THE REGAL DREAM.
Prologue.
Somewhere else, some other time.
Sea.
Or was it the ocean?
The sound of waves crashing into each other was like a storm. It sounded like rocks cracking open by the force of thunder. Twilight Sparkle felt the salty water splashing all over her coat and on her face. She was bathed in the salty liquid and her mane was all dirty and tangled. Her mouth tasted foul too. She was really tired, exhausted, and her chest throbbed in pain. Was it because of the exhaustion? Probably. She lifted her head to look in front of her. She could only see the sandy beach line and beyond that nothing else. Emptiness. There was nothing before her. The sky and the horizon were empty. She looked behind her as the sea waves licked her body. Some of it splashed her in the face. The sea or ocean extended far beyond what she could wander. It left her breathless. She remembered why she was there. She was looking for her.
With Great difficulty and a lot of pain in her joints, she started to stand up. Her legs pained, she felt like she just woke up after an entire day of doing exercises with Rainbow Dash. For how long did she sleep? Hours? Days? It felt like weeks or even years. She felt old, aged without noticing. When she could finally stand up she took a better look at her surroundings. The horizon was definitely empty. No mountains, no terrain, nothing at all. Beyond the beach there was just emptiness. She looked up in the sky and there was nothing there either. It was pure white. Not white clouds, just white, a canvas waiting for an artist to paint the sky on its surface. Behind her the waves kept crashing into each other with a wind she could feel but that didn’t rustle in her ears. Feeling uncomfortable, with sand all over her body, she started taking steps. Even as slow as she was moving every step was a stab in her chest, her legs and her back. It cut her breath and made her yelp. But she couldn’t stop walking. She had to find her.
Due to the lack of sun she couldn’t tell for how she’d been walking. For a moment she felt the beach line extended infinitely until she saw it made a curve like a scythe, and by the end of it there was a cliff, rising over the sea. There were rocks on the base and the waves roared as they died on them. Twilight kept on walking, not caring how tired she was or how much pain she was going through. Her hoof prints were erased by the water leaving no trace of her presence. She had to take a moment to breath, when she tasted the nauseating sea air. It was warm and reeked with salt and putrid sea weed. The salt opened her nostrils and unclogged her lungs, but it was so saturated it made her dizzy and twisted her guts. She had to stop, cough, gurgle and spit quite a few times. She was dry. Wait. Wait a second, what was that thing on the edge of the cliff?
There was something up there, by the end of the beach’s line on the edge of that cliff. It was a building, a small house. That gave her enough energy to keep on walking. It was a church. Or was it? She had no idea, it was too far away, and with the emptiness engulfing her on every direction it was hard to tell. It could even be her imagination for all she knew. But as she got closer the building was getting clearer, more defined. It was really there, it wasn’t an illusion or her mind playing tricks. A gust of sea wind hit her and almost made her lose balance. She kept on walking. She had to be there. She had to get there.
Without even noticing she found herself in front of the building’s façade. It looked like a church, but it wasn’t one. It was a school. It looked exactly like Cheerilee’s school for foals and colts in Ponyville. It had everything but the cheerful colours. It was like somepony had hit the “De-saturate” key and ate all the colours away. The most colourful part of the entire building was the brownish door frames. The windows were of a grayish blue. It didn’t look abandoned but it felt old and lonely. Twilight looked through one of the windows. It was so empty, there was nopony inside. She then took a hoof to the door and knocked it as hard as she could. In the emptiness the knocking sounded like a set of explosions, they even echoed through the cliff. Nothing. No answer but the distant echoes. She knocked again, this time harder. Her hoof chipped on the wood, stinging her all the way up to her shoulder. Her knockings were now like a symphony of explosions, all of them surrounding her. She knocked a third time and the door unlocked. It didn’t open, it just unlocked. The sound of a lock, a heavy one, falling on the floor like a big clock, and the solid tinkering of the mechanism unclasping, so strong it rocked her guts. She placed a hoof on the door, tentatively, and then pushed it open.
The inside left her devastated. There were desks and chairs, perfectly organized in rows and ready to use. There were ink pots, quills and papers. The blackboard was pristine and a set of chalks on the Teacher’s desk. It was immaculate, clean and spotless. They were…waiting. Waiting for somepony to use them, to rescue them from their empty existence. Twilight knew it will always be empty. That place was built to be empty, even those who stepped inside, if they were not empty, they would be. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her with an audible clack. Something is wrong, she thought. There was something else in there with her, she could see it, hiding under one of the desks. A shadow. It was curling into itself.
Twilight got closer, her hooves feeling heavy, scared to death, not sure if it was her. Then the shadow started to profile in her eyes. White and blue mane. The coat was dark, between pale black and dark purple. It had a thin snout, female. Wings, bigger than those of the average pegasus. She also had a horn on her forehead. She got closer and noticed the cutie mark on the flank. A moon.
It was her.
She found her.
“Luna!” said Twilight, surprised to hear her own voice.
She galloped towards Luna, feeling worried and relieved at the same time.
“Luna! Princess Luna!”
No answer came from her, which panicked Twilight. Was she dead? No, no, she was alive, she could see her shivering and shaking in what could be cold, fear or both. Twilight got to her, kneeled and nuzzled her head with her snout. She got no answer, no physical response, nothing. Luna didn’t reply, her eyes were fixed to the floor. She was ice cold, dry and her fur was covered in what looked like grey dust. Twilight looked straight into her eyes.
