The Hyperdream.
Governing the Hyperdream as always was Luna along with Darkrai. The trillions upon trillions of dreams from different eras met with them once more. Luna had yet to explore every single one of them, especially the ones from the past and future.
Watching over every dream would be impossible now. It was already a challenging task in the Dream Realm. But since the Hyperdream is larger in scale and scope, that difficulty was amped up to a staggering amount.
"Even with a few weeks with the Hyperdream, governing everything is a true challenge. How are we to handle all of them?" Luna pondered, trying her best to come up with something. That's when it hit her. This was the Hyperdream where everyone's dreams existed.
Including hers.
"Aha! That's it! With more of myself, I can cover more parts of the Hyperdream." So, Luna had the bright idea of gathering multiple variations of herself throughout time within the Dream Realm. She and Darkrai approached the various dreams that she has had before in the past. She entered her personal Hyperdreams, grabbing help from herself at different points in time.
This also involved different Lunas who were watching over the Dream Realm, doing her job. It started with the first Luna governing over Octavia's Dream, only to be then interrupted by her future self.
"What in the?!" The past Luna pulled back, naturally and reasonably blown back by this sudden appearance.
"I promise you, this will be worth it." But current Luna reassured her past self. Even if it would take a lot of talking. And the same would go for every Luna they run into.
And so it began. When Luna grabbed one Luna, the rest did the same. Each of them were either having their own personal dreams or even governing other dreams.
Soon, multiple Princess Lunas could be seen dashing about the Hyperdream, witnessing it for the first or even Lunas that were only 3 weeks new to the Hyperdream. Some of them went as far as even being from a time when the Pokemon World didn't meet with theirs yet. Mainly when Luna was freed from Nightmare Moon fairly recently. But it did not go further than that as to avoid any possible Nightmare Moon debacles. So many of them from different points in time mainly focused on the past rather than the future.
All of this was to make the Hyperdream easier. Knowing that there was something grander in scope than the Dream Realm made each of the various Lunas onboard. Soon, Luna had gathered all these variations of herself. Not just from her universe, but even parallel universes with various other Princess Lunas.
"Alright then. I have gathered a substantial amount of myself." Luna said to her past selves. "Apologies if this is all so sudden to you. But if there was an instance I would need all of the help I could receive, now would be the time."
"Nothing to worry about. The moment you told us about this Hyperdream and what it was, who could we not help? It holds dreams that were just now watching over, so it won't be an issue for us to pick up where left off." Another Luna replied.
"Thou did pick an odd time to summon us all." A Luna who spoke in the previous speech pattern she had for centuries before adapting to the modern-day replied, using the royal We, more than anything. "We hadst only been freed of Nightmare Moon 2 weeks ago. It is all new to us."
"Still. In a world where we live with Pokemon, nothing feels like an odd time, does it?" Another Luna within the timeline of crossing over with the Pokemon World replied. "Either way, I hope we can retain memories of this encounter as we should know what to do next when we meet in this Hyperdrema."
"Thankfully, dreams and memories in the past remain unaffected. Only the present-day dreams are the ones we have to worry about. I am unsure about future dreams and if they affect anything."
They had been reassured. Every other Luna was from the past, so while they would retain memories of this encounter only in their dreams, they would not bring this knowledge to reality. This kept the timeline intact and Luna had Lunar Ire's magic to thank for that. Future dreams were another story that had to be observed further before much could be one within them.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Just then, speaking within the crowd of Lunas was another Luna. However, there was something different.
This voice was younger.
All the other Lunas moved to the side, spotting the origin of this shout. And when they did, they saw something that threw them for a loop. It caught them off guard much more than the Hyperdream itself. The Luna that shouted was smaller than them.
A filly Princess Luna.
"...." Absolute silence filled the Hyperdream for a moment as they all took a bit to process this. After a few blinks and a look into filly Luna's large unicorn eyes, one of them spoke. "Who invited this one?"
"I certainly didn't." Another replied.
