Improbable

by Erynaster

Dreams

"Thank you for the dance, Anon. I really appreciated it."

"Don't mention it, Twi. It was my pleasure."

You and Twilight weave your way through the sea of ponies, slowly making your way towards the glass doors that lead to the castle gardens. With one hand, you push the door open and Twilight walks through it, shooting you a flirty look as you hold the door open for her.

"My, such a gentlecolt." She giggles.

You chuckle in return, allowing the door to close shut behind you as the two of you take a slow walk through the gardens, taking in the serene ambience of the evening. It's quiet in the gardens, with nothing to be heard but the chirping of crickets and the low whistle of the evening gale as it blows through the verdure.

Twilight's dress rustles as she walks, and you can't help but admire how beautiful she is tonight. She's wearing a frilly, satin purple dress lined with amethysts, which in your opinion brought out the color of her eyes just nicely. Her hair, unlike its usual style, was now embellished with curls that frame her face, giving her a more regal, elegant appearance than normal. She's wearing a thin amount of makeup to top it all off, which all gave her an ethereal, beautiful facade to behold.

You can feel your cheeks redden slightly, but you shake it off.

"Anon, you okay?" Twilight giggles, swivelling her head around to take a good look at you. "You're so quiet tonight. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You look great, by the way. I love what you did with your mane." You smile.

Now it's Twilight's turn to blush.

"T-Thanks... I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you would, but... I'm glad you do."

"Oh?" You raise an eyebrow at her. "You did that for me?"

Twilight stops. A thick, crimson blush finds its way to her muzzle, and her pupils dilate as her eyes dart from side to side.

"W-What? Oh... I said too much, didn't I?" She chuckles nervously. "But, *ahem*, yes. I did. I just wanted to, er... impress you, I guess..."

Twilight trails off, her cheeks growing redder by the minute. You can feel your own beginning to heat up as well, but you smile at her regardless.

"O-Oh! Well... consider me impressed, then." You chuckle. "Thank you, Twilight."

Twilight looks up at you sheepishly, her cheeks still red.

"You look pretty handsome yourself, you know." She giggles. "Rarity did really great with that suit of yours."

You beam. You had commissioned Rarity to make you a suit specifically for this evening. You made a mental note to give her your thanks when you see her again.

"Thanks, Twi. I'm glad you like it."

Your Alicorn friend smiles, motioning for the two of you to take a seat on a nearby bench, facing away from the castle. You take your seat across from her, and the two of you let out a dreamy sigh at the same time.

You stare at each other for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"*sigh*... This is really nice." Twilight breathes in deeply, exhaling after a moment with her eyes closed. "You know, I'm really grateful you agreed to come with me as my plus one. It means a lot to me."

"Don't sweat it, Twi. Anything for my best friend, after all." You beam at her, which she returns.

The two of you sit in silence for a moment.

"So..." You clear your throat. "Why'd you ask me to come out here with you, again?"

"Oh, that." Twilight shifts in place. "I just... well..."

"Yeah?"

Twilight looks at you, a faint smile on her face.

"I just wanted to say thank you. You know, for everything. We've been through so much together, and... I'm just really grateful to be a part of your life." Twilight's eyes are sparkling. "Thank you, Anon."

"Twilight..." You begin, your smile growing. "That's the nicest thing anypony's ever said to me. I'm grateful to be a part of your life, too."

"W-Wait. I'm not done yet." She pipes up, placing a hoof on your arm. "T-There's... something else on my mind."

"Oh?" You raise an eyebrow at her. "Go on, then."

Twilight inhales deeply, as though gathering the courage to say whatever she had to say.

"It's something I think you should know if our friendship is going to keep going like this. Something that I've kept for a long time. And believe me, I've tried to repress it, hide from it, even run from it... but I can't. Because it's always there. You're always there, in my mind." Twilight swallows nervously.

"I'm... not following." You tilt your head in confusion.

Twilight places both of her front hooves in the palms of your hands, looking you dead in the eye. "The truth, Anon. You need to hear it."

