Remnants

Princess Luna stood in front of the Castle of the Two Sisters. The Princess felt content and was looking forward to her dream after a long day's work of raising the moon and rescuing the ponies from their nightmares. That was always her favorite part of her job. No matter how worn down or tired she was, she was always ready to sleep her sorrows and her worries away in peaceful slumber.

The castle seemed to sparkle with cleanliness from the maids that had seemingly come hours ago. It reminded her a lot of the castle in the real world before she was banished to the moon. It was a shame Celestia or the land keepers didn’t properly take care of it during her absence. Perhaps those magical beams that destroyed the roof didn’t help, but it could’ve been replaced. At least she can enjoy its original glory in her dreams. The history and the memories that were stored in the structure was remarkable, and even continued to hold in the present time.

However, despite the glory, why did Princess Luna feel like something was off? Her surroundings were similar yet something didn’t feel right. The place was slightly darker than it usually is. Though it isn’t bad on its own, the low lighting and the way the atmosphere seemed to shift away from the earlier tranquility caused alarms to ring in her head. It felt… too familiar to a certaintime. She was startled when she spotted a pony step away from the shadows from the corner of her eye. Her blood ran cold when she recognized the pony looming over her in the ledge. It was a copy of herself! The impostor’s face had twisted in a sadistic smile, one that would scare even the toughest of ponies such as herself.

“Did you miss me?” Her twin spoke sinisterly.

Princess Luna felt her heart stop. She tried to use her powers to fend off the fiend, yet despite her glowing horn, no spells came out. The Princess gasped and took a step back from the copycat.

“Who are you?!” The Princess shouted angrily, her voice tinted with the fear she felt deep inside. After many years of guiding dreams and dealing with nightmares, this experience was completely new to her. For the first time in a long time, she strangely felt powerless in her own dream!

The evil Luna didn’t answer. She let her actions do the talking. She flapped her wings and ascended in the air. She raised the moon over the sun, creating an unnatural eclipse. When the moon was completely covering the sun, dark shadows fused around the Alicorn. Evil cackling echoed throughout the chambers by the time the shadows dissipated. Princess Luna took several steps backward and her ears flattened against her head when she met her old foe: Nightmare Moon.

“Remember this?” Nightmare Moon called down to her. “Remember me?”

Before the Princess could react, Nightmare Moon teleported behind her and attacked her with a powerful, dangerous laser. The Princess shouted from the sharp pain she felt from her wing. She looked to see a burn mark scarring her on the side. She attempted to use teleportation spells of her own, but Nightmare Moon trapped her in a magical crystal that immobilized her. The princess tried to use various spells to get her out of this horrible dream, yet it was fruitless. She was trapped in her own nightmare, a reality she hoped she never faced in all of her years of living.

“Don’t even try to stop it,” Nightmare Moon cackled when she walked around the crystal. “You thought you got rid of me, didn’t you?”

Princess Luna shouted from the depths of her lungs, yet it was silent from the outside. Nightmare Moon smiled, looking sadistically overjoyed. “I love it when you struggle. It fuels me after being separated for so long.”

Nightmare Moon slammed her hooves against the crystal, causing it to crack from the brutal strength she possessed. “This is only the beginning, Princess,” Nightmare Moon’s voice was completely filled with venom. “You thought I was gone forever? You’re a foolish and ignorant little pony.”

Nightmare Moon forced the princess to stare at her cold, almost murderous eyes when she spat the following words with bitter disdain. “Try as you might, but your dreams are mine. For your deeds will never rot with time.”

Finally having the opportunity to use her magic at last, Princess Luna woke up in a cold sweat when revived from the nightmare she finally freed herself from. Her hooves tightly clutched her blankets. She was panting from the pure anxiety she felt from the horrible experience. It replayed in her head like a cruel movie, and those ominous words echoed in her brain alongside it. “Did you miss me?”

There it was again. The line from the malicious Alicorn. She could’ve swore she felt her sides become sore from the fight with her horrible counterpart, yet when she looked, there was nothing. Princess Luna took several breaths to calm herself down, but how can she? When she couldn’t even control her own dreams, it was dangerous. It was like something was immobilizing her powers somehow. She cannot let that slide. That is something that should never be repeated for as long as she lived.

Princess Luna pushes herself out of bed and storms straight into Princess Celestia’s bedroom. She didn’t know if her sister would really help with her problem, but it was important to inform her of her dilemma nonetheless.

“Sister! We have a problem!” She shouted in alarm after the burst through the doors.

Princess Celestia, who was drinking her tea, nearly spat it out of her mouth after she heard the sudden cry. She set her tea down before she stood up from her seat. “What’s the matter? Did Chrysalis or Tirek come?” She demanded thoroughly.

Princess Luna shook her head. “I don’t believe so. There’s something ominous about this dream I had.” She informed her urgently. “I think it’s something you need to hear.”

Princess Celestia didn’t look so tense after she had received her answer. “I wonder why it startled you. You’re usually not up during this time.”

“Trust me, Celestia, this is important, and I want your full attention,” Princess Luna pleaded. “This is something I can’t keep to myself.”

After Celestia and Luna sat down at a nearby table, Princess Luna explained everything to her sister in detail about the nightmare she had. From the transformation to Nightmare Moon to the cruel message she was forced to receive. Princess Celestia processed her sister’s words. It was alarming, but…

“Are you sure you were using the right spells?” Princess Celestia inquired. “It seems unlikely that some force was stopping you from casting such great power.”

