A white unicorn trotted along the vacant streets of Canterlot. Her horn glowed with a light blue aura, lifting a dimly lit candle in front of her. The candle she held was the only source of light in the typically lively city.
Apartments, shops, bazaars, and other places in the daytime experienced a buzz of activity, but remained dark and quiet during the night. The ever familiar sound of conversations drowned out by a moving crowd ceased to exist at this time as well, and all that one could hear was the click, clack, click of the unicorn's hooves.
The unicorn kept on trotting, her face glowing beneath the candlelight as her eyes remained fixed on the dancing flame that swayed back and forth. It was in this very flame that the unicorn saw something. She swore that she could see the charming face of another pony, her little sister. The only problem was that her face appeared uncanny, melancholic even, as though her sister was trying to warn her of something. The unicorn's heartstrings were forcibly played like a harp, her brows furrowed and her eyes teared up ever so slightly. But she kept on going nonetheless.
Click, clack, click, clack.
The noise repeated itself rhythmically for another few minutes, until the unicorn noticed a tall figure up ahead. It may have been the only other form of life strolling the streets as far as she knew. Her spatial-like mane made her easily stand out. The unicorn trotted closer, and when she was right next to the figure, she saw her tall horn, sharp to the tip and her graceful blue wings folded up. For she was the Princess of the Night, the Guardian of Dreams. She was Princess Luna.
"Hello, Rarity," Luna said in a solemn voice. "I've been expecting you."
Rarity stepped back slightly, her magic gripped onto the lit candle even tighter. "H-how did you know I was here?" she asked fearfully.
"Because this is a dream, my little pony. More specifically, a dream of my creation."
Rarity's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Her legs trembled to where she nearly slipped over nothing. "What? Please, tell me what's going on!"
"Patience, Rarity. I'll explain everything when we get to it. Besides, I know enough about you already."
Rarity took a deep breath as she desperately tried to dislodge the words stuck in her throat. "What do you mean, Princess Luna?"
Luna slowly turned around to face Rarity. She smirked ever so slightly as a spark shot out of her horn. Just then the entire city of Canterlot vanished into a pitch black void. Rarity yelped and fell onto her back, colliding with the seemingly nonexistent ground beneath her.
Slowly getting back up and dusting herself off, Rarity looked around the void, her eyes quickly finding Luna. All that remained aside from Luna was the flickering candle, the flame still flailing about as though it was trying to say something.
"I assume you know where you were when you went to bed, right?" Luna asked. Rarity closed her eyes and paused for a moment. After a minute of pure silence, Rarity simply shook her head, her lips curled in an embarrassed frown.
"Why do you ask, Luna?"
"Because in the world of dreams, we do not remember everything we hold in our minds while we are conscious. It is something that we cannot control." Rarity didn't understand what Luna was talking about, but since this was not as abnormal as some of what she experienced, she nodded in agreement.
"So where am I actually at, Princess Luna?"
Princess Luna's shoulders sagged. Her flowing mane slowed down as a solitary tear dropped from her left eye and down to the ground below. Upon impact, the tear created a ripple in the black void and a new world metamorphosed around the two. Rarity bellowed a gasp at the surreal sights around her.
A city, one that seemed completely alien to her, formed out of the abyss. A paved road appeared under her hooves and grey, metallic buildings lacking any soul or emotion shot out of the ground like geysers. Gears and wires danced around the two as though they were alive, taking their places like actors on a stage. Rarity's ears picked up the familiar noise of conversing ponies, none of whom she recognized when they appeared.
"W-where are we?" asked Rarity, bemused to where she could barely spit out a coherent sentence.
"We are in Ponyville," said Luna. "More specifically, Ponyville in an alternate timeline."
"What?" Rarity's pupils dilated. Her brain was twisted so much to where she questioned whether she existed. In what kind of world could a steampunk Ponyville actually exist? It was too much for her to take in.
"It's important that we head on over to where Carousel Boutique is. Follow me, and try not to stray too far behind."
Rarity tried her hardest to stay close to Luna, but the sights of this Ponyville kept drawing her eyes towards the world around her, which made her lag behind Luna somewhat. Luna and her squeezed through what felt like a never ending stream of ponies, some of which trotted, or at least tried to, and others stationed themselves at bazaars as they bought, sold, or bartered goods. It was a perfect exaggeration of urban chaos that could make even those used to the busy lifestyle of Canterlot feel claustrophobic.
