Dreamwalker's Tale: Last (!) Adventure

“Ready?”

It took me a moment or two, just to get my bearings again. I had an uncomfortable suspicion that I knew exactly what she was asking. Yet I did not know why. I knew myself well enough to realize that within the next few seconds, I would start puzzling over this. And once it got going, there was no stopping it. The part where I tried to unravel her motivations was not the issue. The inevitable part where I started to construct more and more ridiculous horror scenarios was.

I took another look towards the saddlebags, bulging with what I assumed were her adventure preparations. When I refocused my gaze towards her, I noticed that she had become a little nervous. Maybe impatient. Either way, that initial glee of hers dimmed down the longer I made her wait for a response. It was not exactly the nicest of feelings. Having to nip her ambitions in the bud. But then again, there was no easy way to do this either.

I sighed. “Luna, I… I don’t usually like surprises very much. And you know that. So what is this about?”

It was a lack of spontaneity. Of mental flexibility and adaptability. I liked to be prepared and if left unchecked, I prepared as far in advance as I could. My Ogres & Oubliettes-sessions were a prime example for that. I vaguely knew what the storyline was supposed to look like. I planned ahead for months. In detail. As usual, plans rarely survived exposure to reality. However, the mere fact that I had a plan was enough for me. It could be redirected. Adapted. Reconstructed. I could work with what I had. But being thrust into a void and having to work with nothing, probably under time pressure as well — that was horrible. I knew that some ponies thrived on this. I most certainly did not.

She knew that of course. We had been friends for some years now. And lovers for more than half a year. There was a reason she thought this was a good idea. That this would work.

“We’re going to have an adventure of our own!” she proclaimed with utter conviction.

I successfully stifled that groan, as I had seen it coming a mile away. There was a lot to unpack in that one very enthusiastic statement. The first and most obvious thing my mind got stuck on was that ‘our own’. “But Lu, I don’t even like adventures,” I replied with a silent sigh.

That made her do a double-take. “You do not?”

I really wished there would have been an easier way to do this. Something I could say or do to let her down more gently. I simply hated killing her enthusiasm. She had prepared for this. She had come here. She had waited patiently for my return. And now that I was finally here, I was trying to turn her down. And I hated every second of it. But being dishonest now would only lead to problems later on. “No, I don’t. I’m honestly a tad bewildered that you thought I did. Which leads me to assume that Sunny—, I mean, Celestia… she’s been talking about our recent excursion, hasn’t she?”

“Extensively,” Luna answered with a quiet sigh and an eye roll for good measure. And if that had not already been obvious enough, her wings rustled a little in mild irritation.

“We’ve been back for ten days,” I started and silently thanked Moondancer for providing such specific information, “and in that time, I have seen neither hide nor hair of either of you two. Ah! Let me finish, please. I don’t blame you. Of course not. And neither do I blame Sunny. You two are busy mares, I know that. Especially now, with the aftermath of this little trial of ours. And judging by the looks of these saddlebags, I assume you have been busy preparing whatever your plan is on the sidelines as well. But come on, kitten. You know me. You regularly tease me about my unwillingness to budge on something I had set my mind on. Can’t buy that toothpaste, it’s not the right brand. Can’t easily switch to another main dish, because the kitchen lacks some ingredients for my usual order. Does that really sound like a thrill-seeker to you? But on the other hoof, you know your sister better than I do. Her early days especially. When you two ran around side by side, when you scared monsters away, entered the battlefield alongside each other, poked your muzzles into ancient ruins full of traps and whatnot. I assume she’s been raving about this trip of ours. Because she is very much into this.”

My heart bled a little as I watched her deflate. Her smile slowly dimmed down further and further and finally died a mournful death. “Oh.”

It was an admission of sorts. That of a simple misjudgment. I had not been present for their usual shared breakfasts. Way too early in the day for my tastes. But I could imagine Celestia recounting the tale of our exploits. Despite her usual serene smile and calm demeanor, when she was alone with somepony she actually trusted a lot, she could be quite lively. It was heartwarming. It brought joy to my very being to know how much she had enjoyed our time together. Truth be told, even after our return, it had remained a fear that continuously gnawed away at my fonder memories of these days: The fear that my constant muttering and grumbling and complaining about the heat and the insects and whatnot could have dulled her enjoyment of the ‘field trip’. It seemed that was not the case.

But now I had to deal with Luna who, as a result of this, had come under the impression that I was just as keen on ‘adventures’. I stood up, resettled at her side and softly leaned into her. It did not take her long to drape a wing across my back. I nuzzled along her neck, but despite this, I could see the cogs and wheels turning. Maybe she was reevaluating her prior encounters with her sister. What Celestia had said and what she had gleaned from that. However, there was still the issue of ‘our own’ remaining, and I felt it was time to address that as well. “Luna?”

“Hm?” It was an unusually absentminded response.

I snuggled up to her a little more. I even dared a small kiss on her neck before I mustered the courage to ask what I felt had to be asked. “Are you jealous?” And the very moment I did, her entire demeanor changed. It was subtle, but unmistakable. Her body stiffened a little, her wing tensed around me and her face simply froze in whatever thought had last managed to get processed.

I considered my next step. What to say, what to do. Truth was, I had never encountered her at her lowest. I knew that she was the jealous type. And to some extent, I could relate to that. I was not prone to jealousy on a superficial level, but it was still there. It could be tickled to the surface quite easily. But I was not sure how to deal with it. How to help her.

Luna remained silent for a good while and yet she was the first to talk. Maybe it was cowardice that had kept me quiet? I tried to tell myself that this was a difficult topic. That words had to be chosen carefully. But no matter how hard I tried, that still sounded suspiciously like an excuse.

Luna inhaled deeply and with a long and silent sigh exhaled. “She made it sound very enjoyable. Desirable, even. I will admit that in retrospect, she was mostly speaking about her own take on things. It just did not occur to me that you had less of a positive experience than she had.”

