//------------------------------//
// Chapter 41 - Unfinished Business 
// Story: Pandemic: Aftermath 
// by ASGeek2012 
//------------------------------//

Connie smiled as she watched her daughter Christina trot into the kitchen, levitating her dinner dish and silverware, a proud look on the filly's face. She had only just started to truly master the spell in the last few days, and the newness of it had yet to wear off. Every object Christina lifted, no matter how small, she treated as a personal triumph.

Connie was about to grab the handle of the dishwasher and lower the door when her daughter protested, "No, wait, let me get it!"

Connie hesitated, but nodded and withdrew her hand.

Despite her daughter's recent achievements, Connie was still wary when Christina decided to push her limits. The school had already warned Connie not to trust her yet with delicate items. While the dishwasher was not exactly delicate, Connie did not want to have to pay for an appliance repair; she doubted that damage incurred by inexperienced use of a levitation spell was covered under the warranty.

Christina first set her dish down. Her eyes narrowed, and she stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth. Connie thought Christina looked absolutely adorable. After a few moments, the handle of the dishwasher was suffused with a flickering glow, and the door jerked open rather hard. Connie caught the door before it could smack against the stops, and even then she still felt a respectable force against her hand until Christina dispelled her magic.

"Oops, sorry!" Christina said.

Connie smiled. "Oops" had been a word very commonly heard around the Morgan household since Christina's magic started to manifest. "It's fine, honey. You did really well. I'm proud of you."

Christina smiled broadly as Connie pulled open the bottom drawer of the dishwasher. Her daughter dutifully levitated her plate and silverware into the proper places. Connie had to admit that she was glad Christina was old enough not to go through a period of magic surges like some of her relatives had to deal with. Raising a pony child was going to be challenging enough without having to deal with that.

Connie had another reason for keeping such close tabs on her daughter. She wanted to make sure the young filly was handling Amber's death. While Christina had little contact with Amber due to the fact the mare had led pegasus-specific instruction, several of her friends were pegasi, and they had been devastated by the loss. Christina did know Peach Blossom, however, and had expressed disappointment that she was gone on leave with no date when she would return. The substitute was a nice enough mare, but not the same.

Connie did wonder if the vigor that Christina had shown that week for furthering her magic had been a coping mechanism.

"My teacher said that once the rest of the class has caught up, they'd start trying to find out what other natural magical talents we might have," Christina said brightly.

Connie smiled as she closed the dishwasher door. "Catch up?"

"Well, I am sorta ahead of a few others in the class."

Connie had to rely on her daughter to gage her magical progress, as courses in magical instruction generally did not have tests and grades per se. She received the occasional summary from the teacher, but she liked to understand the day to day progress as well. Besides, it gave her another opportunity to encourage her daughter.

"I've been trying to help the others," Christina continued. "But it's kinda hard to put into words. It's just sort of one of those things that has to click in your head. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes, it does," said Connie. "It's a bit like me when I was first elected."

Christina tilted her head. "Really? I thought you took to it naturally."

"Oh, not at all. I had very little idea what playing the political game truly meant."

"But you didn't want to deal with politics in the first place. It's the platform you ran on."

Connie nodded. "Yes, but I quickly found out that if I wanted to get anything done, I had to learn how it all worked. Sort of how you need to follow the rules of a game if you want to get anywhere in it."

Christina smiled. "And now you know it like the back of your hoof! Um, I mean hand."

Connie gave her daughter a wan smile. She considered her political skill to be that of a novice, having managed to push her agenda through sheer force of will rather than any political aplomb.

Before she could comment further, she was surprised to hear the doorbell ring. She immediately tensed; generally nothing good came from a visit after seven in the evening.

"Huh, I wonder who that could be," Christina said.

Frank's voice sounded from upstairs. "Honey, can you get that? I'm on a conference call with the office. Emergency came up."

"Yes, I've got it," said Connie as she headed out of the kitchen.

She quickly heard a set of little hooves gallop beside her. "Let me get it!" Christina cried.

Connie smiled. "We'll see who it is together."

"No, I mean, let me open the door. I practiced this earlier. I can do it!"

Connie almost told her no, as this was likely someone from city hall to come inform her of some new emergency. She didn't want to expose her daughter to more stress. Nevertheless, it was hard to look at that hopeful face and deny her. "All right, but if it's for me, you should probably head to your room and finish your homework."

"All right."

They headed to the front door, and Connie took a peek through the peephole. She saw two men in suits, each with a wire emerging from one ear. She immediately felt a sense of alarm. Could these be FBI agents still answering to Fuller? Criminal charges had been leveled against the man, and Agent Heller had reassured her that they had all the compromised agents either in custody or confined to mental health institutions until Billy's influence could be removed.

Connie was about to tell Christina to back away and let her handle this, but already the deadbolt latch glowed in her daughter's magic and flipped open. Soon the knob followed, and Connie stepped back as the door swung open.

Christina gasped, her pupils shrinking, her mouth dropping open.

"Hello again, Christina," said a smiling Twilight Sparkle. "Good to finally see you in person." She lifted her eyes to Connie. "And good evening to you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Um, no, I was just finishing cleaning up after--" Connie began.

"OhmygodohmygodmygoditsTwilightSparkleitsreallyherandshesstanding RIGHT THERE!"

"Yes, and now the whole neighborhood knows," Connie said with a wry grin. "Calm down."

Christina whirled around to face her mother. "Pleeeeeease don't send me out of the room again, not when she's right there in person!"

Connie gave Twilight an apologetic look, only to find that the princess was actually blushing. She tried desperately not to chuckle at this, but could not suppress the smile that came to her lips. "She's, ah, still quite a fan as you can see."

"Um, yes, I can tell," said Twilight. "But I do want to speak with you about something important, Connie."

