**5**
Applejack was sobbing.
Luna immediately recognised one of the element bearers,even though she did not see them often. And she was confused.
Applejack had always seemed to her the type to contain her emotions, the most steadfast of the six. Even in a dream she would not break down like this if it was any normal occasion.
She walked closer, willing her clanking shoes away, until she was directly behind the orange mare.
“What is wrong, Applejack?” she said, so quiet it was almost a whisper.
Applejack’s head whipped around, her eyes widening as she saw the princess. She hurriedly sank into a bow, sniffling and wiping her eyes as she did so.
“Princess. It’s-It’s nothing. Ah’m fine.”
Luna sat, looking as the crouched mare.
“Applejack, dispense with such formalities.”
Applejack quickly righted herself, sitting in the same position she had been in before.
“Applejack, I am only sent to the dreams of those who are deeply troubled. You may confide in me, I am sworn to secrecy. I also have millenia of advice at hoof.”
Applejack sniffed again, before looking her.
“It’s just that it was today that mah ma and pa died. Train back from Manehatten derailed.”
Luna sighed. She had seen thousands of her little ponies pass, and each one pained her. To live a short mortal life, to be devoid of so many wonderful experiences, was painful. Especially when it was unusually short.
“Applejack,” She said, wrapping her wing around the mare’s shoulder. “Every little pony on this earth passes. Except for my sister and I. I have been with each one, and each final breath brings me sorrow. Do you know how I have continued all the days?” She said, staring into the mare’s green eyes.
“I remind myself that they are well. That they are in a place beyond us, looking on with amusement and love. That though I will never join them, all those they love will. It is a small burden to bear.”
Applejack had lowered her head again. She looked at the ground as she uttered her next words.
“Princess, that's a mighty nice thought, but Ah- Ah just can’t convince myself of it. Ma and Pa didn't always think that way, and Ah can't convince myself they're happy in a place they didn't think existed. Really, Ah'm grateful for your help, but Ah’d like to be alone.”
Luna hung her head a bit and folded her wings as she stood.
“I see, Applejack. I am sorry I could not be of more help, and I pray thy sorrows abate.”
Applejack only nodded, distracted. Luna knew she wouldn’t recognize the old condolence given to the families of deceased soldiers of the guard, she probably just thought it was Luna slipping back into her old speech patterns. It didn’t matter.
Once she was out of Applejack’s dream, she began crafting a new one. She pulled thoughts of warm sun on apple trees, a red and white checkered blanket, and of Gala Apple and Satsuma Jr. When the dream was as perfect as she could make it, she stepped out and pulled Applejack in.
She could just barely hear the shouts of "Ma! Pa!" as she walked away.
**4**
The next dream Luna walked into was Rarity’s.
The idea of Rarity having a nightmare made enough sense, but this particular one didn’t make any. Rarity stood in a pristine navy dress, with her mane styled and her hooves shod. She looked ready for the Grand Galloping Gala, but her face wore an expression of distress.
Luna was puzzled, until she stepped forward and saw them.
Ponies. All starving, shivering with cold or fever, and all begging for help.
She stepped still closer, into the sight of the white coated mare.
“Princess! Please! Do something!” She cried, struggling on the spot. Her hooves were rooted her to her place, her shoes a part of the ground itself.
It all clicked. The element of generosity, known for her occasional bouts of arrogance. Nightmares tended to present a pony’s fears in strange situations. Rarity feared that she would fail those who needed her, or become irreparably selfish, or something of the sort.
“I am afraid I cannot.”
Rarity whipped her head around, though her mane remaining in place.
“What do you mean you can’t? You’re the immortal alicorn princess of the night! Surely you can at least free me!”
She shook her head.
“I can do nothing for ponies thank are naught but a creation of your mind, or for bindings you put upon yourself.”
“A creation of my mind? What does that mea-... Oh. Princess Luna. I guess this is a dream, isn’t it?”
Luna nodded.
Rarity’s face brightened a bit, and she attempted to walk away. She succeeded in nothing but tangling her legs.
“Why am I still bound?”
“Like I said, these bindings but are a figment of your imagination. Bad dreams are created from fears. What about this scene do you fear?”
The white mare bit her lip, looking around as if to insure privacy.
“I... I fear that I'll be selfish and oblivious. That others will suffer and I will not care to help.”
Luna nodded. Now she had something to work with.
“Well, is that true? Are you a shallow mare who does nothing for others in need?”
Rarity shook her head.
“No… No, I’m not.”
Luna nodded encouragingly.
“Then your fears are needless. Without a fear to base themselves on, those ‘bonds’ should crumble to dust. Why not give it a try?”
Rarity looked determinedly at her hooves, and took a step, then another. Soon she stood by the princess.
“Thank you, princess. But, if I may ask, Why are they still there? Why am I still in this putrid dress?”
“Well, you are free to take it off, are you not? You are free to help them now? I can not do everything.” She ended her words with a smile, hoping the mare would catch the joke.
Rarity nodded. “I can, and I shall!”
She ripped the dress from her body, and stepped out of the shoes. With a final smile at the princess, she walked confidently back into the fray.
Luna smiled at her back, the slowly turned to walk away.
Author's Note
This will be a three-shot, and I'll try to update every day or two.
**3**
Vines, covered in thorns covered the ground. The clouds, too, were covered in thorns.
Someone was dreaming about the events of last week.
Luna walked around a bit, her attention equally spent looking for the subject of this dream, and trying to survey what the conditions had been when she was trapped. Her musings stopped when she saw it.
Discord, on a throne of vines, laughing at a downtrodden Twilight Sparkle. Strangely enough, she wore a violet and ermine coat and held a odd scepter, looking only at the ground.
Luna held her head high, and made sure to put purpose behind her every step, until she reached discord.
