A Glimpse of What May Be
Sunshine above. A field of colourfully blooming flowers below. The air warm and still, yet not overly dry nor oppressive. Celestia sighed, closing her eyes and relishing the comforting heat of this beautiful day in Equestria. This was how her kingdom should be. No strife. No conflict. A place where everypony could take the time to focus on the important things in life. To learn about themselves and better understand their true purpose. To indulge and enjoy spending time in the company of good friends, and relish the opportunities given to make new ones. And of course, to cherish their families. Parents and guardians. Children. Siblings.
"'Tia."
Celestia jumped slightly at the voice which cut through the tranquillity of that moment. It was neither loud nor harsh in its tone, quite the contrary in fact. But compared to the silence which had preceded it, it was deafening. Looking upward towards the source of the sound, Princess Celestia smiled. Silhouetted against the bright sun, the alicorn beheld a rare and wonderful sight. Her sister, bathed in golden sunshine; the dark coat of her body glittering with a pale blue iridescence that was not normally visible in the light of the moon and stars alone.
Delicately the smaller alicorn landed by her sister's side. They bowed to one another politely, before hugging in a more casual and affectionate manner. Matching smiles lit up Celestia and Luna's faces as they regarded one another, but it was the elder of the two siblings whose eyes were widest with delight and wonder.
"It's great to see you, sister. But if I may ask, Luna.. what are you doing here? Why are you awake during the day?"
For a few moments Luna looked at her sister in curious silence. She looked around them at their surroundings. At the endless meadow of wildflowers stretching off to the horizon on all sides. At the cloudless blue sky and the blazing sun resting directly above them. Then finally, back to Celestia. Luna smirked, shaking her head as Celestia looked on without the slightest clue as to the reason for her sister's reaction.
"I'm not awake during the day, 'Tia. It's not daytime, and it's actually you who is not awake."
To prove her point, Princess Luna pointed up into the sky with one foreleg. A sky which now held not only the blazing midday sun, but also a vast full moon right beside it. Needless to say Celestia's eyes soon widened with realisation as she beheld the emblems of day and night sharing the sky with apparent ease, looking around at what was now rather obviously all part of a dreamscape. An idealised representation of what her subconscious no doubt considered the perfect representation of peaceful Equestrian countryside, but which truly resembled no part of Equestria that she personally had ever visited or laid eyes upon.
"Oh..."
Partially disappointed, partially embarrassed, the elder alicorn's cheeks flushed. She swiftly moved past that slight oversight on her part however, and set her mind to analysing what was actually happening.
"...so, are you just a part of my dream? Or do I need help sorting out something, and you're dreamwalking to let me know what it is?"
Luna giggled, nodding and shrugging at the same time.
"Not exactly, but something like that. I'm here. But actually, I came expecting you to tell me why. I felt your subconscious calling me, so when I arrived and found you seemingly ready to greet me, I assumed you knew that this was a dream, and that you brought me here because it was an easy way for us to have a chat. After all, us talking like this has proven more effective in the past than trying to hold my attention after the five or six espresso shots I need to keep me up past sunrise."
Chuckling at the truth of her sibling's comments, Celestia looked up into the sky for a moment or two. She admired the beauty of the sun and the moon resting side by side, bathed in one another's glow. Wonderful as it may have been to spend some time in the company of her sister and have the chance to gaze upon such fantastical sights though, Celestia soon found herself frowning. She turned her gaze back towards Luna, brow furrowed.
"I'm afraid if I did have a reason for calling you here, I don't know what it is. Either it got lost between my conscious thought and the dream, or it's buried so deep even I wasn't aware of thinking it. Sorry for dragging you in here for nothing more than a quick hello and a catch up."
The two alicorns' eyes met, and Luna shook her head warmly at her sister's apology.
"Don't worry. It's never a chore getting to hang out inside your head. The chance to see this, to see your perfect inner idyll..."
She gestured towards the peaceful, endless meadow stretching out around them.
"...is more than reward enough."
