Luna sullenly stared straight ahead at the clouds that surrounded her. Close at hoof, sat the formerly most ill-mannered, now the most confusing mare this side of Tartarus. Still, she thought calmly, Patience is required, for whatever reason she does not know of anything to do with Equestria... This raises a whole batch of questions and where to begin to answer them, I do not know. This particular mare, however, was well beyond stubborn as well, or had been. This made the process of puzzling things out even more difficult for her.
Luna grimaced briefly while still pondering. Surely I am not so difficult to fathom as she is saying? Perhaps I should speak to Celestia once again about this. The memory of Mary's greeting—after so vehemently trying to get in touch with her—was still fresh in her mind.
Luna had desired and planned to gain the upper hoof if she bumped into Mary again, and when it had had happened she immediately began a well prepared speech. Things hadn't gone according to the plan though.
*~*
"Hello again, Mary...We hath heard thy call, my little pony, doth this mean that thou wish to speaketh of—"
"I-I'm sorry, I need a moment." The earth pony sitting across from her stated curtly. She rubbed at one eye with a foreleg, while the other scrutinized Luna. "I can't believe this worked, you are real. This means you're real, right? Oh my God, are you like my fairy godmother? Or have I gone crazy....I've gone crazy, haven't I? That explains all of this, I knew it. I can't go crazy, my kids haven't even gone to college yet!"
Luna tried to reply and it came out as nothing much more than a stutter. "Er, yes, I mean no, we assure thee we are no-one's 'fairly mother', we—"
The other mare interrupted her again. "You're doing that thing where you talk like my father in law when he thinks he's being funny, again, by the way."
Luna took a pensive breath and continued. "Mary, please, I don't understand fully the gravity of the situation and I need your cooperation in order to figure things out. Can I count on you to help me with this?"
The strange mare which she had found, floundering in the dream world nearly a month past, stared up at her with a bewildered expression. Slowly, she nodded. "Yeah, I-I want to know what's going on. I'm sorry I've been a complete basket case, I just can't believe my dreams are talking to me... gosh, you are real."
"Again, I am no mere dream, I am Princess Luna, my little pony." Luna's features relaxed, the sure signs of making progress showing themselves to her.
"Oh, right, I do remember that." The blue and tan haired mare scrunched her muzzle in thought. "Huh, well let's get started then, do you know what exactly I am? You keep calling me a pony, I guess that means I'm not some kind of irradiated horse?" She quirked an eyebrow and began examining her hooves as if they were the strangest thing to ever exist.
Princess Luna facehoofed.
*~*
For the last couple of minutes afterwards they had sat in relative silence—except for puzzling out a couple things. Mary now busied herself with inspecting the dreamscape, once Luna had informed her that she was, in fact, a pony of Equestria. After learning that name held no recognition with the strange mare, Luna began considering carefully what to do next, and what exactly everything to do with this strange orange earth pony meant.
It must be severe amnesia. Perhaps more ponies besides the Elements have gone missing after all? From the corner of her eye, Luna watched the other mare, who had not moved from where she had begun idly pushing around tufts of cloud, entranced by them. She was seemingly fine with treating Luna as though she were furniture. At least she has warmed up to the clouds since our last meeting, I guessed correctly after all. As an earth pony she would find the cloudscape dream fascinating. The princess allowed herself a smirk of triumph, before her eyes fell once again on the strangest of oddities.
So, where is her cutie mark? Granted, it was obviously a subconscious or pointed decision of the mare in question that it was hidden. Luna theorized over the secrecy, Perhaps it has to do with human worlds lacking them, as Rarity has shared. Could cutie marks not exist outside of Equestria? No, that can't be right, Pinkie Pie's is preserved, as are the others... She couldn't help but get sidetracked by one of the things that had made Mary seem so different to her.
Despite bigger issues at hoof, Luna was still curious and decided that it wouldn't be too rude to ask about it. Point in fact, it would be tit for tat as I see it, at the very least. "Mary, I must ask you and please do not be offended, but why have you chosen to conceal your cutie mark here?"
Mary looked up from the ground, a fluffy white beard of cloud hanging from her face. "My cutie what?" she asked.
