,” he heard her calling to him.

Looking up from the floor his eyes were staring straight back at her from across the chamber.

“Hm?” he softly uttered as his eyes meet her own.

“W-where are we, a-and what is going on here? I-I don’t feel t-too- “

Suddenly, as the lower half of her body moved off the table in an attempt to stand up she was immediately hit by an intense increase in gravity that almost pulled her down to the ground, -

*Bzzt*

…however, before she could be pulled to the ground she opened her eyes to find that she had not violently collapsed to the floor, instead he was holding her up in his arms.

“Don’t worry, I got you,” said he as he stood up still holding her in his arms.

Looking up she could only stare back, mouth agape as she was surprised by his incredible speed, and all of it within a single heartbeat!

Lifting her back up he held her so that she understood she was supposed to get back onto the table.

“Oh, right, thanks,” she said before taking simple steps back onto the table.

Hm? Strange…now it feels like the gravity is back to normal, but then why earlier did I…fall like that? She thought as she turned back around, staring into his eyes.

Judging by his light scoff he could almost tell what she was thinking from how she was looking at him.

“Yeah, you should have waited for me to explain that the gravity of father’s planet is different from the one that you are used to,” Frieza said as he folded his arms with a friendly smile.

Taking several steps back away from her he forced her to stay as close to the tables’ center as she possibly could.

“Yeah, well, you could have warned me a little sooner.”

“I would have, but you were already so pre-occupied with whatever you had on your mind that you did not seem like you wanted me to explain it.”

“Hmpf!” Luna grumbled as her pupils looked away, off to the side.

She folded her arms across her chest, crossing her legs as she assumed a very odd sitting position as she tried her best not to be affected by the intense gravity of the planet.

Hearing him chuckle her eyes looked back down at him, still wearing a frown as she was immediately meet with his contrasting expression.

“Heh ~ I’ve don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. The names Frieza,” Frieza said extending his hand in a friendly gesture.

Lowering her eyes, she looked down at his extended hand with a blank stare, hesitating somewhat.

She looked up at his face again for a moment, before looking back down at his hand.

“Luna, Princess Luna of Equestria, Princess of the Night, sister to the Princess Celestia,” said Luna with a newfound smile as he extended her hoof for him to shake.

“Hmm ~ A Princess you say..., -?” Smug said as his own hand grabbed Luna’s hoof, gently shaking it. “… Well, in that case you might say-… “

Suddenly pulling his arm back he immediately hunched forward, before quickly jumping back up into the air.

Spinning in mid-air before he landed back down on one foot with the other touching the ground.

Standing up on one leg his torso was hunched slightly forward, his arms were raised but the wrists were bent, pointing his flattened hands down.

“I am…, - “he shouted as a fiery aura ignited around his body, enveloping him in a fiery orange glow.

Raising his arms up he held his straightened hands’ fingertips to his forehead as he struck a pose.

His aura igniting as it erupted into a bright flash of light that blinded her.

When the light diminished and she could once more see without the light blinding her she saw that he still stood where she had last seen him, except this time he had struck a far different pose than before.

He still stood on one leg, his torso hunched, but both his arms were now extended outwards down to the ground with his hands held flat.

“…Frieza, Son of the Galactic Emperor, Frost!”

After his…moment was passed she only blinked repeatedly as she was still processing what had just transpired before her very eyes.

Outside the base’s walls the wind blew across the surface of the planet, emphasizing the silent ambience.

“M-my, that was quite…some dance,” she nervously uttered, quite unsure on what to call what Frieza just did. It definitely involved doing poses of some sort.

Exclaiming he stood back up on his feet, frowning as he folded his arms across his chest.

“Hmpf ~ Its not a dance, it’s a stance that is meant to intimidate my enemies and make them fear me.”

Luna could not hold back a snicker at such a ridiculous response, but still she brought her hoof up to her mouth to hide her light snicker.

“Well, whatever it was you did, it looked like you’ve been practicing. Did someone teach you it?” she asked, trying to save this interaction they had going before it got awkward.

“No, it is something I’ve come up with in my free time…when I’m not busy leading father’s squads, said Frieza as his eyes looked off to the side.

His angered frown deteriorated slightly, returning to a more casual blank stare as he continued to meet her gaze as she did his.

“Well, I’d say that your practice has paid off. It looked impressive for what it is.”

His eyes suddenly widened as he was surprised by her compliment. He assumed she would be calling it ‘’weird’’ or ‘’bizarre’’ or something along those lines. He did not expect her to find his stance to actually be…impressive – to an extent.

Without realizing it, he had started blushing from her remark.

“R-really?”

“Of course, I may not have encountered your kind before, but I am certain in rewarding talent when I spot it... At least you’re better at anything I could muster up,” she thought as she replied.

“Hm.”

An aura of pride started to come over the kid as he kept his arms folded across his chest, staring back at her with pride as clear as crystal on his face.

“Hah! It would seem father was right to put me in charge of the Frost Force then ~ He he he,” he chuckled to himself as he raised his head up into the air.