Celestia blushed brighter. She knew rationally speaking that there was nothing for her to be embarrassed about. This dream was perfectly harmless and innocent after all, and yet in a way that fact made it all the more private and intimate. Although... now that Celestia actually thought about it, this wasn't her mind's normal go-to dream for experiencing peaceful satisfaction. Or rather, it was, but with one substantial alteration. Laughter. Voices. The sounds and sights of everypony in Equestria having the time of their lives in Celestia's paradise. Never before had the alicorn found herself in this kind of dream alone. Never had she sought to actively be away from the world and all the ponies within it that she loved so dearly.
Perhaps that was why she had called out for Luna. To ensure that she was not alone, and to keep this dream from becoming some strange, unfamiliar nightmare.
Or... perhaps there was some other reason. A reason yet to be made clear.
"Princesses!"
This time both Celestia and Luna jumped as another voice, belonging to neither one of them, rang out from close by. Together they whirled around towards its source, and soon found themselves calling out warmly to the voice's owner where she stood just a short distance away.
"Twilight!"
Racing over to the youngest of Equestria's Princesses, the trio completed a renewed series of bows and hugs. It wasn't long however, barely more than a few seconds after the hugging had ceased, until Luna stepped back with a rather surprised expression upon her features.
"Wait. Twilight Sparkle? This is... this is really you, isn't it?"
Both Celestia and the purple coated alicorn looked at Luna with expressions of confusion. Twilight nodded, unsure exactly what it was that she was being asked.
"Um... yes, it's me. Who else would it b-..."
Her voice trailed off, eyes twinkling as she realised what Luna was implying.
"Wait. This is a dream?"
Luna nodded, still frowning.
"Yes. But not your dream. This is Celestia's dream. Twilight, have you been studying how to dreamwalk?"
The youngest Princess shook her head, only to pause mid way through the action and blush guiltily.
"No. Well, I mean... not exactly. Okay, so I may have read a book or two about the theory of it. Just a few volumes, and some scrolls detailing the magic involved in performing a dream walk. And yes, I may have tried to see if I could sense anything from the subconscious minds of my friends last time we had a sleepover at the castle. But it totally didn't work. As far as I know, you're the only alicorn that can enter other ponies' dreams at will."
Luna cocked an eyebrow. Looking from Twilight Sparkle to Celestia, then back again, she shook her head.
"This is strange. Very strange. Celestia doesn't remember drawing me to this dream, you don't know how you got here at all, and I certainly didn't bring us all together. It's almost like someone or something is trying to bring us together. A force we don't yet know about. Could there be a reason such a force would seek to exert itself upon three of Equestria's rulers? Some threat that might be so immediate that it may lead to we alicorns being banded together by a force other than the Tree of Harmony?"
The three Princesses considered this for a short while, before Celestia eventually spoke up.
"No. That doesn't make sense. If there was that big a threat facing Equestria, there would have been signs. Signs more obvious than a dream this... this peaceful. Between Twilight Sparkle's knowledge of Equestria's historical lore, our oversight of night and day in Equestria, Cadence's political connections to the lands beyond the Crystal Empire and even Discord's understanding of the chaos realms, we would have heard something. The only time dreams have played an important role in the future of Equestria, aside from the recent Tantabus incident, was..."
This time it was Celestia's voice which trailed off in realisation. Luna and Twilight stared at the elder alicorn as her eyes widened visibly.
"...was when I dreamed of a new alicorn. A new Princess joining me in ruling Equestria."
Luna looked at Twilight Sparkle. The youngest of the alicorn's blushed deeply, but upon seeing their reaction Celestia shook her head.
"Not you, Twilight. Before you. Before Luna's return. I had a dream, and the very next day I met a certain young filly for the first time. A filly whose heart was so full of love, it seemed to reach out and touch all those around her. A pony called Mi Amore Cadenza."
As Celestia spoke those final few words, a volatile burst of light erupted across the sky. The trio of alicorn's looked upward sharply, eyes wide and expressions aghast as both the sun and moon faded from view; obscured entirely by a blazing shooting star streaking through the blue sky towards them. It grew bigger, closer with each passing moment until it was too bright to look at directly. At the last second, just when Celestia, Luna and Twilight Sparkle were about to close their eyes and shield their faces in fright, the shooting star exploded. Dazzling streaks of colour filled the sky with hundreds upon hundreds of glimmering rainbows, while one solitary chunk of meteorite continued its final descent towards them.