"...Your cutie mark, Mary." Luna gestured back to her own side with one hoof. On it, was emblazoned the sigil of her special talent, her gift to raise and lower the moon of Equestria. "It would be a marking of the one thing that you are particularly talented with, or a symbol representing the same. All ponies of Equestria, whether they be unicorn, pegasus or earth pony bear one. I'm asking what is yours, if that is not too imprudent of me to do so." She tilted her head and wore what she hoped was an eager, interested expression that would garner some flattery from Mary. When her own ability to take the situation seriously wavered, she then removed the distracting cloud-beard Mary wore with a thought.
The recognition or thoughtful hesitation which Luna had expected from Mary, did not come. Instead, the mare wore a confused look, that only after nearly a minute sprang into familiarity.
"They're called a cutie mark!?" Mary burst out with suddenly.
Luna had to resist the urge to face hoof once again.
"That name's ridiculous." Mary went on, "So they do have something to do with this curse? Oh nooo." Mary buried her head under her hooves on the cloudy ground, seemingly done with her confusing slur of random words.
Luna couldn't make heads or tails of what the strange orange mare was talking about. Curse? Ridiculous names? One part made sense, though, and raised a massive amount of alarm in her the moment she heard Mary say it. How can she not know what a cutie mark is!? "How can you not know what a cutie mark is!?" She shouted out of the blue. Her genuine surprise raised her voice several decibels higher than normal. After shouting so on accident, she promptly clamped her mouth down and refolded her now outstretched wings.
"Ow! Not so loud..." Mary's ears pressed down and leaned away from Luna's royal outburst, Canterlot voice or no. "No, I've never heard of a 'cutie mark'. You act like I should have or something." The grimace she gave over the noisy offense made Luna's face heat.
It has to be amnesia. I wish Tia could dreamwalk, she's much better at speaking with our subjects than I am... Despite her floundering, Luna took a deep breath pressed on. "It is one of the single most important events of an adolescent pony's life, it is unheard of for a pony to lack one." She sat back after a quick glance at her own, satisfied with her explanation. The response she received caught her off guard.
"But I don't have one, it's my family that has them, and they aren't supposed to have them!" Mary stood up and squared herself towards Luna, her eyes focused against the princess' teal ones.
"Your family," Luna began carefully, matching the other mare's determined stare. "The humans?" She recalled the details of their last, confusing encounter. Thus far, this meeting was panning out to be the same. "Interesting, I have never heard of another race but the three pony tribes possessing one. Strange indeed..."
"That's the least of the strange going on around here..." Mary muttered, relaxing some but not looking away. "You say you're not a dream, that you're a princess of some crazy sounding country that doesn't exist. That makes you the strangest thing so far. Following closely in second, is my turning into this!" She stood up on her two back legs and pointed her front hooves at herself, looking up with an indignant face for effect. "And after that would be what's happened to my husband and children!" Her breath panted out. "I want to know, can you actually explain any of this?"
Luna maintained her regal posture, unwilling to bend while being spoken to so challengingly. So that is it then... Things were starting to click, but she only had pieces thus far to her puzzle. This is far, far different a situation from one of my little ponies suffering amnesia, isn't it?
"No." Luna answered simply to Mary.
"Great, I knew it—"
"But," Luna began again. She stood up gracefully while at the same time walking closer to Mary. The other mare fell back to four hooves and turned sideways, away from Luna, who loomed over her. "I can give you my help all the same. Maybe with time, I can also give you answers, too. I just want to talk Mary, for I may also need your help."
Mary could feel how fearful her eyes must look from the nervousness she felt. "My help? What could I do to help you? I can't even help myself."
"That is to be seen, my little pony." Luna smiled calmly and sat again. Not a moment later and a tea table and set appeared adjacent to the now closer pair of dream-borne ponies. The cloudy carpet in the immediate vicinity was replaced with a superbly carved marble floor, ringed with gilded stand lamps glowing with a pretty ambiance. "Please, join me for tea, Mary? This blend is my absolute favorite and I think you'll like it." She gestured to the table with one hoof casually as she spoke. "We should be much more pleasant with one another, for we are allies, I believe."
The regal manner in which Luna was successfully progressing things was not lost on her. Hah, I can so do this, she thought, just managing to keep her calm smile from growing too wide at the end.
Mary groaned and shook her head from where she still sat. "Just what is going- Okay, I'm calm, I'm sorry, too." She cast a wary glance towards Luna, before facing away from her and towards the dream's sunny horizon. "I... When I first awoke like this, I wanted to believe nothing more than that the real world was a dream." Her laugh was short and bitter. "Now, I'm in a dream, and I can't accept that it's real. When will things stop throwing me for a loop?"
