//------------------------------// // Dreamweaver // Story: A Midwinter's Night Lucid Dream // by Loyal //------------------------------// Luna looked down at the dreamscape beneath her, a melancholy feeling descending over her heart. She had been watching Mist Walker torture himself for almost a week now. Though if she were being perfectly honest with herself, this might have been more torturous on her. She wheeled in a slow circle over the contemplative pony below, one lip drawn between her teeth as she waited... watched. In time, it would happen. She flipped over into a dive, sweeping out of the night sky just as her shade appeared. As quiet as could be, she slipped into its place, taking over for the dream's populace. She stepped up to Mist Walker, a faint smile on her lip, despite the thudding of her heart in her chest. "Good evening, Mist Walker." She greeted him as was customary in this dreamscape, a product of routine more than anything at this point. Never mind that she wanted to tackle him to the ground, pin him there, and make him confess all those feelings he'd been keeping bottled while she- "Good evening, Princess Luna." Mist Weaver turned to her, derailing her train of thought, and taking with it the blush that had darkened her cheeks. She beamed at him, and got that smile in return. Her heart throbbed in her chest at the sight of it, that brilliant smile that made Mist Walker's eyes dance like two lovers spinning across a sultry-lit floor. It was her smile, and hers alone. Just the sight of it brought a peace to her mind, quelling the anxiety that made her feathers quiver and her chest ache. "You look beautiful as always." "You flatter me." Luna covered the returning blush with her hoof, glad that Mist Walker was resting as easily tonight that he had the past two weeks. In the back of her mind, Luna prepared for what came next, but that didn't stop it from making her blush intensify. "Flattery is not my intent, though the product is not unwelcome. You're so gorgeous when you blush like that... would that I could make you my own, Princess, to behold that blush a million times before I die." "Oh Mist, please do go on." Luna cooed, waving at him playfully. She didn't have to fake the coy smile that turned her lips upwards, nor the darkness on her cheeks. She feared to break the dreamscape, as she had in the past, but her thoughts could still play out the scenario to their content. Something far more important was occurring just then. Mist's hoof tentatively reached up to cup her cheek, holding her with such a tender passion that in many ways, it felt so good. But in so many others, it also hurt. Their lips met in half a moment. Luna had never done this before; taken the dream this far. She would always stop, or step away and let the shade take her place. But tonight was no ordinary night, and she wasn't in any mood to deny her passions. His lip curled underneath her own, quivering ever so faintly. Mist was anxious, as was she if Luna were being honest with herself. But that didn't stop her; it didn't even give her pause. She inhaled a deep breath through her nose, taking one gentle step forward to deepen the connection between them. The dream world rocked around them, wind picking up to blow their manes about their faces. That one small step, that one yearning motion, had done it. The dream broke, and Luna was once more in the hallway, her heart thudding against her ribs, and tears pooling in her eyes. "Why." She whispered to nopony. Indeed, nopony shared this place with her. It was her hallway, these doors were hers; portals into the dreams of sleeping ponies. Behind her, the empty space where Mist Walker's should have been. Instead, a blank space of wall populated his dream. "Every night. Why, Mist? What's wrong?!" She stomped a hoof, fighting the tears back until her eyes dried. She stood there for what she knew to be only a minute or two, but in the real world would be fifteen. Maybe even more. If she started back now, she would arrive on the balcony at the same time Mist Walker arrived at her quarters. The walk to the exit took maybe five minutes. In the real world, that was closer to an hour. A thought struck her, and Luna broke into a trot. ---------- "Guard." "Princess!" The guard standing outside of her quarters snapped to attention as Luna poked her head out. "Send for Mist Walker. He takes a detour to speak with the kitchen about meal arrangements for the night. I need to speak with him immediately. Have somepony standing by at the castle entrance to inform him he is to skip all preparatory arrangements and report immediately. As I am awake, I will not require your duties anymore. You are relieved for the night." She spoke as confidently as she could manage, though her heart was trying its hardest to beat its way out of her chest. She could feel the anxiety in her body. It made her feel tight; like a spring wound until it threatened to burst. "Yes, your highness. I will do as you have instructed." The guard snapped to a salute and turned to leave immediately, trotting away down the hall as quickly as he could to do her bidding. Luna watched him go, trying her hardest to quell her tumultuous thoughts. Slowly, she shut the door, turning back to her bedroom with her lip between her teeth yet again. 