“There is an important division you have to make,” I brought up. “We basically had two things going on at the same time. A vacation and an adventure. I needed help with my adventure. And I thought it would be a good idea, a good opportunity, to take her with me. So this trip could double as our first real vacation. And maybe that had not been the best idea, I’m still undecided on that one. But with these past few days, it became easier to separate the two. And judge them by their own merits. The vacation with Celestia, I absolutely loved. Every second. Funny thing, I told the same Moondancer just a bit earlier. I loved having her to myself for a while. I wished I could have that more often. Not just with her. I… I still feel lonely sometimes. It’s stupid, I know. I don’t like feeling that way. Seems kind of unfair. But I would love to have more time with you as well. And with Twilight. I obviously can’t make that happen just by wishing. This ‘trial’ worked out well so far. So maybe we find a way to do something like this more often. I really hope we do. But the adventure part? That was just…” I struggled for words for a moment and helplessly gestured with my hooves. Until I eventually let them drop with a sigh. “I don’t know. Unnecessary? Exhausting? I was sweaty and tired the whole time and not in a good way. The constant buzzing of insects around me. The monotone green all around. The critters that just would not shut up, ever. I don’t see the appeal. For me, this ‘adventure’ was a means to an end. I got what I wanted and I don’t exactly…” … want to do anything like that ever again. But I cut myself short. Because I had seen those saddlebags and I could not stop thinking about them and I had already disappointed her enough. I did not wish to make it even worse.

“I would love for us to have a vacation,” I started over. And I was as honest as I could have been. “Heck, I would be quite keen on that.” Especially after those last days alone. And maybe even more so after tonight, as my difficulties with Moondancer still lingered in my mind. “I’m just not all that thrilled about the prospect of another ‘adventure’. I don't think I'm cut out for this stuff.” Her shoulders sagged a little and that was enough to tell me a thing or two about what exactly she had had in mind. I sighed. “So you are jealous then?”

She still hesitated a little, but after a moment nodded. “I suppose so.”

Don’t, I tried to tell myself. But the fact of the matter was: I had no idea what to do with that information. I wanted to make her feel better, sure. But I did not get the impression that talking it out would be all that helpful. When it came to Luna, action was usually worth more. I tried to retain a calm expression and cringed mostly inwards as I carefully assembled the question that would ultimately spell my doom. “Well, would whatever that is,” I started and vaguely gestured towards the saddlebags. “Would that help?”

Planning ahead was a crutch for those unable to wing it. It was a colloquial expression of course. One that broke down significantly what could be said with a lot more words, which would have sounded a lot smarter. It was a divisive statement, too. I had three decent examples supporting this theory and one against it. Celestia was not incapable of adapting on the fly. But it was true that she struggled doing so and very much preferred not having to do so. I was pretty much the same, just less extreme. Mostly because I lacked the intelligence to plan as much and as far ahead as she could. And I had a memory like a goldfish to boot. Luna on the other hoof had… ‘plans’. Rough shapes and ideas at best. But she made it work. She did not lack the ability to plan ahead, but to her, it was a waste of time and effort. It was tedious and unnecessary. She rather ran straight into a situation and adapted to whatever presented itself.

And then there was Twilight. But she was my little, special snowflake anyway. I was not entirely sure how much gravitas I could attribute to her defying this simple ‘rule’. She prepared and she planned and she adapted on the fly with ease. She had admittedly learned the latter through a lot of trials over the past decade or so.

Luna did not suspect ulterior motives. Not from me. But she usually had an inclination to take things at face value. She remained silent for a while because she mused over her own feelings. Not because she tried to gauge my motives behind the question. Or what would or could result from her answer. She eventually made up her mind and nodded. “I believe it might.”

Not quite a ‘yes’, but it was good enough.

We were playing ball and her latest move meant that it was my turn once again. I grimaced a little and hoped that she would not notice. I even tried to make sure of that by ‘hiding’ away as I once again nuzzled her neck and into her wavy mane. I did quite enjoy her warmth and closeness. My gaze was eventually drawn to those damned saddlebags again. Like a moth to a flame. Alright, fine. “Well you clearly had something in mind with all of this. So… tell me.”

She tensed up again. Due to vastly different reasons this time. She craned her neck and I saw her smile. Cautiously. “I may present you with ‘the pitch’?” she asked in a hopeful tone.

I chuckled a little and pulled her down further to kiss her. And I sighed into this kiss as I felt my worries and anxieties drain away a little. This felt right. It would never not feel right. And it was just so incredibly adorable when she found some new term or expression or idiom and tried to implement it into her speech to get accustomed with it. I nodded once we pulled apart. I could still feel myself smiling. “You may give me the pitch.”

Her smile grew into a grin and she regained some of her prior confidence. She opened her mouth and… stopped. A moment later, she closed it, and with a furrowed brow, addressed me again. “It would benefit my attempt to win you over greatly if I were to show you something first.”

I was certainly not about to tell her that she did not have to ‘win me over’. Despite my struggles, despite my wish for the other, I had already made my decision. She was jealous and I could understand why. She had been so excited and I had almost destroyed that. She had obviously planned ahead, which was kind of a rarity, and she had invested some time and energy into this — and I had tried to let her down.

Hook, line and sinker. I would be going along with this adventure of hers no matter what. I just could not say ‘no’ to her. “Alright, fine. Show me then,” I replied.

She charged her horn and lowered her head. As soon as her horn touched mine, I felt her magic surge through my body. It enveloped me like a lover's embrace. Seeped into me. My mind became heavy and I felt my eyelids fall shut.

I stood in the dreamscape. Unsure of what exactly I looked around for Luna and she appeared by my side a few seconds later. I was patiently waiting while she concentrated and just as I had assumed, she had called for somepony’s dream bubble.

The sphere came close to us and now that I got a chance to inspect it, I furrowed my brow. “Is that yours?”

“It is,” she simply confirmed.

