I screamed, and I ran.
They were right behind me. I heard the buzzing of their wings, felt their hot breath on my heels. I turned to glance back over my shoulder, but I tripped on the uneven floor—tripped, fell, and tumbled. I looked up from where I lay and saw before me a wall of fire, and the wall tore, and through the tear leapt the queen, mouth open, fangs bared, rushing straight towards me—
And then, a ray of silver light hit her square in the chest, and she shattered like glass.
I yelped and covered my head. After a moment, I peeked between my arms and stared. A mare stood between me and the flames, her horn burning bright, a silver-white shield between us and the flames. No, not a shield, not really—in its light, the fire was shrinking, dissolving, burning away.
Suddenly, I realized where we were. We were in my bedroom, and the fire now sat, crackling to itself, in my fireplace.
I clambered unsteadily to my feet, and carefully examined the newcomer. She was tall, very tall, but young. No, not young exactly—she had some faint wrinkles around the corners of her mouth and under her eyes—but she had a subtle sort of strength about her. Her coat was a dark, navy blue, and her mane cascaded down her shoulders in a wavy, ice-blue sheet. She wore a loose robe and a cloak, the latter of which seemed almost to flow on its own, without a breeze. I cocked my head. There was something familiar about her, something I couldn’t put my hoof on…
Whoever she was, she ignored me for another few seconds, scanning my bedroom for any further interlopers. Then, finally, she turned to me, and spoke for the first time.
“Are you alright, Celestia?” she asked.
I blinked. “Luna?” I gasped.
Luna—there was no mistaking that voice, even if it was forty years younger than I’d ever heard it—turned away, blushing slightly. “I apologize, Your Highness,” she said. “I generally have the policy of avoiding the dreams of friends and family. One can discover some…” she gestured vaguely “...unfortunate truths in the dream-world. However, it has been apparent for some time that you have not been sleeping well, so I thought I would make an exception.”
I blinked again. “So… I’m dreaming,” I said.
“We are dreaming, more properly,” she replied. “My psyche and yours share the same dream-space, at least for now.”
“Have you always been able to do this?” I asked.
She nodded, and smiled a little. “It was part of my role as Princess when I was younger, if you believe it,” she said. “It was my duty to ensure that ponies slept free of nightmares, whenever possible. However…” she rolled her shoulders a little. “...it is rather taxing, so I find myself unable to perform like I once did.”
“How… nice,” I said, uncertainly.
“Indeed,” she said. “Shall we take a walk?”
And suddenly, there we were, walking down the Memorial Hall. Silver moonlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, projecting images of my ancestors on the floor.
“I have not properly thanked you yet,” Luna said.
I looked up at her. “For what?” I asked.
She closed her eyes and sighed. “For saving me from Discord for a second time,” she admitted. “And for helping free me from… whatever it was I became.”
I shook my head. “You can’t thank me for that,” I said. “Twilight and her friends had already defeated Discord by the time I got there. Yeah, I was the one who took him out, but they were holding him down for me...”
“Twilight sees it differently,” Luna said. “She says that it was you who gave them courage to try. That without you, we would not be having this conversation.”
“Maybe,” I admitted.
“And I know for a fact that it was you and Twilight who broke Discord’s influence over me.” She hesitated, then shot me a glance. “On that note… what, exactly did you do? I have heard conflicting stories…”
I chuckled. “I know for sure who’s responsible for that,” I said.
“Really?” she asked. “Who?”
I smirked. “Pinkie Pie, if you believe it.”
Luna gave me a disbelieving look, and I chuckled again. “She always said that True Love would save the day,” I explained. “And she was right—more right than she knew.” I looked up at Luna. “See, Pinkie said it so often that it was the first thing that came to mind when Blueblood asked me how to save Rarity. And Blueblood, silly as it sounded, tried it—tried to save her with True Love.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And did it work?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Sorta—but not like it did in the fairy tales. See, Discord couldn’t take away anything from us, not really. And he couldn’t just change our personalities. What he did instead was to change who we thought we were. When Blueblood reminded Rarity of how much they cared for each other, that gave her the power to break through Discord’s deceptions, and to realize who she truly was. The two of them together helped each of the others, which meant they got lots of practice—so, when it was time to help you out, they were able to tell Twilight and I exactly what to do.”
