Devours Dreams from a Distant Dimension

by Dirty Bit

VIII

Chapter 8

Descend into Dozing Darkness

Luna turned to the others "Please tell us. What is Flip really wanted for?"

Professor Genius scoffed "Why, a number of mischievous deeds throughout Slumberland! Most of which disturb the peace!"

Flip shook his head "Sheesh, and here I thought you people saw the bigger picture! All I did was have a little fun, and somehow you gotta slap a picture of my good side and want me behind bars!" He crossed his arms and looked away with a disappointed frown "Frankly, I'm mortified."

Luna glared "How can we be sure that thou hast not performed any more horrible deeds?"

Darkrai stared "I cannot be sure Flip would go that low, Luna. Although, he does seem rather mischievous in nature..."

Luna turned to Darkrai with an unconvinced glance "And how would thou know this exactly?"

Darkrai shifted his eye to Luna "According to the professor, he has caused several mischievous deeds. Most of them could possibly be extreme pranks." It looked back to Flip "While Flip appears to be a criminal to these people, he doesn't seem like the ones portrayed where we hail from..."

Flip held a hand out to Darkrai "Thank you! Give this thing a prize, somebody!" He flashed a friendly smile.

Camille turned to Darkrai "Since when can you judge Flip lightly for his actions?"

Darkrai shook its head "I only judge by nature, not by actions...You probably have better judgement on what he has done in the past if he is considered a criminal here."

Flip flinched "H-Hey! What happened to the support!?"

Camille giggled "You're something else, Darkrai. Very well-mannered and perceptive to say the least!"

Darkrai bowed "Thank you for the compliment, your highness..."

Professor Genius nodded "While that's good and that, now we should send this one to the dungeon until he is met with proper sentence!"

Flip backed away with a grin "Ehehehe...You guys can talk about sentences, maybe the ones written on paper, but I gotta get going. I think I hear my mother calling me!" He then quickly scurried to the throne room doors, but was then covered in an umbral blue aura that stopped him in his tracks. He was pulled back, and he looked to see Luna's horn glow while she gave Flip a stern look "Whoa now!"

Professor Genius watched in awe "Remarkable! You caught Flip in a matter of seconds!!"

Darkrai watched as well "She is capable of powerful magic. Where she comes from, she watches over the dreams of her subjects..."

Nemo smiled "So, she's like me in a way? That's pretty good!" He looked at his scepter 'I wonder if she has her own scepter of power like me...'

Camille smiled as well "That's a great trick! Maybe while Flip stays in the dungeon, you could maybe teach our court magicians a thing or two?"

Luna turned to Camille while she kept her hold on a struggling Flip "Art thy magicians offensive in nature or do they perform?"

Camille replied instantly "They perform. Although, would you actually teach them offensive magic?"

Professor Genius straightened his glasses "If the magicians were to learn magic that could harm another person, there is a fifty-fifty chance that they would outshine Slumberland's guard or try to overthrow Nemo for the crown!" He shuddered "Forgive me, your highness, but I am unsure about this..."

Camille thought it over and nodded "Perhaps you're onto something, Professor." She turned to Luna and bowed "My apologies. I probably wasn't thinking well enough. I only wish for the protection and well-being of my subjects! Wouldn't you understand?"

Luna nodded with a smile "Oh, most definitely! Thou hath troubled us nothing whatsoever in thy request! We can relate to having to watch over our kingdom with a stalwart defense!"

Flip stopped struggling and quietly groaned as he rolled his eyes "Women..." He muttered in a pout.

Darkrai looked at Flip and thought for a moment, then looked around after it heard a faint squawking noise "A bird?" It spoke in confusion.

Camille turned to Darkrai "What's this talk about a bird?"

Flip instantly perked up and smiled as he pursed his lips and gave a loud whistle. Through one of the upper windows, a large black bird flew in clumsily and swooped down near the group as it let out a loud squawk "Haha! Good to see ya, Flap ol' girl!"

Luna looked up at the bird in shock "Such an enormous avian of ebony!"

"Princess!"

Luna paused and darted her head around when she heard the new voice. She was unaware that she canceled out her magic and let Flip loose. Flip then quickly performed a nimble front flip onto Flap's back and the two ascended to the ceiling.

Professor Genius watched in shock and bemusement "Luna! What is the meaning of this!? You're letting him roam free!"