"Well ..."

Christina clutched her mother's leg. "Please don't send me out of the room!" she said in a pitiful voice, her eyes glistening.

"Actually, this is something that will affect her as well," said Twilight. "I certainly wouldn't mind if she stayed."

"See?" Christina cried. "Even she wants me around!"

"Christina," Connie said in a firm voice. "You can stay and hear our conversation."

"Thank you!"

"But you have to behave yourself. I know how much you want to talk to your idol, but I need you to be quiet while Twilight talks to me. No interrupting, and no asking Twilight any questions until we're done, and only if she has the time and inclination to stay."

Twilight smiled. "Maybe we can do what we did before, Christina. You can spend the time coming up with some questions to ask me. I promise to stay for at least a few minutes after we're done."

Christina beamed.

"Just be a good filly for your mother."

"I will."

Twilight nodded and looked up at Connie. "May I come in?"

"Of course," said Connie.

Twilight stepped inside, one of her Secret Service detail turning to guard the front door from the outside, the other accompanying the princess inside.

Connie directed them to the sofa, gesturing for Christina to sit at one end. Connie sat in the middle, feeling it was better to put a little distance between her daughter and her idol to minimize temptation. Despite the good cheer that Twilight exuded, Connie did feel a small measure of apprehension over what this could be about.

Twilight hopped into the remaining seat. "I'll get right to the point. I'm here to offer you an opportunity if you're interested."

Connie's eyebrows rose. "An opportunity?"

Twilight nodded. "You've perhaps heard that the Department of Rehumanization will likely be shut down in the next month or so."

"Yes, I heard about that," Connie said. "They felt that the number of rehumanizations had dwindled to the point that it could be handled at the state level. They talked about reallocating the resources elsewhere."

"But have you heard to where?"

"No, I haven't. There was supposed to be a meeting earlier today between the President and key members of Congress."

"I was at that meeting," said Twilight. "Which is the reason for the lateness of the hour. I only just got back from Washington an hour ago. It still has to be put to a full vote in Congress, but from what I gathered, both parties are on board with it." She smiled. "They will be creating a Department of Pony Affairs."

Christina gasped. "Mom, isn't that amazing?!"

"Christina, what did I say about--" Connie began.

"But that's the same thing you said you wanted. You kept saying you wanted them to stop focusing on what they're not going to get and start focusing on what would do the most good."

Connie was rather astonished that her daughter remembered a line that she had said at most once, and likely in a conversation with her husband that Christina just happened to be present for. "Still, please, do what you promised and be quiet."

"Is that what you said, Connie?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, I did," Connie said with a small smile.

"I'm gratified to hear that you're thinking along the same lines as I am."

"I truly hope they're able to find someone to head that agency who really wants to improve relations between humans and ponies and not just pay lip service to it."

Twilight's smile broadened. "Fortunately, I have the perfect candidate for that job."

"Anyone I know?"

"Yes. You."

Connie sat in a moment of stunned silence even as she heard her daughter gasp yet again. She hesitated a bit too long, and by the time she was ready to form the words of a reply, Christina suddenly exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

"Christina," Connie said.

"I knew the moment you got that book showing Washington DC that Twilight picked it for a reason!"

"Oh, um, I wasn't thinking of that at the time," Twilight said. "It was just the most innocuous thing I had on hoof that I could send."

"Oh, you weren't?" Christina asked, sounding a bit deflated.

"I didn't know your mother well enough at the time. It was only afterward that I realized how sincere she was about her intentions as well as how much a person of integrity she is."

Connie managed a small smile at the praise. "Twilight, while I am honored -- and incredibly flattered -- that you would consider me for this position, realize that I have absolutely no experience in politics at the national level."

"Which is exactly why I thought of you," said Twilight. "This position needs someone who is apolitical, who is not just another insider working for personal or party interests."

"I can't imagine Congress would remotely approve of me."

"I will admit, while the President was on board with this, it took some convincing to bring Congressional leaders in line with it. The political parties were concerned about either of them claiming such a post. I convinced them that this was a perfect compromise solution."

"Technically, I am a member of one of those parties," Connie said.

"Yes, but you don't let it define you or your policies," said Twilight. "You do what makes sense and not to please party bosses."

Connie was about to reply when Christina lay a hoof on her arm. "Mom, you've said a couple of times that you thought about becoming an independent. Why not now?"

Connie gave her daughter a bemused smile. "Just how much have you been listening in on my conversations?"

Christina pointed her hoof to her head. "Um, kinda hard not to with these ears."

"Connie, I realize that this is likely a bit of a shock to you," said Twilight. "I was reassured that you would have time to think it over. I know this is a big decision to make."

It was, and one that Connie had never expected. She looked at Christina, who appeared so happy that she was ready to burst. Connie couldn't help but smile and say, "I know what you think of all this."

"Can you blame me?" Christina said. "You've done so much good here. Why not think bigger and do even more?"

"This would be a huge change for you as well. You'd be moving to a place where there are not nearly as many other ponies around."

"That may change," said Twilight. "There are more ponies now getting involved in politics, and not all of them are simply existing politicians trying to take up their old careers. A lot of them want to fix the damage that Fuller had wrought."

"My understanding was that most pony politicians were from the south," Connie said. "And most of them are influenced by that pony preacher Sunset Blessing, which means they tend to be of a more Shimmerist mindset."

"All the more reason to have someone at the helm of the Department of Pony Affairs who can be free of that influence. I'm hoping that the Harmonists and Lunites will enter the political stage as well, if for no other reason than to have more balanced pony representation in Washington."

Connie admitted to having little idea what the political landscape would look like in the next few years. Fractures had already developed in the existing parties, as neither could present a united approach that would accommodate ponies and pony magic. There had never been a time in recent American history so ripe for the rise of a third party that could actually challenge the status quo of the two-party system.

