//------------------------------// // 19: Lost Dreams // Story: The Night's Shining Armour // by Appleody //------------------------------// Chapter 19 Welp, glad night court is finally over. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with Loony, but that last stallion really could talk your helmet off about grain yields. There’s only so much of that an armour spirit can take before needing a lie-down. As I opened my room’s door, I silently hoped my little bug problem had solved itself. Ah, of course it hasn’t. Sadly, as I looked at my bed, a familiar royal bug was splayed out under my favourite bed sheet. If she wasn’t in her buggy form, there’d definitely be enough room for me, but as it stands, she appeared to be spread out to take up as much of my bed as possible. After sighing at my latest woe, I approached the bed and gently shook the bug. “Hey Skitter. Could you budge over?” In response, her wings only lightly buzzed, before she continued to ignore me in her blissfully sleeping state. Can’t believe the Princesses haven’t sorted her a room yet. Wasn’t it Loony’s job to organise it? “Come on love bug, you don’t want me to sleep on the floor, hmm?” I tried to pointlessly reason with the unconscious bug one final time. Well, I’m not sleeping on the floor. With that thought, I turned away from Skitter and exited my own, personally assigned room, meant for my use only. Walking with purpose, I crossed the hallway, and knocked probably a bit too harshly upon my favoured pegacorns door. I’m tired okay, everybody gets irritable when their sleep time is being interrupted. Especially me. A loud thumping sound occurred immediately after my knocking, shortly followed up with some rapid hoof steps. Wonder what she’s doing? After a quiet clinking sound and some muffled cursing, the moon pony’s door cracked open revealing a very stern expression. “Who dares disturb our…” Loony began in an irritable tone, before noticing me casually sitting outside. It seems I may have interrupted her own attempts at sleep. Whoops. Upon seeing me, she let out a calming breath, “We thought thou were retiring for the remainder of the night?” Before she swung open the door, revealing the rest of her form. All she was wearing was one fore shoe on the leg she’d opened the door with and her crown. Peering past her revealed the rest of her regalia knocked wildly across the floor and her bed covers hanging off the bed. Seems Loony got ready in a hurry. Seeing the annoyance I’d caused my friend, reduced the righteous irritation my earlier experience had brought out. “Sorry to disturb you Loony, but well, I’ve got a bit of a problem. I was hoping you could, maybe, help me out.” Maybe I should just go to sleep in my cupboard or something? Annoying her at breakfast might be better. Rather than getting the polite refusal I was expecting, Loony stepped to the side of the rooms entrance and gestured inward with a wing. “What can We do for thee? Soothing thine issues is a priority of ours,” she asked in a considerably more welcoming tone than her initial greeting. Taking the invitation, I hesitantly walked into my friends moon themed room, allowing Loony to close the door behind me. She then wondered back over to her bed and pounced back onto it, before looking in my direction. Okay, time for the awkward question, “So Loony, ahem. Have you by chance, gotten around to sorting out Princess Skitter’s accommodation?” Well here goes accusing her of not doing her job. In response, Loony groaned slightly, before resting her head on her pillow, “We will admit to have been putting it off slightly.” I thought she was. The for once tired night pony then yawned, “worry not, We will ensure our first insect friend will have a private room by tomorrow night. She has earned a reward after the aid she provided today.” Pretty sure she means after being a valiant sacrifice. Still doesn’t solve my current issue. “That sounds all well and good for her, but, well she’s currently occupying my bed. Do you think it might be possible to speed along the process?” That got my friend to lift up her head in curiosity, “Where hast thou been sleeping?” “I may have let her borrow my bed last night by mistake. This led to me sleeping beside her maid self. She ended up with my duvet and pillow though.” It probably would have been best to complain to Skitty earlier when she was awake. She’d probably feel pretty guilty. “That just won’t do. We are sorry our inaction led to such an occurrence,” Loony guiltily responded. Well can’t leave her with droopy ears like that, “It was alright for one night. I just used one of your plushies as a pillow.” “Aww, We forgot thou had them,” came the smiling response, before Loony put her one shoed hoof to her face in thought, “We shall provide thou with alternate housing.” She then noticed the shoe and casually dropped it off her bed with a clink. Suppose that’s just something for the maids to pick up in the morning, now they are finally doing their job anyway. “Thanks Loony. I knew you’d sort me out.” Wonder if I’ll end up in the servant’s quarters? Hey, a bed’s a bed. My friend then smiled lazily, before gesturing with one of her rear hooves. To my dismay, where she pointed, was the dreaded armour stand she suggested on my first night here. “Seriously?” I’m not getting on that armour prison. At my words Loony gave me a confused look, before looking at the source of my distaste, “Hmmm? Don’t be silly Eclipse, We were just stretching. We are well aware of thine aversion to such things.” “Oh, good.” Was really worried for a moment. My armour had even started to droop towards the ground. “Nay, we wish to offer a place upon our bed for thee. ‘Tis quite an honour, as We have yet to offer it to anypony else.” Loony said in a hopeful tone before lifting a wing in a welcoming gesture. My first instinct was to say no. It wouldn’t really be fair for me to disturb my friend’s sleep like that. But then I hesitated. Last time I slept on a pony was pretty comfy and Loony’s fur is just the best. Won’t it be awkward though? In the end I made my decision, “Sure, I can try sleeping on you if you’re up for it.” “Yes, there is plenty of room for both our…” Loony began before realizing what I said, “Really? Thou art up for that? Huzzah! Beat that Celestia.” She raised a fore hoof with her proclamation. Wait, is