“Luna... if you were that worried, you could have asked me. Dealing with Spirits is a hazardous prospect at best.”

Luna looked at her hooves, feeling more like a foal than an ancient alicorn. She had known the risks, but her pride had driven her to do it anyways. “Celly... I know that it was dangerous. I know what the Spirit could have done to me, but all it asked was for me to bring it some wheat next harvest.”

Celestia sighed, nuzzling her younger sister. “Ah, what does it matter? You’re here now, and we’re together.”

The fire was warm and merry in the study, the Moon was hers again. The tension that she hadn’t known existed melted away, and she let sleep envelop her.

It seems that the shard of power I lent you has opened a way into the Dreamscape of the land. How interesting. The voice echoed across the landscape of cloudy images, seeming more like thoughts than spoken words.

Luna reeled in shock. Dream floated about, but the voice came from none of them. The Spirit’s presence was everywhere, yet nowhere. “Reveal yourself, Spirit!”

Very well.

A swirl of astral wind turned green, crackling with lightning. From it, an orb of leafy green formed, a corona of white surrounding it.

Sounding bemused, the Spirit said, Is that better?

“Sort of.”

A long silence ensued. The Spirit drifted off, exploring the Dreamscape. What a curious place. Long have I sensed it, but never had I seen it before this night. What is it that you do here?

Luna looked across the Dreamscape; across the many clouds of images that represented dreams. “I guarded it from magical intrusion and soothed nightmares before... before I became the Nightmare.”

I see. Who would have the power to meddle with the Dreamscape, though? As the Spirit spoke, a tendril of light extended to touch a cloud swirling with purple. This one seems to be eavesdropping. The Alicorn of Magic, I presume?

The cloud shrank, vanishing in an instant. Oh. I think I woke her up.

Luna sighed. “I should go talk to her, I think. Twilight is most likely confused right now.” Her dream form faded, leaving the Spirit to its thoughts.

A lavender alicorn shot up, breathing heavily. What... what was that? Luna... and a Spirit?

The Spirit had noticed her ‘eavesdropping’. She hadn’t meant to listen in, but ever since she’d become an alicorn, she’d been able to see the ocean of images that was the Dreamscape. Twilight wasn’t able to enter another dream, but she could apparently see what went on in the Dreamscape itself.

A hesitant knock came at her porch door. “Twilight? I know you’re awake. May I come in?” asked Luna’s voice through the door.

“C-come in, Prin- ehm, Luna.”

Luna pushed the door open hesitantly, the faint glow of her horn illuminating the room. “Twilight, I’d hazard to guess you’re wondering what you just saw on the Dreamscape,” Luna stated.

“Y-yes, I am...” replied Twilight.

Luna took a deep breath. “Well...”

The Dreamscape is a beautiful place, shimmering with light and swirling with thoughts. I must admit that I took peeks at some of the dreams Children were having, but only a few interested me.

One of them was about the harvest, which of course became the center of my focus as soon as I found it. In fact, it was about the harvesting of apples. Sadly, it was a troubled dream...

Upon further inspection, the trees in the orchard seemed to be yielding few apples, and in the dream, the trees were bare of fruit altogether. Being a Harvest god, I could do something about it...

Applejack woke up to a roar of thunder and the rumble of rain. Hastily getting out of bed to look out the window, she was amazed to see the orchard visibly becoming greener.

In the back of her head, the wanted to see Twilight try and explain this. For one, the weather schedule said clear skies for the next few days, and secondly, trees never did anything quickly.

Luna sat down, done with her story.

Twilight thought on it, curiosity growing. “Would this Spirit know anything about magic or history?”

“Yes, it would know quite a lot about both. This Spirit in particular is ancient, though I cannot be sure of its true age,” replied Luna. Seeing what Twilight wanted to say next, she added, “Spirits are strange beings, Twilight. I’d leave this one be for a while yet before you even try contacting it.”

The gleam in Twilight’s eyes faded. “Oh... What if I brought it an offering?”

“Just... please don’t try and contact the Spirit just yet. I feel it is still processing how the world has changed.”

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning interrupted. A breeze that smelled of ozone and felt full of life began, bringing with it a light rain.

After a moment, Luna asked, “Was it scheduled for it to rain tonight?”

“No. It’s supposed to be clear skies,” answered Twilight. “Did you say that the Spirit had power over storms?”

“Yes, and I think it is the Spirit. I’m not sure why though...” Luna trailed off, lost in thought momentarily. Abruptly, she said, “I need to go ask the Spirit. Ponies aren’t fond of surprise weather, and Cloudsdale will probably have a minor planning panic if this storm sticks around.”

Author's Note

Hi there!
Please let me know if you see any errors with spelling or grammar, this chapter just... happened unexpectedly.