As he slowly fluttered his eyes open and closed, Astral Ink was immediately hit with a wave of grogginess. He could barely even process his surroundings as his brain sluggishly started up again. Since his visual stimulus was near mute, the stallion focused what little consciousness he had on himself. The first thing he noticed was that wasn’t in a lying-down position. A rather strange realization considering that most ponies expected to be lying down on a bed or couch when they first wake up. In this instance, however, the unicorn seemed to be in a slouched over position. He also realized that the side of his face was pressed against a hard surface rather than a soft pillow or comforter. To top it all off, a dull aching sensation was slowly crawling up his bended spine. Though his mind was far from awake, Astral already knew what this all meant.
“Dammit…” he muttered in a hoarse voice. “Again?”
Astral Ink had once again fallen asleep at his desk. It had become a more common occurrence as of late. He always hated how his limbs felt like stone from the prolonged stay in such an uncomfortable position. There were even the slight instances of him accidently drooling on any documents he was working on at the time, forcing him to transcribe whatever he had written on a fresh piece of paper. Shelf Stock may not be the biggest stickler when it came to neatness, but she certainly wouldn’t accept papers that had drool stains on them.
The scribe let out another huff of annoyance and steadied himself into finally waking up. Noticing the lack of a dreadful ringing from his alarm clock, Astral concluded that he had woken himself up before Princess Celestia had a chance to raise the sun. Hopefully, it would give him the chance to limber up again and fix any damage he might have caused to any documents he used for a pillow. With eyes still shut tight, the blue stallion sat up in his chair and stretched out his two hooves in the air. The limbs gave a subtle crack and slowly began to revive from their aching state. However, as his brain finally started to wake up, he noticed something was off. A quick whiff of the air told him that he wasn’t inside his room, or rather not inside a building at all. The soft scent of lavender and lilac wafted through the air, a far cry from the admittedly neutral atmosphere of his own room. His other senses became to arise as he felt a gentle breeze touch his face. Was that…a waterfall he heard in the distance?
Astral finally opened up his eyes to find that not only was he outside, he wasn’t even outside of Canterlot Castle. It was still night and the moon shone beautifully in the air along with hundreds of twinkling stars. As the stallion looked around, he saw that he was now on some sort of island amidst a large, crystal-blue lake. He saw the waterfall he had heard earlier a good distant away from the island he was on now carved into some type of mountain range. Speaking of the island, it was rather bare save for the tree-like flowers that glowed a soft violet from some type of bio-illuminance. The scribe could also see an array of other strange mushrooms and flora well past the borders of the lake.
While this new environment was admittedly beautiful and rather peace, Astral Ink was still on edge as to how exactly he arrived here. He carefully removed himself from his chair and stood in the incredibly soft grass. It was then that he saw that his desk, which was oddly clean of and papers or quills, suddenly just vanish before his eyes along with the chair he was sitting on. His horn began to glow on reflex as he was trying to figure out what was causing these strange occurrences. He didn’t know that many offensive spells aside from the basics, but Astral at least wanted to prepare one just in case something happened. He steadied his breath and began to sort this out logically.
“Okay, okay let’s think this through.” he thought out loud to steady his nerves. “This much too detailed for simple illusion magic, or any other type of magic, for that matter. I’m clearly not in my room anymore and the last thing I remember working on some back reports. So, the most likely scenario is that I fell asleep…and this is some type of dream. It’s certainly the most lucid I’ve been in a dream. But, I don’t recognize any of this. How am I able to dream it up, then?”
“Astute as ever, my faithful scribe.”
That heavenly voice. Astral immediately recognized it as he looked upward to find its source. The unicorn then saw a small twinkle emanating from the moon and watched as it grew brighter and brighter until it exploded in a spectacle of light. After shielding his eyes, Astral’s eyes widened as he saw the Princess of the Night herself, Princess Luna. The alicorn then proceeded to use her majestic wings to fly down and gently land before Astral.
“Good evening to you, Astral Ink.” Luna said with a kind smile. “I welcome you to my personal sanctuary.”
“Sanctuary?” Astral asked. Then, the pieces were finally started to click together in his mind. “So this is a dream! It’s just not mine. Princess, I don’t quite-“
“Luna.” the princess suddenly interrupted. Astral gave her another confused look. “I’ve told you many times before, Astral. There’s no need for such formalities when we are away from the public eye. Please, call me Luna.”
Astral swallowed a small lump in his throat. Calling Luna without her title had been…a rather new experience for him.
