Nightmares have been plaguing the inhabitants of Equestria for as long as they can remember. They accepted this as fact and it became a part of their lives. With the return of Princess Luna, however, Nightmares don't have to be anything to fear anymore. But can Luna face her own Nightmare before it consumes her?
Princesses Luna and Celestia stood on the balcony that overlooked Canterlot from their grand palace. It was a fairly simple looking balcony, the only thing that stood out was that the tile on the floor was of a crescent moon in-layed with the rising sun. It signified that Celestia and Luna were equals, to each other and to anypony who happened to be trotting by.
"The night sky is beautiful, as always, Lulu," Celestia said with a loving smile.
"Thank you," Luna said with a blush, "I am grateful that our ponies enjoy the night now."
"Of course!" Celestia said with a chuckle, "Although, I can honestly say that I never had the same penchant for art that you do, dear sister. My own attempts at the night sky always seemed so...."
"Unmoving, ugly, static?" Luna supplied in a teasing tone.
"I was going to say bland, but I guess those will work too," Celestia said with an amused huff. She and Luna turned to walk back into the hallway where the Lunar wing met the Solar. Celestia turned and gave Luna chaste kiss on the lips, as was the custom between sisters and said, "Have a wonderful night, Lulu, and I'll see you for the morning meal."
Luna smiled and replied, "Sweet dreams, my sister, as always, I shall watch over the night."
Celestia smiled happily before retreating to her chambers for the night, leaving Luna to move to the Lunar throne room for the beginning of her Night Court. As she reached the doors to her throne, the Thestral guards standing to either side snapped a crisp salute before opening the doors and announcing Luna's presence to the small number of petitioners whose schedule meant that they needed to attend Night Court rather than day. Which was fine for Luna, because it meant that she could help her ponies out in one way or another. And the rare nights that there was not at least one pony coming to her with some problem or another, Luna was free to help more ponies with their Nightmares.
Tonight, however, the petitioners came forward with rather simple problems, that were settled fairly quickly, for which Luna was thankful. The first petitioner came forward with a proposal to start a fundraiser for orphaned foals by using a traveling carnival of volunteers to set up games, rides, and concession stands to gather bits. Granted, only about three fourths of the proceeds would go to the orphanages, which was understandable because volunteers were required to be payed for their time and maintenance needed to be done on the equipment, but it was all for an extremely noble cause. Needless to say, Luna agreed whole-heartedly and said that she would help in any capacity necessary to ensure that this undertaking was brought to fruition.
The second petitioners came forward with a proposal to build a huge school/boarding house for foals whose parents had lost their lives in service to the crown. Again, Luna approved it without a second thought, saying that it was an idea that was worthy of praise, but that the location was not all that great. Luna suggested that the location be changed to a more rural area, to keep the fillies and colts safe from any unwanted attention or criminal activity. The two ponies agreed and left to find a suitable area to build the school.
The next few petitioners were similar. They brought forth ideas that would help those less fortunate than themselves. Some petitioned for grants to help veterans, others to help foals, and still others to help those who simply had not had the ability to help themselves due to one reason or another. The one petition that nearly ruined Luna's increasingly good mood was a royal who petitioned to have a law instated that would ban anypony not of noble birth from entering the castle.
"If this law passes, not only will both Your Majesty and your sister, Princess Celestia be safer, but it will prevent the common miscreants from disgracing the castle with their vulgarity and inane babble," The noblepony said smugly.
Luna, overtly, kept a calm and cool visage. Underneath the surface however, she was beyond livid at the audacity of this pony. She took a deep breath before booming out in a slightly watered down version of the Royal Canterlot Voice (her guards had already grinned knowingly at each other before covering their ears)
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Luna's voice reverberated along the walls, "THESE FINE PONIES HAVE BEEN NOTHING IF NOT COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL ALL NIGHT! THEY BROUGHT FORWARD ADMIRABLE PROPOSALS TO HELP THOSE LESS FORTUNATE THAN THEMSELVES AND THOUGHT ONLY OF HOW THEY COULD HELP OTHERS!!! IF I EVER HEAR YOU REQUESTING ANOTHER LAW LIKE THIS AGAIN, I SHALL HAVE YOU FLOGGED AND THROWN IN THE DUNGEONS!!!!"
The noble pony recoiled in shock and fear before asking in a shaky voice, "W-what does flogged mean, Your Majesty?"
Luna smiled deviously and said in her normal voice, "A flog is a long stick with length of rope or leather attached to it. At the end of this length of rope or leather is a stone or metal sphere. Think of it like a weighted whip with an extended hilt."
"O-oh," the noblepony said, "I-I believe I shall take my leave now, Ma'am."
"Yes," Luna said, trying to hide a smile, "I do believe that would be best."
The noblepony turned and stumbled out of the throne room amidst poorly concealed grins and barely contained laughter. After he had left the room, the whole of the guard currently on duty in the throne room burst into laughter. Even Luna shared in a chuckle before silencing the court by asking, "Are there any other petitioners for this evening?"
"No Ma'am," Luna's guard captain, Shadow Flare said, "Are you going to dream-walk this evening?"
"Yes, I believe I will, Captain Flare," Luna said with a smile, "Please ensure that I am not bothered, as per usual."
"Of course, Ma'am," Shadow Flare said, a quick motion of his hoof calling forward the Unicorn contingent of Luna's Night Guard. The unicorns bowed to Luna, who inclined her head, then began to cast protective spells around the throne room. Spells for detecting intruders, for repelling them, and a shield that had been designed by Captain Shining Armor to prevent the entry of Changelings.
Finally, after the security precautions were in place, Luna closed her eyes and ignited her horn. When she opened up her eyes, the silvery plane of dreams greeted her like an old friend. She flew around for a moment, before noticing a slightly darker patch of the silvery dream stuff looming just underneath her. She turned towards it and stepped into a very familiar dreamscape, one that belonged to Celestia.
Luna entered Celestia's dream and was shocked to see the landscape. It was The Solar throne in Canterlot, with Celestia on the throne. The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony were there as well, though none so prominent as the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle. The rest of the crowd, however, were faceless ponies in various colors. Dreams tend to keep certain features out of the equation, especially where crowds were concerned.
"Princess Celestia," Twilight said coldly, "We are charging you with crimes against sapient species everywhere and calling you out as the tyrant you are. What say you?"
Apparently, Celestia had just realized what was going on and began stammering, "I-I'm not... I-I didn't do... What is going on?!"
"Don't try and play dumb, TYRANT!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she raced forward and hit Celestia with the back of a forehoof, "You know damn well what you've done!"
"Yes," Rarity began, bringing forth a bolt of cloth and using it like a whip, "Your crimes are too heinous to even begin listing, Tyrant of the Sun."
"You don't even deserve to exist!" Fluttershy said aggressively. Though Fluttershy herself didn't attack Celestia, Luna noticed that several animals did the act for her, and when the animals left, Celestia was covered in shallow cuts and bruises.
"There's no party in the world that can fix what you've done!" Pinkie Pie said as she bounced in place, "And I should know, cause I'm the party mistress!"
"Ah can honestly say, Ah am appalled by this whole thang," Applejack said harshly, "Ah never woulda thought you'dve done this. And Ah called mahself an Equestrian citizen...."
By this time, Celestia had stopped trying to deny that she was a tyrant and had broken down crying. Soon, everypony but Celestia and Luna had faded from the throne room and Celestia began to speak. Celestia raised her head to the sun and let a sigh escape from her bruised body.
"I've had this nightmare several times in the past," Celestia said, tears still falling, "The first time it was you accusing me. By the end of it, Nightmare Moon had come and killed me. Eventually, it changed to Twilight and her friends, especially after you came back."
Luna walked up to the throne, slightly unnerved by what had happened. Celestia continued talking.
"It's always like this. The ponies I care so much for see me as a tyrant who banished her sister in a grab for power," Celestia sniffed, "I would always ask myself if I've been doing the right thing, ever since I banished you...."
"No, sister," Luna said softly, "You didn't banish me.... You banished Nightmare Moon. You were forced to make the toughest decision in our immortal lives, and you performed as admirably as anypony could given the same situation."
"But I sent you away!" Celestia screamed, her tears flowing more freely now, "Faust knows what you had to deal with up there for that millennium!"
"I was buried under Nightmare Moon, sister!" Luna said sharply, making Celestia halt her blubbering, "I knew nothing of my imprisonment beyond the dreams I had. I even remember a lullaby being sung every night for a thousand years...."
Celestia rushed forward and hugged Luna and said, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" over and over again as Luna comforted the elder alicorn. As Celestia calmed down, Luna stroked her mane.
"Sister," Luna said softly, "There is nothing to forgive. You have done nothing wrong and there is absolutely no reason for you to feel this way."
"But I..!" Celestia began to protest before an azure hoof was pressed to her mouth.
"But nothing. You did what you had to do," Luna said soothingly, "And I, for one, am proud of how you have handled things in my absence."
Luna brought Celestia in for a chaste kiss, just as Celestia had done earlier that evening. Celestia returned it, just as Luna had in the waking world. Luna pulled back and said, "Let these troubles be far from your mind, sister mine. You have the love and admiration of many of our ponies, and in turn you love them. That is all that truly matters."
Celestia sniffled once more before saying gratefully, "Than you Luna. I appreciate this so much more than I can ever convey in words."
Luna chuckled and said, "I know, 'Tia. And I love you, so very much."
Celestia nodded and said, "I love you too, Lulu. But now I fear it is time for us to change our duties."
Luna giggled and nodded, before ending her dream-walking spell. As she did, Luna noticed a small, but incredibly dark shape, flitting away from the dreamscape.
