Luna gives you a kiss on the cheek before beginning to stand up. The two of you are seated on a park bench not too far from your house in Ponyville, and both of you are dead tired. You glance at your watch. 10:30 PM. You've been up since 6:00 this morning, and you're starting to feel it. Meanwhile, Luna only woke up about half an hour ago, so neither of you are exactly full of energy. Still, you're making do with what you have.
It was a few months ago that news started to spread about how ex-princess Luna was courting the strange "human" creature. You've actually had a thing for her for years, but it isn't exactly easy to get yourself into a position where you can confess that to a princess. A nocturnal one, at that. And yet, you managed to do exactly that, and here the two of you are a few months later. Neither of you have ever been happier, and the more you learn about her, the deeper you fall for her. Things are going extremely well! Well, sort of. There is one problem that you're still trying to figure out. You run a restaurant during the day, and although she is retired, Luna has still taken it upon herself to continue her duty of watching over the dream realm. After all, just because Twilight has learned how to raise the sun and the moon, that doesn't mean she can suddenly be awake 24 hours a day.
This, of course, means that the two of you have conflicting schedules. You try to meet up at times like these when you are both awake, but these little meetings of yours last perhaps 15 minutes on average, and neither of you have much energy during them.
Having now stood up from the bench, she turns to look at you.
"Well, I suppose I must be off. Most ponies are asleep by now, after all."
"Y-yeah, I guess you should. Sucks that our chats don't get to last all that long."
"Believe me, if I could spend all night with you, I would. But, I do have my duties. You understand."
"Oh, I'm not trying to get in the way of your job. I just... want to see you more, that's all."
"Hmhm, me too. Well, goodnight, Anon. I'll make sure you have nice dreams tonight, okay?"
"Thanks. Goodnight Lulu."
With a flapping sound, she unfolds her glorious dark blue wings and her horn begins to glow white. After a moment, she takes a few steps away from you, the light envelops her, and she disappears. Ya hate to see her go, but love to watch her teleport away.
With a yawn, you slowly stand up from the bench as well, stretching as you do so. You look up at the moon hanging directly above you. It's almost full. If it wasn't for the perfectly clear sky, it would probably be hard to see around you right now, but there is instead an almost mystical glow surrounding you. Man, you love Equestria.
You begin the short trek back to your house, lazily scratching your back along the way. You let out another yawn as you reach the front door and head inside. You're really, really sleepy. Hey, at least you can count on Luna to help get you a peaceful sleep.
...Wait a minute. What is this feeling? This strange sensation in your head? Like a voice, YOUR voice, silently ringing out, telling you what to do. Is this... is this an idea? Maybe you CAN see Luna more often!
This idea is really stupid.
As you pull the covers over yourself, you recall the past hour. You spent the entire time doing everything you can to frighten yourself in any way possible. You read some horror novels, reminded yourself of your most embarrassing moments, thought about having to pay taxes, the usual freaky stuff. You can't really say it worked, but it's better than nothing.
As you close your eyes, you consider the fact that you don't feel all that scared, probably because you're trying to be scared. If this doesn't work, what are you going to do about not being able to see Luna? What if this is the best the two of you can do?
Is your relationship doomed to fail?
As that thought fills your head, you really do find yourself becoming stressed. Your mind begins to wander and you drift out of consciousness.
You gasp as you suddenly awaken. You sit up to look around. Let's see, there's a window, a nightstand, a shelf, a door... yeah, this is your room. Glancing out the window, you notice that it's still dark outside, but you don't feel all that tired. Stretching as you lean up, you glance at the nearby clock, but find yourself unable to make out what time it is. With a sigh, you rub the gunk out of your eyes. You must be even more tired than you thought. Oh well. You stand up and head for the door. Your throat is dry, and you'd like to get some water before attempting to fall back asleep.
As you enter your kitchen, however, you find yourself quietly gasping and stopping in your tracks. You just heard the unmistakable sound of someone rummaging through your cabinets. That's... odd. Ponyville is extremely safe, and it would be an understatement to say that burglary is a rare occurrence.
Carefully peering around the corner, you let out a sigh of relief as you realize who it is. In your kitchen stands Luna, apparently pouring herself a glass of water.
"Uh, hey, Lulu. What are you doing here?"
She turns to look at you, an emotionless expression on her face. She levitates the glass of water towards you, and you carefully take it from her. You take a sip, but for whatever reason you don't register the taste of the water. Instead, your attention is directed entirely towards her, who looks like she's staring through you.
"Anon, we need to talk."
"A-alright. Yeah, whatever you need. What's up?"
"This isn't working."
"...I'm sorry?"
"This isn't working. Our relationship is not working."
W-wha? Where's this coming from?
"How can you say that?"
"You have been so unwilling to change that we cannot see each other. You know I have my duties, and that is non-negotiable. If you really wanted this to work, you would have quit that ridiculous job of yours and taken up the same schedule as me. At least then we would actually see each other for more than a few moments a day."
"I... Lulu, come on. You know that it's been my lifelong dream to open a restaurant."