With the raise of an eyebrow Luna could not avoid asking the most obvious question that was coming to mind at this moment.

“Frost…Force?”

“Hm?”

Lowering his head his eyes looked back at her from across the chamber in confusion.

Before saying anything, his eyes blinked a series of times.

“Wait. You…don’t know what the Frost Force is?”

Oh, who am I kidding? You’ve been living on Equestria for most of your life, the most backwater planet in all the universe. Why anyone would want to live there is beyond me, he thought.

Shaking her head his shock contorted into an unimpressed frown.

Of course, not, he thought while clearing his throat with a cough before he spoke.

“Well, I think if we have time before father arrives then I should be able to- “

Suddenly a light on his wrist-device started to beep loudly. Doing its best to draw his attention.

Extending his arm out and looking down at the device he could see the light flashing on and off as there was an incoming message for him.

“Hang on for a minute, just let me take this,” he excused himself as he turned his back on her.

Pressing the button on his wrist device another hologram appeared shortly of a being clad in similar armor to him appeared.

“M-master Frieza, you said that you wanted to be informed when your father arrived...well, he is awaiting you in the throne room as we speak,” the holographic image stuttered.

Frieza’s eyes shot open in surprise at hearing that his father had arrived that soon.

“T-that soon?!”

“Y-yes, Master Frieza…as a matter of fact he awaits the two of you at this very moment.”

“Grghh,” he grunted from a sudden nervous feeling overcoming him.

“Frieza?”

His head immediately shot up from merely hearing Luna’s voice speaking to him.

Down the side of his head a nervous drop of sweat ran.

“Master Frieza- “

*Beep*

As the hologram tried to speak to him he suddenly silenced the conversation by cutting the connection.

[Somewhere else at this exact same point in time]

“Master Frieza- “the alien clad in similar armor inquired after the son of his master had failed to respond when the connection was suddenly lost.

“Master Frieza?” the alien inquired as soon as the holographic display of Frieza vanished from his wrist device.

“Master Frieza?” he tried calling up the successor to his master’s throne once again, but was still meet with no response from him.

“You’re wasting your breath, there is no reason to keep calling him up,” a voice sounded from a nearby pod that hovered above the floor.

Turning around the alien looked at the hover pod, feeling fear welling within him as he did not know what his master would do to him due to the lack of response from the young master.

Sticking out on the sides he could see his master’s horns, as well a tail that hung off the left side of the pod.

“M-my Lord?” he replied with a nervous tone.

“Unless you intend to waste more of my son’s time with your pointless reputation of what is obvious to him I suggest you shut up and let him be on his way here to meet with me. Listening to your obnoxious voice must be what is keeping him.”

*Gulp*

“Y-yes, my Lord,” he swallowed down after giving his master’s words some thought that maybe it had been him keeping the young master.

If only he had known that was far from the case.

“But what about your meeting with your son, Sire?” asked the alien.

Gently looking over his shoulder the figure in the hover pod grinned subtly.

Narrowing his eyes, he completely ignored the alien and instead looked directly at the door at the other end of the room.

[Back in the chamber with Luna with Frieza]

Staring at his motionless form Luna could only begin to wonder nervously about whether that brief…conversation he had taken part in somehow contained bad news.

“So…was that bad news that you just received?” she asked, still being uncertain so just resulted to simply asking him instead of wondering pointlessly.

Slowly he turned around to stare back at her with a pale look on his face.

“It would seem…father has arrived a little earlier than I expected he would. I have just been informed by his personal assistant that he is awaiting us in the throne room.”

However, Luna’s response to this news being given was to close her eyes and lightly scoff, a calm smile appearing alongside the non-stare she was giving off towards him.

Seeing this kind of obliviousness when faced with such news just served to confuse the future heir.

Confused and surprised by her oblivious nature she knew

“W-what are you doing?! Don’t you know what father will do if we are late to our meeting with him?!” the young reptilian alien creature shouted Luna’s way.

Blowing through her fur and causing the room to shake, his voice proved useless in this attempt to make her understand the seriousness of their situation.

Finally, after keeping her eyes closed for some time she opened her eyes again.

Even closing his mouth where he now stood hunched forward with a fearful grimace she did not flinch or move an inch.

She was just still and quiet.

Out from the table that she sat atop she saw his shocked and horrified face. His gritted teeth, the tightened fists, the wide, pale eyes and his whole stance just giving off a fearful aura.

“What are you doing?! We need to go before father comes to us!”

Grabbing the side of his head his fingers tensed.

Slowly standing back up on all fours she could already feel some of the gravitational pull as her mane and tail were quickly pulled down.

Craning her head down she could see that it was not so far down to the metal floor.

Her smile increased following this.

Down along the side of his head ran a bead of sweat.

“P-princess? What are you doi- “

…however, before he could continue she suddenly leaped forward off the edge of the table…, -

*Thump*

…only to be immediately pulled down to the floor by the gravity of the planet, which she still was not used to.