Once again, it was time for Luna's moon to rise. And Once again, the princess of the night and the princess of the day performed their sacred duties, Celestia's nightmare having been momentarily forgotten amidst the duties of being a princess and ruler of a country. It was fine by Luna, though, because she was certain that Celestia would be able to hold out for a while longer, or at least until they could both take a day off and relax without the troubles of the mortal coil getting in the way.
Once again, Luna found herself dream-walking after her night court, which was pretty barren tonight. Something about a popular sporting event, from what Luna gathered from her guards.
Luna scoured the dream realm for the tell tale signs of a Nightmare in progress, performing her duty as the Protector of dreams. She eventually found what she was looking for, wrapped up in the lavender aura of Equestria's newest Princess, Twilight Sparkle.
Wondering what could be troubling the young Princess, Luna willed herself towards Twilight's dreamscape, them merged with it. Opening her eyes, Luna found herself at a graveyard in the pouring rain. Curious, she looked around, looking for Twilight.
She found Twilight a short walk away, wearing her Tiara of Magic and a torc with the rest of the elements set into them. Twilight herself was weeping openly over five graves, each with a tombstone with the cutie mark of those buried under the earth carved into it. Luna listened as Twilight began to speak.
The lavender alicorn turned and looked first at the grave with the apple cutie mark and said, "I'm sure you would be proud of your family, Applejack. The farm is doing better than ever, especially since Apple Cider, Applebloom's great-great granddaughter took over. She's got a lot of good sense in her head."
She then turned and looked at the next grave in the line, the one with the three balloons engraved on it and said, "Your family is doing great, too Pinkie. Your great-great granddaughter, Surprise, got your hair and personality, that's for sure. She's a pegasus, though, so it's easier for her to throw a party for someone in Cloudsdale. Still can't figure out how she managed to inherit your Pinkie Sense, though."
She let out a sad little chuckle, then turned to the next grave, an image of three Diamonds embedded in it. "Your business is doing phenomenal, Rarity. Your descendant, Elusive, is just as good as you are at making incredible clothing for ponies. He's even expanded into making suits for stallions and some more... risque clothing. He's done a lot of good with the bits he's earned, too, helping out whatever charity needs the money. He's even opened up an orphanage just outside of Ponyville."
Tears were flowing more freely down Twilight's face now, as she turned to Rainbow Dash's grave. "It's incredible, but your family is still in the Wonderbolts, something all of your descendants have gotten from you, I suppose. Funny thing is... your mane colors only show up in male members of your family... So your great great grandson, Rainbow Flash is the only one who can do a rainboom now... He even managed to catch Celestia's attention by performing a Double Rainboom. He's now the Captain of the Wonderbolts, just like you were before you retired to live with Soarin."
The last grave had the image of three butterflies carved into it. It was here where Twilight very nearly lost all of her self control. She regained most of her composure and began to speak, "Fluttershy.... Everypony was shocked to find out that you wanted to marry a gryphon. It was surprising, but we were all very happy for you. Your decendants all have pink somewhere in their fur, or feathers, and they all have some gryphon blood in them, making them hippogryphs. Right now, Weshra is taking care of the animals in and near Ponyville. I hear she even managed to help an Ursa Major find her lost cub, even though she inherited your personality. The other princesses and I were shocked to hear that she put herself in harms way like that, but then again, she is related to you, so I guess that it isn't all that surprising."
Twilight then stepped back and laid down in front of the graves and wept openly, her heart breaking because her friends were all long gone.
"I-I miss you all so much," Twilight sobbed into the air, "It hurts so much to know that you all aren't here anymore. Even Spike isn't here as often because he's the Dragon Ambassador to Equestria...."
Luna, who was very close to tears herself, walked up to Twilight and lay down in the grass next to the weeping alicorn. She draped a wing over Twilight's back and pressed her side close to Twilight's.
"Twilight," Luna said softly, getting her attention.
"Does it ever get easier?" Twilight asked, "Losing ponies you care about, I mean."
Luna thought for a moment before answering, "No. It never does. Celestia and I have lost so many over the years, that it seems like we barely have time to grieve before someone else we care about is taken from us."
"How do you deal with this pain?" Twilight asked miserably, "Does it ever go away?"
"I'm not sure if it will ever go away, Twilight," Luna said, "But time does dull the ache. As for dealing with it, I tend to remember all the good times I shared with those I have lost. I remember the smiles on their faces as we shared our lives together. And I remember the love I felt for them."
Twilight lay there, silent for a long while, before saying, "Thank you, Luna."
"Anytime you wish to talk about how you feel, Sister Twilight," Luna said, wrapping Twilight into a hug, "Celestia, Cadence, and I are always ready and willing to talk."
As Twilight nodded her head, the dreamscape began to fade. Luna bid Twilight farewell, and left the fledgeling princess. Before she got out of the dreamscape, another shadow fluttered away from Twilight and out into the dream realm, puzzling Luna once more.
Once more, Princess Luna traded the moon for the sun, and went to sleep herself. Celestia was the pony that was usually awake during the day, and that was fine, because dreamwalking ended up taking a lot out of Luna. Celestia could do it too, but her presence was not like Luna's was. Which is to say that Celestia's presence in the dream realm, unless she was sleeping and actively dreaming, was like looking into the sun on a hot summer day. A bad idea at the best of times and potentially harmful at the worst. So, Celestia and Luna agreed that the former shouldn't enter dreams unless it was absolutely necessary, while the latter would be able to enter them at will, in order to ease the dreams of the common pony and grant them a good nights rest.
Minuets later, or so it seemed to Luna, the Lunar Princess began waking up and shaking the last vestiges of sleep from her mind. She prepared to greet her Night Court and help her sleeping ponies through another night of restless sleep. Provided, of course, the nobles were not too long with their requests. Most nights it took Luna using the Royal Canterlot Voice to get them to back down and run with their tails between their legs (something Luna quite enjoyed doing, if she was honest with herself). Others, it took a calm demeanor and a smouldering glare that spoke more than words could ever convey.
This night, was one of the lucky few nights where nothing major was happening in the world. A noble request of aid for ponies affected by a hurricane here, a dumb request for a party there, and the odd request from somepony claiming that the Lunar Plot was the most beautiful thing he had seen, and as thus, should be molded and put on display in a museum. Luna had to, unfortunately, decline this last request, much to the disappointment of the stallion making the request, but did thank him for the compliment (At least Luna thought it was a compliment. She wasn't entirely sure, especially with the way modern ponies had been approaching her as of late.) and asked that the next petitioner be brought in.
"There are no more, ma'am," the guard at the doors said.
"Very well," Luna said, "Guards, attend me! It is time again for my dreamwalking."
And shortly after that, Luna cast her spell, and began searching for errant dreams that she could help a pony deal with. Not too long after her spell began, Luna found a dark cyan splotch just above and outside of Ponyville. So, Luna entered the dream of the pony, and watched the dream to a point where she could intervene.
`~`~`~`~
As the dream came into focus for Luna, she found the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and herself, surprisingly, surrounding a mare with a rainbow colored mane and tail. It seemed she was in quite a bit of distress as well, judging from the look on her face and the words the characters in her dream were saying.
"Yer a damn filthy abomination, RD," Applejack was saying harshly, "Ah can't believe I was ever friends with you."
Fluttershy, who was staying quiet, gave Rainbow Dash a look that said more about what she was feeling towards the pegasus than words. She looked away and walked off, fading from view along with Applejack, who had the gall to spit on Rainbow Dash before walking off with Fluttershy.
"I may be one for romance and such every now and again, but this is just plain filthy," Rarity was saying as she slapped Rainbow Dash across the face. She too walked away and faded into the background.
Pinkie Pie was acting completely out of character for her. Her mane and tail were completely straight and her colors were slightly grayed out, as if Discord had managed to get into her head, again. Pinkamena did not say anything, like Fluttershy, but instead pulled out a cannon and blasted Rainbow Dash off of her hooves with a brightly colored ball of confetti and streamers, before leaving the same way the others had.
Twilight looked down at the prone form of Rainbow Dash and said, "A filly fooler? Why couldn't you have just stayed in the damn closet about this?"
"I thought you guys would understand!" Dash screamed miserably, "I can't help who I am, damn it! Just like you can't help loving your books!"
The dream-Luna came forward next, and with a terrible thud, knocked Rainbow Dash away. The dream-Luna looked down on the sobbing mare in contempt and said, "In what world could I have ever loved you?"
Rainbow Dash continued sobbing into her hooves as the real Princess of the Night dispelled the dream characters and wrapped her wings around the pegasus mare comfortingly. Eventually, Rainbow's sobs died down to the occasional sniffle and she started speaking.
"What? A dream you wasn't enough torture?" Dash asked petulantly, "Just had to come here and rub more salt in the wound, is that it?"
"No," Luna said simply, "But I am surprised you could think this way about your friends. They would not abandon you over some triviality such as sexual orientation."
"I know that in here," Dash said, bringing a hoof to her heart, "But my head always wants to argue for the worst thing, y'know?"
"Yes," Luna said, "I was much the same when I told Celestia about myself."
"Really?" Dash said incredulously, looking up into Luna's eyes.
"Indeed," Luna said with a smile, "Would you like to know what she did?"
"What did she do?" Rainbow asked.
"She laughed heartily and said, 'Well, I guess this means I won't have any nieces or nephews to spoil any time soon'," Luna said with a laugh, "Then she hugged me and said that if I was happy, then it did not matter what she thought. But that she would support me in any way she could."
Rainbow chuckled as Luna explained and said, "That must have been a relief, right?"
