Joey stepped into the dining room nervously, looking around. The room itself wasn't extremely wide, but it had some decent length to it - enough to comfortable fit a long crystal table in the center that had no doubt seen its fair share of dinner parties. Cadance, Shining Armor, and what Joey assumed to be their kid were all seated on the far end of the table.
Cadance perked up and waved. "Joey! You made it! How was your sleep?"
"Good, I guess." he replied nervously, not really knowing whether or not he should sit. This was made clear by Cadance as she pulled out the chair next to her with her magic and beckoned to it.
As the human took his seat, Shining tried to feed his daughter with the airplane method, but she was too busy squinting at Joey to accept her father's efforts.
"Oh! You haven't met our daughter, Flurry Heart!" Cadance noted, reading Joey's gaze.
"She's just like you princesses." Joey replied, regarding the horn and wings.
"The first Alicorn birth since Cadance!" Shining added.
Joey raised his eyebrows. "Damn. Seriously? What about Twilight?"
"She got her wings from the princesses after she proved herself worthy." Cadance replied, sipping on some tea. "Would you like some soup?"
Joey hadn't even noticed the food on the table. "Soup? Uh - sure. Thank you." He didn't feel particularly hungry, but he knew better than to refuse Cadance at this point. In a good way.
As the pink alicorn began ladling a portion into a bowl Joey couldn't help but notice how there weren't any staff waiting on them in the room, despite it technically being a royal meal. The way the other three were sitting, the lack of attendants, the down to earth food...
...It sort of felt like a normal family. His hands began to shake ever so slightly, but he didn't notice.
"So Cadance tells me that you want to make movies!" Shining began conversationally. "I knew that you applied to work at a studio, but I had no idea you wanted to make them yourself!"
"Oh - I have some ideas, yeah." Joey replied, attempting to have his first spoonful of the admittedly delicious looking soup. He let out a gasp as it burned his lips, causing him to fumble the spoon into his lap.
"You might want to let it sit for a moment." Cadance giggled. "Are you okay?"
"Well yeah, it's just hot soup." Joey replied, feeling embarrassed. He didn't want to be doted on.
"Do you still plan on getting into the movie business?" Shining asked. "I've seen the article, it seemed like a really dumb idea. I've heard the media handles up in Canterlot are furious about it. Maybe that's only because the princesses were first, though..."
"Princess Celestia and Luna saw the article??" Joey asked incredulously.
"Well, sure. I know it's our first day meeting face to face, but I've heard a lot about you." Shining explained. "When you disappeared from Ponyville, you made some waves! Everypony was so confused, and of course my sister was losing her mind. Even Cadance here wanted to go find you herself... which she ended up doing anyway."
Cadance beamed.
"So wait - I mean first off, sorry." Joey admitted sheepishly. "Well, not for the leaving part - just causing a ruckus. You have a sister in Ponyville, Mr. Armor?"
"Just call me Shining." the stallion said with a smile. "And of course I do, you met her. Twilight is my sister."
"WHAT! There's no way!" Joey laughed, not seeing the resemblance. "Are you serious?"
"Yep, which makes Cadance her sister in law and Flurry here her niece." Shining laughed.
"I don't know how I feel about this." Joey laughed, although it was a bit forced. He took a careful spoonful of soup and to his relief it was delicious.
Wait, why did he feel relieved?
"Anyways - we were talking about movie making, I think." Cadance remarked, steering the conversation back. "Do you still want to make movies, Joey?"
"I told you on the train that I do, but..." he sighed. "I dunno. I think it's gonna be impossible with Palomino Studios controlling the market."
"All the big ones nowadays do seem to come from Palomino..." Shining said thoughtfully. "I don't know much about them, but I do know that they hold most of the contracts with the theater here in the Crystal Empire."
"The same ponies who didn't want me there because I'm, well - me." Joey grunted.
"So what?" Cadance said in a slightly admonishing voice. "Do you really need a job at Palomino to make a movie?"
"Well - not really, I guess." Joey agreed. "But I wouldn't be able to make a career out of that. No one would go see a movie on a human story unless there was some familiarity with any small part of it."
"Huh?" Shining asked, seemingly lost at Joey's words.
