The Bright Equestrian Moon

Everything is hazy, and strange, but I don’t really question it. I’m with Luna at the castle in the garden, I turn my head and then I’m back on Earth where I did that ritual with Jack. Jack seems to be hanging out with me. I’m about to speak, but he lifts his hand and shakes his head, he looks disgusted. Then he speaks with his eyes closed. “I thought you were better… You disgust me.”

What? Why? I’m so confused. “What do you mean, Jack? Why?”

Jack opens his eyes and looks condescendingly at me. “You know why… That horse… Humans should be with humans…”

I shake my head. “I don’t get it… Her and I are just friends…”

He turns away and begins to leave. “Tell yourself that as much as you want… Friends don’t do what you two did…”

I’m about to protest, but he’s gone now. What the hell? I don’t remember doing anything other than chatting with and hugging Luna. I turn and see my parents next. My dad is a bit taller than me and his appearance is a lot like mine, or technically vice versa. My mum is a bit shorter than me, has blue eyes and dark brown hair. My parents look just as disgusted as Jack, but with more disappointment than him. “What’s wrong?”

My dad speaks first. “I’m sure you know what you’ve done. You should be ashamed.”

Then my mum speaks. “I thought you were such a good boy, Travis… When did you change?”

Before I can reply my dad continues. “I never knew that you behaved so vilely. We’re both very upset, but look at your poor mother, you’ve betrayed her trust.”

I shake my head and shout. “I did nothing wrong! If this is about Luna, we’re just friends! We didn’t do anything, I swear!”

My dad only shouts back at me. “Don’t lie to me! You know what disgusting thing you did with that horse!”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing, this is horrible. “B-b-but, what did I do with her?! We talked and hugged, that’s it!”

My dad raises his hand like Jack did, before hugging my mum and looking away from me. “You had -” He pauses as he struggles to say the next word. “- sex with it. With a horse…” He shakes his head. “You’re no son of mine. Get out of my sight.”

I feel a lump in my throat and try to blink away the tears, before running outside. This can’t be happening. I’m back in the Canterlot Castle garden, but this time I’m alone. I sit back against the tree, close my eyes and begin to cry like I did yesterday. I don’t understand… It doesn’t make sense…

There is a flash and immediately after it, I feel wings and forehooves wrap me in a tight hug. I then hear Luna. “Do not worry, Travis, I am here. It is just a dream.”

I open my eyes and slowly look up at her, trying to wipe away the tears. Then I hug Luna and bury my face in her dark blue coat. “It is? How much did you see?”

Luna rubs my back with a hoof comfortingly. “Yes, this is indeed just a dream, and I saw enough to understand your worries about the matter we talked of last night.”

I let go of her and wipe my eyes a bit more. “I see… You help young ponies with nightmares. What do you make of what happened in my dream?”

She looks away for a moment. “There is not much to say about it, it explained itself. You are worried over what those close to you on Earth would think of you if you were to enter a relationship with me.”

Hmmm, I guess that’s my subconscious thinking over things while I sleep. “That makes sense, I suppose. Yeah, I’m a little scared of what might happen if I do change my mind on the whole just being friends thing. You aren’t upset about that are you?”

Luna looks back at me. “Perhaps a little, but I understand why you would be worried. However, Jack and your parents are not like that are they? I would think it safe to assume that your subconscious made them behave more extreme than they normally would.”

I softly nod. “Yeah, that’s one of the reasons I was so confused. They would never act that way; they aren’t that harsh or hostile. It just sucks that I had to experience such a dream, or nightmare would be more appropriate to call it by.”

Luna gently rubs my back. “I am sorry that you had this nightmare. If I had not further discussed my crush with you last night, you most likely would have dreamt of something else.”

Now she’s blaming herself? I shake my head. “It’s all right, Luna, I’m the one who asked about it earlier in the day. Besides, this overall matter isn’t all you. I won’t deny what Celestia said about some part of me caring deeply for you.

“If it wasn’t so sudden, and if I wasn’t so worried about the species difference, I might have agreed to being in a romantic relationship with you. Maybe sometime later I’ll change my mind, but at the moment I’m still a bit worried and overwhelmed… Anyway, if no part of me was interested, I wouldn’t have cared much about your answer, and thus not had the nightmare.”

Luna appears to be somewhat relieved by my response to her apology. “Thank you, it comforts me that this dream was not entirely my fault.” She then hugs me a little tighter. “And I will hold onto the hope that soon, you will change your mind about what our relationship should be.”

I blush softly and gently hug her back. “Right… So… On to other matters, I’m now lucid dreaming since you told me, right? I feel fairly conscious of this all being a dream now.”

