//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: A Nightmare, A Message, A Gift // Story: Of Love and Video Games // by Art de Triomphe //------------------------------// The meadow was just as sunny and bright as always, though not as fragrant. As I sat there, my arms propping me up, I gazed out over the familiar patch of flowers and grass. By my estimation, this was the exact same meadow that laid near Ponyville. In fact, this may be the exact same bed of flowers that Luna unceremoniously landed me in a week back. It felt strange to dream. I hadn't had a single dream since I had arrived in Equestria. That in itself isn't that much of a problem, I was never much of a sleep-dreamer, a day-dreamer, sure, but not so much when I was asleep. As benign as this dream is, I can't really complain. Just sitting in this field, looking around. As with most dreams, my senses weren't completely there. I could see, and I could feel the plants beneath me, but I couldn't smell the flowers, nor did I hear anything. Just as my eyes wandered in the direction of the Everfree Forest, as geographically correct as the rest of this dreamscape, I spotted a lone being standing on the main path. Even with my glasses, they were standing a bit far away for me to tell what, or who, it was. However, this didn't worry me that much, at least it gave me something to pay attention to. As it turned out, the being didn't stay in one place for long. It soon began marching down the path, away from the forest and toward me. However, it didn't come alone. Out of nowhere, two more beings, similar to the first, but shorter, appeared. Another few steps, and three more, carbon copies of the two, appeared behind. This continued on and on until the first one was close enough to me where I could tell a little bit of what it was. I immediately recognized it as a changeling. The black body, the curved horn, the blue insectoid wings, and the holes in their limbs were a dead giveaway. However, three things set this changeling apart from all the others. First, as I already mentioned, it was taller, a good head and shoulders above the normal changelings that followed it. Second, unlike the other changelings, this one actually had hair, teal in color, which flowed long down her back and around her shoulders. Second, while all the other changelings looked alike, regardless of their actual gender, this one was definitively female, with the bust, eyelashes, and long, fake-looking nails to prove it. She was swathed in a green flowing outfit, not unlike what I had seen Celestia wear on occasion, and her head was topped by a black four-pointed crown. By this point, sensing a threat, I had gotten to my feet. The lead changeling just stood there, as if she didn't even see me. "Queen Chrysalis, I presume," I called, which finally got her attention. "So," she hissed, "you know who I am. Good for you." "I know this is just a dream. I know you aren't the real Chrysalis. Now get out!" Dream Chrysalis laughed, "Oh I beg to disagree. You certainly remember when you would have flashes of green light burst before your eyes?" "Yeah, what about it?" "That was me. I'm in your head." "Well that explains why the ponies thought I was a changeling," I replied, attempting to remain calm, "That doesn't explain why you're here now." "Oh, that's simple," she said, taking a step toward me, "I am here to deliver a message." "What kind of message?" "We're coming, Jack. We're coming and there is nothing you, the princesses, or your friends can do. We will capture you, and we will feed." "You seem awfully self-assured. Do you not know what I have done to those you have sent already?" "Yes, we know. But those were one, this will be many. The entire force of the Changeling Army will be upon you." "I'm not afraid of you, or your little bugs." Chrysalis scowled at this description of her children, "You say you're not afraid. Well, my dear human, I believe I can make you afraid." "Oh yeah, how do you plan on doing that?" "Like this. Changelings," the entire army behind Chrysalis crouched down into a running stance, "Attack!" The changelings rushed toward me. I widened my stance and waited. The first one to reach me received my right elbow straight in its mouth. A second one swung and missed before earning a back elbow shot into its temple. However, I quickly realized that I couldn't hold them off this way. I needed to create space. To do this, I took a running start at one and jumped, planting my hands on its shoulders and, using it like a pommel horse, vaulted myself up. I twisted around in mid-air, and landed with a good ten feet of space between me and the nearest attacker. Luckily for me, you can do things in a dream that you can't do in real life. I could see when I landed that Chrysalis was absolutely livid. Her arms were angrily crossed over her chest, and her breathing was heavy, like she wanted to scream, but knew that it wouldn't do any good. Unfortunately for me, there were just too many of them. I tried my best to just keep it one-on-one, but before long I was quickly surrounded, where everywhere I turned, there was another fist flying. "Jack," I heard someone call. I recognized the voice instantly. Throwing a jump spin kick to give me some room, I called back. "Luna! Luna where are you!" "Up here, Jack!" I glanced skyward to see that the blue sky of the original dream had been replaced. Now it looked like a black void. However, I could see Luna, laying on what seemed like the glass top to my dreamworld. Her wings were spread and she was pounding on the glass, as if she was trying to break in. It was at this point that I remembered about Luna's duty to watch over the dreams of ponies and protect them from nightmares. It made sense that Luna was here, since I was certainly experiencing a nightmare. However, I couldn't figure out why she couldn't get in. I didn't have long to mull this over, as I soon caught a stiff shot right to my jaw, then a second, then a third. Soon, I was on the ground, with about ten changelings standing immediately above me. The last thing I saw was all of those changelings raise a hoof, preparing to stomp me out of existence. The last thing I heard was Luna yell something in her eardrum-shattering Canterlot voice, then, silence. *--*--*--*--* "Jack! Jack! Please wake up!" My eyes shot open and I shot upright. I could feel my heart beating against