The never-ending sunset on the horizon was something truly beautiful to behold for Mary. Her intentionally exasperated sigh became simply a sigh at what had suddenly taken away her attention. She tiredly turned back to Luna, having almost forgotten what she had been saying. "Simply put, uhm, Princess... I don't know if I should trust you." She wiggled nervously on the smooth, cool floor and looked elsewhere than the lunar pony out of sheer nervousness.
Mary studied the tea and crumpets on the new furniture, still bewildered by them. The momentary shock of having a tea set poof beside yourself had faded though, and she continued. "But, I don't have a choice... I'll believe that whatever has happened, and that all this, isn't your fault." Her head drooped from the weight of her uncertainty with things.
Luna frowned sadly while the depressed sounding mare wilted in front of her. "I assure you such is not the case. Although, perhaps you should enlighten me first as to what exactly it is you speak of, Mrs. Mary. Again, I am-" She had been about say, 'your princess, and I mean you no harm.' Instead, she simplified it. "I mean you no harm, ahem. That we promise to you."
Mary looked up, then heaved a sigh and shuffled herself closer to the tea set. "Sorry, I've never imagined that fantasy is real, let alone changing bodies." The tea and snack smelled really good, enough so that it wrinkled her nose with its pleasantness alone.
Luna's brow furrowed momentarily over the looming conundrum that had been offered to her, and in more ways than one. I really need to get to the bottom of this, now, She thought resolutely, but continued to be patient for poise's sake.
"Speaking of," Mary continued, "How did you do this?" One pale hoof touched the steaming cup of tea, then raised it up to her mouth to give it a shot. Oh wow, She thought, eyes blinking. That is so good. The liquid was quickly slurped into submission. What is that? It's like... the greatest thing I have ever drank in my life. It held hints of cinnamon and honey, but something else, too.
"The tea? Oh, practice, it isn't hard really once you're aware of the dreamscape." Luna gestured around herself. "You only need concentrate and you can shift the way things are perceived here quite easily. At least... it is for me. I've molded this dreamscape twice now to a great extent while you were having those horrible nightmares, for instance." She paused long enough to give Mary a smirk, then refill her cup quickly. "Now, shall we get to business?"
"Hm?" Mary took a deep whiff of the tea again, smiling stupidly before sipping it once more. She stopped when she realized she was being watched. "Oh, I guess, and thank you for stopping those nightmares by the way... Where do you want to start?" She pondered what Luna said about dreams in general while the other being spoke.
"Before I inform you of the severity of my own plight, please answer me this, Mary." Luna added at the end, then continued over Mary's head jerking up to stare at her again. "I would be most appreciative if you told me more about yourself in kind, as I have done for you, before we continue. You said that you... changed into an earth pony of Equestria? You are not one naturally, then?"
Mary felt the heartbeat in her chest quickening. She felt relief over finally getting answers, whether it was from a hallucination or not, storm into her head. "You're right." She said with dead seriousness, gulping one last time. Her hoof was shakily able to set down the tea cup in time, its curious fragrance forgotten.
"I'm not a pony!" Mary all but shouted, then calmed her tone. "I'm a human being. I'm a thirty-five year old, white Caucasian woman of French descent with two children a husband and I have no idea what's happened to me, what I'm going to do or why my life has turned into this!" She panted for a splint second, her limbs shaking from the adrenaline that had flooded her. "You're like me, I mean, me now, gah, you know something about this, you're why this happened, aren't you!? You know about humans, are you some kind of fairy, why-" Light headed, Mary sat back. "Why—"
"Be easy." Luna was by her side in a moment, a steady hoof lending the mare stability. "You need to remain calm here." She herself was having trouble remaining calm. Perhaps she has nothing to do with Twilight, but, she is a human! This could be the link we need, whatever the reason for its existence.
Mary blinked. "I'm fine, I'm fine now." Her head was clear again, the shakiness and pumping sensation in her veins gone. She took a few steps away from the taller... pony.
"In the dreamscape, emotions are far more... tangible, than when you're awake. Fears can give birth to illusion, and anger can spark things that are real. You are safe as long as I'm here, but it's important that you try to remain as calm as you can Mrs. Mary, lest you bring harm to yourself." Luna circled the table again and sat once more. "It sounds as though you've been through a lot, and that you are in fact... human."