"If I just throw something out there with a bunch of human terms or whatever no one is gonna watch it since no one understands it." the human pressed.
"I think your logic might be a little flawed." Cadance said softly, smirking slightly. "Still, that's alright. What would you do to solve it?"
"I - I did have one idea..." Joey admitted, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. "The story I would make the movies about are not my own, it's just a story from home I want to share with this world. It was based on a trilogy of books."
"I think that's great!" Shining said encouragingly, as he spoon fed a slightly fussy Flurry Heart. "Let's hear your idea."
"Well - I could theoretically reproduce the books." Joey said quietly. A cold sweat started to break out as he watched SHining feed his daughter. "I just - I dunno. It wouldn't be my own work, all credit would be the original author's."
"So what exactly is the problem there?" Cadance asked with a shrewd smile. "You're being too sheepish. I noticed you used the word 'reproduce' instead of something like 'rewrite'. You aren't taking credit for the story. So what's holding you back?"
"A lack of a publisher, for one." Joey said curtly, feeling oddly frustrated at the solid point she made. "I can write the book, but -"
"Tell Celestia or Luna about it!" Cadance interrupted, smiling.
"What!?" Joey yelped, startling Flurry after which she shot a nasty glare at him. His heart rate began to accelerate... no, not now...
"Just listen. Princess Celestia and Luna are helping the other humans start up their own careers." she replied softly. "You ran off before she could sincerely figure out what you wanted to do, and how to help you specifically."
Anger suddenly boiled up in Joey's chest. He slowly got up from the table. "I'm not feeling that hungry anymore. Thanks for the meal anyways."
"Joey, wait -" Cadance called out, but Joey had already walked out the door. She looked at her husband, wondering if she had gone too far.
Aqua was waiting for Joey down the hallway and perked up as he approached.
"That was fast!" she observed politely, but Joey simply waled past her, earning him a surprised look.
"I just need to be alone right now, Aqua." Joey said in a gravelly voice. The maid seemed to read the mood and let him be, which he appreciated.
Was he overreacting? He knew walking out on them like that in the middle of a meal was awfully rude, but something about the way things there were handled pissed him off. Also, ask Celestia for help! As if! The way Cadance spoke about them made it seem like the princesses cared way more about him than they actually did.
It didn't make any sense. If they really did care, would Luna have suddenly stopped showing up in his dreams? It couldn't have been a matter of business - he thought he had finally met someone who understood his situation, only to get utterly ghosted by them.
Celestia technically didn't do anything wrong, but Joey would never forget about what happened at the Grand Galloping Gala. That was a vile memory, one that hammered home the fact that no one in this world really gave a damn about him.
Then there was Twilight. She had a good heart, but she sided with Clara in a heartbeat whenever there was a problem. It seemed that way, at least. Still, when Joey was being beat down the so called 'Princess of Friendship' didn't ever seem to consider his point of view.
So Cadance just telling him to turn around and trust the princesses? After having all of his hesitations about remaking The Lord of the Rings tossed aside as if they were nothing? There was a whole emotional side of this, there was a very special reason he was so intent on this particular trilogy.
Tolkien's works had kept him out of some very dark places back on Earth.
He found himself walking aimlessly, turning down random hallways. His hands were nearly uncontrollable. He needed air. He needed air. A loud ringing began piercing his ears as his vision began to swim. Had it ever gotten this bad?
There was a door - a large door, that's all he could tell now, his vision was starting to swim. Rubbing his eyes furiously to rid himself of the symptom, he shoved his way through them and finally felt the cool crisp air wash over his face. It was too late, his body was on the rampage, his hands uncontrollable, his head pounding, ears ringing!
He found a small corner where the balcony met the outer wall and sat against it, bringing his knees to his chest. He grabbed his head, and as his fingers found purchase in his hair it seemed like he had been suddenly thrust into a nightmare. He had never experienced a panic attack this bad, ever. Angry faces wavered at the front of his vision - was it his imagination?
Everything was falling apart. The ringing in his ears drowned out all other sound. He was alone, he knew it, how could anyone understand him, what was he going to do!?
A slight tug on his legs was hardly enough to cause him to take notice... a drowned out voice could be heard...
"Joey?"
What was it saying? He didn't want to look up, he couldn't think, he just wanted to stay there.