From where he stood not far from the table, he could only watch with wide eyes as the violent force of gravity pulled her down to the floor with tremendous force.

Hitting the metal floors hard she could not help but exclaim a pained grunt as the impact was still quite painful despite what she had originally expected.

“Argh!” she groaned as she lay splayed against the floor with what felt like the weight of all Equestria weighing her body down.

“Princess Luna!” Frieza called to her as he could she struggle with adapting her body to the intense pressure.

He was about to run over to her side and help her, when a sudden voice replied to his actions.

“Don’t you dare help me!” she shouted angrily, causing him to stop in his tracks before he could take another step.

“This is something I will do on my own…, -!” she groaned through gritted teeth as she tried to stand up.

Her whole body shook intensely, raging through her entire form painfully.

Being sandwiched between the force of this planet’s gravity and the agony of trying to force her own body to stand up when it would have wanted to lay back down and not even bother.

Her flesh burned, which at this point would be tame…, -

… The bones felt like they were being shaken loose from their joints…and blood was starting to come pouring from her left arm.

“RrrrrRRRRGGGGHHH…” she more or less growled through closed teeth.

It was remarkably slow, like thirty seconds between every movement, but she was standing up.

However, the thing is that as the more she stands up she has to use even more energy to move the rest of her body, and what had once been the simple act of standing up was now draining all the energy she had.

“Come on, Luna! You can do it!”

Frieza started cheering her own as he was amazed to see that she was faring this well against what was essentially the weight of an entire planet on her shoulders!

Gritting her teeth so tense that cracks had started to appear in them, her closed eyes twitched violently.

In her mind a dark silhouetted figure started to appear in front of her…, -

…but as the blackness vanished and she could see clearly she could see that it was none other than-

“Sister!?” she physically uttered.

“What?” he reacted.

The sudden momentary distracted increased the intense weight pounding down on her, quickly forcing her down closer to the floor again.

She would have to start all over again from the literal bottom had she not started to physically push her body far past what it should be capable of handling.

Her horn activated and inside her legs she started to magically enhance her bones, thickening them so that they would endure for a lot longer.

“Hmpf ~ You cannot possibly imagine how disappointed I am at you,” said Celestia as she stared directly at her with crossed eyes.

“You have the power of ending my life back on Equestria, but it’s a planet putting all its weight on you that is finally doing you in?”

With a scoff Celestia’s head turned, looking off to the side, ignoring Luna.

“RRrr-rrrggggggGGGGGGGGHH!”

In her mouth blood started to build up from shattered teeth.

She spat the blood from her mouth, causing it all to splatter on the floor.

Turning back Celestia’s disappointed stare contorted into a condescending smile.

“Once a tool, always a tool…I will make sure to inform our subjects about your little revolt, that way they will finally know how you never cared for their wellbeing in the first place and only your selfish desires to rule over them…, -“Celestia taunted.

On her face a cruel grin appeared.

“Luna?” Frieza asked concerned.

Around her body electricity was a whole lot of random electrical discharges, her rage growing more and more angry, now echoing around the room so loud that it was almost putting a strain on him.

Taking several steps back away he was unsure what to make of the situation that he was witnessing, nervously covering his ears from the loud volume.

Simultaneously with her eye, her aura suddenly activated when her eye immediately shot open, increasing the output of energy that she was already using to an almost violent manner!

At a normal pace she stood up, breaking through the gravity’s wave after wave of forced attempts to keep her down, but failing every time as it could only manage one inch for every two that she was gaining the more her body raised itself up.

Now the air in the room started to spiral around her form or be pushed away alongside the floor.

“Luna! What are you doing?!”

Frieza shouted covering his face with his arms as it blew against him.

However, no response came from the blue Alicorn, just the sound of the intense energy as it crackled around her.

Her wide-open eyes soon started to cross, narrowing as her rage started to build again, but going even further than anything she had used on this planet so far.

In her mind, she was seeing a headshot of a laughing Celestia that cruelly mocked.

In front of her eyes random begins started to appear, each of them laughing at her with that same mock face that her sister had used.

“See? Only I can protect them…what do you have to offer?” her sister’s disembodied voice said.

That was the final straw!

Exploding to the surface once again Luna craned her head up as she prepared to make her rage auditable.

Outside one would see the side of the wall form a sudden dent as the loud volume in her voice was strong enough to damage the wall to such an extent.

Her jaw dropping as a loud scream left her mouth, her eyes glowing violently blue, her aura flaring frantically as this new rage was nothing it had expected to experience yet.

“LUNA?! YOU NEED TO-“

*BOOOOOOOM*

An explosion of bright light erupted from Luna that engulfed the entire room, blinding anything inside the sphere-shaped chamber.

“YyyAAAHHHHHHH!” he screamed seconds before the light engulfed him too, seeing nothing but white.

Through cracks in the walls the light managed to escape, shining out.

