Nightmares, they were filled with the worst experiences your mind could come up with. But even so, knowing that they are only temporary, and that the sheer relief of waking up from them might just make up for it, Ben had never once experienced to be fully in control of himself within one of them. And neither did it ever happen that the nightmare would simply… vanish. Replaced by a soothing silence and peace that left him with a mixed feeling of confusion and wonder.
And the cause of it all was the being that stood in front of him, regarding him curiously once he had taken note of it. Naturally, he could merely believe that it was another product of his own mind, of this… weird dream. By now, nothing could surprise him anymore. But nonetheless, he muttered his thoughts aloud in an almost silent whisper, still unsure and his voice even more so.
"A… pony…?"
The pony in question seemed to tilt its head slightly once it heard his voice, its eyes widening even more.
"How curious, we can't say we have ever laid eyes upon a being like you before.", Ben almost jerked back, a quick and almost inaudible gasp escaping him when he heard a female voice in return.
"You can talk…?", the pony silently regarded him for a moment with what he could only discern as either puzzlement or wonder, probably both. But just as much as he was confused by everything he was experiencing within this moment, so was the pony in front of him, if her slightly lowered and more hesitant voice was anything to go by.
"... indeed, we can. I take it you have never once seen the likes of me before?", not knowing how to answer this, he felt constricted in what he should say, for of course, he had seen ponies in his life. Ones who weren't talking. Or ones who didn't have wings on their back. Or ones who didn't have a horn on their head.
Thus, his uncertain silence was his only response, and she seemed to ponder about her next words carefully.
"This is... most wondrous. We cannot say that we have ever stumbled upon one of your kind before, neither here or in the waking world.", she suddenly stopped when she saw how his form seemed to tense even more, his eyes staring at her with even more puzzlement and uncertainty than before. It was then that she quickly tried to ease the atmosphere, trying to come up with something that the both of them should be familiar with.
"W-we, we didn't mean to puzzle you even further, how about… your name? Forgive us for not having introduced ourselves until now. I am called Pri-", she suddenly halted amidst her sentence, seemingly choking on her own words before she immediately composed herself in the blink of an eye and continued as if nothing happened.
"-Luna. Please, call us Luna.", a small smile formed on her muzzle as she regarded him in return, patiently waiting for him until he would be comfortable enough to speak. And indeed, upon seeing her calm demeanor, his expression softened slightly as he considered it. What he didn't know, however, was that Luna was internally trembling, having not a single clue how to proceed in a situation such as this.
But the fact that he was completely unfamiliar with her and had not once seen or heard about her, it allowed her some space to speak more openly. And as it was, both of them were rather hesitant.
"My name… my name is Ben.", smiling once more, she slowly pondered about her next words, making sure that her every movement was not threatening or too close to him.
"It would appear you had a nightmare…", she glanced slightly at their surroundings, keeping a firm control over them once she had banished the horrifying scenes that had been tormenting him. In that regard, she was more than familiar how to handle it. But yet again, she forgot that he was not aware of that himself.
Before long, he sighed almost inaudibly, his eyes glancing at the ground.
"This is all only a dream… and you along with it.", his tone implied that he was rather muttering to himself, closing his eyes briefly before glancing back at her to see whether or not she would still be there. But she merely tilted her head ever so slightly when he witnessed that she was still standing in front of him, the same puzzlement reflecting in her eyes.
"'Tis not a mere dream, for we are not a part of it. We are very much real, once we have witnessed the nightmares you were suffering from, we wasted no time to banish them.", upon reminding him of the previous horrors he had been witnessing, his gaze turned distant, much to Luna's distress as she witnessed the slight trembling in his form.
However, her horn suddenly lit up in a blue gleam before it enveloped him ever so slightly, and before long, his eyes seemed to focus once more, his fear dissipating as if it had never been there in the first place. For it was almost as if the dreaded images were simply washed away, leaving behind a cool and soothing sensation.
Noticing that her horn lost its gleam in just this moment, he realized that she must have been responsible for that. But how was that possible when she was merely something that his imagination had come up with…? How could it be that an imaginary being banished his nightmares in his own dream…?