"Neither did we."
"I barely noticed her. Or myself. Me. I. Oh...I despise self-ponidoxes..."
"Why are we all standing around for?" The little unicorn wondered as she was eager to explore the Hyperdream. She was young so why wouldn't she? This was also an addition to her dream, however, there was one striking difference.
Apart from being a filly, she was just a unicorn while every other Luna was an alicorn, matured and around the time that they had broken free from Nightmare Moon. This little Luna from the past did not know the first thing about the Dream Realm or even Pokemon as a whole.
"Apologies, my little pony. But it is probably best for you not to be here." A Luna flew over. "This is an important scenario after all."
"What? Why not?" Little Luna asked as her face was already being filled with disappointment.
"You are us. But you are from the past. The far past to be exact. I believe at least 20 centuries ago or so." Another Luna pondered. "Too young to know what is happening or what we even do. Or what you will do in the future."
"In short, thou must leave. Too young." Another Luna shook her head as many if not all of them were in agreement with sending this Luna back to her dream.
"N-No fair!" Little Luna stomped her hoof on nothing, puffing her cheeks. She was so eager to explore the Hyperdream, only to be then turned down by herself of all ponies.
"Let me her come." However, choosing to let little Luna come along with the present timeline Luna.
"What?!" All of her past selves blurted out in unison as current Luna approached filly Luna.
"Are you hearing yourself?! Ourself?!" They tried talking her out of it. "Bringing her along? What kind of idea is that?"
"I've had someone else young come along on this Hyperdream journey before." Luna giggled, referring to young Ash Ketchum. "It doesn't hurt anyone, believe it or not. And the same can certainly be said for us."
"Really?" Filly Luna loved to hear it.
"Yes, really. Come along with us." Luna grabbed her younger self's hooves. "I assure you, it is as fun as you are imagining it. Just stay out of trouble, won't you?"
"I suppose we are far more lenient in the future..."
"I'll make sure she stays out of trouble, Luna." Showing himself to little Luna was Darkrai. And of course, with an appearance as intimidating as his, once Luna saw the Pitch Black Pokemon for the first time, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Darkrai flinched as every other Luna had covered their ears. "Ah..."
"M-M-M-Monster!" Little Luna hid behind her older self, cowering in fear as Darkrai backed away. So much for a friendly meeting at a first glance.
"No, no, no! This isn't a monster!" Luna shook her head, holding her younger self. "I mean...they are Pocket Monsters but...have no fear! This is Darkrai. You will be safe around him."
"I will?"
"Oh yes. I know he looks intimidating. In every possible way..." Luna turned to Darkrai, who was the embodiment of intimidation which also helped his role of being a Pokemon that brings nightmares. "But believe me. Looks are not everything. Darkrai has protected me and many others constantly. A true friend who is always there for me. And the same goes for all of you as well." She faced the rest of her past selves.
"You're me so, I trust you."
"There. Now then. Every Luna scatter." Luna ordered her past selves. "Continue where you left off or choose other dreams that you just weren't able to sort out. I know I haven't handled them all with precision. The Hyperdream is a good chance to tie up loose ends."
And s they had set out. Every Luna went off to govern different dreams. There was a lot to choose from so the options were endless. They could be seen entering random dreams or even dreams they were watching over previously.
"As for me...there are a few dreams that I want to take a look at." Current Luna had her eyes set on a specific set of dreams as Little Luna was still holding on to her hoof.
"Oh! Can I pick where we should go?" Just then, Little Luna raised her hoof, cutting Current Luna off. "Please?"
"Hm? Oh, sure. We can make it quick Where would you like to go then, little me?"
"Uh...That one! That one looks pretty nice! It's all glowing." Little Luna had already locked onto a set of dreams that interested her. Her hoof was aimed at a line of bubbles that all had a brighter glow than the rest of them. Current Luna scrunched her face, knowing what that was.
"Luna...Are those the dreams of Ash?" Darkrai pointed out, causing Luna to flinch. "If so why are they glowing?"
