The Celestial Nightmare of the Sun and Moon

Sombra had another restless night under the nightmare that had become fond of tormenting him the past several weeks, and he was none the wiser on how he earned its ire.

The dream always started out differently to lure him into a false sense of ease before trapping the unicorn in the nightmare where it would torture him for the rest of the night, and this one was one of the worst had ever had.

“I must be feeling guilty of my involvement, or this is my penance for making a deal with Diana.” He didn’t really mean that last part, but night terrors hadn’t manifested until sending his agreement to Radiant Hope two months ago, and could find no other root cause that might be the problem. "I can't keep pushing back her lessons any longer..."

He nodded grimly to himself knowing the true reason for the delay in educating the young princess, but couldn’t bring himself to put his almost sister into that situation just yet. The longer he put his duty off meant the more pain it would bring him having to rush the Aurora for her first meeting with her betrothed, and that was something Sombra didn’t want to ruin even if the princess was on board with the alliance just because it was her duty to the country.

Already, he was dreading leaving the dungeon he called a bed if it required sacrificing his beloved princess/sister to the hooves of a yak, but to defy the majesty's will would only summon untold suffering to his body, and the princess for it left her open to another Crystaller whose only purpose was to enforce the will of the King and Queen. He couldn’t flee from the personal danger anymore then he could convince their majesties to give up on their alliance and find another way to deal with Equestria, and with a heavy heart it meant Sombra would have to see this through till the end for it would be better executed by his hooves than that of another.

With his daily encouraging talk finished, Sombra removed himself from the bed ignoring the flicker of pain where his matted fur stuck to the sweat soaked sheets, and made his way to the restroom. After a shower, and quick combing removing any knots in his fur just enough to give the appearance of a properly prepared Crystaller eager to resume his duties…

There was a frantic knocking coming from his door now as he left his restroom urging the unicorn to discover the need for such commotion this early. Three strides found himself clasping the doors in his magic where he yanked them open to reveal the guard assigned to helping him with the princess's education, hoof raised to prepare another knock. Sombra watched as the guard shifted a quick salute before stating his reasons for the disruption.

“Orders sir. We received them just minutes ago from one of the Flying Corps Pegasi, he says it's urgent.”

Sombra stared at the unicorn before him with a suspicion uncommon to the residents of the castle as the guard wasn’t the one assigned to watch his door nor this wing of the castle, making his presence here unnatural even if he was acting as a messenger.

“By whose command? And where is my assigned guard?” He added that last one when he confirmed the familiar humming of White Noise was missing, and watched the guard fidget for a moment at the hostility in his voice.

“Sir. The orders are not with me, but with Captain Polished Heart who enlisted myself for this task. The pegasus only relayed they were orders, and nothing more before collapsing from the long flight.”

“Alright guard, you may return to your previous duties, I’ll visit the good Captain within the hour.” Sombra watched as the guard dropped his salute and hurried down the hall with the pace of a foal trying not to show fear. It made the Crystaller nervous at the open display of cowardice where they could be seen and taken for the weakness of a still weak Crystal Empire.

This brazen display pricked Sombra’s nerves, yet he kept them in line as he did the one job he was hired and praised for by the Royal Couple- he thought.

‘These guards were trained rigorously, and sometimes beaten to remove the common urges of the herding class out of them, so why had the guard reverted back to that inherent urge?‘ Sombra asked himself as he applied the magic lock to his room, and proceeded down the hallway.

There were more questions along this line as he passed far fewer patrols than there should have been during this time, but found no guess he could come up with worth the energy to pursue and left behind. He quickly made his way down to the ground floor where he hurried to the plaza the Royal Couple departed from, and from there trotted down the length of the marble lined ground to the branch of the castle that housed the Crystal Guard Command. His arrival was foretold for the guards on duty clipped their shoes together, and stood straighter as he approached the entrance of the second most important location within the great city.

The same treatment was given the Crystaller as he passed many working stallions and a few mares hurrying about their duties, but stopping long enough to give the Royal Advisor more respect than needed.

“They know something, but what?” he mumbled under this breath as he climbed the stairs to the sixth floor where most of the Guard Command congregated when not summoned or performing their duties.

