From the very first day Mira had heard Kallisto's stories of the strange otherworld of the Dreamlands, she had imagined what her own visits might be like. Maybe she would be a brave and noble champion of realms unimagined, saving them from oppressive conquerors. Maybe she would discover ancient mysteries, and return to Equestria with the secret her tribe needed. Maybe she would find one of her own ancestors in the ancient place, living on in dedication to the lunar rebellion, who would offer her a boon in the waking world.
But for all of those things, Kallisto wasn't supposed to be dead, or trying to kill her. With another several years to learn how to safely explore the depths of the Dreamlands, she wouldn't be a frightened filly anymore, but a potent agent for change.
Of all the places she could make her first visit, Greenleaf in Hope was probably among the safest. If anything, Mira herself was the danger here.
She couldn't miss the way so many of the natives dodged around her, changing their routes to avoid intercepting her. Some looked on with pity at Sandy, who walked along just behind her with apparent reluctance. Yet Sandy hadn't tried to escape, or even asked to leave. Instead, the tour continued.
Mira watched with increasing confusion, even as Sandy explained the wonders of her home. Greenleaf was, in many respects, a perfect place to live.
She passed along the shore, with warm sands visible never further than one street. Many of the locals rested out there on the beach, though they had a strange way of experiencing them. They spread with backs to the sun, opening their strange wings to full size to shade them, and covered the beach with fascinating and bewildering patterns.
Sandy showed her where many of the locals worked, showed her the ancient walls that had once protected them from a siege, so far in the past that they hadn't even been alive for it. They passed through a strange marketplace, where things Mira didn't fully understand were traded by eager creatures shouting over each other while somehow remaining polite.
It was a menagerie of strange wonders. Hundreds of food-smells filled the square, bringing with them multicolored smoke that somehow managed not to pollute. There were stalls of beautiful silks like those used by the nomadic groups of her own tribe. But unlike the real-world bats, these were free to use all manner of elaborate shades, without fear of being crushed by the solar army.
Most of the merchants weren't moths. A few were locals, with mostly local customers. But most of the creatures she saw were other things. Some were recognizable tribes of ponies, and she began to circle around the marketplace, searching for a bat.
But there wasn't a single one.
She slowed as she passed one stall, where numerous maps were pinned to the back and sides of the structure. Sandy stopped too, though the crowds were thick enough here that she could probably have escaped. "Maybe they have what I need..." she muttered.
But Mira had dealt with merchants before. Bats rarely had gold, so they could usually only make an exchange with creatures who would accept barter. "Sandy," she whispered, or as close to a whisper as she could manage in the dense crowd and still be heard. "I need you to explain something."
"You need so much," they said. Possibly the bravest thing she'd heard from the creature. "What is it, dreamer?"
"There is so much for sale here. Your marketplace is filled with wonders. But I thought the Dreamlands let ponies create anything they wanted just by willing it."
"You thought?" Sandy faced her, wings opening halfway to either side. "Do dreamers just assume that this world works the same for others as it does for them? You can twist reality, to the fear and joy of all who live here. That is not an ability shared by many."
"Oh." Mira tried to keep her expression calm. But she started bouncing eagerly in place, wings twitching like she was about to take off. They know about dreamers! Maybe they can teach me!
"What if I want to buy one of their maps? What currency do I use?"
Sandy stared at her as though she'd just flown face first into a tree. "The same as anywhere, dreamer. Essence." They reached into their brightly colored robes, producing a little glass vial with a large round inside and a narrow neck.
Only this one apparently stored glowing liquid. There wasn't much, maybe an ounce at most. It glowed light violet, brightening and dimming gradually as though it were breathing.
"Essence?" She reached for it, but this time the moth pulled back, stashing the vial away. Apparently giving away their wealth didn't quite reach the level of what their service required. Mira didn't persist, letting them back away.
"Where do I get some?" she asked instead. "Where I'm from, we mostly barter with other creatures. Inside the city, we use bits and pieces of old coins from the bats that came before us. But we don't share them with regular ponies."
"Where do you..." Sandy's eyes just kept getting wider, or at least she assumed that was what she was looking at. But they were different enough that their bodies were just hard to compare. "How are you even here? Dreamer, you're a creature of infinite wealth. You carry essence from another realm, like all others. Whatever game you think you're playing with me... stop. We don't lie here."
Now they were making a scene. Almost-bugs from all over turned to watch. Some even gasped, or whispered to one another. But it wasn't Mira they were staring at.
"Neither would I," she said defensively. She probably should've kept her voice down. But with so many creatures staring, the pressure just seemed to mount. "I'm new in the Dreamlands. I don't know what this place is, I don't know how to get around it. My teacher tried to kill me instead of showing me what to do, and I thought... maybe Hope would be a nicer place to visit?"
She backed away, spreading her wings wide and taking off into the air. "I guess I was wrong."