there enough room for us both? Her bed does seem pretty spacious and I can be quite small. “Maybe it would better for me to sleep beside you? There does seem to be plenty of room.” Just hope she doesn’t hog the duvet. Loony just waved a hoof in front of her muzzle, “Nay, no takesy baksys. Thou appear to be much desired sleeping apparel.” No takesy baksys? “You’ve been talking to Pinkie, haven’t you?” She rolled her eyes playfully at that, before beckoning me over, “Come now, We know thou art up for this. There is no reason in delaying thy precious sleep any further. It could be fun to try this the one time.” She then shook her head to dislodge her tiara, before holding out her forelegs towards me. Well, I was after a bed. Maybe this is an upgrade? With that I carefully placed myself upon my friends proffered form. Ah, she is quite fluffy. With me fully donned, Loony decided to hug herself with her wings before tiredly saying, “thy form feels quite familiar to us now. We shall treasure this moment.” Seeing as Loony had apparently made herself comfortable already, I used my mist to collect her dropped duvet and attempted to wrap her up snug like a familiar bug. The thought that my metallic form may be a bit uncomfortable for her did linger, but Loony didn’t appear to mind. Once the duvet was applied, Loony sighed contently, “goodnight Eclipse. We shall hopefully greet thou in the dream realm.” “Goodnight to you too. I’m here if you need me.” I returned the goodbye before Loony’s final comment made me wonder, “Erm Loony, what’s the dream realm?” Sadly, no answer came, due to the night Princess’s incredible ability to fall asleep. Ah doesn’t matter, it can wait until morning. With that I nestled into my new pillows soft fur and attempted to go off to the void. It took me a few pleasant minutes to escape from reality and enter my peaceful void. That isn’t quite as good as the master of sleep, but at least I can still feel her nearby. Now that I think about it, it doesn’t just feel like one pegacorn is around here. In fact, the void feels way busier than normal. Steadily, it felt like my non-existent eyes were coming into focus, materialising a strange long corridor. This corridor was even stranger, because it didn’t just have one door for Loony, but many doors stretching as far as the eye holes could see. So, is Loony behind one of these doors? The closest was a pink door with a picture of balloons in it’s centre. Quickly reforming my armour, I approached the door in question. Maybe all these doors represent a different part of Luna’s mind? I’ve never slept on a willing wearer before. Wait, scratch that. I slept on Skitter when she first arrived. “Loony!” I decided to call out down the corridor just in case she could respond. After a minute of silence, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to open the weird pink door. Loony probably won’t mind a little peek. Inside the door was an unexpected scene. Rather than there being anything recognizably Luna related, there was a large group of ponies within what appeared to be a cake store. I’ve definitely seen some of these ponies before. Curiosity again got the better of me and I steadily entered the strange void shop. Not too long after I’d past the door’s threshold, a distant familiar voice began calling out, “Eclipse! Be careful! The dream realm is dangerous to the inexperienced!” “Loony?” Immediately I spun around in an attempt to great my friend. What met me, was the closed door of the shop. Not to be deterred, I wandered over and used a shoe to carefully open the door. What was on the other side of the door however, was a strange blurry version of a pony town. The Pony Town if I’m not mistaken. Well, this is disconcerting. With no apparent return to Loony possible I closed the door and returned to the slightly realer cake store. So, is Luna dreaming about having cake? Maybe she likes it as much as Celestia? Looking at each of the present ponies was a bit of a creepy prospect. Each of them had a vaguely agitated expression and they were all staring in the same direction, towards the counter of the shop. Soooo, is something going to happen? Without warning, a door behind the till opened and a familiar pink party pony emerged. Ah, this is because I mentioned Pinkie before bed. That caused me to laugh a little. My laughter was short lived however, because sadly for Luna’s dream Pinkie, the moment she entered the room, every pony that was previously standing idle began shouting and screaming. “I’ve been waiting for my baker’s dozen of cupcakes for hours!” “Where’s my éclair?!” “My foals are starving for gello!” Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is crazy. It’s practically a war zone! It’s supposed to be bed time! “It’s okay, everypony will get their desserts. That’s why I pinkie promised.” Came a desperate cry from the deflated party pony. Her hair was a shadow of its cotton candy curls, instead being completely straight, making her appear way less bubbly than usual. Her persistent smile also appeared to be lacking. Why would Loony dream about ponies bullying Pinkie? Maybe she’s like an analogue for Luna swearing off cake. Whatever she is, this is pretty depressing. Seeing the happy pony that welcomed me to Ponytown, being tormented for no reason is just awful. Despite my disappointment, the crowd continued to harass the lovable pony, until she passed a cake to a mare near the front and ran back through the same door. Once she’d left the room, the rabble surrounding me, all at once went silent and stood waiting for Pinkie to return. Wow, this creepiness is on another level. Waving a hoof in front of the nearest pony’s face gave no reaction what so ever. Seems there all just robots or something? They definitely aren’t real people. Okay, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what I need to do next. After a short debate escape seemed like the best option. There was a slight problem with this plan however. The door behind me led to nowhere town and the only other door was completely blocked by the weird dream ponies. Against my better judgement, I did attempt to ask them to move, gaining me the result I expected. Didly squat. I was starting to run out of ideas, when the pink pony returned to her harassment podium. Well, nothing better to do, might as well ask dream