Tomorrow is take you child to work day. But seeing at Spike Drake is the secret son of Princess Celestia, he can't really enjoy such a day with his mother. So how about the next best thing; A night out with his aunt.
The night before take you child to work day, Twilight and the other girls leave to spend time with their family's and relatives. But Spike is left alone, seeing as he is secretly the son of Celestia, and it would be pretty obvious if he showed up next to her in the court room. Celestia knows this, and arranged for a special night & day for Spike, in hopes to make up for it. "Hey Luna, How would you like to spend some time with Spike?"
“Are you sure you don’t want to come, I know my mother would be happy to have you join us.” Asked Twilight, the very worried princess of friendship.
Spike, the very annoyed, green and purple dragon, and assistant to said princess, placed his claws onto Twilights face as he looked into her lavender eyes with his emerald green eyes. “Twi, I said I’m fine. I know Celestia wants to have me with her tomorrow, but if we did that, it would be pretty obvious that I am her son.”
Twilight sighed. “I know, but I don’t want you to feel alone if you don’t have to, maybe I should stay home and spend the day with you instead.”
Spike sighed as he shook his head. “No Twi, Velvet really wants to show you her job as a writer, and Shining is going with Night Light to the Canterlot planetarium.”
“But how about I get one of the girls to spend time with you, would you like that?” Asked Twilight hoping that would help.
Spike shook his head. "I wouldn't mind that, but you can’t. Pinkie is heading back to her family's rock farm, AJ and her family are heading to Appleloosa to help with the orchard with Braeburn, Rarity is spending time with her father. Rainbow is with her father for a buck ball game where he is the sports announcer in Manehattan, and Fluttershy is with her father at the cloud factory.”
Twilight started to panic, she was worried about Spike and so she did the first thing she could think of, she started to list off anypony that she could ask to let spike be their son for a day. “How about Lyra or Bon Bon, or maybe we can ask Time Turner, how about Mayor Mare, maybe Lilly, Daisy, or Rose, how about Cheerilee, there are loads of ponies who would love to have you around for the day?”
Spike shook his head. “ The schools closed, Time Turner is dealing with Dinky, the mayor is out of town for a conference, and the flower trio are gone to spend time with their mothers, Tulip, sunflower, and WildFlower, as for Lyra and Bon Bon, they would be nice to know better if they didn’t decide to head back to Canterlot, so Bon Bon could meet Lyra's parents.”
Twilight hung her head in defeat. “Fine but as soon as tomorrow is done I’m going to rush home and spend the rest of the day with you, and we’ll do anything you want.” Said twilight as she pulled Spike into a hug and nuzzled the top of his head.
Spike smiled at hearing this as he returned the hug. “Thanks Twi, have a good time with Velvet, tell everyone I say hi.”
Twilight released Spike as she nodded. She used her magic to lift her saddlebags on to her back. But before she walked out of the door she gave Spike a kiss on the forehead. “I will, have a good time, and don’t worry you don’t have anything to do tomorrow.” Said Twilight as she walked out of the castle and headed for the train station to catch the next train for Canterlot.
Spike watched as Twilight trotted to the train. Now he was alone. The only saving grace was that it was already late, and close to Spikes bed time. "Ok, I'll head to bed, grab the latest issue of Power Ponies, and once I finish reading its off to sleep." Said Spike to himself.
And that's what he did. But what he was unaware of was the fact that once Twilight was out of sight, she got out a scroll and quill from her bags and started to write a letter to Celestia.
Dear Princess Celestia.
Spike is putting up a mask in hopes of not letting the fact that he can't spend take your child to work day with you. I know that if it was known that Spike is your son, he would become a target for our enemies, and the fact that the nobles would demand something to happen, but I'm worried about him, can you do anything? I tried to stay with him but he pushed me to leave. I know you care for Spike and so do I, but right now he needs some help.
From your former student, Twilight Sparkle
Now that the message was ready, Twilight used her magic to send it to Celestia. "I hope she can do something for him." Said Twilight as she looked back at the castle one last time before heading to the train station.
In Canterlot, Princess Celestia was finishing up on today's day court, which normally was reserved to hear the whining and complaints of the nobles. And today was no different. “So please, your highness, for the next Grand Galloping Gala, could hay confit not be served?” Asked a random noble, but Celestia was not even listening to the request, all it sounded like was ‘blaa blaa blaa, I’m important, snooty snort, I have money and servants’. “Princess?” Asked the noble, worried that he was not getting through to the princess.
Celestia was snapped out of her thoughts, as she looked confused as to where she was. “Hm, Oh.” Said Celestia as she looked at the noble, he was a green unicorn with a stack of money for his cutie mark, this was High Funds, one of the more arrogant nobles, and one that was really annoying. It was time to use her get out of court free card, a line that she had used a million times already. “Thank you, High Funds, I will take your request into consideration.” Siad Celestia as she thanked him for bringing up his concern. “I will send you a letter on my decision soon, but my sister is about to assume the throne for the night.”
High Funds nodded as he bowed to the princess. “Of course your highness. Thank you for making time to listen to me.” Said High Fund as he was escorted out of the courtroom. Now that she was mostly alone, Celestia could finally relax. She looked to her personal assistant, Raven Inkwell, a white unicorn with a brown beehive hairdo. “Raven, I wasn't listening, can you give me the short version?” Asked Celestia.
Raven sighed as she pulled up the court transcript. “He didn’t like the taste of the hay confit at last years gala, and he wants you to not serve it this year.”
Celestia looked at Raven. “Wait, really? But the confit was great. Request denied, besides there were many other alternatives to enjoy.”
Raven nodded. “I’ll send out your response after tomorrow. If that is all, I will be going, my daughter, Ink Stamp is coming in from Fillydelphia tonight and she will be joining me tomorrow for day court.” At the mention of Ravens daughter, Celestia became saddened, but she put up her mask to keep it to herself.
Celestia nodded. “Yes, go ahead. Tell Ink Stamp I say hello, and have a good night.”
Raven bowed. “Of course, good night your highness.” Raven then walked out of the courtroom.
Now that Celestia was really alone, she dropped her mask. “I’m so sorry, Spike, I know you probably want to spend tomorrow with me.” Said Celestia. Just then Princess Luna walked into the courtroom, levitating a scroll in her magic.
“Good evening, Sister, how was day court?” Asked the night princess.
Celestia sighed. “So so Lulu, I approved funding for a few new schools in the growing towns in the west, I’m going to make an appearance at a charity event for the relief effort from the avalanche that buried half of Nayranto in the north, and then High Funds asked me to not serve the hay confit at this year’s gala.”
Luna looked shocked. “What, but the confit was great.”
“That's what I said. Then Raven had to go meet her daughter.”
Luna nodded. “Yes, the dreams of all the fillies and colts have been filled with the over exaggerated portrayal of their parents jobs.” Said Luna. She then looked at Celestia. “And from the expression on your face it is clear that you wish that your son was able to join you for the day, am I wrong Tia?”
Celestia sighed. “I wish I could just keep him safe, and still have him with me, but that is a luxury that not even a princess can have. I just hope that he knows that I would love nothing more than to have him with me tomorrow.” Said Celestia.
Luna moved the scroll over to Celestia. “Maybe this will help, I think Princess Twilight accidentally sent it to me, without our nephew’s ability?” Said Luna.
Celestia grabbed the scroll in her magic and opened it.
After she finished reading the message, she felt horrible and it showed on her face, as tears started to poor down her face, then her sadness became anger, as she placed the scroll on her throne. “Luna, Spike is putting up a front to hide his sadness. I’m going to the vault and grabbing ‘that’ book. The spell will take me awhile to complete.” Celestia started to trot out of the throne room, but stopped half way. She looked to her sister and smiled. “Hey Luna, how would you like to spend some time with Spike?"