There was something weird going on with this dream. If the dreamer was asleep, it should have contained a colorful mixture of swirling mist, shaping itself into all kinds of forms and dissolving the very next moment. Dreams were highly chaotic things after all. And with the dreamer awake, the same mist should have been dull gray, and barely moving. This sphere contained neither. And both. It almost looked like the sphere itself did not exactly know what to display. And Luna being the dreamer made the most sense — she was both asleep and not shaping her dream.

We both carefully placed a hoof against the sphere and slowly started to sink into it. And it was quite an enjoyable sensation doing so. Luna had once told me that a dreamwalker could get a first glimpse of what the dreamer thought about the visit — or intrusion — with enough experience. Fluttershy’s subconsciousness could be both timid and fierce and her reaction to me snooping around in her dreams could thereby fall into either surprising amounts of resistance or attempts to avoid me. With Luna though, it was a lover’s embrace, like her magic flowing over me had before. I felt warmth and passion and I was welcome in the same way she sometimes looked at me when luring me to her bed. It was alluring, promising and a little bit intimidating. But all around enjoyable.

Once the dream had swallowed us, we exchanged one void for another. Instead of a star-studded night sky, we had an empty black void with a bright full moon overhead. “Give me a moment,” she asked, “I will need to focus to reconstruct the memory.”

A memory? How curious. Especially if it was one she had to work for. Maybe an especially old one then? I kept my patience and the inky blackness around us started to gain color and shape in due time. The both of us were surrounded by a nice, oddly familiar landscape soon enough.

Green grass. Rolling hills. Half-timber houses nearby which formed a small village. It did not look too different from Ponyville, actually. Town hall was missing, the most prominent feature of Ponyville. Aside from Carousel Boutique, of course. So this was not Ponyville, but something quite similar. Luna seemed to see no immediate necessity to explain anything and so I saw no reason to ask for now. I instead just watched. Observed. And tried to read clues my surroundings provided me.

The most obvious one being the massive expanse behind us. The Everfree Forest. These woods were vast and a couple of settlements bordered onto them. Most prominently: Ponyville, of course. But I knew that Appleloosa was not too far off either and I vaguely remembered a couple of charts and maps I had seen which depicted maybe three or four other villages close-by as well. They were smaller than Ponyville and did not have the luxury of hosting a Princess of Equestria, which led to them rarely showing up on maps. We were in one of these small villages then.

It was hard to tell which time we were in, though. From the shapes I could see moving about in the village, pony tribes seemed to be just fine with living with each other, so this had to be some time after Equestria had been founded and the initial hurdles and distrust had been overcome. But I could not tell if this was from before her banishment, or after her return. Then again, why would she have difficulties reconstructing a memory that was this recent? Old Equestria then. And something about this had to be relevant to our adventure.

“There she comes,” Luna whispered.

My ears perked up, swiveled around and intently focused on the new sounds drawing closer. Laughing fillies? And indeed, three foals came running along the path leading out of the village. Three unicorns. Two fillies, one colt. One of the fillies reminded me of Lyra, but her eye color was different. Purple instead of amber. The colt had a bluish coat and mane, and red eyes. And the other filly had a dark orchid-colored coat, a rose-colored mane and opal-colored eyes. They seemed quite happy as they ran along and used their telekinesis to play with the ball.

And they ran straight into the Everfree. That can’t be good. Maybe a rescue mission then? I felt a pull as Luna mentally dragged me along and since I saw no reason to resist, I just let her. We switched scenes. A couple minutes later, I suspected, and we saw the three foals still playing — until one of them got a little over-excited and threw the ball further away. It landed, bounced along and rolled straight into a cave. A cave that had been marked as dangerous with various signs. All three approached the cave, all three fearful. And a quiet, hasted argument broke out. Just leave the damn thing in there, I mentally begged the projections, It’s just a toy. You can get a new one. Just turn around and walk away…

With this being a memory, however… that was clearly not going to happen.

Their little dispute ended with two of them convincing the third filly to venture into the cave to retrieve the lost toy. Luna dragged me further along into the cave. Darkness enveloped us. The filly lit her horn in an attempt to see and she found the ball not too far away from the exit. Just leave. Be quick. Nothing good ever came from a cave in the Everfree.

And indeed, a low, disgruntled growl rose from the depths of the darkness. Run, little one. Run.

Alas, she did not. The light of her horn was overpowered by the light emanating from the stars. Stars captured by the body of an Ursa Minor. The bear-shaped creature roared, displeased with the interruption of its sleep, with the intrusion upon its lair. And a single swipe of its claw was enough.

The Ursa was not hostile. Not really. Had it been, the filly would have been dead. Simple as that. The Ursa was simply disgruntled. But that swipe still connected. Not to the filly itself, but to her horn. And with strength like that, it simply shattered.

I grimaced in deep, deep empathy as I saw it break. And it was even worse to hear it. The crack followed by her cry of pain and agony. I was lucky enough that, according to my fractured memories, I had never, ever managed to crack my horn. But I had heard a few things about that. The recovery usually took months. Sometimes years, depending on the severity of the case. And casting magic with a cracked horn was a foolish and dangerous thing to do. Magic became unstable, unreliable, volatile without a proper conduit. A unicorn unable to cast its signature spell was similar to losing one’s cutie mark.

And that horn was not just cracked. It was straight up broken off.

I felt the pull as Luna used her dream magic once more. It was not a pull within the memory this time, but something deeper, more profound. She tried to wake us up. This had apparently been all there was. All I needed to see.

I woke up and blinked a few times. I felt strangely groggy for a moment, but the tiredness soon lifted itself. One question immediately came to mind though. “How?” I asked as Luna awoke beside me. “That wasn’t one of your memories, was it?” I had not seen her anywhere nearby after all. And I had specifically looked out for her.

“No,” she confirmed, “this was a memory I have managed to copy from somepony else.”

