17 - Reaching Out
Twilight Sparkle ruffled her feathers to relieve some of her nervous energy, her eyes glued onto the fluffy white clouds beneath her hooves. Princess Luna stood a short distance ahead of her, her cool blue eyes locked onto the distant city of Canterlot. The sun was setting on the horizon, steadily plunging the world into the low, subtle glow of dusk.
A chilly breeze washed over them, making Twilight shudder and glance at the city herself. Princess Celestia was due to arrive any minute, now. Luna had made Twilight send her elder sister a message via Spike’s Dragonfire only a few hours ago, calling for her to return to Ponyville and join them immediately. Apparently, the lunar princess had a new lead on their search for Rainbow Dash, but wanted her sister and Twilight present before following through on it.
That part was fine. Anything to bring back Twilight’s friend. Were it not for another circumstance, she might have even felt excited at the prospect of getting Rainbow home and putting this confusing, stressful mess behind them.
But it was impossible for her to relax. Not when Princess Luna kept glancing at her from the side with that oddly cold look in her eyes. The more Twilight saw it, the more uncomfortable it made her. It was as if she were being silently judged and analyzed, making her feel increasingly self-conscious and on edge.
More than once, she had contemplated asking the other alicorn what the looks were for. Had she done something to Luna in the past to upset her? Had they been on poor terms before Twilight’s amnesia? But every time she did, Luna was no longer focused on her, her attention having returned to Canterlot.
Finally, Luna visibly perked up, a smile spreading on her lips. “Ah, at last. She comes,” she declared, pointing.
Twilight followed her hoof, and sure enough, there was Princess Celestia, gliding in from the distance. She came in quickly but gracefully, and with a few elegant flaps of her wings that made Twilight’s best attempt at a landing blush, she touched down a few feet ahead of them. She gave Twilight a smile and a nod before facing her sister. “Luna. I’m sorry I’m late, but my hooves were tied with another matter.”
Luna frowned and nodded. “I see. It is of little consequence. We are all here, so we may begin.”
Twilight released a sigh as the awkwardness in the air finally dissipated. “What have you found?” she asked, taking a few hopeful steps forward. “Do you know where Rainbow is?”
Luna glanced down at her for a moment. “...I am afraid not,” she stated apologetically before staring back up at the sky. “But I may have found a trail that will lead us to her. However, I wouldn’t dare follow it without aid. You two are the most magically-gifted ponies I know, and your aid shall be required for this to work.”
“What about Starlight?” Twilight ventured, calling back on her limited knowledge of the events preceding her awakening in the Crystal Empire. “Isn’t she a powerful mage, and an ally?”
Celestia grimaced. “...Truth be told, Twilight, it was Starlight herself who caused my delay,” she admitted sheepishly.
Luna turned to her. “Sister?”
“As you suggested last night, I sent word across Equestria for other cities to aid in the search for my daughter,” Celestia began, stepping forward slightly. “And I enlisted the aid of the finest mages I could think of to help study whatever residues of the storm were left behind… Including Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst. I asked both of them personally if they would be willing to offer me their assistance.”
Luna’s expression softened with understanding. “I see… and I take it they refused?”
Celestia nodded. “Sunburst was all too happy to volunteer for the task, actually, but Starlight… was quite adamant in her refusal. She told me in no uncertain terms that, as much as she respects the royal family, she is not ready to have anything more to do with us… especially Rainbow Dash…” she sighed and shook her head. “Her life has been inexorably altered by my daughter’s actions, and not necessarily for the better. I dared not make her help us if she did not feel ready to do so.”
Twilight blinked in surprise, confused. “...Did Rainbow Dash do something wrong?” she asked, racking her brain for any information about what could have caused Starlight to outright refuse the princess.
“In a manner of speaking,” Luna replied carefully, her eyes locking onto Twilight again. “The two have a… less than cordial history. However, it is not for me or my sister to go into detail. Even if it was, we have not the time to waste on such a story.”
