//------------------------------// // New Friends, New Expectations // Story: Break of Dawn // by SupaSqueegee //------------------------------// Luna stood before the library in Ponyville, a stern expression settled firmly on her muzzle. If she was going to find out anything about what was going on, then this was the place to be. While she wasn’t exactly fond of dealing with the Elements of Harmony, sometimes there was no other way to achieve the goals she had set in mind. With a stirring of pride she reached a hoof up to rap lightly on the wooden door before her. She didn’t have to wait long before it was opened, a small, young dragon looking up to her with wide eyes. “Uh... wow.” Spike's eyes blinked rapidly. He quickly bowed afterwards, regaining his senses. “Pr-Princess Luna!” He stood up just as quickly as he had bowed, moving to the side of the door frame to let Luna inside. “We-welcome to Ponyville Library. Are you looking for Twilight?” Luna nodded gently, watching Spike run off and nearly trip over himself to find Twilight. She followed him, closing the door behind her with a gentle thrum of magic. As quickly as Spike was gone, Twilight Sparkle stepped out from behind a rather perilous looking tower of books. “Princess Luna!" she said, "What a pleasant surprise!” Much to Luna chagrin, Twilight was grinning from ear to ear, and looked positively delighted to see her. Twilight gave a bow, her wings spreading graciously. Before Luna could hope to get a word in, Twilight instantly started in on her. “It’s always such a fantastic surprise to see you.” She stood up just as quickly as she had bowed, her eyes sparkling. “Are you here for a book? I can’t imagine what you would hope to find here that you don’t already know! But if you love studying as much as I do, then I have all kinds of suggestions!” Luna shook her head. She was always taken aback by Twilight's exuberance. “I am afraid not, Twilight Sparkle. The matter for which I am visiting you is one that settles heavily on my mind.” Twilight’s grin faded, her eyes widening in surprise. Luna could not keep herself from studying those eyes every time she saw Twilight. Those eyes, wide and glowing in that ephemeral light. Banishing the Nightmare from her body. It was a memory she was both grateful for, and frightened of. Pushing aside those thoughts, Luna pressed forward. “It is a matter with my sister. Over the past week she has been kept awake at night by lucid, frightening dreams. One would think I could hold them at bay and alleviate some of her discomfort. Unfortunately, I... have not succeed. That is why I am here to see you, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight’s brow furrowed as she brought a fore hoof up to her chin. “Princess, while I appreciate you thinking I could help, I’m not sure there’s much I can do. Like you said: Dreams are your realm. But..." She looked up at Luna, her smile quickly returning, “I would certainly be happy to give you as much help as I can!” Twilight zipped over to her desk, back behind the tower of books. Luna followed curiously, only to find many sheafs of parchment spread over the desk, a quill levitating in Twilight's raspberry aura. A grin tugged at Luna’s lips. Twilight was ever the fastidious one. “Right!" Twilight began, "okay. Princess: Tell me what you can while I take notes. After that, I’ll start cross-referencing what we both know with the literature I have at my disposal.” Luna gave her first genuine smile of the morning. “Of course.” She sat delicately next to the Twilight and began recounting all she knew about Celestia’s dreams. She was suddenly starting to feel that perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad a decisions as she originally felt... Cale woke up with a start, his eyes darting around the large room he found himself in. “Where…? Oh... right.” With a groan, he shook his head and sat upright. His eyes took in the room again: The large, four poster bed, the sun’s path painted across the ceiling, the varied multitude of what was surely incredibly valuable trinkets. He hadn’t paid much attention to any of these details when he had first arrived. As it turned out, teleporting with a magical pony princess really wore one out. All he had done upon appearing in this room was passing out as soon as Celestia laid him in that massive bed with her magic. Cale grunted as he made his way from the center of the bed, rolling off it to take his time to look around at his surroundings. “Sheesh. Guess she wasn’t kidding when she said ‘princess.’” He had to peel his eyes away from treasure after treasure to look outside. The sun was setting, the sky turning