“Luna, can you hear me?” said Twilight.
The Princess didn’t answer. Her eyes didn’t focus on Twilight’s, they moved erratically. She looked at the floor, at the ceiling, at the desks, at the chairs, back at the ceiling and then all over again. Sometimes she looked at one point in the distance, looking at nothing, only to repeat the cycle again. Twilight grabbed Luna’s head. Screw the manners, she thought, you will come back!
“Luna! Look at me!” shouted Twilight, her voice echoing inside the empty class.
That time the Princess looked at Twilight. It was there, looking at her eyes, when Twilight knew they were in big trouble. Not just because she was crying, but because those weren’t the eyes of a strong, determined and brave Princess. Those were the eyes of a little foal. Lost without her mother. Waiting for her sister to save her. Luna’s mouth opened letting out a fragile whisper. Twilight had to put her ear close to Luna’s mouth to hear it. As weak as it was, it was also clear like a moonlit night. The words she heard dried her throat and made her heart skip a beat.
“Who…who are you?”
Twilight experienced the feel of falling. Falling, with no friends to catch her. She was alone down there. She risked her life, her mind, all her knowledge, all that she was and she lost. The feel of falling only worsened when Luna said, in a clearer voice.
“Who…Am I?”
Right there and then, in that school in the middle of that void, Twilight realized there was no escape. They would never get back home.
Twilight’s night.
Ponyville was silent and dark. The night had fallen over the city a good couple of hours ago, covering it with the peaceful blanket of darkness for every pony to sleep. In the Sky, the moon was the Queen. It was so big and bright, beautiful to look at surrounded by a sea of stars. A gust of wind made the leaves rustle. The night was abnormally cold though, sprinkles of ice floating from the river. Inside every house scattered all over the humble town the ponies slept having safe and sound dreams, or no dreams at all, having the certainty that the sun will wake them up in the morning. But not all the ponies were asleep. There was one who was still awake, working busily in her studies. She was a dedicated student, and an expert in the magic of Friendship. This pony was none other than the most magically powerful and most intelligent Pony in Ponyville, Princess Celestia’s number One student, Twilight Sparkle. Her house, Ponyville’s library, was the only house in town that had the lights on, those of her study, making the tree look like it had eyes.
Twilight loved the night. She did most of her research at night when she had nopony to bother her, and the sound of crickets and night wind was like a subtle musical tingle that inspired her. That night, though, she was having problems focusing. She was conducting a research on the nature of dreams: How they affected the personality, how they influenced the decision-making processes, and how much they required of the brain to develop, amongst other things. Despite all of this work, she kept crashing into a dead end. Being dreams there was no tangible evidence as all her research was based upon suppositions and “what ifs”. That wasn’t scientific or professional. What angered her most was that she felt like she wasted her friend’s time. She had Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy volunteering as test subjects. All they had to do was sleep, dream, and then write their dreams down…for three months. That lead Twilight to little conclusions about her studies, but helped her know her friends better.
She learnt that Rainbow Dash kept dreaming with flying and performing stunts, that she missed Gilda (but didn’t feel guilty for calling her off like she did) and that she felt as confident and stubborn in her dreams as she felt in real life.
Pinkie Pie was as random in her dreams as she was in real life. Her notes, despite being covered in molten sugar, ranged from bouncing balloons to rains of anvils or explosive turtles, and even beds made of buns or talking fish. But Twilight realized how consistent her writing was, demonstrating that Pinkie’s random mind was neatly organized.
Fluttershy, unsurprisingly, was fragile. She had a really small amount of nightmares, but many nights she would wake up before sunrise only to fall asleep again. Her notes were full of sentences starting with “Tonight I dreamt of nothing, but…” and then proceeded to tell how she felt about it. Not helpful, but it was curious and the copious amounts of notes, even for days without dreams, showed a dedicated and diligent personality.
All that data was of no useful purpose. It wasn’t enough for her to write a text on it and send it to the University of Canterlot, but at least she could present her research to Princess Celestia. She could use it to further develop her investigations in the Magic of Friendship. She pondered the option but in the end she realized she’d be just repeating herself all over again. She squeezed the last drops of ink from her quill into the ink pot before placing it down neatly on the desk. She closed the pot, rolled the scroll and tucked it inside the drawer where she kept all her research. She didn’t have a reason to keep it, but she had no reason to throw it to the trash either.
She felt tired. Rubbing her eyes she looked at the clock. What time is it?, she thought. She used to go to bed at one or two in the morning, so when she saw it was only midnight she was surprised. She was so bored out of her pony skull with this research that she was starting to get in the mood of going to bed before her usual times.
“Gosh it’s not even…” she yawned, cutting off her words “…it’s not even late.”
Before she could finish...