"Princess??"

Luna looked around "Our apologies, really! We thought that we heard a voice calling to us?" She pondered for a moment on the voice's origin 'That sounds like one of our...' Her eyes widened 'Our maids!? But how did they-? Unless...'

Darkrai turned to Luna and asked "Did you say that you heard a voice? Was it familiar to you?"

Luna nodded "Yes! Yes it was! What does it mean?" She then felt a nudge and looked around "Who touched us just now?" The princess of the night realized she was a small distance from the others. She felt it again and investigated her body.

Professor Genius looked at Luna "None of us did, Luna! But we must hurry and catch Flip before-"

Darkrai interrupted "I'll do it soon..." It then floated over to Luna "You're needed back in your world, Luna...The voice and the feel of someone close to you is causing you to stir from your slumber..."

Nemo heard Darkrai and nodded "In that case, we shouldn't keep you here, Luna. You should get going before things get worse. Maybe we can meet again sometime and talk more!" He smiled at Luna.

Luna felt disheartened until Darkrai placed a claw on her shoulder "I can catch Flip. We'll meet again soon enough. These things I promise to you, but for now, you must wake up..." The scenery around Luna became more blurry as the words 'wake up' were echoed endlessly.
_____

A unicorn maid in a pale blue victorian dress continuously nudged Luna's shoulder lightly with a hoof "Wake up! Princess, please wake up! You need to hurry and lower the moon! Wake up!" Her face was mixed with stress and worry while she tried waking up the princess of the night. She looked away and placed a hoof on her head "Oh dear...What would Princess Celestia think if her own sister were not to wake up and perform her sacred duty?"

Luna murmured in her sleep before she rubbed her eyes and woke up from her sleep. She rose from her bed and gave a small yawn, and she fully woke up when she remembered what happened earlier, then sighed in sadness afterwards "If only we could stay for longer..." She muttered to herself.

The maid turned to Luna and gasped before she smiled in relief "Your majesty! Oh, thank goodness you're awake! You're almost behind schedule with the lowering of your moon!"

Luna instantly perked up at the mention of the moon "Our moon!?" She quickly jumped out of her bed and brushed past her maid as she galloped out of the room to her balcony. Luna skidded to a halt and looked up to see her moon in an unmoved position and quickly grasped it with her magic, though she endured a small migraine from waking up to fast. Soon enough, she moved her moon to its desired position and gave a relieved sigh at her work "There...Hopefully, Tia wouldn't recognize this minor tardiness of our duty..."

"Oh, how wrong you are, Luna..."

Luna was startled and turned to see her older sister stare at her with a neutral gaze while the maid watched in slight anxiety. Celestia took a few steps forward before she stopped in front of Luna "Did you sleep well last night, Luna? It isn't like you to sleep past dawn." She asked in a calm tone tinted with desire for a clear answer.

The princess of the night looked away for a moment before she shifted her eyes back at Celestia in an apologetic gaze "Our sincerest apologies, dear sister...It is best to say that we hath been enjoying our dreams very well as of late."

Celestia smiled "That would explain your tardiness..." She said before she gave a small frown "But you know that it shouldn't happen again, right, Luna? Even you should know the cycle of our sun and moon well enough to wake up at the correct time and move the moon up and down the sky."

Luna looked down and felt guilty to know that she had slept for too long, but lifted her head to face Celestia with a curt nod "A mishap on our part, Tia. It shalt not happen again, I assure you!"

Celestia smiled in response "Good to hear. Now you should get yourself ready for breakfast so you can begin your day. And don't let me catch you sleeping during the day, Lu-Lu. I can't really trust you with how you seem to favor dreams over your royal duties..." She said the last two sentences in a mischievous tone as she trotted out of Luna's room.

Luna noted the tone of voice and scoffed before she trotted to her make-up desk and brushed her mane. While she looked in the mirror, she paused her brushing for a moment as her reflection stared back at her.

"I cannot say much other than a presence that harbors negative feelings inside itself...Anger...Hatred...Jealousy...Sorrow...It seems to be connected with you..."

The princess of the night continued to stare until she snapped out of her trance with a blink. She then huffed 'We shalt make a mental note to weed out this prediction of Darkrai's and see if it isn't any sign of boulderdash...' Luna then went back to brushing her mane.
_____

Later that day, Luna was lucky to have some time to herself before she was met with another drilling workload on her shoulders. She decided to fiddle with her abacus again and calculate numbers so she wouldn't lose her edge in arithmetic. Like all the other times Luna has practiced on her treasured item, she hasn't fallen behind on solving different mathematical problems.