"Joey, breathe! JOEY!!"
He finally found his head lifting. Cadance was there, shouting. She looked horrified, and her voice was becoming a bit clearer.
"Joey!! Come on!!"
The ringing in his ears had nearly deafened. He looked at her, feeling extremely disoriented, and managed to shoo her away with one hand.
"I'm fine." he grunted, shuddering.
"Joey, look at me! Please?" Cadance begged, and for some reason he found himself complying. There was an empty moment of silence as he held eye contact with the princess. Suddenly, she let out a shaking breath and hugged him tightly.
He didn't fight it. He could hardly sit still, but... something about the embrace helped him.
"I'm sorry... I wasn't trying to make you upset." Cadance sighed. "I don't know what specifically caused this, but please understand that I wanted to help!"
Joey let his head drop and stared at the floor. He had nothing to say. If that was the case, why should he stay? He made an effort to get up, but Cadance held him down.
"No, Joey. Stop trying to run away." she grabbed him by the cheeks and gently forced him to look her in the eye again.
Anger flared up inside him once again and he managed to free himself from her grasp. "Why??"
"Because you're going to get yourself hurt." Cadance pleaded quietly. It then dawned on him that she let him struggle free, and for some odd reason that seemed to calm him down even more.
He groaned loudly, placing his hands behind his neck, pressing his folded arms against his ears. This helped with the shaking a little bit as he tried to steady his breathing. "I-I just - I don't... guh."
"Can you tell me what I said that made you upset?" Cadance asked kindly.
"Look, I - fine." Joey conceded. He knew deep down that he was fighting a losing battle. "You're telling me to blindly throw trust at the princesses? I know you all are busy, but I thought I finally had a connection. An understanding. Then all of a sudden there was nothing, and I was forgotten. Again."
Cadance studied his face with worried eyes for a long moment. Finally she sighed. "Why don't we go back inside and find a comfortable place to sit. Then if you don't mind, I'd like you to tell me everything that's happened to you since coming to Equestria."
Joey paused. "You... want to know?"
"Of course I do! I'm just having a hard time understanding without knowing what exactly happened." Cadance insisted, and put a wing around Joey's shoulders. "Come on. I'll have somepony bring us tea... and some food. I don't care if you aren't hungry, you're going to eat something."
Nestled in a snug little nook of the palace library, Joey divulged the tale to Cadance. Maybe it was the comfy armchairs, but he felt oddly relaxed. The princess didn't interrupt him, she merely listened intently. The mention of the events at the gala caused her ears to fall flat, and at certain points in his recap she would let out a huge sigh or start twitching her bottom lip.
"That's... when you found me." Joey said tensely, wrapping it up. "And I'm grateful."
Cadance then walked over and nuzzled him, a show of affection that startled him. "I... I don't know what to say, Joey. I couldn't have imagined that so much has happened to you... I mean, I had a feeling. But hearing it in detail...?" Her eyes began to look watery.
From her perspective, she was nearly at a loss for words as she looked down at the tired, ghostlike human before her. She pitied him, but felt a bizarre swell of affection for him. Maybe it was maternal instinct.
"Joey... I'm sorry for what happened to you in Ponyville. My sister-in-law gets that way sometimes, but I know she would never have done that to hurt you intentionally. For her to side with Clara like that... it's unusual for somepony she isn't extremely close to."
"It was her instant reaction to criticize me when there was something even worse happening to me." Joey grunted. "Say what you will, but I don't agree. I hardly have spent any time with her, but those few times were nothing great. Maybe I'm being harsh. But I needed friends on my side and clearly I'm not worthy of that. Or something."
"You are worthy." Cadance sighed. "I've seen glimpses of a healthy Joey, deep beneath those layers of pain. I don't know exactly what he's like yet, but I wanna get to know that Joey better. You are super sharp, which makes encouraging you so hard.
"When you despair, it's hard to tell you when you might be wrong because of the logic you use. I don't know anypony else who could have stayed calm through all of that, especially with a mind like yours. You are very worthy of friendship, Joey. To say that you aren't breaks my heart..."
Joey's mouth was slightly agape after this. "That was... perceptive of you. I guess. I don't even know who I am anymore. I haven't for years."