Anyone passing by were immediately drawn by its beams, unable to pinpoint their origin anywhere on the base, but certainly wondering what had happened over there.

*****

In the throne room the screen that Frost had been watching shut off.

With a newfound smile on his face Frost’s hover pod turned around and floated towards the control room’s main entrance.

Narrowing his eyes, he chuckled to himself as his pod approached the door.

Perfect, everything I expected of her is coming to fruition.

“Hm?” the assistant reacted as he finally now noticed that his master was not there anymore.

Turning his head to look behind him, he watched in silence as his Master was heading for the door.

Panic suddenly overcame as he realized that he might force the Emperor of the Universe to wait for him.

As fast as possible he ran up towards the Master.

Beside the pod, he slowed his pace to a more casual trot rather than a run, joining his Master just as they left the control room and stepped out into the hallway.

Out in the hall an alarm was loudly blaring as soldiers were all running in the same direction they were headed to investigate the sudden appearance smoke coming from one of the base’s towers.

Outside on the surface soldiers were all scramming to the tower, their curiosity and duties to look into this matter so they could report back to their superiors who would inevitably be forced to report it to Lord Frost, himself.

[At the destroyed tower]

Watching his cowardly forces standing in his way, blocking his way and preventing entry into the chamber Feeza frowned annoyed.

Slowly he extended a hand, holding the palm flat as it faced the door.

The few guards that noticed what he was doing began to clear away to make space for him or just to flee so they wouldn’t share in the fate of those still standing at the door.

“Hm,” he uttered before a grin appeared on his face.

All of air started to appear at his hand, pulling in towards the sphere’s center…, -

…then, there was but a flash of light and Frost thrust his arm forward.

Inside the chamber the door was suddenly flung inwards by a powerful invisible force.

Slamming against the wall the destroyed door caused a dent in the wall.

The bodies of the two guards falling to the floor.

Hovering into the room Frost’s pod turned right as it entered the chamber, heading for the section of the chamber where his son and Princess Luna was last seen.

As groups of soldiers ran into the room they were all shocked like Frost’s assistant to see that the entire place had been blackened by a powerful heat. Smoke arose from randomly placed spots all throughout the chamber, and everywhere one would touch they would be burnt by the intense heat that remained on the walls and damaged controls.

Coming to a stop Frost’s eyes jumped as he spotted a silhouetted figure moving towards them through a thick layer of smoke.

His mouth hung open, but no sound was uttered as he watched a figure step towards him with intrigue.

His eyes widened even further as he saw through the smoke.

Suddenly the silhouette turned and started to come running towards him, moving slowly as the silhouette seemed to be struggling with something that it was trying to carry.

“Father! Over here!” the recognizable voice of Frieza reached his ears.

“Frieza! Frieza!!” he called back.

With urgent pace, due to his son’s concerned tone he jumped down to the floor and started to run into the wall of smoke.

“My Lord!” his assistant called after him, reaching out with an outstretched hoof after his master.

But before his master could reach the smoke the silhouetted figure shortly emerged from the wall of smoke, now shown as to why it was moving so slow.

“Princess Luna!!” Frost said as his eyes widened at the state Luna’s body was in.

His mouth hung agape in shock and awe at what he was witnessing with his own two eyes.

Even the soldiers present gasped as their eyes too fell upon the motionless creature Frieza was carrying in his arms.

From her hanging head, blood continually dripped from the great injuries on Luna’s head and throughout her body.

“No! We cannot lose her, - “he said looking up into his son’s face. “…we’ve already lost too much too lose her now!”

Frieza nodded in agreement to what his father said.

“Quickly! Prepare a healing pod! We need to get her stabilized, NOW!” he shouted to the nearest guards.

Frost’s assistant flinched slightly from his master’s sudden raised voice.

“Y-yes, my Lord! Right away!” he said as he stood at attention.

“Well!? You heard what he said! Prepare the nearest healing pod for a Princess Luna!”

Just as scared as their master’s assistant was the soldiers saluted and then without another second wasted ran out to not only find the closest healing pod to bring her to, but also a stretched so that her already damaged could be brought there without causing further damage to her…sufficiently damaged body.

Picking her up with his hands Frieza started to hover through the air as he was too impatient to wait for his father’s soldiers to find anything that could be used to save her life.

His red aura ignited, raising his power so that his speed would be fast enough to complete the search before the soldiers could.

*Bzzt*

Speeding down the hallways of the base his aura disengaged anyone that was foolish enough to be standing in his way at the time while he speeds down the hallways.

“Hold on, Luna, I won’t let you die…not now, not by your own hand.”

“Frieza, wait!” Frost’s voice could be heard calling for his son…, -

…but yet he did not stop for anything…not even his own father.

Author's Note

Well...this chapter is not called ''part 1'' for no reason.

This chapter marks a complete change from what this story will be focusing on...but i don't intend to just change the chapters. There is another change coming that i am sure many of you smart readers out there might have already figured out.

