The modernization efforts in Aquila were already grandiose, but Spike and Flurry were awestruck at the sights of the buildings of Rila. They kept swapping from seat to seat, pointing out how large and ornate the buildings were. From the ashes of revolution was Rila reborn, many of the new buildings sporting wide balconies made for ease of flight, and lots of greenery with window-mounted gardens and the occasional copse of trees on the flat roof tops. Relief sculptures had been carved all over, even on apartments, scenes primarily of Michel leading troops to victory over the republicans.
The two children pressed their faces up against the window as they stared at the large building off in the distance, with two smaller temples flanking it. Spike’s mouth was agape at the sight of it and he looked over to Luna.
“It looks like the temples on Trinity Hill, only bigger!”
"That, dear children, is the Grand Temple of Arcturius," Luna tried to get a good look at it herself as she spoke. "Traditionally home to the Archon of Arcturius."
"Alas," Vivienne lamented, "Archon Proteus remains in Griffenheim instead."
As the car rumbled on through the fascination with the city never ceased, their jaws dropping as they saw the palace on their approach. Flurry and Spike looked to each other in amazement of the palace as they drew closer.
The palace of Michel Discret was grander even than Vivienne's own home in Aquila. A castle of sheer size and opulence that even Luna could not help but gawk at it. She turned to look at Vivienne in disbelief.
“How could someone who harbors republican sympathies live in such a place?”
Vivienne pulled out a cigarette and offered it to Luna. "I would say that it has been an ancient home, but no, it was recently built. At least uncle Michel is more reasonable than Dennis is, but he has his own eccentricities."
Luna raised a hoof to decline the offering as the car slowed to a stop. The chauffeur stepped out to open the door for them, Vivienne taking the lead. At the top of the steps, waiting for them, was Duke Michel Discret of Rila. In spite of his home he was dressed much more modestly. As modest as a duke would dress when meeting with his royal niece and her guests. Draped on his back was a great, white cloak, embroidered intricately with the Discret coat of arms. As he raised his hand to greet the group, hints of rich, purple velvet flashed from the underside of the garment. Golden jewelry flashed on his talons, multiple rings with all sorts of gems embedded along them.
"Ah, Vivi! How wonderful of you to visit me!" Michel exclaimed with his arms open as he walked down to embrace the queen in a hug, his cloak billowing behind him. "And look, you brought your lovely marefriend and her wards along as well! I know, I know, my palace is grand, don't worry, none of you will get lost! Come, come, let's eat and talk!"
As they walked up the steps Spike moved closer and gently nudged Luna. "Marefriend?"
Luna looked to him to see his brow raised and her lips curled in a playful grin. "Do you not read the papers, Spike? It is all over the news."
"I heard the rumors around, but I didn't really believe them!" Spike looked back up and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Does this mean we'll have her help when we go home?"
Luna draped her wing around him tenderly. "I hope so Spike."
Luna had not expected dinner to be so lavish. Michel did not want for anything in the grandest home anyone on Griffonia, perhaps the entire world, would ever see! Even the meals back in Aquila were more restrained as the duke went above and beyond, giving them all a full sixteen courses to savor. The smells of all the food was absolutely dizzying to experience, even as the portions came out little at a time.
It was through the third course, an assortment of various eggs, when Luna noticed Vivienne had hardly touched any of the food, yet imbibed on wine far more liberally as she listened to her uncle’s endless tirade. For his part, Michel seemed rather adamant to talk about every little thing that had happened in his life that he could recall without letting her get a word in.
"And that's when I had the entire household staff replaced. Goodness, to think the second attempt was as harrowing as it was!" Michel spoke, waving his arms around and barely keeping his wine from spilling.
From across the table Luna could see the muscles under Vivienne's feathers twitch as the queen strained to keep a polite visage even as she fetched a cigarette to light up. Michel's face twisted in slight disgust as his niece took a quick drag on her smoke.
"Ugh, such a filthy habit. It is a wonder you have drawn the eye of the princess here!"
Just as Vivienne was about to roll her eyes she took note of the slight motion Luna made with her head. Cooly the queen took out another cigarette and offered it, which Luna accepted. Then she leaned over the table and Vivienne followed suit, using the burning cherry of hers to light up Luna's and then the pair sat back in their seats.
Michel clicked his beak at that and took a swig of his wine. “The Discret Art Institute in Aquila is having its grand gallery opening, yet I have not heard of your involvement, Vivi.”
The queen gave her uncle a half-lidded gaze, her smile so thin it threatened to break. “I had hoped to leave the honor to you, uncle. You always seemed so much more interested in art. Didn’t you have some new portraits commissioned?”
He clapped and nodded. “I did! They’ve been hard at work for the past week! How sad I could not donate more to the opening, I had to settle for sending some of the older statues from the Grand Temple after replacing them. You see…” Michel prattled on.
Vivienne steadily emptied her fourth glass of wine.