"It'll take time." Cadance encouraged, giving him another hug. "It won't help to push away the ponies who want to help you."
"Ponies? With an 'S'?" Joey said sharply. "I think you meant 'pony', singular."
"I don't think you understand the whole picture." Cadance sighed. "You keep saying that Aunt Luna and Celestia just forgot about you... I don't think that's true. They aren't like that, and I think something was interfering with Luna."
Joey froze, looking at the princess. "What... what do you mean? Do you know something I don't?"
Cadance inhaled deeply. "I wrote to them earlier today to let you know that I've found you, and that you're safe. The reply wasn't clear so I can't tell you for sure what was happening. It mentioned that something was making it difficult for Luna to reach you. That's all I know."
"So... some sort of excuse?"
"They don't make excuses, Joey." Cadance said admonishingly. "They take responsibility."
Joey thought about the look on Celestia's face after telling the humans that they were never going home. "Yeah... you're right. I guess."
"They did want to see you if possible." Cadance added. "After all... you did disappear on everypony. Can I tell them to come?"
Joey pursed his lip. He wanted to believe Cadance, but a spiteful part of him didn't want anything to do with the two diarchs. Still... he wanted answers now more than anything. Plus, if they really did want to help him...
He had taken that chance before, however. Every time he had it turned out badly. So... what should he do?
Finally, he got to his feet. "You're not going to toss me out if it goes badly, right?"
"What!? Why would I do that?" Cadance yelped, looking as if she had been stung by his words.
"Sorry, sorry. Go ahead and invite them." Joey agreed curtly.
The royal chariot sped through the snowy gale in the north as it made its way towards the Crystal Empire. Inside it were the two sisters, of course. The atmosphere was tense as the two of them waited to arrive at their destination.
"Lulu... do you think he'll be upset?" Celestia asked calmly, masking her anxiety.
"Without a doubt." Luna replied sadly. "After all, I couldn't blame him. I made a promise and couldn't follow through. He has every right to be angry."
"It wasn't your fault, remember?" the sun pony sighed. "The dreamwall was keeping you out. We both know that kind of magic is nearly impenetrable. I haven't seen this sort of thing since we fought all those years ago."
"You're right sister, I shouldn't despair." Luna responded, giving her sister a small smile. "I am relieved to know that Joey is well. After that nasty article about him... I want to know who's responsible." She growled.
"Luna... we can't act irrationally. Free press needs to stay free, it's one of the liberties our ponies should have." Celestia reminded her.
"Right, right... but you cannot deny the cruelty of the press towards him, Celly."
"Luna, rest easy. I've taken care of the issue." Celestia smirked.
Luna cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I follow."
"While we won't hunt down and stop the media ponies responsible, I simply let some connections somewhere else handle the issue. Trust me, Joey's reputation will not be stained unfairly if I can help it."
Luna's eyes widened. "Oh! You're right! Very clever, sister!"
"Your highnesses! We're approaching!!" called one of the chariot guards from outside.
The local populace looked up in awe as the chariot soared over head, screeching to a halt before the palace doors. Princess Cadance and her husband stood there, waiting.
"Welcome, your highnesses!" Shining said with a small bow.
"No need for that Shining Armor, this is an informal visit." Celestia reassured him.
The four of them entered the palace, making their way towards the throne room. Celestia couldn't help but admire the handiwork every time she visited. The way the crystalline walls arched far over their heads in unison, the intricate doorways...
"Hang tight, I'll go get Joey. I think he's in his room." Cadance announced, trotting right back out of the room.
"How is he, Shining Armor?" Luna asked worriedly. "How does he feel about seeing us?"
"To be honest, princesses - I don't think he's too excited for this meeting. It's hard for me to get a read on him, so I have no idea what he's thinking. Cadance says that he agreed to meeting you guys, and she says that's a good sign."
Celestia smiled glumly. "I had predicted that to be the case. I fear there are great misunderstandings between us with everything that has occurred since his... disappearance."
"What did I misunderstand?" asked a weary, familiar voice.
Celestia and Luna wheeled around to see Joey standing next to Cadance in the doorway. Just the sight of him stung Celestia's heart - he was much thinner than the last time they met. There was even a very small degree of gauntness to his expression. Huge, tired bags hung under his eyes. He eyed them calmly, but she could tell that his guard was definitely up.