Ever since the talk that they had a few months ago, the interactions between the two had not only increased their productivity but also their time together outside of work. The motivation Astral received that night did not die down the day after. The scribe had worked double time to catch up with the work he was behind with and then continued to keep up with the new workload. With all the free time he had not playing catch up, the scribe was surprised when Luna had invited him to spend time with her.
With the alicorn’s duties mostly taking up the evening and all of the night, her day schedule was surprisingly open. It was during this time that Luna would take the opportunity to spend more time with her scribe. The pair didn’t do anything particularly fancy or intricate despite both living in a literal castle. Just simple walks through the garden or teatime between just the two of them. At first, Astral merely thought the princess just wanted to solidify their new defined friendship. However, things took a turn when their casual talks transitioned to more personal matters. Luna began to confide in Astral some of the lower moments in her life; her former jealousy towards her sister, the millennia she spent as Nightmare Moon and even her reasoning for creating the Tantabus. Like any good friend, Astral listened with no judgement and made sure to make every attempt to reassure her that her mistakes were in the past. Thus, Astral was becoming familiar with these personal interactions with his princess. But he never thought that Luna would visit him in the Dream Realm of all places.
“L-Luna, I don’t quite understand why I’m here.” Astral finally asked.
Instead of answering, Luna lit up her horn and summoned two, large sitting pillows by the flower tree. “Come,” she said as she took a seat. “Sit with me.”
Figuring it rude to deny the princess’s request, Astral nodded and walked to the other pillow. He took a seat and immediately noticed how soft and comfortable the cushion was. A far cry from the stiff, wooden chair he had for his desk. The scribe also then realized that his pillow was positioned quite close to Luna; to the point where they were almost side-by-side. Astral wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, so he instead decided to look where Luna was looking. Both ponies looked out into the horizon and Astral once again took in the beautiful features he noted when he arrived here. The twinkling stars and moonlight reflected dazzlingly off the lake, creating a crystal shimmer to the polished body of water. The waterfall in the distance also created a soothing ambiance that seemly caused the tension in the stallion’s muscles to relax.
“This is…a beautiful dream you’ve conjured.” Astral sheepishly said, not sure as to how exactly to compliment the mare.
“Thank you.” Luna replied. “This sanctuary was created by my mindscape as a way for me to seek solace from time to time. I admit, it is very much a preferable alternative to…when I had the Tantabus.”
Astral’s blood chilled a bit at the mention of the alicorn’s dream demon. Before, he had only heard of the creature in passing by her, only as a mere explanation as to her brief sabbatical to Ponyville. It was only after they began their chats that she revealed in detail what it was…and its purpose. The blue unicorn’s heart always seemed like lead and sunk when he thought about how his princess used to torment herself. A nonsensical way of atonement for crimes against Equestia that she, arguably, was even responsible for. However, Astral resisted the urge to immediately reassure the alicorn about what happened. She explained many a time that she accepted her mistake and cemented it as another past mistake to learn from. She was a smart enough pony to not need some one like him to repeat what she already knew about her revitalized character.
“So,” Astral began, trying to change the subject. “what about your duties in the Dream Realm? Are you sure it’s okay for you to be here?”
“Not all nights are the same, Astral.” Luna explained. “The number of nightmares that need my presence fluctuate with every passing day. Some nights are busy, but there are also nights like this that are calm as this lake. And so I rest from my patrol and come her to rejuvenate myself. Of course, if a particular terrible nightmare arises, I can sense it from here and immediately go head its call. Then, of course, there are the special occasions…such as this one.”
Astral couldn’t suppress the blush that lit up on his cheeks. Something about the princess saying that his visit was special felt…nice to him. The stallion then shook his head and refocused his thoughts.
“You’ve still yet to explain why you brought me here, Luna.” he then insisted. “I appreciate the sentiment, I do. But I would not to beat around the bush any longer.”
The alicorn finally stopped gazing at the horizon and turned her head to look at the scribe. Astral then saw that her face had shifted from a pleasurable one to a look of concern. A look that greatly reminded Astral of the talk they had all those months prior.
“How have you been sleeping, Astral?” she simply asked.
The unicorn was a bit caught off guard from the question. Although, now that he thought about it, perhaps a pony that was famously associated with night and dream asking about his sleep schedule wasn’t so absurd.
“Sleep?” the stallion parroted. “I…I suppose that it’s been fine. I haven’t done an all-nighter ever since a few months ago. And hey, I’m in a dream right now, so that should say something, right? Hehe…”
The alicorn did not seemed convinced by his attempt to lightly joke about the subject. “Yes. Although, most ponies tend to dream while slumbering in their beds. Not slumped over their desks, as you were.”
