A celestial line divided the cosmos. The barrier itself could not be seen, but the heavens were cleary parted on either side of a great galactic schism. One horizon glittered with tranquil blue night. The other glowed with orange celestial radiance. Below this galactic canvas, a grassy knoll lay, in the center of which was planted a tree, not just any tree but an enormous, healthy specimen with widely stretching branches full of thick leaves.
Even with no direct sunlight, the tree thrived, its branches swaying in an invisible wind. There was a very hypnotic dance to the rustling leaves, as if the tree was waving towards the stars above. The heavens rolled in undulating motions, with the blue and orange portions of the sky alternating with the grace of a low and a deep tide.
There was no sound. Not a single cricket or a crackling of twigs. Even the rustling leaves held silent reverence, as if the hilltop was too sacred to disturb with anything louder than a whisper.
The starry sky continued its multicolored dance ever onward into eternity. As the eons drifted by, the tree never died and the hilltop never eroded away. The glow of the stars was constant, never fading, never giving so much as a twinkle of dimming.
If the tree had a breath to give, much less a soul, it would have delivered a happy sigh. In fact, someone did just that. A smile had frozen across her fuzzy face as she curled up tighter, hugging herself and delighting in the eternal serenity. At some point, her ears twitched, for a word had been spoken... several words, in fact... and it ripped the universe in twain like a butcher's knife through a veil of silken fabric. Ears twitching, Fluttershy winced and...
...opened her eyes. Five close friends gazed across the picnic blanket at her.
"...mind passing the biscuits, darling?" Rarity was saying. Upon spotting the mare's sleepy-eyed gaze, the unicorn winced. "Oh! I'm so terribly sorry! Were you sleeping, Fluttershy?"
"H-huh...?" Fluttershy blinked, stifling a fuzzy yawn. Around her stretched the emerald fields of the Equestrian countryside under a wickedly bright sun. "...sl-sleeping?"
"Heh..." Rainbow Dash spoke with a mouthful of zap-apple jam. "Mrmmmff... stayed up super late taking care of your animals again, huh?"
"I..." Fluttershy blinked, her ears flopping in sequence as she slowly rose back to reality. "I didn't... I-I mean I don't recall..."
"Wow, Fluttershy." Twilight Sparkle smirked, flipping the page of a book. "I know our weekly picnics are relaxing... but I didn't think they were that relaxing."
"Yeah!" Pinkie grinned while slathering another slice of bread with the zap-apple jam. "There's nothing more relaxing than a picnic! But if you're needing to stay awake, Fluttershy, I could turn this into a danger picnic!"
Applejack glanced over. "What in the hay is a 'danger picnic?'"
"Oh, it's a lot like a normal picnic, only with flame throwers and a tank full of sharks and..."
"I... th-think that Fluttershy's fine with the sort of picnic we're having now, Pinkie," Twilight said with a smirk. "And so am I. The whole point of this is to relax and enjoy the weather. So, there's absolutely nothing wrong with falling asleep if you're comfortable enough!" She turned and smiled at Fluttershy. "It's okay, Fluttershy! We're not offended! We're just glad you came and joined us!"
"Came... and j-joined...?" Fluttershy was still blinking dazedly. She tilted her head up. "The sky... it's... it's..."
Rarity raised an eyebrow.
"Pffft!" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "What? You expected the sky to just have flown away while you were off dozing?"
"I..." Fluttershy winced, rubbing her fired face. "I-I don't..."
Rarity cleared her throat. "Now now, Rainbow. There's no reason to give Fluttershy a hard time. Surely you've been known to laze away on a random cloud every now and then."
"Yeah yeah... but if you ask me, it's too awesome an afternoon to waste it away on napping!"
"Well, then, how about wasting it away on a race?" Applejack challenged with a freckled smirk. "First to the clock tower and back wins the last scoop of zap-apple jam!"
"Hah! Looks like it's you who's about to get wasted!" Rainbow Dash grinned, hopping on her hooves. "You're on! In fact, I'll even give you a head start!"
"Well, shucks, that's mighty neighborly of you, Rainbow Dash..."
"Psych!" and Rainbow darted briskly ahead.
"Hey! No fair!" Applejack stormed after her on rapidly galloping hooves. "Get back here, ya varmint!"
As Rainbow's giggles and Applejack's hoofsteps dwindled off in the distance, Rarity shuffled over and squatted right in front of Fluttershy. "Are you quite alright, dear?" she inquired with a quiet tone.
"Yes, I..." Fluttershy nevertheless yawned... and yawned. "Mmmff... at l-least I think so..."
"Hold out your legs, Fluttershy," Rarity said. "Let me see them."
"Uhm... okay..." Flutterhy stretched her hooves out in front of her.
The unicorn gently braced them with her magic and caressed each fetlock with her hooves. "My my... they're so tense!"
"Are they really?"
"Stiff as boards."
"Well, that's strange," Fluttershy said, blinking. "After all, I was having the most relaxing..." Her words trailed off and she instantly winced.
Rarity's eyes narrowed. "Fluttershy... were you having the dream again?"
The pegasus chewed on her lips, avoiding Rarity's gaze.
She leaned forward. "Be honest with me, dear. I may not be Applejack, but I can tell when my best friend is holding something back."
Fluttershy sighed. "Yes... it was the dream."
Rarity leaned her head aside. "The same dream as before?"
Fluttershy gulped, then nodded. "And the same as the one before and the one before that..."
"The same dream..." Rarity stroked Fluttershy's hooves in thought. "Four times in a row..."
"Well..."
"More than that?"
"I've lost count, really," Fluttershy said, squirming. She glanced across the picnic spread at Twilight and Pinkie, keeping her voice down so as not to be heard by the other mares. "Each time I experience it, though, it starts to feel almost as vivid as the dreams I had as a foal."
Rarity's face flexed with concern. "Fluttershy, you really must see a psychiatrist about this, darling!"
"A psychiatrist?" Fluttershy blinked. "But... but it's such a happy dream!"
"But you look so exhausted!" Rarity exclaimed. "And your hooves! Just feel them! So nervous and tense!"
"But I'm always nervous and tense!"
Rarity smiled. "I'm simply concerned about you, dear. It just doesn't seem natural to have the same dream repeatedly all one's life."
