Come Little Children, I'll Take Thee Away...

Moonlace snuggled under her covers, turning over so that her head was facing the window of her meager bedroom. The view outside the dusty window showed a soulful indigo sky, spattered with a delicate dusting of silver stars that twinkled like diamonds thrown into a lake. The gossamer curtains danced in the warm summer breeze that curled playfully through the open glass, bringing a tide of sweet nighttime nothings into the room. The little filly, at that moment, was suspended in that beautiful state where sleep and wakefulness swirled and merged together into a kind of hazy dream. Sighing blissfully, Moonlace tightened her grip on her stuffed animal, a sleepy smile spreading across her face as she relished in the comfort of her companion. At that moment, the troubles of life seemed miles away- the famines, the fights, the poverty and heartbreak from the reign of Discord, none of it mattered. Now was a time for sleep.

At that moment, winding through her window, so soft and gentle it might have been the whisper of the moonbeams, came a voice. It was a voice like no other- quiet and whispery, light and airy, gentle as the caress of a cloud and breathlessly, achingly beautiful. A voice that wove through the air in a melancholy lullaby.

Come little children, I'll take thee away

Into a land of enchantment

At first, Moonlace was barely aware of the words. Assuming it to be part of her dreamy trance, she just yawned and rolled over again, losing herself in the gentle murmur of the lullaby. Now that it was there, she could discern each note- high and aching and sweet as honey, sweeping back to the ground in wavelike arcs, dancing and winding through the air like a graceful ribbon.

Come little children, the time's come to play,

Here in my garden of shadows

As Moonlace lay there, basking in the beautiful, unexpected song, she began to feel strange. Not in a bad way. Nothing about this was bad. Her thoughts slowed down, slower and slower, like they were wading through an ocean of honey. Some distant, far-off part or her brain felt that she might need to be worried about this, but that part was quickly crushed. After all, the feeling was relaxing, like sinking into a deep, soft mattress. Her eyesight dimmed, suddenly filled with the dark waving of shadows. As she watched, awestruck, the shadows swirled themselves into shapes- fountains of black stone that rained liquid silver, darkly glowing trees, bushes heavy with deep purple blossoms. A garden of shadows.

Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way,

through all the pain, and the sorrow

Moonlace felt a gentle tingle on the back of her head, soft and soothing. Humming contentedly, the filly flipped over in bed, savoring the tingly feeling washing over her face. Creaking open her eyes, Moonlace was met with the full blast of the silvery beams of the moon, obliterating the shadows in her sight. Before she knew quite what was happening, Moonlace found herself ensnared by the mesmerizing rays of light. They were so bright, so soft, so gentle. The specks of dust alight on the ray danced and shimmered like silver stars brought to earth. Moonlace was overcome by a feeling of weightlessness, like she was twirling and floating up, up, up onto the moonbeam and towards the beautiful silver orb shimmering in the sky.

Weep not poor children, for life is this way,

Murdering beauty and passion

The stuffed animal fell from Moonlace's hooves as she sat up in bed, her eyes wide and full of the silvery gleam of the moon. The longer she stared, the more pronounced the glassy gleam in her eyes became.

Hush now, dear children, it must be this way,

too weary of life and deceptions

Moonlace began to glow. Not that she cared; in her mind, she was simply enveloped in the same soothing, tingly feeling as before, cradling her in a heavenly cocoon of soft, luxuriant comfort. Giggling in glee, Moonlace found herself lifted bodily from her bed, twirling like a dust mote on the silken moonbeam. She looked skyward, taking in the sight of the full moon in all its glory. It glowed like the sun, but softer, gentle, white as ivory. A beautiful, soothing sight.

Rest now, my children, for soon we'll away,

into the calm, and the quiet

Without so much as a sound, Moonlace was whisked out of her room, twirling and bobbing through the air, always heading for the same beautiful sight- the glowing full moon. Staring at it now, Moonlace was struck my that same heavy, slowing-down feeling, not just in her mind, but her body as well. Each limb filled slowly with warm, heavy lead, weighing Moonlace down as she floated higher and higher into the sky. The feeling was disorienting- floating higher while sinking lower. Moonlace gave a feeble laugh at how silly it was, stifling a yawn. She was tired. So, so tired.

As Moonlace twirled through the air, eyes heavy, she realized that the voice, present throughout her journey so far, had stopped forming words. Instead, a simple, looping chorus of notes chimed through the air, haunting and sweet. The chorus seemed to whirl around Moonlace's head in a swirl of soothing sound, drifting into her mind and lulling her into a state of mindless joy.

As the last of her strength drained away, Moonlace realized there were other foals in the sky with her. Some looked as tired as she did, while others, eyes wide and glassy, were running mid-air, faces stretched in smiles of joy. Moonlace grinned. It was nice to see other foals having as much fun as she was. If any part of her thought for an instant that it was strange that these foals were all being whisked away, that part was quickly shushed.

And then she saw her.

Flying in front of her, mouth open in the heavenly chorus that filled Moonlace's ears, looking regal and fair as the moon itself, was the Princess Luna. The moonlight glinted off her navy coat and elegant black jewelry, mane full of glinting stars. So great was her radiance that she actually gave off an almost hypnotic silver glow. Moonlace found herself unable to look away.

Come little children, I'll take thee away,

into a land of enchantment

Luna smiled a motherly smile at the sight of the soaring colts and fillies, turning and flying towards the moon, the foals trailing behind her. Moonlace kept her eyes fixed on the alicorn's glowing silver outline, allowing to become the main focus of her sight as she soared through the night air. It was her anchor, the thing keeping her happy and safe; if it disappeared, she'd never be happy again...

Passing clouds puffed against Moonlace's body as she twirled after the night princess; each one soft and warm, like her favorite blanket. Each gentle caress made her even sleepier, slowed her thoughts down even more. Eventually, she stopped being aware of each individual cloud. She just basked in waves of soft, heavy warmth.

Up ahead, Luna turned and soared directly into the moon. This close, there was nothing to dull the beams. Moonlace's vision lit up silver as the moon filled up her vision and her thoughts.

Come little children, the time's come to play,

here in my garden of shadows...