"Then this 'dream' is more important than me?"
"I... I didn't say that! I just..."
You find yourself stumbling over your words. You thought she supported your restaurant? Heck, she even woke up super early more than once to try it out, and she loved it! Why is she acting like this?
"It sounds to me like you've made your choice. Very well." Without changing her expression, she walks right past you towards the front door, no longer even bothering to glance at you. "I shall simply find someone else. Someone better. Not some human freak that isn't willing to make some necessary sacrifices for their marefriend."
"Lulu, wait! I-"
"Goodbye."
As the front door flings open, you gasp at what you see. Waiting behind the door with an angry expression is a second Luna. The first Luna suddenly gasps as the second begins to cast a spell. Less than a second later, the first Luna is hit directly by a massive beam of magic. When the attack ends, nothing of the first Luna remains. You simply stand to the side, eyes wide and mouth agape, unsure of what exactly is going on. Suddenly, the front door closes behind the second Luna, who rushes towards you and wraps a hoof around you. Still in shock, you simply look down at her for a few moments.
"Oh, Anon, I'm so sorry! If I knew these were the types of nightmares you've been having, I would have said something!"
"W-what?"
She pulls back just enough to look at you, and you lock eyes with her.
"A nightmare. You're asleep, dude." You blink a couple of times. A nightmare? That... does explain a few things. "Still, I never imagined I would be the source of your nightmares. You know I would never do that, right? I love you too much to force an ultimatum like that on you. A-and I don't think you're a freak!" Taking a moment to calm down, you finally realize what is happening. Now completely lucid, you remember the events of the previous evening and slowly begin to laugh. "W-what's so funny?"
"S-sorry Lulu. It's just... I wasn't expecting my nightmare to be like this! I probably look like such a huge jerk!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Lulu, I gave myself a nightmare on purpose."
Now she is the one staring at you awkwardly. She blinks a few times as her ears droop a bit due to the sheer confusion.
"W-what? Why would you do that?"
"So I can do this~"
Without warning, you wrap your arms around Luna, who was still sticking close to you, and you lift her into the air, twirling her around a few times before pulling her into a tight hug. Thanks to the height difference, you have her a good foot or two off of the ground as her head rests on your shoulder.
"What is the meaning of this, Anon?!"
"Well, I already told you yesterday, didn't I? I want to spend more time with you! And since we're awake at different times, I figured that would be a difficult problem to solve. Buuuuut, when I remembered that you spend most of the evening in the dream realm, I had a little idea. If you can tell when someone is having a nightmare and enter their dream, AND you promised to do exactly that if I was the one having a nightmare, then... why would I not want to have a nightmare?"
"B-because nightmares can have lasting negative consequences on your physical and emotional well-being!"
"And you have lasting POSITIVE consequences on my physical and emotional well-being!"
"I-I..." Not finding much room to argue (and perhaps because she is enjoying getting to be embraced by you), she finally begins to return the hug. "I hate you sometimes, you know that? You and your stupid ideas."
"Aw, come on! I thought this was pretty clever!"
"...Perhaps. But in the future, please avoid doing this again."
"Heh, and here I thought you'd be excited by the idea of seeing me more. At least, I hoped you would be."
"I am excited by the idea. I really don't know how I haven't thought of it before." Pulling back a bit to look you in the eyes again, she give you a warm smile. "But you don't have to be having a nightmare for me to come visit you."
"Awwwww, Luluuuuuu!"
Excitedly, you lean forward just a bit and give her a kiss on the nose. A blush finds its way to her cheeks.
"Don't get me wrong though, I still have to visit other ponies! I can't spend all night in here with you."
"That's okay. I told you, I don't want to get in the way of your duties. But, uh... surely a quick stop every now and then wouldn't hurt?"
"Hmhm, we'll see."
"That's all I can ask for."
The two of you remain there, embracing one-another for what feels like a long time. You've never felt more at peace. Eventually, though, she pulls away and drops back onto her hooves.
"Sorry, Anon, but I can sense somepony having a nightmare of their own. I believe Ms. Rainbow Dash is having some terrifying thoughts about Pinkie Pie tying her to a table and... oh goodness I need to get going."
"Hah! Good luck, Lulu!"
She gives you a quick peck on the lips before turning around and teleporting away. You smile to yourself.
Maybe this was a good idea after all.
You gasp as you suddenly awaken. You sit up to look around. Let's see, there's a window, a nightstand, a shelf, a door... yeah, this is your room. Glancing out the window, you notice that it's late in the morning. Stretching as you lean up, you glance at the nearby clock, noticing that it's almost 10:00 AM. As you do so, however, you feel a strange weight around your waist. Looking down, you smile as you see the cause. Snoozing peacefully next to you is Luna, her front legs wrapped around you possessively. On one hand, you should probably start your day. On the other, the restaurant is closed today...
With a single chuckle, you lie back down, pulling her into your own embrace. You notice a smile make its way to her face, but she doesn't seem to wake up. With her head resting just below your own, you close your eyes and allow yourself to drift back to sleep.
And you already know that you're going to have wonderful dreams.