Luna and the Dreamscape - Episode 2: Presteza

[Pretzelparty]

"Okay? Just okay?" this was a thought that was taking up most of the young mare's mind throughout her day. She had been painting for so long on the road, she usually would paint portraits various individuals in exchange for some bits she could live off of. Today she was painting a griffon, a species she didn't have many opportunities to paint and therefore had little experience painting. After a while she finished his portrait and even though he paid for and took the painting he said it was only..."Okay"

Oddly enough the normally enthusiastic young painter couldn't bring herself to paint anything. Anytime she sat in front of her canvas on the road she just couldn't bring herself to put the brush to the canvas no matter how much she wanted to. This mood continued for a while and eventually she just decided it would be best to hit the hay so to speak. She laid down on her bed and soon she drifted off to sleep, the sounds of her surrounding soon fading into nothingness as her mind was left to her dreams.

---dreamscape---

Presteza had finished her greatest work yet! She had asked her family for a bit of money to have a fancy unveiling ceremony that even the nobility of Trottingham could attend. She had painted a great mural that she felt depicted the best aspects of both the common ponies of Trottingham and the upper class. With a proud smile she pulled away the cover from the massive canvas and let the crowd get an eyeful of her greatest masterpiece yet. She had expected the loudest session of applause she'd ever heard but instead she was met with silence until a single voice spoke up.

"Are you kidding me?"said one stallion in the audience.

"Wot a piece o' junk!" shouted one mare.

"This is the worst painting I've ever seen" Decreed one noblepony.

The painter's heart sank deeper and deeper with each word,"D-don' worry I can totally make a go--" before she coudl finish she felt something collide with her face. Wiping whatever hit her out of her eyes she looked down and saw the splattered remnants of a tomato. Soon it was followed by another and another and another, soon the young mare being reduced to jumping and dodging around the stage trying to say she could do better. The crowd clearly disagreed,"We don't want you trying again! Get out of here!" they shouted all together at her.

Seeing as the crowd wasn't letting up their fruity assault Presteza could only flee as she felt her cheek getting hot and tears starting to well up in her eyes,"B-but I did my best..." she thought to herself as she began running towards her family's manor.

[Hippo]

Click here for OOC discussion

Luna found herself walking down a colorful path. This path, with a very dusty red dirt, was bordered by overgrown wildflowers, each of them adorning bright colored petals that knocked each other playfully in the wind. Luna was tickled by the occasional weeds that would graze her legs, the touch of them soft and gentle, not coarse and edgy like most common weeds. But Luna reached the end of the wild garden, and before her was a large door covered in brown vines thick as a pony's leg and had thorns sharp as a unicorn's unchipped horn. She opened this door quite easily and when she crossed into it, and closed it behind her she saw a new world, a world that seemed to be overgrown as the last, but not nearly as colorful. And the sky had a dark essence to it, despite it being a clear sunny day.

Suddenly, Luna had heard a whisper, shouting through the skies like thunder from a cloud. It was from a pony, a mare felt by the complexion of the voice, and she was upset. But she could not make out what it was she was thinking. Luna could see in the distance a pony running down a path. Luna crouched behind a bush, watching to see the pony's intent and distress. But she could not understand what the matter was. So, she decided to follow. Carefully, Luna flew at a distance behind the pony, who at closer range was a yellow unicorn mare with bleached hair. Where is she going, Luna thought, as she followed the pony undetected.

​

[Pretzelparty]

The rhythmic clopping of the young mare's hooves echoed upon the hard, cold ground of cobblestone. As she continued towards where she remembered her home was she noticed there seemed to be a lot of mist around Trottingham; more so than usual. The streets she walked down seemed to bear a strange feeling of melancholy that only seemed to be accentuated by the increasingly heavy mists and flickering light of streetlamps.

"L-let's see... gotta keep goin' straight and then right and I should be ... home..." as she spoke the mare's voice seemed to waver as if she wasn't really sure she could show her face there. As she let her head hang down and averted her eyes she failed to notice that the misty street seemed to grow longer the moment she looked away. Looking back at the scene where she had left what she thought was a masterpiece she felt her heart sink even further than ever as she heard what sounded like supremely angry yells and saw several pegasi fly over to her work and kick it down to the ground. It was all she could do to immediately look away and choke back an effusion of tears before galloping down the street that was now slowly flooding with mist.

The gallop home was much longer than she remembered and for some reason she was feeling very tired... which was especially odd for this normally athletic mare. Soon she began to slow down and simply slowly walked as the end of the street was in view.