Luna was walking down the path of dreams in the Dream Realm. She, after having a long winded argument with her sister, had decided to go along with her plan. Luna was looking for Spike’s dream door so she could enter into his dream. But so far she was unable to locate it. Luna groaned. “He must not be asleep yet.” Luna sighed. “Tia, I know thou wishes to be with thy son, but, mother said ‘that’ spell is only experimental.” Luna groaned. “I do not think Princess Twilight will be ready for this, if the spell doesn’t work as thou intend it to.”
Still in the real world Spike was finishing up the last panel of the comic. “The Mane-iac was attempting to steal the formula for the worlds strongest hair spray, Commissioner. But she forgot to account for Humdrum ducking under the manhole cover before she captured us.” Read Spike as he yawned. “Thanks for your service to the city Power Ponies.” Finished Spike as he closed the comic. He placed the book onto the night stand and turned off the light. Spike looked out the window. After the castle popped out of the ground, Twilight and Spike had hundreds of rooms to choose from. But only one of them had a great view of Canterlot, and that was Spikes room. Spike looked at Canterlot in the distance. “Good night mom.” Said Spike as he let sleep take over.
In the Dream Realm, Luna was still looking for Spike’s dream, suddenly she felt a small tingle on her spine. This meant that another pony has entered their dream, and thanks to her connection to the dream world, she was able to locate the dream quickly. Using her magic Luna teleported to right in front of the new door, it was like every other door in the realm but this had something extra, instead of the name and cutie mark of the one dreaming, this door’s name plate, and crest were crafted by Luna. On the door was a gold plate, and the name ‘Spike Drake’ was engraved on it. Above it was a painting of a scroll with a green ring of fire around it. The painting was hoof painted by Luna. She smiled at seeing the door, this was Spike's door. "Finally." Said Luna. "I was getting worried, it's getting close to his bed time."
Luna used her magic to enter Spikes dream. Once she was inside, she started to look for Spike. "Now lets see what kind of dream our nephew is having tonight." Said Luna. Normally Spike would have a few different kinds of dreams. Dreams with Gems, and Rarity were the norm, but lately a female griffin has been popping up every once an a while. The next common were his cooking dream, dreams where the world was made of food that Spike loved to cook, they mostly involved gem dishes that Spike has learned to cook, but on more than one occasion they had been pony food, with real dream taste, those dreams were Luna's favorite, Spike was a great cook, and much better than the palace chefs. But tonight it looked like it was one of his Power Pony dreams.
Luna disliked these dreams, Spike was to young to read such comics, he was only 8, Power Ponies were rated for teenagers, and lately the publishers have been pushing the envelope with that rating. More violence, even some blood, and the worst part was the language in the latest issues, it was not appropriate for young readers. Luna sighed as she continued to look for Spike in her astral form up in the sky. But there was another option, if she became a physical part of the dream, she would be able to locate Spike in an instant, the only problem with that was she would have to assume control of a character in the dream, both physically and mentally, and only the dreamer would know who they were, and depending on what kind of dream it was, this could really backfire. Luna shivered at the thought. "Seriously, the Mane-iac is insane, and that hair, how does she even do it?" Asked Luna. But right now was not the time for questions for the writers, now was time to spend with Spike. Luna had seen many dreams with Maretropaliss as its setting. There were only a few places that the Power Ponies ever entered. Luna looked down to the streets. The police ponies were rounding up the Mane-iac's henchponies. But the Power Ponies were no where to be found. That meant they were heading back to their home. "They must be heading back to Masked Matterhorn's mansion.
Luna knew the location of the mansion, and flew straight for it. Luna smiled. "Thankfully Spike isn't having one of those, action packed middle often story dreams, it looks like one of his 'make up the end of the story dreams.' Thought Luna.
Once she arrived at the mansion, Luna, still in her astral form, phased into the building. She started searching from the top of the mansion and made her way down.
Luna searched the upper levels of the mansion for a few minutes until she heard the sound of ponies talking. "Are you sure you don't want to join me and Fili tonight Humdrum? Her parents said they would love to help some one else tomorrow."
Humdrum shook his head. "Na, I got to update the main computer down stairs, you go have fun with Fili, Matterhorn."
Matterhorn was unsure it that was wise. "Really? But what about Saddle, Mare-velous, Zapp, or Radiance, I know they would love to have you join them tomorrow."
Humdrum sighed as he shook his head. "I would like to, but you forgot, they left the moment we captured the Mane-iac. I couldn't catch up with them even if I tried." Said Humdrum.
Matterhorn sighed. "Fine, but the moment were done, Fili is going to run us back here, and I'm spending the rest of the day with you, got that?" Asked Matterhorn.
Humdrum nodded. "Yeah, yeah, get your flanks in gear, or do you want to deal with General Maud next?" Asked Humdrum. (A/N: Yes I know, but Zod, Maud, it works.)
Matterhorn smiled, she pulled Humdrum into a hug. "See you later Humdrum."
Humdrum returned the hug. "You too Matterhorn, have a good time." Humdrum looked over to Fili-Second. "You too, Fili, have a great time and I'm sorry for her in advance."
Fili smiled as she ran at super speed and gave Humdrum a hug, got Matterhorn off of him, and left the mansion in a matter of a half second.
Now that he was alone. Humdrum sighed. "I thought I could of escaped this in here, but I guess not." Said Spike, as he removed the dream mask.
"Then why don't you?" Asked Luna as she floated down from the ceiling. She smiled at Spike. "Hello nephew, how are you tonight?"
Spike ran over to Luna and tried to wrap his arms around her front leg to hug her, but he forgot that she was still in her astral form, so she was not physically solid. He landed face first on the carpet. Luna giggled as she used her magic to pick him up. "Spike, this happens every time." She then used her magic to change Spike's dream to a copy of Celestia's study. She then added a copy of herself in to the dream so she could control it.
She placed Spike onto one of the soft chairs, she moved her copy into the chair next to his and took control of it. Now she was solid, and she had control of the dream. She lowered the sun in the back ground, lit the fire place to add some ambiance, and popped in a full tea set for Spike and herself to enjoy, accompanied by a large assortment of cakes. She levitated Spike a cup of tea and a slice of cake with a large emerald on the top. Spike looked at Luna. "Aunt Luna, as much as I love to see you, and this is one of my favorite places to talk to you, something is telling me that this isn't a social call."
Luna took a sip of her tea as she nodded. "Yes, I know you wish to be with thy mother tomorrow, but the secret of your relationship with us is in the way."
Spike sighed, there was only one pony that knew how he felt. "Twilight sent a letter, didn't she?"
Luna nodded. "She did, and Celestia was deeply upset to hear this from her. She is planning something as a surprise for you, no I will not divulge the particulars, but for now, Tia has asked me to spend the night with you tonight as a way to give you the experience you desire."
Spike sighed, as he put the cup back on the tray. He hopped down from the seat and walked over to Luna. Luna lifted Spike up, and Spike wrapped his arms around her barrel. "Thanks Aunt Luna." Said Spike.
Luna smiled as she wrapped her legs around Spike. "Your welcome Spike." Said Luna. She levitated Spike back to his seat. Then she started to giggle.
Spike looked at his aunt. "What's so funny?" Asked Spike.
Luna stopped giggling. "Do you know why I always bring us to his room when I visit you?"
Spike shook his head. "No not really, aside from it being very nice, I just thought of it as any other room in the castle."
Luna shook her head. "I see, you don't remember it seems."
Spike thought for a moment. He had been in this room only a few times before. Once with his mother when she had a day off from day court, once when he and Twilight were summoned and sent to Ponyville, and the last time was the Grand Galloping Gala, where he officially was introduced to Luna. Spike gasped. "This is the place we officially met, and the place I first called you my aunt and not Nightmare Moon."
Luna smiled. "That's right, you were the first creature that didn't just scream the moment they saw me, instead we enjoyed a nice cup of tea and talked for hours, mostly you, but I wanted to learn about you Spike, and I will always treasure that night. So if you can find it in your heart to forgive Celestia for not being there, would you like to see what its like to be the Princess of Dreams?" Asked Luna.
Spike smiled. "Of course, but after a few more cakes." Said Spike as he stuffed 7 cakes into his mouth.