KNOCK – KNOCK – KNOCK
It was downstairs. Who could be knocking on her door this late? She felt a terrifying grasp in her gut. It couldn’t be any good. That feel of unease woke her up from her sleepiness, sharping her senses. She became aware of everything, even the tiniest crack on the wood. She trotted her way downstairs tentatively, lightning her way with her horn. There were three…
KNOCK – KNOCK – KNOCK
…more…
KNOCK – KNOCK – KNOCK
…knockings…
KNOCK – KNOCK – KNOCK
…before she arrived to the door. Whoever it was it had to be really impatient…or maybe bringing urgent bad news. The lower floor of the Library was cold compared to her study. She got to the door and opened the small window she had on it, so she could see who it was without having to open the door. Her fears were confirmed when she saw the helmets and the armours wore by the Pegasus Ponies standing before her house. They were Royal Guards, from Celestia’s Personal Guard nonetheless. They were three: The two in the background wore the typical golden armour with blue capes, but the one on front wore shiny, silvery armour with blue and purple reflections. His mane and tail were red like fiery cinnamon. She knew him personally. He was the Captain of Celestia’s Personal Guard: Platinum Plaques. If he was there the news regarded the Princess’ safety.
“Good evening Officers…” said Twilight, her voice shaking with anticipation “Is there anything I can help you with?” she added, making Great efforts not to jump and scream questions.
“I am afraid, Miss Twilight Sparkle, that you have to come with us.” said Platinum Plaques. He sounded worried and angry, but it wasn’t towards Twilight.
“What for?” said Twilight.
“We can’t tell you, because we haven’t been informed. All I can tell you is what I know. It regards Princess Celestia’s safety, and your presence has been summoned by her sister, Princess Luna. She requested the presence of the Six Wielders of the Elements of Harmony. We need you to get in our carriage without further questions.”
She couldn’t read any feelings coming from Platinum Plaques’ voice. He was good at hiding them. At first she hesitated. Luna was summoning them? All of them? Why for? Why would she summon them, this late, into the castle, with this urgency? It was urgency, right? Oh Gosh, it was urgency! Something happened and she was there standing before her door doing nothing but mumble. She thought on Spike. Her eyes trailed to his bed. He was there, sound sleep, oblivious to all this. She wondered if she should wake him up. She shook her head and then said, with a determined voice.
“Give me two minutes officers, I need to get something first.”
She went to her desk and wrote a note that was then placed on Spike’s bed, next to him. Then went to her saddle bags and put inside two books, a set of new scrolls, a bottle of ink, three quills and…Her hooves came across her research papers on dreams. She shrugged “Why not?” she thought, and threw them inside. Throwing the saddle bags on her back, she left through the door.
“Okay, let’s go.” she said.
She closed the door behind her, switching the lights off and entering in the carriage. She took a long look to her house, feeling she would never see it again. But why? Why did she felt she was leaving for a long time? Why did she had that sensation of loneliness and abandonment? Before her thoughts could settle she felt the pull of the carriage as it lifted from the ground, being carried by the Pegasus ponies on the way to get the rest of her friends.
* * *
Gathering all her friends wasn’t easy but it took less time than she originally imagined.
The first one they went for was Fluttershy. She was the only pony that went to bed later than her, so when they arrived to her cottage she was still awake, fixing a bird’s nest that got thrown down by the wind. Twilight told Fluttershy about the situation, all she knew about it, and she hopped into the carriage without even whimpering.
The next one they took was Rainbow Dash. She was more difficult to wake up. Not only her sleep was deeper, but her house was sound proof. They had to knock endless times on the door before they got her to open the door. Thankfully they didn’t even need to tell her everything. She just saw Fluttershy and Twilight in the carriage, giving her more than enough reasons to hop inside.
Applejack had fallen sleep in the barnyard working on some broke wooden planks on the roof. When they woke her up her first reflex was confusion, and then she yawned, stretched, popped her joints and cracked her neck for two minutes before scratching her eyes and ears. She made herself promise not to ever fall sleep again when working. She listened carefully to the Guards, but even with all that briefing, what little there was, she didn’t jump in the carriage until she saw her friends inside. If they were there, then it had to be serious.
Rarity took a long while to talk into. She went to bed just minutes ago, after packing a big order of dresses and placing on her night mud mask. When she attended the Guards she was wearing just one cucumber slice, the other one removed so she could see where she was going. After removing all her make up, brushing, perfuming and tucking in her saddle bags a selection of dresses, she hopped inside the carriage. Sighs from Applejack and Rainbow Dash could be heard but were silenced by Rarity’s complaints.
Pinkie Pie was the last one they took. The Pink pony saw the carriage and thought they were preparing a party or something. She jumped inside without even letting the guards finish their briefing of the situation as she kept humming a song she made up on the fly about how Royally Royal the Royal Family Royally was. Or something like it, it wasn’t clear, she was also talking about balloons, confetti and streamers. But not oatmeal, hay no! She wasn’t that crazy.
In the way to the Castle.
For the most part of their trip towards Celestia’s Castle the six friends were silent. After the first questions about what was going on or why they were taken to the castle at this time of the night, they were rendered speechless due to being tired. Rainbow Dash fell asleep again, she was snoring on one side of the carriage. Pinkie Pie used her as a pillow as she kept humming a tune while playing with a set of juggling balls nopony knew where she took from. Applejack had her eyesight lost in the horizon. The only ones talking were Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy.
“Nothing.” said Rarity “I simply can not imagine how rude all this is. They take us out of our houses and bring us all the way here, giving us no explanations whatsoever.”
“Come on Rarity. It’s not like they forced us.” said Twilight.
“Right.” there was sarcasm in her voice “I would like to know what they would have done if we said no.” said Rarity with a sharp voice tone.
“Would you say no to a Royal Command?” said Twilight.
