Life Is Nothing But a Dream
Waking Up
To those who walk the dreams of others, there are three rules to follow. First the dreamwalker must avoid most, if not all, contact with the dreamer. Second, the dreamwalker must not alter the dreamscape in any major way. Third and most important, the dreamwalker must not lose grip on what is real and what is not. As long as the dreamwalker is roaming in another's dream, neither can be woken no matter what is done to them. Luna lived by these rules her whole life. Or so she thought.
* * * * *
The day started out just like any other. Luna was awoken by the near blinding light of her sister’s sunrise. She donned her armor as she does everyday and began down the castle halls to her sisters wing where they would eat breakfast.
There was something off putting about the lack of castle security in her wing this morning. Usually Luna would be getting hounded by guards asking to assist in her morning routine. She didn’t mind it much, if anything it was nice. Constantly being followed by over protective guards can get rather annoying.
When she arrived to the dining hall she saw her sister sitting in the same spot, in the same position, eating the same breakfast that she eats every Saturday. Celestia did not seem like a pony of routine outside the castle. Only Luna knew just how strict Celestia’s schedule was.
“Good morning sister,” Celestia’s voice sang. “I trust you had a pleasant slumber.”
“Very much so. Best I have slept in days perhaps.” Luna replied.
That was their morning conversation. Not much was said during breakfast other than the common greeting. They ate their food together then it was off to official business. The two sisters didn’t get much time alone together. Luna remembers the days she and her sister would spend playing in the castle gardens between lessons. It was true she missed the time her and her sister spent together but thats just what happens when you inherit an entire kingdom from you parents. But still, Luna went on without complaining just as she does everyday. However, at about noon her and her sister’s routines were broken. It was not until they were eating lunch did Luna hear word of what had happened to twilight.
* * * * *
Twilight was dead. A freak accident according to the guards. She was on her way to the sisters old castle to collect books from the library. She had requested that the guards not assist her. On her way she was attacked by a large group of timberwolves and was unable to defeat them all so she fled back into the forest only to find herself surrounded.
Luna could not believe what she was hearing. Twilight, of all ponies, requesting to go alone into the Everfree Forest. It just didn't seem right. Where were her friends? And why hadn't the guards followed her from a distance as a precaution? She couldn't believe it. She couldn't take it. Twilight, the pony who saved her from darkness, wielder of the element of magic, the pony that became a princess. Of all ponies, why had it been her?
After lunch, the day seemed to fly by. It was time to lower the sun and bring out the moon before she knew it. Luna still could not believe what had happened with twilight. She couldn't think about it so she decided to think about other things. One of which was the dream walking she had to perform this night.
After a few minutes of thinking, Luna realized something. In dreams, time seems to go by in seconds, much as her day had after she found out about Twilight. Dreams also don’t follow routine. Her and her sisters day was rather different than most of their others. Luna had a theory that none of this was real. However, it must be real because she remembers performing a spell earlier that morning to leave the dream she had entered the previous evening. It was rather strange when she thought about it for too long.
Luna went along and decided to try the awakening spell just as a precaution. It wouldn't hurt to try, was what she thought. That was of course until she woke up.
* * * * *
It was not a quick awakening, in fact, it seemed to take ages. Everything was a blurry mess and all the sounds she heard were muffled. It was as if she was underwater. It wasn’t long before she realized she couldn’t move. Her head was frozen in place along with the rest of her body. There was also a strange chill to the air, like that of a hospital.
The first thing Luna regained was her sight. Everything was still a little bit blurry but not as bad as it had been when she had awoken. She quickly took in her environment. There was a heart monitor on a stand next to her bed. There were also feeding tubes protruding from her arms which confirmed her theory about the hospital.
Luna could hear ponies talking but couldn't turn her head far enough to see anypony. Once her hearing improved, she could make out the sounds of nurses and doctors talking and moving around her room. She heard somepony say they were going to inject her with a muscle relaxer then felt a sharp prick that tunneled deep into her leg. “You will be able to move in a few moments princes.” The nurse said.
As Luna waited to regain her ability to move, she did nothing but stare at the ceiling and think to herself. What had happened that she ended up in the hospital? How long was she in that dream? Her mind was racing and that was when she felt another sharp prick. Everything was normal, then everything was gone, replaced by the cool emptiness of her own subconsciousness.
When Luna woke again, she saw Celestia looking over her. That was the last thing she saw before she blacked out again.