"It was indeed," Luna said with a smile, "The point of that story, however, is that you should not worry about your friends reactions. They will love and support you, no matter what."
"W-what about...." Rainbow Dash trailed off, then found her courage, "What about my crush on you?"
"Crush?" Luna asked curiously, "What do you mean by that?"
Dash began blushing, the flushed red of her cheeks contrasting cutely with the cyan of her fur. She scratched the ground with a forehoof before saying, "I, um, kinda like you. As in a relationship....."
"Oh," Luna said. Then she got what Rainbow Dash was trying to say, then said, "OH."
Dash winced and asked, "Silly, right? I knew this was a bad idea.... Just couldn't keep my damn mouth shut to save my life, now could I? Stupid, stupid, Dash!!"
Luna silenced Dash's self destructive rambling with an azure hoof and said, "I.... I would like to see where this could go. If you still want to, that is?"
Luna was blushing profusely herself as Rainbow stuttered for a second. She then took off and did a couple of loops, shouting out, "WOOHOO!!!!"
Dash landed with a muffled 'whump' and promptly kissed Luna on the mouth. Luna was shocked at first, but melted into the kiss. All to soon, Dash pulled herself away and said, "You can bet your primaries I do, Princess."
"Just... Luna," Luna said, "We are going to be... lovers, so titles would only get in the way... right, Dashie?"
Dash suddenly looked a bit apprehensive and asked, "When I tell my friends.... Will you be there with me?"
"Of course," Luna said, kissing Dash on the cheek, "All you need do is ask, and I shall help in in anyway possible."
Dash smiled and hugged Luna again. The spent a while like that. Talking about this and that, asking questions about each others lives, and learning about each other. Before long, though, Luna started to feel the tug of the Moon on her magic and made to leave.
"Alas, parting is such sweet sorrow," Dash said, "That I shall say good morn til it be the morrow."
"That was.... surprisingly eloquent," Luna said, "And very sweet of you, Rainbow Dash."
"Yeah, well," Dash said as she rubber the back of her head with a free hoof, "Don't tell Twilight, but I have a soft spot for Shake Spear. Twilight would never let me hear the end of it if word got out that I read the classics...."
Luna kissed Dash, this time on the lips, and said, "Our little secret, love."
Dash nodded, and waved good bye as Luna left the dreamscape and Dash began to wake up. Once more, upon leaving the dream, Luna noticed a shadow flitting away from the dream. She tried to track its progress, so she could attempt to corner it at a later date, but it always disappeared whenever she looked right at it. Resolving to try again later, Luna came back to the waking world, and performed her duties as Princess of the Night, before heading to bed herself, dreams of a certain rainbow maned pegasus dancing in her head.
Another night down and another nightmare to quash. Luna was nothing if not meticulous when it came to breaking a nightmare's hold. She knew from personal experience how the darker side of emotions could hurt somepony and she had no desire to see the ponies under her charge go through her pain. So, with her duties at court satisfied or moved to Day Court where Celestia could handle them, Luna once more delved into the realm of dreams.
Luna cast her astral form around the dreamscape for a a long while before a nightmare made itself known. Heading once more in the direction of the Ponyville dreamscape, Luna found herself in the nightmare of Applejack, another of the Bearers of Harmony. Unable to act until needed, Luna watched the scene unfold. `~`~`~`~`~
Applejack looked cautiously up at the face of Applebloom. She was afraid that the young earth pony filly would be angry or so upset that she would shut the older mare out entirely. Giving a sigh that sounded more approriate from Granny Smith, Applejack wouldn't have blamed the filly for either reaction. Anything would have been better than this stunned silence she was getting.
Slowly, however, Applebloom came to her senses, and she was positively livid.
"So all those years," She began loudly, "Y'all made me believe that mah ma and pa were dead? And fer what? So you could keep your damn dirty little secret?!"
"Please, 'Bloom," Applejack pleaded, "Ah was just tryin' to protect you!"
"From what, exactly, mother?" Applebloom spat out venomously, "From knowin' mah ma was alive the whole time? Or fer yer damn conscience?!"
"A-ah... Ah'm sorry!" Applejack sobbed pitifully.
"Yer a whorse!" Bloom screeched, "Ah don't ever wanna see you again! Liftin' yer tail fer any stallion what comes yer way!"
Applebloom turned and ran as fast as she could away from her mother. Applejack tried to get up and follow her, to catch her, but for every step she took, it semed that Applebloom had taken a hundred. Before long, Applebloom had dissappeared from sight and Applejack had collapsed into a sobbing heap.
Luna approached the sobbing mare and comforted her 'til the sobbing was little more than sniffles. Applejack dried her tears and stared off into the disance Applebloom had run off into.
Luna was the first to speak, "How long have you kept this from her?"
"Her whole life," Applejack responded.
"Who was the father, if I may ask?" Luna asked again.
Applejack's expression darkend and she looked up into the cloudless dark sky and said, "Ah don't know. Ah was raped. That's how 'Bloom came about."
Luna pulled her head back in surprise before saying, "I am sorry, I had no idea."
"Not yer fault, Princess," Applejack said with a small smirk, "Anyhow, it don't matter, cause the monster that did it isn't around anymore. He ain't ever gonna hurt anyone again."
Luna blinked again, believeing that discretion was the better part of valor in this instance and said, "why have you kept this from her?"
Applejack sighed and looked to where Applebloom had run off to and said, "Ah didn't want her to get picked on for nothin' she's not in control of. And Ah suppose part of it was because Ah didn't want her to feel like Ah don't want her."
"Why would she ever think that?" Luna asked curiously.
"Ah... Ah heard stories...." Applejack said slowly, "Of rape victims not wanting the reminder of their rapist... so they try 'n off themselves or drown themselves in the drink or some such nonsense.... Ah know she has too, 'cause she asked about it a while back. Guess that Ah'm just scared of how she'd react if Ah told her, y'know?"
"It is a completely rational fear, that of the unknown," Luna said sagely, "But I know the best way to deal with this problem, Honest Applejack."
"Yea? An' what would that be, Yer Majesty?" Applejack asked curiously.
Luna looked down at Applejack and replied, "Tell her the truth. Soon."
Applejack started to tear up and asked, "But what if...?"
Luna interrupted Applejack's question with a hoof and said, "Regardless of how your daughter reacts to this information, the sooner you do this the better it will be for everyone. I know from experience that letting things, such as this, fester, it only gets worse when the time comes that the news will out itself. And believe me, the simple and direct route is always preferable to the over the top, 'eternal night' route."
The end of Luna's statement got a chuckle from Applejack, who wiped her tears on her foreleg and said, "Thank you, Princess. Ah.... Ah'll tell 'Bloom after ah pull myself together. Ah'd appreciate it if ya'll were there to help out... If'n it ain't too much trouble, Ah mean."
"I would love to," Luna replied, "Just send a letter through young Spike, and I will be here if there are no pressing matters to deal with in Canterlot."
"Thank ya kindly, Princess," Applejack said with a smile.
With that, the princess of the night left Applejack's dream. Lost in thought, Luna almost didn't notice the black shape flee from the dream realm. Steeling herself, Luna began to chase after it. The dark mass sped on ahead, heedless of the alicorn chasing it. Eventually, Luna had to give up the chase, as the dark mass had managed to out pace her and disappear. But not before Luna heard a laugh. Not a happy laugh, but a dark, evil one that sent chills up her spine.
Fair warning, there is some slight gore in this chapter. But, remember, this is all happening in nightmares, so some really dark stuff is bound to come up.
Chapter 6
Greed
One of the few things Luna never quite understood was the noble caste's constant need to try and get more of what they didn't need. It boggled her to no end and was incredibly irritating, to boot. They always tried to get those things with lies and underhanded trickery, both of which Luna perfected in her first hundred years or so of life. Which made all of that posturing and scraping and begging absolutely embarrassing for both Luna herself and the nobles. More so for the nobles, because Luna often sent them running away with a flock of magically conjured bats after bellowing out exactly why she wouldn't grant their requests in the Royal Canterlot Voice.
Tonight was no different. But it was a rather short night, so Luna closed court early and began her sojourn into the realm of dreams. `~`~`~`~`~
The dreamscape was in general turmoil tonight. It seemed that just about everypony was having a nightmare of a varying degree. Most were harmless, but there was one that stood out to Luna so much that her attention was completely caught by it. She steered herself to it and entered, her consciousness merging flawlessly with the dreamer's.
As she entered the nightmare, Luna was a little surprised that she wasn't in or near Ponyville, where the nightmare was taking place. Looking around, she saw that she was in a cave filled to the brim with all sorts of treasures from gold coins to gemstones the size of small houses. Luna even thought she saw suits of armor from ages past. Hearing a tremendous roar, Luna turned and watched the dream unfold.
Six ponies, either brave or foolish Luna couldn't tell, entered the cave, a familiar purple alicorn leading them. The looked around, definitely looking for something in particular when the roar trumpeted once more, reverberating off the walls, startling the ponies, who Luna now realized were the Element Bearers.
Looking up, Rarity saw a large shadow detach itself from the far wall and approached hesitantly, asking, "Spike? Is that you darling?"
The shadow moved forward into the waning light entering the cave mouth and placed it's head at eye level with the alabaster unicorn, whose friends had gathered behind her. The purple and green dragon roared angrily and raised itself up on its hind legs. The Bearers, too frightened to move, were helpless to stop the torrent of flame that came from the dragon's maw.
