Chapter Two

“No!” Misty screamed, bolting upright. Cold sweat dribbled down her face. Her hooves, indeed her whole body, shook with utter terror. Her heart pounded painfully in her breast, and her breath came in strained gasps.

However, Misty Moonrise was the only one in the room. The polished floor was tinged gold by the late morning sunlight where books, scrolls, star charts, and other clutter did not completely obscure it. The oaken desk, almost as cluttered as the floor, rested against one wall beneath a painting of the constellation Pegasus. Left of the desk was a floor-to-ceiling window, the deep blue drapes still drawn, and a telescope. On the desk’s right stood a tall, thoroughly overstuffed bookcase. Directly across the room, Misty’s circular bed lay upon a slightly raised dais with a window on either side, the curtains closed to block the sunlight. All the doors leading into and out of the room were shut, except for the glass panes that led to the balcony, which were open to let in the spring breeze and birdsong.

The dream had been just that—a dream. But Misty had not intended to dreamwalk. She did that at night when most other ponies slept, not when they were awake. However, that awful dream, that nightmare, was eerily reminiscent of the time Misty Moonrise had accidentally stumbled into Princess Luna’s dreams.

That had been many moons ago. Now Misty Moonrise was far more capable in her dreamwalking abilities and interpretation of dreams, not to mention the advances she had made in her magic. But this dream had felt more real, more true than any others. This dream—Queen Chrysalis’s dream—would come to pass.

Misty was on her hooves in a flash, hastening out of her quarters and into the tower’s spiraling stairwell. She hurtled down countless steps until she reached the ground floor.

Outside, Canterlot teemed with energy. Ponies of all kinds and colors mingled on the cobblestone streets, chatted at café tables, and waved from open windows. Cheerful voices filled the air almost as much as the clopping of hooves. The smell of fresh bread wafted on the breeze from the nearby bakery. Bright green leaves rustled softly on the branches of the slender trees and decorative shrubs. Flowers swayed and danced in their garden plots, their dazzling rainbow of petals seeming to smile at everypony who trotted past.

Unfortunately, Misty had not the time to savor any of it. She galloped down the street, darting between ponies and carts. She had to leap a group of young foals playing hopscotch, which earned her surprised and curious glances from nearby ponies. She ignored their scrutiny as she followed the winding thoroughfare all the way to the palace. The Royal Guards standing watch outside the entrance recognized Misty and did not bother to bar the way. One started to wave at her, but Misty galloped past before he could so much as raise a hoof. She would need to apologize for that another time. This could not wait.

Inside the palace, the Great Hall opened before her. With its vaulted ceiling and towering windows, the massive chamber held a number of Canterlot citizens awaiting an audience with Princess Celestia. A few ponies in the white and gold uniforms of Celestia, with her sun crest sewn on the front, were present as well, dusting the antique sculptures and vases, cleaning the window glass, attending the waiting citizens, and suchlike. Several pairs of guards, all in the golden armor of the Sun Princess—a blazing sun of orange and yellow enameled on their breastplates—were stationed at closed doors and the intersections of corridors that led farther into the grand castle.

Misty Moonrise slowed to a halt as she approached the doors to the throne room, panting from the long run. She wondered whether she ought to tell Princess Celestia of the dream first. Princess Luna spent her nights awake and vigilant while her sister slept. She would not appreciate being woken so soon after the moon had set. But Misty was not as comfortable around Princess Celestia as she was with her mentor. Besides, dreams were the realm of the Moon Princess—Celestia could wait.

Misty turned down an adjacent hall instead. Within a few minutes, she stood outside the door to Princess Luna’s private chambers.

Two thunderhead grey unicorn stallions stood guard. Their ears were uncannily long and tufted like lynx ears. Their armor was deep, royal purple filigreed with obsidian, and the crest on their breastplates was a waxing crescent moon of white enamel. The horns that spiraled from their foreheads were wicked, curved things. Their eyes, yellow like a timberwolf’s but more terrifying, bore into Misty like four icy daggers.

Trying not to appear as intimidated as she felt, Misty took a silent breath to calm herself and stood a little straighter. Those two could probably smell her fear, but she would put on a brave face anyway. If she tried hard enough, she could convince herself she was not afraid of them, the same way she convinced others that nothing in dreams was real.

Except for this dream. That thought calmed and worried her simultaneously. Misty met the guards’ cool gazes and said, “I realize the princess must be exhausted, but it’s imperative that I see her immediately.”

For a moment, it seemed that the guards would turn her away. Then one of them smiled and said brightly, “Of course, Misty Moonrise.”

Misty blinked, surprised by the use of her name. She glanced at the guard’s cutie mark—a sword crossed by a key—and realized, belatedly, that they had met before. She quickly returned her attention to the guard himself. I really should try harder to remember other ponies’ names, Misty thought. What is it, what is it…? Keystone! That’s it! “Thank you, Keystone,” she replied at last, returning the smile.