Pinkie, “Pinkie! Do you know the way out?!” Part of me thought she wouldn’t respond, but she instantly noticed me and shouted back, “I’ll be with you as soon as I’ve served the others.” Served the others? That’s going to take forever. Especially if she keeps doing what she’s doing. Before she went back through the door, she hoofed the same cake over to the same mare. It’s like an infinite loop. Maybe her words are a clue on how to end the dream? The other ponies are clearly never going to be served, and they just ignore me. So, well, might as well just get rid. With that, I used my mist to pick up the closest pony, which surprisingly was practically weightless, before moving towards the cake shops entrance. Once there, I opened the door with a shoe and with no effort at all, threw them out. The pony in question didn’t land with any sound. In fact, he didn’t land at all, because the moment he left the dream cake shop, his form immediately started to fade away. This left no trace of the once dream pony. Now I really hope that guy wasn’t real. Well, no use worrying about that, the plan seems sound. Without missing a beat, I grabbed the next closest phantom pony and repeated my previous action. Just twenty-eight more to go. It took me a bit of time to work through the zombie ponies, so much time in fact that they managed to get three more attempts to dishearten the dreams star. The star in question, didn’t appear to notice the thinning herd, until the final time she left the doors, when not a single pony was present. Upon bursting out the final time, she appeared confused and scanned her shop before resting her eyes upon me. “Oh, Eclipse. Did you happen to see where Bon Bon went? Her cakes ready.” Is that the name of the pony that kept getting the same cake? “Don’t worry about her Pinkie, you’ve already served her.” At the continued look of confusion, probably due to the missing crowd, I elaborated, “the other ponies have all left with her, fully satisfied by your, erm, culinary delights.” “Really?” came the hopeful reply. A slight tear came to the party pony’s eye, as her hair started to steadily regain it’s cotton candy state. “I was so worried I’d fail to keep my 100% cake satisfaction rating.” Sure, whatever that means? “So, Pinkie, now that you’re not too busy. I was wondering if you could help me out?” “Oki doki,” came the enthusiastic reply as the party pony bounced nearer to me, “anything for a friend in need, and here, have this complimentary dream improving cup cake.” The mare then held out Bon Bon’s probable hundredth cupcake. There’s the Pinkie I’ve met briefly. In order to keep her spirits up, I gladly took the offered imaginary treat under my helmet, “Thanks, so erm, you wouldn’t happen to know how to leave this place by chance?” Come on dream Pinkie, you’re my only hope. The pseudo-Pinkie just giggled in response, “wow, you spirits really are silly. Not used to solid walls and stuff?” Hey, I’m probably not a ghost. That is preferable to being an enchantment though. Before I could vocalize my complaint, Pinkie began bouncing towards the rear door that likely led towards the Kitchens. Upon opening the door however, what I saw beyond was the same familiar corridor Loony called to me from earlier. “Ta daaaa, thank you for visiting sugar cube corner,” The party pony vocalized as if serving a pleased customer. I started to wander over to the door and awkwardly climbed over the counter, before stopping beside my rescuer. “I don’t know how you did that, but thanks.” “No problemo.” Was the instant reply, before the pony’s eyes lit up due to some apparent recollection, “oo, oo, oo, did the Princess enjoy her slice of cake?” That threw me for a loop, halting me at the exit. “Of course, how’d you know?” Pinkie just tapped the side of her muzzle like it was a big secret, “Pinkie sense, anyways, it’s a shame you never got to try it.” “Huh,” was the only response I could manage, before deciding to make good on my escape. Oh, I get it, Loony saw me give the cake to Celestia. That’s how this Pinkie knows. It’s obvious. Once I was clear of the threshold, the dream pony said one final remark, “You know your metal butt is always welcome.” Before closing the door and leaving me in the strange corridor the void had become. Well, that happened. At least I’m back in the sort of void. Okay, so now what? Looking up and down the long corridor, left me with a large quantity of differently marked doors. Wonder if Loony is still around here? “Loony!... Loony!” Ten minutes of no response later left me a little befuddled on what to do. The first idea was to do nothing. I wanted to sleep, so why not just wait until morning? That idea didn’t last long however. The corridor was incredibly bright and gave the jarring feeling that there were many strangers nearby. This was a stark contrast to how it usually was. Dark and comforting, with just me or sometimes my wearer. Maybe that jarring feeling is from being deep within Loony’s mind? Yeah, hopefully that means it’s safe to rest. Sadly, rest never came, prompting me to wander along the corridor’s infinite length. Loony probably won’t mind me having just a little explore. Upon commencing my little adventure through Loony’s mind, I decided to inspect each separate door I passed. They all had a marking pertaining to specific ponies that I assume exist. There was one for Rainbow Dash, that nice fashion pony Rarity and even the dreaded Twilight Sparkle. Now that’s a door that shall never be opened. The doors must be ponies Loony’s met before. One door that struck me as odd, due to my theory, was one marked with a very familiar rose. Is Luna aware of what happened between us? The memory of our first meeting caused a shudder to ripple through my form. Glad those days are mostly behind me. But still, what would Loony think about Rose? Before I realized what I was doing, the door had been pushed open, allowing me to peer inside. Huh, Pony Town again, but this time not so blurry. The town looked almost exactly how I’d seen it previously, except for the excessive darkness. Not like Luna’s night dark, but like the darkness of the Everfree. Real Pony Town probably never sees darkness like this. A few more minutes of inspecting the slightly darker than normal town, left me with much to be desired. Well, this was a bust. Really thought Loony