Luna sighed. "You truly are Tia's son." Said Luna as she refilled her cup.
After Spike was finished stuffing himself with the dream cakes, and all of the dream tea was gone, it was time to fulfill Lunas promise to her sister. Luna looked over to Spike. "So, Spike, are you ready to begin?" Asked Luna.
Spike nodded. "Yep, and thanks for doing this with me Aunt Luna, I know you must be busy making sure ponies dreams are nightmare free, so I hope I don't slow you down." Said Spike.
Luna used her magic to pick up Spike, she brought him close so she could nuzzle his head. "Spike, I assure you, there is nothing for you to feel bad about right now, I'm happy to spend time with you, and not that fake time where we can't be ourselves, where I'm Princess Luna, and your Spike the Dragon. No, in here, its just Aunt Luna spending time with her nephew Spike."
Spike smiled. "Yeah." Spike looked at Luna. "So, what does the Princess of Dreams do in a single night?" Asked Spike.
Luna giggled. "Well, first we need to leave your dream." Said Luna as she used her magic to move Spike's dream door to right in front of them. "This will feel weird for a moment, but it will only last for a short while." Said Luna as she placed Spike onto her back and walked out of the dream office.
Once Luna and Spike walked out of the office, and entered the dream realm, they became astral projections. Spike looked at his arm, he could kinda see through it. "Woo, that's cool." Said Spike.
Luna giggled. "Yep, right now we're in our astral forms. This makes traversal of the dream realm much quicker, and a lot more fun."
Spike looked at Luna and cocked his head. "Fun? How so?" Asked Spike.
Luna smirked. "Like this." Said Luna as she moved at a speed not even Rainbow Dash could reach. Spike was holding on to Luna for dear life, and once Luna stopped, she had a wide smile on her face. She looked back at Spike. "So, what did you think?" Asked Luna, but when she looked at Spike he was not looking so good, his face was green, his cheeks were puffed out, and his eyes were red. Luna winced at the sight. "Oh, please for give me Spike, I am used to such speeds, but for you it must have been hard." Said Luna.
Spike nodded as he jumped off of Luna's back and ran to the edge of the dream realm, Spike then threw up his non existent cakes and tea, but instead of dream food, he threw up a rainbow.
Once Spike was finished losing his dream lunch, he looked at Luna confused. "Ok, I want to learn to do that, also why did I just throw up a rainbow?" Asked Spike.
Luna sighed. "Well, you see Spike, right now we are in a realm of magic separate from our own. I have the ability to traverse the barrier and reside in here freely, that is why I can manipulate dreams as I do. But you on the other hand, were brought here by me, using my magic, so technically you are in a state of sleep unlike any other, you both exist and do not exist inside of this realm, unlike I who does. That means your body is partially made up of the realms magic." Said Luna as she waved her hoof around. "Look to the sides, notice how this realm is full of colors, when it is condensed into a single point, i.e. you, and when you expelled the tea and cakes, the magic of the realm was returned in the form of magic." Luna shrugged. "It just so happens to be a rainbow." Said Luna.
Spike gave her a dead pan look. "Really?" Asked Spike.
Luna shrugged. "Trust me, this realm has been around far longer than our own, I just work here and I don't argue with the boss." Said Luna.
Spike sighed as he walked back to Luna, she placed him back on her back. "Ok, but next time can we keep it at a slower speed?" Asked Spike.
Luna nodded as she blushed sheepishly. "Of course Spike." Suddenly Luna felt the tingle on her back. Luna smiled. "Well Spike, it looks like its time for my shift to begin." Said Luna as she used her horn to teleport them to the new dream.
When they arrived, they were in front of a small door, with a picture of a trio of carrots, and the name Carrot Top. "Ok we have arrived, it seems that this pony has just entered her dream." Said Luna. She looked to Spike. "So the first step to being the Princess of Dreams, is to get inside of the dream." Said Luna as she used her magic to expand the dream door so she and Spike could enter.
Once the door was large enough for Spike and her, Luna opened the door. "Ok Spike, I want you to know a few things before we go in. First, as dream walkers, we are able to enter the dreams of others. Second, we are able to become physical in the dream, but this is a double edged sword, as we need to possess a figment that the dreamer has dreamt up, where we take on not only the physical form of the figment, but also the mental state of it. So to make this easy for you, we will not do that tonight." Said Luna.
Spike nodded. "Ok Aunt Luna."
Luna smiled. "Ok, lets see what Ms. Carrot Top is dreaming about." Said Luna as she and Spike walked into the dream.
The duo were blinded by a bright light as they entered the dream of Carrot Top. But when the light subsided, Spike was able to see what the dream was about. Carrot Top was dreaming about a normal day in Ponyville, ponies were walking around the town, shopping at the market, and enjoying the summer day. Spike looked to Luna. "So what do we do now?" Asked Spike.
Luna looked at the dream. "Well our first goal is to find the dreamer, all dreams are centered around them, and even if the area looks peaceful, that doesn't mean its not a nightmare." Said Luna.
Spike nodded, he had talked to Carrot Top every once and a while, when he and Twilight went shopping for groceries. "Well, we should first check the market, on a day like this, she would be running her carrot stand." Said Spike.
Luna smiled. She had a rudimentary knowledge of almost every pony she had visited, but it was nice to have someone who knew more about them. "Ok Spike, let me teach you how to float." Said Luna.
Spike looked confused as he looked at his back, his wings were still there, so why couldn't he use them now? "Um, Aunt Luna, why can't I just fly?"
Luna giggled as she looked at Spike. "Because my dear nephew, wings need air to work, and since we are not solid, and were in a dream, we are unable to gain lift." Said Luna. "If you tried to fly right now, you would just fall face first."
Spike nodded. "Ok, I've hit my face first quota already tonight."
Luna nodded. "Ok, to float, picture yourself as a balloon, light, up high, above the clouds, once you feel yourself become light, just kick off the ground and you'll start hovering." Said Luna as she quickly did the breathing exercise to start floating.
Spike nodded as he pictured how he felt when he flew, weightless, up high, and above the clouds. Slowly Spike started to feel light, so he jumped up, but unlike Luna, Spike didn't float stable. " Come on, I can do this." Said Spike, but this was distracting him, so he started to sink to the ground.
"I got you Spike." Said Luna as she moved over to Spike and grabbed under his arms. She smiled at Spike. "Remember, it's all mental, if you cloud your thoughts, your mind will be heavy." Said Luna.
Spike calmed down, he took a deep breath. "Ok." Said Spike as he cleared his head, until he could only see himself floating. Slowly Luna released Spike from her grip, she knew Spike was getting the hang of it, and once he was not sinking, she let Spike go.
Luna smiled at seeing her nephew floating, it had taken her a few years when she became a dream walker to learn to float, and now she was showing Spike. "Good job Spike, your doing great." Said Luna.
Spike smiled as he floated over to Luna. He wrapped his arms around her neck. "Thanks Aunt Luna, your a great teacher."
Luna smiled, normally when she went around in the dream realm, she was always alone. The only times she ever talked to others was the rare occasions when she needed to intervene with ponies dreams, so it was nice to have some companionship during the night. Luna returned the hug. "No problem Spike, but this is on you as well, your a smart drake."
Spike smiled as he broke the hug. "So, lets get to work, the sun isn't going to stop for us to have a good night." Said Spike.
Luna nodded. 'Well, Tia was planning on raising the sun a little later tomorrow morning, but I like the enthusiasm.' Thought Luna. "Yep, so where is the market?" Asked Luna.
Spike pointed to the market. "Right over there. Lets go see what Carrot Top is dreaming about." Said Spike as he floated over to the market.
Luna giggled as she followed behind. 'I'm glad to see him so happy.'
Spike was leading his aunt over to the towns market area. They were hoping to find Carrot Top, the local carrot farmer of Ponyville, working at her stall in the center of town.
Spike looked down at all the ponies he was flying over, he saw so many familiar faces, but in the crowd, there were some unfamiliar faces. Spike looked confused but then he remembered that this wasn't his home, it was Carrot Top's dream. "Right, this isn't real."