Keystone bobbed his head in a brief bow, a dark purple aura springing up around his horn. The door swung inward on silent hinges. Misty hurried through, and it slid quietly shut behind her.

The chamber Misty entered was dark and cool, though some embers still glowed fitfully in a hearth that was so wide it took up much of one wall. The deep sapphire glow of Misty’s magic glittered in the darkness as she shifted a few logs from the neat pile beside the fireplace instead to the pile of embers. A spark of magical fire was all that was needed to set the logs alight. The logs began to spit and crackle as the yellow-orange flames hungrily engulfed them.

The firelight warmed and brightened the whole room. Tables of polished ebony stood on slender, vine-like legs against the walls, bearing vases of night lilies and ornamental figurines. The opal tiles gleamed rosy pink in the fire’s glow where thick rugs made to resemble the night sky did not lay. Opposite the hearth, the walls were lined with ebony bookcases that stretched almost to the high ceiling, their leather-bound tomes neatly arranged. A desk, also of ebony and lightly gilded, rested in one corner, papers stacked neatly on one side beneath a paperweight, inkwells stoppered and in a single row, and raven-feather quills arranged just so. The tall windows were cloaked in velvet drapes such a deep blue they were nearly black. An ancient tapestry hung above the marble mantel, picturing an elegant alicorn flying amidst stars and a harvest moon.

On the bed—round and white like the full moon—rested the alicorn depicted in the tapestry, and the tapestry did not do her justice. Though not quite as tall as her elder sister, Princess Luna was nevertheless a sleek and majestic creature. Her coat was the dark, velvety sapphire of the night, and the stars themselves twinkled in her nearly translucent, cobalt mane and tail, though the latter was hidden under the blankets. She was not wearing her customary onyx crown, silver slippers, or onyx torque with its waxing crescent moon picked out in moonstones. Princess Luna slept so peacefully that, for a moment, Misty considered not disturbing her at all.

However, the memory of Chrysalis poisoning the Tree of Harmony firmed her resolve. Misty Moonrise approached the princess and said, quietly at first, “Princess Luna?” When that was not enough, Misty raised her voice and repeated, “Princess Luna? Princess, I’m sorry, but this is important.”

The princess shifted and at last opened her eyes. Her cyan gaze was glazed with drowsiness, but she raised her head and focused blearily on Misty. After a moment, Princess Luna blinked to clear her vision and said wearily, though not unkindly, “Misty Moonrise? What is it? Has something happened?”

“Forgive me for disturbing you, princess, but…” Misty explained what had occurred in the dream in detail and to whom she believed the dream belonged. After she finished, she asked softly, “The Tree of Harmony can’t really be killed, can it?”

For a while, Princess Luna did not answer. She scowled down at the floor in silence, deep in thought. When she finally lifted her gaze and spoke, her eyes were determined but her voice was tinged with worry. “These are tidings most troubling. I shall consult with my sister at once.” As she spoke, Princess Luna stood and went to one of the ebony stands, her waxing crescent moon cutie mark like a ghostly specter amidst the black clouds splashing her hindquarters. Over the stand was hung a large mirror. On the same table lay her crown and torque, and beneath it were tucked her silver slippers. Her light blue aura sparkled to life as she donned her royal regalia.

“Is there anything I can do to help, princess?” queried Misty.

“Thou hast already provided us a means of retaliation,” said Princess Luna, hastily smoothing her rumpled mane and tail with a brush. As so often happened when she spoke with Misty, the princess had slipped back into her archaic manner of speech. “There is little else thou can do in Canterlot.”

“But I can’t just sit and watch Chrysalis invade Equestria,” Misty protested. “I won’t stand by and do nothing, princess.”

Princess Luna faced her pupil with a gentle smile. “I wouldst not ask thee to sit idle, Misty Moonrise. I have another task for thee.” Princess Luna opened the door and, with Misty following alongside her, departed her private quarters. The two guards saluted as the princess passed.

“What is it?” Misty asked as they made their way through the corridors.

“Thou shall journey hither to Ponyville,” replied Princess Luna. “Tell Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends of Queen Chrysalis’s plans. If ’tis not already too late, they should be able to protect the Tree of Harmony and its Elements.”

They had arrived at the doors to the throne room. Misty Moonrise shuffled her hooves nervously and said, too quietly for anypony but Princess Luna to hear, “What if it is too late? What if Chrysalis is already at the Tree? What if—?”

“Misty Moonrise,” Princess Luna intervened gently, “I believe in thee and thine abilities. I wouldst not ask thee to do that which must be done if I did not think thee ready. Go to Princess Twilight Sparkle, help her stop Chrysalis from destroying the harmony in Equestria.”

Misty sighed inwardly, but bowed respectfully to the princess. “Yes, Princess Luna,” she said, straightening, and turned to leave.

Princess Luna placed a wing over Misty’s shoulder, stopping her. “Be wary, little pony mine,” cautioned the Moon Princess. “The Changeling Queen is not to be underestimated. Find friends thou can trust—thou will need them before the end.”