Overlooking the street were several windows that soon cracked open and a series of whispers echoed over the landscape, to luna at least these sounded like only vague untranslatable mumbles, but to the mare she was tailing it was obvious they were something more as she soon began speaking up and looking around at the window, several eyes peeking out from the cracks in the openings.

"but ... but jus' because I'm a failure at magic doesn' mean I can't be a great paint--" suddenly the whispers seemed to boom louder in her direction and she was left huddled up in fear but before the princess of the night could approach she galloped away in a flash.

[Hippo]

Luna started finding out really soon that the pony she had been trailing was in a state of slight panic. But what was she running from? Nothing behind her seemed to appear immediately hostile to her, everything was normal. It even looked like a very good representation of what Trottingham might look like on an overcast day. Minus the strange weather and unpredictability of the moveable objects close by, everything was pretty normal for a dream, as normal as many dreams could get, anyway. Still, the unicorn was running into a thick fog, which clouded the road ahead. To get a better look, Luna decided to fly a little closer.

Luna lost sight of the pony for the moment, but she could hear her hooves galloping away from her. On the sides she could hear whispers speaking unintelligible taunts. Luna could not easily make them out, but it was obvious it made the mare in front of her upset. She shouted with such an upset voice that Luna felt obligated to try and get closer to the pony. Luna used her wings to force the air through the streets. A gust of wing from her extremities blew away the fog, but the pony wasn't there. She had turned the corner and continued on. Luna followed her yet again, eager to see where she would be heading next. Was this pony looking for solace, or was she lost?

​

[Pretzelparty]

Once Presteza was gone all the open windows above the princess of the night shut tight with an unusually heavy sound thump. Just as soon as the windows shut the sound of the multiple incomprehensible whispers just stopped. They didn't fade, they didn't fizzle out, they simply stopped like somepony had just turned off a running sink. The creeping mist from earlier was easily blown away by the powerful wings of Luna but it seemed it was slowly being replaced a creeping omnipresent chill, behind the princess there were still the sounds of the angry crowds of ponies who had come to see the painter's work.

Meanwhile, The mare in question had made it to her family's home. In front of the golden-tan mare there was a large and imposing Iron gate with a pair of guards in front of it. The pony's gaze was still fixated upon the ground as she walked in... so much so she failed to notice that the guard ponies were entirely featureless in the category of faces, looking like living mannequins who had been poised at the front gate. The Gates soon began to tremble and shake before slowly opening with a loud and resounding creak that could make anypony with a decent pair of ears cringe. It definitely made the poor artist cringe but she barely could bring herself to move any way but reluctantly forward.

The mare trotted down a long path until she made it to a massive courtyard full of what were surely lively and colorful flowers not too long ago, but now they all seemed to have this dull shade of blue on them as a layer of frost accumulated on each petal and bud in the yard.

The door of the manor was almost as large as the gate that had let Presteza and presumably the princess of the night into this place. Soon the doors opened, this time being pushed open by a pair of serving ponies who were dressed in butler outfits.. upon closer inspection they seemed have those same lack of features as the guards at the first gate. As Presteza made her way inside she thought to herself,"Why is it so cold?" over and over. The chill in the air was growing more severe, she could actually see her own breath now! Galloping inside for warmth she only managed to say thank you to the strange mannequin like servants who slowly began to close the door...

Inside of the house of the was decor that could only be afforded and maintained by the richest of ponies, the rug was of the highest quality and felt nice underhoof and the windows bore curtains of the finest silk a pony could possibly obtain. This was the manor Presteza had spent most of her fillyhood in, a place she had not been back to since she began her travels. The memories that this place held were rather bittersweet, in one hoof there were the memories of playing with her big brother and hiding from the latest member of the Waitstaff she had gotten in trouble with... and in the other hoof there were the memories of her repeated mistakes with handling her own magic.

On the wall of one of the long corridor the mare proceded down was a long series of portraits (none of which done by her) depicting various individual unicorns although they all seemed to have one feature in common; A silvery white mane. At the end of the very last painting of an individual pony there was a larger portrait of four ponies all together. One pony in the portrait was a pretty looking grey coated unicorn mare, beside her was a tan-yellow earth stallion who had what looked like a filly version of presumably his wife except this one had green eyes as opposed to blue. In front of the Grey mare was a cradle with a small foal version of the pony Luna currently was tailing through the Dreamscape.

