Author's Note

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Drowsiness

Luna reclined against her seat and watched the countryside roll by outside as she let her thoughts wander elsewhere. It had taken a while to find a working train heading for Ponyville, but that was part of the issue after all, and also part of the reason she'd chosen to ride one instead of going there via air carriage. So far, though, everything about the ride and the train seemed normal. Another reason was secrecy, as secretive as an alicorn marching into town could be. If anything was truly amiss, at least she wouldn't reveal her presence too early. The third reason was that the slightly longer and less animated trip afforded her more time to think.

There was a lot to think about, despite how few details were known. It had started as strange lapses in communication from the Empire, and then the issue spread to Ponyville. That was the bulk of the oddness, but there was more too. Ponies seemingly going missing, some reports of citizens from either location showing odd behaviour. Celestia, as she always did, had thought about asking Twilight before ever considering consulting her sister for help. That was when things had gone south, proverbially, as Twilight was nowhere to be found. Celestia had almost started to panic before Luna stepped in.

She'd had to half plead, half scold her sister into giving her a chance to tackle the matter herself. It was logical for her to be the one who should; things were safer with Celestia firmly in Canterlot if Equestria was truly being threatened. Also, on a more personal level, it would be better for Luna if she got to finally do something. A chance to fix a problem or avert a crisis herself instead of being remembered only for her mistakes, while Celestia's pupil took care of everything.

Luna shook those thoughts away. She cared for Twilight, owed a lot to her, and she was worried about her just as Celestia was. Instead she focused on what had brought her there on the train. The first thing she'd done, and one of the things she'd sworn by while trying to calm Celestia, was trying to find Twilight and her friends through their dreams. The results had been... worrying. Twilight was there, somewhere, but her dreams were somehow shrouded, like the light of her mind was covered by something. Luna had looked for her friends too, with similar results, until she'd come across Starlight's dream. It had been odd, muddled, again filtered in a way dreams were not supposed to be for her, surely as a result of strong magic. It had made some things clear, though. Something was wrong, Luna's help was needed, and caution was advised. No guards, then. If Starlight had been defeated they stood no chance.

The train stopped, jolting her out of her thoughts. She hadn't noticed it slowing, caught up by them as she was. She stood from her seat and gave a brief look over her reflection in the window. Her black knee-length pencil skirt clung tight to her rather sizeable behind, but still afforded her legs enough freedom of movement. Her cream blouse was snug over her generous chest, but not immodest. Her arms were bare, and her starry mane was done up in a ponytail. She'd gone without her peytral, but still chose to wear her crown on her head and silver shoes on her hooves. She made sure her clothes were in order and then walked off the train, the conductor giving her a smile and a friendly wave.

As she set hoof into Ponyville, she could immediately taste magic in the air. A spell of some kind had been placed over the whole town, though it was not strong enough to affect an alicorn of her calibre. She could not know yet what its effects were, but it was a definite sign that something was amiss. With renewed determination she began to head towards the castle, the logical first place to look for Twilight and Starlight. It was clearly visible from all around town, standing a good bit taller than everything else save maybe the town hall. It was still as much of an eyesore as she remembered it being, though perhaps a little shinier and more blue.

While she purposefully marched down the streets, thoughts swirling around potential plans of action as she remained alert for any signs of danger around her, she distractedly took stock of the citizens going about their days. To them, nothing seemed to be wrong, and they took to their routines as cheerfully as she'd ever seen a pony act. Unnervingly so, even. And that's when it hit her, that none of them were so much as acknowledging her presence, not as a Princess at least. Sure, they waved back if she did, but there was no kneeling and no sign of formalities. That was odd. Definitely odd. She sped up her steps.

She knocked at the castle doors, partly out of politeness, partly out of curiosity. She smirked when her call went unanswered. At least it gave her a valid excuse to break in and get some action. However, the doors turned out to be unlocked, so with a simple push and a shrug she let herself in.

The taste and feel of magic intensified as soon as she stepped in, enough that she had to make a conscious effort to keep the spell off of her. Still nothing she couldn't handle. The magic was coming from inside the castle. Or maybe... She brought a hand to one of the walls, feeling it subtly vibrate under her touch, as something like static flowed from it. Maybe it was coming from the castle itself. That was bad, but it could potentially explain what had been shielding Twilight's dreams.