"Rarity, the only reason I told you about the dream in the first place is because you're my best friend and... f-for the longest time I needed somepony else to know about what I kept seeing in my sleep. I... I was so scared." Fluttershy gulped. "But... b-but I'm not scared any longer." She smiled gently. "I've come to realize that the dream is just a happy, peaceful place that my mind chooses to go every so often. It helps me. Honestly, it does!"
"But why a tree?" Rarity blinked. "Alone in the center of a dark field at night? It just..." She quivered briefly. "...s-sounds so somber and foreboding!"
"I know it seems that way from how I describe it, but it doesn't feel that way to me!"
"Are you certain about that?"
"Uhhh...
"Perhaps you aren't remembering all of the details," Rarity said.
"Huh?"
"It's quite common for a waking pony to lose certain memories from the dream that she or he had been experiencing right before waking. Maybe there's a distasteful element to the vision that you simply haven't the faculty to recall."
"Distasteful... e-element?!" Fluttershy started shivering uncontrollably.
Rarity grimaced. "Oh dear. Fluttershy, I-I didn't mean to frighten you, I just..."
"What if there's something wrong with me?" Fluttershy gulped. "What if it's not a natural dream, but some sort of mental illness or c-curse?!"
"Now, I didn't even remotely mean to suggest that..." Rarity clenched her eyes shut and sighed. When she reopened her eyes, it was with a tranquil smile. "Look. How about we bring this before Twilight?"
Fluttershy glanced nervously over Rarity's shoulder. "Twilight...?"
"But of course!" Rarity rested a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "She is the Princess of Magic, after all!"
"Uhm... I-I thought she was the 'Princess of Friendship.'"
"Horses for courses, darling. In any case, Twilight is an expert on all sorts of obscure phenomena, be it physical or abstract. I'm almost certain we could get a proper opinion on the matter, provided you're willing to share the knowledge of your dream with her."
"O-okay..." Fluttershy clenched her teeth. "But... n-not here. It's such a wonderful afternoon, and I'd hate to make things awkward by turning it into a discussion about my dreams."
"Very well. How about we both visit Twilight tomorrow at her palace? We can have an audience just with her."
"Alright, Rarity. I'll do it." Fluttershy fought off another yawn. "If only to alleviate your concerns about me."
"Funky dreams?" Spike shrugged from where he stood between the many crystalline thrones. "Shouldn't this be... like... Princess Luna's thing to deal with?"
"Stop talking about it as if it's a problem, Spike," Twilight said, standing at a marble desk and levitating multiple books in front of her. "Until we identify it as something else, it's best to call Fluttershy's recurring dream... uhh... a curiosity!" She turned around with a proud smile. "Wouldn't you agree, Fluttershy?"
"Oh..." Fluttershy nodded, sitting on her little throne besides Rarity. "Certainly. I have no problem with that."
"But Luna's the Princess of the Night!" Spike rasped. "Dreaming is in her alicorn blood. I bet she'd figure out the meaning to Fluttershy's night visions in a snap."
"Spiiiike..." Twilight gave him a neutral stare. "Princess Luna is far too busy with the night and moon to bother stopping and interpetting every single pony's dream in Equestria, don't you think?"
"Not even Flutterhy's?" Spike pointed. "One of your best friends, not to mention an Element Bearer?"
"Former Element-Bearer of Harmony, Spikey Wikey," Rarity said with a smile. "As much as I... erm... ch-cherished those old gems that we possessed, we did have to move on."
"But you guys are missing the point!" Spike exclaimed.
"No, Spike, the point is Luna's a busy princess. We shouldn't bother her. And besides!" Twilight separated a stack of books from her hovering array and dropped them in his flinching arms. "I need to practice my own regal talents, and interpreting Fluttershy's dream here seems like a perfect challenge!"
"Mrmmff..." Spike frowned as he waddled away with the heavy books. "I have a little throne of my own, y'know," he muttered, his voice growing distant as his body did. "Least I could get is a little bit of say every now and then."
"Ahem..." Twilight flipped a few floating books open and smirked across the palace room at Fluttershy. "So, Fluttershy, let's review." She raised an eyebrow. "The dream takes place on the top of this nondescript hill..."
"It's a grassy hill," Rarity said. "With a silent breeze."
Twilight glanced over, exhaling. "Thank you, Rarity." She looked back at Fluttershy. "It's a grassy hill, and there's some wind, but no sound to the wind."
Fluttershy nodded. "Right."
"There's also a tree. A great big... big tree full of leaves. None of the leaves have fallen, so it's like a tree in spring."
"R-right..."
"And then there's the sky." Twilight gestured towards the ceiling of the circular room. "It's night... but not normal night. One side is dull blue and the other is a glowing... orange?"
"That's the best way to describe it, yes..."
"And the blue side of the sky and the orange side are constantly rolling across the heavens? As if the two separate halves of the cosmos are rotating around the land that the tree's planted on?"
"It goes on forever," Fluttershy said.
"You're sure of that?"
"Sure of what?"
"The 'forever' part."
Fluttershy fidgeted. "I-I guess...?"
"Is that important?" Rarity asked.
"Well, it could be," Twilight remarked. "Emphasis on permanence may reflect a deep-seeded fear of death."
"I'm afraid of a lot of things, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "But when I'm having this dream, it's anything but terrifying."
"You can still have a nightmare and not be subjected to terror."
Fluttershy blinked. "Really?"
"Yes, most adult ponies have dreams that are manifestations of anxiety and stress, all rooted in the real world."
"But I didn't start having these dreams when I was an adult," Fluttershy said.
"Yes." Rarity nodded. "She's had them all her life."
"Really?" Twilight blinked. "Fluttershy, is that true?"
"I... I'm afraid it is, Twilight."
"How curious." Twilight smiled. "How come you've never brought it up before?"
"It felt too awkward to mention." Fluttershy gulped. "Just telling Rarity took a lot of courage. I've always felt very self-conscious about this vision."
"So, then, it can't be any mere trick of her brain to cope with everyday stress," Rarity said. "Now can it?"
"I really don't know..." Twilight flipped through a book, squinting at its contents. "Sigmane Freud would probably say that it's the result of something very traumatic that happened during Fluttershy's anal stage."