It was on this floor did the formalities give way to the bluntness the guard often threw around with the backing of their position, and was ‘escorted’ by two fine examples of the Vanguard were known for, but these two lacked the bored expressions their peers carried with them for these two were more privy to more restricted information. They led Sombra down a lone hallway on this floor where they walked him past four doors to the last one where another pair of Vanguards stood guard and upon seeing their kin each knocked once on the double doors. On the unspoken command they grabbed a door, and pulled it open just as the three ponies arrived, allowing them to enter unhindered where they were greeted with a large (and rare) wooden table and five chairs- three occupied by ponies each garb in the uniforms of the three guard branches.

“Please Sombra, have a seat. We have urgent matters to discuss.” The one dressed in the Vanguard uniform that marked him as their Captain. Sombra reluctantly obeyed the pseudo order and took a seat in one of the unoccupied chairs.

“We received a messenger from the Royal Flying Corps late in the night, and decided it was prudent you know its contents as well.” The pegasus began, the red and blue uniform with the crystal emblem of the Royal Family marking him as the Flying Corps captain. “There is some disagreement about this inclusion as you might have noticed, but your mention in the letter can’t be overlooked.”

Sombra glanced to the chair on his right and partially to the one he occupied saw the three captains looking upon him with varying degrees of expectancy, with the Vanguard Captain more restrained than his peers who wanted to know what the unicorn would say. The Crystaller shifted his weight in the chair so he could be more comfortable for this intolerable meeting about to take place.

“A carrier arrived late in the night with a message from Lt. Silver Wing, the acting commander for the royal escort, with instructions from their majesties. They’re pushing their return by a week.”

Sombra was quiet for a moment as he pondered the implications of this early return, and couldn’t help but to quiver as the three captains held their emotions in check even if they felt sympathy for his plight. The princess’s opinion in this entire matter wasn’t a concern to the three captains.

“A week? Are you sure that is the correct time written, and not a…” Sombra began but was cut off by Polished Heart, the Flying Corps Captain.

“We already double checked with the messenger and compared the horn writing and remaining magical residue, it's a match Sombra.” Polished Heart appeared he was going to say something else, but stopped when his compatriot Guard Captain spoke up.

“But we’re still left with the dangerous task of dealling with the accompanying yaks. I don’t care if their majesties come back with Faust herself, that many yaks will strain our ability to monitor and respond if the need were to arise.” This one came from the only Capitan to have not spoken until now- Worn Path.

“It is their Majesties' will, and it shall be enforced no matter our grievances on the matter. You know this Worn Path.” The Vanguard captain spoke.

“Careful Iron Law, even you know the danger we bring upon us by allowing those mongrels access to our wondrous city. You’re the only one that pretends to welcome their majesties’ command without concerns, and that folly may bring doom upon us.” Worn Path interjected as he leaned over the table to better see his peer at the other end.

“Loyalty and trust of our esteemed rulers have kept our city together since our ancestors fled the Great Freezing, and I’ll sooner fall on my own blade then allow this talk to continue.” Iron Law began to emphasize his claim by withdrawing the gem and gold studded blade when the pegasus captain quickly stood up, placing himself between his fellow peers.

“Iron Law stop it. Your faith is unwavering, there is no question about that, and Worn Path’s concern for our city is inspirational, but the two of you are missing the bigger picture.” He looked to Sombra who since taking his seat had watched the proceeding with equal trepidation and scrutiny. “The fair princess is supposed to be wedded to those beasts, and I see no other solution short of rebellion that would keep our line pure.”

The two captains forgot their hostilities, suddenly remembering the ash unicorn in the room unsure what to do besides stare at the Crystaller. Sombra took this time to adjust himself in the seat before addressing the bright yellow pegasus.

“Polished Heart is right. Unless their majesties' have another foal they’re hiding, any foals produced by the Princess Amore and her betrothal will stand to inherit everything.”

“WHAT!?”
“WHAT!?”

The other captains shouted in disbelief as they stood up in a mock attempt to immediate the royal advisor, as if he the act would make him receded his claim and end it for good. It did neither but make the captains appear even more foalish and worthy of their ranks. The pegasus took the opportunity to straighten his Flying Corps uniform, an act meant to demonstrate his maturity by not taking part in the argument. The Earth and Unicorn wound up already didn't take kindly to his display, and refocused their attention the pegasus which only refueled the argument into a three way tie on how to save their Empire from an unwanted union.

Sombra remained quiet as the three captains fought amongst themselves, using the time to gather the courage to tell his princess and pseud sister her time in the Empire was drawing near its end.

