Later that evening, Luna lay on her bed reading by candlelight. The hour was late, but she couldn't sleep. She had spent several hours tossing in bed before admitting defeat. Her mind was in no mood to relax, no matter how tired her body was. Not that this mattered a great deal, her magic made a great many things easier to deal with. Technically, Luna hadn't required sleep for several decades now; a simple refreshment spell would reinvigorate her mind and body, making sleep unnecessary.

Still, she enjoyed sleep, the peace and calm of the night allowing her body the chance to do what came naturally. It was just another routine she would maintain, even though she didn’t need to. Her room for example; the large room located towards the top of the tower was made for both Luna and Celestia to live in, but Celestia had her own room now. Luna could have chosen any of the empty rooms located closer to the ground floor, but, well, it was her room.

Luna turned the page of the book she was reading with her magic, engrossed on the words scrawled in ink across the page. She was studying her old teacher's notes on dreamwalking, hoping to gain some insight that had escaped her the last dozen times she had read it.

When entering the mind, it is important to remain calm, she read. As you 'push' your way inside, the subject's mind will push back. Do not try and force your way through; this is dangerous, and damaging part of the mind is common. Instead, try and match the force of the subject's mind. Don't think of it as a wrestling match, with two opponents trying to overpower each other, but as a dance, a union between two minds working together.

Luna closed the book with a sigh. I have read and reread this so many times I have it memorized, she thought, but that doesn't make this any easier. Climbing off the bed, she stretched out her legs before levitating the notes back onto her bookshelf. She turned to look at a large clock ticking away in a corner. So late already? she thought with a sigh. Might as well go check on Star as long as I can't sleep.

Walking over to her desk, she opened one of the drawers and levitated a small blue bottle up to peer at the label on the side. Nodding in recognition, she grabbed it with her mouth and walked to the door leading out of her room. Turning the handle she pulled the door open, but as she tried to exit the room, a small gasp from the floor caused her to start in alarm.

"Wha—" she yelped instinctively, and the bottle fell from her mouth. The bottle fell, but just as it was about to hit the ground, a bright gold aura caught it, carrying it back safely into the air. Luna looked down at the small grey unicorn sitting in front of the door.

"Starswirl? What are you doing here?" Luna took the bottle from him with her magic, and he looked away, blushing.

"Sorry Luna," he said, looking at the floor, "I was just—, um I was..." Sighing, he sat up straight and looked her in the eye. "I couldn't sleep again."

"I'm sorry," Luna said. She hefted the bottle a little higher. "I was actually just on my way to see you. I thought you might want another dose of sleeping potion."

"No."

"No?" Luna said confused. "You don't want any potion?"

"No," he replied again, more forcefully this time, with a shake of his head for emphasis.

"Then I'm confused," Luna said slightly shaking her head. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I want you to use the spell on me."

"I—" Luna stopped and stared at him. "I honestly did not expect you to agree to it. Are you sure you want to risk it? Why don't we wait a few more days—?"

"No!" he said, his face contorting with emotion. "I don't want to wait; I wake up tired every day. The things I dream stay with me all day." He grabbed her foreleg with both of his. "Please," he said, his voice shaking. "I don't want these dreams anymore." Luna sighed, wrapping her free leg around Starswirl's back comfortingly.

"Alright, Star," she said. "We can do the spell right now." Starswirl relaxed in her forelegs, whispering a quiet 'thank you'. Luna patted him on the back a few times until he let go of her leg. "Come on inside, you can sleep in here tonight."

A short time later, Starswirl was comfortably settled beneath the sheets of a small bed Luna had magicked from nowhere. Luna had spent several minutes mixing up a new potion, one she said was better suited for the spell. He looked around Luna's room with interest, noting the large number of books and scrolls filling the shelves and stacked neatly in corners. Everything was neat and orderly, everything in its proper place.

He turned his attention back to Luna as she walked up to him with another small vial of bright red liquid. Small bubbles rose to its surface, and a sharp fruity smell filled the air. Starswirl reached out to take it from her, but she pulled the vial away. He looked at her, confused.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Luna asked him. He nodded, but Luna only looked at him unblinking, looking for any signs of second thoughts.

"I'm sure," he assured her emphatically. "I spent a lot of time thinking about it."

"Why though?" she asked. When all Starswirl did was raise a quizzical brow at her, her face creased in irritation. "Why are you letting me try this? I told you before that I've never done this successfully, so why?" Now it was his turn to feel confused.