After a few moments, the torrent stopped, leaving six burnt, barely breathing masses at the feet of the dragon. The dragon itself seemed to shrink in size after the revelation of the nearly dead ponies, until he was no longer a greed grown brute, but simply Spike, Twilight's dragon assistant. Rubbing his eyes wearily, Spike took in his surroundings, and gasped when he saw Rarity's body, a few clumps of her once luxurious mane still smouldering.
He ran to her charred body, weeping, and held her in his stocky arms. She took a shaky breath and smiled, painfully.
"Spike..." Rarity said softly, raising a hoof to his cheek, "I knew you were in there..."
Spike was shushed when a charred hoof weakly found its way over his muzzle and Rarity said softly, "We know, Spike. And no matter what... what happens to us, we forgive you..."
"B-but you... you're all..." Spike protested.
"Spike..." Rarity said, her voice becoming little more than a whisper, "I... I love..."
Rarity took in one last shuddering breath, then fell silent. Luna, watching on silently, felt her heart break as surely as a pane of glass dropped on the ground. Finally, the limitations of her magic let her rush forward and scoop Spike into a comforting hug as the princess of the night began to weep along with the young dragon.
"I can feel it," Spike said after a time, wiping his eyes with his arms, "The greed, it's always there. Trying to break free..."
"I know how such a darkness can affect someone," Luna said softly, "Nopony is immune to the darkness' call. Not even somepony as bright as Celestia. As a matter of fact, because she is so bright, her darkness is deeper than any other well of darkness I've ever encountered."
"Then what hope do I have to keep that thing from hurting Rarity?!" Spike asked hopelessly, "If even Celestia could fall, than what hope do I have, Luna?!"
Luna answered calmly and with the confidence that only those who understood the problem could, saying, "Celestia has not fallen because she accepted her darkness as a part of her. The darkness may tempt her to do evil things, but she is in control of it, not the other way around."
Luna got up and walked over to where the corpses of Spike's loved ones lay and turned to face him, spreading her wings. Moonlight began filtering into the cave from the outside, making Spike's shadow stretch across the floor of the cave. Spike looked up at Luna as she folded her wings back up. Behind her, the Elements of Harmony stood in stark relief, making Spike gasp in surprise and sheer joy. Spike ran up to Rarity and gave her a hug. He began to cry again, tears of joy this time. Rarity planted a kiss on the young dragons forehead and smiled happily as Luna spoke.
"My advice for you, young dragon," Luna began, "is that you embrace the darkness inside of you. Make it your own. Do not let it, or your fear of it, control you, Spike, son of Twilight Sparkle. Embrace your other half and show the world what you are capable of!"
Luna raised a hoof and pointed behind Spike to the mountain of treasure, where the greed dragon now rested, its eyes glaring down at Spike with all the malice of a demon. Spike hesitantly let go of Rarity, who gave him a slight nod of encouragement, and turned to face his inner demons. He walked forward, again hesitantly at first, but with growing confidence.
The greed dragon roared in anger and let loose a dark emerald fireball from its maw. Spike brought his arms up to block it and it dissipated harmlessly against his amethyst scales. He strode forward, gaining in confidence with each step and with each step, his dark counterpart grew smaller until they stood at eye level with one another.
Spike hesitated once more, for only a second, unsure of how to continue. Then, he reached forward and gave the dark dragon a hug.
"You are as much a part of me as I am a part of you," Spike said, "I know that now. I accept it. You don't scare me anymore."
The greed dragon and Spike erupted into a pillar of bright emerald flame. It was so powerful that Luna had to actually shield herself both in the dream world and the waking one. The flames eventually died down and Luna dropped her barriers. One thing can be said for being an immortal is that after a while, some things cease to amaze. Luna was quite glad that this wasn't one of them.
From the smouldering embers of the blaze walked an incredible specimen of draconian might and grace. Spike had emerged from his ordeal changed, for the better. He now stood on all fours, about as tall as Luna. His body had the lithe, powerful muscles dragons were known for, as well as an impressive pair of wings.
Spike looked over his shoulder at the wings and said with a smirk, "Rainbow Dash is going to have a field day with this. Twilight too, I think."
He strode forward and embraced Rarity in his forelegs and said, "I love you, Rarity. No other gem could ever compare to your beauty."
Spike looked at Luna and said with a laugh, "Now I've gotta say that to her in person."
"Indeed, my friend," Luna said with a smile, "I wish you the best of luck in that endeavor, Spike."
Luna then left the dreamscape without another word, leaving Spike to his fantasies. Once more, as with all the other times, Luna saw a shadow flee from Spike's dream. Once more she gave chase, only to lose it just outside of Canterlot.
Luna swore to herself loudly, thankful that nopony could hear her vulgarity in the real world. Heaving a sigh, she returned to her body and went to go change the Celestial bodies with her sister, vowing that she would find that shadow and destroy it.
Luna's routine rarely wavered or changed in any way. In some instances, it was comforting and even relaxing to a point. In others, it was monotonous and completely mindless. Every night it seemed like it was the same noble ponies asking the same idiotic questions as the previous night. And then there were the decisions that Luna actually enjoyed helping with.
The decision in question this night had to do with whether or not to expand Equestria's military. Luna often handled Equestria's military matters, simply because Celestia no longer had the stomach for them.
I guess a millennium ruling alone would do that to a pony, Luna thought to her self.
She could see the upsides to the proposition. It would create more jobs for ponies and house them, to an extent. They could be used as peace-keeping forces, should the need arise (Luna highly doubted that, considering Equestria was currently going through it's longest reign of uninterrupted peace since it was founded. But it never hurt to be too careful).
The downside, on the other hand, was that other nations could view this as an attempt to consolidate forces for a war. Which no one wanted. And so, Luna thought. And Thought. And, for good measure, Thought some more, which made the petitioner in front of her, one Captain Stolid Aegis, a little bit impatient.
Finally, Luna spoke, "Captain, I have an idea."
"I'm listening, ma'am," Aegis said.
"I believe that we would be able to create at least three new regimens, which is what you were initially looking for, correct?" Luna said.
"I was looking for at least three, ma'am," the captain said, "But I would have preferred six, to supplement the Guard we have looking for the Changelings."
"My idea is this," Luna said, "We create the regimens with the premise that they will simply be for show, similar to the Wonderbolts. We rotate the the ponies who make up these ranks so they can get the field experience needed to defend the country."
Aegis thought for a moment about the idea, then asked, "What would this group of show ponies have to do?"
"The usual basic training for all guards," Luna said, "At least at first. Then we would have them train in combat magics for unicorns, archery and hoof to hoof combat for all races of ponies. It will all be under the guise of competition. We will also invite the other races to compete in the events."
"Hmm...." Aegis said softly, "That would work. It would prevent most of the backlash from increasing the military and it would give us an edge should the worst come to pass. I agree, Princess."
"Good!" Luna said clapping her hooves together, "I shall make arrangements with my sister on the morrow!"
"Excellent, ma'am," Captain Aegis said excitedly, "I'll leave you to the rest of your duties."
Luna nodded and watched as Stolid Aegis left the room. She asked her guard, "Are there any more petitioners?"
"No, ma'am," was the reply.
"Then I am going to dreamwalk," Luna said, "Guards, attend to me."
`~`~`~`~`~`~
'Once more unto the breach', Luna thought to herself as she entered the dream world again. It turned out that there were a large number of nightmares tonight, but they were relatively simple things to deal with. Things such as an unbidden thought that a special somepony was being a little more than promiscuous or that a vicious clown was advancing upon a child (Luna never could fathom exactly why clowns were scary).
However, the dream she had entered just a short while ago was quite possibly the most incredibly insane dream she had ever entered. And Luna would know insane because she had once attempted to help King Sombra before the fall of the Crystal Empire.
The dream was split into two halves, straight down the middle. On Luna's left was something similar to what Discord had turned Ponyville into during his break out a year prior, only with a lot more pink. On her right however was something that Luna was sure not even Nightmare Moon had been capable of. Oh, it was still Ponyville. Just barely. More specifically, though, both halves of the dream were centered on Sugarcube Corner, with the left begin almost exactly as it was in the waking world. The right was dark, almost impossibly so.
Luna walked forward until she saw a table that was split in half along the same line the dream was with Pinkie Pie speaking animatedly to... Pinkie Pie? With a bewildered expression, Luna sat down at the table where a pink blur promptly set up a place for her, a cupcake and a cup of hot tea waiting after the wind from Pinkie's movements stopped. Both Pinkie's looked at Luna, with the dark Pinkie speaking first.
"First things first, Luna," the dark Pinkie said, "The name's Pinkamena. Pretty sure you already know Pinkie."
"Yes," Luna said, still a little shocked, "May I ask what in the name of my sister's plot is going on here?"
"Okie Doki Loki!" the light Pinkie said happily, "this is my dream, but you already know that cause you're the princess. But more specifically, Pinkamena and I are two halves of the same pony and whenever I dream they're always lucid dreams and Pinkamena and I always talk about stuff all the time and-"
Pinkie was silenced by Pinkamena's hoof while the latter said, "I think she gets the point, airhead, might want to take a breath every now and then."
"So, what is this about?" Luna asked, "Not a... property dispute(3) I hope?"
"What?" Pinkamena asked, "Who the hell do you think we are? Xehanort and Terra? No, this isn't a property dispute!"
"Nopey nope!" Pinkie said, her attitude still chipper, "Pinkie's had a few things on her chest that she's needed to talk about for a while now, but otherwise Pinkamena and I are all hunky dori!!"
"I wouldn't put it quite like that..." Pinkamena said with a groan, "But little miss sunshine and lollipops over there has the gist of things."
"Well, I am all ears, as the saying goes," Luna said, "I will listen to what you both have to say."