Presteza soon came upon a large room, outside it's entrance was a plate that had the word "ballroom" emblazoned upon it's service. At first it seemed to be a brightly lit and cheery room and when she saw what appeared to be her family on the other side of the room she took inside and all the light's dimmed to near total darkness on her family's side, another chill filling the air. Hesitantly she spoke up,"M-mum... Dad... Silver... I'm home..." she said in an almost fragmented speech. The darkness on the other side of the room was fiercely intense... she could barely see any of three who stood opposite her in the ballroom only their eyes that seemed to be full of hatred rather than the love that she had been hoping would shelter her.

Suddenly all three voices shouted in unison as she took another hoofstep towards them,"NOT. ANOTHER. STEP." Their voices and tones matched their gaze perfectly, bitter and hate filled. Presteza could only freeze up in her tracks, taking a step back as she uttered the only response she could think of,"W-wot?"

[Hippo]

The yellow unicorn continued walking towards a very large residence. This must be where she lives, Luna thought. As she passed the gate guards, she questioned not only the intention of these projected characters in their duties, but also wondered why they were featureless in detail. Luna knew that dreams were strange, but when a pony had no features on its face it usually meant the dreamer had lost memory of the pony, or that the features that were absent scared the dreamer with fear for what they were, either a dramatic injury in a historic battle, or a bruise from over world conflictions. Luna immediately figured that the focus of the dream was elsewhere, and that's why it didn't seem to give the ponies detail.

Continuing on, Luna found no resistance to enter into the home her subject was venturing into. Sometimes, dreamers dreams turn on non-hosts, making Luna an enemy of the dreamer's projections. Luckily, that was not the case. But...

​

"NOT. ANOTHER. STEP."

Luna zipped towards an opening into the ballroom, leaning just far enough to see what was going on. She could see a family on side, and Presteza in a doorway on the other. The mare was frightened, and was afraid to proceed. Why the hostility? Was the pony responsible for a horrible disgrace in the family?

​

[Pretzelparty]

The darkness at the other end of the room seemed to expand slightly as the painter took a step back,"Y-ya guys 're kiddin' right? I mean I'm finally home... in all the letters ya sent ya said ya woulda been glad ta see me back..." the mare took a few steps forward ... only for what appeared to be a blast of powerful raw magic fired from the other side of the room and singe the floor before her, the pony freezing up in her tracks as she saw what looked like her mother step forward from the shadows, her horn glowing , apparently she had been the one she attacked her.

The grey mare's glare at the unicorn could best be described as a "calm sort of hatred" The best indications of this pony being the image of her mother were the two traits the painter shared with her; the icy blue eyes and the silvery white mane. The grey unicorn circled Presteza a few times, strangely enough dragging the shadows from the other side of the room like a slug leaving behind a trail of slime. As the mare circled her the painter could only sit herself down... feeling like she was almost shrinking,"Yes... We said that we'd be happy to have our daughter home but you're no daughter of ours anymore... to think you'd wind up being destined to be a painter despite having the such potential fer magic..."

"But ya sai--"

"DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!" shouted the mother in a powerful voice that practically shook the room. Along with the loud shout came another sudden drop of temperature... in fact outside the manor the windows seemed to be freezing over, with multiple frosty looking patterns covering them. "Too think I spent so much time teaching you some of the most advanced magic I knew when you were a filly and you can't even pull off a simple levitation spell." every word felt like a small arrow being shot into her, the mare flinching and shivering at almost every syllable but the worst was yet to come. The mother stood before the young mare and with a strangely calm and serene smile said four simple but powerful words,"You're not welcome here."

Presteza looked up at the mare in disbelief, for a few moments unable to form any words. She looked to the other two figures in the shadows and galloped towards them, only stopping short once she touched the shadows enveloping the other side of the room. Just going towards that side seemed to hurt, she jumped back but looked towards them and shouted,"D-do you guys feel the same? ... please don' make me leave... this is my home..."

Once again the trio spoke up in unison, rather than the powerful voice of anger from before they instead spoke in a more calm and collected tone."No ... it's not. Now get out of our house." they said as the other two began to walk towards her, the mare backing way slowly and in shock. Swallowing the sadness that grew quickly inside her she felt it soon replaced by anger. Glaring back at her "Family" she yelled back at them, "F-Fine! I'll go an' this time I'm never comin' back!" she shouted before galloping out of the ballroom and darting down the hallway and back towards the entrance of the manor.

Once the large doors opened the mare was hit by a powerful blast of wind that surged through the hallways and coated some of the foyer with snow and ice. She was about to take a step out into the cold weather... but soon the only thing she had to keep herself warm was snatched from her neck by a green magical aura. behind her was her big brother Silverheart having taken the scarf from her,"I couldn't have made a scarf for a sister I don't have... get out of here peasant before I call the guards." the mare shook with a combination of anger, despair, and the biting cold winds that whipped around her as she took her first steps into the growing storm outside.