“Heavens no!” said Rarity “But it disturbs me. I can’t help but letting my mind wander and it only goes towards the worst ideas imaginable.”
“I know, me too.” said Twilight.
“So do I, uhm…” Fluttershy got in the conversation inadvertently “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Oh, you do not interrupt Fluttershy.” said Rarity.
“Okay, but…yes, I agree with Rarity. They could have, well, told us something.” she sounded upset, as upset as Fluttershy could get.
Twilight looked down and then to the window. The curtains blocked the starry night.
“They told us enough. Luna called for us. The fact that she is the one calling us and not Celestia throws me off. Whatever reason could Princess Celestia have to not call us herself?”
Her words were the last they spoke in the carriage. It wasn’t long until they landed. When the flapping of the wings ended and the whirling whistle of the wind stopped, they realized how awfully quiet the night was. All the way up there in the Castle of the Princesses, silence was the biggest presence, an empty presence that wrapped them like a five inch thick blanket. Twilight gulped. She was afraid, her hooves were shaking and she could feel her coat stiffen with the cold. She stepped out of the carriage, followed by her friends. Fluttershy made a signal to Pinkie Pie, and she woke up Rainbow Dash. The Blue Pegasus snored, snorted and then stepped out of the carriage, rubbing her eyes.
“Mmhmm…” she groaned “I was making the sickest nastiest flying stunts ever.” added with a complaining tone.
“Come on Rainbow.” said Applejack “Where yer goin’ ya wont be doin’ any flyin’ tricks.”
“Yeah, right.” replied Dash with a touch of snark “I bet you I am doing some amazing flying stunts before the night is over!”
“I really doubt it, sugah cube.” replied Applejack.
The ponies stepped into the entrance of the castle. It was a large platform of an elliptical shape and a set of columns, three times taller than the Apple family’s barn, sustained a dome over their heads. The dome represented the constellations, their names engraved in glowing golden letters. Right before the ponies the doors were as tall as the columns, and the entire edification was as big as a mountain. Fluttershy had to contain a whimper of intimidation when she looked up. Flashbacks crossed her mind. The doors were made of ivory and white oak, and were carved with images of Regal Ponies. All of the Celestial Family was portrayed in it. Their serene faces looking down on the ponies with what Twilight understood was respect. Under the moonlight, the surface reflected with pure whiteness, like it had an internal flare, and the moonlight made the eyes on the figures look hollow.
Twilight was leading the group, all of them following Platinum Plaques towards one of the doors. As they got closer, the door opened. The creaking sound was like a stampede, making the floor tremble. It was magnificent yet terrifying. Their stomachs tightened due to the violent rumbling. There was nothing but darkness inside. The entire palace was summed in black. It was as if the void laid behind those doors. They kept walking. When they crossed the arch, Twilight had to stop. Not because of fear but because the temperature was so cold it cut through her body like an invisible knife, sucking the air out of her lungs. The inside was even colder than the outside! How could that be possible? She could see her breath curling before her eyes thick like mist. It was so cold. All the other ponies noticed too, she could hear groans and complaints from everyone, especially Rarity.
“Oh dear, what is going on in here? It’s colder than outside!” she said, only to pull a scarf and a coat from her saddle bags. She gave another coat to all her friends who asked for one. Rainbow Dash and Twilight were the only ones who didn’t ask.
“I don’t understand this.” said Twiligh.
“Perhaps you should request the Captain to explain us what is the situation, before we go any further” said Rarity while flailing one of her hooves.
“Ah am nopony to complain Twi, but ah agree with Rarity ‘ere.” said Applejack.
Similar gestures came from all the five ponies putting Twilight in a difficult position. She didn’t want to sound rude to Captain Platinum Plaques, but it was true this had gone too far. They deserved some explanation. She got closer to Platinum Plaques, who was still walking, ignoring the voices behind him.
“Captain, we’ve waited long enough. I think you should tell us why we are here and what’s going on.”
Platinum Plaques stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Twilight right in the eye. She worried, almost attempted to curl and back up, expecting a look of anger and authority from the Captain. His look was not of anger or authority but of worry and concern. He had to divert it and look somewhere else. She could feel he was about to burst into tears.
“I am sorry Miss Sparkle.” he said “I literally can’t tell you anything, because we have been told nothing” he then rose his voice so the rest of the ponies could hear him “The only thing Princess Luna told me and my Guards was that she requested your presence, and that we had to diverge the heating system of hallways and empty rooms of the palace to Princess Celestia’s room. That is why it is colder in here. The sooner we get to the Royal Chambers, the sooner you will get your explanation and step out of this cold.”
The six mares looked at each other, each of them with various degrees of concern on their faces. They kept following Platinum Plaques to the chambers, that were located on one of the tallest and biggest towers of the castle. The way was illuminated by the moon, its light making long shadows with the columns of the hallways. The windows poured their shape on the carpets; white squares, long rectangles that crawled up the walls and triangles. It was all so…static. The air was so still Twilight thought she could cut through it. The clopping sound of their hooves breaking the deafening silence. Her ears buzzed with anticipation. She could hear the heavy breathing of her friends, their thick misty breaths surrounding their bodies. It took them five minutes of cold limbs, itchy backs, complaints and Rarity “shushing” her friends anytime some of them stepped on her clothes, to reach the door to the Royal Chamber. They were already exhausted.
