Night One
Every night, as part of her duties, Princess Luna would travel through the dreams of ponies and other creatures in Equestria. She would seek out those who were having terrible nightmares and help them defeat the monsters in them. On a very slow night, Luna decided she would take a visit to Twilight Sparkle’s dreams. Though she was not having a nightmare, what Luna didn’t know was that she was about to create one.
Luna walked down the Gallery of Dreams, a hallway of doors that lead to each pony’s dreamscape, until she stood at Twilight’s door. “Ah yes, this should be it.”
She opened the door and stepped into a magnificent library. The walls were adorned with bookcases farther than the eye could see. In the distance, Twilight sat at the end of a table reading a book.
What else should I have expected from her? Luna thought to herself.
She took her time as she made her way to Twilight, looking at the many books that lined the shelves around her. As she got closer, she noticed the young alicorn was missing something.
“Hello Twilight! How are you doing on this fine night?” Luna asked.
“Oh hey Luna! I’m doing well thanks. Just doing a little refresher on some older transformation spells,” Twilight replied as she looked up from her book.
“That is good. But, may I ask something?”
“I’m all ears!”
Luna gestured towards Twilight’s back, “What happened to your wings?”
Twilight looked over her shoulder and shrugged, “Whenever I dream, I usually end up without my wings. I guess I never thought about it too much. Not like they’ll be gone when I wake up!”
“That is very true,” Luna giggled.
Twilight closed her book and turned to face Luna, “So what are you up to tonight? This is the first time you’ve just dropped by to say hi.”
“Well, tonight is a very slow night. Not a mare or stallion all across Equestria are having any terrible nightmares. So I decided to visit my dearest friend.”
“That’s a first.”
“Yes it is. But it does give me time to spend with you, which is always good,” Luna said with a smile.
Twilight turned to the side, hiding a slight blush, “I’m done reading for now, so I’ll change the scenery.”
Twilight stood up and closed her eyes. The library around them drained into a black void, like water down a sink. A moment later the world around them materialised. They stood on a cloud above a dirt path that stretched along the bank of a beautiful lake.
“I see you’ve got a grasp on lucid dreaming, Twilight,” Luna said, gazing at the lake beside them.
“I’ve been practicing since I was a filly. Along with giving me time to study old books, it also gives me a place to escape to when I need some me time,” she said as she looked down at the lake. “As much as I know about Lucid dreaming, I’m still confused about how a lot of this dream stuff works.”
“I may be able to help with that. As you know I do travel between dreams, Twilight,” Luna said playfully.
“Talking about that, how do you do that?”
“Well…” Luna paused. “If I show you how to do this, you shall tell no one else. Do I have your word?”
“Of course!” Twilight said in excitement. “My lips sealed!”
Luna spent the next few minutes explaining how dream travel worked as Twilight wrote every word in her notepad.
“So how long is the Gallery of Dreams?” Twilight asked.
“To tell the truth, I don’t know, Twilight. I have never walked from one end to the other in one night.”
“Sounds like something I could figure out!” a lab coat appeared on Twilight. “For science!”
Luna chuckled, “Oh how I do admire your admiration for studying, Twilight.”
Twilight smiled, then walked over to the edge of the cloud.
“Hey, Luna?”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“I’m curious…” she looked over the cloud they were standing on. “You think I would wake up if I walked off the edge?”
“Why in the name of Celestia would you do such a thing?” Luna blurted out.
“Science!”
“Twilight. I do not like that you would even joke about—”
She wasn’t joking
Luna rushed over to the edge of the cloud and looked down over, “Twilight!”
She heard laughing come from behind her, “Tricked ya!”
Luna turned to see Twilight sticking her tongue out at her, “You’ve been spending a lot more time with Rainbow Dash, haven’t you?”
Twilight nodded, “Anyways, let’s go to the Gallery of Dreams, I want to see what my little assistant is up to tonight.”
They stood in the endless hallway of doors. Each door had a symbol and initials for each creature. Luckily for them, the door to Spike’s dreamscape was right next to Twilight’s.
“This is amazing,” Twilight said as she looked down the hall.
“You will get used to it, Twilight. I reacted the same way my first time here,” she put her hoof against the door. “Are you ready to go, Twilight?”
“Yep! Bet he’s dreaming about eating gems, knowing him.”
Luna pushed the door in and they stepped through.
“Well, this dream is…interesting,” Twilight said, confused at the sight before her.
The city of Manehatten was set ablaze. A giant purple and green dinosaur trampled over its buildings, spitting fire at the ponies below.
“I want gems!”
“Who’d of thought he’d want to destroy a whole city like that?”
Luna stepped forward and squinted her eyes. Her jaw dropped, taking a moment to realise what she just saw.