"Yes..." Luna sighed, admitting to it. "I added an extra glow to all of Ash's dreams because...well, it's not a mystery to you, Darkrai."
"I see. What dream were you planning on entering first then?" Darkrai asked as they were approaching the dreams of Ash.
"With the Hyperdream, I can view dreams from other universes. So, I wish to try and view the dreams of Emerald Aura. She had been weakened by the Rift a few months back, making her susceptible to exhaustion. Which means that there are probably dreams of her previous life, including Lucien and Sienna."
"I see. To bring back their normal life, much like what Ash aims to do. Never thought about going into the dreams of our enemies."
"Emerald exists in our world as she was created to fit it perfectly. That must mean that her dreams of when she was not a Rift Creation exist." Luna's goal was clear. To see what happened before all of the Rift incidents. She only knew about how the Rift came to be, but the life after that was a mystery. Only the dreams could answer that.
But first, a short trip to one of Ash's dreams was made.
Ash's Dream.
They had arrived at Ash's Drems, which took place in Pallet Town. Seeing that they were in Pallet Town, Luna already knew which Ash this was.
"Oh! Luna!" The Young Ash Ketchum who had met Luna within the Hyperdream before had noticed the Princess of the Night. He was currently riding on a cloud, using it to fly over to Luna. He used the cloud as if it was a cloud, stopping in his tracks.
"Ash. How have you been? In the dream anyway?" Luna questioned, patting the Kid from Kanto on the head.
"Great as always! Knew you'd show up again!" Ash then hopped off of the cloud, dusting himself of cloud puffs. "So. Are we gonna go on another adventure like before?"
"We came here just for a quick visit. Under her request." Luna showed off her little self.
"What is that?" Naturally, Little Luna wanted to know what Ash was, unaware of the existence of humans. "Is that a hairless monkey?"
"Luna!" Princess Luna gasped, pulling back at Little Luna's question. "Don't be rude."
"Wow. She looks just like you." Ash, also having equal curiosity, went up to the filly, pointing at her. He then moved his pointing hand slowly at Luna, eager to touch her mane. In response, Little Luna had used her magic, which at this point was fairly weak, to hold Ash's finger. "Oh!"
"No touching. My mommy and daddy said that its bad for someone new to try and touch you." Luna replied, giving a somewhat proud expression.
"Well, my mom and dad said that it's great to get to know everyone you meet." Ash replied with a different disposition to Little Luna. "That's how I do it sometimes."
"That's weird." Little Luna squinted her eyes. "What even are you?"
"My name's Ash. And I'm gonna be a Pokemon Master!"
"Pokemon Master?"
"Uh-huh! The best Trainer in the world!" To emphasize how serious he was about it, he pumped his fists into the air, shouting out loud. "Ever heard of it?"
"Don't know what a Pokemon is." Little Luna shrugged. "But being the best, uh trainer in the world. That sounds like a big goal." Luna could recognize when something was grand in size.
"Oh believe me. It s." Princess Luna nodded her head, knowing just how grand Ash's goal was. Years worth of training, battling and adventuring to reach that one goal.
"I can show you Pokemon! How about it?" Young Ash ran up to Little Luna. "What's your name?"
"My name's also Luna. Like her." She looked to her older self.
"Hmm...I'll call you...Woona!" To make it easy on Ash to differentiate both variations of Luna, he gave a nickname that was just as quick to pronounce as Luna.
"W-Woona?!" Instead of taking a liking to it, Little Luna's ears stood up with shock. Princess Luna herself started chuckling, finding that name adorable.
"Yeah! Makes it super easy, doesn't it?" Ash laughed.
"My name is Luna! It does not have a 'W' in it! Hmph!" Little Luna was not 100% for it as she looked away from Ash. Ash stuck by it either way as Luna silently spoke to herself. "But it does sound cuter that way..."
"I'll just keep calling you, Woona!" Ash put his arms behind his back, sticking to that option. "Woona!"