Princess Luna grits her teeth. “With all due respect, sister, this isn’t the time for stupid questions like that! I’ve been doing this job for a long, long time. You would think I wouldn’t know how to escape nightmares?! Do I ask if you were ‘doing the right spells’ if you weren't able to control the sun?!” She lashed out.

“Okay, okay, that was inconsiderate of me to ask,” Princess Celestia apologized quickly to prevent herself from being subjected to more of her sister’s outbursts.

Despite lashing out, she eventually calms herself down. She laid her cheek on her hoof on the table.

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to take out my anger in you, but that nightmare still haunts me. I’m afraid it’s more than just a simple bad dream.” She spoke.

“You think this will affect everyone?”

“I hope it doesn’t. I would rather have this struggle alone than for someone else to suffer alongside me,” Princess Luna admitted. She looked at her sister dead in the eye. “This is something no one should experience.”

“I see…” Princess Celestia pondered for a solution, yet she couldn’t find an answer. She placed her hoof on her shoulder. “If only there was a way for me to help.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know if anyone can help me,” Princess Luna frowns. “I don’t think even Twilight and her friends can help me with this case. This is something more sinister and murderous than the Tantabus, and that was bad enough.”

“She’s always available,” Princess Celestia advised.

“I know she’s an option, yet why do I have this feeling that this is something she can’t accomplish?” Princess Luna retorted. “I genuinely believe it’s more than just a curse.”

She closed her eyes. “I don’t know if even you can help me,”

The two sisters look out the window near the table. It was a bright new day and overlooked the tall buildings of Canterlot in the distance. Princess Celestia glanced to the side.

“Maybe that night was a fluke. A scary one, but a fluke nonetheless. By the time ponies go to sleep, your powers may work again.” Princess Celestia said after some thought, hoping to ease her worries.

“I suppose that can work,” Princess Luna then lowered her voice. “But you’re awfully optimistic,”

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather that I’m not?”

Princess Luna chuckled. “I should’ve known better. Why else did our parents name you after the sun and sky?”

Princess Celestia smiles. “There we go. There’s that smile I was waiting to see,”

She nudged Luna’s cheek with her face. “You’ve been doing a lot of good deeds by doing your job in keeping the ponies safe in their dreams. I just don’t want you to get hurt just by doing that.. I care for you and I cherish you. You may be a royal, but you’re always my little sister to me.”

Princess Luna watches her sister leave with a soft expression on her face. She can be a pain at times, but it was nice to know she had her support during her struggle. Though the nightmare continues to scare her, feeling her sister’s love after experiencing complete malice felt soothing to her troubled heart.

After Princess Luna raised the moon, she felt nervous entering the dream realm tonight. This feeling of uneasiness was odd to her. She hated the feeling of doubt she felt about her powers. It was something that made her more nervous than the nightmare itself. If her powers didn’t work… ponies would be subjected to torment for a while. The very idea of being powerless scared her to bits, but she had to take a leap of faith.

After taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused her magic to transport herself to the dream realm. Her horn glowed bright when the process began. After she opened her eyes, she felt overjoyed when she was surrounded by the dream orbs. It worked! The Princess looked carefully for the nightmares that may pop up in the orbs. If she couldn’t even save herself from her nightmares, at least she would save the others from experiencing the same fate.

During her search, one orb caught her eye while she flew. She found an orb that belonged to Discord. Instead of experiencing dreams of playful chaos or delightful tea parties with a certain pegasus, this dream looked oddly familiar to the time when he ruled the land of chaos. Curious, Princess Luna attempts to go into the dream, yet something was blocking her from doing so. To her shock, all she could do was watch as Discord was subjected to torment from an evil copy of his. His dream was eerily similar to hers. Out of all the creatures to be scared, she never thought Discord would be terrified of his own evil self.

“You can’t get rid of me, you delightful fool!” The evil Discord roared. “You may be the Lord of Chaos, but I am Lord of Terror. You won’t escape your misery.” It’s like the words impact even those outside of the dream. Luna cringes from the bitterness.

She kept trying desperately to help, but another cry was heard in another orb. She didn’t want to, but after hesitantly leaving the draconequus to himself, Princess Luna searches for the other screaming orb. Princess Luna finds the dream orb of Stygian, who is constantly plagued by a dark, giant figure. It must’ve been the Pony of Shadows she had heard tales about.

“Even when I’m gone, that hate is still in you,” The Pony of Shadows growled. “Yet you still squirm like a little worm. A little worm ready to be torn apart.”

Princess Luna keeps trying to enter Stygian’s dream, yet once again it is impossible! The Princess kicks her hoof in the air. How can she do her job when her powers have these many limits?

She wished she didn’t hear another shout from an orb, but it came again. Princess Luna had to force her wings to move in the direction to see the other dream. She really didn’t want to see this, yet to her surprise and a bit of relief, this one was tamer than the last two she saw. It was Starlight’s dream. She was confronted by possessed townsfolk in a desolate town in the desert. This wouldn’t normally scare a pony, but to the unicorn, it was terrifying. Starlight covered her eyes with her hooves as the townsfolk stared and kept laughing evilly as she shook in fear. Next to Starlight’s dream was Trixie’s orb, who went through a similar experience of being mocked and scorned by everyone. The only difference was the fact that she was close to getting eaten by an Ursa Minor.

Her fears had come true. Other ponies were experiencing the similar fear and anxiety in their cruel nightmares. She prayed it didn’t happen, and she felt horrible when she couldn’t think of a solution to stop it. What makes it even more terrifying was the words that rang out in all of their dreams. Words she knew all too well: “Try as you might, but your dreams are mine. For your deeds will never rot with time.”