"My... wh-what?"
"Heh... it's just a piece of terminology, Fluttershy, referring to the psychological developmental stage in which a young pony goes through..." Twilight suddenly froze in mid-speech. Clearing her throat, she placed all of the books down and leaned forward. "Fluttershy, think hard... exactly when in your life did you start having this dream?"
"Uhm... when I was a young filly."
"Be specific, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "At what age?"
"Oh! Uh..." Fluttershy brushed a lock of pink hair back, eyes twitching in thought. "I-I suppose it was the spring when my oldest brother first came back from his tour of duty in the griffon lands. I had to have been three years old."
"Three?"
"Mmmm... m-maybe four."
"Fluttershy, didn't you grow up in Cloudsdale?"
"Yes."
"So?" Rarity asked with a shrug. "What does that have to do with anything, Twilight?"
Twilight pointed at Fluttershy. "Didn't you say that you never touched solid earth until the day you got your cutie mark?"
"That's right."
"So, if you lived in Cloudsdale up until then, how would you know what a tree looked like at age four?" Twiilght asked. "Or a grassy hilltop, for that matter?"
Fluttershy opened her mouth. She hesitated, then gawked at the walls of the room. "Oh my goodness...!" She gaped at Rarity. "I never once considered that!"
Rarity shivered slightly. "How disquieting, indeed!"
"Unless she happened to have a picture book full of photographs from rural Equestria," Twilight said.
"I'm pretty sure we didn't," Fluttershy remarked, shaking her head. "The only member of my family who had left the clouds before me were my two oldest brothers who enlisted in the Royal Guard."
"Then what possible reason would Fluttershy have at age four to dream of a tree on the top of a hill?" Rarity remarked.
"There can be several possible explanations for that," Princess Luna said, her majestic wings spread wide. "Only a seldom few of them should be cause for alarm."
"Eeep!" Fluttershy flinched so hard she fell out of her throne.
"Pr-Princess Luna!" Rarity stood up, then promptly bowed low. "Your Majesty! What... what a surprise!"
"I could say the same." The Princess of the Night's ethereal mane rippled as she turned towards Twilight. "Why didn't you summon me earlier when you discovered that your close companion was vexed by reoccuring nocturnal visions?"
"I... I-I didn't want to trouble you, Luna." Twilight gulped. "I..."
"Be still, Princess Twilight." Luna calmly placed a hoof on the mare's shoulder. "I am not at all angry with you; merely confused. Am I not the Matriarch of All Ponies' Dreams?"
"Well, yes... but..."
"But nothing. I appreciate your desire to take up your own responsibility, Twilight Sparkle, but you should also know by now that we are bound by things far closer than friendship, even closer than family. After all, it was you and your friends who exorcised Nightmare Moon from my being. Even if I spent an eternity doing favors for you and your acquaintances, it would not even remotely pay you back for all the good that you have done for me. So, naturally, assisting in a manner such as this is hardly an inconvenience."
"Well, alright, Princess Luna." Twilight nodded with a humble smile. "If you insist. But still..." She raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand. How did you even think to come here in the first place?"
Around that moment, Spike shuffled by, sweeping the floor with a broom. He burped spotaneously, spitting up a plume of green flame. Slapping a fist over his chest, he gulped the rest of the fumes down and continued on with his work, whistling innocently.
Rarity rolled her eyes with a smile.
Twilight sighed, then turned towards Luna once more. "We are most grateful for your assistance, Princess Luna. Fluttershy has been having this one reoccurring dream since foalhood and we've been trying to figure out just what it means..."
"Affirmative." Luna nodded. "I heard most of the description upon my arrival here. A most perplexing vision indeed."
"P-perplexing?" Fluttershy shrunk, her ears folded as she trembled. "Is th-that a bad thing?"
"No, but it most certainly isn't natural either." Princess Luna trotted towards the pegasus. "Dearest Fluttershy, why is it that you've always felt too self-conscious to share this dream with anypony until just recently?"
"Uhm... erm..."
"Take your time with an answer," Luna said stoically. "You have my full and undivided attention."
"Well, Your Highness, I've always felt like there was something inherently wrong with the dream."
"Wrong?" Luna calmly raised an eyebrow. "In what manner?"
"If I was to experience something like the dream in real life, I-I would be scared," Fluttershy said. "I don't do well with strange places and shadows... or j-just the dark in general, actually."
"Some ponies are more skittish than others," Luna said in a neutral tone. "This is perfectly understandable."
"But... b-but I'm quite a unique case, Your Highness," Fluttershy shuddered to say. "I've never met another pony in all my life who's as anxious and easily frightened as me. And yet..." She exhaled with a shudder. "When I have this dream, it feels so... so peaceful." Fluttershy's wingfeathers tingled as a tiny smile came to her muzzle. "I'm completely at ease, as if I haven't anything to worry about ever. If... if I had my way, I would stay in the dream forever."
"And then, when you wake..." Luna tilted her head aside. "...does that tranquility remain with you?"
Fluttershy chewed on her bottom lip. She hung her head. "No..."
"No?"
"I'm all tense and tired and weary." Fluttershy sighed. "Just ask Rarity."
"Her legs are stiff as iron, Your Highness!" the unicorn exclaimed. "And she's so terribly spent, as if she had just galloped a ten mile marathon in her sleep."
"Hrmmmm..." Luna leaned back, her majestic hair billowing. "Interesting..."
"Is it something you've ever encountered before, Luna?" Twilight asked.
Luna bore a distant expression. "On only a few occasions."
"Is it anything for me to be w-worried about?" Fluttershy asked with a gulp.
"That remains to be seen, but all things will come to the light in due time." Luna gestured towards the front door. "Fluttershy, if you will, we must depart from this palace together."
"D-depart?"
"What for, Your Highness?" Rarity asked.
"To investigate further, we must meditate," Luna said. "Alone." She took a firm breath. " As important as her friends are to Fluttershy, this is something she will have to struggle with her own mind to understand. The greater the solitude, the better."
"Well, alright, Luna." Twilight nodded. "If you insist."
"Are you willing to let me assist you personally in this matter, Fluttershy?" Luna asked, trotting closer. "Together, I promise that we will get to the bottom of this vision... and find the answers that you seek."
