//------------------------------//
// Ch1: Dreams are beautiful things 
// Story: A Vivid Dreamer 
// by Kronoxis 
//------------------------------//


A Vivid Dreamer – Ch1
Dreams are Beautiful things


It had been a week since both Celestia; Princess of the day. And Luna; Princess of the night, had felt the magical eddies formed from a rather peculiar disturbance. They had both spent a greater portion of that day extending their magical senses, in an attempt to find the cause of the disturbance and prevent disasters before they came to a head. When nothing could be felt, they had sent out an order that guards stationed in populated areas to report anything unusual.

Two days since that order was sent, it had mostly been reports on Timberwolves getting too close to roadways, nothing out of the norm in essence. Luna had told her older sister, “Perhaps it was just a unicorn foal, trying to get their cutie mark in either magic or perhaps even alchemy.” While it did not give either of them an explanation of its cause, it put both sisters at ease. Things returned to normal by the fourth day.

It was now the seventh day and Luna sat in the throne room watching the last noble leaving. The stallion was just one of a handful of nobles that had attended her night court. While Luna very much appreciated the idea of her ponies airing their concerns and suggestions to her, she consistently had to remind herself that ponies were not nocturnal.

With her night court adjourned early and her sister resting in preparation for raising the next day’s sun, Luna found herself with perhaps too much time on her hoofs. Turning to the closest attendant Luna announced, “We shall be retiring to our chambers, do not be afraid to call upon us should anything arise.”

“As you wish your highness,” came the reply from the young mare.

Luna began to her trek through the halls of Canterlot Castle to her chambers. As she wondered her idle thoughts turned to one question, what shall We do to pass Our time? 

Upon entering her bed chambers Luna berated herself for not coming to the conclusion earlier. “If our ponies shall sleep through our night then we shall guard their dreams,” Luna declared to no one in particular. With that thought in mind her horn began to glow softly, a matching aura began to glow around her drapes as well as the double doors leading to her balcony. With a soft click both doors swung inward allowing Luna to step through, and out under her night sky. Turning her head to the east Luna watched as her moon rose higher into the sky, it still had a far distant to rise before it reached its zenith, the night was still young.

“Do not worry my little ponies, while you sleep under Our night sky We shall remain vigil!” Luna declared to herself. She sat on her haunches then began looking over Canterlot, she could see Ponyville in the distance. She then closed her eyes; her horn began to take on an aura of soft blue. Luna’s body stilled, her breathing became shallow and distant. Slowly her senses closed off to the world around her till there was nothing left.

*DRIP*

Luna carefully opened her eyes to find herself floating, wings displayed in their full glory as she glided over a liquid ocean so still it acted as a polished mirror. Floating just above this ocean there where hundreds perhaps even thousands of tiny white motes of light, each drifting slowly on unseen currents. Occasionally one would dip low and touch the surface of the ocean, a light tinkling sound would accompany the ripple that would be created. After surveying her horizons Luna looked to the sky. There directly above her stood her moon, but there were no stars. Turning her gaze down to directly below herself Luna saw herself reflected, with her moon directly behind her reflection creating a silver halo. But there was a difference in this reflection, in the oceans reflection the sky that held her moon also held the stars one would find in the real world. Princess Luna had entered the Dreamscape.

Within the Dreamscape each mote of light represented a living creatures dream within Equestrian soil. Surveying her surroundings Luna would occasionally spot a mote drop down below the surface of the ocean, creating a faint ripple and its accompanying twinkles. This was representation of the dreamer awaking. Although given the time of night more and more motes of light were rising out of the ocean settling at arbitrary heights, meaning somepony had just tucked themselves in for the night.

“Another aspect of Our night that goes unseen by our ponies,” Luna grumped to herself, her voice taking on a soft ethereal nature in the space between dreams, her face having taken on the stoic features that she normally reserved for the nobles of Canterlot. After releasing a heavy sigh Luna raised her head, a small smile drawing across her face. “Never the less, We shall guard our subjects from terrifying nightmares and debilitating fears.”

With a renewed spirit and a pump of her majestic wings, Luna set herself gliding at a more appropriate pace. Keeping constant watch for any signs of nightmares and powerful fears Luna sailed across the sea of dreams. That was until Luna flared her wings bringing herself to a full stop, something had caught her eye. 

There in the distant near the horizon was something that just seemed odd, like glimpsing an orange in pile of apples and the other end of the isle at the marketplace. Luna turned to face this new direction and with another powerful pump of her wings set herself towards her new target.

As Luna approached her target she began to her it, a soft tinkling. This called for Luna’s attention, gazing around Luna noted that all the motes around her and her destination were drifting about at their usual heights; none were dipping or even leaving.  As Luna continued her approach she noted that the tinkling never stopped but at the same time never continued long enough for a pattern to be discerned. When Luna approached her target she was stunned by what she saw.
The object that had drawn her attention was also the cause for the constant sounds. There floating in front of Luna, about the size of her head, was a mote of light easily three times larger than those around it. While most motes that represented stable dreams were either white or silver in colour, this one appeared to cycle between a deep orange to a light blue. But what had stunned Luna was the features of this particular mote, none for which see had ever seen on any other dream. Every dream that Luna had seen since she had first laid eyes upon the Dreamscape had been perfect spheres. This one was not; it had several wispy tendrils that seemed to rise up above it flowing in an invisible wind. This effect made the mote look to be attempting its own imitation of a candle flame, poorly. It was then Luna noticed that one of the tendrils was not floating along with the others, this one tendril was pointed straight down and continued to draw lazy circles on the surface of the ocean eliciting the stream of twinkling that Luna had heard on her approach.

Luna’s voice while soft and near ethereal carried great distances in the Dreamscape.

“Now whose dream are you?”