“Twilight,” Luna nudged Twilight’s side.
“Yeah?”
“Look closer,” Luna said, her hoof pointing at the dinosaur’s back.
Twilight materialised a pair of binoculars, took a look through them, then threw them behind her.
“That’s what I think it is, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Twilight shook her head, “For the love of Celestia, Spike.“
“Why not me?” Luna pouted.
Twilight chuckled, “I’ll have to bring Rarity here. She is going to love this.”
“Shall we go there now?”
“Not yet. Since I can travel along dreams with you now, there’s a lot of testing to be done! And I know just who to visit first”
“Wait what th—”
Crash!
“Twilight, is this really necessary?”
“Luna, science is science. Even in the dream world.”
“Yes, I understand that,” Luna looked over at Rainbow Dash, who wobbled around on the ground dizzy and confused. “But does science require you to remove your friends wings mid-flight five times in a row?”
“Yes, actually. It’s called the Scientific Method. I have to run multiple tests to make sure my hypothesis is correct.”
Luna gave Twilight a nervous glance, “I fear that you’re going to start enjoying doing this.”
“Would you rather me run these tests under more conscious conditions?”
“…fine,” Luna let out a defeated sigh.
Rainbow’s wings reappeared, and after a moment of confusion, she took off again.
“What was this hypothesis of yours you were testing?”
Pop!
“Ahhh horsefeathers!”
“How high she has to fall for her wake up.”
Crash!
After that last crash, the world around them faded to black before they appeared back in front of Rainbow Dash’s dream door.
“Huh, so about where her house is. Good to know!”
Luna sighed, “I take it you’re not done, are you?”
“Nope! Celestia should be asleep, right?”
“Have you no mercy, Twilight?”
“You have to admit, this is the best one so far!” Twilight cheered, nudging Luna’s foreleg.
“If she finds out we did this, she’ll have our heads.”
They watched as Celestia frantically tried to eat a slice of cake that was left for her on her throne. Her magic didn’t work, and when she tried to use her hooves it teleported a few inches in the opposite direction.
“You think she’ll stop anytime soon?”
Luna shook her head, “My sister is as stubborn as a mule.”
“It looks like that mule inherited a lot more ass than horse”
“Was that meant as a compliment or an insult?”
“Her flank isn’t the one I look at the most, so I wouldn’t call it a compliment,” Twilight said as she walked away.
Luna followed close behind, “Well… if I may ask, who’s flank do you prefer?”
Twilight pressed her hoof against Celestia’s dreamscape door, “I’ve never put any thought to it. But what I am thinking about is going to be really fun!”
They stepped out into the Gallery of Dreams, closing Celestia’s door behind them.
“Where are we headed now, Twilight?”
“We’re going to go get Rarity, but there’s one thing I want to try before we grab her…”
“—the worst possible thing!”
“You know, Twilight, the more dreams we enter, the more you remind me of Discord,” Luna mused.
“I saw the Carousel Boutique and realised it wasn’t living up to its name.”
Rarity watched in horror as her boutique was turned into an actual carousel. The colts and fillies in the area climbed aboard and cheered.
Luna let a small chuckle escape her lips, “At least the children are happy.”
Twilight scratched her head, “Now why did we come to Rarity’s dream again?”
“Manehatten.”
“Oh, right.” She cleared her throat, “Rarity! Come over here!”
Rarity looked over in Twilight’s direction. Confused, trotted towards Twilight. Her body was stiff, still in shock from what she witnessed.
“Is that really you, Darling?” Rarity asked.
“Yep. It’s been an interesting night.”
Luna stepped closer, “Delighted to see you again, Rarity.”
Rarity bowed her head, “Likewise, Princess Luna.”
Luna giggled, “Just Luna is fine.”
“So, Twilight,” Rarity turned to her, “Is there something the matter? Not often do I get any visitors in my dreams.”
“I came to bring you with us. I think you’re going to love what my little assistant dreams about!”
“Dare I ask?”
“Roooaaarrr!”
“That’s me?”
Twilight nudged Rarity’s side, “That’s you alright.”
“On a dinosaur’s back?”
“More specifically, Spike’s back,” Luna added.
“Give me gems!”
Rarity sat back, watching as the rampaging Spike tore through the city.
“Darling, I’m going to need a moment to… comprehend this,” she said as she fell back.
Twilight materialised a couch behind her to catch her fall, “I guess you could say he really wants you to ride him,” she said winking at Rarity.
Twilight looked up at Luna, who just shook her head.
“What?”
An explosion erupted from the city as a skyscraper collapsed. Wonderbolts flew around him, swooping down and to strike.
“Flies! Die!” he roared as he swatted them from the sky. The fake Rarity on his back thrusting her hoof in the air, cheering him on.