She finally lets go of me and nods. “That is correct, your dream to be precise. So, you should now have power over it. Think of something to make it happen.”

I let go as well and smile, closing my eyes for a moment. What would I like? Wings. Yeah, wings would be awesome. I open my eyes and look back, spreading my new wings. They are large and the feathers match the colour of my hair. I smile wider and laugh. “Oh, that’s so awesome!”

Luna smiles as well and spreads her wings. “Shall we fly?”

I nod excitedly and grin. “Damn right we’re gonna fly!” I test my wings and immediately shoot up high and do a few loops, before soaring towards a snowy forest. Luna follows close behind and I look back at her, shouting through the rushing air. “I can make anything happen here, yeah?!”

“Indeed! As long as you can imagine it, you can make it happen!” She is smiling, seemingly enjoying my reaction to my new found dream power.

I swoop down and fly into the forest, imagining a pack of wolves running by my side in the snow, and sure enough, there they are. They all have different coat colours, ranging from black to white, to brown. I’ve always loved wolves. I bring my wings in tight and plant my hands and feet on the snow, running on all fours with them. Luna is flying and watching from just above. My hands and feet become paws and I run a little more with the wolves, before slowing down and stopping by a river.

Luna lands beside me, and she appears taller to me than usual. I suppose that’s what happens when you gain the stature and form of a wolf. I look back and notice my wings are still there. I then find that I’m still able to speak as well. “I hope you aren’t frightened by wolves. I just absolutely love them, in fact, I have a bit of a connection with them you could say.”

She softly shakes her head. “No, I am not frightened by wolves, especially this kind.”

I tilt my head; I wonder what that means. Perhaps simply just another specific branch of wolf? “What do you mean by this kind?”

Luna lays down to be at my height. “In the Everfree forest live magical creatures known as timberwolves. They take the form of giant wolves, but they are made from branches and wood of the Everfree. It is still not understood exactly how they function other than being magically animated in some manner.”

“Hmmm, sounds interesting. Judging by the fact that you treat them differently than this kind of wolf, would I be right in assuming that they are more hostile than normal wolves?”

She reaches over to me and strokes the back of my head with a hoof. Damn, that feels pretty good as a wolf. “Yes, it is not known why, but they do have a tendency of attacking ponies unprovoked.”

I step away from Luna for a bit and shake my head. That petting was feeling too good. I then change back into my usual human form, although I keep the wings. “I see… Anyway, how much longer do we have here before one of us wakes up?”

Luna closes her eyes for a moment. “It is currently very early morning.” She then opens her eyes. “We can wake up whenever you choose. Due to my magical power over dreams, I can hold this dream together for as long as you would like.”

I think for a moment, that’s pretty awesome. How long would I like this dream to continue for? Perhaps enough to get a decent amount of sleep in the real world. “Well then, let’s keep dreaming, I’d like to get a good night’s sleep.” I pet a nearby wolf and then offer Luna my hand.

She smiles and blushes, placing her hoof in my palm and I help her up. “Thank you, how gentlecoltly of you.”

I rub the back of my neck. “Uh, yeah, you’re welcome… Wanna fly some more?”

Luna smiles and nods gently. “I would love to. Just lead the way.”

I smile back and then take off into the sky, Luna easily keeping pace. The wolves howl as we leave and I howl back, then I do spirals and loops through the air. Luna performs her own aerial stunts and tricks, and I stop to watch her for a moment. It is almost like she is performing a beautiful dance in the sky. I can’t help but re-join her in achieving various manoeuvres.

We make our way to a mountain during our flight and I hug Luna just as we both finish our own loops. She is quick to hug me back. “Thanks for showing me how to control my dreams, Luna. It’s been amazing.”

She hugs me a little tighter. “You are very welcome, Travis. I have found it very enjoyable to share your dream.”

I let go of Luna and fall back towards the mountain, performing a spiral to right myself and land on the top of it. She shortly joins me on the mountaintop. I then look around. “So, you may have taught me how to control my dream once I become conscious of being in one. I was thinking that perhaps sometime you could teach me how to actually become lucid by my own ability in a dream?”

Luna wraps a wing around me and pulls me close. “It would be my pleasure to teach you so.”

I blush and smile, allowing her to keep her wing around me. I look down the mountain to see a giant blue lake surrounded by pine trees. “I’ve never felt so free in my life. I also feel so much lighter, as if a heavy weight of worries has left me.” And that’s so true. It’s been seriously remarkable to have the power to just do whatever I want without worries. I could be myself completely.

“I understand the feeling. It is why I learnt to control dreams. The dreamscape is the one place where you can relax and simply be however you wish to be.” Luna goes quiet for a little bit and scoots over to be even closer to me as she looks at the scenery. “Your dreams are beautiful, and they reveal to me your sweet personality.”