"Yes, yes I am." Mary instinctively moved closer to the table and Luna, her orange hooves clicking on the marble floor. Answers, finally, oh my God, please don't let this be a dream. The irony of her shift of opinion regarding things wasn't lost on her. "I'm sorry for bursting on you like that. This whole," she looked down angrily at her hooves. "Thing has all but ruined my life." Looking up, she spotted the dark blue pony looking sadly down into her tea cup. Her own had somehow been refilled.
Well, that's not quite fair to say, Mary. Mary frowned while her thoughts explained her guilt back to herself. Other than a few inconveniences and close calls, you haven't lost anything. She frowned deeper. Yeah, except hands and a simpler way to wipe, she retorted with a snort.
"I see," Luna spoke up suddenly, garnering Mary's attention. "I profess, Mrs. Mary, to answer your earlier question, that I do not know how such a thing has happened to you. I have never heard of another creature just... becoming, a pony." She straightened up having found her stride in the conversation, and met Mary's eager stare while sipping at her cup. "Mmm, to answer your other... accusations and questions in full, I do know about humans, but only recently discovered their existence at all. You see, several of my frie- subjects, have gone missing. My sister and I as well as half of our kingdom search for them now, but we'll get to that..."
Luna paused a moment, thinking of what to move onto next, before settling on something. "As for being a fairy, which you keep calling me, I have never heard of such a thing. I am a princess of Equestria." That has to be the third time I've said that, at least, hopefully it sticks this time. "Finally, no, I had no hoof in this. What has happened to you is in fact a mystery, one that I am willing to help you solve, however. Now, I have but one question at the time being for you, Mary, as you are the first human I have ever been able to contact in the dream, nay, the first other creature apart from ponies." She added one final thought, but left it unsaid. Well, and Discord, but I'll leave him out of this.
Mary blinked hesitantly, taken aback from suddenly becoming a part of the conversation. She was also becoming aware of just how much bigger everything in this plot was than her, how much more serious. Whatever was going on, didn't just include her. "Yes?" Her voice managed to not tremble, but only just.
Luna's calm expression broke. "Have you seen a little, purple unicorn, at all? Anywhere in Ancelstierre or wherever it is you are from? In fact, tell me, is Ancelstierre a great nation of your world?" She drew in a shuddering breath and brought her hooves up to rest on the table pleadingly. "Please, say all that you can. She's very special to us, and we can't find her. I can't find her, not even in the dream. We at least know the others are safe, to a degree... but..." The dark blue mare cleared her throat and straightened, sniffing one long, hard time. "It is of the utmost importance that we find her, Mrs. Mary. Have you any news to lend of her? Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she has a three toned mane and tail with rosy stripes. Her cutie mark is a resplendent series of points which represent a proficiency for magic."
Mary watched while Luna's pleading eyes searched her face, perhaps for clues themselves of the person she was looking for.
"I... No, it's just me that I've seen so far. I was worried that my family would change—like me—but, so far they've just gotten marks on their butts. No purple unicorns though, I'm sorry." Mary felt the instinct to laugh at saying such a thing aloud, but the conversation had become far too dour. "Also, I'm from Canada, er, on a planet called Earth? Though I live in America right now, with my husband and kids." When no lights of recognition lit up in the princess's eyes, she continued. "There's nowhere called Ancelstierre that I've ever heard of though..."
Mary laughed nervously, before falling back into the mood that hung in the air. "I'm... I'm sorry, she's very important to you all, isn't she?"
"...Yes..." Luna hung her head sorrowfully. Silence remained between the two ponies, until Luna finally also whispered out, "There is no country by the name of Ancelstierre? This means that your world is yet another mirror to add to the maze, then."
The Princess of the Night considered carefully the implications of everything she had thus discovered. It is possible that Mary has simply never heard of it, but Rarity said that Ancelstierre was the largest nation, making that unlikely. Likewise, Fluttershy has moved through several worlds—or times. There is no telling where she is at all... She set her face in stone, remembering the hopelessness of things, then looked up again.
On the table sat something new. It was an ornate, blown glass bottle by appearances. The cork on top popped off, and container and cork alike floated into the air, bathed in a sparkly, dark blue aura.
Mary's eyes widened slightly, then she looked back at the princess questioningly. "What's that?"
"Tell me Mrs. Mary." Luna said in a stately, dreary tone. "Do humans imbibe a substance known as 'alcohol'?" Two shallow glasses appeared on the table as well, with no pretense of show or flash just as the bottle had done; they were simply not there one moment and there the next.