However, try as she might, she couldn't shake off Darkrai's words from two nights before. Luna wondered if she should confront Darkrai about this matter or see to it herself through possible meditation. What made her stray off from her thought was a knock on her door. She turned to it with a neutral gaze "Thou may enter!"

The door opened to reveal a royal guard "Princess Luna. Your sister requests that you meet her in her chambers for a talk. Would you like for me to escort you?"

Luna paused 'Tia musn't have let mine dreaming fiasco go...' She shook her head as she set her abacus on a distant table with her magic and rose from her bed "Neigh. We shalt rendezvous with our sister alone. We thank thee for the message and thou may return to thine duties." The guard bowed while Luna trotted past her in her regal stance and made her way to Celestia's bedroom. When she was away from the guard that summoned her, she could not help but feel nervous. What if she tries to pry out more information out of her through demanding questions?

Her thoughts didn't matter the moment she reached the doors to her older sister's room. After she took a deep breath, Luna gently rapped on the door three times "Sister? Didst thou summon us for a talk?"

The doors opened to reveal Celestia looking down at Luna and nodded with a stoic glance "So nice of you to join me today, Luna. Won't you come inside?" She moved out of the way to give Luna room to trot in before Celestia shut the door behind her. The solar princess then directed her younger sister to a nearby chair and Luna obliged to her request while Celestia took a seat of her own "Luna, what I want to talk to you about is something you know all too well..."

Luna stared ahead with a glance to match her sister's "Is it about our dreams?"

Celestia nodded "Luna, for the past two days you've been acting strange. First, you question about nightmares, ask if I had one of my own, then you seem to be more fond of monitoring dreams the day after. Not to mention, I cannot help but feel that you're keeping something from me." She leaned her head in with a raised eyebrow "Is there something you would like to tell me right now?"

Luna maintained her unreadable expression, but she inwardly flinched with how Celestia seemed to press on about her personal adventures. She couldn't lose this battle and expose her newest friend and how it could cause problems when it meant no harm whatsoever. The princess of the night sighed when she figured out what to say "Sister, whilst thy question is beckoning for an answer, we art loathe to say that we've only made a mistake when monitoring dreams. Ever since then, we've been looking into other dreams for answers and the like so that we may gather more experience to our own mind and be ready for any escalating problems with slumber." A twisted truth would be hard to get past her older sister, but Luna was willing to try with what she had said.

Celestia only stared with a neutral glance and then nodded "You don't seem to be lying at all..." Luna inwardly smiled at her words "However...Like our previous talk, you're leaving something out." She looked stern "What have you been doing when you were sleeping, Luna? Tell me your story, and mind you, the truth..."

Luna resisted the urge to narrow her eyes to meet her sister's glance knowing it would only provoke both of them and cause this talk to escalate out of proportion. While she herself admired honesty, she could not bring herself to let Celestia know about the real cause of the ponies' nightmares. She looked her older sister in the eye and replied "We hath already informed thee, sister. Looking into other dreams. Dreams other than our little ponies. That last wave of nightmares made me realize that we need to know how far our powers could take us so that we may be ready to understand the concept of our power over the dream realm!"

Celestia drew her head back in confusion "So you've ignored the dreams of your subjects for the sake of exploration into the subconscious?"

Luna nodded "Verily. And think not of my actions being crass! We care for our little ponies as much as thee, Tia." She looked away in sadness "I only wish to know the full capability of my power in order so that I could be able to ensure proper rest to all of Equestria..."

Celestia paused for a moment before she rose from her seat and approached Luna with a brief nuzzle "I understand, Luna. If it bothers you that much about a simple mistake when watching over the dreams of others, you're doing the right thing in trying to find better methods of mastering your power over dreams." She then looked stern "But you have to remember your duties in and out of your sleep, Luna. I can't have you staying in bed and causing a panic amongst the public at the wrong time. Can you try and make it to where you can balance both your job as a princess and a monitor of dreams at an acceptable schedule?"