Princess Amore sat alone staring into the crystal mirror that had taken several years to finish because of the enchantments that needed inscribing; the mirror’s surface flickered as the magical filters readjusted to brighten her reflection given the pale light. There was no jubilation as she stared at the decorated unicorn staring back with a braid in the mane, and grabs woven from imported yak fur into designs depicting important moments of their history, yet as she wore the warm clothing Amore felt cold.

It was her very core that felt dead even as her heart frantically beat itself to death trying to warm her, but the princess found no satisfaction from the impending wedding because of her parent’s eagerness to be rid of her. That had to be the reason, for why else would they want to marry her off to some brute that smelled of the very dirt they slept in? There were logical conclusions of course, but they made no sense to the princess and so found her parents' hatred of their daughter easier to digest than them being warmongers.

Feeling sorry for herself was one problem, but believing the shining beacon of morality to the rest of the world would betray their own history for some petty revenge that might have been circumstantial at best only killed what optimism for the future Amore might have had. Even the Crystaller, and somewhat unofficial big brother hated the task given to him, but his loyalty to the city was inspiring nonetheless and so Princess Amore bit her cheek and said nothing if it meant performing her duty for her home.

Her reflection blinked and looked up, making the princess do the same.

A light resembling the freshest snowfall slithered around the ceiling in a pattern that seemed unsure where it needed to go, before vanishing and reappearing a little ways to the left, and then to the right. Amore turned to the windowed balcony, and staring through the stained glass depiction of the Crystal Heart stood the two legged creature that had been visiting her for the past week with dead eyes made of bright moons that shone with a beauty not unlike the moon in the sky.

Her horn flickered alive, and the glass door was pushed outward, making the two legged creature take a step back before falling forward in that fascinating way she walked.

“Welcome Miss Diana.” Amore greeted the fascinating creature that had suddenly appeared in her room nearly four days ago. The bipedal raised one of her forelegs so her claw was fanned out before her, which she claimed was a common greeting among her species.

“Hello Princess Amore. How are you this fine night in the fair city?”

“Tis quickly becoming a favorite time of the day recently, for the duties of the crown weigh heavy upon these shoulders. Sombra is increasingly becoming more...” Amore bit the inside of her cheek to keep quiet as she found the word she needed. “...more hurried. Yes, more hurried in his lessons to a point I find myself becoming lost by the barrage of information and customs I care little for.”

“He runs out of time, and I fear so do you princess. I heard the royal couple will return a week early.” Diana clarified seeing Amore’s questioning look, and had to raise a finger to keep alert the princess this was a private matter. The unicorn bit both sides of her cheeks to keep quiet as she fought herself to remain calm.

Diana moved forward until they were about five paces away, and waited as the young mare collected herself into a functional state before continuing what needed to be said.

“Your plight is none of my concern, yet we’re tied together by the spider web that has snared us Amore. I was sent here to remove a threat, but I see none. I was supposed to secure the city’s future, and I shall, do not doubt that, whether it be through helping you or another I shall see my mission through to completion, understood?”

“Crystal…” Princess Amore choked out, and wondered why she was even listening to this strange creature that had literally showed up four nights back on her balcony, but most of her reasons fell flat except for one even as Miss Diana kept that information hidden.

It was the creature's power that compelled the unicorn to listen, and go along with her suggestions. Amore envied that sense of freedom the moon worshiper wielded with such grace, and the act was as natural as breathing while she folded as a stock of wheat in the wind. Never in her life of privileges was she allotted the choice to pick and choose the course her life could take, instead her price for these luxuries was the complete obedience under the guise of ‘Royal Duty’.

Amore paid her visitor no mind as her hooves began tightening in frustration, but this soon faded when Miss Diana made a snapping noise using two of her claws. The princess looked up, unable to hide her frustration mixed in with her embarrassment at being called out, but the bipedal paid the unicorn no mind as she continued on with speech.

“If you won’t help yourself, then I won’t waste my time anymore, do you hear me?”

“I do! Please forgive my disrespectful behavior and continue.” Amore might have laid that on a bit too thick, but the over politeness was ignored and Diana continued once more.

“We could simply eliminate your parents to expedite your ascension to the throne…” Amore fought to shout by biting the inside of her cheeks once again.

“...But you will still have the betrothal on your hooves, and only invite these yaks to press their claim given your relative young age and the agreement between them and your parents. Perhaps we eliminate their leader?”

