Something strange was going on. Goldleaf found himself standing on a field, one that tugged at his memory. He wasn't quite sure how he had gotten there, though. “Hello?” he asked to the silence. Tall grass waved in the gentle wind, and a warm sun shined down on him. Had he been here before?

“Hello!” called a voice.

“Princess Luna!” Goldleaf exclaimed, jumping. He whirled around, but he could not see her anywhere. “Are you trying that invisibility spell again? Where are you? Where am I? I thought I was in Sarathûl...”

“You are in a dream, Goldleaf.” Luna's voice said to him, echoing through the sky. “We are going to pull you into Our realm now.”

And then Goldleaf was standing in his cell in Ar-Athazîon, fully realizing what was going on. “Well, that certainly explains a lot. So I'm asleep right now?”

“Yes, your body sleeps, but your mind is awake. And in the dreamworld.” said Luna, revealing herself in the dungeon hall. “Feel free to leave your cell.” Hesitantly, Goldleaf pushed at the door, and it creaked outwards.

“It feels... slightly strange.” he noted. “And everything is blurred around the edges. As if my eyes were cloudy...”

“That is how the dreamworld is.” Luna nodded. “The waking world is always changing, and only long-term features solidify in the dreamworld. We do not fully understand it ourselves.”

“If I might ask, Princess, why are we here? Is this a rescue attempt?” asked Goldleaf. The alicorn princess scowled.

“We regret that such a thing is not possible, to our knowledge. However, life in Lithton gets lonely, with only Celestia and Aegis around. We seek the counsel of Lady Hemlock and you.” Luna looked around. “She is here, right?”

“She's sleeping in the cell right over there, in the real world.” He pointed at the cell in question.

“Hold on.” Luna blinked out of existence, leaving only Goldleaf and flickering torches behind. Within a minute, though, Luna had returned, and Hemlock appeared with here.

“Whoa.” gasped Hemlock, wildly looking around her cell. “Goldleaf, how'd you get out? Where did you come from, Princess?”

“Welcome to the dreamworld.” Goldleaf said.

“Ah...” The pegasus realized where she was. “So... why are we here?”

“Life in Lithton is not as glamorous as the unicorns would have Us believe.” Luna rolled her eyes, and Goldleaf let the tiniest of frowns appear on his face. “Your company is much preferable to endless court functions.”

“Court functions have their purpose.” muttered the unicorn.

“There's not many of those in Highcrest,” Hemlock said. “You've come to the right mare, Princess!”

“How is life among the humans?” Luna asked, as she led them out of the dungeons. It seemed she knew her way around the palace complex better than they did, even after weeks in this place. Well, they hadn't been let out of the cells in weeks...

“It's not horrible.” Goldleaf spoke. “But I do miss going outside.”

“Have you met anypony interesting here?” There was a mischievous look about Luna when she asked that. He took the bait.

“Yes, actually- how did you know?”

“Before finding you, We detected the presence of another pony in this place. A certain Tempest Blackwind. Did you know she was here?”

“She's come to see us once or twice.” said Goldleaf. “How did she react to you?”

“Blackwind did not get that she was in a dream, even when We told her so.” Luna looked over her shoulder as they came out of the dungeon. “She didn't seem to have the quickest of wits, nor the bravest of hearts. If this was Maelstrom's heir, then We do not fear her.”

“Snowy Farpeak is here too.”

“Is she?” The Princess seemed very interested to hear more.

“I was hoping you wouldn't mention that...” Hemlock muttered to Goldleaf.

“Snowy Farpeak alive... What other ponies does Blackwind have with her?” Luna questioned. By now she'd led them into what seemed to be a sprawling garden within the palace complex itself; something of a giant courtyard filled with plants and lawn. The light of the moon and stars was bright out here, compared to the dungeon's dimness. Even more vibrant than it was in the waking world.

“We've only seen one other, a certain Streaming Breeze.” Goldleaf reported. “I don't recall seeing any other ponies besides those three... or even other ones being mentioned, for that matter. It's entirely possible that Hemlock's sister and this Streaming Breeze are the only followers Blackwind has left.”

“An army of three, Queen Clearspring won't stand a chance.” Luna smirked. “But We are curious about the reappearance of Snowy Farpeak.”

“There's not much to tell, Princess.” Hemlock sighed. “I haven't seen here since we got here, she hates me.”

“For what reason?”

Unicorn and pegasus shared an apprehensive look. Goldleaf knew the full extent of Lady Silver's misdeeds, but did Hemlock want to share that with Luna? Not my call to make, Goldleaf thought. He remained silent.

“It's complicated.” Hemlock said, looking away.

The passage of time was almost non-existent in the dreamworld. The Princess wanted to know all about their capture, and how they came to be in Ar-Athazîon. She even told them how she'd deduced they were here; something to do with the Emperor. Goldleaf found himself drifting off for what felt like hours, before snapping back to the moment at hand only to realize Hemlock or Luna was still uttering the same sentence. After the third instance, he had to bring it up.

“What is going on here, Princess?” Goldleaf asked, explaining what he was experiencing.

“The dreamworld is only a reflection of ours, through the lens of a dream.” Luna told him. “And like dreams, the dreamworld can do strange things with perception.”

“If it's through the lens of a dream, whose dream is this?” questioned Hemlock. That was a good question. Why is this place even here? he wondered.

“We... We're not sure.” Luna said after a pause. “We don't think it's a dream of any creature, but perhaps of the world itself.”

“Is there anypony else here?” Goldleaf asked.

“Sometimes. Mortals can shift in and out, it takes a great focus to stay here. We can do it, and you are here because We are keeping you tied here. If We were to let you go...” Luna tilted her head, and Hemlock blurred into nothing but thin air. She reappeared promptly, looking over at Goldleaf.

