I Dream of Luna
- - -
Seventh Heaven was really too small to be the center of Sector Seven in Midgar, but the game developers were limited by the Playstation 4's hardware. It was quite charming all the same, the rustic feel of a rural bar mixed with an old west saloon. There were people all over the place, talking, drinking, laughing, as a jaunty tune played from the jukebox. Honestly, you could pick any track from the Remake and it would be great to listen to. It was so clear in my mind, despite how long I'd been on Equus.
A dark blue alicorn trotted into the bar, her mane waving like a flag of the starry night. She looked over at me in the corner, and gave me a gentle, shy smile.
"Hello Shepherd," she said. "I hope you do not mind the intrusion?"
I shrugged with a smile.
"Not at all, Princess Luna," I replied, holding up my mug. I gestured over to my table. "Come! Take a seat!"
Luna trotted over, and sat in the chair. It easily shifted in size and shape to properly accommodate her. None of the other patrons reacted to an alicorn showing up. Why was that-?
"Oh, it's a dream," I realized, feeling a bit stupid. I then shrugged.
Ah well, hardly a bad thing to dream about. I could see Tifa Lockhart at the bar, chatting happily with customers as she mixed drinks. She looked even better in the flesh. Dream. Whatever.
Luna hummed thoughtfully, as the noise and conversations continued around us.
"You do not lucid dream often, do you?" She asked. I shook my head.
"I've been doing it more often since I ended up in Equestria," I admitted. "Might be something with magic or the fact I'm in the best shape of my life or..." I shrugged. "Got me. So! What can I do for you, princess?"
I took a sip of the meade in my mug, as Luna's face became quite grave.
"I have news. Of the good and bad variety, I'm afraid," she said.
"Okay. What's the bad news?" I asked. Luna shook her head slowly, as she summoned a mug of meade to our table via magic.
"Normally the good news is what ponies ask me for first," Luna observed. I shrugged.
"I prefer to be relieved by the good news. Go on?"
Luna sighed.
"While the Nightmare has been weakened... I do know it has not been completely destroyed," she said. "It has however vanished into the Dreamscape. At such depths it will take time for me to locate it again."
"You're sure?" I asked, after a sip of meade. I winced. "I'm sorry," I said, "I mean, you're the dream magic expert after all and I'm-"
"I was," Luna said softly, "but the Nightmare knows everything I do. It even enhanced and deepened my own powers when it possessed me. It may be weaker, but it is very cunning. And tracking it down is like tracking..." She stopped, and visibly pushed herself to say the next part, "like tracking myself down."
I frowned deeply in sympathy, and reached out to rest a hand on her hoof. She started, looked down at my hand, and back up at me.
"Okay," I said, "and what's the good news? Come on."
Luna managed a small smile.
"There is no sign the Nightmare is hiding within you or King Aspen, nor in any of the Elements of Harmony or the rest of King Aspen's court," she said, "I was very thorough."
The entire world of the dream seemed to become brighter. The music was happier, and people nearby were starting to get up to dance to it. I let out a relieved laugh, as the princess beamed happily.
"See? That helped a lot," I said with a warm smile, "everything's better now. I... I mean that."
I squeezed her hoof a bit more tightly. I looked down at the table, unable to meet her eyes.
"I was scared that that evil bitch had... Had managed to do it," I confessed, "had managed to leave a bit of itself inside me. Just waiting to... To turn me or take me over or..." I took a deep breath, and held back my tears. I looked up at Luna, and smiled in genuine appreciation.
"Thank you," I said, holding myself back from gushing in thanks. Luna beamed back, her smile absolutely radiant. She then withdrew her hoof, and cleared her throat. She resumed her former regal, dignified and mysterious demeanor.
"You are most welcome, Sir Shepherd," she replied, "it is the least we can do for you, after your service to us." She nodded to me. "Our sister tell us you are now the bodyguard for the Elements?"
"Ah, well," I said, reaching back to scratch the back of my head, "I suppose that's one of my duties, yes. I feel more like a babysitter, if I'm being honest. They're a handful." I was still smiling though as I thought of them.
"Will you also be... Courting any of them?" Luna asked, suddenly sounding very stiff. Almost cold, really. I shook my head and shrugged.
"Not... Not in the sense of to marry. We're... Well, none of us are really ready for that," I said. At her slight scowl, I hurried on. "What I mean is, we're going to start dating. I'm going to work on seeing them as... Potential partners. We'll date, we'll get to know eachother better, and we'll become better friends. And figure out if we're really... You know, cut out for anything more."
Luna slowly nodded.
"I see," the lunar diarch said, looking a bit relieved. Oh God, please tell me she wasn't also interested in me? Oh shit, oh shit-!
No. No. You are an adult, not just some manchild. Be a man about it.
But don't be too aggressive! You had no idea what your feelings were for her! I needed something, something fast to try and bond better but not so fast-!
The jukebox switched over to Swing de Chocbo: a song I had probably played thousands of times on the drives to and from work, and even danced to in a few ballroom dancing classes. Hey, it's a lot of fun and supposed to build confidence...
I smiled, and stood up. I reached out my hand to the princess.
"Would you care to dance, Princess?" I asked. "It is something you do to better bond with other beings, and it's a lot of fun."
Luna started, looking out at the dancing floor filled with happy couples spinning about. She looked back at my proffered hand, and blushed.
"Ah... We thank thee, Sir Shepherd, but we have never danced-"
"I can teach you," I said, "and as long as you're just enjoying yourself, you're not doing anything wrong."
Luna shook her head.
"But-We are not even human-!"