I grimaced at that. I had tried to talk with her about privacy concerns on the odd occasion. Equestria’s modern age was changing. Concerns about her intruding upon others could rise. Would rise eventually, I was sure of that. But she remained firm on the matter. It was her duty and she would do as duty demanded. She usually saw fit to remind me that it was my duty as well. A point I had never contested. It was a bit of a sore topic for us, one that got both of us riled up quickly. But copying memories? I had not even known that she was capable of such. And unsurprisingly, it did not help ease my worries.

In my darkest visions, I saw the public come after her. Again. This time, they called her a tyrant. A nightmare that enforced her dominion by attacking from an angle nopony could defend against. Nightmare Moon would rise again. Or maybe they would simply try to oust her.

I honestly feared for her well-being. And it frustrated me how easily she dismissed my concerns sometimes.

But I was not about to open that can of worms again. Not here, not now. “So whose memory was that?”

“Tell me, Dream. Have you ever heard of the Storm King?”

I already shook my head when her gaze intensified a little. And I sighed internally. Fine, I mentally grumbled and started to check my other memories. It was difficult to sort through that broken-up mess when searching for something so specific as a name and whatever related to it. I did find a few pieces after a couple of minutes though. “Some… some sort of hostile nation?” I recounted, “He’s their leader. He wielded the Staff of Sacanas in one of my cycles, but I doubt he’ll be able to this time.”

“The Staff of Sacanas?” Luna repeated in confusion. Interesting. So Celestia had collected some of these artifacts without even her sister knowing. And seeing as the staff had been in a secret vault in the old castle, she must have collected it before Luna’s banishment.

“It’s an artifact. Well, it was. Doesn’t matter much, the thing is burned to a crisp. I’m not even sure if any ash remains,” I half-explained with a shrug. I tried to deflect a little with nonchalance. It would maybe get a little stickier if she started to question this further. “Anyway. He’s a warmonger. Quite a successful one. His army is well-trained, well-equipped. They can even deal with enemies capable of magic. He has a surprisingly large fleet of airships. It’s all very… steampunk-y. However, in none of my memories did his advanced technology ever help him to defeat Equestria.” I shuddered a little as a specific memory came to the front. A landscape of lava and slag. Molten mountains, burning forests and clouds on fire. And above all the devastation, she loomed. I tried to push that specific memory away, with middling success.

Luna had meanwhile listened and seemed to approve of my account. “The Storm King is a threat. His kingdom devours neighboring countries at a rapid pace and grows in size. There have been enough tragedies due to his continued warpath. We do not know where he originated from. Or what precisely he is.”

“Some kind of weird yeti-ape-thing?” I interrupted with a lopsided smile.

She replied with a smile of her own and a shrug. “Maybe. I honestly care little about who or what he is. I am sure that Twilight, were she to know of this, would love to attempt the diplomatic route. Many have tried before and failed. I am unwilling to risk her well-being. However, I have intel that suggests that the Storm King is preparing to push north. The Arimaspi Territory and the Forbidden Jungle are currently all that stands between him and us.”

That was news. I swallowed hard. My memories told me of darkening skies. Fleets of steel and smoke. Clattering of armor. No, according to my memories, he had never won. But that did not mean that he had not tried. Tried hard. And that there had not been losses on both sides.

War was coming. And it was a frightening prospect.

“What do we do?” I asked with trepidation, surprised by how meek my own voice suddenly sounded.

Luna tightened the grip of her wing around me. “Do not worry too much. Sister and I have always kept Equestria safe and we shall continue to do so.” Don’t worry, she says. That’s always easier said than done, I grumbled mentally. But she meant well and I could not fault her for that. “The memory I showed you is one of the earliest foalhood memories of a mare who calls herself Tempest Shadow. The only pony within the Storm King’s empire. She was shunned after she lost her horn in that incident. Ousted. She felt betrayed and left behind. She ventured far to the south and grew into quite a prickly mare and a fierce warrior. She is the only general of the Storm King’s army. She leads, they follow. She commands, they attack. She does not hide behind rank, she is quite a formidable opponent. One I honestly would not mind sparring with. She is a very smart mare as well. She quickly learned and learned a lot. She is shrewd and cunning and cautious.” The more she told me about this pony, the stronger the impression that she was admiring her. Yet I remained silent. “However, there is one thing that spells her doom. A single blind spot she has and that is currently used to great effect to manipulate and gaslight her. She serves the Storm King not because she believes in his cause. I honestly doubt that he even has a cause to begin with, aside from gaining more personal wealth and power. She follows him because of one simple promise he made her.”

“Her horn,” I spoke up when Luna fell silent and obviously waited for my conclusion on the matter.

She nodded. “Indeed. He promised that he would restore her horn.”

“How long has she served him?” I continued.

Luna smiled. “Too long.”

While all of this was very exciting, I still failed to see the connection. I felt like I was still missing a vital piece to this puzzle. “So what’s the plan? You show her he’s a big meanie and she’ll abandon him just like that? Or do you intend to nab yourself a general?”

“Their relationship with each other is potentially volatile,” Luna explained. “Tempest is a mare of her word. She took an oath to serve him as long as he held his promise. However, the Storm King for his part quickly realized the issue. Tempest is a surprisingly effective leader, a skilled fighter and by now the backbone of his military success. He cannot afford to lose her. While he is quite smart himself, he lacks her tactical brilliance. And due to his chaotic and selfish nature, he already was the kind of creature that only saw itself bound by promises for as long as that was beneficial and worked in his favor. I do not claim to know if replacing her horn is possible by any means he possesses or knows of. What I do know is this, however: She will never get her horn back. Not from him. It is the figurative carrot on a stick. And the day she realizes his true intentions, she will lose all value to him and he will ruthlessly backstab her. We can offer her something better. A true solution. And in no small part due to your efforts.”

That caught me off-guard. “Wait, what? My efforts? I didn’t do anything!”