"Goodness - has it really been that bad?" Luna asked, putting a hoof to her mouth.
Joey shrugged, then looked at Celestia again. "You said that 'there are great misunderstandings between us'."
"You must understand, there were things out of our control." Luna began, but Joey scowled.
"I get it, you guys had to have been super busy. Still, making empty promises to someone like me, in the situation I was in... pardon my French, but that's fucked up." he said firmly. There was a hint of venom in his voice.
"When you left, I took it that you wanted space. Correct?" Celestia asked calmly.
Joey thought for a moment, and nodded.
"I think we both know that Luna and I could have found you if we made a serious effort." Celestia explained. "However, I don't think you would have appreciated that too much. It was a delicate road to navigate... but Luna at least had an avenue of communication with you."
"Yeah, the one time it happened." Joey spat.
"Joey..." Cadance began scoldingly, but Luna raised a hoof.
"He has every right to be upset. It isn't what you think it is, Joey. I have attempted to breach the dreamwall to speak with you countless times, but... it is simply too strong."
"Dreamwall?" Joey asked, looking skeptical.
"Right, you wouldn't know much about magical terms yet." Luna acknowledged. "The dreamscape is a magical - er, limbo of sorts. As you know, I can access and influence other ponies' dreams in order to give them peaceful rest."
"I remember you mentioning it." Joey replied, nodding.
Luna took a deep breath and continued. "Sometimes a phenomena called a dreamwall occurs. It's a magical barrier that presents itself when the dream's host is under a lot of mental stress. It attempts to repel any effort to enter the dream. The worse the host's mental state is, the stronger the wall gets.
Joey was now staring into space, processing everything he was hearing with a slight frown.
"I've never had too much trouble getting through dreamwalls before, but yours... yours was nothing like I had ever seen." Luna continued shakily. Her sister placed her wing on Luna's withers to comfort her, and she continued her explanation. "I couldn't even get near it. I had never experienced a wall as strong as yours, and I was - frightened - at how quickly it had formed. My assumption is that you had one developing during your time in Ponyville, and it grew strong when something dreadful happened to you in Las Pegasus.
"Think of it as a black cloud, Joey, that encompasses the entire point of entry into your dream. It seems to suck the very happiness and light out of the air around it. My sister an I had lost contact with you in an instant, and we had no idea what might have become of you."
Joey stared at her, dumbfounded. "So... you couldn't get to my dreams because me?"
"No - no, that's not what I meant!" Luna quickly corrected. "Dreamwalls form from what the host feels. You are suffering more deeply than anypony else I had ever seen."
"Suffering...?" Joey asked quietly, before straightening up. "I dunno, I'm doing pretty well right now, aren't I? Thanks to Cadance."
Cadance raised an eyebrow. "I disagree."
"Joey - your dreamwall is still there." Luna said with a dark expression.
He couldn't argue with the princess of night. Especially if he knew next to nothing about the magical ins and outs of this land. Furthermore there was this urgent look buried in her expression, underneath the anxiety. It seemed incredibly serious... which aligned with the things he had just been told.
So this whole time... he was the reason she couldn't access his dreams? Or to put it a better way, his mental state?
"How do I get rid of it...?" Joey asked.
Celestia finally spoke up, with a very warm and sympathetic smile. "You need to heal, Joey."
"I feel fine. I'm doing better than I was when Cadance found me." he argued, taking a sip of coffee and wincing. "Ouch, hot."
"That isn't true and you know it." Cadance refuted firmly. "You had the worst panic attack I've ever seen a couple nights ago!!"
"What?" Celestia and Luna both asked in alarm.
Joey groaned, massaging a temple with his free hand. "That wasn't my fault!"
"Of course it wasn't." Shining Armor agreed, walking up to him. "I think it was bound to happen, with the way you seem to handle things. I've known you for two and a half days now, and you have one of the strongest wills I have ever seen."
"Shining's right." Cadance sighed with a smile. "You try and handle everything yourself before even thinking of letting somepony else help. All of us here really care about you, but I need you to understand that you can't heal if you push us away."