"I'm going to have to talk this over with my family," said Connie. "But I will tell you that -- barring the disruption it will cause us -- I'm leaning towards accepting."

Christina gave a delighted gasp and clopped her fore-hooves together.

Connie lay a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "But it remains to be seen if that's my final decision."

Twilight smiled. "I'm glad to hear you're seriously considering this. But, yes, you need to do what's best for you and your family."

Connie recalled her last conversation with Ted, and how she had revealed her own desire to want to do more than she could at the city level. Yet the most ambitious thought she had since then was a run for the Colorado state senate. This represented a huge leap beyond that.

She looked at her daughter, who gave her an encouraging look in return. With everything that had gone on lately, she felt like she owed it to Christina to help ensure she would have a life of happiness and opportunity.

"Um, are you two done now?" Christina asked in a tentative voice.

Connie smiled. "Yes, we're done, but where Twilight has been on the go all day, I think she would appreciate some rest."

"It's all right," said Twilight. She turned her attention to Christina. "I have time for one question."

"Not a question, a request," Christina said.

"And what would that be?"

"I want to see you teleport!"

Twilight chuckled. "There really isn't that much to see, but if that's what you really want."

"Yes, please!" Christina said. "I've never seen it before."

Twilight nodded. "All right. On a count of three. One. Two. Three!"

Her horn flashed, and abruptly she wasn't there.

A pop sounded at the same time from across the room. "How's this?" Twilight said from where she sat near the bottom of the stairs.

"Brilliant!" Christina cried.

Twilight smiled, her horn flashed again, and she was back on the sofa.

"And I got to see it twice!"

Connie smiled as she recalled what Ted had said about Christina, that he hoped she never lost that sense of wonder and optimism. Perhaps if Connie did take this position, she could do that for many more ponies like her daughter. Perhaps the current generation had to live in a world channeling its frustration with the situation into hate, but it didn't have to be that way for the next one.

Not if Connie had anything to say about it.





Midnight Star nudged his empty glass away from him with a slightly quivering wingtip. "Gimme another one."

The earth pony mare behind the bar frowned. "No, you've had enough."

Midnight sneered. "I'll tell you when I've had enough. Hit me again."

"Midnight, that was the third bourbon you've had. I'm not serving you anymore."

Midnight clenched his teeth and drew back, only to almost fall off the bar stool. His wings flapped to steady him, but they moved erratically. "Look, I'm not some human whose gonna drive his car off the road or into some kids or something."

"Maybe not, but could you sure as hell hurt yourself trying to fly while drunk."

"I'm not drunk."

"Then you should consider going into acting, because you're putting on a good show of it."

Midnight's ears drooped. He wanted to be angry at this barmare, as it distracted him from the pony he truly felt angry with. Before he could continue to plead his case, he felt a hoof on his shoulder. He nearly shrugged if off, but instead he turned around. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing," said Moon Racer. "Not well, apparently."

"I don't need your help."

Moon looked past him towards the barmare. "Please get him some water if you would. We'll be over in the corner table."

The mare nodded and headed away.

"No, we won't be in the--" Midnight began, only to fall off his stool for real, plowing his muzzle into the floor. "Ow."

Moon started to help him up, but he waved her off and rose unsteadily to his hooves. "All right," Midnight said in a more contrite voice. "Maybe I have had a few too many."

"I haven't sensed you in the dreamscape for the last few nights now," said Moon. "Is this what you've been doing every night?"

Midnight shook his head. "No, I just ... I-I just wanted to stop thinking about it. Thought this would help. Didn't."

Moon gave him a sympathetic look. "Come on, this way."

Midnight swayed as Moon guided him over to the table. He took a few tries to get into the seat, as his wings were giving up trying to work with the alcohol content of his blood.

The barmare brought over the water and set it down before Midnight. "Drink it," said Moon.

Midnight frowned. "Why?"

"If you keep yourself hydrated, it will lessen the impact of your hangover," Moon explained. "And there's no way you're doing any dreamwalking right now."

"Just as well."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I may never go back to it."

Moon tilted her head. "Why not?"

Midnight stared at her as if she had grown a third eye. "You can sit there and say that to me? When you know what I've done?!"

Moon sighed. "Midnight ..."

"I made that bastard what he is today," Midnight cried. "I went on and on about how Ryan ... Billy, Night Song, whatever his name is ... about how much of an asshole he was. Guess who made him that way?"

"You're not the only pony who gave him grief," said Moon in a stiff voice. "You remember what Psychic asked of both of us: to find other ponies who had suffered at Sha'am's hooves."

It took a moment for Midnight's booze-soaked mind to comprehend the pained look in Moon's face. While on more than one occasion Dreamwardens have stated that they do not seek to command the same level of respect in the waking world as they do in the dream realm, Moon chose to show that respect at all times. To her, Psychic's request had been akin to asking her to work directly against a Warden.

"Yeah, I get that," Midnight said in a lower voice. "But maybe if I hadn't fucked with him, he woulda been able to nail those Oaths on the first or second try."

"It wasn't about whether he could get them right, it was that he didn't want to swear them at all."

"Course not! 'Cuz I had already poisoned his head about what night ponies are all about."

Moon looked about to respond, but her mouth opened only briefly, and no words came forth.

"See, you can't argue that I'm wrong," Midnight said. "This isn't like I made some honest mistake. I set out to make his life miserable."

"Yes, you did something wrong," Moon said. "And you've long since acknowledged that. You're a better pony now."

"What difference does that make? The damage has already been done."

"Midnight, there's no way to know whether what you did caused him grief with Sha'am." Moon paused a long moment, then spoke in a halting voice, "Maybe ... maybe if he had come across somepony like Psychic Calm or Phobia Remedy who would have been more patient with him, things would have turned out differently."

