Sometimes dreams are simple.
Sometimes dreams depict patterns, familiar settings and events the dreamer has experience with. Dreams like this tend to be cyclic, with the dreamer falling into a simple routine and making few conscious choices. Choices that are made by the dreamer that fall outside of these cycle are often demonstrative of the unconscious minds desire to achieve change in reality. These are by far the most common dreams, and because of this they tend to be most forgettable. The primary exception to this rule is if the dreamer would become lucid during the dream. If the dreamer becomes lucid, then they have a much greater chance of writing the dream to memory. Even then it’s common for the dreamer to forget most of the dream, with the exception of the portions of the dream they were lucid.
Sometimes dreams depict desires and fears. Dreams such as these tend to be wild, unbound by logic and conceptual reality. These can range from primal depictions of nature to fantastic distortions of reality. The things depicted in these dreams are often heavily symbolic and emotionally charged, especially for the dreamer in question. Fever dreams and classical nightmares fall under this category; dreams such as these are oftentimes be enrapturing and haunting in the same breadth, much like the call of a siren evoking longing and hatred in the same melody. Repressed emotions and disregarded feelings often twist themselves into nigh unrecognizable forms and shapes in these dreams, calling out to the dreamer however they can. One should always take pains to understand the significance and symbolism in such dreams, especially if they recur.
Ironically the rarest type of dream is the one that’s most bound in reality. These dreams are also the dreams that can carry the most significance.
Sometimes a dream isn’t a dream at all.
Sometimes it’s a memory.
The first thing to come to Discord was the smell. Scent is the sense most intrinsically tied to memory, even more so than a Unicorn’s mnemonic kinesthesia, a Pegasi’s equilibrioception, or even an Earth Ponies’ sense of strength, strain, and endurance.
Three distinct scents filled his mind, flooding his consciousness.
Ozone, charcoal, and iron.
Touch and temperature followed soon after that. A chill wind blew through his fur and slid across his scales, causing him to shiver.
Other than the sound of the wind blowing through the grass all was silent.
In an instant the world resolved itself before him. Painted across the horizon was one of the most breathtaking sunsets Discord had ever had the pleasure of viewing. Wild shades of orange and yellow streaked across the vivid, blood red sky. Directly in front of him lay a charred field, it slowly sparkled with glints of orange and red as the falling sun managed to catch off of the odd pieces of armor that somehow managed to maintain their shine.
It looked like the sky had been lit ablaze while the ground smoldered with embers. The whole scene had a sort of macabre beauty to it, though Discord took no pleasure in that fact; he remembered he was the ultimate cause of its creation.
While Discord stood beside Celestia, watching the sun set, it occurred to him that this scene must have been set several hours after his escape that day. He remembered leaving as soon as the opportunity presented itself, letting Celestia and Luna deal with the aftermath by themselves. At the time, Discord intended it to be another lesson the pair would have to learn on their own.
Discord glanced over at Celestia, concerned. “How long did she sit here waiting?”
The details were a bit blurred at first, but soon enough his mind filled the gaps that time and Celestia’s perspective left on the picture. Celestia sat motionless; her face was completely expressionless as she regarded the scene before her with a thousand yard stare. She seemed to exist outside herself, completely detached from reality. The only sound to come from her was the sound of shallow breaths that were barely audible over the whispering of the wind. The only true indication that she was even conscious was the slowly flickering amber light that shone from her horn.
Discord regarded her critically. Surely she had figured it out by then, hadn’t she? He reasoned she couldn’t just wait there all night. Could she? The glow from Celestia’s horn continued to cast her face in relief against the brilliant sunset as she slowly lowered the sun to the horizon.
Discord knew it would have been a harsh lesson for Celestia, but it was one he felt she needed to be taught early lest she learn it the hard way. It was never his intention to break her, she was always strong, but looking at how well she had committed this moment to memory he couldn’t help but wonder how close he might have come to doing just that.
“Did I go too far?”
It should have been a simple question, but for the life of him he couldn’t find the answer. In his introspection the only thing Discord managed to accomplish was to waste time staring at Celestia. He just stared at her wondering what had really come to pass that day, wondering what could have been...
“S-sister?” Both Celestia and Discord were jolted out of their respective stupors when Luan spoke. Celestia briefly glanced to her left and Luna came into view. After a moment Celestia looked away, but Luna remained in scene. Discord wondered how long Luna had been watching Celestia before she announced her presence.
“Sister, the hour is growing late. The sun has already set, and a storm is coming.” Luna spoke softly, Discord could feel the concern in her voice. “You should come home, everyone is getting worried.” Discord blinked, feeling bewildered. He looked around and, sure enough, clouds began filling in around them as they obscured the starry sky above.
Celestia continued to stare into the darkness as if caught in a trance. She seemed completely unfazed when the sky opened up and the rain started to fall upon her. The raindrops stuck to her fur, saturating it, until eventually they streaked down her face like tears.
Luna took a step towards her sister. She raised a hoof as if to reach out and touch Celestia but seemed to think better of it, withdrawing it almost immediately. Luna shook her head. “Sister, listen to me, this is just another of Discord’s tricks. This is just another game for him.” Luna’s resolve was faltering, her tone grew increasingly frantic. “Please, sister, come home!”
Luna’s pleas fell on deaf ears as the soft patter of the rain drowned out the silence. Luna took another step towards Celestia, obviously ready to try again, when Celestia spoke.