"It's a dream," I said with a grin. "And you're a magical alicorn. I promise, I won't tell anyone."
Luna stared for a moment longer, before she shifted. In a burst of magic, she took on a female form very similar to Aerith's-A heartbreakingly beautiful girl next door, with a slim body and modest bust. Her hair and eyes remained the same, and she now wore modest but well fitted clothing the color of her fur and armor. She slowly stood up, and hesitated briefly before reaching out to take my hand. I squeezed my hand around hers, and she squeezed mine back... Very hard. Hard enough I winced.
"Too tight," I groaned. Luna gasped, and loosened her grip.
"Oh! Our sincere apologies!" She cried. I shook my head, and smiled. She held my hand back, firm but not painfully so. I gave her a little tug, and she walked up closer to me. She stared at the dancing floor, and back at me. My smile grew gentler.
"It's all right," I said. "Now come on. We don't want to miss the song."
I led her out onto the floor. I placed her hand up on my shoulders, as I put my unoccupied hand at the small of her back. She tensed a bit, her cheeks a charming red. She looked up at me, shyly peeking up through some bangs.
"So... How does one dance the swing, Sir Shepherd?" She asked. I grinned.
"It's not hard. Just follow my lead. Step back, step to the side, step forward..."
In truth, I wasn't much good at dancing at swing. And Luna, for all her grace and years, was still in an unfamiliar body. But I could tell by her laughter as we went around the dance floor, she was having a lot of fun.
And in the end? So was I.
We danced away to as many swing songs I could recall, spinning and stepping away to the tunes. The dream world changed around us, to an old fashioned 1940s ballroom, to a dance studio I remembered, and to a smooth platform on the moon, overlooking the Earth. It was all wonderful and fun and breathtaking... Until Luna gasped and stopped. I slammed into her, nearly bowling us both over. Luna pushed back against me, and I fell back while my arms spun like windmills.
"Oh no! I-I completely lost track of time!" Luna gasped. "I have so much work to do-I'm so behind-I-!" She looked over at me, and gave me an apologetic look. "I am so sorry. I must attend to my duties."
"Oh, no! No, it's okay," I said with a smile, once I'd gotten my balance back. "I understand completely."
She did have to tend to the dreams of every pony in Equestria. Though she probably employed some Inception-style tricks to manage it, we had been busy for a while.
Luna then bowed formally, and gave me another one of those shy smiles.
"But thank you, Sir Shepherd," she said. "Thank you for everything."
"Thank you," I replied, "I hope we can do this again sometime."
Her smile became rather mysterious.
"As do I, my dear human," she said, just before she vanished.
I sighed, and rubbed my face.
"Goddamnit," I muttered, "I hope she didn't see too many of my dreams about Aerith..."
Otherwise? I was probably in a lot more trouble.
... Eh, it was my default state now. I may as well get used to it.
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Oh Luna, you really are best pony.
I can't wait for the remake to come to Xbox. I REALLY want to beat people up with a "Fuck You" sized sword.
A single alicorn for more than 1000 years never seeing a potential lover...
Well, awkward if u ask me...
I didn't ask.
Great chapter!!!
It tells us more of whats going on between the main 6 and him.
Luna is funnest princess...
Keep it up!
That chapter title bringing me back to the early days of fimfiction.
Swing de Chocobo - 12th track on Distant Worlds - Music from Final Fantasy
(Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra)
The chocobo music is always amongst Final Fantasy's best.
10372904
This fic does remind me of that one a little.
10372904
How early, what story?
10373499
Its from 2014 I believe, story is the same name as the Chapter title and was written by now retired author getmeouttahere.
It and its "sister" story Exchange are both really good if you like romantic comedy type stuff.
Lol, Swing de Chocobo is one of my all time favorite songs.
That's quite clever, actually
Translating a dance to suit a partner with twice the amount of legs? Ambitious!
Or that. I guess that would be the simpler option
I dunno. Somehow I can't imagine a dreamwalker like her to be much of a prude. 'Intimate' dreams are probably really just par for the course for her
Remarks and corrections:
> The jukebox switched over to Swing de Chocbo
You missed an "o" in "Chocobo".
Huh, pretty much addresses my thoughts and comments on the whole Thorns Epilogue. Presumably a coincidence, since it was a sensible thing to establish anyway, but still glad of it.
Enjoyed that game too, till the end...
Was always more of a Tifa fan though... Hey Applejack?
FFVII is still overrated. IV-VI are best. Steam really needs to add 1 and 2. And Tactics: War of the Lions and Revenant Wings and the Interlude chapter of FFIV from the PSP version and Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus and Before Crisis (but that's a fan-remake of the discontinued japan-only phone game, so it's a part of the canon that won't be in stores anytime soon).
I’ve only played FF10 and the first few hours of FF7 in college. 7 was just too tedious for me. Still loved the music though.
Let the blood flow...
Luna is best Princess ♡
Luna never danced? Isn't that a Gala thing?
10385273
IV and VI are the best? And while I do agree its overhyped, at least it has quite a bit of developement as the 7th Titel and don't forget its all more about prevered taste.
I personally Enjoy 9 and Tactics most but do like the 7 Series (yes all of them even dirge of cerberus) and 8.
But they REALLY need to re-release the Tactic games.
It's "Aeris", not "Aerith". No, I don't care what stupid argument you have. You're wrong. Stop lisping her name.
Dance Luna daaance.
♡
Luna has dutys but can she not take a night off?
11175904
Thorry
Fly me to the Moon ♡
This song comes to mind when I imagen them dancing together ♡
Magnificent, Luna is so often overlooked.
First and last dance