//------------------------------// // A Scattered Dream // Story: Seven Princesses of Light // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Is any of this real or not? I want to line the pieces up... ...yours and mine. Chapter 2: A Scattered Dream Princess Celestia of Equestria slowly opened her eyes. Grogginess grudgingly gripped her mind as she rose from her royal rest. Even though she was tired, she never forgot to raise the sun in the morning hours. As she reached out her magical grip on the sun, her mind wandered back to the strangely lucid dream she had. Keyblade... Heartless... what did it all mean? she thought. This wasn't like the millions of dreams she had in the past. Those dreams had faded from her conscious thought almost seconds after she woke up. This dream on the other hoof, was persistent like a memory some pony had made her promise not to forget. With the sun magically aligned to its daily course, Celestia was free to attend to other matters. One of the largest was where her newly wedded niece Cadence was going to reside. Sure, the castle had its perks, but that sort of distracted from the lifestyle of lovers. She was going to need an open land with many possibilities. After all, Cadence was a free spirit. Celestia had learned that the hard way on multiple occasions. Celestia's pondering was interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door. "Your Majesty, Lady Cadence has requested your presence in her quarters," said the voice of a presumed guard. "I'll be there momentarily," Celestia replied professionally. The fading sound of hoof beats could be heard from behind the door. Celestia donned her royal, golden attire as she looked toward the cage beside her bed. Her phoenix Philomena was still snoring elegantly. A herd of elephants couldn't wake up that sky bird. Celestia held a small smile on her face before exiting her bedroom via the door. --- Lowering her moon to make way for her older sister's sun, Princess Luna of the Night let out a yawn. It was the first time in a while that she had decided to sleep through the later half of the night. Some strange force had decided that she needed a good night's rest. That same force had given her rather vivid images in her dreams. She could not will herself to forget those images. A Keyblade... Heartless... just what are they? she pondered. She had never heard those terms before the dream. The event was engraved in her mind like an everlasting promise. Why was this dream so different? Maybe it's not good if I dwell on this, she decided. After all, her niece had recently married. She had to at least offer verbal congratulations in place of her missed attendance of the full ceremony. Frankly, Luna wasn't sure why Celestia had forgotten to put her name on the guest list. It's not like she dumped the preparations for Cadence's wedding on Celestia without telling her. Oh, wait. Luna mentally sweat dropped as she realized that's exactly what she did. I suppose we're even, she thought with a sigh. With petty revenge settled, she decided to make a little visit to Cadence's quarters. A message felt stronger when it was relayed one-to-one. She intended to make this message as strong as the Royal Canterlot tone. It would be even stronger with the appropriate wedding gift she had made from scratch. --- "She will be here momentarily," said the guard. "Thank you, sir," answered Princess Cadence of the Dawn as the guard left. Her mind was full of the events that had taken place over the past two days. Having married the love of her life Shining Armor was exciting in itself. Who knew that the changeling faction was in such a position to launch a full invasion? Who could have predicted that they would usurp the entire proceedings? Dealing with that mess had been stressful on all parties involved. Then, there was last night. The dream was so realistic that she couldn't be sure if it was just a dream. Cadence remembered using several acrobatic maneuvers even though she was fairly certain she had never practiced gymnastics in her whole life. The unusual words that she had heard in the dream also puzzled her. "Just what is a Keyblade?" she asked no pony in particular, "And what are the Heartless?" Hopefully, Auntie Celestia could help her figure things out. She knew everything. Even when she didn't know something, she knew something. Auntie was just that clever. Cadence was interrupted from her internal pondering by a gentle knock. "Yes?" she called. The door gently opened inward. --- "You wanted to see me?" inquired Celestia as she slowly entered the bedroom. "Oh! Yes, of course. Come on in," said a rushed answer from inside. Every pony was so on edge when she made and appearance, even her family. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought they were all afraid that she was going to banish them to the Everfree Forest at the slightest displeasure. Mentally, Celestia shook her head. That was silly. No pony could possibly that presumptuous and paranoid. Besides, she had been summoned. If any pony should have been worried it should have been her. She worried that she would disappoint her summoner if she ignored the call. "How's my favorite niece doing?" she charmed. "Oh, Auntie," chuckled Cadence. Immediately, however, she cleared her throat and gave a deadly serious stare. This caught Celestia off guard. Sure, she knew Cadence was a no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point pony but never had the Dawn alicorn looked so... grave. "Auntie, I clearly remember a dream I had last night," began Cadence. She started describing all of the details of a scenario that sounded all too familiar. Aside from certain details, the dream sounded exactly like what Celestia had experienced that night. Could her niece have had the same dream? It was too distinct to be a coincidence. "What are your thoughts, Auntie?" queried Cadence. "Cadence," replied Celestia, "had you told this to me any other day, I would have struck it up to an imaginative conscience. However, the events you've mentioned sound fairly similar if not exactly similar to the dream I had last night." "What?" Apparently, her niece was not expecting that. Celestia began to describe her own detailed dream involving a new weapon and creatures from the shadows. "What does this mean?" inquired her niece. Before she could answer, though, the bedroom door was shoved open by an intruder. --- "Oh... is this a bad time?" asked the Princess of the Night. She had only meant to surprise one pony. But upon her entrance, she had successfully startled her niece, her sister, and herself. What was her sister doing on this side of the castle? "N-no, of course not," rushed Cadence, "Please, come on in, Aunt Luna." Cadence always showed Luna a greater respect than the rest of the monarchy for some reason. Luna had noticed this trend long before her years of jealousy. What was it about her that invoked more authority than her sister? Surely, the rest of the family respected the Princesses of Day and Night equally. She still couldn't wrap her head around the concept. The fact that Tia was in the room distracted Luna. "What's going on?" she asked with the gentlest tone she could muster. Thankfully, Fluttershy's vocal lessons had not been a complete waste and it seemed the gentle voice calmed down the other two ponies. "We were talking about dreams," her sister answered. "Oh?" piqued Luna's curiosity, "What kind of dreams?" "Well," interjected her niece, "the kind of dreams that can be remembered long after waking up." "You know," started Luna, "that sounds a lot like the dream I had last night." She recounted her dream about podiums, a faceless voice, and a key that doubled as a sword. When she finished reminiscing, Celestia and Cadence both held their jaws wide. "That... that's exactly what our dreams were about," said Celestia. Luna stood stupefied. "What... really?" she said barely above a whisper. Celestia and Cadence proceeded to give specific details regarding their individual experiences in the dream. "What can this mean?" asked the concerned niece. "I don't know," replied Tia, "But this can't be a coincidence." --- Some awkward minutes of silence passed between Cadence and her two Aunts. "By the way, Luna," said Auntie Celestia at last, "Why did you come here today?" "Why did I... Oh! That's right!" recovered Aunt Luna, "I wanted to give my prized niece a congratulatory gift for her successful marriage." As she said this, she pulled out three star-shaped objects. Each of which could be held up by a chain-like string. "I believe the commoners of today called these 'Thalassa' charms," Luna continued, "They are a way of connecting destinies and sharing wishes of good fortune." "Wow," whispered Cadence. Her eyes marveled at the unique magenta and white pattern that the charm had. "Thank you." "You are most welcome," beamed Luna, "And since we've all shared a unique experience, I figure it's a good idea if all of us have one." She said this while levitating the second toward Celestia while holding the third in front of herself. "Are you sure that's alright?" asked Celestia while holding up a orange and red star charm with her magical touch. "But of course," confirmed Luna while holding up a navy blue and purple star charm, "We'll figure this ordeal out together." "Yeah!" affirmed Cadence. This bond of friendship was only the beginning of their journey. --- Four other destinies were intertwined that day: the warrior of Fire, the warrior of Earth, the guardian of Wind, and the sorceress of Water. --- (A/N: Hm... this is starting to sound more like a comedy than what I intended it to be. Oh, well. Sad moments are usually more effective later in the story when the reader's in a good mood. In an unrelated note, updates may be sporadic. Just thought I'd warn you all.)