No… he reasoned that, soon, he would wake up and forget about all of this. He didn't know what he had experienced in his waking moments for his mind to come up with something like this, but it didn't change the fact that all of this was still only a dream…
Luna could still see the sheer disbelief and confusion in his expression, and soon enough, she could feel that her time was running short, for the sun was about to rise and her night would be replaced by the time of day once again. And still, she hadn't gotten to know yet what the being in front of her truly was…
"The night will end soon, thus, our time is growing short. We are afraid we must bid you farewell for now, but perhaps we will cross paths again in the waking world.", if she had never laid eyes upon a being like him before in any dream she had entered, then she figured that he might be new to their land, but then again, his bafflement when he regarded her revealed that he had never witnessed one of her kind as well, confusing her even further.
"In the waking world…? This might be the most vivid dream I've ever experienced, but I doubt that I will dream about something like that ever again. And I certainly won't meet a being that resides only in my dreams.", his eyes were closed, as if he were trying once again to convince himself that she wasn't real, much to Luna's dismay.
Certainly, something like this has never happened to her before. Normally the ponies she had visited in their dreams to banish their nightmares were grateful, almost used to her presence, but this…
"You are still in denial about our existence? Very well. We cannot say that we have ever seen a being like you, but if it so happens, we might meet again…"
And with that, his vision slowly turned white, his consciousness returning to finally leave the world of dreams behind and to return to the waking world.
But he couldn't have ever known what was expecting him once he finally opened his eyes again.
The moment Ben finally awoke, he wished he would have never done so. Or at the very least, not like this, for when he glanced around himself, he witnessed several pairs of eyes staring back at him in both bewilderment and confusion. But the most important fact was, these eyes didn't belong to humans. It were several ponies who were staring back at him.
Naturally, he was more than afraid. Normally it was relief you would feel when you woke up from a strange dream or a nightmare, but this was the exact opposite. And for once, he simply wanted to lie down again to let sleep overcome him, to escape this situation, to convince himself that he was still dreaming. But regardless how much time passed, the ponies around him slowly starting to whisper among themselves while never ceasing to stare at him, he still remained at the same spot. And the fear was beginning to amplify.
However, it didn't take long until the attention he gained throughout the entire town spread towards the castle, causing the two Princesses and sisters to become aware of the presence of an unfamiliar being within the streets of Canterlot. Thus, it wasn't long until they immediately departed and arrived at the scene, the large crowd and guards who had begun to approach being hard to miss from above before they landed a small distance away.
Even while the crowd immediately began to part upon noticing their presence, Luna couldn't help but try to get a glimpse in between the ponies who were still blocking her view, unable to contain her curiosity. Could it be…?
Being taller than her sister, Celestia already had a good view of the being in front of them that was visibly frightened and tense, his eyes frantically shifting between the many ponies who were still staring at him while never moving from his spot. And once he took note of her presence, his eyes settling upon her, it didn't do anything to ease his fear. Quite the opposite, for he almost took a step back until he seemed to remember that he was still surrounded by a crowd of ponies. And he froze once more when she slowly approached him with a motherly smile.
"Have no fear. We are not here to harm you.", despite her comforting tone and smile, he still visibly tensed the more she approached, his hand starting to clench slightly to her dismay. She quickly stood still a small distance away from him, not invading his space. And yet, he showed no signs of relaxing.
"I am simply curious as to what may have brought you here, I can't say I have ever met a being like you before. Would you mind telling me your name?", still wearing the same warm smile with which she would address her little ponies, she did her best to sound as reassuring as possible, hoping to ease his anxiety and take away the tension that was radiating between them. But despite her efforts, not a single word escaped him, causing Celestia to ponder about how she could best approach the situation.
However, when the crowd finally parted completely so that Luna could join her sister, she immediately stopped in her tracks with a light gasp.
"It is you…? We never believed you were right under our nose this whole time.", the moment she spoke up aloud, Celestia witnessed how his eyes shifted towards Luna, a glimmer of recognition seemingly lighting up within them. Even though he was still too afraid to speak, Celestia silently watched as Luna calmly approached him, and much to her surprise, unlike with her, he didn't back away from her sister as she halted only a small space away from him.
"Our sister speaks the truth, we don't mean you any harm. Ben, correct? We welcome you to Canterlot.", witnessing the way he finally seemed to relax, albeit slightly, Celestia deemed it a perfect opportunity to slowly approach him as well, even though she was still amazed how easily Luna had managed to calm him. But not only that, how did she already come to know his name?
She mentally shook these thoughts away, they would have to wait for the time being. For now, she would have to concentrate on convincing him to follow them towards the castle and away from prying eyes, they could only speak openly and find out more if he wasn't afraid of their presence anymore.
