//------------------------------//
// Thinking This Through 
// Story: The Search in Winsome Falls 
// by Comma Typer 
//------------------------------//

Darkness.
Then, eyes open. Slowly open.
Unclear, blurred.
White bright.
A little blue.
Princess Luna was awake. Her mane was flowing with that starry quality—in stark contrast to the how everything else was still and not moving.
Curtains drawn and closed beside tall classical columns and intricate banners of in-depth design and articulation.
Light hanging over the crescent ceiling of the bed's roof.
She yawned and covered her mouth.
Lights that appeared to sprout of trunk and branches growing from beneath the carpeted floor of swirling violet and purple. On her right was a round blue mat with the shape of a crescent moon. On that mat were four bed slippers, all identical and bearing that same crescent shape.
A single pillow that looked like half a cake. A blanket with stars, covering much of the bed proper. What surrounded the bed was a crescent shape as if the moon itself were riding upon the waves of the clouds—sailing. Beside the bed, a desk of a clock—with a crescent shape protruding from it—on a stack of a few large books.
Luna gazed upon the double doors, the only ones in the room. The pair was itself a work of art: studded with three diamonds or crystals, the doors were angular at the top and smoothened the closer it got to the floor. A simplistic, minimalistic design of a full moon could be seen on the doors while, as if standing on the floor, a diamond shape with two more crescent shapes.
She looked up. She adjusted her small black crown adorning her head and her flowing mane.
A smile on her face as she got off of her bed and stood on the ground on her four hooves—which were already equipped with metal hoofguards.
A breath in, a breath out.
"It is soon to come. Another night over which I shall guard, another night under which I shall protect."
Her horn glowing blue, she magically opened the doors and went outside.



The piercing rays of the sun penetrated through the tall glass windows and shone their thick light upon the checkered floor and its long red carpet with depictions of tulips and hearts. Yet, it was not just orange sunlight inside this ostentatious hallway of sparse wealth. Beside the plain glass windows were the stained glass ones—ones that showed in a single blow, a culmination and an outpouring of history.
Over here was a stylized image, in colored window panes, showing two alicorns—one blue, one white— circling a chaotic draconequus who seemed to be cackling about them. The background appeared to be a split of the sun and of the moon, but closer inspection yielded otherwise—though clouds and waves and a cutie mark could be discerned, abstractness was chief here.
Over there, a purple and green dragon surrounded in blue and white as the blue ground brought forth icy cyan spikes; up above, in the center, a blue heart emitting great light upon all.
And, over here, the draconequus from the first mentioned stained glass window trapped in a purple sphere powered, apparently, by magical lavender rays beaming from six colorful ponies who were all looking up towards the strange creature. Two Earth ponies, two pegasi, two unicorns—close to each other.
There were more like these throughout the hallway.
The columns that were beside the windows had, at the top, banners sticking out from them. All of them bore flags that were the same: two purple flowers on a dark violet background. Below the banners were held bouquets of lavender that brought in, again, that fresh fragrance of cool beauty infused into an attractive and calming smell that filled the room.
Beside the Princess of the Night—who was standing in front of one of the plain windows and was viewing the great Canterlot spectacle with its tall buildings and the mountains beyond topped with a sky that was partly cloudy but otherwise nice—was a cart of lavenders.
It was a quiet sunset.
"Early, huh?"
Luna turned around. "Sister?"
Celestia was silent for a while, only smiling at a bewildered Luna. "I didn't expect you to prepare the lavenders while the sun was still high up. What's with that?"
"It is not much, Celestia," Luna answered. "I have decided that a few more minutes in taking care of a pony in the dream realm could be gained by the act of arranging these flowers earlier."
Celestia nodded. "Interesting that you haven't thought about it before."
"You know that a myriad of other things and matters occupy my mind," Luna replied, raising a hoof halfway to her head. "Dragon Lord Ember and King Thorax seek an audience with me this week concerning the dreams of their subjects, and that is the first thing on my list."
"Your recently expanded list of things to do?" Celestia said with a tinge of smugness in her tone.
Luna nodded. "There has been, for lack of a better word, a spike of dream activity in recent days but not in Equestria. Most of it is coming from the kingdoms outside here—Yakyakistan, the Dragon Lands, the Changeling Hive, even the lands beyond Southern Equestria are giving reports of an unusual rise of dreams lately."
"The 'dream dreams' or the nightmares?" Celestia inquired, her tone becoming sober.
"A mix of both," Luna said. "And that is what bothers me. It cannot be defined by a single definite cause that brings about only good dreams or only bad dreams."
Celestia tilted her head a little to the side, her streaming mane adjusting to match. "What do you plan to do about it? Do you need my help?"
"Your help is to be appreciated," Luna said, becoming stricter. "But, I believe that I can handle things as they are now."
Celestia took a step back.
She smiled.
"That's good," Celestia said. "It's good that you're OK. I was just thinking that maybe I could take some of the load off of your back."
Luna smiled, too. "No, no." She waved a hoof casually in front of her. "It is quite alright, sister. There is not much else that burdens me right—"
The double doors opened, hoofsteps rushing, armor clanking against itself.
"Princess Luna!" the guard in golden armor and white coat yelled as he galloped to the two sisters, stopped, and bowed down before them. "And Princess Celestia!"
Luna had an open mouth; she looked concerned.
Celestia cracked a small smile and looked down upon the guard. "You don't have to do that."
The guard slowly stood up from his prostrate position.
"Now, what's wrong?" Celestia prodded.
"Four ponies are seeking an immediate audience with Princess Luna," the guard answered in that stringent manner and deep voice.
Luna's eyes widened at that and placed her hoof close to her open mouth.
Celestia glanced at her sister, giving her a knowing look.
"Is this is of great importance, Princesses?" the guard asked, still stringent but now shaky, too.
Silence between the three of them.
"Not really," Luna said, putting down her raised hoof. "It is a business that I have instigated personally. It is nothing too unsettling."
Celestia frowned for a second but quickly reverted back to a caring and listening smile as she faced the guard.
"What shall I tell the four ponies?" the guard asked.
"Tell them that I will see them in a few minutes inside the royal hallway where we have our audiences."
"I shall do so, Princess," the guard said, taking a quick bow before heading out of the hallway back the way he came—rushing and galloping.
Luna looked at her sister.
Celestia was already looking at her—worry on her face. "I hope that it really is nothing too unsettling. Are you a hundred percent sure about that?"
Luna nodded solemnly and with closed eyes. "I am sure."
Celestia straightened up.
Their manes, flowing in the air, glittered under the orange sunlight of the setting sun.
"After that, we'll lower the sun and raise the moon together?" Celestia asked, sporting a kinder and more playful accent.
Luna nodded, giggling a little. "Yes, we will sister."
The two parted ways, Celestia staying inside the hallway with the grand view and the sunlight permeating the interior and Luna walking her way through the magically open double doors.
Celestia looked upon the view.
She looked at the cart of flowers beside her.
Then, she glanced at her sister.
A few seconds and she was out of view.
"I really hope she's sure," she said. "I hope it's just something petty in the end."