"We will always be here to help." Luna added. "I know you see us as superiors, but I would ask that in situations like these you see us as dear friends. We aren't going anywhere - just don't disappear on us again, okay?"
Joey simply just stared at them all blankly. Celestia felt slightly nervous at how he was going to take this request.
Then he let out a snort of laughter. It didn't seem to be at them however. His facial expression relaxed. Looking up at them, he did something that made all of them feel shocked and a bit giddy.
He smiled. Not just a smile - a genuine, relieved looking smile. None of them had ever seen that look on him before, and it seemed to light up to whole room.
"It's embarrassing to be put on the spot like this, but... you all have a point. I'm sorry I ran off like that. I'll be sure to let you guys know next time."
"Next time?" Cadance asked, raising an eyebrow. Everyone in the room laughed, including Joey.
"It was a cool magic trick the first time, but it needs work." he said sarcastically.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT NEEDS WORK?" Cadance shouted as she placed her forehooves on his shoulders and shook gently.
"Oi, careful! I have coffee!"
"If you make my wife worry like that ever again, I will give you the BIGGEST noogie." Shining threatened joking.
"Oh yikes, hoof-noogies? I'll pass." Joey replied with a grin as Cadance removed herself.
Celestia approached him and opened up her wings invitingly.
"Whoa, hold on a moment." Joey said firmly, halting her advance. "I gotta put my coffee down."
As the group came in for a very awkward group hug (for Joey, at least) he couldn't help but think about how things were finally starting to look up.
"A book trilogy? Really?" Luna asked excitedly. Joey, Luna, and Celestia were all sitting in the palace library, discussing his career plans.
"I have some connections with publishers in Canterlot who would be more than happy to help." Celestia offered. "It would still have to go through the editing process, of course."
"I wouldn't want to do it any other way." Joey agreed. "I want it to be an accomplishment more than a favor. It shouldn't be hard, I'd be reproducing another human's work. I'm thinking I'll dedicate a couple pages to a small biography for Tolkien in each book."
"What's the premise?" Luna asked. Joey could tell she was a closet book lover. "I'm very interested to know what the story is."
"Guess you'd have to wait - part of the magic in this series is the discovery of the plot." Joey chuckled, sipping more coffee.
Luna groaned, while Celestia laughed a little. The sun princess smiled. "So - have you decided whether or not you'll write them? I can send a notice to the publishers in advance. You humans have a very sweet reputation up there, and no doubt they'll be excited to get their hooves on human literature."
"Eventually I want to figure out how to make the books into movies." Joey explained. "If I just went and made the movies without any prior interest, they wouldn't do as well. So however well these books perform will determine whether or not I risk making them into movies."
"So I take it that as a confirmation that you're going to write them?" Luna asked hopefully.
Joey thought about it for a moment and snickered. "Yeah, I guess it does. I really gotta stop confusing myself like this."
Their visit was short, but fruitful. Luna and Celestia had to go back to Canterlot now to attend to their royal responsibilities. Cadance and Shining saw them to their carriage, but this time Joey accompanied them.
"Promise you'll write, okay?" Luna said to Joey, eliciting a smile from him in return.
"Yeah, definitely. You guys have a safe trip."
"Keep us updated on the progress of those books as well, alright?" Celestia added. "Luna especially is excited to read them. You've given them quite a lot of praise."
"You guys won't be disappointed, I promise." Joey reassured them, ignoring Luna's embarrassed blush.
"Sister! What's so wrong about enjoying a good book??" Luna asked.
"Nothing. You and Twilight have a lot in common." She then gave Joey a small hug and nodded to the others. "Farewell, for now! I wish you luck with your writing. Cadance, Shining Armor - you both have my dearest heartfelt thanks for taking him in."
"Of course!" Shining replied, beaming. "It's our pleasure."
They bade their final goodbyes, and watched as the chariot flew off into the afternoon sky until it passed the magical barrier.
Cadance turned to Joey, looking a little excited. "So you're writing the book?"
"Yeah, I am. You helped me to decide, too. Sorry again for overreacting that night." Joey apologized.
"You keep apologizing about that, stop it." Shining laughed.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. Lunchtime?"
"Lunchtime." the other two agreed in unison, and began making their way back into the palace.