Luna floated up to Spike. "That's right, your looking around at all of the ponies on the ground, of course you see some faces that you are well acquainted with, but there, sprinkled into the crowd are some you are not." Spike nodded. "Well, the simplest way to explain this is to think of dreams as a place where memories and imagination meet. Some ponies we see could be ponies from Carrot Tops past, while others are just imaginary ponies that don't exist."
Spike nodded, it was cool to be learning about dreams, and everything he learned made dreams more of a world that were so real. Spike looked around at the world around him, there were some inconsistencies with the dream. He saw the castle in the distance, but there was also Golden Oaks. The school of friendship wasn't there but all the students were walking around town like it was. Spike started to chuckle. "Yeah, that makes sense." He looked at the ground, he and Luna were right above the market. "Aunt Luna, we're here." Said Spike as he stopped, Luna stopped right by him.
They started to look around for the mare of the dream. Spike was scanning the shops, looking for the farmer, and his eyes fell on a few ponies walking around with a bag of carrots, he followed the movements back to where the carrot stand stood. He looked at who was attending the stand and right there stood a yellow coated mare with an orange mane and green eyes. Spike smiled at finding their target. "Aunt Luna, I found her." Said Spike.
Luna smiled. 'I know, I found her earlier myself.' Thought Luna, but she didn't want to spoil his excitement. "Good job Spike. Come, we must see what kind of dream she is having tonight." Said Luna as she pulled Spike along to the ground. Once they were on the ground, Luna looked at Spike. "Spike, there can be many bizarre and unnatural things in dreams, but everything you see has some meaning to it. Let’s see if you can tell what Ms. Carrot Top is thinking about?"
Spike looked around. "Ok, I see some faces that I know, and some I don't, I saw the old library, but the castle is still there as well, but the school is gone. I don't see anything really crazy going on, so I'm thinking this is more of a memory dream."
Luna nodded. "Yes, but what does all of that mean to you?"
Spike hummed. 'Ok, so ponies I know, and some I don't, a memory dream, and nothing is going on.' Then it clicked. "That's it, Carrot Top is stuck in a rut, and it's following her into her dreams."
Luna nodded. "I concur. It's not an uncommon dream to be sure, and it's rarely problematic to the pony." Said Luna. "Spike, the job of a dream walker is to improve the dreams of ponies as well as help them face nightmares. I believe this one is the former situation." Luna then smiled as this was where she got to have her fun. "So, I have the ability to change the dream to do so. This is where your knowledge of Carrot Top will be most useful, has she ever told you what she wanted to do, or places she would like to go?" Asked Luna.
Spike thought back to the last time he talked with Carrot Top, and then he remembered. "Yeah, she's always wanted to visit Rainbow Falls." Said Spike.
Luna smiled as she made a random door appear, that would transport Carrot Top to the falls. "Ok, now this is where it gets tricky, some minds are too stubborn to notice any changes in their dreams, so I have to give them a little nudge for them to take notice." Said Luna as she opened the door and a strong wind blew out from the door, carrying a flyer for a Wonderbolts show at the Falls. Luna twisted the wind and the flyer until it hit Carrot top in the face.
"Awe, what the hay." Yelled Carrot top as she couldn't see. That's when Luna cut the wind. Carrot top pulled the flyer off her face and looked at it. "Oh, it's a flyer for a Wonderbolts show at Rainbow Falls." Carrot Top sighed. "I wish I could go visit Rainbow Falls."
Luna smiled at seeing that Carrot Top was aware. She looked at Spike. "Now we add a little bait to lure her in." Said Luna as she made a real microphone appear into Spike's hand. "Use this." Said Luna.
Spike looked at the microphone and understood what he needed to do. "That's right, mares and gentle colts, we have released one single flyer into this town, whoever finds it will get an all expenses payed trip to the beautiful Rainbow Falls, and they will get front row seats to a special Wonderbolts show, backstage passes included as well as a signed poster and a photo of the whole team." Announced Spike.
Carrot top dropped her jaw as she found the flyer. "Holy Celestia, I found it, I'm going to Rainbow Falls." Cried Carrot Top. "Who do I turn it into to get my prize?" Asked the mare.
Spike groaned as he didn't think about that. "Don't worry Spike, use your imagination, dreams are illogical to everyone but the dreamer, so whatever you say, it will seem completely normal to her." Said Luna.
Spike nodded. "If you have touched the flyer, a magical door will appear nearby, walk through it and that will be all the proof we need for you to get your prize." Said Spike.
Carrot Top gasped as she started to look around for a door. "Where is it, where is it?" Asked the mare.
Luna smirked. "Ok, now we have her attention, it's time for the trap to be sprung." Said Luna. She made the door appear to be magically teleported into the dream right in front of Carrot Top.
Carrot Top gasped as she quickly placed a closed sign onto her stand and ran straight through the door. Luna smiled at Spike. "A little unorthodox, but it worked great." Said Luna as she changed the door to lead out to the dream realm. "I have set it up so she will have a great dream from here on out." Said Luna as she placed Spike on her back and walked through the door. "You did a great job Spike, with a little bit more practice, you would make a fine dream walker one day."
Spike smiled at hearing that. He gave Luna a hug. "Thanks Aunt Luna. I had no idea how much thought went into dreams."
Luna nodded. "That's the point, dreams are a way for the mind to relax and unwind after a long day of work. A way for the random thoughts that run through our heads to take form, and a way for our desires to play out." Said Luna as she gave Spike a knowing smile. "Like I don't know, a fantasy about a certain unicorn?"
Spike looked away and began to whistle. "Hmm, I hadn't thought of it like that." Said Spike.
Luna giggled as she gave Spike a little nuzzle. "Sure, but that's how I usually go about my nights." Said Luna.
Spike nodded. "Ok, so how much time as passed since we went in to her dream?"
Luna hummed as she created a portal to the real world. "It looks to be about three hours." Said Luna.
"Three Hours?" Yelled Spike. "But we were only in there for no more than ten minutes."
Luna nodded. "Yes, that is the one drawback of being a dream walker. Every dream moves at a different pace, some are fast dreams that come and go, in what seems like a blink of an eye. Those dreams are the ones you forget by the time you wake up. Then there are dreams that feel like memories or reality, those are slow dreams, and the ones you remember. As dream walkers, we sync ourselves to the dreamer’s sense of time, but we are aware of the truth, unlike them. The pace Carrot top was dreaming was fast, but not too fast for her not to remember snippets of it. But the dream I pulled you out of was slow, that was why we had a talk as we did."
Spike nodded. "So, what about in here? How does time work while in the dream realm?" Asked Spike.
"That is a complicated thing Spike, I haven't even figured it out myself. Time does not stop while we are here, but it is not normal either. But from experience, while we are in here, time moves very slowly." Said Luna.
Spike looked all around, there were even more doors in the dream realm. "So how do you do it by yourself?" Asked Spike.
Luna giggled as she looked at Spike. "No, no, no. Spike, I'm not the lone dream walker. Each race has one, I am the pony dream walker. The Griffons have a gruff old bird named Moon Feather. Dragons have a dragoness named Dream Scale. The Diamond Dogs have Night Runner. The Yaks have, Dream Yak, and no lie, that is his name. Even Changelings have one, and long before Thorax became a just king, she was the only nice changeling, her name is Moon Moth. There's the caribou's Spectral Antlers. The Hippogriff's Gentle Breeze. The Breezies have Pollen Thoughts. Heck, when Sunset Shimmer crossed over a few days ago, I met the human dream walker for the first time. His name is Sandy, but humans just call him The Sandman. Each of us have our own jurisdictions when it comes to dreams, I deal with ponies, while everyone else deals with their respected races. But on occasion one of us will need to call in another to resolve a matter. Ponies having dreams about Dragons, Yaks having dreams about Changelings, really many scenarios are possible. So, when they occur, we deal with them and try to instill a better understanding of what is wrong with how each race see's the others."
Spike was shocked to learn this, but something didn't seem right. "So, how are you able to enter my dreams, I'm not exactly a pony?" Asked Spike.