Midnight blinked in surprise. That was tantamount to Moon Racer outright calling out a Dreamwarden for their actions.

Moon let out a ragged sigh. "Midnight, who did you first come across? I mean after Princess Luna took you to task over what you had done?"

"Psychic Calm," said Midnight in a barely audible mumble.

"And what did he do?"

"He explained the Oaths to me. Why they were important."

"And did you fall into line right then and there?"

Midnight rolled his eyes. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Please, just answer," Moon said in a pained voice.

Midnight hesitated before answering, "No, I didn't." He paused to let his thoughts settle out from the haze of alcohol. "I guess I was still feeling a bit raw after Luna had punished me."

"And did he immediately get angry with you?"

"Moon, he's a fucking head-doctor. He didn't have to. He had lots of other ways to get me to agree."

"None of which involved ... well, torture."

Midnight again stared.

Moon took a moment to compose herself. "The methods used to get Ry ... Billy to swear the Oaths may have not been ideal for him. His mental state may have been such that it would've been better for somepony else to do it."

Midnight stared. "Wow."

"Wow what?" Moon said, her voice tinged with irritation.

"You talking smack about Dreamwardens."

Moon stiffened. "I did nothing of the kind."

"Well, you implied it," said Midnight. "That was almost enough to make me sober."

"You're certainly not sober. And drink your water."

Midnight stared at the glass. Condensation had started to bead on the outside. He carefully picked it up between his fore-hooves, not trusting his wings to be steady enough. Nevertheless, he almost dropped it anyway, but managed to take a long drink.

"All I'm doing is acknowledging that mistakes were made," said Moon. "We're not infallible and ... and the Dreamwardens are not, either."

Midnight set down the glass. "I'm still a little shocked to hear you say something like that."

"It's not easy," Moon said in a lower voice. "But I would be stupid to ignore the writing on the wall. Things are changing. Maybe they had to change. Maybe everything that happened had to happen."

Midnight snorted. "Don't try to make out what I did as a good thing in the end."

"I didn't mean it quite that way, but you can't deny that it did bring to light some very basic problems between ponies and humans. We keep telling ourselves that we've settled into these new bodies and new roles as if that's the end of it. It's barely only the beginning."

Midnight smirked. "You're the last one I expected to get all philosophical on me."

"It's not that, really. I just need to get things straight in my own head."

"And you're the one pony who I thought had her head screwed on straight already."

"You don't understand me as much as you think you do."

Midnight sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right. Lots of things I thought I knew I had to throw out the window after Psychic told me who Ryan really is."

Moon considered. "Did Psychic appear angry with you when he told you?"

"No," said Midnight.

"Then maybe you shouldn't be as well."

Midnight frowned. "I'm not."

"Yes, you are," said Moon. "It's why you're drinking, so you can not feel like that."

Midnight squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. "And th-that didn't even work," he said in a choked voice.

He felt Moon's hoof touch his. "I can't make you stop feeling angry with yourself over this, but feeling it is better than trying to mask it. At least if you're feeling it, you can confront it."

Midnight wanted to say that he was done with confrontation. He had wanted to change, to be the better pony that Luna had seen in him. That was supposed to mean less confrontation and more cooperation. He certainly had not anticipated he would have to confront himself.

Midnight drew himself up and opened his eyes, which he wiped with the back of a hoof when they teared up briefly. He took another drink of water, feeling like some of the alcohol haze had retreated. "I just don't know what to do now."

"Come back into the dream realm," Moon said. When Midnight started shaking his head, she added, "But not to walk others' dreams."

Midnight blinked. "Huh?"

"Let others walk yours," Moon said in a softer voice. "Let them help you."

"They can't change the past, Moon."

"No, but they can help you live with the present."

Midnight let out a long sigh. He had heard that Princess Luna had her own dark past and had trouble forgiving herself afterward. He almost wished Luna would walk his dreams, as perhaps she would have an insight that he lacked.

He glanced back at the bar and felt a sense of shame. While he had had his fair share of parties where he got himself drunk, it had never been specifically to mask his feelings. He had never actually set out to be drunk like he had that night, and he realized it was a path he did not want to take. In the end, it would be worse for him than facing his own fear and anger.

He grabbed the water and finished off the rest in one go. He slid off his chair and onto his hooves. "Let's get the fuck out of here."





Luna descends into the dream realm of a universe that continues to remain alien to her despite how familiar the flow of its ethereal energies. It is almost a relief that she fails to feel a sense of belonging. This universe was born out of a chaos which rivaled that of Discord at his best and somehow managed to find order long before there were any sapients around to contemplate the conundrum.

She utters a long sigh as she comes to the appointed place, though the starry expanse likely looks no different to the untrained eye than any other place in the dream realm. Only beings like her, the sole Dreamwarden for Equestria's universe, can spot the patterns which distinctly mark this place. Even then, it is not a matter of physical coordinates, nor can one simply add additional axes to attempt to ascertain an exact location.

Luna sits and raises her head. She remembers the first time she had breached this realm in her own universe, and the sense of both wonder and fear that came over her. She knew nothing of Dreamwardens or Oaths, for the former Dreamwarden of her universe had become so indolent that the entity did not even bother to greet the new dreamwalker. Even Luna's time now as Dreamwarden did not hold a candle to the time her predecessor spent in that realm. She could not claim a fraction of that being's great wisdom and knowledge.

And yet, in what perhaps that previous Dreamwarden would consider an act of extreme naivete at best and arrogance at worst, Luna had seen fit to create not one but six for an alien universe.