"Ugh... Where to start?" Pinkamena said rhetorically.
"Well that's easy! Start at the beginning!" Pinkie said happily.
"Thanks a lot, Captain Obvious," Pinkamena snapped, "You wanna cookie or are you gonna let me start?"
"BOTH!!" Pinkie roared and rushed off to grab one of the giant cookies floating by in her half of the dreamscape. Both Luna and Pinkamena looked exasperated, but the latter started speaking on anyway.
"It actually started on Pinkie's birthday," Pinkamena said, "Her problems, I mean. Twilight and the others were planning a surprise party for her, but she thought that they were purposefully avoiding her and trying to abandon her."
"I remember reading that report," Luna said, "I thought that you all had swept everything under the rug, as the saying goes?"
"Yeah... could you stop saying, 'as the saying goes'?" Pinkamena asked, "It's REALLY fucking annoying."
"Such language should not be used by ladies!!" Pinkie shouted as she floated by on her giant cookie and chasing down a massive glass of what looked like liquefied omelet.
"I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT SHOULDN'T BE USED BY FILLIES YOU SUGAR CRAZED PSYCHOPATH!!" Pinkamena bellowed with a raised forehoof.
"I'll stop saying that as long as you get back on subject... Pinkamena," Luna said.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your socks on, Princess," Pinkamena said, "Where was I? Oh yeah. Her birthday. Yeah, Twilight and the others apologized about avoiding her all the time, but Pinkie never really got over that feeling of abandonment. Hell, that's where I first manifested, if you will. Luckily for everypony involved Pinkie hasn't gotten worse, but this split personality bullshit is ridiculous!!"
"I agree, however," Luna said, "There is something that the zebrican tribes believe in called a tulpa(1). A second, fully functioning soul living in a body that was created by the original. I believe that this is the situation that Pinkie has found herself in."
"If that's so, then why am I like this?" Pinkamena asked, gesturing to her dark half of the world and her somber and straight haired appearance.
"I believe that Pinkie created you to help her deal with any dark or upsetting moments in her life," Luna guessed as said pink party pony floated by... on Kossalagoopagoop(2) yelling "Go, Koosy! Faster!!"
"I didn't ask for this existence, damn it!" Pinkamena yelled in a pained voice, "It isn't fair!!"
"Of course it isn't fair, Pinkamena," Pinkie said as she suddenly appeared next to her distraught other half, "I mean, me not being able to handle the stress of what I thought was my friends abandoning us and everything that happened after? And forcing that all into you? Anypony would be overwhelmed by that sadness."
"I-it hurts so much sometimes..." Pinkamena said, her voice cracking and tears starting to form, "The nightmares I have because of all that pain..."
Pinkie hugged her other half and said, "I'm always here for you, Pinkamena. And I promise that I won't put anymore bad things into you. Only good things and cupycakes from now on!!"
Luna blinked in surprise. She gathered her thoughts and said to both Pinkamena Diane Pie's, "The bad things in life don't necessary overshadow the good. Likewise, the good does not necessarily blot out the bad. If you two were to handle the trials and tribulations in life, together, I am confident that you both will be able to overcome every obstacle in your path. Even more so if you were to have your friends by your side."
"Yeah!" Pinkie said happily, bouncing after another cookie, "Can't always be a gloomy mcgloomerston now can we?!"
Pinkamena gave a small smile and her half of the dreamscape lightened up by a considerable degree as she said, "No. I guess not. Thank you for listening, Luna."
"Anytime, my dear," Luna said with a smile.
With that, Luna left the dreamscape. The pulsing shadow from every other nightmare she had dealt with over the past few months once again left the dreamscape and headed in the direction Luna knew Canterlot to be in. She gave chase once more, but like every other time, the shadow evaded and escaped her. Heaving a sigh, Luna came back to awareness in her body and signaled the end of the night, thoughts of dual natures... and doppelgangers filling her head.
Tonight was a lot more different than the norm for the Lunar Alicorn. There were no petitioners tonight, which wasn't uncommon. During nights like this, Luna often entertained herself with one thing or another, usually a book that had caught her eye (which happened frequently due to the millennium deep chasm between her and her beloved subjects).
This night, however, was occupied with an entirely different matter. One that Luna had only heard about second hand from Celestia the night after the events of the wedding of Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor. The Changelings.
Before Luna, seated at a table specifically enchanted to show a map of the known world, was her sister, and the newly crowned Twilight Sparkle as well as the respective heads of their guard. Stolid Aegis sat next to Celestia, a frown upon his face. Twilight's guard captain, student, and friend, Trixie Lulamoon (thankfully without her rather tacky hat) was to her charge's right a bemused expression on her face. And finally, Luna's own guard captain, a thestral (1) by the name of Helia sat next to her.
"I believe I may have a way to find the changelings," Helia was saying, "But it is a long shot."
"Please explain, Helia," Celestia said.
"Yeah, I think we'd all like to hear this," Trixie said with a scoff.
"Be nice!" Twilight said, "She's trying to help."
"Sorry," Trixie said, her mentor's glare setting her straight.
"If there are no further interruptions," Helia began, "I propose that Princess Luna uses her dream walking abilities to locate the changeling queen."
"Wait, would that even work?" Aegis asked.
"Every being has a different... feel, I guess the word would be, while in the dreamscape," Luna said, "If I can get the potential area to be searched down to within a one-thousand mile radius, I should be able to locate this changeling queen."
"Wouldn't that be dangerous, though?" Twilight asked, worried.
Luna gave a little chuckle and a knowing glance at Celestia before replying, "Dear Twilight, there is a certain degree of danger inherent in everything we do. Especially when it comes to walking out the door in the morning. (2) This is really no different."
"If you are sure," Celestia said, "then I give my blessing for this endeavor."
"And I, mine," Twilight said a bit hesitantly.
`~`~`~`~`~`~
As discussed, the potential search area was narrowed down to within a thousand miles. Which was child's play to Luna. The only thing that made the lunar alicorn hesitate was that the area was the Everfree Forest, which would make the search itself very difficult because of the properties of the forest itself. That did not discourage Luna, however, as her ethereal, dream walking form soared over the forest.
Luna searched for the better part of half an hour before she found a dreaming form laying in rest at the Castle of the Pony Sisters... her old home.
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Luna entered the dreamscape of the changeling queen, Chrysalis. She had expected to see were the dreams of an unrepentant criminal. Not the scene that lay out before her.
Chrysalis was dreaming of her own home. And how she was cast out by the majority of the Changeling Hive (1), the exceptions being those who were loyal enough to stay with their deposed ruler. The queen herself was on the ground, those who had stuck with her beginning to berate her for her failures.
"You should have done more!" One shouted and struck out at Chrysalis with a holed hoof.
The others began shouting more of the same, striking out as soon as they were done speaking. Chrysalis herself was a sobbing wreck of bruises and glossy black skin riddled with cuts from those who had thought it prudent to use the sharp edges of their hooves as a cutting tool.
Eventually, the beatings stopped. The vicious changelings faded. The queen sat up and, sniffling quietly said in a wavering voice, "I know you're there, Moon Princess. Come out."
Luna obliged the queen and walked in front of her. She sat down and asked," How long were you aware I was here?"
"The moment the nightmare started," Chrysalis responded, "I am a mistress of mental magics. Fat lot of good that does me, though."
"What do you mean?" Luna asked.
"Most of my Hive, my country, abandoned me after that failed raid on Canterlot," Chrysalis spat bitterly, "All because I was foolish enough to invade..."
"I can empathize with that..." Luna said quietly, "I am sure you are aware of my... past mistakes."
"What sentient isn't?" Chrysalis asked, "The condensed story came out about a week after you came back."
"What most might not be aware of is that I did not voice my problems to my sister," Luna said, "I kept it to myself. Kept on repeating that things would be better the next night, and the next, until... Well, the rest is history."
"Why are you telling me about this?" Chrysalis asked.
"So that you do not walk the same path I did when I was faced with being forgotten. Or shunned. Or feared," Luna replied solemnly, "Help may be given, but only if those who need it have the strength to ask."
"I... I admit, I hadn't thought about coming under a banner of peace," Chrysalis said somberly, "I... We were just so desperate! Our children were dying of starvation! I just didn't know what to do!!"
"You made what you thought was the best choice at the time," Luna said comfortingly, "It was a hard choice, but one that we as rulers must face on a daily basis."
Chrysalis remained silent as Luna pondered her next words. The queen herself was getting a bit restless under the moon princess's thoughtful stare.
"I have reached a decision," Luna said.
"About what?" Chrysalis asked.
"What to do with you," Luna said simply.
"Oh," Chrysalis said morosely, "So... what's the plan?"
"I am cordially inviting you to attend a hearing in Canterlot," Luna said, "You and whatever of your subjects you have that are willing and able to make the journey are welcome to stay in our fair city as my guests and under my protection."
"What's the catch?" Chrysalis asked, "This seems too good to be true."
"The only catch is that you remain in your natural forms for the duration of your stay," Luna said, "Otherwise you and yours are free to come and go as you wish."
"What about food? And housing?" Chrysalis asked, some measure of confidence and royal authority seeping into her visage.
"There should be enough ambient emotion in Canterlot that would feed you and yours for the duration of your stay," Luna replied, "if not longer. As for housing, Princess Twilight Sparkle has been doing some research into the conditions your race favors and has been working to convert the caverns below Canterlot from a crystal mine into a large housing area. I am right in assuming changelings prefer the cooler night and underground temperatures, correct?"
"Yes," Chrysalis affirmed, "But some sunlight during the day would be good as well."