"Uhm, yeah, I'd say so. It's practically a national past time the world over, the men in my family can't seem to get enough of the stuff." Mary briefly recalled Bobby sicking up horribly what seemed like days ago almost, but laughed like a school girl all the same, caught up in the wonderment of everything. This is so bizarre, she said she'd help me though. No, this is like a kid's dream come true... Ooh, Anna will hate me if I ever tell her that I got to have a tea party with a pony princess. What is that tea? She couldn't help but giggle while the glass in front of her filled with a purple liquid.
"That is good. My subjects do not, at least, for the most part. Our world is far more confusing than it would appear at a glance, so much black and white but no gray in-between." Luna took a demure sip from her glass, stared at it, then downed the remaining contents and filled it once more. "Ms. Rarity—one of the other missing unicorns you see-"
Mary nodded absently to the speaker whilst studying the glass on the table before her, and wondering if she should have a drink while in a dream. She stayed tuned into Luna though.
"—has informed me of a great deal about humans. They- er, you, are a very interesting species from what she has told me, going on in particular depth about their amazing sense of fashion for clothes." Luna paused long enough to roll her eyes before taking another swig, then continuing. "The unparalleled adorableness of their fillies is something else oft made an important topic. Apparently she spent some of her time in the company of a great many of them at a school." She sighed and looked across the table at Mary, who was poking at her glass with a single hoof while scrutinizing it.
"Oh, don't mind me, I'm listening." Mary grinned sheepishly.
"I know." Luna affirmed to the other mare simply. "Take no offense Mrs. Mary, I pause merely to prepare for what next I am about to say and ask, as it strikes me as important."
Mary picked up on the serious tone things had again taken and sat back, holding her glass between her front hooves. She waited for the princess to continue.
"One of, and perhaps the most glaring, and worrisome things that Ms. Rarity and the others have informed me of, is the human's penchant for violence. I believe them, and I have seen what some races can be capable of, at least those around my lands, anyway. That my little ponies are stranded amongst such atrocities is horrible, but I can do nothing for them as things are. It is simply beyond mine and my sister's power, at least until we figure something out..." Luna mumbled begrudgingly at the end, then resumed. "As we- ahem, I said moments ago, my ponies are white and black in their dealings. Humans, are far more 'grey' in theirs, from what I've gathered... I suspect that Twilight's disappearance might be tied to your own... change. If this is the case, could she be... would the... could the worst have happened to her, in your world? Perhaps, near you? Yes, near you, as I do not quite readily believe you to be the culprit."
Mary almost dropped her glass and began fumbling with it in her hooves."I— Wha—? No! No of course not, I mean, I have never seen her." She swallowed, then re-began. "Could I turn into a pony simply from her dying near me?" The question was blurted out.
Luna felt herself flinch as Mary said the 'd' word, something she wasn't ready to even really consider at all. She had to focus to keep her glass of spirits aloft in her magic. "No, of course not. At least, that isn't possible as far as anything I know of. As I said, her presence near you is only a theory... our plight and yours could very well be unrelated. I merely have to ask... for her sake. Mary, I have no right to request this of you, but when you wake up, could you look for her? Whenever it is... prudent for you? I can't imagine she would be hard to find in a world sticking out the way she surely is. Twilight was never exactly subtle about anything, either... In return, I promise to do whatever I can to help you with your own predicament."
The ears atop Mary's head gave her the distinct sensation of rigidness as they perked up upon hearing what they did. "You'll help me!?" She held her hooves up to her mouth in a mix of shock and delight. "And this is real!" She repeated the thoughts from earlier blissfully. The somber mood had been shattered in one quick stroke. "It's not a dream! Okay, it is a dream, but it's real!" The sound of a shattering glass broke her out of her elated state and interrupted her mad bout of giggling. "Oh sorry—"
Before the other mare could finish her statement, Luna had already bemusedly fixed the glass back atop the table once again. Mary grinned sheepishly from where she jittered across from Luna, and seemed quite unable to sit still.
"Mary, please be aware, I promise my help, but not a solution." Luna smoothed her expression, leaving a hint of serious edged with hesitance and doubt. "I'm a world away from you, with no way of touching your real body anymore than I can my lost subjects."
Mary blinked and sobered up quickly while taking in Luna's words. She responded when it was appropriate, trying to maintain her optimism despite hearing the disclaimers, such as they were. "I understand, it's just... Luna, you have no idea how good it is to know what might have caused this, that there might be hope, that... I'm not crazy, probably." A light bout of laughter made its way out of her and she shuffled her hooves anxiously. The feeling that she couldn't resist moving from the excitement hadn't left her yet.