would have some thoughts on Rose. Just before I let the door swing closed and returned to my pilgrimage, a familiar scream echoed from behind a building. Now we’re getting somewhere. Without entering the dark town door, I tried my best to locate the source of the scream. It didn’t take long for a familiar, terrified crème coloured mare to come galloping from around a building. For once, the mare didn’t appear to be running away from me, but instead straight at me. I started to think the dream pony might actually try to come into my corridor, but she instead continued to gallop to some unseen place behind it. Well, this is something interesting to watch. Waiting without baited breath, I stared at the tree Rose emerged from behind. What evil could terrify such a stalwart being? Heh. Sadly, my private joke only amused me for a moment, as the sound of the pursuer’s hoofsteps began to echo down the street. When I say hoofsteps, what I really meant was shoesteps, as the unmistakable sound of heavy metal hitting stone street echoed. Oh dammit. Well, I can definitely guess what’s going to come around that corner. A few more heavy shoes steps later, a vaguely familiar shoe came into view. I couldn’t help attempting to roll my not eyes and vocalizing my irritation, “figures.” Despite my words, I couldn’t quite believe what actually emerged from behind, is that Twilight’s library? Anyway, upon taking another large step, the beings form was revealed to be similar, but at the same time drastically different to my own. It was definitely a walking smoke filled tin can like myself, but that was the only familiar trait. For starters, the creature stood way over my height, in fact almost matching the height of the regular pony homes it was passing. The other noticeable difference was the sharp claws that appeared to adorn each of it’s shoes. A final major difference was the helmet, which possessed a set of red glowing eyes that just oozed malevolence. Did ponies really see me like that when I first arrived? Damn, I really need to work on my PR. After stepping around the evil pony’s library, my nightmarish copy appeared to stare straight past me, before opening a hidden hinged mouth filled with serrated metal teeth. Huh. Maybe I should make myself a mouth? A moment later, a loud distorted bellow escaped the spirit, before it began advancing on it’s prey. Curious as to where it was going, I took a quick glance behind my door. This allowed me to see the little dream rose pony, cowering behind her flower stand. Unable to take her eyes off her pursuer and for some reason, too afraid to continue running for her continued existence. Well, this should be interesting. At first, I decided to just wait and see what was going to happen, while debating on the reasoning for it. It appeared that Loony may be dreaming about my apparent dislike for Rose. There was also the chance she thinks I have a pretty low opinion of Ponytown in general. That might be why those dream ponies didn’t like one of the only ponies I befriended, Pinkie. Either way, this is a little disappointing. A sudden panicked scream, brought me back to the scene at shoe, “Somepony please! Help!” The fake pony appeared to be desperately looking around at the other pony homes, probably wondering if their occupants were just going to watch her get eaten. Thinking about that for a second, why would the fake me need a mouth? Wouldn’t it just eat her magic by touching her? That doesn’t matter, it isn’t real. That’s why no one’s going to come save her. Ah, that doesn’t feel too great. Even if she isn’t real, it probably isn’t right to let Luna’s psyche murder her on my behalf. I did help out Pinkie and to be honest, that did feel pretty good. Okay, time to prove to Luna, I don’t hate Rose. “Hey you! Erm, stop!” the hulking copy appeared unfazed by my incredibly brave shouts and continued its steady march toward rose. It didn’t even turn it’s helmet to look in my direction upon stepping past my entry way. Okay this is just like before; the fake ponies don’t even notice me. This should make things easier. With new found confidence at the armoured behemoths harmlessness, to me, I made an attempt to grab for it, in the hopes of pulling it through my door to it’s oblivion. In the end, I only just managed to grab it’s tail as the limb swung back and forth. It’s tail was pretty cool, unlike mine consisting of only mist, it’s was a long metallic cord with a blade at the end. Before I could think about how good of an idea that was, the offending appendage pulled taught, yanking me clear of my safe entrance to the void. Well, that was a mistake. My actions didn’t even slow the jerk’s pace in the slightest and my shoes began to quickly scrape along the stone road. This is probably not going to be as easy as last time. Those ponies sure were light statues. Huh, there’s an idea. They all froze when Pinkie wasn’t looking at them. It could be that the only reason this caricature can keep moving, is because Rose is just staring at it. It’s like she’s fixated. Suppose I would be if my source of unstoppable death was approaching. Might as well try. “Rose! You have to look away!” Initial results weren’t too promising, as my shout got the terrified pony’s eyes to lock on to me. The behemoth was still continuing forward, but some progress may have been made. “WH-what!?” came the panicked reply. For some reason, seeing me being dragged along appeared to panic her even more. Maybe she thought I was working with the beast? “Just do it. What have you got to lose?” I replied, before realizing pointing out her bleak situation may not have been ideal. However terrible my moral boosting was, she still complied. Immediately she covered her eyes with her hooves and dropped behind her little stall. At first this had no apparent effect on my reflection, as it continued to walk unabated towards it’s target. Without anything better to do I just held on for dear life, hoping to maybe distract it at the last moment. Luckily, I didn’t have to, because once it reached the counter it immediately stopped and stared at the cowering pony. It then began stamping its fore shoes and periodically snapping it’s massive jaw. Even with this threatening behaviour, it still never advanced any further. Thus, allowing me to release the metal cord of a tail and wander to the