[Hippo]

Everything seemed to get so dark. The lighting, the mood, the weather, the spirit. It clouded the room with a dense haze, one which weak light broke and fell apart in the darkness. When Luna watched the exchange, she was surprised to see all the amazingly violent way the pony's family talked to her in her dreams. This was more like the way someone would address their worst enemy, and sometimes not even then! Luna was confused. In observation, it looked like the parents were disappointed, but the mare seemed happy when she cracked a smile entering her once warm home. Losing support where she was before led her to come home, and to come to this? Luna assumed the pony was dealing with harsh rejection, but she wasn't sure if the family discourse was a history lesson, or if it was simply the greatest fear the poor pony held in her heart.

At any rate, the walls started to chill and Luna felt a cool breeze through the hall, that soon turned stupid cold. Her breath was now visible, and as she peered down the hallway the pony tried to run through, she could see the rooms fills with snow and ice. Luna ran after her, but a large sheet of ice, several hooves thick arose from the floor and blocked her from getting through. Immediately after, ice spikes started rising out of the floor, but also falling through the ceiling. Luna dodged these ice spikes over and over, retreating to the closest escape. But she could find none. Soon, the ice spikes created a small crevice that Luna was held in. She could barely move. She started warming her horn for some melting magic when a final ice spike from above fell straight onto her.

She awoke on her dream chair, and when she opened her eyes she looked around the room, which was brightly lit and warm. She was panting out of the dreamscape session, and the guard next to her watching over her as she dreamt looked at her with concern. Luna levitated a glass of liquid towards her mouth. It had a purple substance in it and it fizzed violently from the bottom of the glass. She took a small sip, breathed a couple times, and then slowly fell asleep again.

Back inside, Luna found herself just outside the house, which had turned into what she could only call a reverse igloo. "Where is she?" Luna cried to herself. She wanted to find the pony, but wasn't sure if she was able to escape the violent atmosphere of the cold family manor.

​

[Pretzelparty]

The savage winds howled and droned loudly outside the manor in the powerful storm. While the winds were strong, it seemed that the the winds were not hurricane force so a pony could indeed walk out in it. If the Princess so chose she could indeed try and walk out into the snow after the troubled artist. However the second she set hoof out the door she could hear an incredibly loud and chilling Whinny that carried on the wind. The sound of this call not sounding like anything like what a common pony could produce.

In the heavy storm the only thing moving besides the flurries and flakes being thrown around by the restless winds there was cold little unicorn trudging through the snow. This didn't make any sense... how could her family treat her like that? She may not have been the best at magic like the rest of her family... well except for her father being an earth pony and all. Once she had told her family that she wanted to pursue a carrier in art they wished her well and sent her into the world with her brother to watch over her until she could take care of herself. Presteza had always been rather worried her family may not appreciate her destiny given how most of the upper class ponies she had met in Trottingham had expected her to be a great magic user like her mother. If anything this event only proved that she was right to worry...

The silver maned was alone, no home, no family... and now no idea what to do. If her painting couldn't make other ponies happy what was the point of it? Making others happy with her art was possibly the biggest reason she painted at all. As she eventually found her way off her family's property she walked past the gates, to find the city of Trottingham almost entirely covered in ice and snow... but even at this sight given her state of mind she could hardly bring herself to care as she choked back tears and whimpered sobs that oddly seemed to echo across the landscape loud enough for the princess to possibly hear.

The was possibly only one pony she could hope to confide in now. Her old art teacher, Atelier. Atelier was a Fancy pony with a talent for sculpting the clouds into magnificent shapes and designs. While she was normally considered slightly eccentric she was a sweet mare who had taught Pressy all she'd learned about art. After a long walk to the edge of town where she lived... she only found an empty house... Atelier was gone.

[Hippo]

The princess spotted the mare as she ran away from the blizzard, which seemed rationalized for the most part. The weather in this dream could not agree with itself and caused violent winds to smash against what was otherwise a beautifully painted picture of a dream. Luna flew towards the mare, seeing as she had not woken up yet--this dream sure was testing her. When the mare walked into a classroom, Luna came in behind her to approach.

A dark aura immediately surrounded Luna, causing her to struggle against the pathways of the dreamscape. Not that Luna was incapable of binding the opponent, but it was important to Luna as she realized the hostility level of such a dream. As Luna walked towards Presteza, so did the darkness, until it filled the classroom she was in. Was the mare looking for somepony? A friend? Or maybe a foe? Luna had to find out. Her horn glowed and with a loud zap, the darkness was vaccuumed from the place. Luna appeared at the doorway, her mane shimmering and her neck postured tall. "Who are you looking for?" Luna's expression was curious and concerning.