Psychic Calm, the Warden of Peace, chosen for his almost uncanny sense of calm and stoicism. Patients perhaps initially put off by that lack of emotion found it later to be a comfort, feeling that they had met the one person who did not judge, who calmly accepted them for what they were.

Phobia Remedy, the Warden of Fear, the one who knows not just how fear can cripple a being, but how it can be understood and turned around to be a source of strength. Sometimes, people need that emotion, if only to understand why and what they truly fear so they can confront it and overcome it.

Ghadab, the Warden of Anger, a being who appears consumed with the very title bestowed upon him, yet understands that anger can be a natural and necessary feeling. He is the embodiment of all beings' need for release of their frustrations and resentments. He is the conduit through which all dreams of injustice flow, for he knows of injustice in the waking world. He struggles to protect the scattered ponies of a country few care about, severely persecuted by the Bedouin peoples of western Morocco despite having been those very same people themselves before ETS.

Yes, he has a lot to be angry about.

Tikhiy Krik, the Warden of Silence, and usually the name most new dreamwalkers trip up on when called upon to say the Oaths for the first time. This Warden is the embodiment of the question "why are you talking?" Speech should be reserved for when someone has something important to impart, or when the situation demands it.

Yinyu Wu Yan, the Warden of Lust, and often the one most misunderstood. When not in her presence in the waking world, many night ponies joke about her and her penchant for having sex at the drop of a hat. Yet she is the Warden who understands how one's passions can lead one to ruin, and she helps beings understand and deal with their own.

And then there is Sha'am Maut, Warden of Death.

Already very old, she would likely be dead already had it not been for her transformation. Even as a pony, she is wizened and frail in her physical body. As if the cosmos sought some sort of balance, she is utterly powerful in the dream realm, able to subject beings to "death" with a single thought. While many night ponies -- especially those who never ran afoul of Sha'am -- simply wave a hoof or wing and dismiss it, claiming that it's ultimately just a dream and you don't really die and should just get over it, the terror does not cease to be real merely because someone states that it's not.

Luna sighs and lowers her head as her words to her sister come back to her. Yes, Sha'am is the ultimate enforcer. She is the only one who can say, "do as I say or you will die," actually follow up on that threat, and have the pony walk away still living and breathing. Yet now Luna wonders if such an act indeed causes some part of that pony to die for real, as perhaps it had happened to Billy when he was Night Song, the pony with the most beautiful singing voice Luna has ever heard across two universes, a voice now forever silenced.

It took Luna some time to understand why some night ponies half-jokingly referred to Sha'am as "Emperor Palpatine" with uneasy snickers.

Luna extends her senses and sees the lights. There are too many to count or comprehend. Each one is a living, sapient magical being, all connected to a realm that transcends time and space. Many can experience this realm only passively. Yet there are those few who can break out of that confinement, and walk amongst the dreams of others. And with that power comes the potential to turn the very act of dreaming dangerous.

And thus came the need for the Dreamwardens.

They are the ultimate police force. They keep the dream realm a safe haven. Some may consider them the embodiment of the term "necessary evil", if one sees as evil the enormous amount of power they wield. Yet they wield it so that truly malevolent beings do not. When threats here can end the lives of countless beings in their sleep, there is no time for a democratic vote; action must be swift and sure.

Two hundred and fifty years into Luna's banishment, a being tried to unleash its power into the dream realm. Even from her exile on the moon, Luna brought down her terrible wrath upon the beast. An enraged Luna in the dream realm was a terrible sight to behold; an enraged Nightmare Moon, ten times so.

Luna is so wound up in her own thoughts, she almost does not hear the Dreamwarden approach. She lifts her head only as Yinyu speaks.

"I am here, Princess." Yinyu gives Luna an uneasy smile. "I would say it is nice to see you again if it were not for the circumstances."

Luna rises and turns to face the Warden of Lust. "Thank you for coming. Have you relayed this request to Sha'am for this meeting?"

Yinyu's smile fades a bit. "I have. I cannot tell you if she will heed the call."

"Did you tell her I am the one requesting this?"

"Yes," Yinyu responds in a subdued voice. "I know you hope she will come out of respect for you, but at this point, I no longer know what to expect of her."

"Then this certainly cannot be allowed to continue," Luna says, even as the words weigh heavily on her heart. "There cannot be even a single Dreamwarden whose actions cannot be predicted. Despite how the Oaths bind you all, I for one know how a creative interpretation of them can be abused."

"No disrespect to you intended, but I don't think your fears of another Nightmare Moon are justified here."

Luna frowns. "And why not? I have seen what would have happened had I not been stopped."

Yinyu considers. She can reflect on the same events as Luna can, as Luna had shared her knowledge with the Dreamwardens at the time of their binding. They knew what she did, yet now Yinyu appears puzzled. "I don't understand. You only knew of the alternate reality of Nightmare Moon's triumph through the second hand account of Twilight Sparkle when she chased Starlight Glimmer through the timestream."

Luna shudders at the recent memory, and she lets out a ragged breath as the fear threatens to return. "Yinyu," she says softly. "In my quest to understand recent matters, I felt a need to truly know what it was like for Billy to be subjected to Sha'am's wrath."

Yinyu gasps. "Luna ... you DIDN'T--!"

Luna shakes her head. "I doubt very much Sha'am would have accommodated me. I instead turned to the next best thing. Or worst, depending on your perspective. After some convincing, I engaged Phobia Remedy on the matter."

Yinyu only stares, her eyes glistening.

Luna opens her mouth to speak, but cannot bring herself to utter the words to describe what she had felt. She can clearly see the vision Phobia had conjured in her mind -- that of her as Nightmare Moon, standing over the broken and bloody bodies of Twilight and her friends when the Elements somehow failed against her. It had left Luna crying like a little foal.