Platinum Plaques turned around again and hit the floor twice with his front hooves. The doors opened with the slowest movement Twilight ever saw. A warm light came from them and with that the dizzying wave of hot air due to the heating being on. The ponies welcomed it, they closed their eyes and let out a sigh of relief. The Captain talked to them.
“You may enter now. I can’t follow you where you are going.” he said, and then turned to Twilight “Thank you, Miss Sparkle. I hope, whatever it is that’s happening, you and your friends can find a solution for it.”
Then he walked away, returning to his command post. He had an entire night of surveillance before him. Twilight stepped inside the room, followed by her friends, the doors closing behind them with a gentle shuffling noise and locking with an almost inaudible click.
Lingering chamber.
The room was really big, twice as big as Twilight’s house. The ceiling was decorated with paintings that depicted the entire history of Equestria, from its early beginnings to modern times. There was one fragment of the ceiling that looked like it was made out of water. Twilight realized it was a magic painting; it painted itself as major events happened. There was a big balcony with a lavish door, the glass covered in golden shapes coming from the frames. The walls were colored in a mixture of white, blue, purple and black, and had paintings of the sun and the moon. One part of the wall was covered in paintings of Celestia and Luna together. One of the paintings was framed with photographs. Under it there was something scribbled on the wall. A painting that looked like a doodle made by a five year old. It was white and purple.
“I drew that.” said a voice.
All the ponies turned to the source, and they saw Luna. She was a very beautiful mare, slightly taller than the average pony but shorter than her sister. Her blue and white hair fell behind her head and over her eyes. She wasn’t wearing her crown. She had a thin silk veil covering her shoulders, making her dark purple coat look slightly clearer. She had a regal poise but she looked really tired. Twilight guessed she woke up not too long ago. The Princess was standing next to a bed, which occupied a big part of the room, right in the middle. It was a circular bed, and on it, lying under a thin bed sheet, laid Princess Celestia. She was…asleep. Twilight never saw Celestia sleeping, this was new for her. She had that regal attitude even when sleeping, her eyes closed tight, her mane was lying over the pillows. She had her tail curled and over her stomach, like a puppy. Twilight and the rest of the ponies walked towards the bed, slow but firmly.
“Princess Luna.” started Twilight “What happened? Why were you requesting our presence?”
Luna did not reply right away, and when she did it wasn’t what Twilight wanted to hear.
“I was…4 years old. I was playing with my crayons when my sister found me. Instead of getting angry, she giggled and decided to preserve it.” she sounded firm but her voice was tainted with sadness “My sister. She was always protecting me. Keeping me safe. It broke her heart more than it broke mine, when she was forced to banish me.”
She turned to the Ponies, who looked confused and dazzled by the situation.
“This is our bedroom.” she explained “This is where we retire when we have to rest from our work. I sleep here during the day, when my sister is taking care of the Sun. Then she comes here when I am taking care of the Moon. I was coming to wish my sister a good sleep, when I realized something was wrong.”
The Ponies remained silent.
“Every night before she falls asleep, she gives me a good night wish. She always does it. Even when I was banished, she kept doing it.”
She remained silent for a while. Twilight couldn’t sense Luna’s feelings. She wasn’t psychic, but if the level of magic energy emanating from her body could indicate her level of emotional stress, then she was going through a lot of pain and suffering. When she talked, her words choked.
“Every night. For more than a millennium. It was a way of letting each other know things were in order and well. Tonight, she didn’t do it.”
Twilight walked closer towards Luna. She didn’t understand. What was wrong? Celestia was sleeping and the night was going apparently right. Why would Luna call for them?
“What is wrong then, Princess?” said Twilight.
Luna took a moment to reply. She got close to her sister’s body, nuzzling her gently. The tone of the scene was so severe and solemn not even Pinkie Pie dared to talk. She was making Great efforts not to make a joke and liven up the whole situation, digging her teeth on her tongue to keep it shut. Her gesture was quite comical, though no one looked at her.
“Twilight…” said Luna “I called your presence here, all of you, because I am afraid my sister has been trapped into her own dreams.”
The ponies didn’t know how to react. Twilight gasped taking a hoof to her mouth. Rainbow Dash and Applejack just looked at each other, confused. Fluttershy’s pupils shrunk until they were the size of pinheads. Rarity took a hoof to her forehead and rubbed it under her horn in concern. Pinkie Pie just widened her eyes, released her tongue and let go a raspberry in surprise. All the Ponies turned to her with angry faces. She just smiled as a way to apologize. The situation was more severe than they imagined.
“Trapped?” said Rainbow Dash “How can you get trapped into your own dreams?”
“Only the most Powerful Mental Magic can do that.” said Twilight “It’s magic not even I know. Princess Celestia told me it’s-.”
“Forbidden.” said Luna “We forbid its use because it’s considered a Dark Art. Using it involves sacrificing everything that makes you who you are. The wielder of such magic loses its identity, and if it doesn’t it deteriorates so much there’s little of them left.” she gulped just to continue talking “My sister doesn’t know how to use it and I don’t know of it either. I can’t imagine who does.”
“Why wou’d anyone do such a thing?” said Applejack.
“I honestly don’t know.” said Luna “She never angered any pony enough to suffer this. She has no enemies. She is a kind and fair ruler. And now she is trapped in her dreams. My sister is now trapped in there, unable to wake up.”