Fluttershy took a deep, deep breath. "Very well, Princess. Tell me... wh-what must I do?"
"Breathe evenly," Luna said, taking Fluttershy by the hoof. "And follow me..."
Fluttershy knelt down, filling a ceramic bowl with kernels of brown feed. Several mice and squirrels scampered up, munching liberally from the caretaker's offering. Smiling at her animals' meal, Fluttershy then stood and glanced across the room.
"Sometimes I worry about what will happen to all the animals around Ponyville when I'm gone." She sighed out the side of her muzzle and stroked back a lock ofhair. "Maybe that's the reason I keep having the dream of the tree," she said. "If I had my way, I'd never stop being around to lend a hoof. Or, at least, I'd leave a permanent part of myself behind that could sustain the animals for as long as possible."
"It's a very noble idea, fair Fluttershy," Princess Luna said from where she stood across the pegasus' cottage. Warm sunlight refracted through the old, thick glass panes. "But I do not believe that the dream is actually representative of you or how you feel."
"Why, whatever you mean, Your Highness?" Fluttershy tied the bag shut and put it away. "It's my dream, isn't it? Wouldn't its meaning have to do with the way I'm feeling or thinking, even if I don't understand it yet myself?"
"That's something I'm wishing to ascertain," Luna said. "There's still the very real possibility that it is not your dream in the first place."
"Not my dream?" Fluttershy gawked. She paused to nuzzle a critter or two, but continued gazing incredulously at the alicorn. "But, how is that possible?"
"I won't even begin to know until I start witnessing the dream for myself."
"How do we even do that?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's simple," Luna said. "I put a sleeping spell on you and then dreamwalk into your subconscious."
"Oh dear... th-that sounds very... very..."
"Personal?"
"I was going to say 'unnerving,' but I suppose that's more specific."
"As a dreamwalker, I am completely respectful of ponies and the secrets that their minds hold," Luna said. "You have my word, Fluttershy, that I will not expose your visions in any way to the ones you know and love."
"Well, that's reassuring."
"This whole measure is to assist you, after all," Luna said.
"Well, then..." Fluttershy took a deep breath and stood up straight. "When do we begin?"
Luna stared squarely at her "We already have."
Fluttershy blinked. "We... h-have...?" She sensed something moving through her peripheral vision. Glancing over, she breathlessly gawked at two of the munching mice as they floated towards the ceiling.
Thunder rolled in the background. Luna stood dead still as the sunlight dimmed beyond the windows. Within seconds, the exterior of the cottage was pelted by curtains of precipitous sand and gravel.
"Luna..." Fluttershy backed up into a corner, only to see the room stretch and warp around her. She hyperventilated. "Luna, I-I don't like..."
"Concentrate, fair Fluttershy," Luna's voice resonated off the bending walls. Squirrels and footstools drifted past her. She walked forward, her head splitting into three different places and coming back together to say, "Focus on the sound of my voice and ignore everything else."
"I... I-I don't understand!" Fluttershy hugged her chest and clutched her head at the same time. Angel slithered by on white scales, and the pegasus smelled chocolate fudge. "Wh-why haven't you brought me to the tree, yet?!"
"It's resisting me, Fluttershy," Luna's voice followed the glow of her horn from across the darkening, stretching cottage. "This is our seventh attempt at this. I brought you to the cottage because it was a place of familiarity. An anchor." A comet streaked by the window, now on the ceiling. Luna's legs and legs and legs reflected off every wall. "Once again, you are losing concentration due to fear and uncertainty. You must focus."
"But... b-but..." Fluttershy seethed and whimpered. "I have no control, Luna!" She gulped and hung off the precipice of a checkerboard floor above pure darkness. "I never do! How c-can I control my own dream to help you find one that doesn't belong to me?!"
"Fluttershy, in here, you have power," Luna said. "The power to do anything that you want."
"I... I don't..."
"You may not be fully incapable of fully asserting yourself in the real world, my little pony. But here? You are the mistress of your domain. Only you can open the door to let me into the dream of the tree. If you wish me to help you, then I promise I will. But you must help me first... and in turn help yourself."
Fluttershy took a deep breath. Her eyes drifted towards the rippling ceiling rafters where several squirrels and raccoons floated.
"There are those in the real world who depend on you in every faculty, Fluttershy. If you cannot do this for yourself, then do this for them."
The pegasus gritted her teeth. "Yes, Your Highness." She shut her eyes and spread her wings "I will."
And like that, the world around her dissolved into phantom strands. Fluttershy let go of the cottage and fell back, gracefully descending into a miasmic expanse stretching eternally in every direction. Luna dove after her, gliding smoothly past layers upon layers of ethereal dreamscapes.
At last, Luna landed on soft soil. Tall grass swayed around her fetlocks, and her incorporeal hair billowed in a nameless wind. Slowly, Luna trotted around, gazing at the dark horizon as it lit up in a full circle. Half of the sky glowed with blue brilliance, the other half with an orange aura.
"Hmmm... how dynamic," Luna said in the calmest tone imaginable. "It could certainly use a moon, though."
"I'm sorry, Luna," resonated a voice from directly behind the Princess. "But I can't add a moon. I lost control as soon as you convinced me to open the door to this place."
Luna turned around. A large tree loomed above her, its branches swaying silently in the starry air. The leaves made flickering silhouettes against the cosmic expanse.
"Fluttershy?" Luna blinked in every direction, her face patient and calm. "Fluttershy, where are you?"
"I am over here, Your Highness."
"Where?" The alicorn craned her neck. "Behind the tree?"
"I am the tree, Your Highness."
Luna cocked her head aside. She slowly approached the trunk of the tall, tall thing. "Now there's a detail that you neglected to mention."
"In truth, I forgot..." The voice echoed from every square inch of the tree bark. Even the branches moved when Fluttershy's words did. "And yet, I've always known. It's... it's very hard to explain."
"Then do not try," Luna said. "But rather... tell me how you feel."
"Happy, Luna."
"Happy?"
"Yes." There was a melodic tone to the mare's voice. "It's very... very nice to be here... to be this tree."
"A very intriguing prospect." Luna sat before the tree on the top of the hill. "What do you do while you are here?" she asked. "When you're a tree?"
"Uhm..."