​

[Pretzelparty]

The downtrodden painter strolled sadly through the workshop as the strange darkness began creeping up behind her. In her Melancholy her senses were dulled to the danger this dream somehow posed. The dour atmosphere of this shabby looking shack hung heavy in the air... Despite the house being abandoned it still had quite a few hints as to what kind of pony stayed there within it. In one corner of the room were a series of canvases all piles on to one another. On the floor were many discarded chisels and paintbrushes, although not enough to impede walking across the floor in any way.

The darkness in the room only seemed to grow more intense and slowly encroached on Presteza while she picked up one of the canvases on the floor and set it up right, taking her paintbrush from her saddle bag and looking at it in a sort of trance-like Forlorn Nostalgia. Memories of the happy times with her teacher flashed through her mind as she stared at the slightly weather looking brush, "Atelier... Where did ya g--"

*ZAP!*

Upon hearing the loud, nearly thunderous zap she hid behind the nearby canvas. poking her head out as the darkness receded, Her jaw dropped at the sight of the of Night princess' entrance. Outside the house the shrieking winds and faint whinnying in the distance seemed to die down as a smile creased the mare's lips. "Princess Luna! Oh my gosh it's so awesome ta finally meet ya. Would it be okay if I painted ya?" Is what the paint-mare would have normally asked but at this moment she lacked her typical drive... especially as she realized that considering how everypony else seemed to hate her now she was ready to ask only one question, That question being; Are you here ta tell me how bad my work is too? Before she could ask her question though it Seemed the Princess had a question of her own.

"Who are you looking for?"

The mare looked at the princess rather curiously, so far everypony that Presteza had met seemed like they absolutely hated her. Why was the princess an exception? Her tone in this case while still as noble as Presteza had imagined held no trace of anger at all,"U-uh... W-well I was looking for my old friend... she taught me all about art when I was a filly, this was where she lived." admitted the mare with a hint of caution in her voice, having dropped her more casual way of speaking so as not to appear disrespectful. The presence of the princess was still an unexpected event and it left a new question on the artist's mind, "Um... your highness... If it's okay. Can I ask why you're here? I mean you can go anywhere you like of course, I mean you're a princess but why did you come to talk to ... a nopony like me?"

[Hippo]

The unicorn mare seemed troubled by the intrusion the Princess had. She would never be so disrespectful, even if it could offend Luna possibly. But Luna was too concerned for Presteza's state of mind to worry about being asked an inappropriate question. The mare acted like everything was normal. Like this was the way it was supposed to be, and seeing a princess would not help her in any way, less provide a more enjoyable dream. But maybe that was just it. Did she know that this was a dream? "Child, you seemed troubled. I followed you from a far. Was someone chasing you? Why are you sweating?" Luna wanted to provide the information to the pony about how everything was not real, but if the princess could hold off that information, she might get a more genuine answer to her questions. Should Presteza know she was dreaming, than all of this terror that seemed to be riding her was all for naught, and she would no longer be afraid of what was obviously just her sleepy imagination.

​

[Pretzelparty]

"Child, you seemed troubled. I followed you from a far. Was someone chasing you? Why are you sweating?"

The paint-pony blinked a few times at the princess before her as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was positive that the princess was going to just shout at her like everypony else she had encountered tonight. She wasn't complaining though if her favorite princess was actually willing to talk kindly to her, "Well... No. Ya see..." she began, "I kinda just wanted to get away from ho--" The pony looked at the floor and chuckled an empty, sad laugh. "Well I guess I can't really call it home anymore... Maybe I should make this my home now."

The howling winds outside seemed to pummel the outside of the shack as the mare spoke, on those howling winds was the faint sound of a sinister whinny could be heard. The painter's ear twitched a moment and a look of worry fell upon her face before she seemed to calm herself down. The wind outside also seemed to carry the sound of the townsponies back in Trottingham still raging at her work. the faint sound of their angry shouting drifting in an increasingly powerful snowstorm.