Celestia cleared her throat, sitting upright. “Yes, of course. Do go on, Luna. What is your lead?”
Luna nodded. “Very well. To be plain, Twilight Sparkle was indeed correct. I now firmly believe the storm was responsible for Rainbow’s disappearance. I used my magic to search for residual pockets of energy left over. Using these disturbances in local magic as a ‘gate’ of sorts, I was able to locate Rainbow’s dreams via the Dream Realm.”
Twilight leaned forward, excitement swelling up in her chest like one of Pinkie’s balloons. “So you know where she is?!”
Luna shook her head, causing the metaphorical balloon to pop. “Alas, the gateway was severed before I could make contact or discern a location. My magic interacting with it caused it to destabilize and fall apart, and the line created by my magic was not strong enough to hold it open.”
Twilight frowned. “So… why us, then? How can we help?”
“To put it in simple terms, you will aid me in using your magic to boost the potency of my own, thereby stabilizing this ‘rift.’ This shall allow me to search on the other side for longer and reach out farther.”
Celestia hummed thoughtfully, her horn lighting up with magic. A few gentle pulses came from the tip, and her expression hardened. “...We are in the middle of the rift right now, aren’t we?” she asked. “I can sense the disturbance.”
Luna nodded. “We are. The first rift I jumped through was significantly smaller. It is my belief that a larger rift means more time to search, especially with you two supporting my dream walking spell with your magic.”
Twilight gulped, her ears slowly drooping. This was unexpected, and definitely not the good news she had been hoping for. It was good news, of course. They had a way of looking for Rainbow now. But part of her amnesia meant she did not remember the vast majority of her spells, leaving her totally lost as to how to do her part, here.
“I… I don’t know how much help I can be,” she mumbled timidly, her eyes turning down to stare at the clouds at her hooves. “I can barely even lift anything in my magic. How am I supposed to help you keep a rift open like that?”
“Luckily for you, this shall not require either you or Celestia casting any spells,” Luna said in reassurance. “Merely joining me in the dream realm and providing my spell with power. A simple exchange of energy, even easier than telekinesis to accomplish.”
Twilight looked up, meeting Luna's gaze. While the cold scrutiny was still there, it was now joined by something else. It took a moment to figure it out, but it was hope… almost as if the princess were silently begging Twilight to lend her strength with her eyes.
‘And why wouldn’t she ask for all the help she could get?’ she wondered after a moment. ‘Rainbow Dash is her niece, and they’re very close from what I’ve heard…’
With that thought burning in her mind, she steeled herself and nodded. “Alright. What do I need to do?” she asked, her voice firm with determination.
Her tone seemed to be exactly what Luna wanted to hear. She smiled wide and lowered herself to rest on her belly. “I shall cast a simple spell to put both of you to sleep. Once you are resting, I shall collect your minds to my side, allowing you to provide me with energy and even accompanying me in my search.”
Celestia’s face lit up with a smile. “Ah, a surf through the dream realm, is it? It has been a rather long time since you brought me along on such a trip.”
Luna snorted. “Partly because I’ve been away for a very long time. But do not think that I have forgotten what happened the last time I allowed you to come with me!”
Twilight’s expression blanked. “Wait, what?”
Celestia blushed furiously, suddenly looking quite flustered. “L-Luna! Not in front of Twilight! Besides, it was one time!”
“The flamingos were haunting me for weeks, sister,” Luna deadpanned. “One time or not, I am in no rush to repeat such a disaster. So please be on your best behaviour, lest I haunt your dreams!”
“But you’re not a ghost…”
“I am the night! Ghosts fear me!”
Twilight just sat there, watching the two sisters quibbling. In the back of her mind, she could not help but wonder what the story was behind this argument.
‘I mean, Flamingos? What do they have to do with anything?’
Alas, she would never know.
