Dreamscape: The Luna Disposition
-o-O-o-
Princess Luna hovered high above the Canterhorn, gazing down upon the sleeping city below, nestled in its comfortable berth against the side of the sheer mountain. Few of the buildings besides the grand castle itself seemed to have any signs of life in their darkened windows, though the orange-yellow glow of the street lamps basked the white stoned thoroughfares in a warm light. The contented dreams of thousands of sleeping ponies below sang out to her, their gentle melody a tender joy reaching out skyward to the twinkling midnight canopy above.
From all across Equestria, still more joined the unwaking chorus. Luna allowed it to wash over her, filling her with a satisfying warmth and sharing their contentment with the princess of the night. She kept her magic receptive to their song at all times, just in case a nightmare should arise, or some poor pony simply call out to her for guidance.
Happy to leave the night to run its own affairs – the ponies in the castle wouldn’t miss her for an hour or two – Luna descended towards the balcony which lent itself to her chambers. Her hooves touched down with barely a sound, cushioned silently by her own shadow. She planned to do a little stargazing, but the telescope towards the edge of the veranda would go untouched. She didn’t intend to scrutinise anything in detail. Simply stepping back and admiring the canvas of her art with the distance that only the naked eye could afford was sometimes the only way to gain an appreciation for its apparent vastness. And even then, only just.
She was just about to settle down when the strangest sensation passed over her, leaving her dizzy for a moment, before a very distinct chill ran the full length of her spine.
“My heavens!” she gasped, unsettled by the sensation, “What in the…”
She trailed off as it happened again.
It felt like somebody reaching out to her in their dreams. The chill and discomfort were being caused by the obvious terror and high emotion that came along with an intense nightmare.
Somepony was reaching out to her.
Luna closed her eyes and focused her magic, seeking out the sleeping dreamer. The emotional trail was very turbulent, and easy enough to follow.
She found herself standing in an open prairie, surrounded by fellow equines of a variety with which she was not familiar. They appeared to be grazing at the tender turf under-hoof quite calmly. Luna became instantly aware of the oppressive atmosphere, not just the emotions she could still feel coming from the dream world all around her, but from the bristling storm that seemed to be rolling in overhead.
She tried her best to ignore it, instead looking around and trying to identify the source of the unease. Piercing the increasing gloom, Luna’s eyes fell upon a creature quite some way distant that seemed fuzzy and indistinct in the darkness. Besides herself, it was the only thing her senses identified as real about this place, and she knew instantly that it was the source of the emotions that had summoned her there.
A bright flash illuminated the landscape for a fleeting instant, accompanied by a thunderous roar so loud Luna feared for a moment that she’d gone both blind and deaf. Her senses returned to her readily enough, of course, and just in time for her to see the herd bolting away from her in their droves.
She simply stood and watched as they departed, heading clear across the long grass meadow, straight towards the keeper of the dream.
The closer they got, the more clearly Luna felt the terror within the dreamer increase. The sensation was so intensely overwhelming that for a second or two Luna almost believed it was her own.
This pony was frightened almost to death!
Luna had to intervene.
She teleported from where she had been standing to a spot just ahead of the stampeding herd. She arrived in front of the dreamer, placing herself in the way of the wild horses and flaring her wings as wide as she possibly could. Luna made for an imposing figure, and the creatures moved around her as a result.
What Luna found there before her ran contrary to all of her expectations. Curled up in a terrified ball, clearly trying to shield itself, wasn’t the pony she had expected. The projected self-image appeared to be a biped.
She could still feel its terror. But as time passed and the end didn’t come, the creature lifted its head with a look of confusion upon its face.
Luna simply watched it.
Its pale blue eyes met her own in the darkness.
-o-O-o-
Luna opened her eyes to the world. She was back atop her balcony, the familiar moon and stars shining down upon her, warning her that the morning was rapidly approaching. Celestia would be up shortly, in time to raise the sun as Luna put the night to rest once more.
She rose to her feet, her legs a bit unsteady after being kept cramped beneath her on the hard marble of the balcony – she would have to get somebody to move a lounger onto her terrace, somewhere where she could be comfortable, if this was to become a recurring thing. It was the third night in a row she’d done that, the creature’s dreams summoning her from wherever it may be. She frowned to herself. “Creature”. It seemed impolite, somehow, to think of it in those terms. But Luna couldn’t think quite how else to describe it.
At first, she’d thought it was a pony with a rather unique dream form. Admittedly, it was somewhat alien compared to most, but it wasn’t uncommon for ponies to dream themselves into different forms and shapes, such was the nature of fantasy.
But something about this creature, this being’s emotional aura, felt so very different to that of any pony she had ever encountered before.