When thirty minutes are up, after this chapter being released i will then decide to do it, -

...and despite me not always saiyan it, feedback are always appreciated to let me know about the state of the story and how to improve it.

Chapter 22 Author's Note

The intro in the beginning is the indicator that now the Sibling Rivalry Saga is officially beginning. The previous chapter was just the few first minutes of an episode before the intro starts.

NOTE: An alternate title that i've thought that can be used is the Luna Vs Celestia Saga.

Link - TFS Dragon Ball Z Abridged - Opening 2

Chapter 22

A Warrior Reborn Part 2

Goku in the intro is representative as Celestia, and Frieza is representative of Luna.

Back on Equestria the mysterious hooded individual that had saved her from her sister and the other much darker robed being stood silent as he was still looking up at the sun.

Hearing their Princesses coughing the guards that were still gathered around turned back to look down at her injured and battered body, -

…but they were shockingly surprised to find that not only was there hardly a scratch or mark on her body, but that she was actually standing back up without as much as a hitch.

Like her body had been miraculously healed by someone else’s magic and not her own.

“Y-you’re healed, your Highness?” a confused guard said aloud as he could not believe what his eyes were telling him.

The guards not seeing the Princess’ body standing back up all gasped and got shocked expressions.

Taking an incredible risk by looking away from the prisoner.

After hearing this the other guards all took the chance of looking away from the robed stranger to check if what they had picked up was in fact correct.

What they saw shocked them to no end.

It was just like when this battle between both Princesses took place it was almost insane how this all went down.

“P-princess Celestia? Ha-how did you recover from all that damage so insanely fast?!” a mare asked.

All the other guard’s mouths hung agape, stuttering as they released chocked noises.

None able to come to any sort of rational explanation as to why she was suddenly healed when just moments prior she had been laying down beaten and battered.

To the mare an idea popped into her head, an explanation she did not know how to verify in a manner that made sense.

With a slow turn of her head her eyes shifted back to the robed stranger.

Staring at him in awestruck intrigue at whatever form of magic he must have used to heal the Princess.

“It was because of the Senzu bean I gave her that healed all the damage that had been inflicted upon her.”

All the guards blinked at him, semi understanding what he was talking about.

They only managed to comprehend the basic concept of what he was talking about.

With a turn of his head he looked down at them.

“If not for me making it to this planet in time your sister would no longer be drawing breath, and we would not be having this conversation.”

Gently his pupils shifted upwards, staring directly at Celestia.

“Death is not a luxury you can be afforded at this time; your people need you now more than ever…especially with thought to what will soon come.”

Crossing her brows angrily she took several steps forward as she pressed pass the crowd of soldiers.

“Are you threatening me…or worse, my subjects?”

Soundlessly he shook his head from side to side.

“Not at all, your Majesty, but I am inclined to tell you when danger is afoot…and you are sure to lose the battles to come.”

Behind her, Celestia’s guards started to grow angrier.

Insulted by this…foreigner daring to tell their own Princess that she was even close to weak and that there even existed someone stronger than her.

“How dare you?!”

“You take that back!”

“The Princess could whoop your butt and you wouldn’t even know she was doing!”

“She could totally take you down! She is more powerful than anything in Equestria – with the exception of Tirek and Discord. If it was possible she could crush you with the power of the Sun, itself!”

A small uproar from the guards swiftly attracted Celestia and the new arrival’s attention back to them.

“While you are correct that she is indeed quite powerful a lot more than brute strength to defeat Princess Luna and whoever it was that abducted her.”

“Wait, Princess Luna’s been kidnapped?!”

“How is that even possible?! I thought she was supposed to be nearly as powerful as the Princess!”

With a gentle nod of his head he answered the soldiers.

Unsurprisingly this did little to help calm them after being this news as chatter started amongst them.

“Which is why…, - “

Celestia’s ear twitched as she heard him speaking to her directly again.

Turning back to face him she looked up to meet his eyes.

“…I have come here to help prepare you for the threat that lies ahead,” he said.

Like with her soldiers a horrified face appeared on Celestia’s face, but unlike her soldiers it was more restrained, not uttering a single word or sound.

Leaning down he stood on one leg with the other touching the ground.

Now he stood eye-to-eye with Celestia.

Staring into her eyes as she did with his.

“Understand this, Princess; on your own you might stand a chance…for a while, but trust me, whoever has your sister is not going to let her go a day without preparing for when they will return to Equestria and exact their revenge on you unless she gets stronger than you…, - “

His eyes grew sterner, his facial expression letting her know that he was not joking about their situation in any way.

“I swear on my life, Princess Celestia, allow me to train you so that upon your sister’s return you will be strong enough to stand a chance of beating her.”

Her mouth hung agape, but now with all that she was hearing was beginning to utter chocked noises much like her soldiers.

“If not for your own sake…, - “taking her hoof in his hand he held it as he looked straight into her face. “…then do it for those whom you have been fighting all this time to protect.”

For a time, she only looked at him blankly, not knowing what to choose as she did believe that what he was telling her was the truth, but was her allowing him to train her to become strong where she might defeat her sister truly the wisest course of action?