"Do you remember now that you're back? Now that you're a tree again?"
"I'm pretty certain that I just stand here, with my arms stretched out."
"Your arms?"
"My branches, I mean. I... I-I think that's why I'm so stiff and tense when I wake up," Fluttershy's voice said. "When I return to who and what I really am, my body's missing just how comfortable and... natural this feels..."
"Natural?"
"I really can't explain it."
"Please, Fluttershy." Luna next closed her eyes and took several meditative breaths. "Do try."
"Well... I-I suppose I feel as if I've always been like this. I've always been this tree. I know that's hard to believe, seeing as we both know that I was foaled to a family of pegasi in Cloudsdale and all."
"Mmmmhmmmm..." Luna kept breathing slowly, her eyes shut.
"But, it's as if... while I'm here... all of my life history doesn't matter. In fact, none of history matters. All of the cares and concerns... all of the wars and the conflicts... all of the lives and d-deaths..."
Luna was silent.
"None of it matters. And yet... it does. Just not in the way I've always felt... or always fretted about. When I'm here, I feel like I belong to something... something older than I've ever imagined. And, what's more, I'm not alone."
"... ... ..."
"Something purposed this, Luna. Something planted the tree... planted everything about this wonderful... wonderful feeling. And I could stay this way forever, knowing that I belong to this something... even if I don't know what this something is. The heavens keep rolling, changing color, with stars being born and other stars dying, but I'm still here. I've always been here. And... and it's okay. In fact, nothing has ever felt okay as this..."
Luna's nostrils flared. She remained silent.
At last, the branches of the tree shook slightly. "Princess Luna?" No immediate response. "Your Majesty, are you still there?"
"Mmmm... indeed I am, Fluttershy," the alicorn said in a deep tone. "Do forgive me. I was searching..."
"Searching?" The leaves rustled in the starlight. "Searching for what?"
"For the roots of this," Luna said. "Not the tree so much as the dream itself. And I think I may have confirmed my suspicions."
"About wh-what?"
"This isn't your dream, Fluttershy," Luna said. "And yet, at the same time, it's always been yours. It's been assigned to you. Perhaps not by choice. Perhaps by accident. Whatever the case, you became the recipient of this message, and yet not all of it is clear. Not yet."
"M-message?" A cold wind blew over the hilltop. "Luna, I don't understand."
"Fair Fluttershy, do you understand precisely how old I am?"
"I... I-I can't say off the top of my head, Your Highness," Fluttershy's voice drifted over the tall grass. "I've always known that you and Celestia were several decades old at least..."
"Hundreds of years old," Luna said, reopening her cool blue eyes. "Thousands... tens of thousands of years old." She stood up straight. "And yet, for all of the alicorns' majesty, there are things in this universe far older than us... older than the sun and moon that we command... even older than the light of the stars you see above you, in the dream world or the waking one."
"That... is very hard to believe..."
"But not without evidence," Luna said, pacing slowly around the majestic tree. "For you see, Fluttershy, the universe is a garden... but it is a cemetery all the same. Countless populations who have dotted the cosmos have joined this expanse and left it within blinks of eternity. For every flower that blooms and dies, there is an untold legacy of billions. Today, we live on the ashen graves of cultures, empires, and entire civilizations that have come and gone before us."
"How... h-how could you possibly know all of this, Your Highness?"
"Because some of these civilizations have told us," Luna said. "Across the indeterminate epochs of time, entire kingdoms have risen and evolved to the point that they can leave an imprint of themselves upon the subconscious mindscape, the only dimension whose fabric is not vulnerable to the decaying entropy of all existence. My sister and I have long maintained that entire cultures likely dwell upon the dreamscape, occupying a state of being that ponydom itself is not yet advanced enough to perceive, but every now and then a piece of prehistory trickles down to expose itself to us... given a time and place of perfect circumstance and receptiveness."
"You mean..." The tree's branches swayed. "...like this dream... and me?"
"You said that you've had this dream all your life," Luna said. "Even though you'd never seen solid ground and vegetation until years later. Fluttershy, foalhood is the most innocent state a pony will ever hope to occupy. It is when ponies are most impressionable, and when their minds are yet to be obscured by the abstract comprehension of everyday existence. I believe that the moment you were foaled, your mind passed through this dreamscape... this message, and it clung onto you."
"It clung to me?" Fluttershy's voice gasped. "Whatever for?"
"I do not know," Luna said. "I can only guess that it's to make itself known."
"Huh?"
"It wishes to convey the entirety of its vision. And until it does this... until it completes its function of sharing a piece of cosmic prehistory, then it will never leave you in its current state. It will always be a leftover piece of something glorious that once was. And it will continue to occupy your subconscious... polluting it until either you've witnessed the vision in full, or have passed off the mortal coil. In either case, the vision will pass on to the other soul receptive enough for it to cling to, even if it takes millions of years of blindly navigating the cosmos. This eternal attempt at communication will repeat itself until the universe itself has dwindled into nothingness and there is not a warm living soul left to bear witness."
Fluttershy was silent for a while. Eventually she asked, "Has... has this ever happened before?"
"Celestia and I have only witnessed it three times in our many eons of existence," Luna said. "The last time, if you must know, was twenty thousand years ago. Interestingly enough, it also happened to a pegasus, not much different than you. My theory is that ponies foaled in the sky have greater exposure to the heavens, and thus they become the first recipients of these migrant dreams."
"That is remarkable," Fluttershy's voice said. "And... uhm... what did this pegasus do?"
"Hmmm?"
"So many thousands of years ago, did she or he ever find out the the message meant?"
"He chose not to, Fluttershy," Luna said. "It was not my decision to make, nor my sister's. We certainly would have wished to learn more, but the pegasus was not quite so desirous to. You must understand, it was a very different era than modern Equestria. Ponies had supremely spiritual convictions, and his life would have become a great deal more complicated if he had invested himself in the vision's message. So, he let it be."
"What ever happened to him?"
"He lived a long and peaceful life... with the occasionally repeating dream... up until the end of his days."
"Did it involve this?" Fluttershy asked. "A tree in the middle of a field beneath swirling galaxies?"
"I would love to tell you, Fluttershy. But, sadly, it was a very... very long time ago."
"So, then, you forget..."