Luna smiled. "Well, I struck a deal with Dream Scale when I returned and found out that you were my nephew. In exchange for letting me own your door, I had to take care of her doors for a month while she went on vacation." Said Luna, she looked back at Spike, he looked sad. "But don't worry, I was happy to do it for you Spike." Said Luna as she kissed his cheek. Suddenly Luna sensed another door had just appeared. She looked at Spike. "Ok, Spike, we got another dreaming pony. Let’s see who it is this time." Said Luna.
Spike smiled as he hugged Luna's neck. "Ready." Said Spike. Luna nodded as she sped off at sub light speed to the new door.
When they arrived at the door, Spike didn't have to lose his dream cookies. But he wasn't fine either. "Ok, not as bad as last time, but maybe a little slower next time?" Asked Spike as he was seeing four Lunas. He shook his head to get the right number of Lunas. "So, who do we have this time?"
Luna looked at the dream door. It was yellow, with a picture of three butterflies. "It looks like it's Lady Fluttershy." Said Luna. She smiled, Fluttershy always had calm nice dreams, in fact sometimes she would invite Luna in for tea.
Spike looked at the door. "Hmm, I always wanted to know what Fluttershy dreamt about." Said Spike.
Luna smiled. "Oh, you'll like it, it's so calm and we might get tea." Said Luna as she opened the door and pulled Spike through it.
When Spike and Luna fully entered Fluttershy's dream, Spike looked around at the setting. It was just the outside of her cottage, but nothing past her walkway was visible. Spike looked at Luna. "Um, Aunt Luna, is there something wrong?" Asked Spike.
Luna hummed. "I'm not sure Spike, I've never seen Fluttershy's dream so empty." Luna then placed Spike on her back. "Spike, stay close to me until we figure this out." Spike nodded and held onto Luna's neck. Luna walked up to the cottage door, ready to fight off a nightmare if need be. She knocked on the door and waited.
"Coming." Said a voice. Soon the door opened and standing in front of Luna was Fluttershy, looking normal as ever. "Oh, Princess Luna, how good to see you, would you like to come in?"
Luna cleared her throat. "Thank you Fluttershy, but are you feeling all right?"
Fluttershy cocked her head. "Um, I think so, is there something wrong?"
Luna hummed as she showed the empty dream world. "Well, normally your dreams are much fuller, this is the first time I've seen it so barren."
Fluttershy hummed. "Oh, I tried that tea you suggested last time we saw each other, the one to help fall asleep."
Luna smiled. "Yes, Nocturnal Bliss, that's right. But that is very powerful, why did you need to use it?"
Fluttershy huffed. "My little brother Zephyr is staying at my parents’ house, and he snores. This was the only way for me to get any sleep. I swear, he is the laziest, most immature..."
Luna's eyes went wide as she tried to cover Fluttershy's mouth before she said something in front of Spike, but she was too late. "Bucking pile of pony feathers I have ever seen in my life."
Spike showed himself, he looked at Luna. "Um, Princess, didn't Fluttershy just say a bad word?"
Fluttershy looked at Spike, then to Luna, then to Spike. "Um... Spike, what are you doing here?" Asked Fluttershy, finding out that one of her friends just heard her say such horrible words would normally make her feel horrible, but dream Fluttershy was not as spineless as real Fluttershy, but they needed to defuse the drake’s confusion. "Oh, please forgive me Spike, I didn't notice you were here, yes I did say a bad word, and that was very inappropriate of me, but you are a good dragon, and good dragons don't use such bad words, so please do not repeat them."
Spike nodded. "Ok, but just so you know, I know what it means, it's like how AJ bucks the trees to get the apples, and you shouldn't say that you want to kick your little brother, that's very mean." Said Spike.
Luna and Fluttershy sighed in relief. "Yes, you're absolutely right Spike. Zephyr is my little brother who I love very much, and even if he is annoying, I should not say bad things about him."
Spike smiled. "Cool, so how are you Fluttershy?" Asked Spike.
Fluttershy smiled. "I am very good Spike, but may I ask why you are here?"
Luna smiled. "You see, Princess Twilight, asked for my sisters aid on a matter concerning young Spike here, but we did not learn of it until the very end of day court, so I took on the responsibility of helping Spike."
Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, you're showing him how the dream world works, because he can't spend time with Princess Celestia tomorrow on take your child to work day. That is very nice of you Princess Luna."
Now it was time for Spike and Luna to look at Fluttershy. "You know?" Asked the 2, the truth about Spike was one of the kingdoms most compartmentalized secrets.
Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, well, it's kinda obvious. I mean, with how often the Princesses request him for royal matters, how comfortable he is around you and princess Celestia, and the night of the meteor shower, Spike stayed up past his bed time and he was mumbling something in his sleep. So I decided to carry him back to the library for Twilight, he said that he missed his mommy, of course, I thought he was talking about Twilight, but then he said her three color mane and that he wished she didn't have to work all day."
Luna looked at Spike. "Spike?"
Spike shrugged. "Hey, this is news to me, I'm not actually awake when I talk in my sleep." Spike then rubbed his arm. "But I do sometimes dream that I could spend more time with mom."
Luna sighed as she nuzzled his head. "Don't fret Spike, I am not upset. You only wish to spend more time with thy mother, a wish for any child." Luna then looked at Fluttershy. "And Fluttershy, I thank you for not revealing the truth about our relationship with Spike."
Fluttershy smiled. "Of course, Spike is a dear friend and I don't want to lose that trust."
Spike smiled. "Thanks, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy nodded. "Now, where are my manners, let me just pop some bodies in for you and we can enjoy some nice tea." Said Fluttershy as she dreamed up a Spike and Luna for them to inhabit.
Spike looked at himself. "Am I really this fat?" Asked Spike as he looked at himself.
Luna giggled. "Yes, but it's adorable." Said Luna as she entered her body. She looked at Spike, he was not sure about this. "Spike, all younglings are fat, you will lose it in a few years when you hit your 2nd growth spurt."
Spike looked at Luna. "No, I know that, I don't get how Fluttershy is able to do this. You, I get, but she isn't a dream walker."
Luna giggled. "Spike, have you ever heard of lucid dreaming?"
Spike hummed. "Maybe, is it when a pony is able to control the dream, because they know it's a dream?"
Luna nodded. "Exactly, Fluttershy is a very tamed dreamer, with very simple dreams, so she is used to simple things. But when she notices something that is not simple or just slightly weird, she can take control of the dream, I've seen her do it before."
Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, today Harry was dressed as a clown, a big give away."
Spike shrugged as he jumped into the body. "Well that makes as much sense as the rest of the night." Spike looked at Luna and Fluttershy. "Now I was promised tea, and the last batch I had, I kinda threw up."
Fluttershy was confused. "Oh, are you ok, do you want to lay down?"
Spike shot Luna a glare. "No, I'm fine Shy, we just had an interesting start to the night."
"Oh, well let’s get that tea then, why don't you two go sit down with Ms. Sheep and her son, Billy and I'll have a fresh cup ready in no time." Said Fluttershy as she walked back into her home, Luna and Spike entered the home and the cottage door closed on its own.
After a lovely tea party with Fluttershy and the 2 sheep, Spike gave his friend a big hug around her front legs. "Thanks for inviting us Fluttershy, me and Billy had a lot of fun."
Fluttershy nuzzled the little dragon's head. "Well I'm glad you and him had fun, I hope you have a great rest of the night with Luna, Spike."
Spike smiled as he nodded. "I will, see you in 2 days." Said Spike as he was picked up by Luna and placed onto her back, he gave his friend a wave as the 2 walked out of the dream.
Fluttershy smiled as she went back to her dream. "Now, who's ready for Scrabble?"
In the dream realm, Luna opened a window into the real world to check the time. "Oh, I guess the extra stimulation of us sped her dream up a bit." Said Luna, it was around 1am when they went in, and normally when Luna went to visit Fluttershy, she could spend hours in there and only a few minutes would pass, but after spending a few hours in there, a hour had passed. "Spike, it's about 2 in the morning, we have about 4 hours until Tia raises the sun."