I blush more. I think she’s kind of hitting on me, but who am I to deny her? She’s given me the opportunity to be free, and to be myself within my dreams. My worries have dissipated after the brilliant time I’ve had here. Maybe I was wrong about just being friends. I don’t know though. I’m sure it’s too soon and rushed… But she’s amazing. I nervously lean against her. “Hmmm…”

Luna turns her gaze to me and blushes softly. “Are you thinking about something?”

“Yeah…” Should I tell her what about? I don’t know. We’re a different species… But I can’t deny that she’s… Beautiful? Majestic?... That flight really showed how much that part of me cares for her. What would my parents think though if I manage to get back to Earth? It probably wouldn’t matter, I mean, I do want to stay in Equestria anyway… But I still feel that my parents’ approval would mean a lot to me…

Luna seems to speak, but I don’t hear her, I’m still deep in thought. Even if I don’t get my parents’ approval, I would still do what I feel I should do… What do I feel I should do? I feel a fluttering in my chest when I think of Luna now… Is this a crush? Is it love? It’s too soon, but when I think about it, time is relative…

Luna softly shakes me. “Travis, what is it?” I slowly come back to the present. I never thought that I could also space out in dreams. Well, it’s duly noted now.

I look around, averting my gaze from Luna’s eyes. “I… I… Don’t know…”

I feel her hoof gently press against my cheek, turning my head to look directly at her. The fluttering in my chest grows stronger as I look into her lovely eyes. “Please, what are you thinking? You appeared to be distant.”

I blush intensely and gulp nervously, trying my best to speak. “I… I think… I might change my mind… Soon… Really soon…” I take a few deep breaths. Her beautiful eyes are making me melt. “I might, uh… Have a crush on you too… It was this dream… And the flying… You let me be myself…” I go quiet and take a few more deep breaths, shaking a little and looking down at my hands, fiddling with them.

Luna is silent for some time, then I feel her hoof on my chin redirect my gaze back towards her face again. She seems to be tearing up a bit. “You truly feel that way?”

I shut my eyes and think. I might be stuck in Equestria for a long time, and I have been hoping to get a relationship for a while now. Screw what other people might think. Screw those damn worries of mine. She let me be who I feel I am and sees the real me as sweet. I should at least give her a shot, perhaps I was in a rush to dismiss this whole thing rather than accept it. I open my eyes and nod slightly. “Yes. I truly feel that way.”

Before I know it, she leans toward me and plants her lips on mine. This might just be a dream, but this is the real Luna. It feels marvellous. I place my hand on her cheek and lean into the kiss, closing my eyes again. I’ve never felt anything better. We hold the kiss for some time, before pulling away and looking at each other. “I am overjoyed that you feel it to be true, Travis.”

I gently stroke her starry mane as I look into her eyes. “That felt better than anything I’ve ever experienced, Luna. I never knew how much I needed that.” I lean back in for a second kiss. This time I slip my tongue out to meet her lips, which she then parts, allowing my tongue to explore her mouth. Her tongue caresses mine and pushes it back into my mouth so that she takes her turn tasting my mouth. We then break the kiss and pant for a bit.

I wrap my arms around Luna and hold her close to me. She returns the embrace just as closely. I feel so much more strongly about Luna now that I’ve given in to that part of me. We spend quite a bit of time just in silence, being close, and then I speak up. “So… Would you refer to me as your equerry or your romantic partner around others?”

Luna breathes softly, before answering with a question. “What would you like to be referred to as?”

I chuckle a little. “Between us, most definitely your romantic partner. Around others though, I’m happy with either. You’re the one who is royalty here and has a reputation to uphold, so you should decide how others perceive us.”

“Perhaps we should tell Celestia about our relationship first, then we may decide whether to let other ponies know or not.”

I kiss Luna’s cheek. “That sounds like a good idea, I can go with that. In fact, I look forward to the discussion.”

She tenderly returns the kiss. “Indeed, as do I.”

I smile and gently brush her cheek with a hand. “Is there a way for us to slip out of being lucid to let the dream pass quickly? I really want to join you in the physical world as soon as possible, whilst also getting a good amount of sleep.”

She smiles back and slowly nods. “Of course, I can activate such a dream state if you wish.”

“That would be awesome, Luna. Good night, I’ll look forward to seeing you in the real world.” I then give her a parting peck on the lips.

“Very well, good night, Travis. I too look forward to physically getting together.” She gives me a parting kiss in kind, then her horn glows brightly. There is a flash and she is gone, followed by the dream becoming a blur of my subconscious once more.