Princess Luna sat down on her throne and smiled, her head held high, her mane blowing in the breeze only it could sense. She slowly opened her eyes, taking in her large room.
The smile slowly faded as she realized once again that her court was empty. She had no subjects to council, no hopeful ponies seeking for her advice.
Still she waited, optimistic. She kneaded her hooves against the cushion, tail waving slightly behind her. Surely there was somepony this Night who needed their princess.
But the hours came and went, with only Luna there. Her discouragement grew, and she jumped off her throne ten minutes before her court was scheduled to end with an angry growl.
Perhaps a few months ago, this would have driven her into a rage, which would have left large swaths of trees smoking and destroyed a few miles away. Thankfully, she had recently discovered another talent, one that allowed her to be helpful to her little ponies: dreamwalking. As disheartening as it was that her little ponies slept all of the night, it was a great comfort to know that she could be there, in their dreams, as their protector and guide. Little foals, especially, were so relieved to see her. It made her heart melt.
She just wished she could see those same expressions when they were awake.
The familiar rush of doors across her vision was oddly cathartic. So many ponies she could help. She closed her eyes and listened, feeling more than anything else to see if there were anything wrong.
Something called out to her, a disturbance in the dreamscape, and she grinned. It was time. With an idle thought, the doors shifted directions, whizzing by until stopping at the one she’d wanted.
The door was wooden, still looking fresh and newly finished. It was the mind of a young earth pony, for sure. She slowly opened the door and crept inside.
He sat with his back to the door, playing quietly. His back was to the bed. Underneath that bed, though, something lurked in the shadows. His ears pricked, and Luna quickly faded into the background.
A living shadow, thick and inky, emerged, plopping a dark appendage on the ground and dragging itself out. The colt gasped as the shadow came nearer, reaching for his hooves. He tried to scamper away, but it caught hold on his hind hoof and began dragging him under the bed.
Luna strode forward. It was time. She stood proudly, head high. The colt gasped to see her, her intrusion shocking him into some semblance of order.
Luna lit her horn. The ink puddle seemed to writhe in the light of her horn. It tumbled down in on itself, turning into an evaporating black puddle of water. He splashed it, and chuckled as he realized that he was in no danger. He looked up and giggled. Luna gave him a comforting smile, and he waved as she left him to his sweeter dream.
* * *
Luna looked around as she closed yet another door behind her. She was probably done here. She let the dreamscape arrive at another settlement, this one a bit further towards the edge of Equestria. She doubted this Las Pegasus outpost would ever amount to much of anything; but as her subjects, they too deserved protection.
It was a quiet night in Las Pegasus. She only had one dream to visit here; this one a simple fix.
But it was she that felt hurt afterwards. She pursed her lips and sighed. How could a foal be afraid of the dark? Did they not understand its intrinsic beauty? She rolled her eyes… and then paused.
There was a little dark patch, far off in the distance. It was unfamiliar to her.
Luna narrowed her eyes. Was it an intruder in her dreamscape? She did not spend so long working out how to come here just to give this privilege away. With a simple thought, she brought it nearer. As the dreamscape moved beneath her hooves, it slowly resolved and grew more detailed, and Luna's eyes widened in shock.
It was another set of doors. It must have been a far settlement indeed to be so distant; she had never seen these before. The door nearest her was made of tightly bundled sticks, as if improvised. Luna smiled wryly. These little ponies were explorers, surely.
And like most explorers, they likely moved during the day and slept all night.
She shook this thought off. They were asleep, and might need her help. Dutifully, she nosed the nearest door open and slipped inside.
A pony with gray fur slumbered, wrapped tightly in a red blanket. He was inside a small building, possibly a barn of some kind, with lanterns surrounding him.
And poking out from under his lip. Were those…? No. Impossible.
