The Dreamwalker

The Dream Realm, Read the title.

We stared at the pages in awe. What the words in this book implied was almost totally unbelievable. If it had been written by anypony other that the Princess Luna, I wouldn't even begin to imagine that it was true. But where the author signed their name, it clearly read 'Luna.'

The book stated that there were occasional tears in the fabric of the Dream Realm, and that it was potentially possible for someone to jump the gap, and end up dreaming in another dimension. Nate claimed to have fallen asleep at home, and wound up in my head. If this book told the truth, then that had to be how Nate got here.

Aside from the dimension jumping, there were various other parts to the book. One section explained a few causes of these tears. Another mentioned Dreamwalkers, which were anything with the ability to enter the Dream Realm, like Princess Luna.

In order to get Nate back home, we would probably need to see Luna. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to visit her until tomorrow, as she was currently acting as an ambassador for Equestria in one of our neighboring regions. Until then, I would have to keep this to myself, or other ponies might think I've gone insane.

As if thinking about others was her queue, Twilight walked into the room. She started sifting through the books, not even noticing me. She must have been focused on some important task to be this unobservant.

"Hey Twilight." I halfheartedly greeted her.

"Oh, hey Starlight. Didn't see you there. I'm studying a very strange anomaly right now." Twilight toned. I wondered Nate being here was causing some form of disturbance.

"What kind of anomaly?" I inquired.

"Princess Luna asked me to investigate a flux in the Dream Realm while she was away. It really seemed to bother her, so I'm trying my hardest to determine the source. I've narrowed it down to somewhere in Ponyville."

"I think I may know where it is." I mumbled, afraid of what Twilight would think when she found out about Nate.

"Have you been experiencing vivid dreams or nightmares lately?" She pressed.

"Not exactly..."

"Then what is it?"

"It's difficult to explain. It's like there's another person in my head."

"That's called dissociative identity disorder, and it doesn't involve dreams. You should, however, consider consulting a therapist or other experts to get help."

"No, that's not what I meant. This pony- or whatever he is- came from another dimension. He may have crossed through an opening in the Dream Realm to get here." Twilight looked up from the book she levitated in front of her. Now I had her attention.

"Princess Luna had told me that something might have traveled here through the Dream Realm. We held our conversation in private, but you just described what she said could have happened." Twilight said. She knew I hadn't been listening to her conversation with Luna, which meant she definitely believed me now.

"He goes by Nate, and the last thing he claims to remember is falling asleep in bed, and then he woke up inside of my head. This book here helped us figure out what we think happened." I filled her in.

"Alright, first thing tomorrow we're going to see Luna. She's definitely going to want to hear this." Twilight declared.

"Agreed."

Why is this 'Luna' so special? I saw a little bit of her when I went into your memories. Nate asked.

She's the pony who can help us figure out what's going on, hopefully.

Starlight and I spent most of the next few hours going back and forth, asking questions about one another's lives. It quickly became evident that Starlight had it made, compared to me. She had plenty of friends, all willing to forgive her for the things she's done. I never even did anything wrong, but nobody was willing to forgive me. I was treated the way Starlight thought people... ponies... would treat her.

These kind ponies were working hard to find me a way to get home, but I wasn't even entirely sure if I wanted to go home. Everyone here seemed nicer than anyone else I knew. Was it worth all the effort to send me home?

Ooh, Nate! I've got a good one. Starlight chimed.

Shoot.

What's it like being out of your body?

That's, uh, that's kind of an awkward one to answer. I guess I just adapted to being in a different body. I still have all of my senses, but I share them with you. I see what you see, hear what you hear, etcetera. My turn.

Go ahead. She allowed.

What's it like having a new voice in your head?

Umm, well I suppose it's no different than holding a conversation with myself, but I don't always know what the other one's going to say.

You mean to tell me that I'm predictable? I took a shot at being humorous.

No, you're rational. You ask the questions one would be expected to ask when placed in an odd situation. She stated.

That's good, I think. At least it means I'm not totally insane.

Implying that you are partially insane?

Maybe. Everyone back home treats me like I am.

How is it possible for you to be nice, when you've never experienced kindness? Starlight took on a more serious tone.

I can't really answer that. I was always treated poorly, and I vowed to myself that I would never be like the people around me. That could be part of it.

Starlight paused for a minute before responding.

That's a moving story. Princess Twilight might even want to use that as a friendship lesson or something.

It's not really that great. It's kind of sad, in all honesty.

I'm serious. Twilight could use you as an example of how ponies should react when faced with negativity like that.

...

You want to know something? I asked.

Sure.

You're the nicest person I've ever met, and you're not even a person. Isn't that funny?