She had trusted Luna and look where that had gotten her.

“Come on, Princess, what are you waiting for?”

Gasping as she heard the voice speak to her.

Turning back around she looked into the eyes of her soldiers, all of which stood with their hooves pumped.

“Yeah! If this weird alien thing saved your life – twice – then what he is telling you has to be true if he is offering you the chance to become even stronger than you are now.”

Uh, excuse me?! ‘’Weird alien thing’’?

Turning back to the robed figure, seeing as it had remained quite silent for a while, she shot it a suspicious stare.

Raising one of her brows.

“Are my subjects in correct in saying that you are here to help us in this hour of need?”

“Your Highness, if my intentions were not well-intending then I would have not interfered in this world’s affairs, and just allowed Luna to destroy you.”

The guards were about to once again protest, bringing up how the Princess was strong enough to handle Luna, -

…but Celestia raised a hoof, silencing them.

“Then what do you suggest as our first course of action?” Celestia asked him.

“While your subjects repair your castle, you and I will go somewhere secluded where we can train.”

“Nah uh! No way the Princess is going anywhere with anyone as things are now.”

“Yeah! Never mind her own safety, but there are going to be asked questions about what happened here.”

“Then you are inform the populace that Princess Celestia is dealing with diplomatic affairs outside Equestria’s borders and will not be returning until the week is up.”

“Hang on, a week?!” exclaimed Celestia.

“My sister will be returning within a week?!”

“Let me put as simply as I can; once your sister finishes recovering from the damage that she has sustained here today, she and her allies are not going to rest until they know that she is strong enough to destroy you with a single blast…which is why I need to take you somewhere I can not risk destroying the entire planet.”

“What?! Destroy the entire planet?!”

Aside from her slight eye twitch, Celestia only stared back with her mouth slightly agape from hearing this quite…big news.

I don’t believe it. This guy, he’s-…he’s actually so powerful that he can destroy the entire planet?! Who is this guy?

Celestia was caught in a flurry of questions pertaining to this savior that had not only saved her life, but also told her that an even more powerful threat was soon to consume them…and he was willfully offering her his help in preparing her so she may combat this great danger.

“Yes…that is the extent of my power, and the reason for why we must leave Equestria to ensure no harm befalls your kin while preparations for the day upon all your fates will depend are underway.”

With a turn, his eyes shifted back towards Celestia, staring directly at her.

“I fear that in the days of peace since your last great battle with a powerful opponent, which I presume to have been Tirek or Discord, you have grown sloppy which was the reason why you were so easily defeated by your sister…which if we are to restore your strength back to what it once was, I will have to use fifty perfect of my power, otherwise you will surely be vaporized, and we don’t want that, do we?”

*Gulp*

“No,” a nervous Celestia peeped up.

“Then unless you have any necessities you require to bring with you, I must insist that we depart as soon as possible to our new training grounds for the next 168 hours.”

Putting his long sleeved arms behind his back he stood motionless as he continued to maintain a constant eye contact with her.

“You will be allowed five minutes to appoint who shall temporarily replace you as leader of Equestria, but after that you and I must depart…, - “

With the raise of two fingers he brought them up to his forehead behind the hood.

“…see ya in five, your Highness.”

*Bzzt*

In little as a second’s notice he suddenly vanished from sight, seemingly masterfully teleporting away.

As soon as he was gone all of the guards gasped, exclaiming as they jumped in surprise at the great speed in which he teleported.

“Wha-…where did he go?!” one of the guards exclaimed.

She, like the rest of everyone presently there, stood with shocked looks on their faces from his sudden disappearance.

Shaking the surprise from her, Celestia turned herself around, facing the guards as she began relaying her current plans to them.

“Okay, now everyone, he has only given us five minutes to select who will represent me during this absence. Does anyone have suitable candidates for who could be our most likely choice?” she asked all of the guards.

Shifting their attention from the disappearance of the bipedal creature they all looked to their Princess instead, listening to what she had to say.

“Well…the only ones I can think of as a possible candidate is your assistant who manages all your paperwork. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind a small increase.” a stallion suggested.

“Hm…, -“ Celestia thought.

Touching her hoof to her chin, entering into deep thought about her options.

“What about the mayor of Manehattan? Wouldn’t she be available?”

“A message can be sent, but it is uncertain whether it will arrive before- “

*Bzzt*

“Huh?” Celestia and the other guards reacted when they suddenly heard a sudden noise behind them.

Turning around they saw that the robed figure had suddenly vanished.

“Whah-…were did he go?”

For several seconds Celestia and the others only blinked in confusion as neither knew where he had teleported off to.

*Bzzt*

Sometime later, though, did actually see him finally return, -

…but he was not alone.

Beside his body, the flat palms of his hand touched the heads of two mares, who judging by the mare on the left and the one on the right both had differently contrasting reactions to suddenly being teleported by a mysterious creature.