She blushes.

"I've been waiting for the perfect moment to tell you, and... now is that moment."

"Twilight, what are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Twilight smiles, the blush on her cheeks taking on a rosy hue. She whispers her next words with utter care, making sure you hang on to every word.

"I love you, Anon."

And just then, time seems to stop. Literally.

You're puzzled. Everything has stopped moving. You turn in place, looking around at the trees. Only a moment ago they were blowing about in the breeze, but now, they were standing still. The stars have stopped twinkling, and the ponies dancing in the distance now stand as though frozen in place, just as though someone hit the pause button on all of reality.

What was happening?

Just then, you hear a voice. It echoes throughout the gardens, piercing the eerie silence that overtook your surroundings all of a sudden.

"You seem to revisit this moment a lot in your dreams, Anonymous."

Everything seems to melt away. With a twinkle, Twilight vanishes from your view, and in her place is none other than Princess Luna, the Guardian of Dreams.

"Luna!" You stand up. "So this is a dream!"

"Yes. It is." The Alicorn Princess chuckles, her mane billowing about despite the lack of a breeze. "As I have said, you seem to revisit this moment a lot in your subconscious. Is there any particular reason for that?"

You want to respond, but find yourself at a loss for words. Before you can speak, Luna continues, "It is quite alright, mortal. I understand. Even the thoughts that you struggle to put into words, I have access to them." She closes her eyes for a moment, concentrating deeply. The air around you seems to ripple and warp, and in an instant, you find yourself transported to a cozy cabin, sitting next to a warm fire with Luna on the couch beside you. Her smile warms you to your core. "Is this more to your liking?"

"Y-Yeah, it is." You smile. "Thanks."

"You are most welcome, little one." Luna returns the smile. "Now, tell me. This is the fourth night in which you have visited that particular moment from your memory. Yet each and every time, you can never seem to get past that moment when Twilight says, "I love you". Why might that be?"

You can feel your cheeks flush, even in your sleep.

"I don't know. I guess I never really thought about what I should be doing once she said that."

"I am not one to pry, but what did happen after that? I am curious." Luna materializes a cup of cocoa out of thin air, taking a long draft from the cup after speaking.

"Well... I stood up, shocked at what I was hearing. Then I asked her how long has it been since she felt that way for me." You recount, standing up from the couch and pacing by the fireplace. "Then we just sort of... agreed never to speak of it again."

You turn back to face Luna, a shrewd look on your face.

"... But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Luna nods, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Yes. Though I felt it necessary for you to speak of it of your own free will, first. I did not want to impose." She sighs, standing up to walk beside you. "But, if I may say something? For someone who says that he does not know how he truly feels for Twilight, you seem to dream an awful lot about her."

You blush. "T-That's nothing."

"Oh, but it is something, my dear Anonymous. What ponies have in their subconscious says a lot about their character. Humans are no different." Luna gives you a patient smile. "Now, I will ask you again. Why is it that Twilight seems to be lurking in your subconscious mind very often, hm?"

"I..." You sigh in defeat. "I've just been thinking of her a lot, okay?"

"That does not surprise me." Luna gives you a wry smile. "You seem to care for her a lot."

"More than anypony." You say, feeling your cheeks grow warm once more.

Luna beams at you triumphantly.

"Then why is it that you are, for lack of better phrasing, seemingly unable to accept the fact that you are falling for her?"

You close your eyes shut at her words. Those were the very words you dreaded to hear.

"Because... *sigh*... I don't know."

"Is it because you are afraid, Anonymous? Afraid of what the future holds for the both of you? Or are you simply put off by the fact that she is not human? We are not animals, Anon. We are every bit as sentient and sapient as you are." Luna continues, though her tone is not accusatory. In fact, her voice carries with it a hint of motherly care, as though wanting to reassure you that you have nothing to be ashamed of. "What do you fear, Anonymous?"

"I..." Your gaze locks onto Luna's, and you smile weakly. "I think you already know the answer to that."