Spike huffed. "Really, but I'm having fun, I never get to spend time with you, I don't want it to end."
Luna sighed as she pulled Spike in front of her. "Spike, please do not say such things. I love spending time with you, but staying in a dream is not healthy. The real world is how we grow, in here is how we relax after we grow." She then nuzzled her little nephew's head. "Long ago, I wanted to do the same thing as you, I spend all my time in the dream realm, and that's when I learned, or I thought I learned that I was unappreciated, that grew to resentment for Celestia, and you know the rest." Luna sniffed, this was supposed to be a fun night with Spike and she was making it heavy.
Spike wrapped his arms around Luna's neck and gave her a warm smile. "Aunt Luna, you're right, I'm sorry."
Luna wiped her eyes with her wings. "You did not thing wrong Spike, it is my job to teach you about my job, and I'm proud to say that you are learning so quickly." She planted a kiss on Spike's cheek. The 2 of them just floated in the dream realm in silence until they both felt like it was enough.
Once all the love between the 2 was shared, Luna noticed that they had drawn a audience of one. "Dream Scale, do you mind?" Asked Luna.
Suddenly a voice in the realm gave a slight chuckle. "Sorry Luna, I couldn't help but stop."
Spike looked around and he couldn't see anyone with them. "Aunt Luna?"
Luna sighed as she forgot that only dream walkers could see other dream walkers unless they allowed themselves to be seen. "Spike, it's ok, she's just not letting you see her." Luna placed Spike on her back and she floated over to the invisible dragoness. "Scale, could you show yourself?"
"Fine." Said the voice. Soon a dark blue dragoness with a single fin that looked like the night time sky, slowly started to appear in front of Spike. Dream Scale looked at Spike with her wide yellow eyes and gave the little dragon a giggle. "Still just as adorable as when I first came into his dream." She then pinched his cheek.
"Hey, I'm not adorable, I'm handsome." Protested Spike, this made both Luna and Dream Scale giggle.
Luna looked at Dream Scale, it was rare for them to have a talk, but normally it was because someone was having a bad dream that needed multiple dream walkers. "Dream Scale, is there a situation?"
Dream Scale nodded. "Yes, one of Moon Moth's little changelings is having a nightmare about dragons." She then looked to Spike. "More specifically, a certain little dragon."
Luna looked at Spike. "What, but that's impossible, why would she even know Spike?"
"Luna, you must remember that King Thorax and Spike are very close friends. So close in fact, that Spike has told him the truth about who he is." Said a new voice.
Luna sighed. "Moon Moth, I know it's something that we do instinctively, but Spike can not see you, so could you please?"
Moon Moth giggled as she allowed Spike to see her. She was just as tall as Chrysalis, but that was not including her horn that was just as long as Luna. But she was still shorter than Dream Scale, her chitin was a very bright white, but her wings, eyes, horn, mane, and tail were all filled with stars and space. Spike looked up at the massively tall changeling, and he nearly fell off of Luna's back when he finally reached her head. "Whew, you're tall."
Moon Moth giggled at the comment. "Why thank you Spike, and you are just as adorable as many of the little nymphs dream you."
Spike huffed. "Not adorable, handsome."
Moon Moth giggled as she nodded. "Fine." She looked to her fellow dream walkers. "So, Luna, we are requesting that you and Spike accompany us to the nymphs dream to resolve the issue?"
Luna shook her head as she tried to protect Spike. "No, he is too inexperienced to deal with a nightmare, he is only a child, and I've seen how out of control those can be."
"She's worried about talking to him." Said Moon Moth.
"Say what now?" Asked Luna, she had seen crazy nightmares, and she had seen simple nightmares, but that one was on the latter's side.
Moon Moth nodded. "Last time Spike visited with Twilight Sparkle, she saw him and developed a little crush. But she's worried that she's going to mess up and make a fool of herself if she has the chance to talk to him."
Dream Scale smirked. "And since Spike is a dragon, I got the call, but since he's in your jurisdiction we need you to help."
All three dream walkers looked at the baby dragon in question. "What? It's part of the job, and I don't know how to find a door." Said Spike as he shrugged.
Moon Moth smiled at the little dragon's willingness to help. "Thank you Spike." She then sped off to the door in question. Dream Scale doing the same.
Luna looked to Spike. "Spike, one more time?" Asked Luna. Spike wrapped his arms around Luna's neck, closed his eyes, and gave her a nod. "Hold on."
When they arrived at the little nymphs dream door, Moon Moth walked into the dream followed by Dream Scale, and lastly Luna and Spike.
Once inside the dream, it didn't take them long to find the little nymph, but it was really sad, she was the only one that was in the old form, while all the other changelings were all bright and colorful. Moon Moth looked at the little nymph, and her heart broke at the sight. "Oh, you poor thing, why can't you see the way you are Chitin?"
Dream Scale looked at the little dragon on her colleague's back. "Spike, I've seen into your dreams before, I do believe that this is the perfect task for a Dream Walker in training."
Luna gulped as she was still not so sure about this. "Moth, Scale, I'm worried that this simple nightmare could turn much worse if Spike appears. I don't think this is such a great idea anymore."
"Luna, I have seen many nightmares much worse than this while Chrysalis was ruling, but we will be here to help, so please have faith in Spike, it's not everyday that the realm allows others to travel across dreams, that is enough proof that while he is inexperienced, he has shown enough control and understanding to do the job." Said Moon Moth.
"But what if he gets hurt!?"
Dream Scale smiled as she watched the little dragon pop in a dream body. "Well, from that look on his face, I don't think he really cares."
Luna looked at Spike jumping into his own dream body. "Wait, I never taught him how to do that?"
Moon Moth smiled at seeing that Spike was willing to help one of her changelings. "Luna, I remember what you were like in your first hundred years on the job, and I must say, I think Spike has really taken to this."
Luna was biting her hooves. "This is different, Spike is only 8, I was 203, and I had my teacher Astral Mane."
"And he has you, a great teacher, that takes her job very seriously." Said the dragoness as she placed her claw on Luna's shoulder.
"But, he's..." There was a large flash of light that caught everyone's attention. "SPIKE!" Cried Luna as she was sure that something happened.
But Spike was fine. "See, you just needed to believe in yourself, and that is all that matters." Said Spike as he smiled at the nymph.
"Thank you Spike, I was just worried about what you'd think of me."
"Chitin, if you ever just want to talk, I would be happy to talk with you, and if I'm visiting Thorax, maybe we can meet up in the real world."
Chitin blushed as she wasn't sure if this was actually happening. "Um...Spike, could you close your eyes for a moment?"
Spike was confused but he nodded. "Um...Sure?" He closed his eyes and waited. Chitin blushed as she kissed his cheek and immediately all the dream walkers were forced out of the dream.
In the real world, Chitin shot up from her bed with a huge blush on her face. "I actually kissed him." She started to cheer at the fact that she kissed her crush.
Back in the Dream Realm, Spike groaned at getting thrown into Luna, who was thrown into Moon Moth, who was caught by Dream Scale. "Ok, what happened?" Asked Spike, he thought the traveling was bad, but he was sure he was seeing 8 Lunas. "Aunt Luna?"
Luna groaned as she was seeing 6 Spike's in her barrel. "Hold on Spike, it's a really bad time right now."
Moon moth giggled at seeing 4 Spikes and 2 Lunas. "But I think you did a great job Spike."
"Not bad for a little youngling, getting a dreamer to toss you out on the other hand, that will need some work." Said the only non dizzy creature in the realm.
Moon, Luna, and Spike all shook their heads until there was the correct number of creatures. "So that's what happened?" Asked Spike.
Luna nodded. "Yes Spike, dreams are really fickle things, similar to how Fluttershy's dream works, but just more intense, the moment she gave you the kiss on the cheek, her brain was so stimulated that it forced itself awake, and since we are not part of the dream it forces us out."