She elected to explore the palace before trying dreamwalking again, just to be safe. Being unfamiliar with the layout of the place, she just turned down the first corridor she found, and began to look into every room she came across. Surely one of them would have something of value in helping her understand what had happened. The first door she opened was a broom closet, complete with brooms and cleaning products. Luna pouted, shut the door, and moved on to the next one.

A kitchen, with pots and pans still in the sink, used and left there unwashed. By how many plates were left on the table, a lot of ponies had to have been there. There was something else too, not something she could see but rather something she could smell. It wasn't just the smell of dead air of a building that'd been left without ventilation for too long, either. She stepped into the room properly and took a deep breath. It was a strong smell, as unmistakeable as its implications were worrying. Sex, and a lot of it for it to linger so thick.

She hurried over to the next room. The smell was even stronger there, hitting her like a wall when she opened the door. It was a bedroom, and the signs of what had happened there were as clear on the bed as the stench would imply. She walked out of it quickly and shut the door behind her. Maybe Twilight and her friends held orgies in the castle and no one had told her, but she found that unlikely. After all, if she kept her own impulses to her dreams to preserve the integrity of the crown then she was sure Twilight would exercise the same level of caution. Not that she knew where Twilight's preferences lay on the matter, or if they were anything like hers.

She shook her head, and refrained from checking out the next room. It was a slow process, and it wasn't getting her anywhere. Better to just go back to dreamwalking, to see if now that she was inside the building she could locate Twilight or her friends, instead of wasting time playing around. It was a serious matter and she was expected to take it seriously.

She sat down against a wall, a little bothered by its magical buzzing against her head, and closed her eyes. Immediately she was in the dreaming. As she had suspected, things were different in there. Somehow, the castle acted as its own subspace within the dreamspace, almost like a building of its own within the fields of dreams she usually moved through. She speculated it was more thanks to a perversion of the castle's own innate magic than thanks to any external spell placed upon it. Regardless, if the space she was in was metaphorically a building within the dreaming, the metaphorical lights were off, and the darkness was not one she could pierce as easily as that of night.

She could not see things, only sense them vaguely, but it was like moving with a blindfold on. She knew something was definitely there, though, something she hadn't sensed while outside. It was her only lead, and it was better than nothing. She moved towards it the way one moves within a dream, without any real direction. Then, like she'd stumbled upon a staircase she didn't know was there, Luna tumbled forward and fell into a dream.

There was a sort of fuzziness permeating the dream, like everything was seen through water and glass. It took her a moment to get her bearings, and to recognise the scene around her. At first the crystal that made up the walls and floor around her led her to think the dream was set in the same castle she was in, but looking more closely she could tell it wasn't so. The room was grander than anything in Twilight's palace, and the walls were smooth and even, unlike the more jagged appearance of her tree-like adobe. It was someplace in the Crystal Empire, the throne room if she had to guess by its size.

Looking towards the opposite end of it, she could confirm that was the case, as sitting upon a throne she saw none other than Shining Armor, Prince of the Empire. For whatever reason, he was clearly naked. Luna's heart skipped a beat at the sight, but then she blinked and tilted her head in confusion. Did he have an erection, too? By far not the weirdest dream she'd seen, but she was still curious. She doubted it was Shining's dream she was in. He was still in the Empire as far as she knew. She walked down the length of the room, and in doing so she finally noticed someone else there.

It was no wonder she'd missed them, as they were kneeling with their head almost touching the floor. The closer she moved, the clearer the dream became, and she could finally discern who the second figure was. While he looked slightly bigger and more muscled than last she'd seen him, and likely more than he was in the real world, it was hard not to recognise Spike, Twilight's assistant and adopted brother. He ought to be the one dreaming, and he was definitely a good place to start from in her quest. He was naked too, but he always was, what with dragon anatomy being so different from ponies' and all.

As she got closer, close enough to see that Shining was indeed sporting an erection and was also more impressively well endowed than she suspected (though that could be chalked up to the dream), she could hear them talking. While she missed what exactly Shining had said, Spike's response was clear. "I am honoured by your offer, my King, and I gladly accept." He kept his head close to the floor as he spoke, and his tone sounded almost reverent.