But Luna just grinned and leaned down to place a soft, brief kiss on my temple. “Quite the contrary. This ‘moon-blessed silver’ and ‘sun-blessed gold’ you retrieved from the Forbidden Jungle? It has some remarkable properties.”

“Oh. So that’s where the sample vanished to?” I half-accused her. Celestia had mentioned losing it.

At least Luna had the decency to blush a little while she grinned. “Guilty as charged. You planned to craft a piece of jewelry with it, yes?”

I pouted at her as hard as I could. “No.”

“No?” she replied in confusion.

“No. You’re not going to get it. It’s mine. Get your own!” Only when Luna broke out into laughter did I cease my little show. Honestly, a part of me was quite unwilling to part with my spoils. But this was meant as a Hearth’s Warming present. And the other option apparently was sparing Equestria from war. Despite my personal feelings, the choice was rather obvious.

After she calmed down a little bit, she shook her head. “I can assure you I have no intention to rob you blind.”

I sighed a little and leaned against her once more. “I wouldn’t mind getting robbed by you though.”

“Because I already stole your heart?” she ventured a guess. And I grinned in reply. She giggled a little and nodded. “I see. Well in any case, I was being serious. I do not wish to take what you worked so hard for. My sister will send qualified ponies to the Forbidden Jungle to take up diplomatic relationships with the guardians. I am sure that she will manage to get more of these metals in due time. Especially since they claim to be able to produce it.”

I was fully aware that I was letting myself get distracted. I nuzzled her neck and got drunk on her scent. I placed a little kiss on it. I just reveled in her closeness. I had missed her. “I wanted to make an enhancer,” I explained without further prodding from her. “For Twilight, I mean. She can already do so much with her magic. Just imagine what she would be capable of with an enhancer. With the right enchantments, I think it could be a power boost of up to fifty percent. Maybe more.”

I closed my eyes to focus even more on her scent, on the feeling of her warmth and her body. “These materials can do more though. I believe that, if handled by a decent smith and enchanted by somepony powerful enough, they could act as a horn prosthesis.”

Ah. There it was. The final piece.

So to drive a wedge in between the Storm King and his general, we simply made a better offer. Well, maybe not that simple. Luna had already mentioned that Tempest was a pony of her word. She would not easily abandon the Storm King just because we offered a better deal. She would still have to be convinced that the Storm King would not uphold his end of the bargain. But that was something Luna could do quite easily, I suspected.

I groaned a little as realization hit me. “Oh nooo,” I whined, “so we’re heading back to the jungle to get more of the stuff?”

I did not quite appreciate that she snickered beside me. But me poking her with a hoof only served to amuse her even more. “No, do not worry. We will not head to the jungle.”

While that did ease my concerns in one area, it raised them in another. “Come on. Spill it.”

That had been quite enough prelude for my taste. And she seemed to agree. “My intel says that she will be in the northern reaches of the empire soon. Most likely to control the border patrols. We will make contact and capture her. Well I say ‘capture’, but we are really trying to convince her.”

I might have forgotten to breathe for a few seconds.

“What?!”

I violently tore myself away from her to look her dead in the eyes. I tried to find any sign of a jest on her part, but no. No, she was serious about this. And that was even more frightening. “Luna! Come on! You can’t be serious!”

Her wings rustled a little and she puffed her cheeks out. “Can’t I?” she echoed indignantly. “And why not?”

“I’m not a soldier!” I continued with my voice still slightly raised and with a little shrill edge to it. “And you would need one. Or better still, a hundred! You’re talking about infiltrating a hostile nation and basically kidnapping their highest-ranking officer! You need a soldier, or a-a… a spymaster or… something.”

“No I do not,” she argued.

“You—… wha—… you can’t jus—… are you mental?!” Calm down, I tried to reign myself in. But to little avail. Her proposal was simply too outrageous. This? This was decidedly not an ‘adventure’. This was state business. This was a secretive mission, to be undertaken only by trained professionals. And not some runaway hobby-smith.

However, Luna’s gaze hardened considerably and I knew what that meant. I ducked my head a little and bit down on my lower lip to hold in any further stupid things I might have said otherwise. “I—… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just… my point stands though. Does it not? This isn’t just some stupid little adventure, this is serious stuff. Important stuff.”

To my surprise, she lowered her head and laid it atop mine. Her closeness was calming as usual and welcome as always. And yet right now, jarring at the same time. “You have a certain clumsy honesty. Tempest is a pony with an incredible force of will. I struggled greatly to find and enter her dream and even more so to get that memory. She will see through any illusions I might put up. She will not be easily swayed or misled. And I have reason to believe that she will distrust me greatly. I can deal with most of what might come our way. But I need you by my side to deal with her. I do not need soldiers or spies. I need you.”

Certain phrases had power. Because we subjugated ourselves to them. We granted them the very power they held over us. I need you. Three magical words. Not that different from ‘I love you’. She was not playing fair. Maybe she knew that, maybe she did not. What had been said could not be taken back either way. “Does Celestia know?” I dared to ask. My last-ditch effort. I knew it had little chance of success. Even before Luna doubled down.

“She knows as much as she wants to know. Other than that, she trusts me.” I knew it was coming. And in a futile attempt, I tried to brace for it. “Do you?”

Trust me.

I loved her. So much that it hurt at times. I would have gone to the ends of Tartarus for her. I would have tried to find other ways of course — I was not overly brave, I was not a hero and I was not an idiot. But when it really came down to it? I would have gone to Tartarus and back for her.

Given that — what was I supposed to do? Or say? What else beyond ‘yes’ was there?

The mystery of the bulging saddlebags was finally solved. Tempest would be near the border ‘soon’. We would not teleport, I was quite sure of that. Luna had difficulties with long-range teleportation. We would not fly either. While she loved flying, carrying me and our supplies would exhaust her too much. But we needed to be faster than traveling by hoof. The train then. We would take the train from Canterlot station, then Ponyville, then… Appleloosa, maybe? I knew that there was a discontinued train track leading south, across the Macintosh Hills. An unfinished railway that was the residue of some long-abandoned frontier exploration attempt. We would be on hoof from there on out. Past the Arimaspi Territory, past the Forbidden Jungle. Nestled in between those two, actually.