Luna managed a weak smile herself. "I am glad that I have brought you at least some relief then, Mrs. Mary." She heaved a sigh and picked up where she had left off at. "If we manage to replicate what Twilight did to leave our world, or possibly follow the paths of the other Elements, then I will contact you again. If you need speak with me, then only wish it upon falling asleep, and I will hear you."
Luna's head turned and an almost sterile look of interest flashed onto her face. "I should have realized a month ago you weren't one of my... a pony. Your dreams were far more difficult to enter than those of anypony I have ever tried to- What is so funny?"
"'I'm sorry," Mary batted a hoof at the other pony and ceased her snickering giggle. "It's your pronouns, you say 'everypony' instead of 'everybody'. It's silly, well, I think it's cute, actually." She smiled across the table warmly, friendlily.
"I... see, it is not something I would notice I suppose." Cute? Luna considered the strange word, she didn't hear it often. "On our world it is important often to distinguish between its various races. I suppose your world does not have ponies as the one that Rarity is upon does?"
Mary glanced off to the side while she listened to the in-depth analysis. Oh gosh, I'm playing ambassador with a mystical talking horse! No, pay attention Mary. Having fought off the constant battle she was beginning to have with whimsy, she swallowed and straightened up. "Oh we do, but ours don't talk... we don't really distinguish parts of our language for any other species because... well, we're the only intelligent one." Hesitantly, she re-picked up the alcoholic beverage she had yet to partake in from the table.
Luna blinked at her for a moment, then held a considering hoof up to her chin. "Ah, yes that is like the world upon which Rarity's on, not like Fluttershy's though... Curiouser and curiouser." She shook her head smartly and stood up again, poofing the tea table out of existence.
Luna paused a moment over removing the other mare's drink as well. What was I thinking? Alcohol is terrible for ponies. I should have assumed it was for humans as well. It wouldn't be good for her in any circumstance given her state. "Well, we have covered quite a lot today, Mrs. Mary, and I thank you on behalf of all of Equestria for your help and cooperation. I do sympathize with you, I do. But these are stressful times for us all. Please accept my humble apologies if anything I said or did was not exactly, hm, polite, in human eyes." She inclined her head ever so slightly towards Mary.
"Oh." Mary's eyes widened while her hooves found purchase on the ground with nothing left to hold, unsure of what exactly to do in return to the gesture. "It's no trouble, I wish I'd clued into you being a magical, uhm, being from another world way sooner. I should be thanking you, if anything. I probably would have clocked me with one of these hooves or that bottle you had a second ago if one of my own were missing and some clueless jerk were in the way." She chuckled a little, and grinned up at the princess—whose eyes were widening by the word.
Mary continued. "Ahem, I guess, you're leaving then? But you'll be in touch?"
Luna blinked away the shock from the mare's...brazen attitude. Interesting behavior, certainly like the griffins. "Yes, we will- I will certainly be... 'in touch', as you say." She returned a reassuring smile towards the human.
"Alright, so um... Oh, one last thing, if this missing purple unicorn is in my world, how am I supposed to find her? Wave around a salt lick till she comes running over?" Mary chuckled weakly, after realizing of course that the horse jokes Herbert often made at her own expense were probably not the best thing to be using in the presence of actual ponies, as they were called.
Surprisingly enough, Luna sat again with a thoughtful look. "I do not think Twilight ever indulged in salt, now that you mention it. Anything is worth a shot, I suppose, but you were jesting I detect." She smirked and squinted an eye ruefully back at her. "It is good then, in a way, that your equines are not a match to us. Twilight should stick out even more, now that I think on it. Some things you could look for include her affinity for reading to an almost addictive level. Perhaps you'll find her in a library somewhere?"
Mary smiled more calmly and felt the embarrassment she'd gained fade as Luna spoke on. "Okay fine, a salt lick and the latest Danielle Steel novel." She answered coyly, deciding to keep up the jokes. When Luna only hesitantly joined her laughter, she explained. "Danielle Steel's a very famous author in our world, she has over eight hundred million copies of her novels and books sold. I'm not a fan really, but my mother was-"
"Eight hundred million!?" Luna exclaimed suddenly, her eyes the size of dinner plates. "My... word." That is so many. Easily more than the entire population of equines our world over. Double? Triple? She held a hoof up to her muzzle in wonderment. How vast is their world to support so many? Didn't Rarity say they ate meat? Gulping, her wings found themselves flapping absently behind herself until she stilled their nervousness.
