//------------------------------// // Chapter III- Among Dreams and Dresses *edited* // Story: FOR SHOVELRY! // by RedStar76 //------------------------------// "Hold still darling." Rarity said as she continued to take Shield Knight's measurements. They were up so early so that Rarity could get started on her clothing. Shield Knight was used to waking up early, so it did not bother her. What was currently on her mind however, was the encounter with that dream walker she had last night... ............................................................................................... Shield Knight stood in place and looked around. She was in her armor now for some reason. "Hello?" she began to move. Her surroundings were, unique, to say the least. There were stars around her, and she could swirling pools of light surrounding her in the distance. The path she was on gave off an angelic glow. "Hello." a kind voice replied. Shield Knight turned around, and saw what she believed was a pony. Odd though, other than her deep sapphire coat, what really stood out was her ethereal mane and tail that appeared to give glimpses of the stars themselves. "Do not be afraid. This is only a dream." "I figured as much," Shield Knight said coming closer to the pony. As she approached, her surrounding transformed from that of the dream-like landscape, to a white room with soft sunlight cascading down from the large window on the left side. A pastel colored table and chairs appeared in the middle. "Please, have a seat." the pony said before taking a seat herself. Shield Knight sat down, looking to her side to the window, seeing the golden sun in the horizon. "I inferred that perhaps this would be a nicer setting for us to talk." Shield Knight looked forward to the pony. "My name is Luna." Luna, that name sounded familiar. "As in, one of the princesses of Equestria?" Shield Knight asked curiously. "Yes, but please, you may just call us Luna." Shield Knight still looked at Luna curiously. "So, you posses the ability to roam freely into dreams?" "Yes, I roam the realm of sleep giving help to those who need it." Luna said calmly. Wait, help? What would could Shield Knight possibly need help with in her dreams of all places? "Thou look puzzled. In truth, I only came here to seek audience with you." "With me? Why?" "You see..." Luna paused, looking down. "I was once a being known as Nightmare Moon, as you may know." Indeed, Shield Knight recalled what she had been told about Nightmare Moon. It was how the element bearers came together, in order to stop her from plunging the world into an eternal night. "I am aware of your story Luna." "True, but not all if it." Luna continued, "I allowed myself to be torn apart by jealousy, and that jealousy left a hole that allowed a dark magic to posses me." "Perhaps it would be better if we were to show you." The space around Shield Knight began to change once again. A mundane yet peaceful room gave way for a regal and illustrious space. It was not hard to tell that she was now in a place of royalty. "Please, look forward." Luna's voice rang in her ears. Shield Knight looked on, now seeing one again atop where two thrones flagged her sides. "Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light?! There can be only one princess in Equestria, and that princess, shall be me!" A portion of the wall behind Luna collapsed, giving a clear view as the sun was eclipsed by the moon. Suddenly, memories began rushing back to Shield Knight. Vague, but frightening. She heard screams, pleas, and sadistic laughter. The thoughts of these memories swirled around in her mind, spreading and growing with intense fury like a wild fire.She gasped for air, her breathing becoming heavier along with her body. The once regal space that surrounded her now had now become ruined. Rubble lay everywhere as chaotic destruction consumed the hall. "Luna, I will not fight you! You must lower the moon. It is your duty!" Shield Knight looked to see a taller, pastel pony walking up beside her. The ethereal mane she donned displayed that of cool colors, but at the same time gave off a visual radiant of warmth. However, she appeared to hold dishonest scowl across her face. At the same time, Luna's appearance had changed drastically. With almost no remnants of her former self to be seen. "Luna? I am NIGHTMARE MOON!" At those words Shield Knight's whole world spun out of control. The next thing she knew, she once again was in the room from before. Now Shield Knight understood why Luna was here. "The Enchantress..." "Precisely. For thou see, we still struggle with those dark forces everyday." "What?" "Tis true," Luna said sadly. "There is still a part of us that still bears that same jealousy each and every single night. For thou see, darkness that is sealed away, only gives it room to become stronger." "But then, does that mean..." "Please, cease thy worrying, for now," Luna said trying to calm down Shield Knight. "We make it our duty to prevent others from traveling the same path that we did." "Then what does this have to do with the Enchantress?" "Both thou and this, Shovel Knight, confronted the nature of this darkness together, correct?" "Indeed," she said. "We barely escaped with our lives," it was still honestly hard to think about for Shield Knight. The dark magic within the amulet nearly killed Shovel Knight, and her as well. Infact, if Black Knight had not stepped in when he did, neither of them might be alive. When the dark magic was about to strike her, she held it back with all her might with her shield. She managed to deflect it back and destroy the dark spawn, with the resulting blast wave taking the tower with it. It nearly took her as well. Nearly... "True, while thou defeated the dark magic the possessed thee, we ask you, to think about what gave it form." "What do you mean?" Shield Knight asked worryingly. However, the space around her began to fade. "We are deeply sorry, but our time here is up at the moment. Do not worry though, we shall speak to thee again soon." Shield Knight had no choice but to witness Luna as she faded into non-existent air. What could she have possibly meant? To think about what gave the Enchantress form? What does that truly mean? On top of that, she kept referring to herself and one other person. Was someone else there, watching, or could she have meant- ............................................................................................... "All done!" Rarity gleefully cheered. Shield Knight snapped out of her deep thought, attempting to find meaning in what Luna had asked her to do. It seems she was in such thoughts for so long, that Rarity had already completed her clothing. Looking at the clock in the room, she saw that it had been about an hour. "Here you go darling." Shield Knight looked forward and saw as the cloths were floated to her hands. "You can go get changed now dear. I personally can't wait to see how you look." Shield Knight smiled and thanked her before going into the next room to get changed. A few minutes later, Shield Knight came back in. "Oh my! You look fantastic!" Rarity exclaimed. Looking to the mirror to her right, Shield Knight saw her new look. A red short-sleeved shirt with some light sequence at the end of the sleeves. Along with some black pants with a magenta flower pattern design along the pant-legs. On top of that, it all fitted comfortably. How she managed to do such on such short notice was beyond her. However- To be honest, she was not sure what to make of it. Honestly, she had very few clothing wares in her possession at home. Mostly because she did not really require such things as armor was quite certainly required when adventuring. However, if she was to compare this to what she usually wore as a child- This was the most amazing thing she's ever worn in her life. Bringing back such memories caused her to instinctively hug the mare in appreciation. Rarity was surprised, but gladly accepted the small but sudden affection by hugging back. Realizing though what she had done, Shield Knight gently pulled away. "My apologies, that was a bit intrusive of me." Shield Knight said, blushing lightly from embarrassment. "Not a problem darling," Rarity giggled. Rarity then paused and contemplated for moment before speaking once again. "Y'know what? I believe what you truly need darling, is a day at the spa." The word 'spa' puzzled Shield Knight. "Spa? What pray-tell would that be?" she asked. Rarity luckily was able to prevent herself from fainting, and or having a freak out reaction, from hearing that Shield Knight had never heard of a spa. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forget the dress orders. Forget the accessories. Forget making breakfast!...Okay, well breakfast was still necessary. However! The mere FACT that Shield Knight had never heard of spa was absolutely inconceivable! This a emergency that had to be dealt with, NOW! Luckily convincing Shield Knight to go with the idea of checking out the spa went rather swimmingly, she unfortunately was unable to convince her to leave the shield at the boutique. 'I would not be Shield Knight without it' she says. Oh well, at least the color matches with the outfit.