“You mean regicide!?” The thought had crossed her mind a few times since learning of her surprise betrothal to the Yak Khan, but hearing the suggestion so casually spoken greatly unnerved the princess. “That’s a crime of the highest law in civilized land!”

“So was the suggestion of killing your parents, but that barely garnered a response didn't it?" Diana smiled when the princess turned her gaze toward the floor, but continued on. " 'Civilized land' is the key there princess. My limited understanding of the Yaks means I very well could be missing something important, but I found the lack of solid leadership often leads to wonderful results. Are you aware of the Platinum League princess?”

The princess of course knew of the Platinum League as they were one of the first and closest confederations to directly challenge the Equestrian Alicorns for dominance until Grand King Iron Chain’s sudden death by the work of an assassin ended his threat to the young princesses. Amore nodded, wondering what that old league had to do with her and the yaks.

“The League was composed of several families of the old unicorn nobility that uniting the lower nobility to defy the growing power of a young Equestria? Of course. Mother and Father won’t admit it, but the Platinum League’s rise to power scared our family for generations to a point we enacted several laws to make such an uprising difficult. What does this have to do…” Amore ceased talking as she watched Diana making a cutting motion next to her next with those armored claws of hers, and the message was clear.

“As I said, I found removing the leader often leads to good results. Without that foundation they often tear themselves apart vying for the mere opportunity of expanding their power. I still wonder what would have happened if I chose one of the other lesser kings, but I only think of such nonsense to pass the time in between missions.”

“Miss Diana. Does this imply you will.. remove the Khan for me?” Her voice was more foalish as she made the request, but the princess was becoming too hopeful and desperate for a solution to annual this betrothal for good.

Diana seemed to consider this plea as the thin trail of fur above her eyes moved upwards in a gesture the princess had seen before, and was told it meant a pony was deep in thinking. Amore almost broke composure when she watched the bipedal pivot to look toward her balcony, and then back her before her thin lips stretched upward into an unsettling grin.

“Princess Amore, I will not.”

“BUT….” Amore almost leaped from her seat when she heard the rejection, but found herself unable to when one of the bipedal’s iron claws grasped her withers and forced back into the chair.

“Be still child, and let me finish. I already do another's work against my will, and refuse to seek more than my own desires, but it doesn’t mean I won’t help you. You will deliver the death blow to yourself, and I’ll teach you.”

“Killing!?” Amore cried out, this time rising from her seat with no resistance since the crazy bipedal had backed away. “I’m a princess of the Crystal Empire, and only heir to the throne Miss Diana; never in a thousand years will a member of my line commit such a heinous act!”

“Then I wish you a happy life with many children, my princess.” Diana shrugged, ignoring the mare’s renewed anguish at the terrible thought as she made her way back to the balcony. She could feel the mare’s magic tugging at her hands in vain to make her stop, but trying to nail the reality of her choice in, Diana ignored this until she had opened the doors and stood on the moonlit balcony.

“I will give you something never offered to me Amore- time. I will return at the same time several nights from now where you’ll give me your decision- freedom or enslavement.”

“Miss Diana.. Isn’t there another way?” Amore, almost pleading now, took a step toward the mysterious bipedal prying this was some strange act, but bit her tongue when the female shook her head.

“As I said, freedom or enslavement. Until that night...” Diana then in a single leap of grace landed on the balcony railing, and taking one last look at the panicked princess, leaped off the side.

Amore terrified at the sight rushed forward to peer over the ledge, and to her amazement found no sign of the mysterious bipedal. She continued looking over in case Miss Diana suddenly made an appearance, but as the seconds turned to minutes and only her heart beating against her chest could be heard gave up.

There was hope before, as the princess had always been leaning to Diana’s suggestion of ending the unwanted betrothal, but her upbringing made her seek an alternative that would spare her hooves from the blood. Her eyes drifted to where Diana had leaped over the ledge and disappeared wondering if she was real or a magically produced construct of her stressed mind trying to convince the good princess to stoop to acts of brutality.

Casting magic to close the balcony doors, Amore turned to the mirror she was sitting at moments before to take a very close look at herself to ponder if she really could stoop to a level of selfishness if it meant freeing herself as the cost of hurting the citizens of her city.

“Then I wish you a happy life with many children, my princess.”

Diana’s statement began echoing in her mind as horrid images of her battered and bloated self appeared in the mirror surrounded by bastardized hybrid foals…

“NO!” Amore screamed as she slammed her hoof into the glass, shattering the offensive mirror.