She left the city streets below her, lifting up. Mira felt drained, but not exhausted in the way she might've been back in the real world. It wasn’t that she was tired, it was that she didn't want to be around anyone.
The Dreaming was supposed to be a place of perfection—the unconscious world where anything could be found, any question could be answered, and her own kind ruled as brave explorers and demigods of creation.
She didn't actually leave the whole city behind. She just needed some distance from Sandy. So she found one of the towering buildings, with an oversized balcony and a little furniture. Whoever built it had a great view of the ocean, with a bench to stretch out and relax on.
Mira didn't use their furniture, just curled up against the railing to look out at the city. The curtains into the house were closed. Hopefully she'd be gone before anyone noticed.
Her saddlebags shifted around her, and a little feline face appeared, wiggling out from inside. She hopped onto the ground in front of her, stalking past Mira. "That's not how most creatures react to Hope," she said. "Even long-legs usually have more sense. Did you have to be so loud?"
You're judging me too? But Mira didn't have the energy to abandon her. That would require more motion from herself. Just now, she just wanted a chance to catch her breath. "Nopony told me anything. Well..."
That wasn't exactly true. Despite what other creatures sometimes whispered, she did care about telling the truth. When it mattered. "Kallisto did tell me stories about this place. The ancient heroes who found it, like Star Drift. The champions of moonlight and darkness who fight off the forces of chaos. The Nameless City, the gentle gods who live in the frozen north... lots of stories."
"You didn’t think they were true?" The cat hopped up onto a chair beside her, until she was at almost eye-level. "You thought you were just hearing rumors? What's the point of telling stories if they aren't true?"
Had Mira believed them? She did believe in the Dreaming, even before. She'd braved a strange potion to see her teacher off one last time. But that didn't mean she had accepted everything about them. "I thought some of it had to be. I know bats used to be a noble tribe. We were respected, like unicorns. Our magic was noble and mysterious. Now it's forbidden."
The cat made a strange growling sound, hopping up onto a nearby table. There were no iced beverages waiting on it, unfortunately. "So what do you do about it, dreamer? The Dreaming declares no creature queen. But the brave can take that title for herself, if she dares."
"I don't want to be a queen," Mira said. She stretched out in the sun, expanding out her wings. The warmth of the sun was nice. At least here, she wouldn't have to worry about being chased off by the solar guard. Now if Kallisto saw her from the air, that would be different...
"I want to save my queen. She got banished to the moon. Because she's not around to protect us, bats everywhere are in trouble. We lost our cities, and now we travel from place to place. We have to hide from the solar guard, we can't practice our magic in the open. We can't even pray to our queen anymore. Everything was stolen.
"But if I can find her, show her the way back to Equestria, she could fix it. Nightmare Moon did everything she could to protect her ponies."
The cat stretched herself out in front of Mira, much as she was doing. Then she yawned, as though Mira's whole story was barely worthy of notice. "You're one strange dreamer, long-legs. You're lucky I found you, otherwise you'd just be completely lost. No friends, no one to protect you. No one to show you what to do. But all the best dreamers have a psychopomp, and I've graciously elected to take you under my claw. Your mission is just grand enough for a princess like myself."
Mira grinned, sitting up. So maybe her world wasn't completely helpless. At least the cat liked her. "Like a familiar?"
"No." The cat hissed, swiping at the air in her general direction with tiny claws. But she didn't actually cut her. "Familiars are servants. Look for a dog if you want a servant. They sure are loyal... but stupid. They'll never give you helpful advice, just do what you tell them. A psychopomp is an advisor—only another who travels between worlds can help you understand your role."
Mira's eyebrows went up. The cat might be annoying, but her words were surprisingly insightful for a kitten. Even if she was the first animal Mira had ever talked to. "So advise me then. How do I get to the moon?"
The cat didn't answer. Another set of hooves settled on the ground beside her, so light that she almost didn't hear them. But bats were all about the quiet, and Mira had spent half her lifetime sneaking. Nothing could hide from her.
Sandy stood there, balanced on the railing. They kept their wings spread, and somehow managed not to fall off despite not flapping them. How they could balance on such a narrow rail with only two legs, Mira couldn't guess.
It was probably just like the roads, and many other parts of the Dreamlands. Its natives just didn't have to follow the rules. "Mira," they said slowly. They took each word one at a time, obviously choosing them carefully. "Did you tell me the truth? You are... a stranger to this place? A god without a crown?"
She nodded. "I think I have a rain cap in my saddlebags somewhere. And my friend, uh... cat. She's pretty nice. But that's the truth. I don't know how any of this works. There was probably a library that told me everything I needed to know, but it kinda blew up."
"And you promise not to kill me?"
Mira's mouth hung open. But apparently that was the wrong thing, because the moth kept glancing at her fangs. "I promise. I just want to find my way to the moon, that's all."
The bug remained silent for another moment, apparently considering. Finally they took off. They barely needed to flap to stay airborne, more a gentle glide. "I might be able to help. Come with me."