The days that followed had passed by in the blink of an eye, and as Joshua had come to learn, the vision had not been exclusive to him. He was however, seemingly the only pony he knew who had rejected it outright. Whether that made him an outcast or not was still left to be seen, but given the almost bewildered response the action had been given by his fellow ponies… he could only assume the worst.
Joshua squinted at the noon sun’s light and let out a small yawn as he lazily flew back toward his home. Not too long ago, when he had been human, he would have thought that going to bed in the middle of the day was weird, but now it didn’t feel strange in the slightest. In fact, it was one of his favorite parts of the day. He had always loved the nights; something about them was always so peaceful and relaxing, so being able to stay up and enjoy them more made this whole new species situation a little better. Sure, he didn’t get to spend as much time with others, which made him feel increasingly lonely at times, but there was still plenty of time at the beginning and end of his days to socialize. He hadn’t realized it at first, but there weren’t a whole lot of other night ponies around town, and it made him question whether he was special, unlucky, or just hadn’t explored around enough to see if there were more. He supposed that it didn’t matter much now; there would probably be plenty of time to go looking around later.
For all he knew, most of them could be holed up in one of the shelters, he hadn’t spent much time there since he had fully transformed, and maybe that’s why he hadn’t seen as many. As the small two-story home that he had lived in for most of his life grew closer, his open bedroom window almost seemed to beckon him in. His mom, dad, and brother were still in the shelter so he’d have the whole house to himself, so he didn’t really need to go straight to his room, but the thought of sleeping in his nice cozy bed was too much to ignore. Plus, he could get his room nice and dark when he closed the curtains, perfect for the young night pony. With as much precision as a sleepy non-aerodynamic pony could have, Joshua glided through the open window and came to a soft landing on the carpeted floor. As much as he wanted to just close his eyes and fall asleep right there, the sun’s light still shone through the window, and he couldn’t possibly get to sleep comfortably with that. Grabbing the bottom of the curtain in his mouth, he pulled it shut, darkening the room around him. Finally content, he crawled up onto his bed and curled up in the soft blankets, letting his muscles relax as he slowly floated off to dreamland.
Joshua opened his eyes and hesitantly looked around the strange dream that he had found himself in, sensing something odd about it that almost seemed alien to him, as if he had entered a dream of someone else’s creation. His dreams had definitely been way more vivid in the days since he had finished transforming, and even more so once he had seen the vision, but something about this dream just felt… weird.
Bright stars set in an endless black void surrounded him, which wasn’t all that dissimilar to a fair number of the dreams he had been having lately, but something about it all just felt far different than usual— well, as usual as usual could be when it came to this kind of thing. As he turned around, his eyes landed on a tall dark blue mare with both wings and a horn who greeted him with a warm smile, “Greetings, I apologize for intruding upon your dream, but my time here is limited. There are many more night ponies I need to visit, and I only have so much time to visit them.”
The night pony raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry, and you are?..”
“My name is Princess Luna; I lead the night ponies in a world known as Equestria, a world that is, unfortunately, the source of the crisis upon your own. We believe we have found a way to end the further spread of the magic transforming humans into ponies, though we can not do it alone.”
Joshua contemplated her words as he looked around the starry expanse of the dream, “I don’t get it,” He paused for a moment, “What’s going on that is, meeting you here in this dream, if I am actually meeting you, is kind of the most normal thing I’ve been through in the past few days. So I guess I have to hear you out… I'm Joshua, by the way,” He turned back towards her, “Though I do have a question or two of my own.”
The princess nodded, “Please do ask, young Joshua, though do keep in mind that our time is limited.”
Joshua nodded, “Well,… why me? What can I do to help?”
The princess eyed him with an unreadable expression for a few moments before giving a small nod, “You are among the night ponies that have rejected the vision that was presented to you, that sets you apart from many.”
“It does?” He let out a chuckle, “That’s funny; I’m sort of an outcast in a lot of the others’ eyes because of it. They think I’m weird for not going along with it,” he shook his head.
“Do not fear; I would only expect suspicion and curiosity given everything that’s transpired for you. To put it simply, your rejection of that vision shows that you have not fully cast aside your former life and that you may be willing to help stop this crisis, even if it’s only through playing a small role.”
The night pony nodded, “Right then, that answers that. In that case, how can I help?”
“You are no doubt aware of your world’s crystal ponies, no? I know they are small in numbers, but no doubt you’ve come across one before.”
“What about them?” He answered with a shrug, turning once again to gaze at the bright stars around him, their otherworldly light stirring a strange feeling of pride within him.