Luna spent a few more minutes chastising her sister over the sins of antiquity before an awkward comment from Twilight drove them both on to get on with why they were here. After a brief moment of explanation, Luna’s horn lit up with pale white magic, far different from her usual rich blue. Thin tendrils of light reached from the tip of her horn to touch Celestia and Twilight just below the horn. In mere moments, both of them got comfy on the cloud, falling into their magically-induced slumber.
Luna took a deep breath before closing her eyes. With a deep, bassy hum, the world around her bled away. When she opened her eyes again, it was to the sight of the endless expanse of the dream realm, with the orange distortion of the rift looming ahead of her. This one was far larger than the last, to be sure, and significantly more dense with energy.
“Woah!” Twilight’s voice exclaimed from nearby. Luna turned to see the lavender alicorn flailing her limbs and wings about in a frantic and comical attempt to find purchase on matter that did not exist. “W-where is the ground?!”
Celestia drifted smoothly in from the side with an amused smile. “We are in the dream realm, Twilight. Just imagine you are standing on something.”
A few seconds later, Twilight took a deep breath and did as she was instructed. A moment later, she gave off a sigh of relief as her hooves came to rest on an invisible surface. She looked down and gave off a quiet, fascinated giggle, stomping her hoof against the intangible surface to test its durability. “Wow… this is so strange.”
“Doubly so, seeing as you are sideways,” Luna pointed out with a coy smirk.
“What?” Twilight looked up and, sure enough, she had imagined gravity and ground beneath her hooves while floating at a roughly ninety-degree angle compared to the others. She blushed and coughed into her hoof, smoothly rotating down to match them without a word.
Luna chuckled, taking what was perhaps an unhealthy amount of joy from seeing Twilight’s blunder before looking back up to the rift. It loomed over her, almost enough to intimidate her with its sheer scale, as well as the numerous unknown factors associated with it.
But she had to brave it. Her niece was waiting on the other side.
She could hear Celestia and Twilight talking behind her, the latter squealing with fascination. Apparently, the dream realm was an exciting place for her to be in. Luna managed to put on a tiny smile on hearing the reaction. If only they could stay here and enthuse about it longer…
‘I shall have to explain it to her more another time,’ she decided before turning back to her companions. For now, they had a job to do. “Sister, Twilight. It is time. Are you ready?”
Twilight looked up at Luna, though her gaze became fixated on the rift behind her. She stiffened, taking a few steps back. “I-is that it?” she stammered out, pointing.
“I would imagine so,” Celestia said, her tone becoming serious.
Luna nodded. “It is. We shall pass through and explore on the other end. Rainbow Dash’s dream should appear as a sphere of light, like many of these other dreams, made up of all the colours of her namesake. It will be unmistakable.”
Celestia gave a sharp nod. “Very well. Lead the way…”
Twilight was far less confident, shrinking away from the anomaly with fear evident in her eyes. After a moment, though, she managed to find her strength. “A-alright…”
Luna glanced between them before turning to face the rift. On the other side was her best chance at finding her niece… and she was not going to fail this time.
As one, Luna, Celestia, and Twilight drifted forwards and passed into the rift, their minds passing from one world into another.
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So will they learn just from her dream that she is in another universe
The meeting is gonna happen
Is the next chapter going to be the Alicorns searching for Rainbow?
Some nice hints of one of the plot points from Memories here, while still moving the story forward in general. Really helps keep the stories tied together.
"Luna... why are there two of them?"
Ohh shit.
When the three alicorns see their Rainbow hanging out with a changeling, they are NOT gonna be happy.
Now, that’s a story I would be interested in reading.
10100897
Next chapter is one confusing Luna confronting another confusing Luna.
10101404
It’ll basically be the post credits scene from Into the Spider-Verse.
Hopefully they don’t pull the wrong rainbow
Well, let's see what they find, shall we?
nice work
10101379
you and me both
Adventure, let's go!
ok there are two RD there, so who will they find first??
Bruce Wayne had a sudden hiccup