//------------------------------//
// New Moon 
// Story: Dreamers and the Moon 
// by Krixwell 
//------------------------------//

The story covered every front page at the newsstand.

Sure, they each focused on different things. But it was always the same story, whether it was a 'SUMMER SUN CELEBRATION INTERRUPTED BY VILLAIN' here, an 'ETERNAL NIGHT THWARTED' there, a 'SIX BRAVE PONIES SAVE THE DAY' from the Pegasus Press, or a 'CELESTIA'S SISTER RETURNS FROM MOON' from the Equestria Daily.

Even the Cloudsdale Klutz, which normally didn't report on anything that was actually useful to know and couldn't be trusted about most of the rest, had a headline about the events that had unfolded at the Celebration over the weekend: 'PRINCESS LUNA HAS LARGE PIMPLE, THANKFUL MOON DID NOT DEPICT IT'.

…well, it was about the events of the Summer Sun Celebration, if you squinted.

In the ten minutes that had passed since she had made her purchase and seated herself on a nearby table-bench to read her copy of the Canterlot Chronicler ('BANISHED PRINCESS REFORMED'), the normally peaceful newsstand had grown busy as everypony wanted to know what the big scoop was about. Pegasi flittered to and from the stand constantly, and chattered about what they read. Some even bumped into each other, flying with their muzzles in the papers.

Moon Dream paid them no mind. She was busy trying not to cry.

Last night, the moon had been blank. Some had said the imprint of a unicorn's head on its surface had disappeared just before yesterday's slightly belated dawn, but most everypony had doubted it until it once again rose to show off its polished white surface. Many had been concerned about the change, of course, but Moon Dream… She wasn't proud to admit she had huddled in a corner of her living room until sleep took her, and woken up halfway through the night, both looking and feeling like a hot mess.

She had never wanted to be evil, when her conscious mind had a say in the matter. She didn't think she wanted it subconsciously either, judging by what little she could interpret of her own dreams, but her subconscious was remarkably skilled at devising the methods for it. She shivered at the thought of the things her dream self had done to Enterprise, to her parents, to everypony she cared about.

Not wanting to go back to that usually oh so comforting world of dreams, she had chosen to wait out the night. But all the caffeine she had had since then had only made matters worse. She had only succeeded in setting her mind in high gear with nothing to do but think about things she'd rather not think about.

Her mother's dream had been coming true, and there had been nothing she could do to stop it.

Looking down at the paper, Moon Dream realized she had failed. The article she had been gazing at without truly reading for the past… what, five minutes? ten? an hour? ...however long it had been, was growing increasingly mottled. She touched a hoof lightly to her cheek and felt tears she hadn't noticed were there. A lot of tears.

Then the dam burst open. She let her face fall, wrapped her hooves around her head and sobbed openly into the open paper. A stray thought that the paper was going to be completely unreadable crossed her mind, but Moon Dream couldn't bring herself to care.

"Miss? Miss, are you alright?" It took Moon Dream several seconds - minutes? hours? - to realize the stallion was talking to her.

Her tears had stopped at some point, probably because she didn't have any left. She wiped her sore eyes with her hooves and looked up at the cream-colored pegasus stallion next to her. He looked down at her with a concerned expression.

"I…" Moon Dream began, then sniffled. "I'm alright. Thank you," she managed.

The stallion hesitated. "...are you sure? If there's anything I can do to help…"

"It's okay. Really." Moon Dream smiled, and to her surprise, she didn't even have to force it. "It's… better than okay, actually."

The stallion raised a skeptical eyebrow. It looked odd alongside the concern filling the rest of his face.

Moon Dream let her smile grow wide. "This," she said truthfully, "is the best day of my life."