The barren shack bore home to not only the two ponies but an awkward silence for a few minutes as the painter couldn't think of what to say. Since she was rather low on topics she could only bring herself to ramble a bit,"So uh... Princess Luna... Did I tell ya you're my favorite princess? I uh always kinda felt we kinda similar... in a way... I'll uh be quiet now..." she said her voice shrinking slowly as she spoke

[Hippo]

Presteza was acting really goofy. She looked tormented, but also comforted by her own thoughts. The mare appeared delirious, but showed signs of being completely in control of her own thoughts and concerns. And even though it felt like she was just abandoned, she seemed to get over it quick enough to call a shack she said was her former friend's her new home. Like it wasn't a big deal. It was clear, the mare did not know she was dreaming, or if she did, she faked her emotions really well.

​

"So uh... Princess Luna... Did I tell ya you're my favorite princess? I uh always kinda felt we kinda similar... in a way..."

"Silence!"

​

"I'll uh be quiet now..."

Luna looked over the mare with a frown. She could not smile on the pony, for this situation was still somewhat important. "You hear that wind outside? It is a turbulence that is being caused by the fear that is coming from inside your heart." Just as Luna said this, a long horse-like howl could be heard from around the shack. "I can use my magic again to zap it, but it's only going to come back." Luna fluttered towards Presteza until she was standing over her. "Unless you stop stalling and conquer whatever is in your heart that is causing this to happen. I want to help you. So tell me, what is happening!?" Luna looked to the left and to the right, seeing a large cloud in the shape of a horse head. It had eyes that lit up and when it caught view of the two ponies, it shrieked a windy neigh that shatter all the glass left in the shack.

​

[Pretzelparty]

You hear that wind outside? It is a turbulence that is being caused by the fear that is coming from inside your heart. I can use my magic again to zap it, but it's only going to come back. Unless you stop stalling and conquer whatever is in your heart that is causing this to happen. I want to help you. So tell me, what is happening!?".

​

"Turbulence bein' caused by fear inside my heart... I-I don't know what yer talkin' about, Princess." As the mare reached the second half of that sentence her voice began to crack more-so than usual and not in her typical excited way. Slowly the mare's gaze drifted downward as she began feeling her emotions weighing heavily on her heart. the storm outside slowly growing stronger as she spoke up once again in a shaky voice, "I-I feel...fi..." Soon the mare was once again choking back her tears before admitting to herself (and shortly after the princess) she couldn't keep up her brave facade any longer.

"I-I don't know why this has happened ...I worked so hard to become the best artist I could and it wasn't enough... everypony in my hometow--" At this point the mare was caught up in her emotions until the sound of the windows shattering and the loud shrieking whinny echoed through the cabin. As soon as she hear that sound she almost shrank where she was as she turned her head to the shattered windows and she went pale. Backing up in her terror she accidentally bumped into the princess of the night as the windy spirits circled them and the cabin slowly became engulfed in frost. "W-why are the here?!" she thought to herself in panic as the fierce winds eventually tore the roof of the cabin, and then the walls, revealing that somehow they were now high above the ground with the powerful gust somehow still not budging the nonexistent foundation of the house.

Remembering what the princess said about the this coming from her own heart and how she needed to conquer this issue to defeat it and soon it dawned on her... She was dreaming. For a moment everything seemed to go quiet and even the winds and the unearthly creatures both native to and controlling them froze in time as well, leaving only the princess and the dreamer moving. The mare seemed to have nearly nothing to say until reared up and shouted incredibly loudly and in intense anger, "YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME!" Almost as soon as she finished that statement it seemed the monsters were pushed back into the distance until they were a barely visible speck on the horizon; clearly not vanquished but far in the distance. "Now I hate myself even more... I meet an idol o' mine fer the first time and it's durin' a stupid nightmare..."

Taking a deep breath the mare bowed once more to the princess,"I guess when ya asked wot's happenin' I guess you meant in my heart? Well if it can get those things ta go away I'll tell ya all I can figure." the mare looked down solemnly, "I've always been really scared o' messin' up... ever since I was little I was scared o' lettin' my family down... and in a way I think I already did..." she said looking at her cutie mark with a sigh.

[Hippo]

Just as Presteza was realizing this had all been the magical illusion of a dream, she seemed calmer about her position, but still in fret about her emotions. She was unable to think straight as the princess had deciphered and her concerns continued to be trivial. Luna decided that leaking into a faint memory of Presteza's past might give her a bit of perspective. With hope, it will allow her to better visualize her fears from a standpoint of needing correction, rather than legitimate fear and resentment. "Presteza. I think it's time we took a short walk into your past."

The windegoes burst through the windows, each horse head owning a different side of the empty roofless shack. Their whinnies cried screams and drowned out the sound of the raging storm around it. The largest windego growl loud and opened its jaw. Inside, it had crystallized chilling teeth as long as a pony was high, and it's head threw full force towards Luna and Presteza. Once the ponies were surrounded by the inside of a ghostly windego's mouth, the jaw slammed shut, and darkness took over in a thick fog.