“Discord! Be gone from this place!” She yelled, using The Royal Canterlot Voice too it’s full abilities. As expected, Discord only chuckled.
Twilight looked up at Luna, shaking her head.
“It’s no use, Princess. He’s just a dream, and eventually I’ll wake up.”
Luna shook her head. “Discord is the father of all nightmares. If he chooses to inhabit one, he is truly here. He can make it feel like an eternity, if he wishes. He is not bound by our laws in drams, as they have no lasting consequences. No, there will be no ‘waiting it out’. Come with me.”
Luna stretched her wings out, and flapped hard enough to raise her a few feet into the air. However, the dream seemed to follow no rules but Discord’s and she rocketed halfway to the moon.
Frustrated, she teleported back to the ground.
“Come along, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight rose, shaking off her cape.
“But where are we going?”
“Into the Everfree, of course.”
“Oh, do have fun!” Discord called. Luna pointedly ignored him.
She walked faster than necessary, and Twilight struggled to keep up. Luna didn’t care or notice, Discord was a personal foe of hers. She cared just as much about smacking him in the face as helping her sister’s pupil with her nightmare. So to the Everfree it was.
“But why?”
She stopped, and stared.She had spoken? either way, she would have thought Twilight could have figured it out.
“We’re getting the elements. We can’t do any real harm, even if you still had control of the elements. But we can banish him from this dream.”
Twilight nodded, her eyes suddenly bright with comprehension.
“I see! The abstract idea of harmony can be used to combat the abstact manifestation of my fears as Discord!”
“Not quite, Twilight Sparkle. This is no abstract manifestation of Discord. Discord and nightmares have a long relationship.”
Twilight looked more confused than ever, but Luna used a little distance-bending so the were ‘conveniently’ with her friends.
Luna nodded at Twilight.
“You know what to do.”
And with that, she rocketed up into the sky. She watched from above as the six mares found the element, and zapped Discord back to his… Wherever he lived.
With a smirk, Luna flew out of the dream.
**2**
Immediately, she had to put that to use.. She was in an endless expanse of sky, as most dream skies were. The sun’s final rays shone from behind the horizon, shedding the only light into the otherwise complete darkness.
The only sign of the dream’s subject was a blazing trail of rainbow.
Immediately Luna took off, faster. She had held the title as the best flyer in equestria before her banishment, and thought she still did until she met Rainbow Dash. Even without the added magic that came from being an alicorn, Rainbow Dash was able to put all she possesed into her flying in a way she had hardly ever seen.
And she was doing it now, heading straight down.
Luna knew that she could ever hope to catch the pegasus, she was obviously chasing something. If Rainbow had her way, she would keep chasing until she woke up, her heart pounding and fearing for whoever was falling.
So she employed the one feat she could pull off that Rainbow, or anypony else, ever, could: Mid-Flight teleportation.
She folded her limbs in, but kept her wings out and going as fast as she could, and let her horn flare up. In the dream-like state that was mid-teleport, she held onto one thought: Keep flying.
With a pop she landed next to Rainbow, and she immediately struggled to keep up.
“Rainbow Dash! You must stop!” She screamed, the wind tearing her voice away.
Rainbow Dash flicked her eyes back to the Princess, then looked back ahead.
“Can’t. Gotta… Gotta catch her.”
“Who?” Luna asked.
Rainbow just ignored her, and Luna came to the only logical conclusion: Rainbow didn’t know. These dreams were the worst, you could go and go and go and never get what you were after.
Luna grabbed the pegasus with her magic and brought them to aa cloud.
Rainbow kicked and struggled, and screamed at Luna.
“Let go of me! She’ll die! Stop being a feathering idiot!”
Luna sat calmly, letting the pegasus wear herself out. When the yelling stopped and the struggles slowed, Luna spoke.
“Rainbow Dash, who were you chasing?”
“It doesn’t matter, she’s dead now.”
Luna spread her wings to their full span, and utilized the tiniest bit of The Royal Canterlot Voice.
“Rainbow Dash. Who. Were. You. Chasing.”
The pegasus dropped her head, and let er wings finally fold down by her sides. She crumbled a bit as she spoke.
“I… I don’t know. Nopony, I guess.”
Luna relaxed a bit, dropping back into a normal posture.
“Just as I suspected. Do you have this dream often?”
“They… They stated after the best young flyer competition. First it was Rarity. Then they went away for a while. Then, after that one camping trip, it was Scootaloo. Then after the incident with Lightning Dust, it was all my friends. Now it’s just… I don’t know. But I always know it’s important.”
Luna nodded.
“Rainbow Dash, when I was younger, had a pet turtle. He was an adorable thing, fairly small and green… But he loved to walk. One day we were out in the garden and he walked, and I followed him, but he walked right into the lake. I was afraid, I thought he had drowned! But my sister explained to me that little Terrapen could take care of himself. Do you see what I am trying to tell you?”
She turned to the pegasus who shook her head.
Luna sighed. “What I am trying to say is, though it felt like I couldn’t rescue him, I could. I could levitate him out, or something. But he didn’t need to be saved. You are a wonderful friend, and I’m sure if your friends needed saving, you could. But they are capable of handling themselves.”
Rainbow nodded, slowly.
“So, I need to have more confidence, in myself and others?”
“Yes, I belive that would help.”
With that, Rainbow cracked up.
“Who would have thought Rainbow Dash, the awesome-and-she-knows-it pegasus, would need more confidence!”
Luna broke into a nervous chuckle.
“Ahem, mainly in others, Rainbow.”
“Yeah, I guess. Hay, I’m a faster flyer than you,what do I have to worry about?”
Luna stared straight into the pegasus’s eyes, and unfurled her wings.
“It. Is. On.”
Author's Note
I had to include the cane.