Astral mentally cursed himself. Of course Luna would have saw how he was positioned when he first entered the dream. Just then, a spark in his memory ignited in his head, causing him to remember how exactly he got into that position in the first place. He subtly gritted his teeth.
“Oh, that.” he said trying to play it off casually. “No need to concern yourself with that, Luna. Probably just wanted to rest my eyes for a few minutes only end up falling asleep. Happens rarely, I assure you.”
The scribe’s painted smile did nothing to wane the skepticism on Luna’s face. “Dear Astral,” she said after softening her expression. “Though we have already had a similar talk about the communication between us a few moons ago, I understand that it can be difficult to talk such personal matters to another pony immediately. Although, when I began opening up about my past during our visit, I found the experience relieving. Knowing that I was confiding with one I trust. So, I ask you to not shut me out and tell me what ails you.”
Astral began to feel a sense of déjà vu again as Luna pleaded him to confess. Although, he wasn’t in shock and awe that the alicorn held such concern for him. He was now more accepting of the fact that the Princess of the Night wanted to attend to the pleads of her scribe, or rather, her friend if she could. She had opened up to him so much in recent time, Astral figure he owed her that much.
“I…might have put a sleep charm on myself so that I could get to sleep.” Astral begrudgingly explained. “It puts the caster asleep about an hour after it’s casted. I then thought I could squeeze out another form or two before it took effect, but…you saw the results of that.”
“And pray tell, how often have you used this spell?” Luna then asked slowly.
Astral couldn’t bear to even look into his princess’s eyes when he answered her. “…Every night.”
“Astral…” The obvious disappointment laced in the alicorn’s voice hurt the stallion more than he would care to admit. “That is not exactly a way to go on. Having to bewitch yourself in order to gain any semblance of sleep.”
“I know!” Astral said before the princess could scold him further. “I know, but I can’t see any other alternative. Whenever I don’t use the spell, I end up having a terrible night’s sleep. Whether it’s because my mind is still buzzing from the previous day’s work or because of what I have to do tomorrow, but it happens nonetheless. And then my productivity for the rest of the next day is shot.”
The stallion lowered his head in shame as Luna gave an audible hum. “Well, this certainly cannot continue. I believe it’s time to look into other healthier methods to get you some rest. That amount of charms to the mind can lead to nasty side effects in the long run.”
Astral sighed heavily. “Luna with all due respects, that won’t be necessary.”
“I might have to contact the castle doctor to see if a change in diet or exercise may be needed.” Luna continued to talk with herself.
“Luna…” Astral tried to insist but was continued to be unheard.
“Though of course, this could be a mental issue rather than a physical one. Perhaps we should check with the royal therapist and see if he has any openings for a session or two. From what I understand, it usually takes a week or more to schedule an appointment. Although, I’m sure that I could pull a few strings to-“
“LUNA!”
The air halted to a silence after the unicorn’s sudden outburst. Astral was even himself surprised at his own daring. No sane pony would even think of interrupting one of the princesses so rudely, and yet, he did with ease. That awestruck feeling was short-lived, however, as he looked up to the alicorn and saw signs of shock and hurt in her expression. This wasn’t what he wanted. He was touched that she would go as far as take advantages of her royal privileges to help him. But there was something bothering him, something that had been bothering him for a while now. Astral never really knew when the right time would be to bring it up with the princess, but he supposed that now could be that time. Rip the bandage off, to say.
“Luna,” he said more gently. “I need to ask you: why are you going through so much trouble for me? I know you wanted to connect more these past few months, but why with me?”
The alicorn looked as though she was struggling not to look heartbroken. “Are you…bothered by these concerns I show for you, Astral?”
He loved it. By Faust, he loved it. In all honesty, Astral never felt happier these past few months than during his entire career at Canterlot Castle. His day always seemed to brighten up when Luna invited him to a walk in the gardens or a quiet teatime alone. His ears always tingled a bit when he heard her voice stripped from any royal resonance or authority; just her normal soft tone. It also made the stallion feel warm inside when the princess did show concern or valued his opinion on a certain matter. He felt happy. He felt appreciated. He felt…something else that he tried not to entertain, lest he be set up for disappointment.
“It’s not that I’m bothered by it, Luna.” Astral quickly explained before relaxing again. “It’s just…I’m a bit confused about all of the attention you’ve been giving me.”