She simply shakes her head again. "Suffice it to say, it showed me just how intense and real such feelings can be regardless of the source or their ethereal nature."

"You of all beings should already know that," Yinyu says, her tone suggesting that she is trying to be as delicate as possible in calling Luna out.

"I do, but knowing is not the same as understanding." Luna is reminded of the sheer irony of the reports given to her from the night ponies back home in the days following the defeat of Nightmare Moon, that most of the nightmares they had to dispel concerned Luna herself. She bore the shame of a Dreamwarden having made the beings she pledged to protect afraid of their own protector. She wishes she had remembered that in her choosing of Sha'am Maut.

Yinyu suddenly appears unnerved, as if she is recalling something herself that Luna does not know. Yet that should be nigh impossible, as Luna was present for their binding and shared in the knowledge bestowed upon them. Luna had to understand exactly what those she had chosen were getting themselves into, in a universe far more vast and diverse than that of Equestria.

"Speaking of understanding," Yinyu says, "Have you met with officials in Washington concerning us?"

"Briefly, yes." Luna replies.

"How did it go?"

"Not good. They expressed great displeasure with the power wielded by the Dreamwardens."

"Do they fear our impact on the waking world? We simply don't have any."

"Yes, but they pointed out that the only two known humans to have fully developed magic powers are both linked to this realm and thus subjected to Dreamwarden authority," Luna explains. "They have pointed out -- and rightly so -- that if human magic becomes more widespread, it would lead to more humans linked to this realm."

"But the Oaths bind us and restrain what we can do!" Yinyu cries. "We are prohibited from taking magical life in this realm, and it is only magical life that can reach this realm! And in the waking world, we have no more power than any other being."

"Realize that to non-magical beings, oaths are merely words," Luna says. "Where even signed treaties can be crushed underhoof if they are deemed to no longer suit their purpose anymore. There is no sense of an oath that simply cannot be broken because of its mere existence. They have had only six months to understand how magic works. It will take several lifetimes before such wisdom can be imparted to them."

"Then we will help them gain that wisdom."

"In time, you will," Luna says. "But we must deal with the present situation. Expect them to demand oversight."

Yinyu looks on in confusion. "But ... such a thing is impossible."

"Not to beings such as yourselves who are no strangers to abiding by rules."

"But by your own statement, non-magical beings would not find them binding."

"If rules were the only thing to consider, yes," says Luna. "But there is something to be said for negotiating a treaty in good faith while appearing to them as more like people and less like the cosmic horrors some of them may believe you are."

Yinyu's ears draw back, and she looks about to protest this assessment, but lets out a sigh instead. "Regardless of what they believe we are, I am unsure how such negotiations would go. Even if we don't consider Sha'am's opinion on the matter, we--"

A raspy voice surprises them both. "Not that my opinion appears to matter anymore to the rest of you."

Luna turns, shocked that even Sha'am Maut could sneak up on her like that.

The wizened night pony steps up to them, a scowl etched into her age-lined face. "And Yinyu is right. I would not give these officials the time of day. They should be mindful of their own world and the terrible shape it is in, and let us manage this realm." She snorts. "At least we're effective here."

"Sha'am, that's hardly fair," Yinyu says in a tentative voice.

"Tell that to Ghadab, and the ponies he's trying to protect in the waking world. See how far that gets you with him." Sha'am looks around. "So where are the others? No grand inquisition? No shaming me before the others?"

Luna wonders if Sha'am realizes the true irony of her statements given how their confrontation with Billy had gone a week prior. "This is not an inquisition."

"Of course not, for that's already been done in my absence."

Yinyu looks about to say something, but a single glare from Sha'am silences her. She gives Luna a flustered look.

Luna instead is forced to speak on her behalf. "What would you have the Wardens do, Sha'am? They believe you overstepped your bounds."

"I was never frivolous in my application of justice," says Sha'am. "I never tortured a pony for a simple misspeaking of the Oaths. I even offered the choice of banishment from the dream realm if they simply will not abide by the Oaths. What I did to Night Song was because of his arrogance and refusal to abide by the rules. He purposely avoided saying the Oaths, and I could not take the chance that he would not actively work against them."

"Regardless, your fellow Wardens have declared that you--"

Sha'am waves a wing, its movements creaky with age. "I have abided by my censure. Phobia has made it very clear that she will be the one to enforce it if necessary." She glances from Luna to Yinyu and back. "But I suspect mere censure is not enough."

Luna exchanges a look with Yinyu. Neither will ask what went on in that conversation between Sha'am and Phobia, but they can guess. Of all of them, Phobia would best know exactly what Sha'am fears, and as Luna has recently discovered, that can be as debilitating as being subjected to dream realm death.

Yinyu is finally moved to speak. "We don't want to hurt you, Sha'am. None of us would ever suggest it, and none of us would ever support it, even if it came from Luna herself."

"And I would never advocate for such a thing," Luna declares. "You are what you are because, in a way, I made you."

Sha'am snorts. "No, you did not. There is more to us all than you will ever know."

Yinyu gasps. "Sha'am, don't."

Luna is curious herself as to the meaning of that comment, but she is too wound up in what she needs to say, and it will become only more difficult as time goes by. She cuts short any potential debate between the two Dreamwardens as she takes a deep breath and says, "Sha'am, it is not easy for me to make this request of you, but will you please submit to being taken to Equestria?"

Sha'am narrows her eyes. "No. I will end my body's life right here and now if you intend to force this upon me."

"Luna is not going to force you, Sha'am," Yinyu says.

The wizened night pony arches an eyebrow. "And you know of this idea already? Much has apparently been discussed in my absence."

"I promise you would be treated well," Luna continues in an almost pleading tone. "We would not seek any more justice from you. We could give you the best medical treatment to help sustain you longer. We would provide you a house wherever you wanted in Equestria with no wants or needs. There are many who would try to befriend you."