"So, I take it you accept my invitation?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I... accept," Chrysalis said, "On behalf of the Changeling hive, I thank you."
Luna smiled and got up to leave. Before she left the dreamscape, however, she turned back and said, "One more thing..."
"Yes?" Chrysalis asked warily.
"Do not be surprised if some of your changelings find suitable mates among Equestrians," Luna said, "It appears that cross species relations are not as... taboo as they were before my banishment."
Chrysalis smiled, her fangs glinting in the faint light of her dreamscape and said, "I would absolutely support any one of my changelings, should they decide to marry ponies. Or gryphons. Or whatever else there is out there."
Luna smiled once more before leaving the dreamscape of the now regal looking Changeling Queen.
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
One more Luna found herself chasing after the Shade, as she had taken to calling it. It was, yet again barreling its way towards Canterlot. Unfortunately, as with every other time, the Shade was moving much too fast for Luna to overtake, and it soon disappeared from view. However, this did not dampen her mood as it had the other times. This time, she had good news to share with her sister, and a delegation of Changelings to help prepare for.
Luna groggily rose from her bed, silently thanking whatever higher powers there were for the creation of coffee. She looked over to her bedside table and raised the cup of steaming liquid to her lips with her magic and took a sip, perking up a little bit as the caffeine hit her system.
Heaving a thankful sigh, Luna began getting ready for Night Court as the sun began setting. Still strapping on her torc, she began the process of raising the moon and painting the night sky. It was a common misconception that the Princesses needed to have pomp and ceremony in order to raise their respective celestial bodies when it was as easy as breathing for the sisters.
With her celestial duties done for the night, Luna finished garbing herself with her royal adornments and took a brush through her mane and tail, removing any unseemly knots and stepping out into the hall. She stopped once near the kitchen to ask for a breakfast platter to be sent to the throne room, then continued on her way.
When she reached the throne room, there was only one petitioner and her platter of food already waiting there. Celestia was already handling said petitioner while Luna ate a little bit.
"Thank you, Princess," the stallion said as he made to leave, "I'll make sure that the guard knows the plan when the delegates arrive."
Celestia nodded magnanimously, then turned to Luna and said, "He was speaking about the Changeling party set to arrive before too long."
"Ah," Luna said, "I assume we are sending an escort to prevent any trouble, correct?"
"Yes," Celestia said through a huge yawn,"However, now I must retire for the night..."
Luna went to Celestia, nuzzled her lovingly and said, "Pleasant dreams, sister mine, I love you."
"And I you, Luna," Celestia said. `~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Moments after Luna had finished her food, she prepared the two spells she would need tonight. The first was her usual dream walking spell, while the second was a quickfire tracking spell, to be let loose when she next saw the Shadow fleeing from the nightmare of whomever she was helping that night. Steeling herself, Luna stepped into the dream realm once more.
'Ponyville,' Luna thought, '...it always seems to be near this town. It's almost as if the Element Bearers attract trouble like moths to a flame...'
Steering herself towards the next Bearer in line for a Nightmare, Luna entered the dream and waited for something to happen. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait for too long. Unfortunately for Luna, the Nightmare possessed Bearer of Generosity immediately turned and began an attack.
"Here to torment me some more?!" Nightmare Rarity bellowed, "Not one moment longer! I fell once, but why can you not see that it is me this time?!"
Shocked, Luna tried to form a response, but was harshly tossed to the side, directly into the path of the dream versions of Rarity's friends and Spike. Rarity turned to face them and bellowed in an extremely good approximation of the Royal Canterlot Voice, "LEAVE ME ALONE!!"
Charging her horn, Nightmare Rarity sent out a shockwave that immediately dispelled the visions of the other Bearers and Spike, leaving Luna completely caught off guard and speechless. Noticing that Luna had yet to disappear, Rarity asked herself, "Why are you still here? Is this another trick?"
Coughing, Luna sat up on her haunches and said, "Not a trick..."
Blinking, Rarity realized that the Luna in front of her was in fact real and rushed to her aid stammering an apology. She helped Luna over to a seat that hadn't been destroyed in the aftermath of Rarity's shockwave spell, then proceeded to conjure a tea set.
"Remind me to never upset you," Luna said as a joke when she recovered enough. Rarity let out a light chuckle, then looked away from the Lunar Princess as she took a sip of tea.
"How long has this been going on, Lady Rarity?" Luna asked somberly.
"About a month now," Rarity replied, "It has been happening every night since Spike, you, and the others brought me back..."
"I see," Luna said simply.
Rarity paused as she brought her tea cup up for another sip, then asked nervously, "What will happen to me?"
"What do you mean?" Luna asked.
"I mean some part of Nightmare Moon still lingers on in me!" Rarity exclaimed, "Surely you must feel that as well?!"
Luna set her tea cup down on the table, then looked at Rarity with as serious an expression as she could. Then, she began to morph into Nightmare Moon's form, saying, "Those of us who have been taken by the Nightmare will always have a portion of its power within us."
"W-what about my friends?" Rarity began again, panic edging in her voice, "Or Spike? Or your sister?! What is going to happen to me, damn it?!"
Luna, still wearing Nightmare Moon's form, brought Rarity, still wearing her Nightmare form like a pained mask, in for a hug. "They are your friends. They will understand that this is only a part of you now. My sister would be understanding about this as well, so you do not need to worry."
Nightmare Rarity's face contorted into a pained expression before she said, "And what about my little Spikey-Wikey...? He... he confessed yesterday... I-I was so happy that he had finally said something to me... B-but then I remembered this... this monstrosity I am, just beneath the surface... I told him I needed a bit of time..."
Luna pulled back and smiled, the action looking alien on Nightmare Moon's face. "He loves you, Lady Rarity. That is all the reason I need to give for them accepting you. They will not abandon you, not for something like this."
Rarity finally broke down in tears, her form changing back to normal. Luna returned to her normal state as well and said, "You are no monster, Rarity. I can assure you of that much, at least."
"T-thank you," Rarity said as she wiped her eyes, "C-could I ask a favor of you, however?"
"Of course," Luna said with a smile.
"When I tell my friends... would you be there with me?" Rarity asked hesitantly, "I cannot in good conscience keep this from them any longer..."
"Of course," Luna replied, "Just send a letter to me when you feel you are prepared to tell them."
Rarity nodded once. Luna then made to take her leave, the Bearer of Generosity looking and feeling much better than before, any lingering doubts pushed to the side as she steeled her resolve. `~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Luna spotted the shadow once more as she left Rarity's dream. Taking careful aim, she launched her tracking spell at the mass of shadow, which swerved to avoid the spell, the arcane energy missing by millimeters. Cursing under her breath as a peal of dark laughter hit her ears, Luna gave chase, once more losing the shadow near Canterlot.
Sighing, Luna returned to her body, then prepared to lower the moon to make way for the sun.
Luna felt tired tonight. It wasn't unusual for her to feel this way when first waking to perform her duties. The always ended up being the last vestiges of sleep trying to keep hold of her mind before consciousness fully asserted itself. This, however, was as if something had left a haze on her mind. Luna was barely able to keep herself attentive enough to deal with her Night Court.
At some point, her mind finally registered that there were no more petitioners. She bade her guard to escort her to her chambers, where she would dream-walk. After arriving, she asked the guard to stay in the room with her this time, before laying herself on her bed and casting the spell, the world of dreams embracing her like a lover thought long passed.
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Luna was much more aware of her surroundings in this dream-walk for some reason. It was odd, simply because details, the Void before actually entering a dream especially, just were not as clear as one could get in the waking world when the mind was it's most active. Void, however, may not have been the best choice of name for the aether that comprised dream-stuff. The Void was, more or less, an almost literal shadow of the waking world. The places were in the same locations as the waking world, with the difference that every consciousness was represented by a light, often the same color as the coat of the pony the light belonged to. Said lights grew lighter or darker, depending on the dream being evoked by the dreamers subconscious mind.
The darkest ones were always a top priority for Luna, as they had the ability to shock a pony so severely that they ended up comatose or worse... Though, thankfully, those were few and far between, mostly due to the more decadent lifestyle ponies of this age had. Honestly the worst Luna had encountered lately was the dream of young Spike, which in and of itself was about on par with most other dragons raised by ponies Luna had encountered before her banishment.
With one last thought on how life had drastically improved in the time after Nightmare Moon, Luna came upon the only nightmare in sight. It was a small cottage outside the Everfree Forest, which the blue alicorn immediately thought as either brave or incredibly foolish. `~`~`~`~`~`~
Entering the dream, the constraints on Luna's ability asserted themselves, preventing her from interfering... for the moment.
Watching intently, Luna saw the Elements of Laughter and Generocity being shouted at by Fluttershy, of all ponies, which surprised her greatly since the demure pony had always seemed the shy, quiet type.
"NOPONY PUSHES NEW FLUTTERSHY AROUND. NOPONY!!!!" the yellow pegasus bellowed at the top of her lungs. Luna couldn't hear the reactions of Rarity or Pinkie Pie, but, judging from their hung heads and the way they carried themselves, they were clearly upset.
Just when Luna was going to try and move to confront Fluttershy, the scene changed to the garden at the castle Luna called home. Animals were stampeding to get away from the butter colored mare, who had a feral, almost monstrous look to her countenance.
"YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME!!!!" came the bellow from the usually demure Fluttershy, which sent the animals scurrying through out the hall they had broken into by shattering one of the windows.
Fluttershy, appearing to finally come to her senses, backed away and broke down crying. Luna felt her restrictions lift and she went forward and embraced Kindness Incarnate, who let out an eep. Fluttershy, in an act she wouldn't have normally done, suddenly returned Luna's embrace, her sobs doubling in intensity for a while.