Luna tilted her head a bit to show the confusion at what the stallion meant. Astral sighed at tried to think how to word this. “I remember during our discussion a few months that you wanted to show appreciation and offer friendship to the ponies around you. And I truly believe that you’re noble in that matter, but what about the other ponies serving you? The maids that serve you, the cooks that make your meals. Commander Murk Rider can be a bit cantankerous, but even he doesn’t slouch in serving you by leading your guard. I guess what I’m trying to get at is…why I am so special when other ponies work just as hard or even harder than me to see you happy?”
This time it was the alicorn’s turn to look to the ground, and Astral couldn’t have felt worse about it. Why couldn’t he just for once suppress his inquisitive nature and just accept that the princess wanted to be nice to him? Here she was, offering her thoughts and aid to him, in her most private sanctuary no less, and all he could think was why. The scribe began to realize that friendship was more complicated than he originally thought. No wonder the topic needed a princess of its own.
As Astral looked to the Princess of the Night, trying to think of some way to make this up to her, he noticed something peculiar in her expression. There was the expected disappointment and suppressed sadness, but there was definitely something else. Fear? Uncertainty? Whatever it was, it seemed not directed at him, but rather at herself.
“Hmm, I am terribly sorry, Astral.” she finally said, still looking to the ground now with a sad smile. “This wasn’t exactly how I planned tonight would proceed. Though the fault is mine, not yours. I still sometimes struggle with how I use my words with others. Especially when…other thoughts cloud my mind.”
The scribe wasn’t exactly sure what the princess meant when she spoke about how this night would proceed, but that didn’t matter at the moment. Right now, comforting words were what was needed for her now. “No everypony knows what to say all the time, not everypony has to know. It’s the experiences that we share that leave the biggest impact. Something my grandmother told me before she passed.”
The old familial wisdom seemed to have worked in lifting the alicorn’s spirits, as she finally lifted her head again to look into the stallion’s eyes. Then, Astral noticed her eyes slightly widen as if she was struck by a sudden epiphany and her smile grew.
“Astral,” she said with a bit more conviction in her voice. “I believe I may have a way to explain my reasonings though a demonstration of sorts.”
Luna closed her eyes and put on an expression of concentration. Her horn was engulfed in a blue aura, signaling to the stallion that she was in the process of casting a spell. Before Astral could ask her what she was casting, he noticed a growing glow from above. The giant flower that the pair were sitting under began to illuminate a brilliant purple. Astral peered up and noticed that the large stamens of the plant began to produce small, white orbs that then gently floated downward.
As the cluster of orbs made themselves level with the two ponies, Astral noticed one of the them was relatively close to him and stared at it. All the sudden, the stallion peered closer at the orb back to notice something peculiar. Within the ball of light appeared to be a mirage of…two figures. The blobs slowly morphed into something more vivid. It looked like two fillies playing in a field of flowers. One was white with a luxurious pink mane, while the other appeared much smaller with a dark blue coat and a shorter light blue mane. The latter seemed awfully familiar to the scribe. However, the most peculiar aspect was that both of these fillies appeared to be alicorns.
“Princess,” Astral breathed as he removed his gaze from the orb he was looking at looked at the others. The other orbs floating around them also appeared to have splotches shifting in them. “What are these things.”
“These…would be my memories, dear Astral. Or at least the ones that have the greatest impact.” the Princess of the Night answered.
Suddenly, the two alicorn fillies he saw made much more sense. That must have been Luna and her sister’s childhood over millennia ago. The unicorn then glanced around him and saw other small instances of other memories, some of which included Princess Twilight Sparkle as well. “I…I wasn’t aware that you had the power to gaze into the memories of others.” Astral said in awe.
“Normally I don’t, not while I dream-walk in the minds of others, that is.” Luna corrected. “However, in the realms of my mind, this can be easily accomplished.”
While this was incredibly impressive to the unicorn, he still felt the pang of uncertainty that resided in his stomach. “Luna,” Astral said with confusion. “I don’t quite understand what the purpose of this is.”
The alicorn merely smiled at the unsure stallion and used her magic to grab one of the orbs. She then pulled in before the pair and looked to him again.
“My dear Astral,” she said in a soothing voice. “if you’ll entertain me, I would like to view one of my memories with you. I am sure you will find the answer to your inquiry within.”
Initially, Astral raised one of his eyebrows in skepticism over the alicorn’s claim. However, he realized he didn’t exactly have anything to lose by looking and the mare had so politely asked him to do so. So he, along with the mare, looked into the orb before them and watched as the blobs take shape. As Astral focused further, sights and sounds began to form in his mind more clearly. Even more than that, internal thoughts that weren’t exactly his own began to swirl in his mind.