Luna magicked herself a chair to sit on and watch the scene from, more than a little amused. What she saw before her gave off the vibes of something between a tale of chivalry of the kind that had been popular before her banishment and an oddly revealing erotic fantasy. But dreams often were a strange combination of different parts of a pony's mind, though the present one belonged to a dragon, and combining Spike's literary passions with what could be his latent homosexuality wasn't all that surprising. Even if it was a little weird he'd placed his adoptive brother there. Maybe there was something else to it. Maybe Shining was just an icon Spike admired and the sexual undertones were the results of Spike's insecurities regarding his masculinity, which would explain why Shining looked so muscled and hung, and was addressed as King rather than Prince.

Shining's horn lit. His magic shone a different light than what she remembered it being, but she paid that no mind. It was a dream, after all. The spell also seemed to be quite a powerful one, but again it was all a projection of Spike's mind, and Shining was clearly an idealised version of himself embodying power and virility in the traditional sense. Admittedly he did look hot like that. Even hotter than usual. Luna shook her head and looked back towards Spike, whose body was being enveloped by the light of the spell.

Was it a kind of transfer of power? Was Spike dreaming of Shining, who he viewed as stronger and more accomplished than himself, metaphorically gifting him the strength he felt he lacked? Luna couldn't stop herself from trying to analyse the dream for meaning. It was her job and her calling, after all. Spike's body rose in the air in the grasp of Shining's magic, and as it began to shift she thought she'd guessed correctly. Then she saw just how it was changing.

Spike's muscles melted away, his limbs becoming lither and his frame shrinking until he was thin, if not quite frail. His features softened, the sharper edges mellowing into curves as his muzzle became more rounded. Luna was not overtly familiar with dragon anatomy, and so did not immediately realise what those changes implied, but what came next cleared up any doubts she may have had. For one, the barely noticeable slit in his crotch which hid his reproductive equipment moved lower, between his legs, and became more pronounced. That was by far not the biggest change, though.

Spike's hips widened, his thighs and tail thickened, his ass became larger and rounder, and Luna realised 'he' wasn't the right pronoun to use any more. Next, Spike, if that was still her name, had her chest swell out well past modesty, and certainly more than anything Luna had ever seen on a female dragon. She ended up sporting two fat tits that, while not as big as Luna's, were still large even by pony standards. Luna blinked at that, suddenly realising she was familiar with the spell at work. How Spike knew of it, she had no idea.

Shining's magic placed the dragon back down, and he spoke, his voice firm and commanding, but also theatrical in a way clearly influenced by Spike's dream. "From this moment on, you shall be known as Barb. Now, I expect you to show your gratitude to your King for the gift he has given you."

Luna was stunned by what she was seeing. It was a whole lot to unpack, but she didn't get any time to. Immediately after being deposited to the floor, Barb, still on her knees, crawled towards the throne and took Shining's thick, long cock into her mouth. While her lips wrapped around the tip, her long tongue encircled the whole length, coating it in a layer of her drool. Then she drew her tongue back, moaning as she tasted him, and began to lower her mouth down the length of the shaft.

Luna watched it all happen with a strange kind of rapt fascination. Seeing a girl as beautiful as Barb sexually submit like that was certainly something that pressed a few of her buttons, but she knew better than to get her rocks off over someone's dream, especially one that seemed to be as intimately personal as that. Still, her eyes were glued to the scene, and she could not help the way her heart beat faster and faster in her chest.

Barb's head moved lower and lower, and a bulge became visible in her neck, growing deeper and more pronounced the more of Shining's cock she swallowed. She choked and sputtered, body slightly shaking as she struggled, but still she pressed on. Shining watched on with a pleased, perhaps even amused expression. Then, as Barb struggled to move any deeper, he placed a hand on the back of her head and forcefully shoved her down the last few inches of his cock. Barb coughed and trembled, but, after the initial moment of shock, offered no resistance and kept her head down, her throat impaled on Shining's shaft.

Keeping a firm hold on the back of her head, Shining slowly lifted her up until she could breathe again. Barb only had time for a single deep and desperate inhale before he shoved her down his dick again, making her face hit his crotch so hard it must have hurt even with her scales. Quickly he lifted her head up again, only to slam it down once more before Barb even had another chance to breathe. Then again, and again, faster and faster, practically using Barb's mouth and throat to jerk himself off, effectively treating her head and neck like a toy. And for all the brutal treatment she was receiving, Luna could clearly see that Barb's pussy was growing wetter and wetter by the second.