"You're my friend, Luna; I trust you." Luna stared at him in silence for a moment before turning to look at the wall. Starswirl shifted about nervously. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," she replied before turning to look back at him. She floated the vial over to him, and he took it in his hooves. Taking a careful sip, he was surprised by the fruity flavor that fizzed on his tongue. Quickly gulping down the rest of the potion he handed the vial back to her.

"That tasted pretty good," he said. "How long until—oh..." A large weight pushed down on him, and he felt his eyes close against his will and his whole body relax into sleep. As he lost awareness of his surroundings, he thought he heard Luna whisper, "I won't let you down...friend."

Luna walked upon the flat surface of Starswirl's mind. The ground shimmered with reflected light, but the surroundings were completely black. Luna could see her reflection in the surface, but it was distorted from the ripples that formed with every step she took. Her hoofsteps made light ringing noises that echoed faintly in the distance.

There were no landmarks or other indications of where she was, but she didn't care; she knew where she was going. The air crackled with electricity, as if she were walking through a static filled dust storm. Every so often, a jolt of electricity would spark from the air to strike her, the sound making her flinch each time even though she felt nothing.

She wasn't sure how long she had been walking; time was harder to keep track of when moving outside your own body, but she figured it had only been a few minutes. The ripples along the ground finally struck something in front of her and came spreading back towards her. Peering into the black, she saw what she was looking for; a large dome of what looked like some silvery liquid.

There it is, she thought. The Veil; it's just how I remember it. She picked up her pace and in a few more moments she stood in front of it. The dome was vast, stretching higher and wider than she could see. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch it. A slight tingle ran through her leg, uncomfortable enough that she pulled away.

Alright Luna, you can do this. Just treat it like a dance, right? Reaching for the silver wall once again, this time she put some real pressure behind it. Immediately, she felt the wall start to push back, but she kept a steady amount of force behind the push trying to match with the wall. The tingling sensation was starting to drive her crazy, but she did her best to ignore it. The little game continued for what felt like hours, but finally, Luna felt her hoof sink softly through the dome wall.

I did it! she practically shouted in her mind. Alright, slowly now, just walk through. She walked forward slowly, letting first one leg pass through the barrier, then pushing her face through, then her other leg, and so on. Her whole body felt numb, like when your leg falls asleep after sitting on it for too long.

After pulling her last leg through, she stands still for a moment before opening her eyes. A paved road stretches before her, lined with houses. It looks like some kind of town or village. Is this where he is from? It was night, and the entire town was quiet as she walked down the streets.

Something feels off; the dream seems too...solid, she thought. There was none of the typical distortion that came from looking at the dream world from an outside perspective. I suppose if this is a memory, then the dream would be more stable, but—

Her musings were broken off by a loud crack that echoed in the night air. Whirling around towards the direction the sound came from, she jumped up, letting her wings carry her over the rooftops to get a better view. As she circled in the air looking for the source of the sound, a much louder bang reverberated throughout the village, and she saw a flash of light from one of the smaller houses in the middle of the village. As she dived towards the house, she saw a dark figure fly through one of the house's front windows.

She landed on a roof of a nearby house and waited. As she watched, a unicorn mare in a dark green cloak led a smaller figure in a blue cloak out of the building. Luna recognized the blue cloak as Starswirl's and she flew after them as they ran down the dark streets. They kept running until they encountered more dark figures headed towards them, at which point they turned and ran down a shadowy alley. The figures followed close behind them.

Luna was about to swoop down to help when the world rippled. She pulled out of her dive instantly, and a bright light appeared in front of the two unicorns running below her. She had read about this happening sometimes from her teacher's notes and she thought back to what he had written.

Most dreams are unstable, constantly shifting around you. The dreamer is unaware of this, he acts as if it is completely natural, and for the dreamer it is. Sometimes though, the dream is remarkably stable. This usually happens when the dream draws a great deal upon memory, but there is still some distortion. If, however the dream is completely stable, this is a sign that—

Luna's eyes widened and she froze in midair for a moment before remembering to keep her wings flapping. No, she thought. It can't be. The dream world became more and more unstable, rippling in larger and larger waves. Of course, it all makes sense. Recurring nightmares, complete memory of the dreams, why the sleep potion failed. It all adds up! The bright light filled the entire world, blinding her. She closed her eyes against the light.

If the world is stable again when the light fades, I'll know for sure, she thought. The light faded abruptly, and she opened her eyes to find herself floating over a large forest of tall trees.

There wasn't even a hint of distortion in the world below. Her face set in a scowl, she looked around for Starswirl and his mother. After a few moments of searching, she caught sight of some color running among the trees. There was a large dark shape following them as well.