Luna raised her other eyebrow. “And what did you do?” she asked. I looked at her oddly, and she looked away. “I do not recall, myself,” she admitted, “and I would very much like to know.”
I sighed. “Well… Twilight used her magic to remind you of the time you spent with her in Ponyville. How much you learned, how much you grew, and all the friends you made along the way. And I—” I swallowed. “I reminded you how much you meant to me—and how much I mean to you.”
“Ah,” she said.
We were quiet for a long, long time. As we walked, I looked out the windows at the night sky beyond.
If this is my dream, I thought to myself, then what shape do the stars take…?
“Praytell,” Luna said suddenly, “How did you break free from Discord?”
I froze in shock, then shook my head violently. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Please,” Luna said. “Nothing I see or hear in these dreams leaves my lips. And this is the one piece of the puzzle remaining for me.”
I looked up at her, then looked away.
“Twilight, she…” I said, in a very small voice, “she… she said some mean things. No—” I shook my head again. “Mean—but fair. Things I’d been needing to hear. About how terrible of a friend I was.”
“And did you deserve it?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said immediately. “No. Aargh, I don’t know.”
“I think you do,” Luna said, gently. “You have had the time to figure out the pattern with the others. How do you fit into it?”
I bit my lip, then took a deep breath.
“I… I thought…” I began. “I thought that, if I wasn’t Princess, everything would be better. That, if I wasn’t so terrible at my job, that things wouldn’t be so difficult for Equestria. And that, without my duties keeping me away, Twilight and I could be friends again, like we used to be. Those were the lies that Discord preyed on when he—when he turned me.”
Luna nodded, but said nothing.
“Twilight, she—she was harsh. Said some things that were downright cruel. Things that I probably didn’t deserve, but things I needed to hear.” I looked up at Luna. “She broke through Discord’s lies, but in a different way. Instead of helping me see who I was, she forced me to see who I wasn’t. And that was enough to help me to break Discord’s control. At least, I think that’s what happened,” I added, lamely.
Luna nodded again. “That seems reasonable,” she said. “Difficult, but reasonable nonetheless.” She stopped walking, then reached out and pulled me in for a hug. I hugged her back and buried my face in her mane.
“Thank you for telling me this, Celestia,” she said. “And, I believe you’re right. Yes, Twilight was a little harsh—she has told me so herself—but I am glad that you were able to help each other, in the end.”
I squeezed her tight, and she started to stroke my back. It was strange; this was clearly a dream, and yet, her touch somehow made me feel better…
And then, I remembered something. I frowned, then looked up at her.
“Celestia?” Luna asked, concerned. “What is it?”
“Discord,” I said.
Luna looked at me, her eyes wide. “What has happened?” she asked. “Has he returned?”
I shook my head. “No, no—I mean…” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then began again.
“Discord,” I said. “After he… turned you, he tried to fuse the Sun and Moon Stones together with the Elements of Harmony. Said he was going to create the Cosmic Stone again. But it didn’t work—something went wrong.”
Luna nodded slowly. “You told me this once already,” she said.
“Yes, but—” I swallowed. “He said it didn’t work because… because there was a piece missing.”
Luna frowned. “A piece missing?” she asked. “What do you mean, a piece missing?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I said. “I was hoping you knew.”
She shook her head. “Not at all,” she said. “To my knowledge, we have all the magical stones there ever were in our possession—and I would say I know best, since I was there when they were made.”
“What do you think he meant, then?”
Luna turned and looked out at the moon. It reflected, like a great silver coin, in her eyes.
“That means,” she said slowly, almost trancelike, “that there may yet be another voice to add to the cadence...”
I swallowed nervously.
After a moment, Luna looked back at me, then smiled.
“In any case,” she said, “such questions can wait for the morning. For now, I think it is time for you to rest.”
“But I am,” I protested.
She smiled. “A deeper rest than this, I mean,” she clarified.
Luna lit her horn. Around us, the Memorial Hall began to dissolve.
“Good night, Celestia,” she murmured. “I will see you in the morning.”
“Good night, Auntie,” I replied.
And, for the first time since the Wedding, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
To Be Continued...