Author's Note
This is my first real story that I have worked on solo. This, of course is just the beginning. I thought of this while sitting on the school bus and looking out the window listening to sad music. This is going to be in depth as shit so keep an eye out.
~flap
Life Is Nothing But a Dream
Eyes Open
Her name. Someone was calling her name. Calling her from the darkness. Calling for her over and over. She was trying hard but couldn't move. She couldn't open her eyes or her mouth. It was nice in a way she thought. Not having to worry about speaking to anyone, having to attend battle meetings, having to lead anypony into battle. It was truly bliss. Everything but the calling of her name.
She knew it wouldn't stop unless she responded to it. That name would call forever. So, giving in to the request, Chrysalis focused all her strength to her eyes. Forcing them to open was difficult given the little strength she had. It was as if she hadn't moved in a thousand years.
She tried and tried but still couldn't open her eyes. Finally, she gave in to the warm darkness that had surrounded her for so long. She lay there, eyes closed, unmoving. But she could still hear her name being called. Over and over and over again. Then it stopped. Then everything went cold.
* * * * *
When Luna woke again, she was in her room. Her body ached as if she hadn't moved in a thousand years. She did her best to get out of bed but when her body was off the bed completely, she just fell to the floor. Then she noticed something, the floor was covered in grass. There were even flowers growing where her nightstand should have been. A tree had also managed to poke its way through the ceiling which was full of holes that allowed sunlight to spill through. A section of the wall was also missing and beyond that she could see that the castle was in ruins.
At first, Luna thought that the whole hospital ordeal was was a dream. Then she saw the holes in her arm where the feeding tubes have been. They still hurt, but the pain was almost unnoticeable compared to the pain in her head. The light beaming in from the holes in the ceiling only added to the pain in her head.
“Hello? Sister? Anyone?” Luna called. Then Celestia came running into the room. Something was wrong though. Her horn was broken off at the tip. She also had a limp to her walk. Behind her, Luna could see a large group of armed guards behind her sister, which was strange because they were home. Why was there such a need for security?
Without as much as a hello, Celestia had Luna over her back and was walking down the remains of the castle halls. As everything they walked down the halls surrounded by guards, luna got a better view of Canterlot. She couldn't believe what she saw because what she saw was nothing. Canterlot was gone, replaced by a crater that must have been a mile deep.
* * * * *
They were in a room somewhere deep under ground. Atleast thats what she thought. On the way out of her room, while Celestia was carrying her down the castle halls, the got to a staircase that seemed to go on for ages. When they finally got to the bottom, there was a giant set of tungsten doors. Through the doors, Luna recognized the hospital area she was woke up in. They continued walking down a long hall until they got to a pristine white door. Through the door was a large room with her sisters bed in the center. Along the walls were shelves of books. In the back of the room there were two boxes set into the wall. One on either side of the bed. Inside the boxes were sets of armor. Gold and white in the right box and black and blue in the left.
“Im sorry it took so long to get back down here Luna. When you blacked out a second time, I thought you would feel more calm if you woke up in a familiar environment, so I had the guards take you up to your old room.” Celestia explained. “Its been so long since I have seen you awake. I am sure you have many questions but they cannot be answered at this time. There will be time later but for now, I must explain our current situation.”
“This all started with Chrysalis and the changeling empire. The night you went into your coma was the same night that she did. The changelings were furious, blaming the whole ordeal on us. Because their queen had fallen into a coma that she could not wake from, a new ruler came to power in the changeling empire. His name is Maldrex. He showed no mercy when it came to the conquering of nations. He was a ruthless killer that would stop at nothing to claim equestria as his.”
“One thing that he had at the time that we did not, was technology. He started one of the fastest growing technological revolutions in history. We didn't stand a chance. After about five hundred years, we managed to get ahold of the changelings technology. But it was too late. There had been a missile sent to destroy canterlot, and it did just what it was meant to do. However, I had the castle under protection with a shield spell. Damage was still done to it but it was nothing compared to what had happened to the rest of canterlot.”
“Sadly, it did not stop with us. All over equestria, cities were being wiped out while we were working to find a solution to end the conflict. For nearly five hundred years, we have been working to end this. But we still have not created a solution.”
Luna was having a hard time taking this all in. A war with the changeling? Only a few days ago, twilight had become princes. Only a few years ago, had she been stranded on the moon. How could any of this be happening? Luna kept thinking about all the possable solutions for what had happened. She wanted to understand why things were so different.
Then the bombs began to fall.
* * * * *
