"If this is a nightmare, why can't I just wake up?" Rainbow asked. The half-eaten can of worms sat neglected before the Princess. Rainbow wanted to throw it away, ashamed that Luna had seen it.
"Sometimes, we can be so afraid of something, it can feel like we are trapped in a nightmare," Luna replied patiently. She lay on the cold floor beside Rainbow, her forelegs crossed. One protective wing was draped over Rainbow, who huddled under it gratefully. Luna had politely declined the use of the blanket. Rainbow wished she had something better to offer the Princess. This was her nightmare, after all.
"I'm not that afraid of AM," Rainbow protested. "It's just something I read about with Twilight. She's trying to get me into science fiction."
"I assure you, Princess Twilight Sparkle will be receiving a letter about her choice of texts," Luna grumbled. "I believe this nightmare world is in fact a representation of a much more insidious anxiety within your subconscious."
Rainbow stared blankly at Luna. "Oh. Right."
"Forgive me, my child, it has been a long night for both of us," Luna said gently. "I think I can explain, though. The Wonderbolts Academy sent offers for officer's commissions not a week ago. I take it you received one?"
Rainbow blinked. The Wonderbolts Academy? It seemed like such a distant thought, in this nightmare world. Yes, she had finally applied, after coming top in her class in all the flight camps the Academy ran. She was eager to fulfill her life's dream. High-flying adventure, daring aerial stunts, and protecting the Princesses she loved. She had filled in a lot of paperwork, had her medical tests and an interview with a psychologist. That was when she had started getting cold hooves.
"Yeah, I got the letter. But…"
Luna finished for her as Rainbow's voice failed. "But you still have reservations."
"They asked some questions that… well, I kind of answered without really thinking about them," Rainbow explained, rubbing a bruise on her foreleg and avoiding eye contact. "Like when they asked if I had any problems with following orders. Or… killing. If I had a moral objection to killing."
"And now you fear becoming a soulless automaton," Luna supplied. "You imagined yourself following immoral orders, and being rewarded for committing war crimes."
Rainbow looked up at Princess Luna, her face flushing with embarrassment. "You, saw that, huh?"
"The details of your nightmare are quite vivid."
There was a moment's silence. Rainbow broke her gaze, staring down at the can of worms. She was glad none of it had been real. Though it certainly still felt real. The nightmare had convinced her that she had been a Wonderbolt for years, fighting in some war that had claimed her friends, her home, and her soul. Now she thought about it though, she couldn't even remember who they had been fighting. "Princess… couldn't you have told me all this earlier?"
Rainbow felt Luna's wing shift. She tensed up, thinking that her protection would be taken away, but Luna simply drew Rainbow closer until she was resting against the Princess' side. Rainbow felt Luna sigh.
"I have a confession to make, Rainbow Dash." Luna bowed her head, and closed her eyes. "I have not been able to control the flow of this nightmare since I entered it. It has been on both our minds for the past three hours of real time, far longer than any dream I've seen before. I have been trying to make AM vanish, but it has resisted every dreamwalking trick I know."
Rainbow's winced as her wings tried to extend in alarm, scattering a few a loose, crumpled feathers across the floor. Luna was trapped here too, and it was all her fault. "Oh my gosh, I'm so, so sorry, Princess!"
Luna shook her head. "You bear no blame, child. I cannot dispel your nightmare, because this… AM creation of yours represents one of my greatest fears as well."
Rainbow tilted her head. "Y-You're afraid, Princess Luna? I didn't think… you know. That you were afraid of anything."
"I am still a pony, my dearest Rainbow Dash," Luna said, giving her young companion a tired smile. "AM to you represents a controlling force that will turn you into a mute slave for its evil purposes. AM to me… is what I could become. I could be the one giving you those unthinkable orders. I could be the master planner that decides it's better to burn Ponyville than save it. Such are the decisions a Princess dreads to make."
Rainbow slowly nodded her head. She had imagined protecting the Princesses as another chance to prove herself as a hero. To save the day from changeling invasions, or giant carnivorous vines. But being a Wonderbolt meant the Princesses could order her to do anything. To kill anything they deemed a threat.
"But you'd never do that, though, right? There's always another way. We've beaten loads of monsters without… you know. Doing anything like that. So you don't have to be afraid of AM."
"There are many kinds of monster," Luna murmured. "I am sorry. Now that my subconscious is intertwined with yours, AM will pose an even greater threat to both of us. We are trapped by our own imaginations."
"But… you have a plan, right? There's gotta be a way out, right? We can't just keep dreaming forever, can we?" Rainbow asked, her wide eyes pleading with Luna.
"It will soon be time for my sister to raise the sun. When she sees the moon has not lowered, I am sure she will wake me."
Rainbow's voice cracked."But... what about me?"
Luna gently nuzzled Rainbow's head. "I shall help you however I can. I promise it."
Rainbow smiled. It was short lived though, as AM's unseen speakers crackled. Rainbow whimpered, and buried her face into Luna's feathers. For a moment, she had forgotten the artificial intelligence was still there, watching and listening.
"That was a touching display. It's so nice to see you can still make a friend."
"Princess Luna!" Rainbow cried out. She couldn't feel the feathers on her face anymore, and a fresh gust from under the cellar door sent chills stabbing into the small of her back. The Princess was gone. The storm lantern's weak flame flickered and died, and Rainbow was left in the dark with nothing but the echoes of AM's laughter.