Luna lit up her horn, which removed the fog over time, and gave light around where they were. "Do you know where you are?" Luna asked calmly as she waited for the memory to take shape.

​

[Pretzelparty]

"Presteza. I think it's time we took a short walk into your past."

​

"Yes, Yer highness... are you gonna take us ther-aaaah!" The mare's question was interrupted by the sudden reappearance of one of the Windigoes. The deafening howls and whinnies of the creatures making her wince a the horrid sounds tore at her eardrums. As soon as the largest of them lunged at them the mare shut her eyes relflexively once it's teeth came down.

"Do you know where you are?"

​

Once everything had died down she heard luna's voice. Slowly opened her eyes to see Luna's illuminating a new and more peaceful scene, a scene that was also very familiar to the cream colored unicorn. Looking around she smiled as the feeling of Nostalgic fondness came across her. Still she hardly looked overjoyed to see this scene, as she looked around and saw the familiar decorum of the manor that she had only so recently been kicked out of by her nightmare's hostile doppelgangers of her family.

Suddenly the sound of the voice of a filly was heard from behind the two ponies.

---Memory---

"Darn it, Silver... I don't think I'll ever get it right." Said a small cream colored filly with a silvery white mane. The little filly shut her eyes tight as her horn started to light up and her magic aura engulfed a glass of water under a towel. At first she seemed to do alright but soon her horn started to short and fizzle out and the glass fell down and onto the towel once more, soaking it thoroughly. The little Filly's expression going dour. "That's it! I give up! I'm never getting this down." Before storming off towards the princess and the painter, her body phasing through them as if they weren't there.

From this closer angle one could see the notable contrast in demeanor to the mare beside Luna and the filly who just walked through her. The Filly's manestyle was much more prim and proper looking. Her frontal fringe much more combed and uniform. Her eyes didn't seem to be as lively as her (more or less) adult counterpart, honestly they seemed to have a more tired and irritable look to them. AS the filly passed by a brownish colored pony in a serving staff uniform she spoke up,"Could you get that Towel and glass back to their proper places?" it seemed her speech was just as different as the rest of her attitude too.

One the filly stormed out it appeared another, slightly taller pony went after her. This one bore a greyish coat and had a mane similar to his sister although had bright green eyes rather than Presteza's icy blur irises, "Come on, Pressy. Don't talk like that. I'm sure you can do it. Mum always said magical aptitude ran in the family." The other silver maned pony said, obviously trying to comfort the disgruntled little filly. "Oh that's easy for you to say, Mister I've-been-accepted-into-the-school-for-talented-unicorns..." she responded with a huff.

The silver unicorn paused a moment and smiled slowly,"Hey, Pres... Wanna go up top?" Suddenly the filly stopped in her tracks and glanced back at her brother, her expression softening. "Ya mean it?"

A few moments later the dreamscape dissolved and then reformed to a later memory of the two ponies on the roof of the manor, Silver having gone out and borrowed a ladder from one of the maintenance ponies. Now the two were laying on there stomach on the roof, enjoying the beautiful view of Trottingham under the beautiful night sky, A full moon shining down upon the entirety of the town.

---end---

The mare looked to the princess again,"Yea I never forget. This is the manor back in Trottingham. That Grey pony is my big brother silver." As she looked at her younger self enjoying the view and going on about how much she loved the nighttime she chuckled. "The roof o' the manor had the best view of Trottingham... and was one o' the few places I actually loosened up."

[Hippo]

Luna's expression did not change from her pensive frown. Although she was happy to know Presteza could remember this moment, she wanted to make sure she remembered everything. "What did you talk about on the rooftops? Do you remember that?" Luna used her magic to carry Presteza closer to the image of the two ponies in memory looking over the city. "I think if you listen carefully, you'll see that there are things you might sometimes forget, even from some that love you." Luna pointed at the two ponies, as if to unfreeze time and resume the memory from where it paused.

​

[Pretzelparty]

"What did you talk about on the rooftops? Do you remember that? I think if you listen carefully, you'll see that there are things you might sometimes forget, even from some that love you."

​

-----Memory-----

The memory soon began again where it had froze, the two young ponies on the roof still relaxing beneath the stars. Soon the grey colt stood and levitated a bag from below them up to his side and poked his sister's shoulder. After his sister looks his way he slides a small case of brushes to her. Even from the two spectators view they could tell they were of very high quality, definitely the kind of artistic that could cost quite a few bits. "I thought you might like this.", said the colt in an honest voice,"I know how much ya like drawing and stuff like that."