"You seem to be a bit lost, if you allow it, we would like to help you.", but once Celestia took another step towards him, she saw the way he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes with a growing tension, albeit she did manage to come closer than before with Luna remaining unfazed. With a second thought, Celestia stopped slightly behind Luna, an idea forming in her mind. She was internally debating on how she could best convince him to come with them, but seeing the way her sister somehow had the ability to calm him…
Luna jerked ever so slightly when her sister suddenly but subtly pushed a hoof against her hind leg, conveying a silent message when she turned to look back at Celestia, a silent request for help reflecting in her eyes. Understanding her unspoken plea, Luna turned her head back towards the human, a small but awkward smile forming on her muzzle.
"Just as our sister was saying, we would like to know more about you. Albeit we did not expect to meet you again so suddenly, it would give us a chance to understand you better. Do you trust us enough for this…?", Ben stared back at Luna for a long time with an uncertain gaze, the latter desperately trying to maintain her smile without growing nervous herself. Celestia silently watched the scene in front of her with observing eyes, several thoughts coursing through her mind.
But in the end, he slowly but hesitantly nodded, prompting Celestia to smile as well.
The walk towards the castle was uneventful with the silence hanging heavily in the air, but once they arrived, Celestia took him for a small walk around while she requested for Luna to wait within the dining hall until their dinner was ready. She noticed how Ben grew tense once more the moment Luna departed, adding to her train of thoughts, but she needed to ask him a few questions before she could come to a conclusion.
However, his lack of responses and willingness to talk to her was making it a little more difficult for her than she imagined, for she was slowly running out of options. The only things she came to know were that he didn't know how he had arrived here, and neither did he even know where he was. Thus, it confirmed her assumption that he was indeed not from this land. But still, she had never once seen a being like him, and she needed to know more if she wished to be of any help.
"... you most certainly don't have a place to stay, do you? If so, we would be happy to provide a home for you here within the castle until we find out more.", Celestia still smiled warmly as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, seeing how he shifted his eyes to the ground in uncertainty.
"But, I… I can't offer you anything in return…", his voice was almost inaudible, almost as if he was unsure whether or not to speak them out aloud or to himself. But Celestia was quick to hush him, her eyes looking forward again.
"Worry not over something such as this, it is of no consequence. I will provide a room for you as soon as possible, I hope you will be able to feel at home. It must be very difficult for you to be so far away from your real home, wherever your origin might be. But I'm certain that, in time, we will be able to find out more. Until then, perhaps you would like to take a walk around the town?", the moment these words left her, she stopped in her tracks with concern when she witnessed the small gasp that escaped him, the sheer fright being evident in his eyes.
She suppressed a sigh, she should have known better than to ask this of him, and yet she couldn't help herself. Mere moments ago, he woke up in an unfamiliar world and was surrounded by beings that he had never seen before. And from what she had gathered around him, he was very hesitant to open up to anyone around him that he wasn't familiar with, making it more difficult to know more about him.
Thus, it came as no surprise that he would be horrified by the thought of going into town once more.
"... forgive me, of course you aren't forced to do that, I should have been more considerate. Just forget what I said.", giving him a reassuring smile, she motioned for him to follow her once more. Once they resumed their walk back towards the dining hall, the silence resumed as Celestia refrained from asking any more questions for the time being, assuming that it would be best to allow him to get used to his new surroundings for the time being.
However, once they finally arrived at the dining hall and the guard at the side of the entrance opened the doors for them, she saw how Luna was already sitting on one of the seats, contently enjoying the silence that was reigning in the air until the both of them entered as well. It prompted her sister to quickly snap her eyes open before she gave Celestia a small smile in acknowledgement. Even if it was slightly forced… she knew that Luna was trying to appear more welcoming even when she would have preferred to dwell in the silence and her own company, at least when it concerned herself.
And still, just as she gave Luna a warm smile and a nod in return, gently motioning for Ben to follow her as well, a new idea suddenly coursed through her mind, causing her to stop in the middle of her tracks for a few seconds. Both Ben and Luna stared at the larger alicorn in a mixture of confusion and hesitation, until Celestia suddenly resumed her movements as if nothing had happened, her smile quickly reappearing on her muzzle.
Of course, why hadn't she thought of this sooner… if she wasn't able to make him feel more at ease, but her sister already seemed to be much more familiar with him, and the both of them preferred to keep to themselves…
Why, the more she pondered about it, the more her smile began to grow, causing Luna to blink her eyes at her sister while Ben was merely regarding Celestia with uncertainty, neither of them knowing what to make of the larger alicorn's sudden change in attitude.
"So then, who of you is hungry?"