"This happens sometimes, but the worst that happens is that we get tossed out on our flanks. But since there were four of us in the dream it had to work extra hard to get all of us out." Said Moon Moth.
"You're just lucky that I was here to catch all of you." Said Dream Scale.
"Wait, that's what she did?" Cried Spike as he blushed.
Luna giggled as she nuzzled his head. "Awe, it's fine Spike, and I'm so proud of you for taking the lead on this job."
Spike smiled at Luna. "Thanks Aunt Luna."
"Well, I got to get back to work, Dragon Lord Torch is having a dream about his mate, and I like to see the big tough ex Dragon Lord act so out of character." She looked down at Spike and ruffled his head. "Not bad kid, maybe one day you'll be interested in taking over for me and Luna."
"Really?" Asked Spike hopeful that could actually happen.
"No, I already got a dragon in mind for my doors, but no one ever said that the one in charge of a races doors had to be from that race. Heck, Dream Yak took over for a Yeti that found a gem that gave him intelligence and access to the dream realm. But I'm sure that Luna is looking your way."
Spike turned around and looked at Luna with his big pleading eyes. "Really Aunt Woona?"
Luna shot Dream Scale a glare. "Spike, listen, I am still a few hundred years from retirement. But I will not lie, what you did in that dream was almost perfect, aside from the whole getting forced out, but for a first nightmare, I'd give it a 9.5."
"The same, I can't count how many dreams I was forced out of in my first few years." Said Dream Scale.
"Me neither, but seeing as I think that Spike conquered a few of Chitin's issues, I'd have to give him a perfect 10 out of 10. Great job Spike."
Spike smiled as he hugged his aunt. "Thank Aunt Luna, she taught me all I know."
"Humble too, a great quality, no wonder Dream Feather always sees him in Gabby's dreams." Said Dream Scale.
Spike blushed as he looked at the dragoness. But Luna was looking at Spike. "Spike, who is Gabby?"
Spike gulped as he was sure that he didn't want to tell anyone about her just yet. "Oh look, I just felt another door appear." Spike, without thinking went to anywhere but there at the speed of thought.
Luna, Moon Moth, and Dream Scale all looked down the dream Realm that Spike just sped down. "WHAT!?" Yelled Luna, she didn't even learn how to do that until she was 400. "How did Spike just do that?"
Dream Scale giggled at Luna as she helped the mare up to her hooves. "Luna, I saw Spike's dream when he was little, that little drake is different, and I'm going to chalk it up to having lived with Twilight, but I think he just wants to impress you. Now I'm sure that your sister is going to be raising the sun in a few minutes, so I think it would be best if you go find him before he does something."
Luna opened the portal to the real world and noticed that Chitin's dream was so fast that it was only 15 minutes until the sun was going to rise. "Right, thank you for everything Moon Moth, same to you Dream Scale." Luna then sped off to follow her nephew.
Dream Scale laughed as she watched Luna leave. "So, Moon, wanna bet that Luna takes an early retirement, I mean that kid has done a lot of things that took me centuries to learn, and it's only been one night."
"You willing to look after my doors for a month so I can take a vacation?" Asked the changeling.
"You're on." Said the dragon as she took Moon Moth's leg.
When Luna found Spike, it was while they were both going at high speed. She got right up to Spike and grabbed him so she could slow him down. "Hold it right there Mister." Said Luna as she wrapped her front legs around the dragon and slowed down.
Once they were slowed down enough, Spike looked at Luna's face and tried to act dumb. "Oh, Aunt Luna, what a surprise, what are you doing here?"
But Luna just gave Spike a look. "Spike, if you didn't want to talk about it, then all you had to do was just say so."
Spike sighed at the fact that was probably not the smartest way to handle the situation. "Right, sorry, but I just don't know how I feel about Gabby, I mean she's so nice, and we have so much in common, and when I hang out with her, I lose all track of time."
Luna nodded. 'Well, she's not older, is she?" She was worried it was the Rarity situation all over again.
"She's 9." Said Spike.
"Well, 9 is better than 18." Said Luna, happy to hear that at least it wasn't a 10 year difference between them.
"Yeah, truth be told, I also forget about my crush on Rarity when I'm with her."
Luna wrapped a wing around her nephew. "Spike, just follow your heart and I'm sure that you will find happiness."
Spike smiled at the wisdom. "Thanks Aunt Luna. So what's next?" Spike was so excited to go see more dreams.
"Sadly Spike, the night is ending and the day is about to start."
Spike groaned as he had a feeling why. "It was Chitin's dream wasn't it?"
Luna nodded at the assumption. "Correct, Nightmares are spiritic, some seem like they last forever, and others come and go in the blink of an eye, but once she kissed you, it sped up her brain to the point that the time when we entered and the time we were all forced out, almost 4 hours had passed."
"So, I guess that means I need to go back to my dream right?" Asked the little dragon as his ear frills drooped
"Sadly that is the only way for you to go back, but there is a little secret that I want to share with you first." Said Luna with a smile as she got to her hooves.
Spike was confused. "What kinda surprise?"
"You'll see." Said Luna as she placed Spike on her back and she sped off to Spike's dream door.
When they arrived at the door, there was something that Spike never thought he would see. "Aunt Luna?"
Luna nodded as she looked at her own dream door, it was made of some very dark oak, and had Luna's cutie mark, but the real important thing was that Spike's door was touching Luna's. "That's right Spike." Luna opened her door and showed the little drake inside.
"You see Spike, I am just as asleep as you are, but since I have my dream walking ability, all that I experience and all that I do, are transferred to my body."
"Oh is that why you're always grumpy in the morning?"
Luna sighed. "Well yes, but keep talking like that and I'll take you back to your door." Spike kept his trap shut. "Good drake, but as I was saying, it takes a toll on my mind to stay in the dream realm for so long, so occasionally, I tend to drift off into my own dream near the end of my shift." They soon walked into a field with a star filled night sky above them. "This is a place that very few creatures have ever seen, do you know where this is?"
Spike looked around, and for the life of him, he was sure that this was a random field, in a random location. "Yeah, I'm clueless."
Luna giggled as she placed Spike on the ground and got right behind him. "Give it a moment."
Soon a younger Luna and Celestia walked out of some trees and into the field. "Sister, are you sure it is wise to build our castle in the middle of the Everfree?"
"Come on Lulu, have a little faith, besides, where else would we break ground, the tree is only a minute from here, and just look up at the sky, imagine falling asleep to this every night. Speaking of falling asleep, how has your training been going by the way?"
"So so, Astral Mane just taught me how to form my own body, and it came out with 3 hooves and 5 wings." Celestia started laughing her flanks off at the idea of a three legged Luna with 5 wings. But Luna was unamused. "Really sister, it was embarrassing enough, I don't need your opinion on it."
Celestia wiped her eyes with her wings but smiled at Luna. "Right, sorry, sorry, but I was not laughing at you, I was laughing at the idea itself." She wrapped Luna into a big hug. "Luna, I know that you will one day be a great dream walker, and I know that when it is your time, you will train a great apprentice as well."
Luna sighed as she returned the hug. "Thank you Tia, I love you."
"Love you too Lulu."
The dream faded as it was replaced with a new memory, but the odd thing was that this was the same study as before. There were some cakes and tea on the table and the sound of music was playing from far away. Then Luna was sitting in a chair but she was slightly annoyed. "Sister, I understand that you don't wish to scare our ponies, but why have you kept me up, I'm late to work as is." But no one was in the room.
Suddenly Celestia walked into the room with a certain little dragon on her back. "I know Spike, but there will be plenty of time to show them around Canterlot after the Gala."
"But mom?"
Celestia booped Spike's nose with her wing. "Oh, hush you, there's someone I'd like you to meet anyways." Celestia looked to Luna and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry Luna, the greetings are nonstop, but there is someone I'd like you to meet." She placed Spike on the other side of the table and moved over a cake to him. "Here you go Spike." Spike started scarfing the cake down the moment he could get his claws on it.
Luna looked at Spike, then to Celestia. "Sister, I'm surprised that the Dragon Lord has sent an emissary to the Gala, but why have him meet me?"