The filly before him froze for a moment and promptly hugged him tight, loudly saying that she loved them and she'd been wanting that set for weeks. A series of ecstatic thank yous came from the little freckled filly for a few moments before silver hushed her up so the servants wouldn't find them up here. Soon the two departed the roof and returned to the inside of the manor, leaving the two mare alone on the roof.

-----End-----

The cream colored heiress chuckled a bit as she watched the scene play out. Letting out a nostalgic sigh she gave the princess a Sidelong look,"I guess sometimes I tend ta forget some o' the good stuff that happened..." in the distance Luna might hear the familiar whinnying of the windigoes and already the two could feel a minor chill in the air. It may be best the two dreamers moved on to the next memory to lose them...

[Hippo]

Satisfied for the time being, Luna allowed herself and the dreamer to escape. Behind them, were the windegoes, somehow chasing after them, even in dreaming memories. The amount of persistence of the negative resistance surprised Luna. The dreamscape sure had violent winds tonight. "Let's go." Luna started prancing in the air, walking along stars, motioning Presteza to follow. They galloped through a nighttime sky, looking down on various moments in Presteza's life, all of them shedding light on a memory that had influenced her before. These are the things that make up the pony. These are the things they never forget. "Time is precious." Luna spoke, almost randomly. A statement that could be true in a different context, but it was true now, even though the application for it may have been missed. Slowly, Luna started descending to a platform. There was nothing on the platform right now. But as soon as Presteza's hooves touched it, walls came up building a structure around them. They were at some kind of art expo.

​

[Pretzelparty]

The painter shivered as she felt that dropping of temperature to haunt her and the Night Princess. There was some part of Presteza that wished she could stay here and watch the rest of these memories play out, but the horrific whinnies that came from the distance put an end to those thoughts. The darkness once again began to fall on the dreamscape as the two ponies in her memories were blown away by a weak breeze as it they'd been made of dust, "Huh... that'd make a cool paintin'..." She said quickly to herself.

"Let's go.".

​

"Oh! Ya don't 'ave ta tell me twice!" The mare blinked a moment as she saw dark blue alicorn prancing upon the starry skyline and gestured for her to do the same. Presteza took a deep breath and stuck out a hoof and then stepped on to where the princess indicated. The cream colored pony looked down upon many memories that passed by beneath the two as they soared through the air. Eventually, Luna and her companion descended to a small platform. Before they could it looked as though the windigoes that were haunting her were trying to close in on them but as soon as the unicorn's hoof met the surface several walls shot up and the sound and presence of the creatures of cold were gone...

-------Memory-------

There were the sounds of many busy and happy ponies surrounding the two dreamers. In addition to the walls that were erected it seemed that the surface that they had sprung forth from had stretched out immensely to the size of a large park... which as it turned out was where this memory took place. Before the two ponies sat a small filly in front of a who bunch of sketches and paintings. "This was an art exhibition that was held in Trottingham a long time ago... " Said the adult mare beside the alicorn of the dreamscape, "This isn't... my favorite memory."

There was a ribbon or two on them but their painter seemed to not be smiling at all. The filly sat their on her own looking forlorn as she seemed to be waiting for somepony. The rest of the artists all seemed to be packing up and heading home. One older looking mare walked up to the filly and asked why she was here all alone. The filly version of the dreamer said she wasn't supposed to be, but her family wound up cancelling again for about the sixth time...

-------Memory pauses-------

"This was the point in my life when I started to want to go out and travel alone. I still remember what went through my mind that day." The mare said impersonating an angry sounding version of her younger self, "If they don't want me around... then I won't stay around for them."

[Hippo]

 

As Luna watched Pressy's reaction to her own memory, she analyzed the dreamer's attitude. This definitely pulled some anger out of Presteza, the emotion of having to feel alone to accomplish one's dreams giving the feeling of resentment towards the family. But Luna wasn't so sure her emotion was well owned, and she would hope that the next illusion in this dreamscape would show Presteza exactly how mistaken she might have been.

Luna stomped her hoof, the scene changing immediately, Presteza and Luna remaining unaffected by the change of environment. The new scene was split into two. Two different areas apart from each other. One was a memory following Presteza's mother Silver Belle. The other was a memory following Presteza's sire, a general in the REA. But these were not Presteza's memories. These were brand new memories, ones that Luna could present to Presteza based on other's experiences, and in this case, her parents. "These moments happened exactly when you were at that expo alone. What do you see here?"

​