"Come on, Star," his mother panted out. "We're almost there." He followed silently, too tired to even respond.

They exited the forest into the clearing. About a hundred feet in front of them was a cliff face that stretched to the left and right as far they could see. Starswirl collapsed to the ground, unable to move another step. Star Song walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

"It's the ocean Star," she said with wonder, "I never thought I would see it." She turned around to smile at him, but the smile froze on her face, and her eyes widened. "Starswirl, I need you to come here now." Her voice wavered with contained emotions. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong when he felt a hot, moist breath on the back of his head. Starswirl stiffened, then jumped to his feet and ran towards his mother, who also ran towards him. He ran as fast as he could, but whatever it was, it stayed right behind him, growing closer with each step.

Fear finally overtook Starswirl, and he threw himself to the ground and covered his head with his hooves, hoping it wouldn't hurt too badly. Instead of an onset of pain, he felt a rush of air as whatever it was jumped over him and kept running towards his mother. A jolt of surprise and fear ran up his spine, and he looked up to see a giant grey wolf charging towards his mother. It was almost as tall as Star Song, and a third longer. Star Song was clearly not prepared for the wolf to completely ignore Starswirl, but she stopped running, standing her ground before the beast.

Her horn glowed brightly, and a bolt of magical energy flew at the wolf. The bolt passed right through the creature, which didn't even flinch. Star Song's eyes widened, and she tried to think of something else, but it was too late. Everything seemed to slow down for Starswirl as the beast leapt.

Star Song reared her head back to try and dodge, but she didn't have time. The wolf opened its jaws wide, but just as it was about to bite down, a dark blue blur slammed into it, sending the wolf flying. Starswirl gasped in surprise and relief as he looked at his mother's savior.

Luna floated in the air, her large wings keeping her aloft for a few moments before she landed. Starswirl tried to run to her, but Star Song got to him first. She grabbed him and held him close, trying to protect him with her body as they turned to look at the scene playing out in front of them.

Luna did not even spare a glance towards Starswirl, keeping her attention solely on the grey predator as it pulled itself back to its feet. Starswirl watched in amazement as the shiny blue eyes of the wolf changed to a pale yellow. It stood staring at Luna, and she stared back. It began to circle them, trying to go around their protector to get to its prey. Luna mirrored its every move, keeping herself between the wolf and its food.

Suddenly, the wolf sprang forward, moving fast, too fast. It shot past Luna before she could react, and leapt snarling towards Starswirl and his mother. Starswirl gasped in surprise and fear, but before the wolf reached them, it slammed into a shining blue field that suddenly appeared between them. The wolf ricocheted off the shield with a yelp, landing a few feet away. It tried to stand, but before it could, a bright blue aura surrounded it and the wolf was hurled into a nearby tree.

There was a sick crunch of bones snapping, and when the wolf came to its feet once more, it was with a noticeable limp. Luna moved to stand between them again, meeting the pale eyes with an unblinking gaze. Starswirl and Star Song now sat a few dozen meters from the side of the cliff. Luna stood along the cliff face a short distance from them, and the wolf was only a bit further than that. The two stared at each other for long moments until the wolf grinned.

Starswirl stared, horrified, as the creature...changed. That was really the only way to describe it. The bones under the skin began to shift about; it stood upon its back legs as its limbs changed shape, become larger and more bipedal. Its fur fell off in chunks, revealing leathery skin that shone in the moonlight; it reminded Starswirl of a snake he had once seen. The forelegs became arms, and the paws turned into claws with long fingers. The tail grew longer, and its jaws began to shrink back into the skull. The mouth became a gaping maw with razor fangs and the nose a pair of recessed slits. It grew larger and larger until it was taller than the tallest trees.

The monster threw its head back with a loud roar that shook the forest. Starswirl buried his face in his mother's coat and she gripped him more tightly as they shook with fear together. Luna watched the entire transformation without blinking. When the creature roared, she lowered her head, but not from fear. Her horn began to glow with magical energy, brighter and brighter until a shaft of magical power shot from her horn to lance its way into the monster's chest, passing completely through to the other side.

The monster's roar of power became a shriek of pain as it collapsed into a crouch. Instead of blood, liquid fire spewed out of both holes. Fire from its chest landed on the grass they stood on, while the bits from its back landed among the trees of the forest. Both caught fire, and soon the clearing was filled with smoke. Star Song used her magic to keep the smoke away from herself and her son, but the smoke obscured Luna and the monster for a few moments.