"That, I do." She nods. "You are afraid, dear one, of losing her. Much the same way how you lost your past. Your old life. You are afraid of what you could lose should you decide to open your heart to her, to let her in. You are afraid, in short, of what she is to you."

Luna extends a wing towards you, wrapping it around your shoulders with care.

"You are afraid of what could happen if the same anomaly that brought you here would tear you away from her. Only this time, you are afraid of being able to remember. To feel the pain of losing her. To feel it so fully that your heart shatters and your mind breaks because of the pain. That, Anon, is what you fear."

Silence meets the end of her words as you ponder deeply what she had just said. You couldn't phrase it any better than she did.

"It doesn't exactly make me feel better knowing what I fear, Luna."

Luna nods sadly.

"It seldom does, little one. But knowing what you fear is the first step to overcoming it." Luna inclines her head towards you, her horn glowing. "Now, there's something I wanted to show you. Hold on tight."

All of a sudden, it feels as though all reality rushes past you, and you find yourself in the middle of a vast corridor, seeming to stretch as far as the eye can see. There are doors on either side of you, with curious markings on each one.

"W-Where are we?" You ask Luna, but she doesn't respond. Instead, she indicates a purple door with a nod.

"Open it."

You do as you're told, and as you swing the door open you're suddenly bathed in light. Once your eyes adjust, you find yourself in the middle of what appears to be a celebration of shorts. There are ponies sitting on rows upon rows of seats, each of them cheering loudly, some crying, others practically screaming with glee. You recognize Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and the rest of Twilight's friends sitting at the front row, and as your eyes wander to the altar—

There she is.

Twilight stands by the altar, dressed in a pure-white gown. She looks absolutely breathtaking, and from where you stand, you can see that she's crying. They're not sad tears, from what you can tell. In fact, she's smiling. But what on Earth is she so happy about...?

And then you realize.

Your jaw drops once you see who Twilight is standing with. It's you. Well, you were you, but there was another you standing next to her, dressed in a handsome wedding tuxedo. From where you stand, you can see yourself crying as well, smiling as you gaze at Twilight with love and adoration.

This was so bizarre.

"Luna!" You shout over the din. "Luna! Where are you?"

"I'm right here." Luna suddenly pops up next to you, sipping from a wine glass she had plucked from a waiter's tray. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Your gaze wanders back to the bride and groom, who were now sharing a passionate kiss as the ponies surrounding them cheer. "So, this must be..."

"Twilight's dream." Luna finishes your sentence, placing her empty glass on a nearby table. "Do you know that she dreams of this exact scenario each and every night? Even I'm surprised."

You remain silent, still focused on the sight of you and Twilight locked in a passionate kiss. It was jarring, in a way, to see yourself represented in what could only be Twilight's wildest fantasy, and it tugged at your heartstrings to know that this was indeed the future that Twilight wanted for the two of you. A future with you by her side. For all time.

"Why are you showing me this?" You ask, turning to look at Luna questioningly.

"Because you need to know how much you mean to her." She says simply, just as the dream begins to fade, your surroundings blurring into a haze of color and noise as the dream dematerializes into nothingness. Soon, you and Luna are standing in the middle of a void, where you can see Luna trotting away from you.

"Wait! Luna!" You call out, feeling your limbs tingling as you begin to vanish, too. "What am I supposed to do?"

"That is for you to find out, little one." Luna turns her head back as she calls out to you, her voice growing fainter and fainter. "Follow your heart. I know you have a good one."

"Luna!" You call out, but just as she fades away from view you find yourself falling...

---

Your eyes snap open. You sit up in bed with a start, panting heavily. Well, that was certainly an experience you wouldn't forget anytime soon. You rub your eyes, before checking the clock on your bedside table. It reads "4:34 AM". You turn to gaze out the window thoughtfully as Luna's final words to you echo in your head.

Follow your heart.

As you lay back down onto your pillow, you swore to yourself that you would do just that.