“Have you tried a bucket of water!?” said Pinkie Pie, bouncing “Al-ways works! At least with me of course, but that’s because I have such heavy sleeps! Heavier than yours Rainb-Omph!” she was silenced by Rainbow Dash, who shoved a hoof into her mouth.
Luna ignored the pink Pony and kept on talking, walking to the feet of the bed and blocking Twilight’s view of Celestia for a moment. Twilight had no idea how they were going to pull Celestia out of her dreams, or if that was actually what was happening here. If Celestia couldn’t wake up, the sun wouldn’t rise. If the sun wouldn’t rise, the night and the cold would turn Equestria into a frozen ball in a matter of weeks.
“Are you sure she is trapped into her dreams?” said Twilight to Luna, in a rather confidential tone “Because, you know, it’s kind of hard to know that she is trapped into her dreams if she is sleeping.”
Luna didn’t speak, she just nodded. She closed her eyes and then spoke again.
“My sister and I, we…It sounds so silly.” Luna giggled and rolled her eyes as she looked to the ceiling, looking for some courage to say what she was going to say “We have a connection between each other. I could hear her Twilight. I can even hear her now.”
The next words burned into Twilight’s mind like fire.
“She sounds like a little foal. Lost without her mother. Waiting for her big sister to come rescue her.”
Twilight nodded. Celestia and Luna were so lucky. She didn’t know what it was to have siblings. She will never know though. I am lucky too, she thought, I have five Great friends, and even more now. I am not alone. Luna is not alone, she has us. With the determination that was characteristic of her, she talked to Luna.
“We will do everything in our hooves to rescue Princess Celestia.” she said “But I have no idea how you plan on doing it Princess Luna, and due to the lack of information I couldn’t come up with a plan myself.”
“It’s okay Twilight” said Luna “I did come up with a plan.”
She walked around the bed, getting closer to her sister and rubbing her horn over her coat. To Twilight it was as if she was testing something, maybe testing her blood pressure, or her brain activity. In reality, Luna just wanted to snuggle her sister. Her mind boiled with good wishes and hopes for the best. She couldn’t wish harder for her sister to come back. The six ponies remained stiff and immobile, breathing in silence. Once she was done, Luna returned to their side.
“This is what we are going to do.”
Luna’s Briefing.
The bedroom was really warm. Due to the shock of the current situation they didn’t realize how the cold left their bodies until they started sweating under Rarity’s coats. She recovered her dresses as Luna gathered the Ponies in front of a blackboard. Twilight and her friends felt like they were back at school. Luna was holding a chalk with her magic powers and started to scribble on the board.
“Right now my sister is trapped in her mind.” she said “She is held hostage in a prison made of her own thoughts, so what we have to do is get in there and pull her out before it’s too late.”
“Wait just a gol’ darn minute” said Applejack “Get down there…You mean, down into her mind? How do we do that?”
“Maybe we can squeeze-weeze through her ear! It’s easy-peasy, I do that all the time with candies!” said Pinkie, as she stuffed her hoof inside her ear and pulled out a lolly-pop.
Luna ignored that and resumed her explanation.
“In order to get in her dreams, Twilight and I will cast a Dream Infiltration spell. Dream Infiltration spells are used in psychology and psycho-analysis. They help the Doctors deal with traumas, helping the patient endure against his or her fears.”
“So, we have to fall asleep, and when we’re asleep you put our minds inside Celestia’s dreams.” said Rainbow Dash.
“Exactly.” said Luna “It’s called Placing. We place you into her dreams, and then we find her. Once we find her, all we have to do is take her out by waking her up.”
“Yes but…uhm, how do we wake her up inside a dream?” said Fluttershy.
“There are several ways.” said Luna “One of them is not pretty, and the other one is quite rude.”
“Talk about the rude one first.” said Rainbow Dash.
“We make her fall. When you are in a dream and you fall, you wake up instantly. You jump in bed, startled. It always works. What we have to do is set up a fall and we wake her up.” explained Luna “The fall could be placed at the edge of a cliff, on the top of a building, even in mid air, if we are flying at some point.”
“Okay, that seems to make sense.” said Rainbow Dash. She knew the feeling, many times she dreamt of crashing and it was never pretty. “If that’s the rude way, what’s the not so pretty way? What’s worse than falling then?” she added.
Luna hesitated before telling this. It was going to be a very hard blow for all the ponies, but she had to tell them. If there was no other way to wake up and falling wasn’t available, they needed to know the other way, just to make sure.
“The not pretty way is when you die.” said Luna, making all the ponies fell silent. Their hearts skipped a beat “If you die in a dream, unlike like real life, you just wake up.”
“I’s still dying.” said Applejack.
“In a dream!” defended Twilight “But it won’t come to that. We will set up a way to make ourselves fall into Celestia’s dream, so when we find her, we bring her back with us. Understood?”
The ponies remained silent, until Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof.
“I’ve a question” said Dash “How come your sister is not fighting against this? Isn’t she all Powerful?”
“I said it before.” said Luna “She doesn’t know Mental Magic, no way to use it or to protect herself from it.”