"What a boor!" Vivienne slurred out as she cleaned off her makeup in the bathroom. The vanity top had talon scratches across it as she leaned over it to keep steady. "And the nerve, assuming to have us sleep in the same bedroom!"
"You should have said something to him sooner then, if sharing a bed with me is such an onerous task," came the princess’ dry remark.
Luna watched in amusement as Vivienne stumbled out of the bathroom, not fully cleaned up and half-undressed, the feathers on her head out of place as her blonde wig lay on the floor. With a scowl the hen approached uneasily over to the too-soft bed and crawled onto it.
"Do not tell me what I should have done, it was your idea to come here in the first place! And wipe that smirk off of your face!"
Luna’s ears wilted back and she looked away from Vivienne. The queen groaned as she rolled onto her back and lifted her arms up to the ceiling.
"No, no, it is not your fault, Luna. I had hoped that things would go better than they did. Eh. Perhaps the next few days..."
Luna let out a little sigh as she rubbed at her forehead. "Perhaps. Now, do forgive me, but I must contact my sister. All that information I have been reading on the Herzland I mean to give to her."
The queen blinked owlishly as she looked at Luna upside down and her arms hit the bed with a soft thump. "How?"
"Oh, I never did tell you? I can walk the realm of dreams. I used to do it to help my subjects with their nightmares, but..."
Vivienne made a slight noise as she rolled back over onto her stomach. "Well, go on then. I will likely be asleep when you are finished," she muttered as she closed her eyes, laying right in the middle of the bed.
As she focused her magic, Luna could feel her consciousness slowly slip away from reality as she fell into the fuzzy daze, her body going somewhat numb to the feeling of prickly needles across her skin. She could still hear and see into the real world even as her hooves touched down into the morass of the dreamscape, the dreams of those sleeping across Griffonia twinkling like stars.
As the dreamscape came more and more into focus she felt her body lose sensation as she fully manifested her consciousness into the realm. She took flight into the sky to find the golden light of her sister sleeping soundly and upon finding it exactly where she expected it to be she flew towards it with a smile.
"Celestia!" Luna screamed as she jolted out of the dreamscape.
Vivienne let out a squawk of surprise from being awoken by the alicorn's scream as Luna scrambled off of the bed toward the balcony. As soon as her hooves touched the carpet she yelped as her tail was in the firm grasp of Vivienne.
"Maar's marrow Luna! Calm yourself, now!" she slurred out, face contorted in confused anger.
"It's my sister, she’s in danger!"
Luna briefly teleported out of Vivienne's grasp and continued toward the balcony in her panic.
"Do you even know where she is?"
The question made her stumble a bit before she continued. "Somewhere in the Herzland!"
"Luna!" Vivienne snapped. "Stop and think, you stupid mare!"
The harsh command did have Luna pause in her motions, ears pinned back and front hoof pawing at the floor. Vivienne stumbled over to the princess and firmly wrapped her arms around Luna's barrel. "You have no idea where Celestia is, you would be leaving in the middle of the night and make me have to tell Flurry Heart and Spike where you ran off to!"
She froze at that then sat down, which forced Vivienne to follow. Vivienne proceeded to slur out several expletives until she dropped to mumbling. Luna felt the queen’s face against her side as Vivienne had drifted back to sleep. After waiting to ensure that the hen was sound asleep she gently lifted Vivienne in her magic and tucked her to bed. She sat and watched as Vivienne rolled over, then she turned to the balcony.
Upon opening the door she let the cool night air wash over her, her stars twinkling up above. Luna stood there and kept her focus on the moon and sun, searching for any signs of Celestia's own magic. A faint wisp of it could be felt on that burning orb on the other side of the world and she let out an anxious whinny.
"She must be gravely wounded... Oh sister, please be all right."
She walked around the room, too restless to try and sleep. Instead she hoped to distract herself by inspecting the room more thoroughly. It was much more ornate than the one back at Vivienne's palace, a clear sign that despite his sympathies, Michel was even more decadent and obsessed with wealth. Exotic woods used in all the furniture and walls, a chandelier with what she suspected to be diamonds to diffract the light, a carpet so soft and plush one could use it as a bed.
Her eyes drifted to the wardrobe for a moment, its design nearly exact to the one she had been gifted on her return. With her hooves brushing across the carpet she felt a sting in her eyes, where on that night she was held in white wings as she cried herself to sleep on the floor. Even the bed’s sheer size would have fit her elder sister comfortably.
Stomach twisted in worry she cast herself back into the dreamrealm. The grand golden beacon that was her sister was nowhere to be found in the mist-laden alternate world instead an untold number of nightmares filled her vision. Despite the geography being different, the deluge of nightly terrors struck her to her core; not unlike what she had seen in Equestria as the Great War raged on.