"Don't call me that!" The filly shouted, prancing on the spot. "Me! Make him stop!" She then pulled on Luna's hoof the same way she would to her own mother.
"Good grief..." Darkrai could only sigh at all of this, preferring not to be involved in childish squabbles as Young Ash and Little Luna went back and forth.
"Alright you two. I believe the time for your fun chat is over. I have a job to do." Luna broke up this conversation. "Ash, I can already see it in your eyes. I know what you are thinking."
"Oh yeah! I wanna see more of the Hyperdream! Let's go to that future place with Twilight again!" Ash grinned, hopping on Luna's back. Little Luna wanted to do so first but Ash beat her to it.
"Aw! Do we have to bring him along?" Little Luna was against this idea, not wanting Ash to join this dream adventure. She then climbed onto her older self, being behind Ash.
"It will be fine. Just get along you two." Luna spread her wings. "We will be heading to a world that is even different from ours, so be prepared."
"Yeah! Let's go!" Ash pumped his fist into the air as Luna took flight. Two children were now tagging along for the ride. It was out of this dream and off to another that would be exempt from Luna's world and the Pokemon World entirely. That is, if they could find it.
The Hyperdream.
Returning to the Hyperdream, Luna started searching for the dreams of Emerald Aura now that she was capable of sleeping. She closed her eyes, concentrating her magic on one set of dreams. "Bring me the dreams of Emerald Aura. However, she soon came to discover that it was not so easy. She called for Emerald Aura's dreams, only for them to not appear at all. "Strange..."
She tried again, calling for the set of dreams. But nothing had showed up. None of the dream bubbles she wanted had showed up. Curious, Luna started hovering over the Hyperdream to search for Emerald Aura's dreams. One benefit to the Hyperdream was that every dream was lined up chronologically, starting from Arceus to the most recent born pony, dragon, human or Pokemon out there. Luna could even have the power to rearrange them to be alphabetical.
And she did just that. She rearranged the dreams alphabetically, going straight for the 'E' section which was one of the earliest letters out there. She searched through that category, seeing if she could find Emerald Aura's dreams. But sadly, that was not the case.
Try and as she might, even using Lunar Ire's magic to show dreams that involved the name Emerald was pointless. There was not a trace.
"Nothing..." Luna lowered her head. "I tried all of that for no success. Perhaps Emerald is just exempt." Dissappointment filled the alicorn. She came to the Hyperdream to try and reach the dreams of Emerald Aura to hopefully restore the family the Rift had. It ended poorly. Not even a colossal disaster. Just an abrupt end with a hollow feeling.
"Aw, don't feel bad, Luna." Ash patted her on the head. "You tried your best."
"I got to see myself use that kind of magic...? W-When do I get to do that!?" Little Luna was more curious about her future usage of magic. Seeing Luna do all of that proved that her magic potential was something to behold and she couldn't wait to grow up.
"Thank you, both of you. Perhaps, I will have to find another way. But not in the Hyperdream.
"The night is still young, Luna." Darkrai hovered over. "The rest of your many selves are still governing the dreams. Which dream should we go to next?"
"Hmm..." WIth Emerald Aura's dreams being absent, Luna started pondering. What would be the best dream to go to? The options were literally endless. Something came to mind for her immediately. It all dated back to her time journeying to Sea Temple for an important mission. Flurry Heart's words rang in her mind, talking about one pony in particular. Daybreaker.
"So please don't see Great Aunt Daybreaker like that, okay? She'd never do that."
It related to Flurry Heart's relationship with Daybreaker, who was still her great auntie despite a universe difference. Flurry Heart saw Daybreaker differently from what Luna saw. She even remembered how Flurry Heart shared Daybreaker's past and how she came to be. From the loss of her sister to her descent into tyranny and the pony she became. She had a soft spot for her great auntie no doubt.