Sort of. It's more sad than anything else.

We sat in silence, until Starlight finally stood up from the library bench she had sat us at. We had been here for quite some time, but I didn't have any sort of way to know just how long in here.

Where are we going? I questioned.

I'm grabbing something to eat, and then I'm getting ready for bed. It's getting late.

How can you tell?

Starlight looked up at the analog clock above the doorway, and I felt stupid for not seeing that sooner.

Does that answer your question? Starlight asked. Usually I would have taken that for sarcasm, but she seemed genuine. I never explicitly told her that there are clocks where I'm from, and she was probably unsure as to whether I knew what they were or not.

I'm more used to digital than analog, but yes, that does answer my question.

Digital? She inquired. I had noticed the technology gap between here and home, but didn't pay it too much mind until now.

Oh, right. A digital clock is, eh, how would I go about describing it? It's a clock with a light-up display, and it shows the exact time in numerical value, instead of having hands that rotate around a circular plate, leaving the reader to try and estimate based on their placement.

I only understood about half of that, but I would probably need to see it in order to fully know what you just said. That was very informational.

I was on track to graduate in the top five of my class.

Top five percent?

No, top five students. Maybe even top three.

That's pretty impressive. You're a lot like me, you know?

That's probably what kept us both comfortable with the other's presence. I have a feeling that if I were different, we would have both been driven to insanity.

Then thank Celestia that you are the way you are.

Though I had a very limited understanding of who this 'Celestia' was, I knew enough to understand the expression. It reminded me of how the people in the United Kingdom used their Queen in certain sayings.

Starlight made her way through the castle that I was both familiar and unfamiliar with. Sharing a mind with someone acquainted me with things I had never seen before. For instance, I hadn't ever been here, but I knew that the kitchen would be through the next door on the right. and Starlight's room would be farther down on the left.

Just as I had knew she would, Starlight shoved through the door on the right, and into the massive kitchen. Starlight began to pull ingredients from the fridge, and I quickly noticed something was off.

You're going to make a appetizer?

What? No. Why would you think that?

You're making a salad. Personally, I don't eat salads, but I know that people eat them as appetizers.

This isn't an appetizer, it's the main course. What do you normally eat?

All kinds of things. My favorite meal would have to be- I stopped myself. I was about to say 'pork and sauerkraut,' but something caught my attention. Everything in this kitchen was that of a vegetarian diet. Ponies are vegetarians!

You alright? Starlight checked. My abrupt stop had left her concerned.

Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine.

What were you going to say?

Apple pie. I said, thinking fast.

That's not a meal. She laughed.

It's my favorite food.

Alright, then I'll try this: what would you eat as a regular meal?

Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. I stated, only half-lying by leaving out the pork part of the meal.

Gross! You eat sauerkraut?

Is that bad? I asked, hoping it didn't violate their food standards or anything.

No, it's just that most ponies can't stand anything sour like that.

Whew.

By now, Starlight had tossed the ingredients of her salad, and floated it over to the kitchen island. This castle should have had an dining room in it somewhere, but she was content eating here. She grabbed a fork from one of the drawers, and I watch it hover it's way into the bowl.

How do you do that? I wondered.

What, this? She lifted the fork again, coating it in that same teal aura.

Yeah. I've seen you use your magic, but how does it work?

Hmm. I've never really had to explain it before. It comes naturally. I just think about what I want to do, and it happens. Some spells take more concentration that others. Levitation is second nature to most unicorns, as it's one of the easiest.

I want to try something.

You want to see if you can cast a spell, since you're in my body. She guessed.

Would you be okay with that?

I don't see why not. Try the fork. She set the fork in the center of the island. Just think about the fork, and what you want it to do, or where you want it to go.

So I stared down the fork, and concentrated on lifting it. After some time, our shared horn began to glow, and the fork twitched. That was all I was able to do.

You did it! She chimed.

Barely. I deadpanned.

It's a good start. We can try again later, if we have time. Right now I just want to get to bed.

Starlight downed her salad, which I could taste, and cleaned up her mess. She trotted down the hall, and back into the room we started in. She did her nightly ritual, which wasn't far off from my own, and got ready for bed. There was a slight ordeal when she showered, because neither of us like the idea of my presence while she did so. I finally managed to find a way to... 'disconnect' from Starlight's eyes. It was a mildly frightening experience, as it felt like I had gone blind.

When she was all finished, Starlight clamored into the oversized bed, and pulled the covers over herself. Falling asleep was a strange sensation, because I was out before Starlight was. Everything simply went dark for a few seconds. When I opened my eyes again, it was morning, but not in Equestria.