Plummeting rapidly to the ground, the meteorite struck mere moments later. Less a chunk of rock and more a great lump of pale blue crystal, it smashed into the wildflower strewn meadow. An iridescent shockwave of colour surged out from the point of impact, but rather than flattening the lush grass and abundant flowers surrounding it, it froze them. Locking them into perfect, shimmering crystalline versions of their former selves.
The burning glow of the impact faded gradually as with trepidation overwhelmed by rapt curiosity the three alicorns approached it. Soon they were close enough to see what dwelt at its core, and gasped in mutual surprise. Resting within the crystalline bottomed crater that was all which remained of the blue crystal meteor itself, lying tenderly side by side, the trio saw two more ponies. Figures they recognised. Figures they cherished and loved dearly. Princess Cadence; the only alicorn absent from this shared dream thus far, and her husband Shining Armour.
The two seated ponies looked up at the approaching Princesses, and with one foreleg Shining Armour warmly beckoned them to draw in close. Both Celestia and Twilight Sparkle looked to Luna, but she shook her head.
"They aren't real. And yet, I do not sense them as being mere figments of this dream either. I don't know what they are exactly."
Rising to his feet, Shining Armour leaned down and touched his horn to his wife's own. Then he lowered his head between her crossed forelegs, and planted a fond kiss upon...
From where they stood close by, the three dreaming alicorn's eyes bulged.
Resting within Cadence's embrace was a tiny bundle of soft, golden fluff. It squirmed and shifted as Shining Armour kissed it, and gurgled in the manner only a newborn foal could. A tiny, precious hoof stretched out. A small pair of wings fluttered and fluffed, and a delicate horny stretched out into the air as the baby yawned before retreating back into its mother's embrace.
Celestia said what she, Luna and Twilight Sparkle were all thinking in that moment.
"A new alicorn. Princess Cadence's baby... a naturally born alicorn."
Sure enough, Shining Armour stepped forward. He was grinning from ear to ear, as proud and giddy as any new father as he spoke to all the Princesses... but first and foremost, to his little sister.
"Another alicorn. You must be so proud, Auntie Twily."
Twilight Sparkle's cheeks burned, and she blinked back a few spontaneous tears of joy at hearing herself referred to in that manner.
"I am. Oh, big brother. Can... can I see her? Can I meet my niece?"
Deep down, Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but remind herself that this was all a dream; at least a dream of some sort. But despite that fact, not only she but Celestia and Luna too found themselves hurrying forward to get a better look at the newborn alicorn.
To their surprise however, both Shining Armour and Princess Cadence giggled with amusement. They both shook their heads as Cadence carefully passed the baby to its father, and he in turn corrected Twilight as he turned back to face the wide eyed trio.
"No, Twily. You can't meet your niece. But... you can meet your nephew."
Twilight Sparkle stared.
Princess Luna stared.
Princess Celestia Stared.
They all stared at the adorable little bundle held carefully in the crook of one of Shining Armour's forelegs. An alicorn, unmistakably so. But now that they looked closer; at the shape of the face, the thickness of the torso and limbs, even the tufted pattern of its golden mane, an alicorn that far more resembled its father than its mother.
A colt.
An alicorn colt.
Before any one of the trio could speak, or react with anything more than silent shock, the dream came to an end. Simultaneously and instantaneously, Luna was lurched back into her own mind as both Twilight Sparkle and Celestia awoke with a start in their own beds. All three alicorn's gasped, and with their first waking breaths found themselves exclaiming versions of the exact same thought.
"A boy."
Luna's voice was filled with awe and curiosity.
"A... a nephew."
Twilight's words shook with emotion. With surprise, yes, but with joy above all else.
Princess Celestia meanwhile lay perfectly still in her own bed. Her eyes remained wide open, her gaze fixed upon the darkened ceiling above as she sought to recall the final few moments of the dream. The sight of that young alicorn, so clear and vivid that it almost had to be real. Whether this dream was simply that... whether it was a prophecy, some dark portent, or perhaps just a passing fantasy shared by the three of them after Cadence's recent announcement, she could not say. For all Celestia or anyone else knew, a male alicorn was entirely impossible, and thus nothing they had seen in the dream could ever come to pass. And yet, she heard herself murmuring in wonder at the mere possibility.
"A Prince. The first alicorn Prince of Equestria."
By Jeeves