Luna set off to where she had last seen Celestia in this world. Though unfamiliar with this part of the world she still had a vague idea of where to find her sister. As she hovered over the collection of dreams in the tightly cloistered forest she noted the roiling torment of one, greater than the others. Though nothing about it was familiar to her, the anguish roiling off of it drew the moon princess down and into the dream.
Slowly she pulled out of the dream, the waters of it placid now. The other dreams around had shrunk down, some gone completely. In the gentle fog of the dream realm the light of the moon caused flashes like the twinkling of stars. “Sleep well, Diellza,” she whispered as she took off.
Luna took a few moments to scan around but there was no golden shimmer to catch her eye. With an ache in her heart she tearfully turned her focus back to Rila. Returning to where her physical body lay, another nightmare was nearby. A dark sphere of roiling smoke. She racked her mind for who it could be. She took stock of her surroundings in the dream realm and there was but one she could think to have such. Curious at whatever could make the queen frightful, she hovered above the dreamsphere. Gently she lowered her horn down to touch it.
Dreams had their own ‘taste’, unique to the individual as well as the emotions fueling it. The sour taste of fear was prominent, with underlying currents of anger and humiliation. Luna let out a snort, then shook her head. The smell of smoke filled her nostrils. It was the greasy smoke of war, and around her was rubble. The sky was dim as evening came along, the light of the stars being choked out as the city burned. Even the moon, her prison at that time, could scarcely be seen in its ascent.
Aquila, in the year of Grover II's razing.
Grand buildings had been brought down, the Aquileian fleet set to burn in the harbor. Citizens were being forced out of their homes with whatever they could carry. Many of them were indistinct as expected, so far from the center of the dream. Wings spread, Luna took flight to try and find the dreamer. She could see ruins on Trinity Hill and flew over toward the destroyed temples.
Standing among the ruins was a massive griffon wearing a crown and wearing the thickest armor she'd ever seen, a priest, and Vivienne. Luna landed gently nearby as the priest, an overweight looking griffon constantly wiping his brow of sweat, tried to perform the marriage vows. The priest kept stuttering while under the harsh gaze of the larger griffon, gripping his tome like a shield.
As the priest stammered toward the end, Luna's hoof clopped loudly against the stonework underneath. "You are not Giselda."
“My father is dead, who else can I be?” came the meek reply.
Another firm crack of hoof against stone. “You are not Giselda.”
“I am the prettiest young hen in all Aquileia, unmarried and royal. Who else am I?” The hen’s voice still wavered.
“Vivienne, look at me.”
The dream seemed to freeze as the hen looked over her shoulder to Luna. Their eyes met, and the roiling emotions of fear and anger melted away into relief. After a moment she reluctantly broke away to look up at the dream facsimile of Grover II.
"I am not," Vivienne affirmed as she wrenched her talons from his. "I am not Giselda, princess forced to marry the griffon whom ruined Aquila. I am Vivienne, queen of Aquileia!"
The dream Grover snarled as his features twisted. “Who are you, little hen, to deny the Empire what it’s owed? The Reichsarmee will march through the forests and hills of Aquileia once more to burn this city to ash and see you hanging like the traitor you are!”
“I am Queen Vivienne Discret!” she replied, her voice beginning to waver as the phantasm loomed over her.
“He is representative of your fears. I cannot banish him for you, but I am here for you,” Luna said as she came beside Vivienne.
A cloak of midnight feathers draped over the griffon queen and she stood up straight with a glower at Grover II. The giant took in a deep breath and unleashed an ear-splitting screech right into Vivienne’s face. Her own screech met his and her talons pierced through his right eye.
Slowly everything dissolved away, the ruins being replaced brick by brick by an Aquila Luna was far more familiar with, the fires of war replaced by the glowing lights of the city nightlife. Vivienne sat down and rubbed at her face as she let out a weary sigh.
"How often do you have this dream?"
The queen was frazzled, feathers out of place and panting heavily. "Too often, Luna. Too often. It is always the same thing. I am dragged by Imperial soldiers here and forced to go through the wedding."
Luna glanced at the 'rebuilt' temples, then back to Vivienne. "You need not suffer from ghosts of the past, especially ones with little bearing on your future."
Vivienne grew quiet and when she spoke it was in a low whisper. "He had several children with Princess Giselda and placed his son Grant onto the Aquileian throne when he became of age. Then his son took the Discret name to honor his grandmother when he rose to dukedom. It was not until the Empire collapsed in which our family finally proclaimed independence once more. Little Grover has a rightful claim on my throne, it is only a matter of time before it is pressed."
Luna sat next to Vivienne as they looked out onto the dream-Aquila. With her wing still around the queen she moved in a little closer and the hen pressed up to her in kind, tattered fabric against coat.
"Why are you here, princess?"
"I went in search of my sister in the world of dreams and could not find her. On my way back, I noticed your dream was one in turmoil. Was I to let it continue when I could have helped?"
She felt Vivienne shift and give a little nip with her beak. "I did not ask for help... but thank you."