"In exile," Sha'am mutters.

"Yes, it is an exile, but it would be a good life."

Sha'am grits her teeth. "I said no."

"Sha'am, be reasonable," Yinyu says. "This is a better outcome. No one wants to have to face the eternal dream. None of us thought we could avoid it, but you're being given a chance."

The ancient night pony rounds on the younger. "We agreed we weren't going to discuss the eternal dream in front of her until the time was right! You expect me to keep agreements, but you stand there and break them yourself!"

Yinyu lays her ears back "We never actually voted on not telling her."

Luna looks between the two in confusion. "What is wrong with the eternal dream? It is final rest for a Dreamwarden."

Sha'am cackles. "Oh, rest is the last thing it is. Since Yinyu has brought up the subject I suppose we have no choice but to discuss it with you. When you hear the truth, you'll try to make sure that when your time comes that you die separated from your dream realm."

Luna stares in abject confusion, even as she goes over in her own mind the wisdom she had picked up when she took up the mantel of Dreamwarden in her own universe. While being an immortal, Ascended being meant she might not come to experience the eternal dream herself, Equestria has and will likely continue to face threats that could end her life.

What she knows of the eternal dream is that it is a final rest for a Dreamwarden who is too tired or apathetic to want to continue. There is no simple stepping down from the position and giving up that power. Thus the eternal dream is a way for them to step out of the normal universe and consign themselves to an enforced retirement.

She searches for an answer, and comes up empty.

"And from where do you claim such new wisdom?" Luna asks. "I gave you no such knowledge, and since your inception as Dreamwardens, the question of where you have learned many things that even I do not know has been constantly on my mind."

Sha'am sits down. "I know that meddler Triss played some part, and perhaps there were even more forces at work."

Luna considers. "The Narrative?"

Sha'am waves a wing dismissively. "She is but a voyeur. For all her claims to wish to see this universe thrive, she acts as little more than a cosmic librarian. Even without her involvement, we were given far more knowledge than what we signed up for. This universe is old, and it has had many more Dreamwardens in its own day than yours. We have their memories as well, and their knowledge runs deep."

"And what did you learn?" Luna asks in a wary voice.

Sha'am suddenly looks even more frail than her many years suggest as she stares downward. "That the debt this universe is owed by the Dreamwardens for what our forbearers did is incalculable. But to the point of what it means in terms of the eternal dream, we know its full nature."

"Sha'am ... please, don't do this," Yinyu pleads. "Not like this."

Sha'am ignores her fellow Dreamwarden. "We are all damned, all who become Dreamwardens. The eternal dream is the record of every life that ended before we put ourselves into the eternal dream, and I mean every."

Luna's ears draw back. She thinks of her own world, one that has existed for not even a fraction of the time that this one has, yet she imagines that the number of ponies who have lived and passed on are countless.

"We live them all, one after another, in a never ending stream as helpless spectators who can only feel and experience what occurred."

Luna stares down at Sha'am, her eyes wide. "I ... I was never told this ... not by any being in this or my own realm. I had no idea."

Sha'am looks up at Luna with a hard gaze. "My fellow Wardens want me punished? Would you believe I agree?"

Luna is too stunned to reply, and Yinyu draws back her ears in shock.

"You wish to give me a reprieve from my punishment by sending me to Equestria," Sha'am continues. "There is far more pain and suffering, far more torture, far more cruelty in the whole of history than anything I could ever do, and nowhere near enough moments of kindness and compassion to balance it out. Chances are I would, in time, experience every punishment I ever inflicted first hoof, along with ever war, genocide, rape, murder, famine, and every life wiped out by the Devourers. They want punishment for me? They'll get it in ways that will make them weep."

Luna takes a deep breath to steady herself, but it comes out ragged and almost choking. She cannot help but think of the dark days before the founding of Equestria, when the tribes warred with one another for centuries, when unicorns died young and in pain in their efforts to command the movements of the sun and the moon, when the life expectancy of a pony was two or three decades at best.

She almost winces when she remembers the night ponies and how the other tribes had used their newly found unity to hunt them down with cruel efficiency, at least until first Celestia rose to the throne and issued a decree against their slaughter -- to the day, the ONLY royal decree whose violation was punishable by death -- and then when Luna began to manage them when she took over as Dreamwarden.

As Luna sits recalling past horrors she believed well in the past and staring at Sha'am with no further words at her disposal, Yinyu touches a wing to Luna's side. "We were going to tell you ... eventually. A lot of us actually want to have a chance to go to Equestria when we're old and close to death."

"And you would all be welcome," Luna says in a choked voice.

"Sha'am doesn't want to escape it, and Ghadab says he'll go into the dream when his time comes for what good he might see among all the horror. We would make sure there will always be heirs for us, but we don't want to face that."

Luna takes a moment to collect her thoughts before she fixes her gaze on Sha'am. Her voice quavers as she speaks. "How long until you put yourself in eternal dream?"

Sha'am shrugs. "Not until both Ghadab's body dies and an heir for me is in place. If it is as much as five years, I will have to congratulate him on his ability to survive so long on such a fool's errand. With him as my clock, I am not long from the eternal dream."

Luna wonders now if she has made a mistake in choosing Ghadab as well, not for any inherent problem that he caused the night ponies so much as he already had his hooves full dealing with such tragic issues in the waking world.

"Our universe needs a Dreamwarden at full power to deal with the logistics," Sha'am continues. "Recent events have shown how inadequate we are to deal with the growing human magic while not at full power. I'm not so eager to stop living my mortal life that I will end myself if I don't have to, but I won't let you take me. I'll have my punishment, and you won't be allowed to give me a way to escape it."