"Uhm, yup, it's a lot alright." Mary flicked her own strange limb—namely her tail—in response to the princess' sudden, showy flappantry. She frowned back at the thing briefly that she usually just wanted to forget existed. "Did... you want to talk some more? About humans?" The question came out hesitantly for a cavalcade of reasons, which ranged from her doubts of whether she was qualified to talk about her entire race to even if she was, should she?
Luna regained her stoic demeanor and coughed. "No, that is to say, not at the moment Mary. I have many, many things to see to, actually. Aside from the other ponies whom I try my best to visit every night, to keep up their spirits you see, I have matters of the kingdom which I must also see to. A princess' job, is never done when her subjects are in turmoil." She gave Mary a wan smile.
"Oooh, okay." Mary nodded as one might to a cashier in a hurry to shorten the line at the mall. "Well have a nice day then, Luna. I'll be sure to stay in touch alright, how often can I talk to you? I will probably think of a million things as soon as I wake up." She had that feeling of excitement building up in her again. It was almost overpowering in this 'dreamscape' place she noticed.
"Time works oddly here, I've theorized it may have to do with one's perception of things or the individuals themselves, but what could be several hours here may be as long as a day while awake, or perhaps even take less time. I try not to dally as a result, usually..." Luna didn't feel the need to mention the liberties for breaks she would take with her gift, at least when Equestria wasn't in the middle of a crisis.
"Oh, well I don't want to keep you then. How do I go about, uhm, leaving?" Mary stared around, there wasn't exactly an exit sign hanging from a nearby doorway, although after thinking about it she squeaked when one suddenly appeared less than ten feet from her.
Luna looked up at it in surprised then let out a hearty laugh. "I'll send you on your way, Mary. Perhaps I will have time to teach you some things about dreaming as a pony some time in the future. It is not something easily done, even after being made aware of it. A pony must have a natural talent for it, so to speak." She smirked briefly before going on.
Mary raised an eyebrow, but gave a fake nod of understanding, not wanting to hold Luna up.
Luna continued. "Alas, I cannot see if you possess such a talent right now. Things in Equestria are... busy." Her horn began to glow blue, something which Mary remembered well. "Oh, one last question Mary."
The orange mare shifted her eyes from gawking at her horn to answer. "Yes?"
"Magic, in your world, could it in anyway return Twilight to us? Should you find her?" Luna held the short spell that would release Mary from the shared dream.
"M— Uhm, as far as I know my world has no magic. It's just not real as far as I and any sane person has always been concerned." Mary shrugged earnestly, then waited.
Luna swallowed hard, unable to make sense of what she'd heard. "Not real? I... don't understand."
Mary reaffirmed what she said. "It's as simple as what I said, magic isn't real. I think what happened to me is the first real case of it ever happening to be honest. I could be wrong, there are legends galore of it around the Earth... but nothing concrete." She tapped a hoof against the pearly white floor for emphasis.
"That's... That's silly," Luna hissed. "That doesn't make any sense, either. Magic holds the fabric of reality together and preserves harmony itself. Why, without magic nothing could exist, physics would be nothing but weakened shadows of their former selves and-" She bit her lip, realizing that if it didn't exist where Mary was from, everything she said would be akin to gibberish.
Mary, for her part wore a mixture of confused and skeptical on her face. Perhaps a little worried, too.
"I apologize, Mary. Perhaps we should speak again soon, after all. I'll make sure to prepare for that encounter as well." Sighing heavily, Luna fixed the mare with a now calmed expression and smile. "For now, rest. Coming here negates sleep, and I'm sure I've taken much of yours up from you already."
Luna's horn again lit up.
Mary straightened and readied herself. "Alright then... good bye Luna, and thank you aga—!" The feeling of what waking up would be like never came for Mary, just as their other encounters, it was like a sudden change rather than anything detectable.
Luna stood still and watched thoughtfully the spot which Mary had just faded from. It was a moment of quiet, self appraisal and thoughts over everything that might have changed with the problems at hand. "Oh, yes," She realized she had almost forgotten one small detail about home, as well. "Tonight was Nightmare Night, as well. A pity I won't be visiting any cities this year." Saving the girls comes first.