The room remained silent. Each of the ponies pondered the options, despite the fact they were running out of time to save their Princess. Luna looked at them worried, not only for the current situation but for their answer. She could beg them to come with her and save Celestia, but they had to come voluntarily or else the Mental Infiltration spell wouldn’t work. Forcing somepony into such a thing would disable their minds and personalities. It would make them prisoners, just like her sister was now. She could see the six ponies looking at each other, and then back at Luna with stern looks filled with determination.
“We are ready.” said Twilight with a smile.
Luna’s face beamed with happiness. She would have hugged each one of them if they were not in a hurry.
“Alright. We need a team of Five Ponies to do this. Five is the best number, not too big not too small. Plus, it’s the maximum amount of ponies I can get under the Mind Infiltration spell at the same time.” she made a pause and then continued “I have to go, and so do you Twilight. Celestia will need someone who’s very close to her to pull her out, to remind her who she is. She also needs someone she could trust, to convince her that letting herself fall is the only way out of the dreams. You are not only someone she can trust, but you are almost as magically Powerful as I am, you will be a Great support when we are down there.”
“Then, who else is coming?” said Twilight.
“You’ll make the call.” said Luna with a solid thud from one of her hoofs.
Starting up.
Twilight had to choose between her friends. That alone was really difficult. She felt guilty. Guilty for waking all of them up in the middle of the night. Guilty for bringing them all the way to the Castle. And guilty for leaving two of them to wait, sitting down and doing absolutely nothing. She looked at her friends, her face contorted by the difficulty of her decision. Before even starting to think on who to pick, she started:
“Before I say anything girls, I-.”
“Nah problem at all Suga’ cube!” said Applejack “Two ‘f us won’ go down ther’ with ya’ll, but we’re goin’ t’ stay with yah ‘ere the whol’ time.”
“You can count on it Twi!” said Rainbow Dash.
“I will sing, really softly. Just so you don’t feel lonely.” said Fluttershy.
“I’ll be setting up a party!” said Pinkie Pie “So actually, I wouldn’t mind if you don’t pick me!” and then took out some invitations from her mane and with a candy cane began scribbling on them. She stopped after a while since she couldn’t resist eating the cane.
“Do not worry darling.” said Rarity “We are never going to let you down, whether we stay here or go with you.”
Twilight was happy to have such understanding friends. But then again, she had to coldly and objectively choose her options. She needed a team able to fence against whatever could lie down in Celestia’s dreams. She was a Princess and the closest they had as a God figure, but Twilight was sure she had nightmares too. And if nightmares can get dangerous when you are dreaming alone, having six ponies with you could get things quite nasty. She needed strength, both physical and mental. She needed ponies that could handle pressure and difficult situations with nerves of steel. After pondering it for a while, which felt longer for her, she said the names.
“Alright, I’ve made my choice. The ones that are coming to rescue Princess Celestia with me and Princess Luna are...”
Each and everypony awaited bearing the excitement in their own way, but their expressions were pretty similar. Tensed mouths, eyebrows frowned and eyes half closed. The more decided ponies like Rainbow Dash or Applejack were snorting, one of their fore-hooves hitting on the ground. Rarity was rather laid back about being selected. She knew that in the case she was picked she would prepare some sort of protective saddles for her friends down into Celestia’s dreams. Fluttershy was terrified. The prospect of risking her consciousness and her mind in such a feat left her almost fully paralyzed. She had to dig deep within her to take all her courage and stand still. Pinkie was being Pinkie Pie, so she just stood there holding a stick ended on an arrow pointing at herself.
“Fluttershy,”
The yellow coated and pink haired pony whined but then stepped forwards, her frown curled and her eyes half closed. She took all her assertiveness in that pose but as she walked Twilight could sense some panic taking over her legs.
“Rainbow Dash,”
The rainbow colored mane Pegasus pony stepped forwards quickly and with determination. She was even happy about it, as her grin couldn’t hide her enthusiasm.
“And Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie Pie was as surprised as every pony else was. Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at Twilight, and even Luna got concerned. Bringing Pinkie Pie in could blow up the whole operation if she wouldn’t follow orders. As the pink pony bounced happy and cheery, shooting confetti and streamers all over the room Luna and Rainbow Dash talked to Twilight about her choice.
“Are you sure you wanna bring Pinkie?” said Rainbow “I like her and all that, she’s my friend too, but she’s a bit...well, random.”
“I have to agree with Rainbow Dash, Twilight. Your friend seems a bit…off-kilter, if you allow me to say. Who knows what she will do inside my Sister’s head?” said Luna.
“I know you might have questions, but think about this for a second.” said Twilight, Pinkie Pie oblivious to their conversation, still bouncing “Pinkie Pie possesses some...abilities not even I have. With her skills, do you have any idea how much can she alter and control those dreams in case we get in trouble?”
Both Dash and Luna nodded to that question approving Pinkie’s inclusion. There was no need to say more. Pinkie Pie would be a Great asset to the team, if they managed to keep her under control. It wasn’t hard, Pinkie was quite the hyperactive pony, but when she was told to stop doing something she would listen. The more Rainbow Dash thought about it the more she realized her real doubts were not about Pinkie Pie’s choice, but about Fluttershy’s.
“What about Fluttershy?” said Dash “You could have picked any pony else. Maybe Applejack and her strength can come in handy.”
“I didn’t base my choice in physical strength, but on mental strength. Down there I don’t know what we will be facing, but we are not going to be fighting with our hooves or with our muscles.” said Twilight “Down there it’s all about the mind.”