Tears well up in Luna's eyes. "Is there truly so much cruelty in you that you would inflict this upon yourself?"

"Life is cruel, that's the final truth of it," Sha'am says in a solemn voice. "We live for small moments of happiness in an ocean of pain. I try to give the very young and dying some last moments of happiness, That is the extent of my kindness, my little islands to them."

Luna takes a moment to try to console herself, but all she wants to do is go back to Equestria and seek her sister's comfort. She is reminded of those first days after Twilight and her friends defeated her as Nightmare Moon, when there were times where all she could do was cry at her own folly and madness, and Celestia remained with her through all the tears. She wishes she could provide something like that for Sha'am.

"What debt I may owe for what little pain others whine that I have inflicted is nothing compared to the collective debt the Dreamwardens owe this universe," Sha'am continues in a voice tinged with bitterness. "Like that beast of a human, I will pay that debt for my part in eternal suffering. I cannot do that if I avoid the eternal dream."

"We're going to fix things, Sha'am," Yinyu says. "You don't have to do it."

Sha'am stares at Yinyu. "Fixing what our forebears did will not erase what harm has already been done, and since they are not around to pay, someone must. It is an insult to all the suffering this universe has endured if we try to avoid the eternal dream. The rest of you, except Ghadab, are too soft to settle our debts in full."

"What is this great debt?" Luna demands. "What can be so horrible you think you must suffer eternally for the crimes of another long gone?"

"Sha'am, don't tell her," Yinyu commands, no longer seeming so meek.

Sha'am locks eyes with Luna. "The Devourers. A Dreamwarden too weak to face the eternal dream as he should thought to circumvent it by ending all magical life. He helped a bitter civilization perfect them, and this universe has been paying for his weakness ever since. It is why Dreamwardens now must take an unbreakable Oath to protect all magical life in this realm, but it does nothing to help those destroyed by those horrible actions, or those who will continue to die. I will not seek to circumvent my fate as he did, in any way."

Luna believed she could hear nothing more that could so utterly shock her. Yet this time, another emotion comes along with it, one that has been building ever since she started to hear of critical knowledge that was purposely kept from her, masked by grief and horror. Yet now that emotion could not be contained.

Luna stomps a fore-hoof and steps back, flaring her wings. "AND HOW MUCH MORE KNOWLEDGE DOST THOU HAVE THAT WE ART NOT PRIVY TO?!"

Yinyu lays her ears back. Sha'am simply looks on, her expression as hard as before.

"WHAT IS THY MEANING IN KEEPING US IN THE DARK?!"

"Save it, Princess," Sha'am scoffs. "I am not one of your subjects, and I don't find the so-called Royal Canterlot Voice particularly impressive."

"Luna, we're sorry!" Yinyu pleads.

"Stop it," Sha'am snaps at her fellow Warden. "You owe her no apology. Her anger is misplaced. She wishes to vent it, have her vent it at Triss. Or vent at those long dead and see where it gets her."

Luna snaps her wings to her sides. "You can be sure I will have a talk with Triss. But there is no excuse to keep such an elemental fact from me."

"And what would your knowledge of such a thing do for you, eh? You have your own universe to manage, we have ours."

"Twilight has established the possibility that such creatures as the Devourers could cross the barrier between universes," Luna says. "That makes them very much a concern for my universe as well, especially when it took just one creature with a fraction of the Devourer's power to drain all the magic from Equestria once. She has also established that what worked against Tirek will not work here."

Yinyu exchanges a look with Sha'am before saying in a tentative voice, "The Dreamwardens are actively trying to find a way to deal with the Devourers. That's all I can really say for now."

Luna narrows her eyes. "All you can say, or all you are willing to say?"

Yinyu is about to respond when Sha'am talks over her. "Again, this is not your universe. We are aware of the implications of the Devourers crossing the divide. We will not let that happen." She pauses. "Or rather, those who come after me will see to it."

"We have time," Yinyu says. "They are not going to be here tomorrow."

Luna cannot know if that is the truth, as now there is too much uncertainty over what she truly knows about this universe. While she does not want to accuse the Dreamwardens of being purposely deceptive, she cannot rid herself of some lingering anger towards them. It is tempered, however, when she looks at the frail Sha'am and knows that the time to her self-imposed punishment is close at hoof.

Luna lets out a long sigh. She feels like she has made this situation, despite knowing that she had no control over how the fundamental forces work in this universe. Does what she learned here even apply to her? Do Dreamwardens in her universe truly have an eternal dream when they pass on?

Luna hopes never to find out.

As if sensing Luna's confusion and frustration, Yinyu again lays a wing against her side. "You don't have to go to Triss. I'll tell you as much as I know. As much as I can."

"I thank you, Yinyu Wu Yan," Luna says in a calmer voice. She turns to Sha'am. "I realize you have made your decision, but the offer to come to Equestria will always stand. I will do nothing to force you. I will respect your dignity in that regard."

"That is all I want for myself, Princess," says Sha'am. "No matter what happens, at least this has given me some sort of purpose. For a while, I no longer felt like the cruel forces of the universe were simply carrying me along. I felt like I was actually doing something,"

Luna is haunted by her sister's words, that she sees a little of herself in Sha'am. Celestia was indeed right. Luna took on the role of Dreamwarden because it was needed, but also because she, too, had wanted purpose. Her sister was already in the limelight as Equestria's beloved ruler, and Luna had little responsibility of her own.

Luna had come back to this universe that day in order to bring some sort of closure to recent events. Instead, it just opened up more concerns, more worries, and more potential strife. Sha'am was right in one regard: this is indeed not Luna's universe, but she cannot rid herself of the sense that she had a hoof in making it what it is today.

Even if the Devourers were utterly destroyed tomorrow, she doubts that feeling would ever go away.