Thu-thunk, thu-thunk, thu-thunk.
The sound of the train filled the background as I scribbled down a note on my next book. Wasn't sure what to write just yet. Maybe I should just give out a collection of short stories, it wasn't like I didn't have a bunch of those lying around.
Amber was lazing around on the baggage shelf above my head. Changelings...
Luckily the train would pass only a couple of kilometres away from the village. We could walk from there.
Right now, the girls were spread out along the rest of the carriage, I had a couch for myself as they talked among themselves.
I tried to get Sunset to go back to Canterlot, no use to put more ponies in danger than absolutely needed.
That went about as well as expected.
“You should get some rest,” Sunset said as she jumped up on the couch across from mine. “Princess Twilight says we will arrive in about five hours.”
“Plan to,” I answered as I finished the last sentence. “Just wanted to finish this,” I explained before starting to put things away in my bag. “Nervous?”
“Nah,” the unicorn answered and lounged against the back of the couch. “We are just having a look, right?”
I nodded, “That's the plan. Just having a look to see what kind of Silent Hill, Freddy Krueger bullshit can make ponies dream empty dreams.”
Sunset shivered slightly.
“Oh? You did see those, did you?”
She grimaced and then nodded. “Yeah. I had some problems sleeping after I watched A Nightmare on Elm Street,” she admitted before she glared at me. “Thanks for reminding me of that, by the way. “
“...Sorry. If you get any nightmares, I'll deal with them.”
Sunset frowned at me, “You stay out of my dreams.”
“No worries, I can tell the general mood of a dream without entering it. There are things I really don't want to see either.”
She shook her head and relaxed against the couch again.
Finished with putting my things away, I turned to look out the dark window, not seeing anything but my Luna's moon in the sky.
So far away.
So close.
I missed her.
It'd been weeks since I saw Luna in person and... fuck, it was worse than the last time we were apart, even though it had not been as long.
I regarded the moon in the dark skies. It was strange really. The Equestrian moon was more familiar to me now than Earth's was. Maybe because I had spent so much time here focused on it.
Sometimes it was calming really. As long as the moon kept moving across the sky like it should, I knew my Luna was safe.
I may have missed her, but I had a job to do now. I might not like the entire royalty thing and I was going to dodge that particular oncoming train for as long as I bloody well could.
But, I was an alicorn now. The Alicorn of Dreams. I didn't know if I deserved to be, most likely not, but I was. So I was going to do as good a job as I possibly could.
Not only for Luna. But for the people of Equestria and myself... and if that meant going over there and finding out what happened to those poor ponies' dreams and cracking heads until it stopped, then so be it.
Or more likely, keep in the background and let Princess Twilight and the other Element bearers handle it. They handled Discord and... Nightmare Moon. They saved Luna and Celestia.
I may be an alicorn now, but I wasn't really any stronger in the real world. The only reason I managed to defeat Tirek was that he didn't think. He assumed I was doing what it seemed I was doing and that I wasn't a sneakier bastard than he was.
If that plan had failed, I would have been so horribly fucked. But he was threatening Luna and Celestia. What was I supposed to do?
“Page?”
I looked away from the night sky to find Sunset watching me.
“Yes?”
“...Is it safe to sleep? We are almost at the end of the track and then there is only half a day's trot left according to the map,” she asked quietly.
I frowned slightly and shifted my wings against my sides beneath the illusion in thought before I nodded. “It should be. From what we could detect, the effect was limited to a relatively small area,” I said before I hmmed. “But I have a better idea. We get all the girls and all go to sleep at the same time. I can gather up your dream realms close together and stand guard while you sleep. Just to be safe.”
Sunset nodded and jumped off her couch, “I'll go tell Princess Twilight. Thank you.”
“Don't worry, I'll keep the big bad bogeyman away,” I told her with a grin.
“...Screw you. Monkey boy,” she snorted.
“In your dreams.”
Sunset smirked and winked as she walked past, “Why do you think I want you to stay out of them? That would just be awkward.”
Yeah, I may have earned that one.