It was funny how my mind immediately went to work and started to plan routes and tried to calculate travel times and supply requirements as soon as I gave up and stopped struggling against the inevitable. Especially given that I still had basically zero practical experience and those saddlebags told a story of these things having been done by her already.

Maybe it was just another form of procrastination.

I sighed. I had left her hanging long enough. She knew the answer as well as I did. She was not even impatient. It was an inevitability and she knew that. She really was not playing fair. “I do. And I always will.” While my statement lacked any fervor to speak of, it was still spoken in conviction. “Doesn’t mean I’m happy about your decision,” I quietly grumbled.

And I was still very much willing to frame it like that. It was her decision and hers alone. I had no idea how long it took her to figure all this stuff out. Celestia and I had been back for ten days, give or take. In that time, Luna had learned of the materials I gathered, nabbed those samples, researched their properties, made the connection to Tempest — information which she must have had beforehoof already — and prepared for this trip of ours. That was… a lot of work in a short amount of time.

Maybe I should have been less surprised. When I prepared my first adventure, I had mused about this very thing. I had taken days, weeks even, to make small steps. Find a material catalog. Cross-reference the chosen materials. Attempt to translate a book. Figure out the best campsite with dusty old maps. And all this time, I had been wondering: Just how much quicker would somepony like Luna have been?

Maybe this was the answer.

I struggled with the nature of our ‘adventure’. Getting myself almost killed for a Hearth’s Warming present was ridiculous, sure. But that was more in the spirit of adventuring than preventing war. Different scope, different scale.

“Are you angry with me?” I heard her ask. And my shoulders sagged a little. Just because her voice sounded so vulnerable. Timid. Luna was not supposed to sound timid.

I took a deep breath. “No.” With some effort and some wiggling about, I managed to roll over onto my back and close the distance between us at the same time by slightly rolling against her. The distance I had ensured just a couple minutes prior. This position made it a lot easier to look up to her. “I’m not angry, kitten. I’m just… I don’t know. I don’t feel like I’m the right stallion for the job. I… I can see what you’re going for. The same vacation-adventure-mix I had going on with Celestia. But this is… it feels different. Because it is different. Going into the jungle to search for some old ruins in hopes of finding a material to craft with, that’s… that’s ‘usual adventure stuff’. There’s not much at stake. Worst that could happen? I don’t find my stuff. Yes, I know that there could have been worse results, but… this? We aim to destabilize a hostile nation by bribing their general. There’s so much that can go so horribly, horribly wrong. What if she doesn’t bite? What if she captures us? What if the Storm King gets his grubby little hooves on us? On you?”

“Hands,” she interrupted.

“Whatever. What if they decide that you’re a great bargaining chip and that they should invade immediately? And even if we are successful, what if he invades as a retaliation? Will we really be back in time to fortify the border against that? I think I have seen his fleet once. It’s impressive. Sure, Tempest could be a valuable source of information to prepare our troops. If she’s willing to spill the beans, that is. If she’s honest about it. If she commits to our side. There’s so many factors to consider and so much that could just go wrong. There’s so much at stake. And you are so… so intent to have me involved in this.” I was starting to feel physically ill. In a way, it was a good thing that I was lying on my back. Made it harder for the urge to vomit.

Luna wiggled her way down until she could comfortably lay her head on my chest. She even levitated a pillow over to place under my head so that we could still see eye to eye. “You fret and fuss and worry,” she sighed. She briefly raised her muzzle, angled it down and placed a kiss on my chest before she laid her head on top of it once more. “At times, it is a quality of yours. On other occasions, it seems to be your curse. You might barely have any confidence in yourself. But know that I do not share your opinion on the matter. I believe in you no matter if you do. And I have reason to do so. You have a good heart, Dreamwalker. You try to do right by everypony. You try to protect those dear to you. You are always willing to give, even if you have barely anything left. I need a good soul by my side for this. Because I do not trust in the goodness of my own heart. There is a familiar darkness there. I know it well. And I freely admit that I fear it. But when I am with you — or Twilight, for that matter —, I do not feel afraid anymore. The beast loses its teeth and claws. And in all these years… sure, mistakes have been made here and there. But not once have you let me down.”

Take Twilight with you, then. It was a foolish thought. One that perished fractions of a second after it had been conceived. I would certainly not facilitate any endeavor that would put two of the ponies I loved most in grave danger. And it would not have worked anyway. Luna had already figured as much. Twilight would insist on trying the diplomatic approach. No sneaking around. No potential kidnapping. A friendly offer, but no bribing. And taking her along would not help with Luna’s jealousy either.

I believe it might, she said. Once we made it back, she would have her own story to tell. Celestia would be proud of her. And happy for her. And she would listen to her retell this story over and over, patiently and happily. It might help. I shuddered a little at the thought that maybe Sunny had known what she was doing when she boasted to her little sister. Maybe this right here, with Luna dragging me off to another adventure, had been her intention.

“Her real name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist.”

Her remark was so utterly unexpected and bewildering. And that name... goodness, that name. Luna’s head bobbed up and down as I snorted and continued to laugh afterwards. She grinned at me when I slowly regained my composure. “Really?”

“Mhm.”

“Hm… I would’ve chosen a different name as well then,” I concluded. “It’s a pretty name for a pony. But… yeah. It’s very ‘pony’. I suspect that’s less than ideal for the folks she’s surrounding herself with.” I never quite managed to understand why so many other races thought of ponies as weaklings. We were certainly not the cosmic punching bags. Pegassi were fierce warriors capable of astounding speed. Earth ponies could take a beating like no other and they would simply spit some blood to the side and continue to maul their opponents. Unicorns could muster some of the most dangerous magics out there. And on top of us all, the alicorns wielded powers beyond most mortal comprehension.

