There was a blinding light, accompanied by a searing flash of agony, which disappeared as suddenly as it arrived. The former princess cried out in pain as she plummeted towards the lake that had just materialised below her. The night sky was clear, which was odd, thought Nightmare Moon. The last thing she saw before her sister cast that spell on her was a cloud-filled sky. Nightmare could feel herself picking up speed, racing towards the lake in a streak of light.
“I wonder if we look like a shooting star?” mused a small voice in Nightmare’s head.
“Oh, for pony's sake, do shut up, we do not have time for your nonsense,”retorted Nightmare Moon as she reached terminal velocity.
“Is this going to hurt?” inquired the voice again, seemingly indifferent to the entire affair.
“Most likely,” admitted Nightmare, striking the lake.
The pony’s body froze in shock from both the impact and the temperature of the water in which it was now immersed. The princess could feel that she’d broken some bones with the force of the impact. Just before she lost consciousness, the former co-ruler of Equestria willed herself to float to the surface.
***
Less than a mile away from the aforementioned lake, a young man was just leaving the stable after tending to his horses. It was the middle of the night and he wasn’t used to disturbances like this, but he enjoyed the horses’ company, and so went to check on them.
“I wonder what got them so worked up?” he muttered to himself. Just then, there was a noise akin to a cannon firing. The man’s keen ears told him the sound had originated from somewhere near the lake. Sensing danger, he swiftly crossed the yard and opened his back door, retrieving the shotgun he kept there for pest control. Admittedly, he had never used it on an animal, but he took it regardless. It made him feel brave. The young man set off at a jog towards the lake.
Ten minutes later he arrived, sweating and out of breath.
“God, I really need to get back in shape,” the man panted. He remembered being in secondary school and running the same distance in almost half the time, without feeling nearly as exhausted as he did now. Just then, the man snapped back to reality when he noticed ripples on the otherwise still lake. He gazed out across the lake and thought he spotted something, but he couldn’t be sure. He approached the edge of the lake and called out.
“Hey! Is anyone out there?”
There was no reply, but the mysterious shape was steadily drifting closer to shore, and so the man waited patiently.
After five minutes or so, the shadow began to take on substance, and the man was shocked by what he saw. It looked like a pony floating slowly towards him. Without a moment’s hesitation, the man threw down his shotgun, stripped down to his underwear and began to wade into the lake. Instantly he regretted his decision, for the water was icy cold, but he continued regardless. With the water up to his waist, the man unceremoniously plunged forward into the freezing water and began paddling towards the shape, which was now easily identifiable as an equine of some description, or so the man thought. He was too busy to notice the folded wings and horn that the creature possessed.
“How in the world you managed to get yourself out here is beyond me,” said the man, his teeth chattering from the cold. He wrapped one arm around the pony’s neck and gently pulled it back to shore. When they finally flopped onto the grass bank surrounding the lake the man felt so drained that he simply collapsed on the ground.
“How nice it would be to just lie here and sleep under the stars,” he thought. But he knew he would not be able to sleep without first ensuring that the pony was ok, so he pushed himself up off of the ground and slowly approached the still unconscious animal.
It was at that moment that the man noticed the strange appendages on the creature’s back and head. Certain he was hallucinating; the man knelt down and gently stroked the magnificent creature’s wings and horns.
“What in the world are you?” the man whispered, filled with awe.
***
Princess Luna had witnessed the entire affair from her mind; however, she was still too weak to regain consciousness. In her mind’s eye, she stomped her foot in frustration. She could only hope against hope that this strange creature would not abandon her, for she required answers. What was this place? How did she get here? What was this creature who was even now checking for the flutter of her heartbeat, a small breath in her lungs? She wandered through the corridors of her unconscious mind, searching for the being she shared the space with. Finally, in the darkest, most rotten corner of her mind, Luna found her darker self. Mustering all her remaining strength, Luna cast a binding spell on Nightmare Moon. It was not a powerful as she would have preferred, but it would simply have to do for the time being. She then began preparing herself for the traumatic transition back to consciousness.
***
The man breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the rise and fall of the creature’s chest. He draped his clothes over the pony and snuggled up close to it in an attempt to warm her up and keep himself warm at the same time. It was at that moment the creature’s eyes flickered open and a slight moan escaped its lips. The man, who was dozing off, became instantly alert. He sat up and stared at the pony, patiently waiting for it to regain full consciousness.
“Wh-where are we?” mumbled Princess Luna.
The man’s jaw fell in amazement as he backpedalled away from the creature. It talks?
“No, please do not fear us,” said the princess, reaching a hoof towards him, “We mean you no harm.”
“No way… This is not happening,” muttered the man to himself.
“Actually, it is,” said Luna, confused. “Please, we need your help.”
“O-of course,” the man stuttered. Certain that this was all some sort of crazy dream, he saw no reason not to help the creature.
He approached the pony once again and began to examine her body. He decided from the sound of its voice that it was female, though felt no compulsion to confirm the guess.
“I’m not one hundred per cent sure, but I think your fore hooves may be broken,” said the man, looking the creature in the eyes for the first time.
“Do you have a name?” he inquired. If it could talk, he mused, then surely it had a name. It was a perfectly logical progression of facts.
Yes, because logic applies to situations involving horned and winged beings.
Shut up, the last thing I need in my dreams is you, snapped the man irritably.
“My name is Luna.”
“Well Luna, it’s a pleasure to meet you, although I wish it could have been under different circumstances. I’m afraid we have a slight problem.”
“What is it?”
“Well, my house is over a mile away and I have no way to get you there…”
“That should not be a problem, just picture your home in your mind.”
“I’m not sure how that will help,” said the man slowly.
“Trust us, just do it.”
“Alright.” The man pictured the yard of his house, with the stables off to one side and an old pickup truck parked out front. As he did this, he became aware of a strange presence in his mind, and not the familiar one that he suppressed with medication. He felt a surge of energy and suddenly they were sitting in the yard, Luna panting from the teleportation spell she had just cast.
“Ok, now I know I’m dreaming,” said the man, looking at his surroundings, slightly disoriented.
“What makes you say that?” inquired the princess.
“Well, first off; I’m woken up in the middle of the night by strange noises and my horses going crazy. Then I come to the lake and find a winged unicorn-“
“Alicorn,” interrupted the princess.
“-Alicorn, which then teleports me back to my house. I don’t know how things work where you’re from, but that just doesn’t happen in this world.”
“Well I am afraid to tell you that this really is happening, and the sooner you start believing us, the sooner we may part ways. This is rather embarrassing for one of our status, but may we rest in your home for the night?”
The man sighed. “It doesn't matter; It’s only a really messed up dream. Come on, you can sleep in my spare bed for the night.”