And then, last night, it – or he, as it had turned out - had actually deigned to speak to her!
Introducing itself as “Grey-ham”, and revealing that he knew precious little of Equestria, had only made Luna all the more uncertain.
One thing was apparent. She needed to speak to Celestia about it.
Luna headed inside.
-o-O-o-
“A biped, you say?”
Celestia sipped at her morning tea, listening to Luna recount her tale with quiet enthusiasm. It wasn’t often that her sister chose to disclose such things about the dreams of others, private affairs as they often were, so when she did it was usually important. So, Celestia always chose to pay attention.
“Yes. At least in dream form.” Luna sat opposite her at the breakfast table, magically nursing a half-full mug of her own, “It baffled Us greatly.”
“Quite. And you say his nightmares call out to you?”
Luna nodded, “Nightly. They fill him with a terror so deep that We could not possibly have ignored it.”
Celestia seemed to ponder for a moment, “You don’t usually share the dreams of others with me, Luna. Does something about this bother you?”
“Indeed, Tia.” Luna admitted. She knew her sister would pick up on that quite quickly, though it wasn’t as if Luna was trying to hide it, “He knew Our name.”
“Many ponies know who you are, Luna.” Celestia chuckled, “You are a princess of Equestria, after all.”
“But he knew nothing of Equestria.” Luna explained, thinking back to the conversation and how confused Graeme had seemed, “And he does not feel like any pony We have ever encountered before.”
Celestia frowned in thought, “That is odd. You don’t think…?”
“I am not sure what to think.” Luna confessed with a deep-feeling sigh, “He calls out, every night.”
“And you feel compelled to respond.” It wasn’t really a question. Celestia knew it was true, or they wouldn’t have been having the conversation in the first place.
“We must.” Luna insisted with a nod of affirmation, "We believe We can help him."
-o-O-o-
The first thing Luna did when she opened her eyes was let off a hefty sigh of dejection. It wasn’t easy being thought of as fictional. Graeme had some very odd ideas about her, that was for sure. And the whole experience of seeing precisely why he believed she was fictional had been incredibly surreal, to say the very least! Still, at least she’d figured out a way to prove herself to him.
“You seem unsettled, dear sister.”
Luna blinked, turning her head and rising from the padded comfort of her chaise longue. Celestia was in her chambers, standing just inside the open door. It wasn’t unusual for Tia to come visit her here, and her sister wasn’t unwelcome. It was simply unexpected. The princess of the sun held genuine concern in her eyes, clearly a reflection of Luna’s own disquieted expression.
"We… Learned some interesting things…” Luna decided against descending into all the details. It didn’t seem important, to be quite frank. But she did reveal one thing to her sister, “He is not of pony-kind."
That gave Celestia pause for thought, "Then what is he?"
"Human."
Celestia seemed to offer an almost imperceptible nod, as if the word actually meant something to her.
Luna couldn’t help but wonder.
-o-O-o-
Luna fumed silently. Upon opening her eyes to her chambers she’d found tears running slowly down her cheeks. Although Graeme’s demands that she leave his dreamscape had upset her – or was it more the fact that he’d angrily declared that she was no longer welcome? - she’d held herself together. Her body, however, seemed determined to betray her will.
That just made her all the more angry.
She’d then erupted forth, out onto her balcony, on the verge of a rage so intense she’d given little care to how much force she’d put into the doors as they flung open. One of them now bore a permanent scar where it had impacted the wall. She just wanted to be outside, beneath the welcoming canopy of her familiar stars, rather than those of Graeme’s alien world – the ones that only served to remind her that she really did not belong there…
But even her ancient friends proffered no comfort to her troubled soul that night, their refusal to alleviate her suffering reticent but clear.
She deigned simply stare into space.
"Luna?" Celestia’s voice drifted out quietly from Luna’s chambers.
No answer came, so Celestia stepped out onto the balcony herself. She saw Luna standing there, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
"Luna?" she prompted again, her voice still soft and full of concern for her sister.
"Hmmm?" Luna’s reply was completely noncommittal. Celestia still wasn’t sure if she had her sister’s complete attention, but she pressed forwards nonetheless.
"Are you okay?” Celestia moved up beside her, “You're late lowering the moon."
Luna was silent for a few seconds more, before her stony expression finally broke with a deep exhale of breath. It wasn’t quite a sigh, but the princess of the night seemed deflated, smaller somehow for having let it escape her, "Sorry, Tia. We are...” she paused to let out another, more thoughtful breath, “I am distracted."
A small smile of affection softened Celestia’s features, "Care to talk about it?"
"He banished us from his dreams." Luna gave her sister a sideways glance.
"Banished?"