'Why are you doing this to yourself, Luna? How many dozens of paramours have you entertained over the years? How many lovers have shared your bed and your passions for the evening? What makes Mist Walker so different from any other stallion or mare that's warmed your sheets? 'I would argue my professional relationship with him, but that falls short in light of what I did with Noctem Incantatem that one night... So it's got to be something else. Could it be some teenage flight of fancy? Am I reliving my days as a filly? 'Or is it something much, much more serious...?' Luna found herself before her vanity, the pony in the mirror looking her back just as intently as she shared its gaze. In those deep, cyan pools of infinite knowledge and experience, Luna found a mare that was, shockingly, unsure of herself. "Calm yourself, Luna." She sighed, closing her eyes and hanging her head slightly. "You're thousands of years old. You've loved and lost and loved again. This is no different from any other one-night dalliance." The self-dialogue did wonders for her burgeoning anxiety, and she looked into the mirror with determination anew. The corner of her mouth twitch upwards as her horn came to life, grasping several beautification products. "No different." She assured herself, spritzing a sultry perfume onto her neck. ---------- "Enter." Luna answered the gentle knock confidently, standing well inside of her room. Not too close to the bed, but not that far either. Slowly, the door swung inward to reveal Mist Walker standing on the threshold, his brow drawn down in a contemplative frown. "Good evening, Princess. Is everything okay?" "Just fine." Luna smiled warmly at him, beckoning her assistant into her bedroom. Cautiously, Mist Walker entered and shut the door behind him. "You'll have to forgive me sending for you, but I had a matter I wished to discuss before we got to our itinerary this evening." At that, Mist Walker's cautious look intensified, his eyes taking on a slightly hard look. Oh how she loved that look, of intent concentration and thought. 'He looks like a young colt trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle.' Luna couldn't help it as her smile turned into something more playful, and a faint twinkle of playfulness glinted in her eyes. "Are you certain everything is alright? I hadn't expected you to be awake for almost another half an hour." "An early night, then." Luna brushed him off. "And I didn't call you here to discuss myself. Come, I won't bite, Mist." She beckoned him closer, knowing just how far away he would have to be to smell her perfume, to see the care she paid to her ephemeral mane, or her faint blush. Hesitantly, and still with that careful look of contemplation, Mist sat opposite her. Luna sank to her own haunches, still smiling warmly at him. "I wanted to talk about you. The way I understand it, you've been having some... troubles with the mares." "Princess-" "Ah." Luna rose a hoof to cut him off. "I'm just concerned, Mist. Last time you left me hanging. You'll have to forgive me for being curious, especially when left on a proverbial cliff like that." She leaned back a little, looking down at the shorter pony with that devious, playful smile still on her face. "If it makes you feel more comfortable, this mare can remain anonymous. But I'm here to help, if nothing else." Mist Walker looked up at her with that same expression, but in his eyes Luna could see the turmoil wracking his psyche. After what must have been some major conflict inside his own mind, Mist Walker heaved a heavy sigh and hung his head. "There's this mare..." "I figured." "She's gorgeous." Mist Walker kept his head down, but Luna could hear the reverence in his voice. 'Oh how awkward this must be for him...' "But I feel as if she's... almost never there. Not physically or even professionally; she's actually very punctual. But... well, it's difficult to explain." Mist Walker looked up to her, the war still raging in his eyes. "It's almost as if she's so far removed from everything that to imagine myself beside her is a fallacy; blasphemy, even." He swallowed, and Luna watched the lump in his throat bob up and down. When he spoke again, it was in half a whisper, so gentle that it sent a shiver up a spine. "There are serious implications behind me approaching this mare... societal, economical, not to mention personal. But, heavens help me, I can't stop it." Mist Walker leaned in a little, his eyes dancing. "There's this... this pit, in my mind. And when I think of her, it beings to fill." Luna found herself leaning in as well, enraptured by his confession. Or at least, what she hoped was his confession... "Slowly, at first, but the more I imagine her, the more full it becomes. And I always reach this point, where the pit is just a dent, a... a pockmark, even. And then..." They were only a few inches away. 