And yet. Yaks declaring war on us. The long-lasting feuds with griffons. Dragons deeming us weaklings. And they were not alone.

With more minutes passing by, I slowly calmed down. My mind drifted around more or less aimlessly. How did she put it? Ah, yes. I was fretting, fussing and worrying. The holy trinity. But there was only so much of that one pony could do and continuing to panic eventually became too exhausting, too taxing. The panic had run its course as far as it could.

I took another deep breath and sighed. “So what happens now?”

As I looked down, I noticed her grin return with a certain playfulness. “First, I shall try to rescue what is left of this mood. And we should probably sleep afterwards. We depart in the morning with one of the early trains.”

As expected. I liked to be right. Even if departure by train had been the rather obvious choice. However, I furrowed my brow as the rest of her intention trickled through. “Wha—“ was all I managed before I gasped. Her hoof had snuck its way up to my rump and despite carefulness of her motion, there was firm pressure and intent behind it. Once I regained control, I looked down and saw her smirk rather smugly. A moment later she raised her head from my chest and slowly dragged it down across it until her chin brushed against my sheath.

Another sharp inhale as she gave it a slow, measured lick and I finally left my worries wherever they had last been. I tried to sit up, because quite simply, I wanted to reciprocate the attention. But she just pushed me down again with a tendril of her magic. “Let me,” she asked. My unwillingness to comply was held at bay as her magic did not just fade straight away. With my member coaxed out into the open, she refocused her attention with agonizingly tender kisses. Unwillingness slowly morphed into impatience and only after I involuntarily failed to stifle a throaty whine did she relent. She closed her lips around its head and a pleasurable mixture of warmth and slick wetness enveloped me. I put a hoof to my muzzle to bite down on just so that I could deny her the satisfaction of hearing me moan and despite her focus consistently being someplace else, she still managed to catch it. What had been a singular tendril firmly placed on my chest lifted, if only for a second or two before it split in two to pin down my hooves right beside my head.

I knew what she wanted and I tried to make sure that she had to fight me every inch of the way to get it, despite my own neediness. And she did. Unrelentingly, inch by inch, until I felt dizzy from my ragged breathing. These last days alone really did not work in my favor. “Lu,” I managed to whisper in between panting. Spurred on by it instead of deterred, she retreated almost fully, only to swallow as much as she could in a single go. It simply was too much to bear. I was not sure if I had cried out or not. I blanked. For a couple of seconds, there was only sweet release, a tremble shaking my whole body and the scent of her arousal filling my nostrils.

And despite my orgasm slowly receding, there was only one coherent thought manifesting in its wake: I want her so badly.

That might not have been an option right now. But I was not about to let her get away that easily. She retreated and laid down beside me, still with that rather smug grin on her face. Luna leaned over and in my post-climax haze, I did not mind the salty taste as I kissed her deeply, passionately. “You’re so in for it,” I whispered. I saw her tail swish from side to side, almost like a cat. She did not even try any funny business as I repositioned myself. I placed a small trace of kisses and little love bites along her back and flank before I noticed just how drenched she was.

I looked up in surprise and saw fire in her eyes. “I missed you,” she huskily let me know.

“Oh I missed you too,” I quietly replied before I grabbed her rump. She shuddered a little in mere anticipation and despite my intention to keep her in suspense a little longer, I could not help but give her a good, long lick across her nethers. I was rewarded with a stronger tremor and a soft moan. She tried to press her rear back to keep contact, but I held her in place and chuckled quietly. “Come on, you really think you’re the only one capable of teasing?” I threatened. And yet I had to devote no small measure of willpower to keep myself away from her. Her scent was intoxicating, her taste still on my tongue and goodness gracious me, did she look delicious.

“Please…!” I heard her whimper.

It was a hard hit against my determination. How bad was it that it took this little for her to beg? Maybe it was worth finding out? I closed in again, much to her delight, and traced the tip of my tongue around her folds. Another whimper was followed by a sharp gasp as I licked across her clit. I inched closer still with a wide grin and brought my mouth firmly against her tender flesh. And sucked just that little bit. Her reaction was delightful. And I could already tell how incredibly close she was. She showed me mercy at this point when our roles had been switched. I was willing to do the same for her. I grabbed her rump with both hooves, spread it a little and retreated just enough to exhale my hot breath against her sensitive parts. And just as she was about to whimper again, I dove back in and attacked her clit without mercy. I chuckled a little as I felt my muzzle being flooded, but I did not relent as she cried out and came. I continued my assault through wave after wave and listened intently for her erratic breathing to catch just the right moment to stop. I eventually found it. Her climax subsided. The waves rocking her body eased up. And I retreated.

My head was in just the right space. Everything about this was bliss. I licked my lips, enjoyed her taste and stood behind her to marvel at my work. She rolled onto her side and raised her head just enough to look at me. I grinned. “More?”

She laughed and let her head fall back down onto the bed. “You are greedy,” she accused me and gestured for me to come closer. I lay down in front of her, and she effortlessly pulled me in and snuggled me against her.

“You would be as well with a mare like you in your bed,” I argued.

“Hmm… I cannot tell… I never had the pleasure with myself,” she replied with a giggle while she was still busy catching her breath.

We remained silent for a moment. It felt so incredibly nice to be held by her right now. “I love you.”

She hummed appreciatively before she leaned down. “Me too,” she replied.

I chuckled. “You love yourself? That’s nice. I was always told that’s important, you know?”

“Do not be cheeky or I might need to… punish you,” she ‘threatened’ in a sultry voice and breathed down my neck.

“Oh no, the horror, whatever shall I do?” I answered in the worst demonstration of acting I had presented in a long, long while. Because I usually did not try to consciously act badly.

She took my ear in her mouth and nibbled a little at it. Just enough to be both pleasurable and a tinge painful. “Let me rephrase that,” she whispered. “Do not be cheeky or I will not tell you about my surprise for you…!”