"Told Us we are not welcome." She fumed through gritted teeth. The memory grated at her still as she played it through her mind once more.
"Ah, I see."
Luna’s hackles rose as her ire swelled, her tone low and level, "After all we did for him!"
"Indeed." Celestia’s own response was deliberately neutral as she watched her sister turn away and begin to pace from one side of the balcony to the other in clear agitation.
"He is angry because We protected him from himself!"
"I see..." Celestia small but growing smirk intoned within her words.
Luna pauses mid-pace, picking up on the mild mischief in her sister’s voice.
"Sister, thine tenor...” Luna offered a furtive sideways glance of suspicion, “What should We read into it?"
"You've been asked to leave dreams before.” Celestia pointed out, “Why should this one matter?"
"I-" Words faltered as Luna’s mind failed to conjure up an adequate response.
Celestia gave a knowing smile, a nod of understanding as her hunch was pretty much confirmed, "I suspected as much."
"You cannot possibly mean-" Luna began, only to be interrupted.
"Lulu,” Celestia leaned in to whisper into her sister’s ear, “you can lie to yourself all you want. But it will still always be a lie."
Luna tried to absorb what Celestia was telling her, but it was a bitter pill to swallow. She was hurting, and more than a little bit angry, but surely Tia couldn’t have been right about what she was implying? But then, why did it feel so very much like she had hit the mark? Why did it feel as if she was right?
"So what would you have Us do?" Luna asked at last.
Celestia’s heartfelt smile was as much one of relief as it was of joy. She’d expected Luna to be more resistant to the very idea of the suggestion she had just made. She knew first-hand how stubborn the princess of the night could be at times. It warmed Celestia’s heart to see the progress Luna had made.
"Listen to your head." Celestia’s words were gentle and to the point. She turned to take her leave back the way she had entered, though she paused to look back at Luna, "But always follow your heart."
Luna watched her sister as she left, immersing herself in deep contemplation. She turned back to her stars, to regard them one final time before the dawn.
She resolved to visit Graeme again whenever she next heard the call.
-o-O-o-
Graeme had succeeded, and Luna had been there to see him triumph. She hadn’t revealed her presence to him. He’d made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want her there, and she would respect his wishes. So, she had simply watched.
He’d begun punching the air in true elation just before she’d departed. She was happy for him, even if he no longer needed her.
Luna had awoken with a broad smile of her own, and she’d made haste out of her chambers in order to pass on the good news to her sister.
"'Tia!"
Luna burst into the meal hall with gusto, causing Celestia to flinch in surprise. Her magic flared briefly, sending her cereal-laden spoon flying across the room. It clattered against the golden solar peytral chest armour of one of the impassive door guards.
The stallion didn’t even flinch. Celestia simply looked at the fallen spoon and blinked.
"He did it! He did it!” Luna didn’t seem to have noticed the commotion she’d caused, “I knew he could!"
Celestia was completely lost, eying her sister curiously as she came around the table, "Who did what?"
"Graeme! He conquered his nightmares!" Luna beamed widely. It has been quite some time since Celestia had seen her sister openly broadcasting such joy.
"And you helped him?"
Luna shook her head, "No, he did it alone. He figured it all out."
"I'm very happy for him." Celestia was sincere, but she really did want to get back to her breakfast. Reaching out with her magic, she sought the aid of another spoon.
Luna seemed to stop suddenly, instantly frozen to the spot. Her eyes closed, she seemed to lose herself in thought. Celestia was about to ask her if she was alright – Luna’s emotional aura seemed somewhat confusing to the sun princess.
Luna herself was aware of the sudden change. But she was too focused on the wave of sorrow that she had felt appear from practically nowhere. It called to her, pulling on her inner magic, and she recognised the sensation almost immediately.
Graeme was calling out to her again.
"We must go." Luna declared.
"Oh?"
Luna was out of the door too quickly to answer.
Celestia chuckled to herself, "Good morning, Luna."
She returned to enjoying her breakfast.
-o-O-o-
Luna had adopted the human form Graeme had once given her, a small gesture of her desire to fit in within his dreamscape.
“Come,” She extended a hand to him, “There is still much We can show thee.”
Graeme had accepted, his larger hand still a comfortable fit for her own. What mattered to Luna was that he was willing to follow her.
“Where are we going?” Graeme asked.
She couldn’t answer. She only knew that they were going forwards.
Together.
-o-O-o-
Author's Note
My apologies if some of this didn't make sense. These scenes fit into and between scenes already present in Dreamscape. I haven't added this into the main Dreamscape story because, honestly, it alters the flow - some plot points would be revealed far too early.
But, if there's sufficient call for it, I'll work out a revised version. Just let me know.
Thanks for reading.