creature’s side. Okay, so the plan may be working a little, as it seems to want her attention before attacking. That probably wasn’t going to happen anytime soon due to the blind panic Rose was currently going through, clearly visible cowering behind her stall. So, how do I get rid of this thing? Maybe Rose is still the key? Wish I’d just walked back out of the door. Well, too late now. With the situation somewhat stable, I casually strolled over towards the terrified dream pony, while trying my best to ignore the continuous threats the other me was giving. I’m okay, he can’t hurt me. After making the nervous journey to the distraught mare, I was left a little lost with what to do. She continued to cower and likely wasn’t even aware of my presence. It also occurred to me that no matter what I did with Rose, the demonic armour would follow. Hmmm, it’s like a puzzle I need to solve. Nothings at stake and I have all the time in the world. Probably shouldn’t use all the time in the world, Loony probably wants me to wake up in the morning. After using likely, quite a bit of the worlds time, I came up with a possible solution. Maybe if she thinks we can beat the monster it’ll disappear? Worth a little try. Okay, step one attempt to calm the pony, so using my calmest voice I began, “hey, Rose, don’t worry, I’m here to help you.” This had the undesirable effect of causing the shivering pony to look up, but luckily this didn’t provoke the armour to attack. Sadly, it caused her shivering to increase and she immediately looked back down. “Pl-please, don’t hurt me,” came a tearful response. Well, this is surprising. Does she honestly think that I’m in league with that thing ominously staring at us? Doesn’t matter, just need to persevere. “Don’t worry, I promise not to harm you. I’m actually here to help, for some reason.” As the shaking didn’t decrease, it became clear more advanced methods were needed. To that end, I raised a foreshoe and gently placed it upon the terrified mares head, before attempting to scratch behind her ear. This usually makes Loony feel better, especially after a longer than average night court. The initial reaction wasn’t promising, as Rose rather suddenly flinched away from the unexpected contact, but after a few moments the shaking started to reduce. It was so successful in fact that she decided to ask a question, “What do you want with me?” Now that’s a weird question, so weird in fact it took me a second to respond. “Well, I don’t know really. It just looked like you needed some help.” My slightly confused tone seemed to slightly embolden the pony, as she began to sit up and began looking at me. “Could you… please stop touching me?” She shakily said. In response my shoe immediately left her ear alone, “Sorry, I was just trying to cheer you up.” “It’s fine,” Rose said with for the first time ever, a slight smile aimed at me. She then gestured to her stall, “I’m just a simple flower salespony. There isn’t much I can help you with.” Does she really think I want something from her at a time like this? Well suppose I could try and buy a rose. “How much for the roses?” This is definitely keeping her mind off of her impending death. The pony seemed surprised by my request for a moment, before settling in to her polite salespony routine, “It’s ten bits for a standard bouquet, or thirty bits for some of the larger ones.” “Huh, well I’ll take one of the larger ones.” Might as well splash out, seeing as though this isn’t real. “Excellent, I’ll prepare a box for you,” came the more than happy response, as she immediately began picking flowers from her stall and placing them within a little box, which allowed the roses to poke out of the top. It’s a shame Loony won’t get to have some, she’d probably like the taste of these. Once complete, she happily hoofed over the flowers in exchange for my imaginary bits. My first financial transaction and it isn’t even real. “Alright…erm… sir? Please come by again if you’d like some more.” “Wow, really wish it went this well in real life.” Shame the real Rose is probably still having nightmares about my visit. That gained me a confused head tilt, “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Well, you know. Aside from the weird monster, this went way better than when I visited last time.” As I mentioned the evil copy, I decided to hazard a look in it’s direction. Strangely, it appeared to have completely vanished, leaving no trace. My words caused the timid pony’s ears to wilt once more, “Oh, right, sorry about that. Sometimes I get a little jumpy around new comers.” A little jumpy? Pretty sure they thought I was going to kill them all. After a moment, the mare lost the apologetic look and raised a hoof to me, “Well can we start over? My name’s Rose, Ponyville’s resident flower sales pony.” Well, this is nice. Raising a shoe in return, I grasped her hoof, “Hi Rose, my name’s Eclipse, advisor to Princess Luna of Equestria.” That caused the dream pony’s jaw to drop, “You work for the Princesses?” Wow, Luna thinks ponies have a high opinion of her. Good for her, she seemed to think they didn’t like her before. “Of course, I’m with her right now.” This caused Rose to look around in a panic, “Those roses aren’t for her, are they?” “Of course. Anyway, thanks,” I said before walking back to my door, which thankfully hadn’t disappeared. “See you around.” “Erm, bye. If she likes them, please tell her where you bought them.” Was the last thing I heard, before closing the door behind me. Well, that was a bitter sweet experience. On the one shoe, I got to see what it was like for Rose to forgive me, but on the other, it probably wouldn’t work out like that in real life. That caused my armour to droop a little. Ah doesn’t matter, at least Loony’s imagination has given me some interesting ideas. With that, I began messing around with my mist in an effort to mimic my evil twin’s tail. After numerous failed attempts and one success that probably made me look pretty evil, I finally made my own metallic corded tail. This time lacking the bladed tip, though if trouble does break out it wouldn’t take much to bring it back. The other idea was the hinged mouth. This was substantially easier, needing me to only create a split between the faceplate and the rest of my helmet. A few rapid tings were the result of my labours, as