“Looks like ‘Spikezilla’ is having a blast over there,” Twilight chuckled.
“Spike would not actually do such a thing. Would he, Twilight?” Luna asked.
“I’d hope not!” Twilight laughed. “Oh and Luna, as long as the real Rarity is here, she can’t leave unless she wakes up or we take her back, right?”
“That is correct.”
“You know, I’m curious now,” Twilight’s horn lit up.
Rarity floated off the couch, “Darling, what are you doi— gaaahh!”
Her screams faded away as she was propelled towards the city.
“What…” Luna slowly turned towards Twilight, at loss for words.
“As a scientist, I must know how Spike would react to seeing a second Rarity!”
What have I done?
“I’m going to give them some alone time. We’ll come back soon.” Twilight turned to the dream door behind them, “No time to waste!”
They walked along the Gallery of Dreams, Twilight pulled out her notepad and started writing.
“Is there something that caught your interest, Twilight?”
“I’m just taking note of everything that’s happened so far.”
“Ah, I see,” Luna said, trailing behind her. “Are you sure this research of yours is going to further your studies?”
“Yeah yeah, sure,” Twilight said, her eyes glued to her notepad.
I do hope she doesn’t take her ‘studies’ too far.
“And done,” Twilight said, putting the notepad away. “Now, I wonder what my brother’s dreaming about. Knowing him I bet he’s dreaming up some war scenarios!”
“Oh Shiny~!”
The sounds of a creaking bed echoed through the halls of the Crystal Castle.
“Remind me again why we came to your brother’s dream?”
“I thought he would be dreaming about fighting a war or something. Also… wrong choice of words,” Twilight said as she sat on top of the castle next to Luna.
“Shall we go then, Twilight?”
“Hold on, I have an idea.”
One dream hop and a few moments later.
“How the hell? Get away!”
“The Crystal Empire shall be mine!”
An explosion of magic ripped through the top of the castle. Smoke poured out of the royal bedroom.
“That’s what you get for not telling me about the wedding until the last minute.”
Luna shook her head. “You didn’t pull the actual Chrysalis from her dreams, did you Twilight?”
“Wouldn’t be as fun if I didn’t!”
Luna took a moment to worry about Twilight’s sanity, “I’m starting to worry about your research, Twilight.”
Twilight laughed, “I’m just having a little fun is all. It’s still good research to see what I can do in these dreamscapes. No actual harm, right?”
“I suppose.”
“Well let’s go, I want to see what kind of weird dream Applejack is having!”
Twilight and Luna stood in the shade of an apple tree, watching as Applejack kicked tree after tree.
“Well she is a hard worker. I’m not surprised to be honest,” Twilight said as she took a bite out of an apple.
“Knowing your track record tonight, you’re about to do something to mess this up.”
“No such thing as a ‘mess up’ in science!” Her horn lit up.
“What in tarnation?”
“Lemons,” Luna looked down at the giggling Twilight. “You turned them into lemons.”
“When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, Applejack!” Twilight called out to her confused friend.
Applejack turned around and walked over to the intruding alicorns, wearing an even more confused look.
“Are y’all the real Twilight and Luna, or am I havin’ another one of those weird changelin’ dreams again?” Applejack said, her head cocked to the side.
“I can assure it is the real us, Applejack,” Luna reassured.
“We’ve been hopping through dreams all night. It’s been pretty fun!”
“Yes, if by fun you mean terrorizing your friends,” Luna said, looking down at Twilight.
Applejack sat down, taking a moment to take it all in.
“So you’re tellin’ me that you two have been goin’ dream hoppin’ all night?” Applejack asked.
“Yep!” Twilight said cheerfully. “If you want, you could join us!”
“Ah what the hay. Not like I got anythin’ else to do.”
Twilight smiled, “Good! You’re going to love what we did with Rarity!”
“Ya what now?”
“Woe is me!”
“More Rarity! More Gems! Rooaaarr!”
“Spike’s gotten a bit… bigger since I last saw him,” Applejack watched in bewilderment.
“And it looks like he took the ‘King Colt’ route with this one,” Twilight said, taking down notes.
“That’s the real Rarity in his claws?”
“Mhmm. We brought her over here about two dreams ago,” Twilight replied, her eyes still glued to the notepad.
Applejack tapped Luna’s foreleg and leaned in, “Has she been doin’ this all night?”
Luna sighed, “Yes, Applejack. And it’s not for me to tell her ‘no’ when she seems most determined to do her ‘research’.”
“Right,” she looked back towards Twilight, who finally put her notepad away. “So I take it you’re gonna be doin’ this more often now, aren’t ya?”
Twilight looked at Applejack and smiled, “Oh, I have loads more research to do!”
“I was afraid you’d say that.”