Being chained for an immeasurable amount of time until the SUN came by with a need created a terrible impact on a person’s mind that could lead one to crossing that threshold many never returned from. Diana knew she was getting close to this threshold with each summon for the simple reason she found herself looking forward to the next one, and the one after that. It didn’t matter what the job was if it meant getting that fresh air into her lungs once again, and tonight was no different.

After leaving the princess’s room by making the plunge toward the ground in a blaze of moonlight, Diana used her ‘rush ability’ to skirt the edge of the castle most of the way down until using it to hit the ground running under the guidance of the moon.

Celestia had summoned her to do a job, and like the rules set forth by the Summoner's Guild Diana would do what she was summoned for whether she liked it or not, but her missions never had a real time limit in any sense. Already she had spent 5 weeks to get here and meet up with the Royal Advisor, and would likely need another three until her target/s arrived, yet that would still require some additional planning in order to pull the slayings off without tying Celestia to it.

Diana figured she could use a distraction, and sought it by exploring the distracts that made up the Crystal Empire. So, under the pale moonlight her natural sight had trouble separating the reflective surfaces of the crystal buildings, Diana decided to use an old technique she had learned some time ago.

Recalling the bat-like ponies she had met some centuries ago, and had found them unusually adorable, was surprised by their abnormal aggressiveness as a species. Yet, they were creatures of the night just like her, and commanded much respect for the legacy of their work and history when it came to moonlighting as the land’s unwelcomed guardians. The displaced aspect could appreciate and sympathize with the strange tribe that took her in for a brief time.

There was a key difference between Diana and these fanged ponies, and that was their misplaced beliefs in the lunar princess- she’s in no way an equal to the sun, but another tool to be used.

Still, it was by their guidance and teachings the aspect found herself rushing from cover to cover as the patrol paths became increasingly random as the night grew on, and she owed this to the enhanced sight the bat pony tribes of the highlands had taught her. A weird land this world was to experience, and the abundance of magic here made many things possible- focusing some of that magic to enhance your sight? Simple. Use magic to control the very weather? Sure, why not.

It made Equestria a fascinating, and terrifying land to explore, but that hadn’t stopped Diana from trying, if just to see the mountains that resembled Runeterra. Even if it was some heinous magic that allowed her spirit to leave that fiery land under Celestia’s castle, the sensations she was experiencing right now were real, and proved to Diana she still had something to fight for.

Even if she was losing, somehow she’ll find a way to break the cycle.

Pressing herself to the wall of the building she just reached, she lowered to a crouching stance to make her outline less noticeable against the reflective crystal wall. At first sight, the modest single story building resembled many of the homes she had seen so far, and would have marked it as a personal residence, yet she had felt a presence of sorts as she approached, and that alone was enough for Diana to investigate.

A quick search revealed the building wasn’t a home, but a converted shop with banners and decorative ribbon along the entire length of the roof so they would drape over the walls. Under the pale moonlight and enhanced eyes, Diana could barely make out ribbons as the bright colors of red, green, blue, pink, and maybe yellow, and the sight intrigued the bipedal as she carefully peered into one of the window that had been cut out of the very wall and was disappointed- it looked like a store.

‘What did I expect?’ She whispered.

Near the back wall was a large glass cabinet with two shelves made of crystal that ran the length from end to end, with various objects she couldn’t recognize. Two similar cabinets were placed by each wall so any potential customer would be surrounded on three sides with products meant to catch their eye, but nothing stood out to the Lunari as her enhanced eyes scanned the room looking for the reason she had been drawn to this building.

She dropped to her knees once more as the clanking of armor sheets and metal hooves began echoing closer. Unable to verify the reason for the need to be here, Diana decided the risk of being seen was becoming too high, and began slinking back into the shadows of the buildings. Already there was a strange presence forming at the edge of her psyche, and it was howling in anger, and a longing for the house that grew with every step she retreated. That worried her.

Diana clung to the shadows of another building as a fourth guard patrol passed, but her thoughts kept returning back to that store and strange force that had suddenly called to her with an intensity to rival the Summoning Spell.

There was a reason to be here besides the killing of a rival ruler to please a tyrant hiding behind smiles and fake promises, and what the building hid could be the key to her own freedom. Until she could continue her exploration of the city with a greater emphasis on the shop hiding a strange power to bring out the worst within her, and it would be several days before Diana reappeared in the city after tonight..