the new jaw was tested out. Hopefully it’ll be easier to express myself with this? Maybe not, my jaw only moves up and down and lacks any lips. Well, Loony can review the changes in the morning. That caused me to grown slightly. My changes aren’t even real. I’ll have to figure it out again in reality, bleh. After who knows how long of twiddling with my new tail, boredom started to settle in once again. This newest change to the void seemed a little interesting at first with all it’s doors and light, but I’m basically fully awake. Who goes to bed with the intention of staying awake and engaging in physical activities? Besides dreaming of course. It seems exhausting. Whelp, nothing for it but to start wandering again. At least that’ll hopefully pass the time and who knows? Maybe Loony is somewhere up ahead? With that, I continued my steady pace down the corridor, leaving Rose’s door behind. Another few hundred paces down the corridor were spent inspecting the pony marked doors. Not one of them really caught my eye for the longest time, until one just seemed to jump out at me causing my pace to faulter. This door had a very familiar mark, as it belonged to likely my second-best friend. The golden sun had my interest peeked. Wonder what Loony thinks about her sister? With that thought, I forgot to contemplate on Loony’s privacy once again and attempted to open the door. This door however, didn’t open so easily. It was a surprise that didn’t really deter me, as I turned the handle with a little more force, providing an eventual satisfying click. Success! Once the handle was turned, the door easily swung open with a light push from my shoe, revealing a wide-open sunny garden. Well, this seems tasteful. If it’s anything like Canterlot’s garden, it might be pretty cool to explore until the morning. Without any further delay, I casually entered the door. Following along a nice slate path, I made steady progress through the dream garden. All the while, drinking in every sight and the occasional sound of birds tweeting. The garden in Canterlot has nothing on this place. My blissful walk ended with a welcome interruption, as I spotted this door’s dream pony, Princess Celestia. She was sitting at a purpose-built chess table, playing an intense match against a pony who I couldn’t quite make out, which felt pretty strange seeing as though I was only a few metres away. Well, best say hello. Before I could raise my voice in greetings, the bright sun pony’s ears pricked up and she turned her head towards me with a small smile, “Oh, Eclipse. How is your day going?” She must have heard my shoe steps. Maybe I should make them silent again? Rather than set about modifying my shoes, I paid attention to Celestia’s double, “Well, it’s been quite a strange one to be honest.” Might as well attempt to make conversation to pass the time and test out my new mouth. My attempt at returning a smile was a complete failure, as no movement occurred upon my faceplate. Dammit, should have known a flat piece of metal wouldn’t work for a real mouth. “Strange hmm,” Celestia responded with a tilt of her head. Her eyes then seemed to trail behind me, “does it have something to do with your new look perhaps?” To reply I just nodded my helmet. Welp, glad she noticed the new tail and wasn’t instantly horrified. “So, what is the special occasion that has my metallic friend wearing flowers upon their back?” Celly asked in a curious tone, while fully turning away from her blurry chess opponent. Oh, I forgot about them. Maybe Loony would want them? It doesn’t seem likely I’ll find her anytime soon though. “Well, Celly, I heard you were over here in the… erm… this garden and I thought I’d bring you some.” My words appeared to take the pegacorn aback due to the raised eye brows, “really? What is the occasion?” Ah dammit, now it’s my turn to be surprised. Why would you give someone flowers? Well, this is awkward. After a second staring at the waiting Princess, whatever counts for my brain reminded me of the fact she wasn’t real. There’s no reason to be nervous about insulting a fake person and it could be practice for the real thing. “Well, it’s just a thank you for how you and your sister have helped me out these past few weeks.” “There is no need to pay us back,” Celestia responded with her usual smile, before igniting her horn and levitating the flowers over to her muzzle. “Still, these smell lovely Eclipse and I shall endeavour to appreciate them.” Okay, practice thank you is a success. Really should thank her tomorrow. She’d probably be happy, even if my thank you sucked. “Well, I hope they taste as good as they smell,” I said, while watching the snowy pegacorn place the roses beside her chess table. When she turned back to me, she had quite a puzzled look, which quickly disappeared with a slight laugh and shake of her head. “Have you gotten any for Lulu? She would probably be even more excited to, ahem, taste your choice of flowers.” “Oh yeah, she was given a blue one I found in the Everfree.” She still has that flower actually. It’s surprising how long they can last. Maybe Loony enchanted it or something? Something in Celestia’s eyes seemed to change at the mention of the Everfree, “So, am I to assume that is the flower she sometimes keeps in her mane?” “Yeah, that’s the one. I had to drain its magic before giving her it.” After finishing my sentence, Celestia appeared to let out a relieved breath, “It does complement her coat quite nicely. Pray tell, are the flowers you keep in your room also from that forest?” Has she spying on me? Oh wait, she knows everything Luna knows. “Yeah, those ones are for me to feed off of before bed. They produce quite a bit of magic.” “I am well aware of that. It may be best to put up a few warnings for the maids, just so nopony ends up being enchanted,” Celestia began in an even tone, before going back to her usual light hearted self. “Though it might be funny to see it happen once or twice.” No, it wouldn’t’! I’d be devastated if something bad happened to someone just for cleaning my stuff. A warning sign is going straight up in the morning. Seeing as I’d provided no response, the dream pegacorn decided to change the subject, “Eclipse, would you be interested in joining me for a spot of chess? It is very nice out today.” She then swept her wing in the direction of