Clad in a suit and more proper attire the mare on the left released chocked stutter as she was incapable of comprehending what had just transpired.

The other was clad in standard gold armor of an Equestrian Armed Forces General, with hers standing out with minor purple outlines and shoulder pads that were completely purple.

“What the-… Where have you brought us?!” the General shouted up at the hooded figure.

“What’s happened?! Why am I suddenly out here when I should be in my office signing the newest-? “

While the mayor was having her little freak out her eyes soon feel upon a white being clad in gold that attracted her attention towards itself rather than just shouting in alarmed panic.

“P-princess Celestia?! What is going on?! Please explain what is happening here.”

Requested the mayor who was more than weirded out by everything that was taking place right now.

Taking several steps forward she looked up at the hooded face, watching him give a gentle nod.

Raising a brow, the General craned her head up, staring at the robed figure suspiciously when she saw this happen, then back at the Princess directly.

“Yes, right…, - “

With her hoof, she brought it up to her mouth and gave a gentle cough.

“…as it would seem, General, mayor…my sister, Princess Luna, has turned on me. What you see around you are the results of our battle, which would have had an unfortunate outcome had he not come to my aid and rescued me from my sister’s wrath.”

Pointing directly at him with her right hoof the General and mayor looked up at him, staring at this mysterious, tall, bipedal figure.

Only shifting their attention back to her when she began speaking again.

“Not only is the betrayal of my sister a huge blow, but also when I was saved from certain death by him, Luna was being goaded into killing me by some or other dark figure that I suspect was observing our battle. Waiting for the opportune moment to intervene,” she explained.

“It goaded her until she started to charge up the final blast that would have killed me, while giving me this cruel smiling…almost like she was…enjoying what she was about to do.”

Hanging her head low she sobbed softly.

Upon opening her eyes again there was a small trace of fluid about to run down her cheeks.

Sniffling she raised her head, once again looking at the two mares most suited for taking her place while she prepared for next week.

“Now, the reason I have summoned you here is due to my sister and her allies’ eventual return by the end of the week. Now, he…, - “she said pointing her hoof at him. “…has said that I need to come with him so I can train my body to become stronger for when I face my sister….as she too will be preparing for the day she returns and exact her vengeance upon me.”

The mayor’s eyes were wide open, gently blinking her eyes, though, they did not deter the horrified, frightened grimace that was on her face.

“So…why exactly have you summoned us, your Highness?” asked the mayor, trying to smile friendly despite her disbelief at their entire situation.

“Because I must leave Equestria as he needs to be at his full power when training me…and when at full power he could...potentially destroy the entire planet.”

She slowly tried to avert her gaze from them, not wanting to see their shocked faces when they realized how strong the being they stood beside was.

However, the gasps that she had been expecting to hear being uttered by them did not come.

This surprised the Princess more than anything she had seen today.

“Huh? Wha-…, - “she responded confused.

Turning around her eyes jumped, surprise overwhelming her as neither of them were shocked or surprised by this news when it should have left speechless or even gawking at him.

Both of their faces were blank, just staring at her with raised brows that were more or less caused by them being surprised at her sudden reaction.

“What is it, your Highness? Is something else the matter?”

Questioned the General while taking several steps forward.

“You…you’re not surprised by the fact that the one I am going to train with for this week could wipe out Equestria if he wanted too?” Celestia stuttered.

With a hoof to her mouth the mayor let out a gentle cough before shifting her attention back to Celestia.

“We are surprised, your Highness, but we, like everyone else have seen you go up against foes that always claim that they actually possess the battle power that would make destroying a planet possible. It’s no biggie anymore.”

“I would have to say myself agreeing with the bureaucrat…, - “

…while talking, the mayor turned to him, glaring at him.

“…there is no more any surprise to any of the villains you’ve fought so far. Even Discord was turned to stone by your hoof.”

Exhaling a heavy sigh, she looked at her with blank eyes.

“You forget that was with my sister, I never actually defeated Discord in single-combat. Most likely, he might have removed my teeth or replaced my eyeballs with baby heads if we were to try and fight each other.”

She shuddered at the thought of Discord ever meeting that triangular menace; Bill Cipher.

Crossing her eyes, she glared out in front of her at the thought that her suspicions about him was correct.

Ever since awakening in that accursed casket they had found at the hill she should have known that no matter his little ‘’theatrics’’ that he was bad trouble, -

…just like Discord.

“Uh…Princess?”

Repeatedly blinking her eyes a series of times she snapped out of the trance that it seemed like she had been under.

Quickly shaking her head, she looked down at the General.

“Huh? What?”

Questioned a confused Celestia as she did not understand what had happened.

“You were not responding for a few seconds there, your Highness. Almost like you were entered deep into thought about something.”

Raising a hoof to touch her forehead she lowered her head slightly, looking down at the at the ground.

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? With all this talk about the end of the world I would not take you being engaged in deep thought to be something that should just be brushed aside.”