"The very last thing the creators of the dream ever wished, I'm certain."
"That... that is so sad..."
"It doesn't change a thing about the universe," Luna said. "The worlds within the expanse float on. Civilizations live and die. Perhaps... though it's not statistically possible... but perhaps another soul somewhere else in a far-off world latched onto the same dream, and the message from that unknown entity was finally heard."
"Well, that's a pleasant thought," Fluttershy said. "I certainly wouldn't want Equestria to be forgotten forever. I wouldn't want that for any civilization."
Luna was silent.
"Your Majesty? Wh-what's wrong?"
"Living as long as we have, Fluttershy, Celestia and I can make several predictions about the future of Equestria. As it so stands, we see no evidence to confirm that we will ever reach an evolutionary position where we can leave a message ourselves when our time has come and gone."
"When our... t-time has come and gone?"
"Nothing physical lasts forever, Fluttershy," Luna said. "Even alicorns such as myself and Celestia must someday perish, be it a few hundred years from now or several billion. Although we are wise enough to the fabric of magic and dreams to occasionally discover these messages, it's entirely possible that we will all pass away without become advanced enough to leave such a permanent mark. Although, it may be just as well."
"'Just as well?' What could ever make you say that?!"
"We are, in essence, speaking of a first contact scenario, a situation where two completely alien cultures separated eternally by time and space finally expose themselves to one another. The pegasus from eons ago had a very good reason to refuse further investigation of his dream. What he stood to learn could have fundamentally destroyed Equestrian civilization altogether, inciting riots and panic and oblivion on the philosophical level. Then where would we be today? Would Celestia and I even have a functioning society to govern? Would you even have been foaled, Fluttershy?"
Silence.
At last, the tree spoke. "My life was... never a very happy one, Luna," she said. "Not until I fell from Cloudsdale and discovered the animals that lived and thrived on the earth's surface. I found my purpose. I found my talent. And I found a reason to sing every morning of every day."
"Are you attempting to create an analogy of how you discovered your cutie mark to this present situation, Fluttershy?"
"I'm trying to tell you, Your Highness, that my life only turned out for the better after I had first left my comfort zone. And for the first time in years... I-I believe I'm courageous enough to let it happen again."
Luna took a deep breath. "Then do I understand correctly that you wish to expose yourself fully to the rest of the vision?"
"Is that even possible?"
"It can be done," Luna said. "But not on your own."
"I don't understand..."
"There is a barrier, Fluttershy. It is a barrier constructed by your own psyche, by your rational and logical mind. It acts as a shield that keeps the dream static and prevents it from progressing any further. As a result, all you witness is what you see here... what you feel... what you experience over and over again in subconscious repetition."
"So, if this barrier was to go away..."
"The vision would unlock, and you would witness the message in its entirety." Luna took a breath. "Including every element devised by the originators to be experienced."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that there is no way to predict what you see, feel, or hear. There isn't even a guarantee that your psyche can handle the vision that randomly latched onto your mind during your foaling. You could become the most enlightened equine in all of Equestria, or you could go brain dead."
"There's no w-way that you can protect me?"
"No, Fluttershy." Luna shook her head. "As I said, you will be on your own."
"Why?"
"Because I can destroy the barrier that holds the vision back, but that will take all of my alicorn powers to accomplish. From then on, you will be alone with the vision. If you survive the experience, then you will wake up and the dream will haunt you no more, although you will have quite a bit of knowledge to share with everypony, to say the least. However, if your mind cannot handle the information, there is no telling what sort of damage it could to to your psyche. Understand that what the mind perceives in the dreamscape could last for relative years... even centuries. You could become a prisoner here, locked inside a dream that was meant to be a celestial greeting, but ended up as an inescapable nightmare..."
"Oh... m-my..."
"Perhaps you can see now why Celestia and I did not rebuke the previous recipient for his decision several thousand years ago. While ascertaining the truth behind these migrant dreams is an appealing prospect, they will still remain forever alien to us, as much as the dreamers themselves. After all, the best we can hope to do in this existence is maintain the peace of our own lives, and to enrich the souls of those immediately around us... our friends and family and loved ones."
A warm breath shuddered around the tree. "Ever since I became an Element of Harmony, Your Majesty, I always believed in one thing and one thing alone."
"Yes, my little pony?"
"We are born into this world to be kind to one another... and that means reaching out and making connections, no matter the difficulty or the cost. I may not have always been the bravest pony, but I'm learning. Equines like you, your sister, and Twilight Sparkle have taught me that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.... even if that means spanning galaxies. If someone is trying to reach out and say 'hello' to us, it wouldn't be a very kind thing to ignore them, now would it?"
Luna slowly nodded. "I would understand if you needed a great deal of time to think this over."
"That would only give me excuses to not go through with it, Your Majesty."
"Hmmm?"
"I... I am very rarely this brave." Fluttershy's breath shuddered. "Or this curious. But... but all my life, this dream has given me nothing but joy and comfort, so why should I expect anything different?"
"Fluttershy..."
"The least I can do is return the favor by having a receptive mind, don't you think? After all, the dream came to me. I've put it off long enough. There's no point in living in ignorance."
"... ... ..." Luna's muzzle curved slightly. "You are wise beyond your years, Fluttershy."
"Not yet, Your Highness." The trees' branches swayed heavenward. "Remove the Barrier, Your Highness."
"You are ready to undergo this vision, then?"
"If I'm to believe everything you've said, Princess, then I was born ready."
"Very well." Luna stepped back, her horn glowing brighter and brighter. "Then let us hope you do not perish under the same resolve."
"Pl-please, Luna... be quick about the barrier..."
"As you wish." Luna aimed her horn forward. "Be calm, Fluttershy, and we shall all greet you on the other side." Luna disappeared, but her light didn't. It coalesced into a swirling vortex of multiple colors, all cycling into a fixed point of indescribable brightness. Then, like a comet, it shot straight through the tree, dissolving into the cosmos behind Fluttershy.
Within seconds, something was noticeably different. If Fluttershy blinked, she would have missed it. But then, to her gasping surprise, she realized that the constellations had changed. Twirling overhead was a different set of stars, neither blue nor orange. The rotation was also highly erratic, and before she knew it, a single star amidst the entire lot was enlarging at an alarming rate. The entire field lit up, for soon the sun was occupying the entire eastern horizon, gobbling up the light from all other stars.