Then, with a grunt, Shining pulled her off his shaft completely and tossed her carelessly to the floor. Barb whimpered in pleasure at the way he was treating her, and Luna could not help the shudder that ran down her back. Her own breathing had grown deep and heated, and her nipples stiffened beneath her clothes. She was transfixed by the sight, and inhaling deep lungfuls of the smell of sex and arousal wafting from both Shining's throbbing cock and Barb's leaking pussy.

"You have done well," Shining spoke. His voice was deep and powerful, and it filled the entire room. It had an almost otherworldly tone to it, like it was closer to the sound of a force of nature at work than to a pony's voice. Luna realised it evoked the kind of feelings the Royal Canterlot Voice was meant to induce, but did so on sheer power alone, without the need for a heightened tone. Shining himself loomed almost unnaturally tall as he stood, radiating an aura of strength and magic and sheer commanding unlike anything the Princess had ever seen. Celestia was a radiant beacon, but even her light seemed a tiny thing compared to his glory. When he spoke again, Luna felt the words reverberating down to her very core. "Spread yourself for me, slut."

Barb gave a lustful groan. She positioned herself on the floor, her large chest mashed against the cold crystal, ass up high towards Shining with her tail lifted out of the way as she reached back with her hands to spread her asscheeks apart. Her pussy was leaking down her thighs, rivulets of arousal lending a sheen to her soft purple scales. Shining advanced on her and placed his large, strong hands over her own, and Barb moaned.

Then, in a way that could only be justified through the way space bends and break within dreams, Shining's far larger body moved so his cock was lined up exactly with Barb's smaller, kneeling form. Perhaps dream logic was at play as he thrust forward as well, as Luna almost struggled to envision something that big actually making it all the way into a hole as virgin as could possibly be. But one way or another, Shining hilted himself balls deep in Barb's pussy, and the dragoness threw back her head and howled in ecstasy, quaking like she'd come just from that.

And then Shining started thrusting. Luna had to assume it was only because they were in a dream that the floor didn't shatter, because the force of his motions would have been more than enough. He brutally slammed himself over and over into Barb's sex, so hard and fast that even just his balls slapping against her thighs had to be leaving bruises there. He seemed to care only for his pleasure, masturbating with her body with no consideration for her well being.

Yet Barb didn't mind. On the contrary, she fucking loved it. Her continued screams of ecstasy were only interrupted by her rough, uneven breathing as Shining literally knocked the wind out of her with every thrust. Her eyes had rolled back into her head and drool was leaking down her neck past the corners of her mouth. Her pussy was leaking even more, coating Shining's thighs and her own in ample amounts of her juices as it quivered and quaked around the cock reshaping it in its image. Luna was surprised the dream could still sustain itself when the dreamer was that mentally checked out.

Or, she would have been surprised, had she been thinking about that. Instead, she was far more focused on the scene itself. Her breath had gotten stuck in her throat, and try as she might she could not think of anything else other than what was in front of her. Her heart was hammering in her chest, her nipples were painfully stiff. The edges of her mind felt fuzzy and indistinct, like everything outside of where her focus lay was blurred and unimportant. Her thighs itched. Her loins were burning up.

To see Shining, such a strong and beautiful stallion in his own right, now so dominant and strong, fucking someone so roughly after he'd changed and altered her for his own pleasure. To hear her moans, see her writhing in ecstasy under the relentless assault of his sexual domination. Luna's thoughts were tumbling over each other, hands moving faster than her mind could keep up with as basic instincts took over her actions.

Luna was touching herself, legs spread open as her fingers plunged in and out of her sopping wet pussy, panties no longer there, vanished with a thought into the aether of the dream. She gritted her teeth and suppressed a moan as Barb's much louder screams of pleasure filled her ears and her mind. She fingered herself as she imagined herself in Barb's place, ass and thighs reddened by the sheer strength of Shining's thrusts, pussy spread wide around his shaft, tits mashed roughly against the floor.

Her breath became heavier as she looked at Shining. His huge cock pistoning in and out of Barb's pussy. His perfect, immaculate physique. His chiselled muscles and powerful limbs. The overwhelming aura of his magic, bending space around him. His confident, domineering expression, and his piercing blue eyes staring straight at her, burrowing into her, reaching all the way into the core of her mind.

Luna gasped in shock, and, in a moment of clarity, forced herself out of the dream.