Trixie Lulamoon of the Dreamguard

by Hoopy McGee


Chapter 2

Those who wish to progress further into the Realm of Dreams may find their way to the Path of Shadows, which winds through the Realms like mist amongst the trees. Traverse its length with caution, for, though sure steps may lead to your destination, a moment’s distraction could lead to a terrible fate.

Be wary of the Lost, for not all who stray from the Path receive the mercy of death.

On the Dreamrealms, A Study by Lucid Dreamer, revised translated edition, 127 A.F.

“Stay on the path, and never stray,” Luna said as she led them forward. “Should something call to you, ignore it.”

The Path of Shadows, the Princess had called it. Trixie remembered reading about it in that old book she’d been assigned to read, though the description didn’t do justice to the real thing.

The path of rough cobblestones meandered ahead of them in a line that seemed both straight and somehow curved, somehow managing to be visible in spite of the lack of ambient light. With the exception of the three mares, everything was in shades of grey and black—from the brittle-looking grey grass growing up between the cobblestones to the dusty blackness that arched over them.

The darkness around them obviously had Smidgen worried. The small mare was pressed in tightly to Trixie’s side as they walked, her ears flicking around to catch any available sounds. But the only sounds in this place were what they brought with them: breathing and the sound of hooves on stone, though the latter sounded flat and muffled due to the lack of any echo.

“It will be alright,” Trixie whispered, more to convince herself than her friend. She noticed a wide-eyed Smidgen looking up at her. “It will be alright,” she repeated more firmly, projecting a confidence that she didn’t really feel. “Princess Luna is here. We’ll be fine.”

It must have worked, at least a little bit, because Smidgen managed a weak smile and stopped pressing in quite so closely. Trixie’s own fear ebbed away a little as she returned the smile. It was easier to be brave with an audience, she decided.

Princess Luna walked ahead at a steady pace, as if she was in no hurry at all. A small star of light shone out from the tip of her horn, and Trixie followed it like it was a beacon.

“This is a place of transitions,” Luna said, her voice sounding loud and oddly flat in this silent place. “A place where the borders of many of the various Realms meet. It is possible to travel very nearly anywhere by following the Path. But you must always be wary. For, though the Path appears to stretch before us in a single line, in truth it changes constantly. The same hoofsteps that take you to the Gloaming one night could leave you in the Vale of Echoes the next.”

Trixie shivered. A path that led to different locations at different times? How in Equestria were they supposed to travel on such a thing?

“The key is, of course, to keep your destination firmly in mind as you travel,” Luna said, as if in answer to her question. Trixie found herself wondering, and not for the first time, if the Princess could read her mind. “If you do so, the length of the path you walk may change, but the destination will remain the same. Familiarity with your destination will help. But you are not to ever travel upon this path until I say you can. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Princess,” Smidgen said breathlessly next to her, and Trixie quickly voiced her own agreement. “If I could ask, what’s the Vale of Echoes?”

Luna glanced over her shoulder. “Trixie, I believe the book you are currently reading has information on that, correct?”

“Yes,” Trixie said, trying not to shudder. “It doesn’t sound like a pleasant place to visit.”

“Indeed not,” the princess replied calmly, and Trixie thought she might have seen a flash of pain cross her features as she said it. “The Dreamrealms are separate from the waking world, yet they are inextricably tied to one another through the minds of those who dream. Be it pony or griffon, the oldest of dragons or the youngest of minotaurs, any creature that dreams can reach this place.

“On occasion, one of these creatures may die while dreaming, the body failing whilst the mind wanders. It is possible for some portion of their final dream to sustain itself in the Dreamrealms, though I am still uncertain as to the how of it. What I do know is that all such fractured dreams make their way over time to the Vale.”

Beside her, Smidgen shivered. Trixie moved next to her until their shoulders touched, knowing that feeling all too well. When she’d first read about the place, her immediate thought was to wonder what would happen if she died in the Dreamrealms. Would some part of her, some little piece of her soul or spirit or whatever, be cursed to wander through the Vale for all eternity? If that was the case, did she even want to know?

Maybe one day, she’d actually manage to gather the courage to ask Luna. Until then, she preferred not thinking about it.

“They’re like ghosts, then?” Smidgen asked, her voice tinged with horror. “They’re trapped? For how long?”

“Not ghosts, no,” the Princess replied, her mane rippling as she shook her head. “A ghost of a ghost, mayhaps. But there is no mind within those dreams. They are…” Her brows knit as she thought for a moment. “Ah. They are like those moving pictures you see in the cinema. They replay a few disjointed segments of a dream over and over again. The same images, the same sounds and emotions.”

“Emotions?” Trixie asked, her coat trying to stand on edge. “They keep repeating how somepony felt while they were dying?”

“Not dying—dreaming. The dreamers were often not aware of their impending demise. But, yes, their feelings. It is why visiting such a place is so heartbreaking.”

Trixie snorted. “Why would anypony visit a place like that?”

Princess Luna walked silently for a while. When she spoke, her voice was whisper-quiet. “Mayhaps in the hope that they could once again see some aspect of one they once loved, that there may still be some part of them still…” She visibly shook herself. “It is a foolish thought. Doing so causes only more pain. It is best to let them alone. In time, even echoes will fade.”