“They are the key to spreading the spell that can end this, though I’m afraid that we must have their agreement if we wish to have them cast that spell.”
“And how can I help with this? I don’t know how much you know about our world, but I’m in an area where there are not very many ponies around, let alone crystal ponies. In fact, I think I’ve only ever come across one out there in the waking world.”
“Physical distance is not an issue within the dream realm.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, “Dream realm? Is that where we are?”
The mare nodded, “Yes, night ponies naturally tend to have the ability to dreamwalk. While it may not have manifested yet in you and others, the vast majority of you will be capable of doing it.”
“So I’ll be able to walk through dreams? Like into other pony’s?”
“Correct. If you would be willing to assist, I could show you how to utilize this ability.”
A frown slowly spread across his face, “Is that the catch?” He turned towards her again, taking a few steps forward, “You want me to do a different version of the vision? Like I told that white pony, I’m sorry, but I’m not in for the whole invading other ponies' minds thing. I’ve already said no to that a couple of times already.”
The princess shook her head, “It appears you misunderstand the purpose of this request; I only ask that you share this message with them, nothing more,” She paused for a moment, “It is appropriate that you hold such reservations, I know you have no reason to trust me, but could you please share this message? Surely you can see the importance of it.”
Joshua contemplated this for a moment before nodding, “If all I’m doing is acting as a courier, then sure. I’m not a big fan of the mind games that the others tried to pressure me into, something about it all just left a bad taste in my mouth, but if you are who you say you are, I guess I’ll trust your word. As I said, I don’t know how many I can actually talk to in the waking world, but I promise I’ll share this with whoever I can,” He paused, “So this is their choice in the end, right? I won’t be influencing their decision like I was asked to do with the vision?”
The mare shook her head, “You are merely a messenger; their approval or denial will ultimately be up to them.”
He nodded, “Okay then. I’m in, but only because it gives them the choice and not forcing it upon them. Though I can’t promise how many I’ll be able to share this with, I'll try my best.”
Luna smiled, “That is all that I ask. Perhaps someday we will have the chance to meet again under less dire circumstances.”
“So what’s this message I need to get out? I mean, I feel like, for the first time since all of this happened, I have an actual purpose, a new direction to go in if you will.”
The mare stayed silent for a moment as if contemplating something before shaking her head, “First, I’ll need to teach you how to navigate the dream realm.”
“Alright, so how do I do this then? Do I just close my eyes, click my hooves together three times, and will myself into somepony’s dream?”
“Not quite,” she chuckled, “Close your eyes for a moment and clear your head.”
“Aren’t I asleep with my eyes closed already?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Please, this isn’t a guarantee, but I have found this kind of meditation to aid in first-time dreamwalkers.”
The night pony slowly nodded, unsure of whether this was some kind of joke or not. Seeing no point in avoiding it, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearing his head and trying to feel out whatever she was talking about.
“That’s good, now, can you feel your magic? Feel your connection to the dream realm? The stars in the void symbolize the dreams of those around you, those most familiar to you. Close family and friends will be the easiest to identify; you’ll know them by the feel of their aura because you know it in the waking world even if you hadn’t yet realized it. With practice, you can even see their tribe; for now, I’ll help you learn how to find the Crystal Ponies.”
A strange feeling began to well up from within him. He didn’t know what it was specifically. It felt new, but also familiar in a weird way. He started to chase that feeling, watching as a field of stars lit up around him in his mind’s eye.
Taking another deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked around at the bright lights that had materialized around the pair. A goofy smile began to spread across his face as he looked back toward the princess, “Is this… Did I… Did I just dreamwalk?”
The princess let out a small laugh and shook her head, “Not yet, but now you are actively visualizing the dreams of nearby ponies. The next step is to begin traversing those dreams.”
“And I can just… walk right into them?”
She nodded, “Indeed. It will feel strange at first, but trust your instincts and let them guide you. While they may feel real, I assure you that you will be safe within them. Non-dreamwalkers lack the ability to shape the dream realm, so only you will be able to change what is happening.”
“And what if I want to leave a dream and come back here? Do I just do whatever I just did now?”
“Yes, simply feel out your connection back to your dream, or the dream realm itself. You’re catching on much quicker than others. I wish I could take more time to teach you properly, but our time is limited. I will help you locate the nearest crystal pony and share the message. After that, you’ll need to seek them out on your own.”
“Alright,” Joshua smiled, “Thank you, Princess, for taking the time to teach me, that is.”
“No thanks are needed, young Joshua,” she replied, beginning to scan the stars around them. “Come, tell me if you can feel the difference between these two.”
He nodded eagerly, wanting nothing more than to succeed with this amazing new ability.