The Human and His Lopunny

by Burningbloom78

Do Humans Dream of Fence-Jumping Mareep?

Joey gasped suddenly, his body jerking awake. He lifts his head and scanned the environment with his limpid white eyes; it was dark from all sides; nothing had appeared to him. He lay atop a watery black surface in a daze, confusion plastered across his caramel face. Silent, he finds the strength to heave himself to his feet.

Joey blinked once and when he reopened them he was assaulted harshly by a tsunami of color; he recoiled from the sight, desperately shielding his snow-lidded eyes. Eventually, the initial flash subsided and Joey opened his eyes reluctantly to view a vast grassland with all of his Pokémon in the near distance: Nian, Narros, Nils, Mechan, Yuna, Lena, and Jenny. Some were playing while others watched them with calm, contented expressions etched across their varied countenances.

It occurred to Joey that he was dreaming again. Joey attempted to take a step forward to join his Pokémon, but he was shot with a brisk wind that sent waves of chipped ice down his back. Flinching because of the sudden cold, Joey veered his snowy gaze around and saw something looming just off into the distance. Enormous blue-gray clouds. Joey knew that type of cloud. A snowstorm was on the way.

There was something that caught Joey's eye. There was this large thin line; an awning of transparent blue containing the threatening snowstorm. Joey remembered this dream; he's been here so many times he willed a protective veil to halt the oncoming snowstorm for fear it would take his family away from him...again.

"Ho there, newcomer!" called a lucid voice. It was welcoming yet filled with a hidden ardor. "To convene at last is simply joyous. I was assured time and again that my copious endeavors to reach you would be successful; as it stands, they have finally borne fruit!"

Joey gazed at the pony who landed in front of him with a questioning glance. He studied the visitor: tall with large wings and a long horn; it was an alicorn, a mare specifically, but one he had never seen before. Her lustrous coat was dark blue, her turquoise eyes seemed to twinkle like a star on occasion, and her mane, like Princess Celestia's, sparkled and flows ethereally on its own, and she bears an image of a half-moon as her cutie mark.

"Were you looking for me?" Joey asked the alicorn.

"Correct," said the mystery mare. "I have heard extensively about you from my sister; she regales your influence during the stint of the Fool's Poison, and recently of your precarious venture traversing the perilous Forbidden Jungle to reprieve Orah from her wretched situation." She dipped her head gracefully. "I thank you for your cooperation."

A jolt of worry pulsed in Joey's heart. "How is Orah?" he asked, concern layering his voice.

The mystery mare chuckled lightly. "Even being showered with praise matters little," she told him. "Orah is mending, but she calls out your name during her slumber; she dreams of you. Her savior. I advise you to visit her in Canterlot soon."

Joey visibly relaxed, sitting on the ground with a sigh escaping his lips. The mare follows suit and lays comfortably next to him.

"What about Celestia?" he asked.

"You do not call my sister by her full title?" the mare queried. Then a smile stretched across her face. "She thinks highly of you indeed. My sister buries herself in her burdens, but she has exhibited signs of improvement after Rockfall's passing. Sister will recover; stow the perturbance plaguing your heart, Joeshur."

Joey released a large breath he was holding. He was glad Orah and Celestia are doing well. In his mind were fears of Orah's health and the possibility of her death, but now he can discard those anxieties. But Celestia? He found that he couldn't banish those feelings. He saw how broken-hearted she was, and he wondered if this mare was speaking the truth or if this was an attempt to calm him down. It was appreciated. Regardless, the worries for Celestia were still firmly entangled in his mind. He would have to see her himself.

Now onto other matters. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you? You say your Celestia's sister."

Joey caught a twinkle in the mare's eyes. "I am Princess Luna," she told him. "I have been waiting for some time to meet you, Joeshur."

Joey rubbed the back of his head in front embarrassment. Who knew a princess wanted to meet with him so badly? She did say she had been trying to meet with him all this time. Joey considered himself lucky.

"You already know my name, but you can call me Joey if you like," he said. "Why have you appeared in my dream and how? And excuse my ignorance, but I never knew who you were until now."

Princess Luna blinked at Joey before turning her gaze to his Pokémon playing in the distance. "I desired to encounter the human my sister speaks favorably of, and I have the magic to roam into dreams as it pertains to my royal duty."

Joey was perplexed. "You can walk in dreams? That's pretty awesome, but if you wanted to meet me, why didn't you just come over? You don't have to be in my dreams, not that it's a problem."

Princess Luna was silent for a moment. "I am inactive during most of the day, and I work all night coming and going into my subjects' dreams and banishing their nightmares. When my sister raises the sun, I become too wearied to stay awake and fall into slumber shortly thereafter."

"But if you can roam in dreams, why have you appeared now?"

Princess Luna unkinks her wings in a luxurious stretch, swishing her ethereal tail across the grass behind her. "Your dreams are...difficult to wander."

Joey raised his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You often have your dreams guarded," she told him succinctly. "You leave very little opportunity to roam inside." Princess Luna looked at the looming mass of clouds fettered by the veil. "Pray tell, what does this dream imply?"

Joey gazed at the stymied snowstorm. "It's from my past. A snowstorm took away my home, my family, and almost my life. Years later, I've built a new family, but I fear a disaster similar to my youth will come and take them away from me. Those Pokémon are all I have left in the world..."

Princess Luna gave the snowstorm a sullen expression. "So...you erected a barrier to stave off the dream from spiraling into a nightmare; one that spelled tragedy before. You are acquainted here, you are a lucid dreamer; able to control your dream with a full conscience. That is interesting."

"Is it uncommon to be in control of one's dreams?" Joey asked. He liked the fact he can be fully aware even when sleeping.

"Verily," she answered, "however, few can be lucid dreamers. Have you always dreamed this way?"

"No," Joey replied. "It was after I left the mountains. Are you here to help me?"

Princess Luna stared at Joey for a couple of heartbeats and shook her head. "Nay. You are in full volition here; you have been maintaining this dream since your adolescence. I will not influence this dream, however, if you desire something to change, like the harrying snowstorm, I can ameliorate it. I only desired to meet you, after all."

Joey gave the princess a grateful glance before setting his eyes on his Pokémon. "I understand. Will I see you in the waking world?"

"If I have the time and energy, then yes," Princess Luna answered. "For now, however, I must depart from here; there are many dreams I must alleviate. Perhaps we can be...friends?"

Joey nodded. "Of course," he told her. "You are welcome either in my dreams or at my home. I live just outside Ponyville, near the outskirts. If you need someone to chat with, you'll find that I'm usually available."

Princess Luna beamed joyfully at Joey. It looked as if she was going to celebrate but she reeled in her excitement and dipped her head in gratitude.

She turned to fly away, but she glanced at Joey and said, "Your eyes are beyond beautiful; white is captivating and exceptionally rare. Has anypony told you that?"

Joey rubbed the back of his head to mask his embarrassment. "Some do; your sister spoke of something similar."

Princess Luna chortled. "Sister and I mean what we say, and we mean that your eyes are ravishing and recherché." She opened her large wings, preparing to take flight. "We will meet again. Farewell!"

Joey waved his hand in farewell. "See you soon, Princess Luna."

"Nay!" she said hotly, taking into the air. "From here on, you shall address me as Luna!"

Joey fought to contain his amusement at Princess Luna's declaration. "Okay, okay," he said. "You are Luna now!"

Satisfied, Princess Luna turned away and disappeared with a flash of blue light. With her gone, Joey shifts his attention to his Pokémon in the distance and took the steps to join them, unafraid of the snowstorm looming close by.