a reddish-orange. “Oh great. I slept all day.” With a grumble he turned around and faced the door. “Wonder what else I missed?” He was just about to walk towards the door when it opened to reveal none other than Princess Celestia herself once again. She smiled upon seeing him. “Wonderful, you’re awake. I was starting to wonder if you were going to sleep the day away. Not that I would have blamed you, of course, considering the journey you’ve had.” He grumbled, crossing his arms. “Yeah, I slept fine and all. So, mind telling me where I am?” Normally, Celestia wasn't a fan of someone speaking so gruffly with her; it usually would've have caused the Princess to bristle. Such insubordination simply was not usually heard of among her subjects. But she decided to let it pass by without comment. After all, he was far from home in a land he didn’t recognize, surrounded by beings he didn’t understand. A prickly attitude was only to be expected. “Of course, my apologies," Celestia said in a bit more snide tone than she would've liked. "You’re in my bed chambers. I would have found you a room of your own, but you nearly collapsed from exhaustion the moment we finished teleporting. So I decided to let you sleep it off here. Does that bother you, Cale?” While she had sounded delightful and showed no sign of hostility, the rebuke was still there. Cale flinched when she spoke his name. He rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head, “No. Thank you, Princess.” Celestia’s smile broadened a bit. Good. He was smart enough to see what she had done there. She liked that. “Please, Celestia is enough when we’re alone.” After he nodded, she motioned around her room. “Tell me, what do you think? I hope it isn’t too much.” Cale's eyes looked around at the room once again. He casually shrugged. “It’s a lot to take in. But...it’s nice. Beautiful, really.” He took a step towards her. “Why... why am I here? In Equestria, I mean.” He looked up to her with a hopeful glint in his eyes. Celestia frowned. She knew he would ask this question soon. She just hadn’t expected it quite yet. With a dejected sigh, she looked away, a sad expression forming on her lips. “I wish I knew, Cale. Your reason for being here is as much as a mystery to me as it is to you.” She looked up and met his eyes, “I’m sorry.” Cale sighed back, shaking his head. He waved away her apology. “It’s okay. I figured as much, anyway. So...what now?” This was an question she was better prepared to answer. She smiled gently, “Considering you don’t necessarily have anywhere else to go at the moment, I have made arrangements for you to stay here at the palace. That is, of course, if that is what you wish. I hold no rein over you. Though I would very much like to get to know you. It’s not often I meet a creature that I have never seen before.” Cale smirked and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s fine. I’m a human, by the way.” He crossed his arms and arched a brow, “But before we get down to all of that, do you think I could get a bite to eat and some better clothes?” Celestia blinked, stifling a laugh. “Of course. Follow me.” She turned and walked out the doorway, an equally amused Cale following in her hoof steps. With a defeated groan Twilight slammed her head on her desk. Her mane was a mess, her tail frazzled, her wings disheveled, and her patience worn thin. “I can’t believe we can’t find anything!” She leaned back and threw up her fore legs. “There’s nothing in any of my books about the creature you’re talking about, or the types of dreams Celestia is having!” Luna sighed and shook her head, “It does appear as if our path is blocked from this particular angle.” She turned her head, glancing out the window, noticing the setting sun. A hoof rose to rub her eyes as she failed to stifle a yawn. “I am afraid that my time with you this day has come to an end," she said. "I must return to my duties.” She stood, letting her body give itself a small stretch to ease away the tension. “Until next time, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna had turned away from Twilight, and was just about to start walking away when Twilight appeared in front of her in a purple flash of magic. “Luna... I’m sorry." Twilight bit her bottom lip. "I’ll keep trying to find something... anything. I’ll even head to Canterlot tomorrow and hit the Archives.” She reached a hoof up and gently touched Luna’s breastplate. “We’ll help her, I promise.” Luna gave a weak smile before stepping around Twilight, walking out the door. All Twilight could see was the brief flash of teleportation as the Princess left. “I just hope I can keep that promise…”