"There is one dream I want to look at." Luna made up her mind. She was going straight to the dream of Daybreaker. The dream of her sister from another universe. She rearraganed the bubbles once more, bringing over the dreams from Universe 11.
And over at Universe 11, the Princess Celestia, or rather Daybreaker as she was now known, had a plethora of mixed dreams. They started out being wonderfully sweet and joyous dreams and later on, dreams that deviated into a far more malicious and fearsome set.
Luna could feel the contrast of energy from both of them. So did Ash, Little Luna and Darkrai. This pressure made Luna shudder, holding onto Ash as she cowered.
"This pressure..." Luna gasped. "Daybreaker is identical to Nightmare Moon, so it stands that it would be felt. But this much?"
"What dream is that?" Ash asked, looking directly at the dream bubble and witnessing the visage of Princess Celestia. In that dream, she had not yet become Daybreaker. She was still her usual self.
"Hold on, you two. This next dream might go anywhere." Luna braced herself as it was off to Daybreaker's dreams. Luna herself wanted to see if Daybreaker was the pony that Flurry Heart empathized with. She symphatized with the past, but Luna needed to know more. She, Ash, Little Luna and Darkrai entered the dream of Daybreaker. But before she became Daybreaker.
Daybreaker's Dream.
And upon arriving there, it looked far different from what it was on the outside. The appearance of the dream took place in Canterlot, of course. However, something was amiss. There was fire everywhere.
So. Much. Fire.
Flames covered the land of Canterlot and beyond, even covering the skies whilst setting the clouds ablaze. Luna and everyone closed their eyes upon entering this dream as the ferocious sound of fire polluted their ears. Some flames appeared as a deep crimson while also being a mixture of light yellow could be seen. Luna put up a barrier to protect herself and the others from these intense flames.
However, despite the abundance of fire, Canterlot Castle was still standing. The flames did not affect it at all including the buildings of various residents. However, it did affect the grass and other parts of nature with its unrelenting fury.
"I thought you went to a dream earlier than Daybreaker's conception?" Darkrai said.
"I thought I did...But if feels like a Daybreaker dream!" Luna closed one eye, trying to get through the furious flames. She carried the barrier towards Canterlot Castle, knowing that Celestia would be there. Or would it be Daybreaker? Because at this point, it might as well be her dreams.
Little Luna was mortified by this sight, not being too fond of the flames whilst Ash couldn't help but stare. Luna saw how despite the fact that buildings were immune to the flames, nopony could be found indoors, which raised her suspicion. She skipped the long way and chose to just teleport inside of the castle to save up time. She was familiar with it after all.
Luna went straight to the source. The one having this infernal dram that felt more like a nightmare than anything. There was one place to be at. The throne room of Canterlot Castle. Luna made the right choice to head there. Because standing at the throne room on her lonesome with a flurry of flames was none other than her big sister.
Princess Celestia.
She was not Daybreaker yet. An yet this felt like a Daybreaker dream. "Sister!" Luna cried out to Celestia. She could hear crying coming from Celestia when noticing her. She also noticed that along with all of that crying, tears dropped that had been instantly evaporated before they could even touch the floor.
Celestia froze, hearing the familiar voice of her big sister. Her weeping halted for a bit as the Princess of the Sun slowly turned around. Little Luna would also witness her big sister in a much bigger light than she already knew her in. Far bigger. And hearing the voice of Luna made Celestia's heart skip a beat for a bit.
She came face to face with her little sister, but something was off. Something that Luna and Darkrai flinch. Even though it was Celestia, appearance and everything, it was not 100% her actual appearance.
Celestia's left eye was pitch black, having the same orange glow and sharp pupils that Daybreaker had. The front of her mane also had flames that could be seen sparking, as if they were trying to burst out. The same flaming mane that Daybreaker owned, only a less developed version of it. Or rather, those flames would only spread at a given moment. She was not all Celestia as the Princess of the Sun spoke with a shocked and sheepish voice.
"Luna?"
As the journey continues.
Chapter 738 End.