Towers piercing the light blue sky stood erect. Rarity looked upwards and it felt like that the towers went on for eternity, possibly reaching the sun if they wanted to. The smaller buildings were nothing to scoff at either, easily eclipsing the size of the town hall from the Ponyville Rarity knew.
A bell chimed in the distance and the crowd immediately froze. Not a single syllable was uttered from there on as everything fell quiet. A faint breeze was all Rarity could hear, and by some miracle, the crowd dispersed enough for Rarity to trot through without difficulty.
"It's a little busy," Luna said as she kept trotting along. "Sorry."
"A little?" Rarity retorted, trying to keep up with Luna. "I've never had that much trouble getting anywhere in my life!"
"Don't worry. We're almost there."
Rarity noticed the city open up as buildings became less common. Before the two was a huge temple that seemed to extend for eternity. A huge, bronze sculpture of a mare's head stood in the temple's center, its eyes acting as clocks. The temple's walls, also a shining bronze, rose high above the ground. Inscribed on the walls were images. It appeared to be telling a story in a continuous manner. Luna pressed her weight against the wall and Rarity stood by her, examining the images.
"It will take too long for you to read the entire image, but I'll sum it up for you." Luna cleared her throat and leaned away from the wall. "See, your sister, Sweetie Belle, felt as though you didn't appreciate her."
Rarity scowled at Luna the moment she finished and audibly grit her teeth. "That's not true!" she objected, her eyes burning a flame much like the candle she still held. "I love my dear sister with all of my heart!"
"I'm afraid it is true, and the consequences are severe. Well, if things go the way they are, your sister will make a deal with Discord while you are on another quest with your close friends. She felt as though she was ignored, nothing special, and would never get her cutie mark. And remember, ponies, no matter how old they are, will do anything when they are desperate. Anyway, Discord was promised power if he helped her become the ruler of Ponyville."
"Oh dear," Rarity mumbled with a concerned tone. Her eyes opened up as wide as they could and her body leaned over towards Luna in a curious manner.
"Sweetie Belle was granted tons of magic power and immediately drained Discord of his magic. All she did from there was to banish Discord to the deepest parts of Tartarus. All of Ponyville as well as Cloudsdale and Appleloosa rejoiced at hearing the news that the one who nearly killed them got his just desserts. Sweetie Belle then became the ruler of Ponyville, but the city is now a living nightmare for its residents. Sweetie Belle quickly fell into a deep depression, thinking she can't do anything right, and does nothing but mope around in her temple."
Rarity ran over to Princess Luna and knelt down to her. Tears ran down her eyes and flowed from her cheeks to the pavement below, dripping more furiously the longer she cried. "I-is there a way I can prevent her from feeling this?"
Luna nodded. "There is."
Rarity's eyes sparkled as she crept closer to Luna. "Please tell me!"
Luna knelt down to where her face was even with Rarity's and rubbed her back with a smooth up and down motion. Rarity's wails came to an end as the tears slowed down to where they no longer clouded her vision.
"Spend more time with your sister," said Luna in a soft voice. "In a way, I should do more for Equestria. I felt a deep shame about letting my kingdom down twice, both in quick succession, and vowed to do everything I could to take a more active role. I had a vision of this exact Ponyville if things went unchecked, so I knew I had to do something."
"I promise to help my dear Sweetie Belle."
Luna smiled as her horn glowed once again, and in a flash, everything around Rarity disappeared, replaced with the nothingness from before.
Rarity opened her eyes. She found herself back in her bedroom, everything exactly where it was supposed to be. She rested on her comfortable bed surrounded by drawers and two dressed up mannequins with dresses currently in progress. A mirror hung above one of the drawers, glowing in the moon's light outside. All that Rarity could do upon waking up was smile.
When her strength returned, Rarity slowly climbed out of bed and approached the mirror. She looked into her own eyes, believing for a moment that the images of her dream replayed inside the pupils of her reflection. Rarity took a deep breath the tension in her body dissipating slowly, but gradually.
"I promise to help you, Sweetie Belle," she told herself confidently. "I solemnly swear that I will make your life happy, because the best filly and the best little sister anypony could ask for deserves it."
Rarity then noticed a bright light behind her. She turned around and spotted a candle, much like the one from her dream. It was lit and the dancing flame was larger and more enthusiastic than she saw in her dream. Rarity's smile grew even wider than ever as a mental note telling her to thank Luna popped into her head.