There seemed to be nothing to say to that. For some time further, the three of them walked in silence once again. Eventually, Trixie’s mind, and her eyes, began to wander. It really is like a tunnel through the dark, she noted. The dead, grey grass around the path extended some ways before being swallowed up in the shadow, which arched up over the three mares. The light of Luna’s horn didn’t seem to do anything to make the darkness retreat… it wasn’t as if the light was blocked by anything, but rather that it simply couldn’t proceed past a certain point.

It was, by far, the creepiest place Trixie had ever been, dead silent except for their hoofsteps—until something rustled nearby. She startled and stopped, heart thundering as she peered into the darkness. For a long, breathless moment, she saw nothing at all. Just the dead grass and swallowing darkness.

A pair of eyes, glowing a light blue, opened in the dark not two pony-lengths from where Trixie stood. Horror shivered its way down her spine as her mane tried to stand on end, and clicking noises came out of her too-dry throat as she tried desperately to call out to Princess Luna—a warning or a plea for help, she wasn’t certain.

The eyes vanished with a shocking suddenness.

“Trixie Lulamoon,” Luna said from beside her, and this time Trixie found her voice in a loud shriek as she collapsed onto her haunches. “Do not stare too long into the darkness. You call attention to yourself when you do.”

“I…” Trixie stared up at the princess, one hoof on her chest. She could feel her heart pounding, and she was suddenly drenched with sweat. She pointed a hoof towards the dark. “Eyes! Princess, there were eyes out there! Glowing blue!”

“Indeed?” Princess Luna peered towards where Trixie was pointing, though that was made difficult by the trembling of her foreleg. “A dream wight, perhaps, or some other specter. But whatever was there appears to be gone. This is why you must never travel this path without me until I say you are ready. And why you must not fall behind again, Trixie Lulamoon, no matter what you may see or hear. Understand?”

Shame rushed to Trixie’s face in a hot flood. She noticed Smidgen peering out from behind the Princess’ legs, and for a moment felt a hot spike of resentment at being the only one caught messing up. “I understand. Sorry, Princess.” At least the flash of anger she’d felt had banished the last of her fear, she noted as she stood on much-steadier legs.

Princess Luna stared at her for a long moment, just long enough for Trixie to wonder if she should say something, before nodding. “Very well. Let us continue, then, shall we?”

The three of them set out once again, with Luna in the lead and Smidgen once again pressing close to Trixie’s side. After a few minutes, it occurred to Trixie that the smaller mare was trying to comfort her this time and, in spite of Smidgen being the first friend she’d made in… Well, years, if she were to be honest, Trixie once again felt that stab of resentment.

Smidgen was trying to comfort her? The same Smidgen who was scared of nearly everything? Who spoke in whispers whenever she found herself in a crowd of strangers? And she thought that Trixie—a mare who had stood face-to-face with an Ursa Minor, no matter the outcome—was the one who needed comfort?

And of course Smidgen wouldn’t have made the same mistake Trixie had. No, she’d have been too frightened to have strayed from Luna’s side for even a moment. Princess Luna consistently heaped praise on the tiny mare, even when she went too far ahead like with the shadecloak—how the hay had Smidgen figured out how to do that, anyway?—and treated Trixie’s every mistake as if it were a personal disappointment.

She was grinding her teeth again, she noticed. With an effort, she made herself relax her jaw. Smidgen was her friend, she reminded herself. Trixie took a deep breath and let it out, trying to let go of the rest of her fear and frustration as she did. She put on a smile and flashed it down towards her friend, who offered one back up at her.

Whatever peace Trixie had managed to reclaim didn’t last long, though. A sound like a breeze seemed to sigh across the Path of Shadows, though the grass never moved and the other mares didn’t react at all. Ears twitching, Trixie looked around wildly even as she kept close to Luna.

Trixie Lulamoon, a voice seemed to whisper.

Trixie’s skin crawled beneath her coat. “Did you hear that?” she asked quietly.

“Hear what?” Smidgen asked, which wasn’t much of a comfort at all.

Trixie Lulamoon the dry voice sighed again. There was a long, horrible moment of silence. Welcome.

Ignore it, ignore it! Trixie thought frantically, setting her jaw and looking straight ahead. Don’t mess up again! Focus on the Princess, deal with it later.

She walked forward on legs stiffened to avoid shaking, making her gait feel a little awkward. Smidgen didn’t seem to notice, and Luna was still looking straight ahead. More than anything else at that moment, Trixie wanted to be off of this path. Wherever it was they were going, she wished that they’d just reach it already!

Once again, it was as if Luna had read her mind, coming to a sudden stop that almost caused the two mares behind her to pile into her flowing, star-filled tail.

“We have arrived,” Luna said. She turned to her left and nodded at a patch of darkness that seemed no different from the rest. “Through there. Follow.”

Luna stepped off the path, with Trixie and Smidgen right on her tail. For a moment, darkness seemed to swallow them up, broken only by the pinpoint of light from Luna’s horn, and Trixie found herself regretting every life decision that had led to this moment. Another point of light appeared, this one below what Trixie considered ground level. It was joined soon after by a third, and a fourth, and suddenly Trixie found herself walking on nothing, an ocean of stars beneath her hooves.

Princess Luna turned towards them, a subtle smile on her face. She spread her wings. “Here is the place where dreams lie, my little ponies. Welcome to the Gloaming.”