“Why are they still here?” Her voice was raspy, as if she had been crying. “They always disappear when he leaves… So why are they still here now, sister?” Celestia turned her head slightly, acknowledging Luna but apparently unable to make eye contact. The rain clung to her coat, it brought out the subtle bit of pink in it. It made her look vulnerable. Luna averted her gaze, staring at the ground. It was obvious she was as ashamed as her sister was distraught.
“I-I know not, sister. I think it must be another of Discord’s vile tricks.” Luna scuffed a hoof against the ground, tearing a small hole in the moist ground. “I think he means to upset you, to cast you into doubt.” Luna looked back up at Celestia and Celestia looked back to the field. Her face remained a mask, betraying no emotion.
“This is different… He just kept pushing me and pushing me, and then I…”
“Sister, he forced your hoof, you had no choice but to retaliate. He’s playing games with your mind, sister, you know they weren’t real. Why must you-”
“That’s not the point!” Celestia’s mask broke as she shouted at her sister. She stood up and stepped towards Luna with flared wings and eyes full of anger. “It doesn’t matter if they were real, and it doesn’t matter if Discord cannot be slain. I wanted them to burn, Luna! I tried to consign them to oblivion!” Celestia swept a hoof out in the direction of the charred field, nearly striking her sister in the process. Luna took a step back away from her, afraid. Celestia seemed to realize she had crossed a line and she backed off.
“The worst part of it all is that I was happy when I heard their cries. Gods, I actually smiled while they burned.” Celestia sat back down, ignoring the mud splattering against her coat. She raised a hoof to cover her face, covering her shame. “At the end of it all, it doesn’t matter what Discord did to provoke me. I did this, that’s all that matters.”
Discord watched as Celestia started to shudder violently in the rain. Out of reflex he extended a paw to try to comfort her, the warm summer’s rain passed through it ineffectually.
Celestia flinched when Luna wrapped her in a strong embrace. They sat there, entangled in a loving embrace. Luna nuzzled Celestia affectionately, and she slowly ran her hoof through Celestia’s mane, calming her. Eventually Celestia calmed herself down, at least enough where she stopped shaking, and she extricated herself from her sister’s embrace.
“I’m sorry,” she said sheepishly. “It’s just, this time it was Discord, but what next? What if it was a troupe of soldiers from beyond our borders? What if next time it’s a loyalist party? Or what if next time it’s you, or even Fath-”
“Celestia,” Luna cut her off, “there won’t be a next time.” There was a certain confidence in her voice as she spoke. “You worry too much, Tia.”
Celestia looked at her sister, obviously unconvinced. Luna scoffed.
“It there is anyone with self-control, it is thee.” Luna insisted. “This will not happen again if you don’t allow it to.” Luna smiled, brushing a stray hair from her sister’s face. “Besides, if you let Discord break you then I will have to be the responsible one; you don’t want that to happen, do you?” Celestia laughed despite her grim mood. “Feeling better now?” Luna asked, obviously relieved by her sister’s mirth.
Celestia nodded. “Very much so, thank you Luna, I needed that” Celestia stood up, the rain slowly washing the dirt and grime from her coat.
“Tia,” Luna said as she stood, “if I must console you once in a thousand years, then I suppose that it will be a worthy price to pay so that I can have you stand my side until the end of days.” Luna shot her sister a sly grin. “Who knows, mayhaps you will find a way to return the favor by then.” Celestia pouted and gave Luna a quick shove; she burst into a fit of giggles when Luna scrambled to stay upright in the mud. If Luna was upset she didn’t show it, laughing as she regained her balance. A peal of thunder caused them both to flinch, staring at one another with concern.
“Come now, sister!” Luna exclaimed. “Let us away, before we catch our deaths in this cursed squall!” She lifted herself into the air with a beat of her wings. “What say you, Tia?” Celestia nodded.
“I will be just after you; I feel I need a moment to compose myself.” Luna nodded and turned away from Celestia, speeding towards the abyss that lay at the edge of Celestia’s perceptual memory. Celestia turned and looked at the field in front of her. The joy drained out of her features and way replaced by a steely resolve. She took a deep breath and her whole demeanor changed, she had a confidence about her that Discord had not seen since she imprisoned him all those years ago.
Then she turned towards the direction Luna flew off to. She tensed the muscled in her legs and wings, getting ready to take off.
Except she didn’t.
Instead, she relaxed again. Then she turned around and stared at Discord, locking eyes with him. After what seemed like an eternity to him, she turned around and took off to rejoin her sister. Discord just stood there, still frozen by her fleeting gaze. He knew that she looked right at him, but he knew that such a thing should have been impossible; he would have realized it if she became lucid. His mind buzzed with conflicting thoughts, ideas, and emotions, they combined and combusted before they could produce any viable explanation for what just happened.
Idly, he noted that the world was drawing out and way from him. The blackness encroaching rapidly, surrounding him
Idly, he tried to maintain the illusion of a world around him. The darkness closed around him haphazardly, the world around him lost its definition.
Only one thing remained, it only seemed to become more defined as he was plunged into a whirling pool of darkness.
The rain.
The warm summer’s rain clung to his fur; it soaked him to the bone as it began to fall in unforgiving sheets.
As the world around him faded away, the rain burned away all the darkness that dared to encroach on his mind.
The rain was indiscriminate; Discord paid it no mind as it burned at the edges of his mind in an attempt to cleanse it of his own darkness.
Without thinking Discord uttered four words.
“What did she see?”