“I completely agree with your subordinate, Princess…, - “he said taking several steps towards her. “Whatever you have to say, if it pertains to our cause then you should speak up instead of remaining silent,” he said extending a hand out from his robes.

“Well-… You see, it-…” she stuttered trying to get the words she wanted to speak come out.

Seeing that she was struggling with what she was trying to say he closed his eyes, retiring his hand back inside his robe and beginning to concentrate.

Hanging her head, she looks down at the ground.

“I am thinking about this one being, Bill Cipher,” she finally said.

“Who?”

One of her guards spoke up, while the others turned to stare at each other with confused glances.

Exhaling a heavy sigh she raised her head.

“Bill Cipher is what he prefers to call a self-proclaimed Dream Demon, who has the power to enter one’s dreams and even manipulate them,” explained Celestia to the group.

The guard’s eyes jumped, staring back at their ruler with shocked and awestruck faces.

“B-but I thought only the Princess of the Night had the power to enter one’s dreams!” a very worried soldier guard suddenly spoke up.

“It would appear that she isn’t anymore.”

With a turn of her head, Celestia looked at the guard with a sad frown.

“Then what are we to do about this…Bill Cipher?” asked the General.

Taking a few steps closer she approached the Princess.

“Surely there must be something we can do about him before dealing with the crisis of Princess Luna’s revolt.”

Gently, she shook her head.

“No, whether I like to admit it, despite appearing in the back of a book in my sister’s possession I do not feel comfortable antagonizing him unless I have absolute reason to. He may exist within what my sister refers to as the Mindscape, but there is no telling what chaos we risk unleashing upon Equestria when we have not even dealt with the first one.”

“I could not agree more, your Highness,” said mayor taking a bow of respect.

“Exactly what we should be doin’, yer Majesty,” said the General.

The mayor could not help but spare the General a nasty glare at the disrespect thrown their race’s leader’s way.

“So then why have you summoned both of us here, Princess?” the mayor asked with a confused raised brow. “Surely the General would be more than well-equipped to maintain stability of the Empire while you’re off training.”

Raising a hoof up to behind her head Celestia gently scratched the back of her head, blushing embarrassed.

“Well, to be perfectly honest, mayor, I and the guards were already throwing up possible candidates, and while we mentioned both of your names…he, - “extending a hoof she pointed back up at him. “…just randomly brought you here before I had the chance to suggest anyone else.”

Turning around the two high-positioned mares looked back at the robed figure in-between them.

Shrugging his shoulders, he just returned his attention back to Celestia where he was meet with a slightly angry expression on her face.

“While it is unfortunate that in his impatience he was so brash to just bring you here without waiting for a confirmation whether it was you I wanted brought here…but I must admit with you both here it should be easy enough to find which one of you will govern in my place until I return from my training with him.”

Putting both his arms behind his back he took several steps back so they wouldn’t be distracted by him.

“However, my decision is that both of you will govern in my place until the week is up and I return to you.”

Both mares snapped their heads up at her upon hearing this, gaining confused expressions as they were taken aback by her decision.

“Uh, excuse me, your Highness, but unless my ears are mistaken I believe you said ‘’both of us’’.”

The mayor asked as she took several steps closer to Celestia.

“No, there is nothing wrong with your hearing, mayor. I want both of you to govern in my place.”

“B-but, your Highness, military and government bureaucrats don’t mix well.”

“Be that as it may, that is something the two of you will have to find out while I am gone. Time is important in this race to see which one of us will become stronger than the other before the end of the week…and honestly, we’ve spent quite a lot more than the five minute time limit I was supposed to hold myself to when selecting who will govern in my place, and my answer to that is just to choose whoever I have available right in front of me for that task…and right now you are the only options I’ve got physically standing before me to just brush it aside and be picky about my choice.”

Taking several steps forward she trotted forward as she stepped out towards the robed figure that had been patiently waiting for this conversation to end.

Craning her head up she looked up at his hooded face.

“Will it take long to reach this planet where we will be training?”

“No, it will even take hardly a second.”

“Good, because I fear that with these additional minutes spent debating and discussing my choices we have done nothing but waste time when we could have been already started sparring with eachother.”

“Then we shall be underway immediately, your Highness...if you just come over here and stand next to me.”

Raising two fingers to his forehead he lowered his left arm and touched Celestia’s back.

Staring out at the small crowd of equines she offered them the final smile they would see on her face for quite some time until their next meeting.

“Govern Equestria well…” were her final words before both her and the robed figure simply teleported away, -

*Bzzt*

…leaving the guards with dropped jaws at such speedy teleportation.

After she had gone and a silence started to fall over them, they all looked at each other with blank stares.

“So…when do we think we should begin fixing the castle? Does tomorrow sound nice?”

All of the ponies except the stallion that had asked the question looked first at him, then out at the ruined section of the castle they were standing in, before staring back at him again with frowning glares.

“What do you think?” asked the guard’s Captain in unimpressed tone while glaring at the stallion that had asked that.
A Warrior Reborn Part 2