my ribcage as my breathing went from fast and labored, to slow and steady. Once my vitals stabilized, it was just a question of who had woken me. That questioned was answered when I felt a pair of arms, then a pair of wings envelope me. This was followed by whomever it was nuzzling their head into mine, where I felt the base of a horn. Deciding to cut to the chase, I snaked my head underneath their's, lifting their face up. I followed up that move, but giving them a kiss. "Thanks, Luna," I said before giving her a second smooch. "Oh, Jack, I was scared," she went back to nuzzling me, this time into my chest. "It's OK, Luna," I stroked her mane, which seemed to calm her, "It was just a nightmare, I'm fine." "That's never happened before," she said, not removing her face from me, "Usually, when I see a pony having a nightmare, I use my magic to get into their subconscious, and I erase the evil picture. But this time, I couldn't do anything but watch while you got beat up." The touches of moisture I could feel on my bare chest told me that Luna was tearing up. To soothe her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and lowered myself back down onto the bed, pulling her with me. Taking the hint, Luna adjusted her body so that when I returned to my back, she laid on top of me. We laid there for a few seconds. Between Luna's gentle breathing as she calmed down, and my own tiredness from being woken up so suddenly, I thought I might have a chance to fall back asleep. However, that thought was fleeting. "Jack, are you--" Both Luna and I looked over to the staircase. There stood Lyra and Bon Bon, their faces outlined by the golden glow of Lyra's horn. "I'm fine, Lyra," I answered, "I was just having a nightmare." "Does that explain why Princess Luna is here," Bon Bon asked with a tone of slight intimidation at the thought of having the princess in her home. "Yes," I responded, allowing Luna not to say anything, "Luna tried to break my nightmare in her normal way, but she couldn't, probably due to my immunity to magic. Anyway, since she couldn't do it that way, she came here to wake me up the old-fashioned way." "Hey, Jack," Lyra said cautiously, "you think I can get my question for the day in?" "Right now?" "Yeah, it's important." "OK. What is it?" "Are you and Princess Luna dating?" Luna actually looked up at this question, a slight tint of red on her muzzle. I craned my neck down and gave her a kiss at the base of her horn. "Yes, Lyra," I finally answered, not taking my eyes off of my princess, "Luna and I are together. We have been for awhile now. But you guys gotta keep it to yourselves, alright? We can't have the entire population knowing yet." "Does Princess Celestia know," Bon Bon asked. "Verily," Luna answered before I could as she shifted herself slightly higher, "Our sister knows, as do a few others. Those who should know, do, and those who shouldn't, don't." "Go back to sleep, you two," I said, glancing back at the two mares on the stairs, "Nothing to see here." "Right," Bon Bon replied, "Come on, Lyra." The two of them returned to their room, leaving me and Luna cuddling on my bed. It didn't take long for Luna to complete her journey up to my face to give me a few kisses of her own. "We do not think We can go this long without seeing thou," Luna whispered into my ear as she nuzzled. "Remember what I promised you. You won't have to for long. And since you're already here, would you like me to stay up with you awhile?" "Oh, that would be wonderful," she cooed. "Wait," I said, reaching for the little side table where I set my glasses, "I'm night blind, I can't see you properly without my glasses." "We can do something about that," Luna said, bringing her face back in front of mine and smiling. "About what?" "We can fix your vision. We are sure it would come in handy when you have to fight next." "Can you really fix my eyes?" "Verily. Though," her smile dropped slightly, "We must warn you, it will probably hurt." My eyes shifted side to side as I thought it over. "OK," I said, "please." Luna reached her hands behind her back and unlaced mine from her. "Now, if it hurts, just squeeze our hands," she said calmly, like a nurse. Yes, the thought of Luna as a nurse passed through my head for a second. But I was quickly brought back to the present by a thought. "But what if I want to yell? I mean, I just send Lyra and Bon Bon back to bed." "Oh, We have a solution for that. Are you ready?" I took a deep breath and let it out, "Ready." "Let us begin," she said, pressing her mouth to mine and lighting up her horn. Immediately, I squeezed both of Luna's hands firmly. It felt as if my eyeballs were being sucked down into my sinuses. On top of that, no matter how much I wanted to close my eyes, the magic rendered me physically incapable of doing so. Having no other choice, I stared at the ceiling, squeezed Luna's hands, and tried to focus on the kiss. To accomplish this, I pressed my tongue against Luna's lips, which she quickly opened. We had never French kissed before, and the subsequent battle for dominance as our tongues invaded each other's mouths did an excellent job of distracting me from the pain of having my eyeballs magically reshaped. When the pain and magic ended, the kiss did not. I released Luna's hands, allowing me to place one of mine behind her head and another on her shapely backside. She reciprocated by snaking one hand under my pillow while the other ran up and down my side. On top of this, with no more magic to concentrate on, her wings sprang open with a satisfying sound, making her moan into the kiss more than she already was. Unfortunately, all good things must eventually come to an end. When we broke off the kiss, we were both panting, refilling the oxygen in our spent lungs. And then I opened my eyes. Instead of my normal vision under these circumstances, where all I would be able to see without corrective lenses would be the vague form of the blue-furred princess, I now saw Luna, who was straddling my hips, in perfect clarity, every one of her features perfectly visible, even in this minimal light. Luna must have seen the look on my face. "Can you see us clearly?" "Yes. Yes Luna, I can see you perfectly." "Excellent," she beamed. "But," I smirked, sitting up slightly in order to pull her back down, "I think I see you even better when you're close." "Thou art a flirt." "I try."