//------------------------------// // Head in the Clouds // Story: Ideas Entwined // by FanOfMostEverything //------------------------------// The garden might have been beautiful. It was hard to be sure with the mist in the way. Every now and then there was a hint of something more; a colorful petal, a faint aroma on the breeze, a trickle of water in a fountain. Then the grey veils washed out everything once more, and Celestia was left on the damp cobblestones with nothing but the mist and her thoughts for company. She wasn’t sure which was worse. After a while, she realized she’d been sitting on the cobbles for far longer than was reasonable, and she wondered if the mist had seeped in through her ears. Every now and then a coherent thought would peek through, but then she’d blink and her head would be as foggy as her surroundings. Celestia scowled and tried to focus. Why was she even here? Surely there was a reason. She had far too much to do to just sit in a garden all day. And couldn’t she do something about the mist? She tried flapping her wings. The mist swirled, the gray on gray somehow different enough from itself that she could see every intricate whorl left in her wake. But the garden still stayed as dreary as ever. That got a snort. If a little wind wouldn’t burn it off, she knew what would. Part of her still expected the sun to burn her when she opened herself to it. Still expected it strip away her magic rather than reinforce it. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever not hesitate at least a little before accessing that power, but it was still her birthright, as shown by her mark. So, with a deep breath, Celestia lit her horn and reached up and out. And she found nothing. Her eyes shot open, darting about and finding nothing but more gray. Celestia felt her breathing start to speed up, her pulse pounding in her ears as she sought out the sun and kept coming up short. Her wings spread, that she might rise above the blasted mist and find her companion, but she didn’t take off. Ludicrous as it sounded, she feared that if she did leave the path, if she let that get swallowed up, she might never find it again. Like she might tire herself out hovering and fall forever, until there was no pony left to fall, just gray in gray in gray— “That is quite enough of that.” Celestia blinked as the mists swirled, writhed, and finally parted for a thoroughly unamused blue filly. The garden stood revealed… and had frankly seen better days. The few blossoms struggled on shrubs that were overgrown or desiccated. The fountain’s trickle was as much from water seeping out through cracks as any intended flow. And many of the cobbles were covered in moss or sunken into the dirt, their winding path almost lost. She could almost imagine the mist drifting out of her ears. She could see it leave her nose and mouth. “Luna?” she said, her tongue feeling thick and clumsy in her mouth. Luna marched up to her, a scowl on her muzzle that would probably be less adorable in a few years. Probably. “I told you, Sister. I told you not to try to follow me. I know what I’m doing." She jabbed Celestia in the chest with a forehoof. "You absolutely do not.” Celestia wasn't entirely sure what Luna meant, but she wasn't going to stand around and be disrespected like that. “I am your older sister and I expect to be respected as such.” She turned up her nose in the manner of the unicorn nobles... though that just made she realize that the sky was clear of suns as much as clouds. Luna sighed and tugged Celestia's wide-eyed gaze down from that endless, barren blue. “You are going to have to learn that the dream realm does not respect any waking authority, yours or anypony else’s.” “Dream realm?" said Celestia, blinking the sky out of her eyes. The words opened floodgates of memory, even reshaping the garden around Celestia to better resemble the courtyard of Castle Everfree. "That’s right. Star Swirl had told you about the duties of the dream warden. How the last one had passed on, and how the realm was collapsing.” “And how I might command the land beyond slumber as I do the moon, yes." "Yes, yes, of course." Celestia turned and bit into one of the nearby shrubs, revealing it to be a cunningly disguised raisin cake. "I'd love some tea if you're offering, Duke Slumgullion." A flash of blue made her blink, flush, and swallow. "Er. That is..." Luna gave a very concerning smirk. The sort that told Celestia her little sister would be absolutely insufferable in the morning. "If nothing else, I must show you how to dream lucidly.” “Yes. Well." Celestia cleared her throat and marshaled as much dignity and sisterly authority as she could in her frown. Judging by Luna's continuing smug look, it wasn't much. "You were there, Luna. You heard the old stallion go into horrifying detail about the risks involved with dream magic." Her facade crumbled entirely as the heartache flooded in, sharp and fresh as the moment she'd first felt it. "And then he had to force you awake when you first tried to enter this wretched place. Knowing that you were facing it alone…” Luna nuzzled her once she trailed off. “I am glad you care, Sister, but I wish you had a bit more faith in me. I will not lose myself here again. I promise.” “You’re the only family I have left, Luna. And my baby sister besides." Celestia lay on the garden path, the better to bring herself eye to eye with Luna. Darn growth spurt. She was already almost as tall as Star Swirl. “In this realm, I am the one who must protect you." Luna beamed. "Though you will be pleased to hear that the dream realm is no longer crumbling into dull nothingness. I have reshaped it extensively.” She waved a hoof, and the decaying garden slid aside like the background in a mummers' play, revealing a land of stars and mist and countless doors, ranging from bare wood to engraved marble. To Celestia’s eyes, it wasn’t much better than the garden. At least there was something in the sky. “It is very… you.” Luna nodded. “As well it should be. Apparently the garden very much fit the old warden. Such metaphors never work well for those who did not make them. And if I am to do this every night…” “Every night!?” Celestia cried. Her sister raised an eyebrow at that. “If ponies intend to sleep in comfort, then yes.” Celestia shuddered. “I do not envy you, Sister.” “No?" Luna blinked, looking genuinely surprised. "I find it delightful." She smirked. "And Star Swirl will no doubt drill me through it until I am sick of the duty.” That got a grin and a nod. “That he likely will." Celestia looked around the starry expanse. "How long did I spend seeking you out, anyway?” Luna stared at her for a few moments before clearing her throat. “Sister, this has all been your own dream.” "Ah." Celestia had the grace to smile “In that case, I am very glad you are the one taking on this duty, then.” “I am just glad to find something the great Celestia did not immediately master.” And sisterly giggles ushered Celestia to her next dream of the night.