'We're so close. Come, Mist Walker. Grasp your passion. Make it yours. Own it. 'Own ME.' "Ahem." The spell was broken, and Mist Walker leaned back, shaking his head faintly. "Forgive me, Princess. This is unprofessional of me. 'No, damn you! Come back here! You were right there! JUST BUCKING KISS ME YOU F-' "Let's get started on this evening's schedule." Mist Walker turned from her, making for the door to her quarters. "We must attend to the raising of the moon first, followed by an appointment with the Night Court's Head Justice, Pembrose Eulogy. He mentioned something about the most recent charter for-" "Mist." Luna stopped him with one word; his name, uttered so passionately one could hardly imagine it uttered anywhere outside of the throes of passion. "Princess?" Mist paused at the door, looking back at her curiously. "Did it ever occur to you..." Luna swallowed past her doubt and anxiety, pushing that lump in her throat down into the pit of her stomach. "That this mare, whom you see as being so far above everypony else, sees herself in much the same way?" Luna stood, fixing him with a look that spoke volumes about her innermost desires. He'd have had to be blind to not see it. "Did it occur to you that maybe, just maybe, this mare looks down at those beneath her in much the same manner that they look at her?" A look of realization crossed Mist Walker's face, but Luna wasn't finished just yet. "Did it ever occur to you..." Luna let a single tear slide out of her eye, down her cheek, and onto the cold tile beneath her hooves. She passed Mist, whispering her last words. "That she wants somepony to reach for the stars, in the hope that they would touch them?" ---------- "And he didn't jump on you then and there?" Celestia blinked incredulously, even as Luna laid her muzzle on the table with a groan. "He's hopeless, I swear." "He just may be." Celestia hummed, sipping her coffee with a coy smile. "I may not indulge in the dark passions you do, but even I can see an open invitation so blatant. You even wore the perfume?" "I even brushed my mane! Look at it!" Luna clutched at the floating strands of her mane, pushing it towards Celestia. Indeed, the constellations and stars in her mane glimmered with a little more light, and the whole thing shifted as if it were more alive, more energetic. "How could anypony just... deny this?! Ugh!" Luna collapsed on the table once more, feeling despair weigh on her mind. "What is it that I'm doing wrong? Have things really changed so much in the last thousand years that every stallion is suddenly a prude?" "Well, I'm not the one to be asking that particular question." Celestia chuckled into her cup. "But population growth and census reports actually show an increase in foals born, not a decline. So, one can assume that's not the case." "Great." Luna deadpanned. "So you're saying it really is my fault?" "It's nopony's fault, Luna." Celestia set her coffee mug down, frowning at her little sister intently. "Listen here and listen good, Lulu," she settled into the 'elder sister lecture mode' with a sort of ease that Luna prayed she could have one day. "Mist Walker and yourself are two vastly different ponies, in a new culture that's still as new and different to you as it was the day you returned to Equestria. You say that Mist Walker sees you as so far above everypony - so aloof - that he could never dream of reaching you, let alone sharing passion with you. Then show him that you're just like any other pony." Celestia tapped a hoof on the table. "I've watched you tend to the political matters of Equestria day in and day out for the past two years. No vacations, no days off, no rest. Who is it Mist Walker desires, hmm? Princess Luna?" Celestia waved a hoof over her, sitting up to her full height. "Or just Luna?" "Are you-" "There's a lovely little cafe just outside of the palace gates, and they are open all night." Celestia stood from the table. "I do enjoy their lemon cress salads, though they do have a delightful daffodil sandwich." She turned to leave, though she paused at the door. Her brilliant eyes turned back to Luna, dancing with mischief and intrigue. "Maybe you should show Mist that you're not so far above everypony. That maybe those stars in your mane really are within reach."