the seat opposite to emphasize the invitation. “What about your current…” I started to say, before noticing the seat was empty. Empty apart from a layer of dust. Huh, that kind of reminds me of my guest room. Upon looking back to the pegacorn, her smile seemed to have lost some of it’s energy as she stared at the empty chair. “They left me a very long time ago.” Pretty sure someone was sitting there a few seconds ago. Oh well, their loss. “Sure, I’ll give you a game. I’ve been meaning to ask you ever since you brought it up at night court. It’s just, you’re normally quite busy.” “Oh, I know. It is rare for me to have simple moments like this with a friend,” the alabaster mare began with a hint of exasperation. While Celestia reset the table, I quickly cleaned the dust from the offered chair and hopped onto it. Upon completion of the setup, my new found opponent asked, “do you have any familiarity with this game, or would you need me to teach you?” “Of course, for example white goes first.” I said while simultaneously moving a white pawn forward. You’d think she’d want to be white so the colours matched our own. Maybe she’s trying to give me the advantage? At my proclamation, Celly appeared to deflate for a moment. Seems she wanted to teach me how to play. Before saying almost to herself, “I wonder how you would know?” For the next few minutes, the two of us engaged in the simulated combat of chess, with the occasional idle chatter. Really wasn’t expecting the fake dream pony to be this good, maybe I can distract her with something? Looking around the unreal garden, I took notice of a line of strange pony statues a few metres from us. They started out as incredibly detailed works of art at the right, but the more left you looked the more distorted they became, until you reached the end where there was just an empty pedestal. Huh, that’s a weird arrangement. Ah dammit, just lost another bishop because of that distraction. “There’re some nice statues around here, don’t you think?” Might as well still try for the distraction. My opponent glanced slightly in the stone pony’s direction with that same melancholic smile, “These statues were commissioned to represent my departed friends.” She then sighed before gesturing to furthest away pedestals, “Some of them left so long ago.” Is she saying they represent some of her dead friends? Guessing those weird ones towards the end are supposed to signify her failing memory. Okay, what to say to get us back on track for a relaxing game? This is the gladdest I’ve ever been for this to just be a dream. I’m really not fit for comforting someone over such a heavy topic. In the end I settled for saying, “Seems you’ve had a lot of friends over the years.” This statue distraction was very ill advised, as it not only distracted us both from the game, but was increasingly degrading my fake friend’s mood. Her smile was now completely absent and her eyes sullen, “Each and everyone always leaves in the end, as they have no choice. Part of me is terrified of the day my newest student, Twilight will leave me.” It’d probably be in bad taste for me to point out how annoying her daughter is. Shouldn’t she be immortal if Celestia is? Oh, that’s an idea, “Well, your sister seems like she’ll be around for the long haul. She seems to be a good friend of yours.” That’s one other confirmed immortal she knows. The words seemed to break through to the pegacorn, cheering her up ever so slightly, “yes, now that Lulu is back, I know neither of us will be alone again.” She then turned back to the chess game, “that’s check by the way.” Damn, where’d that knight come from. That one is such a tricky piece. After moving my king out of danger, I responded, “You know, for what it’s worth, I consider you one of my friends as well. It seems likely that I’ll be sticking around for quite a while longer, probably.” Celestia nodded in response to my attempt at comfort, “We both hope you will be around for a while yet. You seem to make Lulu very happy.” She then moved her rook forward with a wry smile, “and that is check mate. That was well played.” “What? Can’t be. Best two out of three.” Can she read my mind? Loony probably thinks Celestia is unbeatable at chess, that’s why she’s so good. Stupid dream logic. A melodious laugh met my whining words, “Of course, it is pretty obvious you are just a bit rusty. One day you will have to tell me who you last played against.” She then set about resetting the game, this time with her as the white and me as the black. That’s a funny thought. I really have no idea where I learned to play. As I watched her levitating each piece to its appropriate location, a thought occurred to me. Luna’s representation of Celestia is pretty smart. Wonder if she understands what’s actually happening? As the game progressed, I decided to test my theory, “Sunny?” “Yeees,” Celestia said, while moving a pawn. Hmm, maybe my rook should go here? “Would you mind helping me out with something?” “Of course. I always have time for you my friend,” she smiled back, while moving her queen to safety. Well, this game is going way more in my favour. “I know. It’s just, I’m a little confused as to where we are.” Wonder if the real Celestia is this nice to everyone? The pegacorn just tilted head at my apparently weird comment, “We are quite clearly both seated within Canterlot castle’s garden. Why?” “Well, pretty sure I’ve never visited this part of the garden and I like to explore it most days.” I said, while gesturing to our surroundings with my wings. Celestia’s brow furrowed slightly, “maybe you should explore the garden a little more, this is my favourite part.” She then started to look a little uncertain, finishing with, “I think?” So, she can tell somethings off. “Well, how did we get here?” That should ruffle her feathers a little. To be honest, no matter how nice this place is, that corridor is still a little alarming. “Isn’t it obvious? You walked over to me,” Celestia started confidently, before steadily coming to a realization, “when I was… sitting… here… with…” At the last word, she dropped the bishop she was going to move. Pretty sure that move would mean I win in two turns. She then started to appear quite alarmed, as both her ears pricked up, “I just remember being in this chair. Is something happening?” She then started rapidly turning