Celestia giggled at the idea of her little 7 year old son being an emissary. "Luna, Spike is not an emissary."
Luna looked to the fancily dressed dragon. "Then what is he doing here?"
"Well, he's here to meet his aunt." She looked at Spike and used her wing to tap his head. "Spike, sweetie, I'd like to introduce you to your Aunt Luna." She looked at Luna. "And Luna, this is my son, Spike Drake Solaris, he's your nephew." The dream stopped.
The real Luna giggled at the look on her face. "It was so shocking to learn that my sister had a dragon for a son."
Spike looked at himself, his face was covered in cake frosting and the more he looked at it the more he was embarrassed. "Was I really that messy of an eater?"
Luna giggled as she nuzzled his head. "Yes, but after the shock subsided, I found it very adorable. Spike, do you know what I dream about now that the tantabus is gone?" Spike shook his head. "Well, you're looking at it, I dream about my family, moments we had together, moments I wish to have with you and Tia. But there is one last one, here it is." The dream changed back into the dream realm, but there were no dream doors. "You see Spike, I've always wanted to show someone what it is like to be me, and thanks to you, I was able to."
Spike smiled at his aunt as he wrapped his arms around her barrel. "Thank you for such a great night Aunt Luna. I had a lot of fun."
Luna smiled as she kissed his head. "So did I Spike. But, if you aren't busy helping the Power Ponies save Maretropalis, or talking to your dream griffin, would you like to do this again?"
"Sure, but can we not tell mom about Gabby?"
Luna nuzzled Spike's head. "Of course Spike." Luna then transported them outside of her dream. "Spike, from now on, I'll drop by every night to come see you, you might not see me, but I will be there." She opened his door and smiled at the dream, it was the night time field from a moment ago. "Now be a good dragon and tell my sister that tonight was great." She kissed his head and sent him back into his dream, but she didn't close his door.
Spike looked out into the dream realm as he waved at Luna. "Love you Aunt Luna."
"Love you too Spike, good morning."
"Good night Aunt Luna." Spike closed the door and watched it disappear. "Ok, now I need to wake up." Spike tried to wake up from his dream but before he did he noticed a few dream cakes on a picnic blanket. "Ok maybe after some more dream cake." He walked over to the cakes and found a little dream note.
Sorry about the first set of cakes, so before you wake up, have some more. From your Auntie Woona.
Spike smile at the note. "I will." Spike then started gobbling the cakes.
While Spike was enjoying his night with Luna, Celestia was preparing a very special spell.
After Celestia sent her sister to take care of Spike, she walked down to the royal vault, where they had stored some of the most important items that they collected after becoming rulers, but Celestia also kept some of the most important things she had been given since becoming a mother. She dismissed the guard stationed at the vault door and walked inside, and ignoring all the treasures and gems, she walked to the very back of the treasury. This section was for all of the princess's personal treasures, some of them were gifts from their mother, others were from ponies that held a special place in eithers hearts. But there was something special sitting on a pedestal in a glass cover.
Celestia walked over to the pedestal and looked at the item within, it was a purple egg with light purple dots on it, and the plaque underneath showed that it was Spike's egg. Celestia had collected Spike's egg and spent a few days trying to glue it back together. "Spike, I'm so sorry for everything, I just hope that you will understand that I never wanted this to happen to you." She wiped away her tears as she walked past the egg, and headed for a chest with a very powerful spell book inside. She opened the chest and sitting in the very large chest was a single book, but it was wrapped in so much magic canceling cloth and chains that it took all of Celestia's power to lift the book out. "Mother, I hope you can forgive me for messing with this spell, but I will not force my son into such a state." She started to unwrap the book, showing that its cover was a dark red leather. She opened the book, but sitting on the cover was a note from Lilith Solaris, Celestia's and Luna's mother.
Celestia or Luna, if you are reading this, that means that you are going to tempt fate, I would rather you not attempt this spell, but seeing as I used it myself when you girls were only little fillies, I have no place to talk, but do remember girls that this may be a one time thing, it has a 50% chance that the outcome can not be reversed. So if you are not deterred, I hope that who ever you are doing it for is worth it.
Celestia sighed at the note. "Mother, I know that you always wanted us to be the best we could, but even you used this spell to make that happen, and I will do the same for my son, even if it only lasts a day." Celestia returned the note to the cover of the book, and walked away to get prepared.
After an hour of work, Celestia had everything she would need for the spell. She opened the book and found the only spell in the book.
This spell is designed to strip the form of an alicorn, and change them into a normal pony of their choice. The effects should only last one day, but the effects could become permanent. Use this spell at your own risk.
Celestia looked at the magical equation for this spell, and she was glad that she started this early enough. "Wow, I had no idea that Mother was even able to understand all of this." It was honestly the hardest spell she had ever seen, but that wasn't going to stop Celestia. She closed her eyes as she started the long process of stripping herself of her alicorn form, thankfully the saving grace of the spell was that only an alicorn could cast it, and the users magic stayed, so if things don't go right, she still could move the sun.
"Spike, I love you." Said Celestia as she started the spell.
Hours later, Celestia was finished, she was now a tall unicorn with a pink mane, white fur, and her magenta eyes, but she had lost her wings, and her cutie mark was now the sun but looking over a rose bush. She looked at herself in the mirror of her room. "It worked." Said Celestia as she smiled.
"Yes it did Sister." Said Luna as she walked in to Celestia's room with her pet opossum Tiberius on her back. "But what will happen if it does not finish it's self?"
Celestia looked to Luna. "Luna, I made a huge mistake with you, and we both suffered for that, I lose my sister to a mad facsimile. You lost your sanity, 1000 years, and for a time, your connection to our ponies. That is something I will do anything in my power to avoid again, and more over, I will never allow that to happen to my little baby. I know it will be difficult for a time, but I have been preparing Twilight for her new role for years. So a year or 2 of me doing my job from the shadows won't really change much."
Luna sighed, she was talking like a princess. "Tia, you speak as you would for a royal decree. Have you thought about how Spike will feel knowing that you did this for him?"
Celestia nodded. "Luna, I have, but I don't care, I have tried my best to be a good mother to him, but we has missed out on so much, and all of it, just because of that stupid hunk of metal and a pair of wings. It was easier for Mother, she could at least be with us to teach us after she stepped down, but Spike is all alone in this world. I am only able to see him a few weeks a year without it being all a act, I missed so many birthdays becasue of meetings or visits, I can't even remember the last time I saw him smile like when he was a baby." Said Celestia as she started to cry. "Luna, I have failed at many things, but the one thing that has always been a ray of hope is my son, I will not let that hope die."
Luna sighed as she pulled her sister into a hug. "Tia, tonight, I have learned many things from Spike, but the first and most important is that no matter what, he will always love you."
"But, I don't want to lose him." Cried Celestia.
Luna nodded as she had an idea. "Then maybe since it has already been done, why don't you make the time you have with him worth the time you have missed."
Celestia sniffled as she smiled. "Thank you Luna, I'll make this day the best day of his life." Celestia ran to her balcony ready to fly to Ponyville to spend time with Spike.
But Luna used her magic and made sure that Celestia didn't plummet to her death. "Tia, you don't have wings." Said Luna as she brought her sister back into the room.
Celestia chuckled that she just jumped out of the tower. "Sorry, a few thousand years and you kinda get used to it."
Luna sighed as she placed Celestia on the ground. "Don't worry, Spike will be awake in a hour, you have time."
Celestia was confused. "Really, an hour, but you're already awake?"
Luna nodded. "Yes, I made some cakes for him and then he's going to fall asleep with a full dream stomach. I wanted to tell you about our adventures."
Celestia smiled as she got onto her bed. "Oh, tell me everything."
Luna smiled as she and Tiberius got onto the bed. "Well first off, I learned that Spike has a crush on a Griffin named Gabby, so the whole Rarity thing is coming to an end."
Celestia sighed at hearing that. "Oh, that is a load of my mind. What else?"