Before too long, however, the sobs became little more than sniffles. Luna felt that they could talk about what had happened in the memories that had played out before them.
"I... I have a bit of an anger problem..." Fluttershy said hesitantly in reply to Luna's comment that this was out of character for her, "I'm afraid it'll come up again..."
Luna smiled kindly and said, "I believe your problem stems from how you internalize everything. This isn't healthy."
"I-I know, Princess," Fluttershy said softly, "I just d-don't know what to do..."
"Talk to some one about it," Luna said softly, but firmly, "Trying to bottle all of this up is just going to make it worse than it initially was to begin with..."
"B-but I'm afraid of hurting someponies feelings and bothering them," Fluttershy replied with a hearty sniffle.
"Your friends will understand, Fluttershy," Luna said, "Talk to one of them."
"Y-yes, Princess..." Fluttershy said, hiding behind her mane.
Luna gave a sigh and said, "Such is the cruelty of kindness... Never wanting to trouble others with problems for fear of driving them away... even though help is needed. I have felt this sting before, dear Fluttershy..."
"R-really?" the other mare asked, quietly curious.
"Indeed," Luna replied, "I did not talk to my sister about my problems... Eventually, it led to Nightmare Moon."
Fluttershy's eyes widened and she asked, "W-will that happen to me?"
Luna shook her head and replied, "Not likely. No form of Nightmare could corrupt Kindness in the way it did to myself and Generosity."
Fluttershy relaxed immensely after hearing Luna say this, and it reflected in the world around her. Instead of the castle, Luna and Fluttershy were now outside of the latter's cottage, the landscape being much more welcoming now than when Luna had entered. They sat next to each other in a companionable silence, nothing more needing to be said between them.
Eventually, Luna needed to leave. She said as much to her host, who smiled and promised to talk more about how she was feeling. The Mare of the Night smiled and took her leave. `~`~`~`~
When Luna left the dream of Fluttershy, she immediately felt something was wrong. The shadow she had been pursuing for so long was no where to be found in front of her. Still, the lingering feeling that something was... OFF plagued her to no end. On a whim, however, Luna turned and looked behind herself and fear instantly gripped her heart. There, gigantic in scope and monstrous in sight was the Shadow, chasing Luna as if it were a predator.
Doing her best to evade the gaping maw of the beast behind her, Luna fled, attempting to make it back to Canterlot. Unfortunately, the shadow was steadily gaining ground on the fleeing mare, the black hole that was its mouth opening wide enough to snuff out the entire dream-scape.
Panicking, Luna poured as much energy as she could into the strokes of her wings, trying valiantly to get away. The shadow whipped out coils of darkness to ensnare The night princess, who dodged as best as she could. The shadow was relentless, however and dogged Luna no matter where she attempted to hide.
Eventually, Luna had to stop to rest, which the shadow was counting on. Luna could only watch in terror as the gaping maw came in to finish off its prey. She closed her eyes tight, for the same reasons that foals often do when they were afraid... and for a time, she knew nothing but the embrace of the void. `~`~`~`~`~`~`~
Celestia had been sleeping peacefully when the news had come to her. A thestral guard had simply bypassed the guards posted at the door and nearly broke it down with the force of his buck. She had immediately charged up her horn upon the rude awakening, but the look on the guards face spoke volumes about the situation, so, Celestia stayed her hoof and politely asked for the stallion to calm himself and tell her what was going on.
"I-it's Princess Luna, Your Highness," the guard, Sirroco, said, his voice cracking in several spots, "She... I... medical wing..." At this point, Sirroco broke down in tears, unable to continue. Celestia took the hint and woke up the guards next to the door with a simple spell.
"This stallion is distraught and unable to do his duties," Celestia began, then, turning to the guard on the left, conjuring a potion as she continued, "Aegis, escort him to one of the guest rooms, then give him this. It will put him into a dreamless sleep until the sun raises."
Stolid Aegis gave a crisp salute, then carried out his orders. Celestia turned to the other guard and said, "Sixth Sense, rouse the Solar Guard to support the Lunar Guard. I fear the worst..."
"What about you, Ma'am?" Sixth Sense asked in reply.
"I am going to my sister," Celestia said simply, before teleporting to her sister's side.
Luna regained awareness slowly, as if someone had put layers and layers of thin cloth over her face and was taking them off one by one. Blinking rapidly, her vision finally cleared enough for her to be able to take stock of the situation.
Looking around, Luna saw nothing but a desolate grey wasteland. Looking up, Luna nearly broke down in despair. Floating in the void above her was the planet she called home, Yggdra. Weeping openly, she collapsed in the crater she now found herself in. She was on the moon once again. Why, she did not know, but the knowledge that Celestia, Twilight, and the rest of the Elements had deigned to banish her again for some crime or another left Luna heartbroken and miserable.
Hours later, or maybe days, Luna could not tell, the Lunar alicorn began to feel pulses of dark magic coming from somewhere on the moonscape. Getting to her hooves, she began to walk in the direction of the pulses. Again, the passage of time was lost to Luna, for after what seemed like an eternity, she came upon a castle built into the side of a mountain.
Even though Luna had quite literally been there and done that in her long life, she felt awed in the presence of the castle. Walking towards the drawbridge, Luna felt the pulses of magic grow stronger and more frequent. Then, as if struck, Luna stopped, her coat paling.
"Welcome, Luna!" Nightmare Moon said with a cruel smile from the other side of the drawbridge.
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
"What's going on Princess?" Twilight asked as she, Spike, the other Elements of Harmony, and Queen Chrysalis were escorted to the infirmary.
"Yes, what is so important that your guards felt the need to attempt to steal me away?" Chrysalis asked with a huff, "This had better not be about the damn wedding, because I have already drafted and sent a formal apology to both you and Princess Cadence."
In yet another surprising show of insight, Pinkie said, "It's Luna."
The others snapped off any retorts to Chrysalis they may have had. Even Chrysalis seemed cowed by that simple statement of fact.
Celestia looked at Pinkie and nodded, saying, "Luna has fallen ill. The cause is Nightmare Moon."
"I thought Twilight and the others beat her, though," Spike said from beside Rarity, "How?"
"Nightmare Moon is like the other side of a coin that she shares with Luna," Twilight said with a sudden burst of understanding, "All we did with the elements was bring Luna's real personality to the forefront while Pushing Nightmare Moon to the back, right Princess?"
"Yes, my faithful student," Celestia said somberly, "Shortly after she began dream walking, I was alerted to what was happening by one of Luna's Night Guard. I have seen her body flickering between Nightmare Moon's form and her own since I arrived here in the infirmary.. Luna is fighting for her very survival, but I fear that if Luna loses, Nightmare Moon will lock her away so deep in the darkness that not even the Elements will be able to help."
"If that's the case, then why are we even here?" Chrysalis asked, irritated.
"Because we're the ones closest to Luna," Pinkie replied evenly, "She knows each of us by name. She's helped us deal with our problems, one by one. Hay, she's even started dating one of us, right Dashie?"
Rainbow Dash blushed heavily and uncharacteristically mumbled out, "Yes."
Smiling, Celestia nodded and said, "Yes. Insightful as always, Pinkie Pie."
Spike, catching on then continued, "And because of that, you think we can help her, right, Princess?"
`~`~`~`~`~
Luna crashed into the ground. She had been fighting against Nightmare Moon for eons by this point, her will to fight being bolstered by thoughts of her loved ones and friends whenever she thought about giving up.
"I'd ask again whether or not you'd give up, little moon," Nightmare Moon said as she appeared above Luna, "But I already know the answer. It almost seems as if you enjoy fighting me like this."
Struggling to her hooves, Luna launched a bolt of moonlight in the direction of her foe, then striking out with a buck that could shatter diamond behind her as Nightmare Moon appeared there with a flash.
"I don't like it, Nightmare," Luna said panting heavily, "But I know what is going to happen should I fail."
Laughing manically, Nightmare Moon got back up and shot towards Luna, locking horns with the smaller alicorn.
"You don't get it do you?" Nightmare asked, "I've already won! Your body is beaten, your magic is all but used up! The only thing left to break down is your mind and I will truly return and bring forth my eternal night!!"
Luna's legs began to buckle heavily as Nightmare Moon pushed forward. Her legs gave out and Nightmare Moon lashed out with her magic, flinging Luna across the moonscape, the small alicorn bouncing as she hit the ground.
Luna struggled to her hooves once more and saw Nightmare Moon readying enough magic to level Canterlot three times over. She hung her head in defeat, just wishing to see her friends one more time.
`~`~`~`~
Spike was the first to hear the call. He went over to Luna's side and touched his head to hers and said, "Luna, keep fighting. We're all here for you. Come back to us, please..."
`~`~`~`~
Luna raised her head in shock. She thought she had heard Spike's voice, encouraging her to keep fighting. But it was so hard for her to continue. She had almost nothing left... Tears began to form as Nightmare Moon's attack came ever closer. `~`~`~`~`
Chrysalis heard the call next. She sat next to Luna's other side and said, "I don't know what you think you're doing moon flank, but you'd better get that thing in gear. You still owe me that treaty, damn it."
`~`~`~`~
There it was again! Nightmare Moon could have sworn that another voice had been heard, encouraging the faltering moon princess to keep going. It was all pointless though, as she forced her magic into an even larger blast. The way she saw it, if it was worth doing, then it was worth over doing. And what could be more worth doing than finally getting revenge against Celestia and her precious Elements? But first things first.