Fluttershy couldn't feel the heat, but that was her only solace. All around her, the blades of grass were catching fire, burning up one stalk at a time. A wave of charred vegetation decayed in a deathly ribbon all around her, and soon the bark of the giant tree started dissolving into lifeless brown mulch and papery flakes. The leaves turn to ash, and the branches withered away.
"Luna...?!" Fluttershy stammered, starting to hyperventilate.
The sun grew larger and hotter. The trees dissolved inch by inch, and the pegasus realized that it was melting completely around her, exposing her body which had been hidden and nestled within the warm heart of the trunk that entire time. But now, with the solar heat melting away everything, she was going to be naked to the elements in a matter of centuries, years, minutes.
"Princess Luna?!" she yelped, eyes tearing up... only for the tears to evaporate. "I... I changed my mind!" she squeaked. "Please, stop it! Put the barrier back!"
Waves of flame engulfed the world, singeing everything from horizon to horizon. The sky clouded over with a necrotic ceiling of burnt embers and decay.
"Put it b-back, please!" Fluttershy clutched herself, rolling into a little yellow ball on top of the gray husk that was left of the tree. She curled up atop the dead stump like a frightened kitten, sobbing into her forelimbs. "It's too much... too much death! I can't bear to look! Make it go away! Please! No more! I-I'm begging you!"
At last, the sun burnt out. It shrunk, its orange fury giving way to cold blue decay. It collapsed into itself, inverting into an infinitesimal pinprick of utter darkness. Then, one by one, all of the stars in the galaxy and the universe beyond did the same thing. Everything was shrinking and receding, all dying frigid little deaths in their forsaken corners of reality. Within a matter of seconds not even the atoms themselves could keep their nuclear cohesion. The lifeless landscape beneath Fluttershy dissolved She felt weightless... breathless... hopeless.
"No... n-no!" Fluttershy flailed, collapsing into the depths of oblivion. "I don't want to die!" she sobbed. "I don't want to be alone!"
And then, out of the darkness, something grabbed her.
"Unnngh! Help! Aaahh-haaaugh!"
And then that same something held her, hugging her tenderly.
By this point, Fluttershy was a shivering, sniffling mess. Like a confused foal, she did the only thing at the time that made sense. She clung to whatever was holding her, burying her face in the warmth with her eyes clenched, waiting for the shivers to subside.
"Shhhhhh..." A voice murmured from the darkness, breathing delicious warmth against her ears. She felt things running through her mane, caressing her, smooth and cherishing. "Be calm, friend. There is nothing to fear."
"Mmmmffmmf..." Fluttershy shook and quivered. She gnashed her teeth as she surrendered to the loving arms. "It's so... s-so dark... so lonesome..."
"And was it darkness that created loneliness? Was it darkness that created life?" Fluttershy felt herself lifted... as if being carried across a vast, windless expanse. "It is easy to call destruction 'powerful,' but it doesn't hold a candle to the ability to create... to will permanence into an impermanent medium. We only identify with that which takes away because we perceive it as such. So why not focus on only the giving?"
"Who... wh-what..." Fluttershy gulped, opening her eyes to utter annihilation. Somehow, it looked a few shades less dark. "What a-are you?"
"I am that which has so much to give, as you have so much to receive." There was a melodic tone to the voice, a beacon of joy amidst so much desolation. Fluttershy followed the sound of those words, and what she heard turned into what she saw, transforming into waves of ethereal light that created structure out of pure nothingness. "So often what we have to give is mistaken for the words of gods and goddesses. I'm telling you, this is not the case."
"Then... then what are you g-giving me?" Fluttershy asked.
"Advice," the voice said, chuckling merrily. Mountains and streams formed, solidifying before there was sunlight to illuminate it. "And that advice is 'do not give up hope.'"
"Give up hope?" Fluttershy blinked, curling comfortably in the stranger's arms as her breaths started to normalize. She saw forests and grass and... at last... trees. "But why... why would I...?"
"The tragic thing about life is that it desires to destroy itself as much as it wishes to thrive. This is the pattern of all things. With boundless ambition comes boundless consequences. When we were only a little over five hundred thousand years old, we learned rather quickly that our days were numbered. Either by the exhaustion of resources or the selfless acts of a vocal minority, we would inevitably face an early and unsatisfying end. But, despite all of our failures, we were prepared. Our intelligence and our technology had evolved to such a degree that we determined we weren't the first to suffer this fate. And as the knowledge was passed on to us, we decided to divulge what we knew to the children of all stardust."
Between the forests, large structures emerged, enormous artificial constructs full of living, thriving creatures. Several of them strolled past Fluttershy and her messenger. There were smiles, tears, even children. For generations and generations, the faces faded in and out of existence, forming a river that trickled downhill into an enormous valley.
"What we learned is that the eternal constants of this universe do not revolve around power or wealth or ego. When all is said and done, the only valuable thing about ourselves is that which can only be preserved in a moment. We give this message to you in hopes that it will convey exactly what that moment entailed when we all grasped it in a single instant of joyous epiphany. Perhaps then, you will grasp that moment for yourselves, so that before the time comes when you too destroy yourselves through the mistakes of temporal nature, you will have known that your existence meant something, and perhaps you too can pass the torch of illumination on as we have."
"I..." Fluttershy squirmed in his arms. They came upon a large tree resting in the middle of a field. All rivers ran to it, and it spread its leaves brilliant beneath a cosmic canvas that slowly died one speck at a time. "I-I don't know if I can even understand that message!"
"Can't you?" A series of fingers caressed her mane, and then her chin. A calm breath escaped Fluttershy's lips, and her ears twitched to the soothing sound of that voice. "Kindness, friend. It is the one thing that stands untouched against the tide of entropy. It is that which binds us together when every natural law maintains that we should spread apart. If the universe only begat one single civilization in its billions upon trillions of years of decay, let it be known that such a race discovered joy, for it was something they could share with each other... and, what's more, they chose to."
Fluttershy's lips murmured something. Tears lined the edges of her eyes.
"Go on and say it," uttered the voice. "And then we will both know that the message has been received."