When the smoke cleared enough for them to see, to their amazement the monster was not only alive, the wounds on its chest were closing. In moments, it was completely healed. The creature looked at Luna warily, but Luna only blinked once, returning it's look without emotion. Standing on its feet once more, the creature took a deep breath of air, its chest swelling impossibly large. When it had taken as much air into it as it could, it opened its mouth to spew liquid fire at the three ponies before it.

Starswirl cried in fear as the flames rushed towards him, and he buried his face into his mother once more, waiting for pain and death to wash over him. Neither came; he opened his eyes. Once more, a bright blue shield surrounded both him and his mother. White hot flames surrounded them, but he was able to see Luna through the fire. She was protected herself with her own shield. He could still feel the heat of the fire, but the shield was keeping most of the heat at bay.

That's amazing, he thought. Being able to cast two shields at one time can't be easy. He opened his mouth to cheer, but the breath caught in his throat. He tried to breath, but no air filled his lungs; he was choking! He stared at the flames in realization. The fire didn't need to touch them to kill, it would burn up all the air, choking them to death.

Luna had come to the same conclusion. Her expression didn't change, but she altered her stance, spreading her legs slightly. Lowering her head once more, her horn began to glow, brighter than before. As her horn glowed more intensely with each passing second though, Starswirl noticed the heat of the flames growing more intense as well. When a patch of fur on Star Songs' leg began to blacken, he realized what was happening. Luna was trying to gather more magical energy then she had. She wasn't able to work whatever magic she was trying to use and both shields at one time.

I need to do something, he thought desperately. Looking at the blue shield, he tried to copy it. Closing his eyes, he pictured a shield of his own and gathered the magic to his horn. The heat of the fire slowing faded, and he opened his eyes to see a shimmering gold shield surrounding him and his mother. He pushed the shield outward until it brushed against Luna's.

When Luna felt Starswirl's shield brush against her own, she turned to look at him. Her eyes widened when she saw the shield, then narrowed when he nodded at her. To his surprise, he heard her voice inside his head.

I'm trusting you Star.

She turned back to the monster and dropped her shield surrounding them. Intense heat washed over him immediately, and he saw his own fur begin to blacken and smoke. Quickly, he put more power behind the shield, everything he had, and the heat lessened. He was running out of time though. He could see the edges of his vision darken from lack of air.

Luna's horn shone brighter than ever, and a loud roaring could be heard from somewhere. Turning towards the noise, Starswirl watched, stunned, to see a massive wave from the ocean headed right for them. The monster saw it as well, and tried to turn and run when suddenly, the cliff face he was standing on collapsed beneath him and he fell, barely catching himself on the edge. Luna had used her magic to tear the ground he stood on away from the cliff face.

The wave washed over them all, extinguishing the flames and allowing them to breathe freely once more. The wave receded, and the ocean lowered back to its normal level. Starswirl fell to the ground, exhausted; he had used too much magic and his shield vanished. Steam from the extinguished fires hissed in the air. He watched the monster pull itself up off the cliff, but he was much too tired to care. It stared at them without emotion for a moment, then it wavered in the air like water that you threw a rock into, and then vanished.

Starswirl let his head fall to the ground, closing his eyes. He felt his mother's hooves pull him into a gentle hug.

"You saved our lives Star," she whispered to him. "I'm so proud of you." He felt himself blush at his mother's praise, but he shook his head slightly.

"It wasn't just me; Luna deserves more thanks than me." He opened his eyes to thank Luna, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"What are you talking about Starswirl?" his mother asked in a worried voice. "There was no one else here but us."

Luna opened her eyes with a groan. Her entire body was sore, and she was as tired as if she had been awake a whole week straight. Struggling to her feet, she stumbled over to Starswirl's bed. She focused as much as she could and cast a quick spell on his sleeping form. He stirred slightly as the blue aura surrounded him, but did not wake.

Turning to her bed she walked towards it, but fell to the ground before she made it halfway. She was so tired; too tired to even cast a spell to help herself. The irony of the situation didn't escape her, but she was too tired to even care about that. Crawling the last few feet to her bed, she dragged herself up. As soon as her head hit her pillow, she passed out, but one word echoed through her dreamless sleep.

Umbralaven

Author's Note

That is the end of Part One. For details of Part Two see my latest blog post here.

I also want to thank everyone who has read my story, especially those who actually made it this far. I know I'm not the best writer, but I hope I am at least getting better. So thanks for sticking with this so far, I really appreciate it.