`~`~`~`~
Fluttershy heard the call. She fluttered over to Luna's side, sitting next to Spike and said, "You helped me, so now it's my turn to help you. Please, keep fighting."
`~`~`~`~
Luna heard Fluttershy's soft voice. It gave her enough strength to light her horn in a teleportation spell and blink out of existence just before the spell hit.
"We're not done yet!" Luna cried as she rushed Nightmare Moon, defiance in her eyes.
`~`~`~`~
Rarity heard Luna's cry in her heart and said, "Don't give up! We're all here waiting for you, Luna!"
`~`~`~`~
Nightmare Moon's eyes went wide in shock as Luna charged her and struck. There was more force behind that single buck than everyone before it. It just shouldn't have been possible for Luna to recover like that!
"W-what is this?" Nightmare Moon asked in a panic.
`~`~`~`~
Pinkie smiled when she heard Luna's call. She sat down Next to Chrysalis and said, "C'mon, Luna! I've got a party to plan after this! And I can't do that if the guest of honor is asleep!"
`~`~`~`~
Luna smiled happily and gave a jovial laugh as she struck Nightmare Moon with a blast of magic from her horn, sending the dark mare flying.
"I'm looking forward to it, Pinkie Pie!!"
`~`~`~`~
Applejack heard the call and sat down next to Pinkie. She sighed and said, "I need ya'll to come back now, y'hear? Ya still need to help me with Applebloom dang it, and I intend to make you keep that promise!"
`~`~`~`~
Nightmare Moon's eyes widened even more as she fell to the ground. Luna shouldn't have been this powerful! Not in her own Nightmares! This was HER realm, not Luna's, her darkness, her thoughts and power, NOT LUNA'S!!
So how was this alicorn, barely larger than a filly, still beating her, mistress of darkness, empress of nightmares, and the Mare in the Moon?
Nightmare Moon braced herself as Luna came at her once again, giving no room for retaliation.
`~`~`~`~
Rainbow Dash heard the call, slightly louder than anyone else. She sat down next to Spike, close to Luna's head and said, "I'm not good with this kind of stuff."
Rainbow sighed, then continued with a blush, "When I first saw you, I thought you were really cute. I wanted to ask you out then and there, but something in my head held me back. I figured I didn't have a chance with a mare as awesome and pretty as you, let alone a princess, so I didn't say anything. And when I finally did say something, you said you wanted to give it a shot. So, Luna, please, come back. I want to see how far we go. But I can't do it alone."
`~`~`~`~
Luna's heart swelled as she heard Rainbow Dash's words. She smiled and looked towards the planet hanging in the void above the moon.
"I'll be home soon, Rainbow Dash," Luna said, "I promise."
`~`~`~`~
Twilight heard the call next. She sat at the foot of the bed, next to Celestia. She rested her head on her mentor's shoulder.
"You helped me come to terms with who I am," Twilight said, "I would be proud to call you Aunt. Or, if it happens, Sister."
Celestia looked down at Twilight in shock as Twilight looked up with a blush. Twilight nodded and Celestia nuzzled her student, a blush coloring her own cheeks.
`~`~`~`~
Nightmare Moon looked truly terrified as Luna kept getting stronger and stronger. No matter what the dark alicorn tried, nothing worked, at least not for very long anyway. Luna kept up the assault, forcing Nightmare Moon to come up with incredibly desperate ways to avoid the attacks. That didn't work all the time, however, so the mistress of nightmares still took quite the beating from her light counterpart.
Luna whispered softly, a single tear falling, "I would be proud to call you Sister, Twilight Sparkle."
`~`~`~`~
From her spot next to Twilight, Celestia heard the call, perhaps even more strongly than Rainbow Dash. She dipped her head for a moment, then rose up and began to sing.
"lulay moon princess, good night sister mine.
Rest now in moonlight's embrace
bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth,
through cloud and through sky and through space!!
Carry the peace and the coolness of night,
and carry my sorrow in kind!
Luna you're loved so much more than you know,
forgive me for being so blind...."
`~`~`~`~
Luna and Nightmare Moon fought for ages longer. The former had an incredible advantage, due to whatever was feeding her power. The latter was beaten, bruised, bloody, and broken.
Just when it seemed that Luna would finish Nightmare Moon off, the dark alicorn bellowed in rage.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" she screeched, halting Luna in her tracks, "I AM THE ONE WHO RULES HERE, NOT YOU!"
"That is where you are wrong, Nightmare Moon!" Luna shouted evenly, "This is naught but a nightmare. One crafted by you, yes, but a nightmare in MY mind all the same!"
"NO!" Nightmare Moon screamed, "I WON'T BE BEATEN LIKE THIS!!"
The dark alicorn rushed Luna. Luna locked horns with her and pushed back, neither giving any ground to the other.
"You have lost, Nightmare Moon," Luna said evenly.
"Not yet, I haven't," Nightmare Moon replied with venom in her voice. Bringing a foreleg off to the side and sweeping it behind Luna's legs, she brought Luna to her knees. As Luna fell, her horn cut across Nightmare Moon's muzzle.
Laughing, Nightmare Moon began to stomp Luna into the lunar dust. She kept going until she thought that Luna was well and truly finished, then backed off, a triumphantly manic grin on her face.
"Finally!!" She crowed, "Finally I am free!"
Luna began to stir, drawing Nightmare Moon's attention once more. The dark alicorn watched in fear as Luna got back up, completely unharmed.
"H-how?" Nightmare asked, "How are you still here?!"
"We are evenly matched here, Nightmare," Luna replied, "I cannot end you, and you cannot end me, for to do so would spell certain doom for the other."
"N-no," Nightmare said fearfully as Luna advanced on her, "S-stay back!"
Luna continued her advance and eventually came close enough to embrace Nightmare Moon. When she did, Nightmare stopped struggling and began to sob uncontrollably. Nothing was said between the two, as nothing was needed. When Nightmare Moon stopped her sobbing, there was a brilliant flash of light.
Luna struggled to wake herself up. Now, for those who knew, that would not be an unusual occurrence, quite the opposite in fact. No, what made this particular awakening different was the fact that the sun was high in the sky still... or was it again? Luna wasn't sure, but she was sure that her sister was torturing her for one misdeed or another.
"C-close the curtain..." the azure alicorn mumbles out, her hoof coming up to cover her head with a blanket.
"LUNA!!" came an extremely loud shout from somewhere off to the side. The mare in question shot up quickly, all traces of her being tired wiped from her mind.
"What happened?!" Luna asked quickly, her head on a swivel for any dangers. Soon enough, however, her eyes focused on the room full of ponies (and a changeling and dragon) and she began to calm down as her situation becomes a little more clear.
"How long was I out?" the mare asks, a hoof to her muzzle to cover a massive yawn.
"About a day or so, Sister," Celestia said as she looked around the massive room at everyone that had gathered, "And it would seem that the down time has done wonders for you."
"What do you mean, Celestia?" Luna asks, "I feel no different than I normally would. Well, beyond being a bit more tired than usual."
"Um... Maybe you should look in the mirror, Princess," Rainbow Dash spoke up from her place, hovering slightly above everyone, "You definitely look different now."
"What do you mean?" Luna asked, "What does she mean?"
"You really do need to see," Twilight said excitedly, a slightly manic gleam in her eyes as she spoke, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen if for myself!"
"Oh no," Spike said from where he was sitting by Rarity, "Might want to get ready, Luna, she's going to be on a research binge in a bit!"
Twilight pouted good naturedly as she mumbled, "Only a little..."
Everyone got a chuckle out of that, but Luna moved to get out of bed, the mare landing beside it and noting that everything seemed a bit shorter than usual...
"A mirror, please," Luna said in a soft voice that carried over the giggles all the same. Lighting her horn, Celestia conjured one, a smile on her face as she did so. Looking herself over, the Night Alicorn marveled at what she saw. It was herself, and she could clearly tell that... but she was only just slightly shorter than her sister now, the tip of her horn stopping just shy of Celestia's. Her coat was now a deeper, more pleasing shade of blue, and her magic felt stronger than ever. Perhaps the most startling change, however, was her mane and tail. Before, they sat all but lifeless on her head and flank, but now they flowed with power, as if pushed along by a nonexistent breeze.
"I... Is... that me?" Luna asked in disbelief.
"Hay yeah it is!" Rainbow spoke up, "Lookin' good, Princess!!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity spoke up, looking scandalized at the brash pegasus' outburst, "That is not the way one speaks to Royalty! Have some respect!"
"What?" Rainbow asked, looking to the fashionista, "She's gorgeous, not just cute now..."
Luna, remembering Rainbow Dash's nightmare, blushes slightly at the praise and looks over to her. The Pegasus saw the look and blushed herself before looking away slightly and smiling.
"I mean that," she says, an uncharacteristically shy tone in her voice.
"I know you did," Luna said in response, "I meant what I told you as well. If you'll have me."
Everyone seemed to take this as a clue and left the two to themselves for a while. And while nothing physical happened between the two during that first day, Luna and Rainbow Dash had the start of a wonderful relationship. -`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-`-
Later on, after Luna and Rainbow Dash had parted for the evening, the Night Princess had found herself musing before attempting to begin her normal duties.
"Is there anything you require, Princess?" Asked one of her guards as she looked out over the still empty Night Court.
"Nay, good sir," Luna says with a smile, "Just musing to myself."
"Nothing bad, I hope," the guards says with a slight smile.
"Simply thinking on how I made it to where I am tonight," Luna says as she lights her horn, preparing herself to ease the dreams of her subjects.
"And I would not change it for the world," she says, a flash of light signaling the start of her duties... and the beginning of a beautiful night.