her head to look at the area around us. Seems I’ve ruined the mood. “To be honest, I’m not quite sure. Maybe I’m just in the standard void and Loony will come get me in the morning, or maybe I’ll be stuck in some small part of it for a long time. Who knows?” I said plainly. Pretty sure Loony will rescue me if it turns out this was a one-way trip. That warning she shouted probably had a good reason though. The dream Celestia appeared to calm down, “If you were trapped in that horrible place, I certainly would not be there. Have you thought of that?” She then gestured to our surroundings, “from the way you described it, I doubt it is as nice as this.” She then finished with a tentative smile, in likely an attempt to reassure me. “That would be true, if you were the real Sunny, which sadly, you are not.” For one thing, I wouldn’t dare call the real Celestia “Sunny” out loud. She might not appreciate it. Celestia’s clone seemed a little lost for words for a moment, before deciding to change strategy, “if you like, I can prove that at least I’m real. Luna would not be pleased with me, if you started to believe reality was not real on my watch.” Maybe ruining this illusions day wasn’t the nicest thing to do. “Go ahead if you think that’s best,” I said while waving a shoe in her direction, “It was really nice to spend some time with you. I’ll have to challenge the real Celestia tomorrow, after Loony gets me out of here. Maybe she won’t be too busy?” The now obviously nervous pony just stared at me for a moment before lighting her horn. After just a minute of concentration, she suddenly appeared incredibly relieved and looked straight into my eye holes. “Oh, I see.” “What is it?” Did she really find something? She opened her mouth as if about to say something, but before a single sound was uttered, everything disappeared and was replaced with the pitch-black void. “Celestia! You still there!” I shouted into the darkness, but was only met by silence. Well, at least I’m back in the real void. Shame about that game though, really thought I was going to win. A short distance away, a door formed that most likely led back into the never-ending corridor of Loony’s mind. Rather than approach it, I decided to remain where I was. That final dream with Celestia was pretty nice before I ruined it. It’s probably better for me to finish the night where it’s comfortable to rest. After an indeterminate amount of time, seeing as I was in my usual location for relaxing, a loud rhythmic banging began on the door. At first, I tried to ignore it, but eventually it’s persistence annoyed me so much it just had to be opened. With that I floated through the void towards the door and easily opened it. What met me beyond was not only the expected hallway, but a smiling navy blue pegacorn. “How art thou Eclipse? Been on many adventures?” she said jovially. Seeing her standing outside the door caused my irritation to fade away. “I wasn’t expecting to see you after we were separated. Did you know where I was?” Oh dear, she’s probably talking about my snooping through her brain. “That We did. When we were first separated, We will admit to being a tad concerned,” she began evenly before switching to a more animated tone, “but upon trying to follow thy path, ‘twas so difficult for us to keep up with thee. We admit to being pleasantly surprised.” Pleasantly surprised? “So, you’re not mad at me?” Loony appeared a little confused, “Nay, why would We be mad with you? Thy natural giftedness in the dream realm is a blessing for not just us both, but the ponies you helped on your travels.” The ones on my travels? Is she saying that those ponies were real? Oh, please no. I just had to ruin Celestia’s sleep. Wonder if that fade to black was her waking up? Right, in the morning, the music really needs to be faced. While trying to sound as casual as possible, I said, “So, you’re saying, those things I experienced were from real pony dreams?” “But of course. Where else would thou have been but the dream realm?” That hallway just feels like a slightly noisy version of the void to me. “Well, seeing as you’re wearing me, I thought that corridor represented… erm… your brain. I was getting worried you might have thought some really weird stuff.” I finished in a slightly embarrassed tone. Thankfully, Loony just laughed in response, “Nay, We are a very well-adjusted individual, of that We can assure thee.” I’m not too sure if the one referring to themselves in the plural, is entirely fit to judge sanity. After finishing her jovial statement, Loony stepped to the side of the door and beckoned me through, “Would thou be interested in joining us for the remainder of thy travels tonight?” Travelling the dream realm with Loony could be fun. It’s probably a better use of my time than sitting in the void, but still there is rest time to consider. Ah, might as well inquire. “Does that mean we’ll be travelling through different pony’s dreams? Sounds fun.” The moon pony nodded in response, “That it does. We were just about to save young Twilight from her nightmare. It could be fun to modify her dream together.” Twilight? Don’t think I’m ready for her yet. “Oh, you know, I’d love to, but that last dream has really taken it out of me. It’d probably be better for you to deal with her, while I have a rest.” In response, Loony’s face fell a little, “We understand, breaking into my sisters dream is a feat even We struggle with.” She then gave me a slight smile with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, “We shall great Twilight on thy behalf. She still needs to be paid back for her, ahem, performance today.” Does she have to mention me? It would be preferable if that pony just forgot I existed. “Okay, well, you enjoy your time helping her Loony,” I said, while giving her a quick wing hug. “Yes, and We hope thou enjoys thy time within this… strange absent dream,” Loony replied, while reviewing the void around me. She then turned away from me and appeared to become very agitated, walking down the corridor in an extremely purposeful manner. Seems like she’s in a hurry to help purple. As the blue pegacorn disappeared from view, I closed the door and settled down to finish off resting in the void. It’s weird how Loony said this place was a dream. Wonder if that means the void and the dream realm are somehow related?