She sniffled, then finally whimpered. "I l-love you..." She nuzzled the hand, shuddering. "I don't know who you are... or where you came from... wh-why you died or what mistakes brought you to such a fate." She gulped. "But if you were once as real and... and as kind as this... th-then I am so... so very glad to have dreamed of the tree in the first place..."
"What is your name, friend?"
"Mmmm... Fl-Fluttershy..."
"Fluttershy..." A gentle set of fingers carressed her chin and tilted her face up. "Look at me."
Fluttershy did so. She blinked. Her muzzle fell agape as her moist eyes sparkled brighter and brighter.
"We are all the tree. To grow... to choose altruism in a realm of decay... to seek progress and improvement when there is no substantial goal to be perceived in the end... that is what makes us shine brighter than the darkness, even if that candle lasts only a second."
Fluttershy smiled. Tears ran down her quivering muzzle. "I sh-shall pass on the torch..."
Another smile broke the heavens. "Then allow us to give you fuel for that fire..."
Fluttershy put down the cup of juice and looked across the table at Sugarcube Corner.
"It's impossible to tell exactly when their civilization died out," Fluttershy said. "The entity mentioned being over five hundred thousand years old, so it's anypony's guess. However, they obviously weren't the ones who started this... this subconscious messaging system. They had learned from other civilizations who had reached them from across the cosmos. According to Luna, it's likely that their minds evolved to pick up psychic vibrations that were put into motion long before even they formed a language or society."
"Wowsers," was Pinkie's only response, along with a bug-eyed blink.
"Incredible..." Twilight rubbed her head, jaw agape. "So... in a way, th-they improved on the dream message?"
"Mmmmhmmm..." Fluttershy nodded. "Which is probably why a pegasus like me was able to hold onto the dream for so long. If a unicorn was in my place, she probably would have figured it out long ago."
"And... and these creatures." Rainbow narrowed her eyes from where she hovered across the table. "They... like... d-destroyed themselves?"
"It's not like they all wanted it to happen," Fluttershy said, squirming slightly. "Luna's still helping me process the data that I was given before the dream ended." She chewed on her bottom lip. "I recall bearing witness to wars... rampant pollution... food shortages... pestilence and deforestation on a global scale."
"Good heavens!" Rarity recoiled, nearly dropping her cup of tea. "Sounds like a most dreadful race!"
"But it wasn't all terrible!" Fluttershy smiled. "I saw families. I saw children. I saw art and I heard music. There were feats of courage and daring... and acts of selfless mercy. Really, though, I'd say they were a lot like Equestrians, only they relied on technology instead of magic."
"Well, it's no wonder they all kicked the bucket!" Applejack said, glancing at the others. "Any farm filly will tell ya that relyin' on gizmos so much will just ruin yer dang crops! Ain't no substitute for good ol' fashion sweatin' and buckin'!"
"But their technology saved millions and billions of lives too!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "It improved society, created luxuries, and extended lifetimes! It drew everyone close, despite huge distances and obstacles." She twirled the mug slowly in her hooves. "Honestly, though, with the rate at which they were growing in population and using up resources, they would have perished eventually... technology or not." She bit her lip. "It certainly makes you wonder what our future has in store."
"Fluttershy, darling, do you even hear yourself?" Rarity tossed her mane. "What a horribly silly notion! To think that Equestria would ever destroy itself!"
"Nothing lasts forever, Rarity," Fluttershy said, which silenced the air around that side of Sugarcube Corner. She gulped and added, "And even if we don't make the same mistakes as swiftly as they did, what's to stop a cosmic event from destroying this part of the solar system? Or the sun and moon from dying out in Celestia's and Luna's grasps? Or the simple decay of the universe?"
Applejack and Twilight exchanged glances.
Rarity gulped while Rainbow Dash fidgeted with her hooves.
"Hmmmm..." Pinkie Pie sniffled, her mane drooping around her face with sudden weight. "C-can we talk about kittens and balloons instead...?"
"Don't you get it?" Fluttershy leaned forward. "The whole point of the message I was given was that none of those terrible things matter. Kindness is eternal. We are all here for a reason. Our friendship... our love for each other is a wonderful, powerful thing! And someday, for all Luna knows, it may even be strong enough to reach across the universe... across dreamscapes to touch another soul, and tell them just how precious they are..." Just then, Fluttershy's words trailed off.
Twilight craned her neck. "Fluttershy? Is everything okay?"
Rarity reached across the table and touched Fluttershy's hoof. "Are you alright, darling?"
Fluttershy bit her lip. Tears welled in her eyes, but she was smiling. "This... th-this is it..."
"This is what?" Rainbow asked.
Fluttershy sniffed. Slowly, she raised Rarity's hoof and nuzzled it dearly, a smile plastered calmly across her fuzzy yellow face. "The moment." She gazed tearfully at her friends. "I love each and every one of you. Nothing... not even the end of time will take that away."
Rarity shuddered, her eyes glossy. "Oh darling..."
"You dun need to tell us twice." Applejack trotted over and hugged Fluttershy close. "Silly dream gal..."
"We're all proud of what you did, Fluttershy." Twilight flew over and hugged her from behind. "That was a lot to go throughout without expecting it."
"Yeah!" Rainbow hovered overhead, nuzzling her. "Takes a lot of guts to take on the whole universe at once!"
"Woohoo!" Pinkie bounced over, sweeping all five of them into her pink forelimbs. "Existential cuddle pile! Squee!"
The girls all laughed, and Fluttershy bloomed in the center of them, her smile a sweet and tender thing. She closed her eyes and reveled in the moment, allowing the warmth to take hold.
A shooting star streaked across the night sky.
Fluttershy sat beneath one of several trees along the edge of the Everfree Forest. She gazed up at the swirling bands of starlight, preserving the first candles of recorded time, taking eons and eons to reach her eyes and die off in a soundless twinkle.
She smiled at the enormity of it all. The pegasus felt the shivers of Angel as he nestled himself against her mane, so she tucked some hairs around him to keep him warm. The bunny calmed down instantly, falling blissfully asleep.
There was another shooting star. Fluttershy barely caught a glimpse of it, but somehow she knew it was there without having to look.
"Mmmmm... yes..." She sighed peacefully, leaning a tired chin against her folded forelimbs. "So very bright..."