“Twilight is right.” said Luna “I do support her choice of Fluttershy to be on the team.”
Rainbow Dash took a hoof to her face, sighing and finally accepting the choice.
“Oh-all right, I guess I see your point...maybe.” she said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
Twilight turned to Applejack and Rarity, both of them feeling a bit odd about being left out. They were not upset, just unsure of what they’ll be doing for the next ten hours.
“Girls, I-.”
“Nah worries Twilight!” said Applejack “We’ll keep an eye on ya’ll five while ya sleep, fear nothin’!”
“We will keep you warm and safe, you have nothing to worry about Twilight.” added Rarity.
Twilight could feel twinkles of doubt and worry in their voices, but at least they sounded honest. She trusted them, that was enough. She didn’t notice the wheezing sound of the teapot until Luna lifted it with her magic, pouring the contents in five tea cups. The smell of tea filled the bedroom. It was so Powerful she could even taste it in her mouth.
“It’s Sleep-Ease Tea.” said Luna “Only ten times more powerful. It will keep us sleeping for a good 10 hours, more than enough time to get in there, find my sister and bring her back.”
She then turned around with a startled expression. She just remembered a very important piece of information.
“You have to know, when we are down there inside my Sister’s dreams, we will perceive time in a different way than we do perceive it here.” said Luna.
“What does that mean?” said Rainbow Dash.
“Inside a dream our brain works faster. One minute in the real world will feel like 20 minutes inside a dream.”
“So if we sleep for ten hours, we would be inside Celestia’s dreams for...almost ten days.”
Expressions of panic and doubt spread around the group of friends. The idea didn’t seem that good after all. Rainbow Dash, despite loving her naps and enjoying a good sleep, had doubts growing inside her about the plan. Being inside a dream for ten days wasn’t a very appetizing prospect, even if it was the best dream in the world. Feeling the unease and fear spreading around the group of friends, Luna rushed to explain the situation with more detail.
“We won’t need to stay inside my Sister’s dreams for that long. As soon as we find her we activate The Fall and we will wake up.”
“Will The Fall still work with such sedation?” said Twilight tentatively taking one cup with her magic.
“Yes, it definitely will.” said Luna as she sipped carefully from her cup. It wasn’t too hot.
Rainbow Dash took the cup with her teeth and gulped its contents in one single motion. It tasted terrible. She hated tea. It left her mouth feeling like a used horseshoe.
Pinkie liked the tea, but it was too tasteless. She sipped it with long slurps using a straw that twisted and turned and made one whirl on the side turn with hypnotic motion. She wished it had more sugar in it.
Fluttershy thought it was too sugary. She drank it quickly trying to suppress the nausea that sugar caused her. It’s not like she hated sugary stuff, but so much sugar was too much.
Twilight drank her tea peacefully and quietly, and so did Luna. For them the tea was just fine.
Once they finished they placed the cups on the table and hoped onto the bed, placing themselves around Celestia making a circle. Fluttershy laid down next to Celestia’s head, on her left side. She laid her head on the pillows, her mane tangling with that of the Princess. Pinkie Pie laid next to Celestia’s flank, her puffy mane rubbing against the body of the Princess. Rainbow Dash laid next to Celestia’s hooves, and as a reflex she grabbed the tail of the Princess between her hooves like it was a stuffed toy. Twilight laid in front of Celestia right next to her chest. She placed a hoof on her teacher’s forelegs. She was really worried. Luna hoped next to Twilight and laid next to her sister, rubbing her face against Celestia’s.
Applejack and Rarity took some blankets and duvets and covered their friends with them to keep them warm. Applejack just threw the blankets on them. Rarity took time to tuck the fabric under the bed and setting it as neatly as possible. Applejack rolled her eyes and sighed. She moved closer to Pinkie Pie.
“Don’ go too crazy in there Sugah cube.” said Applejack to Pinkie Pie.
Rarity got closer to Fluttershy. The shy Pegasus pony looked very afraid. Rarity rubbed her face on Fluttershy’s and gave her a kiss on her cheek.
“Be safe darling.” said Rarity “Don’t you forget, you will come back.”
“Of…course.” said Fluttershy “See you…later, Rar…i…” and fall asleep.
Applejack went to wish good luck to Rainbow Dash, but she was already snoring. Applejack had to admire the entirety of that Pegasus pony. She rubbed a hoof over Rainbow Dash’s mane.
“Ya little hayseed.” muttered “Try not to show off too much.”
Twilight and Luna were the only ones who were still awake. Twilight could feel Luna charging up the Mental Infiltration spell, her horn glowing and her body expelling a magic field she had never seen before.
“Are you ready?” whispered Luna.
“Yes…Let’s do this.” she said with a nod.
She closed her eyes. She had never experienced falling asleep. Anytime she went to bed she never realized when she was falling asleep. She felt it that time. First her limbs paralyzed, her forelegs and then her hind legs. It was odd. She couldn’t move them but she could still feel them. Then a sinking sensation in her chest like her body was melting away. Then she stopped feeling all over. Nothing. Numbness and terrifying still. Her brain was awake enough to tell her that she was feeling nothing at all. She thought she moved her eyes but she wasn’t sure. Twilight was now in a different plain, in a different level, above reality. It was all just black and silent. Until she heard the thunder roaring and the rain splatter on her body.
END OF PROLOGUE.