Luna tried to contain her suprise to Celestia's reaction to her words. She was able to keep Darkrai under wraps and away from Equestria. However, she had to do it at the cost of lowering her time with her new friend. She nodded with a smile "We'll do what we can, sister. Thank thee for understanding our plight over one's slumber!"

Celestia donned a satisfactory smile "You're very welcome, Lu-Lu. You can go back to your room now and perform whatever task you had in mind." She then frowned "Just take my words into consideration, though. You're a princess first and an explorer second. Our subjects must be watched over and I want you to be wide awake once danger befalls our kingdom. Is that clear?"

Luna nodded "Thou hast our word, Tia! We'll be ready for when danger strikes our beloved home! We bid thee farewell..." She opened the doors with her magic and she trotted down the halls. She when she was far from Celestia's reach, she heaved a relieved sigh 'Gracious...We thought that we would never recover from such a 'talk' from our elder sister...' She shook her head and made her way back to her room. Now she could focus on what to do the next time she decides to sleep, though she knows she has to hinder her own time for the sake of her kingdom.
_____

The day seemed to go faster than Luna had anticipated. It was already time to take care of raising the moon for the night to take hold. Normally, she would be more excited to rest, but she was still disheartened on both Celestia's and Darkrai's words. She knew the first thing to do before she would go and seek her friend.

After she raised the moon while Celestia lowered the sun, Luna retired back to her room and decided to catch some early rest so she could at least enjoy some extra time before waking up at dawn. She shut her eyes and awaited her trip back into the dream realm so she could perform her desired task.

"I see...Because I detected a presence within yourself...I may have misjudged you..."

Luna's eyebrows furrowed while her eyes were closed 'It is time to see that thou art right, Darkrai...' Her eyes shot open to reveal the dream realm once again. She looked around to see that the dreams of her faithful subjects were doing well without her supervision. A part of her felt thankful to know that they were sleeping peacefully while she was away. She looked over at Pipsqueak's dream to see he was battling a rival pirate crew and winning effortlessly. She smiled to know he was doing well, but frowned to realize that she had to leave him alone for the time being. Luna distanced herself away from the several dreams in her eyes and closed her eyes.

After a small moment of silence, a dark aura began to surround her in a whirlwind pattern and slowly covered her up until all Luna saw was a black abyss where she stood. Luna looked around with narrowed eyes and took a couple steps forward to hear her hoofsteps echo when they touched the intangible ground below her. After another brief overview of the unending darkness, Luna called out "Hello?" She looked up and her eyes narrowed further "Where art thou? Why dost thou hide from me!?"

"Because I don't feel like talking to you..."

Luna darted her head around when she heard a familiar and icy female voice and she called again "Come about! I wish to speak with thee at once!!"

"What? No 'we' this time? If anything, I applaud that you would go for the whole 'Royal We' cover up ever since we didn't speak to each other for a long time..."

Luna gritted her teeth as she looked around more "Stop hiding and speak with me! I'm not in the mood for games!"

"Neither am I...But I'm surprised you even want to talk to me after all this time. Why not speak with me sooner? You knew I was still there, yet you chose to ignore me. Heretofore, I shall do the same..."

Luna growled "But the elements destroyed you! How could thou survive such an unavoidable attack!?" The familiar voice laughed in amusement as it echoed throughout the darkness.

"Clearly you've forgotten that I was born from you...You heard from your new 'friend', haven't you? That we were both connected? Now I'm hurt to think that we would part ways after the elements worked their power on us...more than enough reason to ignore you."

Luna stomped a hoof as it gave a loud echo "THOU WILL NOT GET THE BEST OF US SO EASILY!! SHOW THYSELF AT ONCE!!!" The voice scoffed

"Temper, temper...I knew I was born from your anger, but you should really put a lid on it once in a while, Luna. Very well...I suppose I should spare you some of my time...After all..."

Luna looked ahead, and she was mildly startled when a set of turquoise serpentine eyes instantly appeared in front of her. Soon, there was two sets of a starry nebulae that formed to look like Luna's mane and tail, even flowing in a nonexistent breeze like her own. Soon enough, a darker version of Luna's cutie mark appeared on its backside to reveal a familiar figure as she narrowed her eyes with a small smile "We're one in the same, right?"

End of Chapter 8

Comments

[DavidPony]

oooooooooooooooh
i like where this is going

[Insanity]

Is it wrong that I think darkrais going to get the blame of Luna goes nightmare moon ?