I chuckled a little and further pressed backwards into her. In return, her grip around me tightened a little more. “A surprise, you say. Hm. Is it a good one, or a bad one?”

“One I think you will very much enjoy,” she answered and although I could not see her face, I imagined her expression was just as confident as her voice implied.

“Hmmm. A good one then. Fine, fine, you have me convinced… no cheek from me.” I wiggled a little, just enough that she loosened her grip and I could turn to look at her. I was surprised by just how much passion and lust had already returned to her smoldering gaze. Whatever it was had her riled up quite a lot.

She leaned down and we shared another passionate kiss. We only pulled apart when the need for air demanded it. And that fire had only grown. When she leaned down again, she aimed for my ear this time and quietly whispered. “I have not taken my contraception… and my heat started two days ago…”

I pulled my head back just enough to look her in the eyes. A fresh wave of heat flushed my face and made my ears glow up to the tip. I was struck speechless for a couple of seconds while my brain tried to catch up to what she had said. We had talked about this twice and her stance had been the same on both instances. Not yet. I had been trying with Celestia for years now, with no results whatsoever. Alicorn fertility was apparently quite low compared to ‘regular’ ponies. With an immortal species, that probably made sense.

Maybe I should have asked what had brought on this change of mind. Just to make sure that this was not another spike of jealousy or something. I really should have. Maybe I would have, had she not put on her best, irresistible bedroom gaze and uttered those words. “Breed me, firecracker.” I swallowed, and could already feel my grin threaten to split my head in two. I also felt myself stiffen again at an impressive speed and judging by her eager kiss, so did she. “Do it…”

I was not about to make her beg for that one. The next couple of seconds were a bit of a frantic haze. Rarely had I been this driven. She rolled onto her back, her tail already tucked to the side, her delicious rump on full display, her folds glistened invitingly. She wiggled her rump just a little bit, as if that had been necessary at this point. And with an eagerness that surprised myself, I lined up and drove into her. With the first orgasm already out of the way, I at least did not climax immediately. I wanted this to last. I wanted to feel her, to hear her moan and whimper, I wanted to drive her mad until she was pawing at the sheets, biting down on them. I wanted to take her. And more importantly, I really did want to breed her.

It was such a delight to see this desire mirrored in her, to feel how she pushed back against me every time I drove into her. Our moans intermingled in the same rhythm our bodies did. Images I had fantasized about flashed before my eyes. Luna with a huge, well-rounded belly. I had no words for how sexy it looked in my head, and I had no idea why it turned me on so much. The thought of a little filly or colt running around, costing us precious sleep and every single last nerve we had. The image of us lying in bed, tired, exhausted, but with happy smiles, and a little bundle of joy between us.

I still came earlier than I would have liked. In fact, I disliked it enough to give ‘powering through’ a shot. And while that rarely worked out for me, it did this time. Judging by her outcry, she felt it. Felt every contraction, felt even more fluids flood her womb and despite the sweat and exhaustion, she was utterly unwilling to stop — just like me. I bit down on her neck at one point and elicited another cry of pleasure from her. I even managed to scrape enough concentration together to carefully play with her teats a little. And my concentration failed me the moment a new batch of images flooded my mind. They would swell in preparation of nurturing our foal.

I eventually came a third time. And I was well aware that this would be the end, if I wanted to continue or not. Sweat on my brow, exhaustion in my bones and my legs threatened to buckle while I held firmly onto her hip, buried as deep inside her as I could manage, while every little tremor that shook my body meant another little trickle inside her.

I cautiously withdrew from her and once done simply collapsed to the side. I was utterly spent and smiled in bliss. She crawled over to me and with an equally exhausted huff laid down in front of me. Even without being this tired, I would have lacked the strength to simply pull her towards me. So I instead scraped together what I had left and scooched closer. Just enough to close the gap between us and to entwine my legs with hers. To hold her.

I buried my nose in her mane, inhaled deeply and exhaled in a satisfied, happy sigh. There was so much on the tip of my tongue. I love you. I missed you. Goddess, I still want to rut you so badly. But for the moment, I was content to just lie there and breathe and enjoy her scent and the immense heat she radiated and her happy sigh and how she stroked my hoof with her own. It was bliss. All of it. All of this.

“I lost track of how many times I came,” she quietly whispered, followed by a brief giggle.

I kissed her neck with a smug grin and only smiled even wider when I saw that even this little, innocent kiss made her shudder a little. “Glad to hear it,” I replied. “I… uh… probably should have been a bit more careful. I just… lost myself to fantasies, I guess. I didn't hurt you, did I?” I tried to look at her neck, but lifting my head was too much of an ask right now.

She patted my hoof. “Do not burden yourself. I am perfectly capable of voicing my displeasure if necessary. And I can assure you, no displeasure was had…”

I nuzzled along her neck and placed a little kiss on her ear. “Everything about you is so incredibly intoxicating… your scent, your taste, how you feel, how you sound, what you do, who you are…”

She giggled once more. “Tell me about those fantasies of yours. Let us see if they measure up to mine.”

“I imagined you pregnant,” I started and disentangled my hoof to slowly stroke along her belly. “Carrying our foal. You were biiig,” I teased a little and chuckled. To my surprise, I saw her clench her hindlegs shut. Maybe our fantasies aren’t so different after all, I mused. “You were so sexy… so, so hot… somehow even more than you are now… I imagined how your teats would grow…” And again, just for good measure, I pinched them with a tendril of magic before I tenderly caressed them. And I heard her breath hitch.

She slowly turned around until we were lying muzzle to muzzle. She looked exhausted, but that fire in her eyes cared not one iota. “Doth thee has't another round in thee?”

I felt her gaze trail down and she quickly took note of my member standing at attention. I would be so, so, so horribly sore tomorrow. Luna quickly leaned in and we shared another deep, longing kiss. Greedy beyond words, too. And with that, the decision was made. Soreness it was.

Worth it though.