Still…
Unable to restrain herself or her curiosity, she leaned forward. She hesitated, realizing just how intrusive this was; then, in a fit of daring, she stretched a hoof out, intent on lifting his upper lip. It was likely a trick of the flickering lantern light, but she could swear that this little pony had-
Fangs!
Luna stumbled backwards in shock, tripping over her own rear hooves. Unable to catch herself, she landed hard on her royal bottom, knocking over (and nearly sitting on top of) a lantern. She quickly scrambled to get it upright and looked back at the stallion, looking much like a filly caught with her hoof in the cookie jar, half expecting to have to explain herself.
But the pony didn't wake. He barely stirred.
She could only stare. What was this? Was this a dream? Was the real dreamer elsewhere?
She performed a quick mental search, and was stunned at the revelation. As much as it defied logic, there was no other explanation. This pony, a living, breathing little pony, was of Equestria. And he had fangs.
Curiosity overcame her. She'd never seen a fanged pony. What could it be dreaming of? She leaned in closer and concentrated. He dreamed…
Of being warm?
Luna shook her head. That would imply that this whole dream was just an escapist fantasy of being warm. And she'd seen plenty of escapist fantasies in her day. None of them looked anything like this.
Shaking her head, she departed. Perhaps he was on guard duty. She’d likely get a little more insight from another door.
The second one held a filly, gray in color like the first one, sitting upon a large rock, her back towards Luna. This in and of itself wasn’t terribly strange.
What was strange, though, was the appearance of her wings.
Having been blessed with the magic of the pegasi, Luna knew of the joy of flight. She knew the feeling of speed, and the thrilling feeling of wind through her feathers.
But this filly didn't seem to have feathers on her wings. They seemed to be a thin membrane of skin over bones. Luna's jaw dropped. If she didn't know any better, she'd say this filly had the wings of a bat.
Now that she was closer, she noticed what surrounded her. It appeared to be fruit of some kind. This filly was surrounded by fruit, and she was picking them up and eating them, one after the other.
She was still curious about her wings. Surely they, too, were a trick of the light. But there was one way to find out. She leaned down, picked up a rock, and lobbed it over. It landed with a thunk and a clatter.
The filly spun around, eyes wide, wings flared, her mouth still open (with tiny fangs gleaming in the light) for the apple she had intended on eating. And her eyes! They were a deep brownish gold, with slits for pupils!
Thankfully, Luna had already made herself invisible again. Fascinating! What could have possessed these ponies to dream of themselves with bat-like characteristics?
Unless…?
No. That would be impossible. Completely inconceivable.
Wouldn't it?
She stepped outside and tried another door. It slowly creaked open under her hoof. This occupant was lounging around a large fire, feeling very warm. She smiled as one of his fluffy ears flicked idly. This was a happy dream. But he, too, saw himself with fangs and abnormally fluffy ears.
She tried a new door. This strange pony, too, dreamed of being warm. He was taking a bath in hot water, fluffy ears relaxed and mouth open in contentment—fangs clearly exposed.
One side of Luna’s mouth picked up slightly. She was sensing a pattern here.
That smile quickly faded. Dreams were escapes. One could be an outlier. Two suspicious. Three, a pattern. Why would they all dream of being warm?
She shook her head and left. She looked to the next door and hesitated. This door belonged to an older pony. Older ponies usually didn’t want or need her help.
Unappreciated asleep as well as awake.
But curiosity spurred her on, overcoming her hesitation. She slipped inside.
This mare also saw herself like a bat. Luna’s eyes widened. She was a mother. And she dreamed of protecting her foals. Her wings, leathery as all the others she’d seen tonight, covered two foals, one on each side of her. They lay there contentedly. One perked his head up, and she retrieved a fruit for him, which he quickly ate, his sharp fangs easily piercing it and tearing it open.
Luna inhaled sharply through her teeth. Their reality must have been stark, indeed, to dream of such things as simple comfort.
They needed her help.
At the sound, the mother looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened.
“Fear not,” Luna whispered as she faded back into the darkness. “I come.”