Nightmares and Company in the Landscape of Dreams (Quicklime, Flower)

[Elderflower]

The sun was beginning to slip away, wearily seeking respite from a day of relentless shining. The rich hues of dusk stretched across the sky, casting gold and orange lights upon the room of the Princess of the Night. Luna yawned, her wings stretched as far as they would reach as she tried to shrug the sleepiness out of her body. She had decided that tonight she would dedicate herself solely to dream-wandering in order to perform her duty as their guardian and keeper. Most days, she would simply open a second set of eyelids or a third eye of a sort in order to monitor things while she went about the rest of her duties. This sort of multitasking was a skill she had built over countless centuries of practice and was something she prided herself on. She could be receiving reports from her personal guards and soothing the night terrors of a foal in Cloudsdale, or giving a formal address while willing songbirds and flowers to come to life in the sweet dreams of a new mother – all without the slightest bit of strain. It was a bit of a personal indulgence for her, then, to take an evening to throw herself fully into her duties, to personally reach out to her subjects and let them know she was the steadfast guardian of their precious dreams.

She stepped out into the humid air, catching the eye of one of her guards and offering him a solemn nod before thrusting herself skyward in a fluid, elegant leap. Almost immediately she felt an unburdened sense of freedom. The thick summer air swept over her as she caught a thermal and rode it up, up into the sky! The golden touch of the sunset was slowly being overtaken by the inky darkness of night, with stars speckling the heavens as they came to life. The Princess of the Night effortlessly tilted her body with her wings and legs in order to ride each thermal and wind that would lift her higher, flapping occasionally for further thrust. How easy it was to fly high on such a hot evening!

Eventually she reached a stray wisp of cloud with a burning red underside (thanks to the last light of day). Luna flew in circles around it, willing it to pull together more tightly and densely until it became the perfect perch. Satisfied, she touched down on the fluffy surface and immediately stepped out of her silver shoes. The faint blue touch of her magical aura then lifted her necklace and tiara away from her body to rest next to the shoes. For this evening, though she would still appear as the Princess adorned with her royal fineries in the astral world, she could at least perform her duties free of adornment in the physical world. Smiling peacefully, Luna folded her legs and wriggled until she was perfectly comfortable and closed her eyes, taking a few peaceful breaths.

She opened the eyes within her and felt something in her heart and mind unlock. Almost immediately she was surrounded by streams and swirls of visions. Those early to bed were already dreaming, and those dreams were like rivers that left the dreamer and flowed straight into her. She could see them all at once and yet individually, an arcane ability that she alone had mastered. She began to hum a soft, lilting melody as she peered in on the dreams of every sleeping Equestrian. The lullaby was one she had written millennia ago which had resonance within the æther. It began to gently percolate through the minds of her dreamers, soothing them and bringing the Princess’s warmth to their thoughts.

For the most part, only the youngest foals and the oldest mares and stallions were asleep at this early hour. The dreams were full of such contrasting emotions – eagerness to grow and to explore, a desire to make new friends, and pure youthful enthusiasm clashed with the slightly more melancholy twinges of nostalgia and loneliness often found in old age. Each of these dreams was precious to Luna, and she made sure they all met with the gentle touch of her astral hoof.

Her lullaby wasn’t just a spell for soothing, though - the Guardian of Dreams also used it as a second set of eyes. It integrated itself into the dreams of her subjects, and when an accidental occurred out of order she knew that something was not right. After a few moments of steeping herself in the minds of her subjects, a dissonant note began to ring and her curiosity was piqued. A nightmare, but not the harmless sort that would simply pass – it was something a little more worrisome to the Guardian of Dreams. The tune of this accidental was familiar to her, one that she had certainly heard before. Without hesitation, her astral project dove headfirst into the mental current that was quaking with fear and immediately stumbled on a bright orange filly with a purple mane. It seemed as though Scootaloo was having yet another nightmare.

[colour=#6699ff]“Hello again young Scootaloo,”[/colour] she said softly, so as not to spook the little one.

[QuickLime]

She still had nightmares, it made Scootaloo so angry that she let herself get so paralyzed with FEAR in these things! She was currently balled up, hiding her head with her hooves, body trembling from feather tip to hoof from the fear she had utterly let herself get draped in! Though the soothing and familiar voice made her head jerk right up, purple eyes widening, and suddenly? Scootaloo wasn't so scared anymore "Princess Luna!" She sprung back up, before her ears drooped "..Oh you're here because I'm being scared again huh...?" She must be ashamed of her! Big brave Scootaloo whom had confronted her fear was now trembling like a newborn foal over a simple nightmare...

[Elderflower]

[colour=#6666ff]

[/colour]“Indeed I am,” the Princess responded, closing the gap between herself and the filly now that Scootaloo was aware of her presence. She smiled gently at the trembling bundle of orange fur and feathers, exuding an aura of calm that she hoped would prove to be infectious. Normally, Luna wasn’t so bold about stepping into the dreams of her subjects like this – not unless the situation seemed very dire. She preferred to let most ponies resolve their inner conflicts on their own, for it made for a much better lesson. However, there were always exceptions to the rules, and Scootaloo was one of them. She was of the personality type that usually called for a helping hoof from the Princess. Stubbornness, after all, could really interfere with resolving one’s conflicts!

“What’s wrong, Scootaloo? I thought you had conquered your fears, but here I find you shivering once more. Is there something more that troubles you?”

As she awaited a response, the Guardian of Dreams allowed her mind to continue to wander through the ethereal threads of thoughts that whirled and swirled about her, monitoring the other sleeping ponies of Equestria carefully. There was nothing terribly concerning. She merely had to poke here, pull there - a light touch of her own magic to soothe fitful slumbers and jittery dreams. Acting as a guardian to the dreams of sleeping Equestrians wasn't often a demanding job - hers was a peaceful kingdom, full of many happy ponies! Scootaloo, however, seemed to be nervous and stressed out once more. Luna hoped that she could held the energetic filly a second time!

[colour=#6666FF]

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[QuickLime]

"..." Sootaloo looked at the grass beneath her hooves and lightly kicked at it with the tip of her left leg, ears pinned and a sad expression on her face... "Well you see Princess...I have a dance recital coming up...it's going to be in Canterlot at the Dance School I go to once a month... we're having a big recital where everypony that is in the class is going to do a specific dance we've been working on all year! and well I'm really proud of my dance!" Scootaloo glanced up at her "It's really good and it's really cool! But..but I'm afraid of telling Sweetie Bell and AppleBloom about it..I'm afraid they are going to laugh at me..."

Her gaze drooped again ... "I don't want them to think I'm silly because I like to dance... I want to tell myself that my friends won't laugh at me like that, but at the same time M' scared..." Purple tinted gaze glancing up at the Lunar Princess.

"What should I do..?"