“Where'd you go?” she asked.

“Me? I was right here the whole time, you're the one who vanished.”

Luna laughed lightly. “We will let you two figure that out for yourselves. But it is time to depart, your mind needs rest just as your body does. We ask that you remain vigilant for any suspicious things you see in the waking world, though.”

“We're not exactly in a position to snoop around.” Hemlock remarked.

“Be that as it may, We ask anyway. Aegis believes there might be something strange going on there.”

That was the last they saw of Luna that night. When he awoke again, Goldleaf was back in the same cell as always. Not long after sunrise, Tempest Blackwind herself came to see them. Hemlock of course was in another cell, he couldn't see her, but he could hear her when she answered the exile's questions. It seemed Luna really had visited her that night. As they promised, though, they gave Luna the warning when they saw her that night.

“Blackwind doesn't want you, or your sister, in her dreams again; or else she'll probably kill us.” said Hemlock.

“Oh dear.” sighed Luna. “We don't know if We could get Celestia to join us, but point taken. The Blackwind girl will not be troubled by us. We weren't really interested in her, anyway...”

“She says to keep away from her ponies and the humans, too. Especially a certain Ah-har-os.” added in Goldleaf.

“Aharôs? Wasn't he a lord of Athair that took in the Blackwinds?” Luna asked.

“Yes, I remember as much.” said Goldleaf. “I guess he's in the city too.”

“Blackwind must care for him enough to mention him by name... But it could also mean he's important to the coming war.” A thoughtful look came over Luna.

“Don't tempt her,” pleaded Hemlock, “I'm really not interested in dying in a dungeon.”

Days passed by in the darkness of the Emperor's jail. Goldleaf knew days were passing because of the pattern of foods they were given; something not unlike rice in the morning, a biscuit for lunch, and soup for dinner. Even if the accommodations were dreary, at least the humans fed them well.

By day, or by the time they got food, there was little to do except talk with Hemlock and count the stones in the walls, floor, and ceiling. There's at least several hundred, thought Goldleaf. Hemlock was more affected by the boredom than he; she wasn't as comfortable in the silence and isolation that often made up a good part of a scholar's life. Sometimes they’d take turns guessing what the humans had in mind for them.

“Execution.” said Goldleaf.

“No, that’s too simple! They wouldn’t drag us all the way here just to kill us. They’ll probably tie us up in cages and parade us around the city.” Hemlock answered. “Just be creative with an idea!”

“How about pony soup?”

“Well, they did say there were rats in the city…”

It was probably at least two weeks or so after their first talk with Luna that Tempest Blackwind came to them again, this time with Streaming Breeze.

“I can't imagine you like the dungeon.” Blackwind said, trying to look at both of them at once, though they were in separate cells.

“No, not really...” Hemlock agreed. “Can you let us go outside? Just for a little bit?”

“I was about to ask if you would like to... on one condition.”

“Deal!” The eagerness in Hemlock's voice was undeniable. “I don't care if I have to scrub all the floors in Ar-Athazîon, I'll take it!”

“It might be even harder than that. We'll take your unicorn servant with us too.” Blackwind unlocked their cells, and beckoned for them to come out.

“I'm not a servant.” Goldleaf grumbled to her.

“Whatever.” Blackwind rolled her eyes. “Just don't try to escape or kill anyone, alright?”

Like they often did in the dreamworld, they went out of the dungeon and up into the gardens of the palace. It was a very different scene by day, and cooler than the last time they'd been above ground in the waking world. “What month is it?” Hemlock asked, noticing the lack of flowers and cloudy sky.

“October the 17th, by Equestrian reckoning.” said Streaming Breeze. Even with the clouds, it was painfully bright on Goldleaf's eyes.

“Nearly two months underground...” he grumbled, looking at the grass below his hooves.

“Yes, it's been a while.” Blackwind said. “But I'm letting you come up here because I want Hemlock's help.”

“With what?” Hemlock asked.

“With your sister.”

Goldleaf shuffled on his three good hooves. This had potential to get very awkward.

“What is it to you?” Hemlock frowned, her ears tilting back and a look of dejection coming upon her. “She hates me anyway, remember? I thought she made that clear.”

“You don't know Snowy like I do.” said Blackwind. “I don't think she's even capable of hate...”

“Look, I already told you what happened between us! I don’t want to go over it again.” Hemlock lowered her voice, and grit her teeth.

“I know!” Blackwind hissed back. “Just-”

“Here’s how it is:” Streaming Breeze butted in, “Lady Snowy is angry with you, but she doesn't hate you. We've got some very important business coming up, and we'd all feel better if we knew you two had settled your differences before then.”

“Yeah, that.” Blackwind nodded along. “All we want is for you not to make a mess of anything. So if Snowy and I come to take you two outside, or something... don't provoke her.”

“Just the sight of me provoked her, last time.” Hemlock grumbled.

“Small steps, daughter of Farpeak, small steps.” Streaming Breeze tapped a hoof in the grass. “Or would you rather this sundering last a lifetime?”

“Fine.” sighed Hemlock, looking away. “I'll try, alright?”

“That's all we ask.” said Blackwind.

Their captors let them have a few hours in the open air, and the sun even came out later in the morning. Blackwind and her servant were content to let keep an eye on them from a distance, and at one point were even joined by a human woman. Goldleaf had never seen one of her kind before, and found himself mildly disappointed. For such hidden creatures, the woman wasn't much more remarkable than the men he'd seen. Sarathûl is a strange place, he thought. Mares and stallions were quite alike in Equestria, though the scales did favor mares a bit more, which wasn't a problem. They did give birth to foals, after all, that was no small feat. Here, it was the other way around, but even more so. A very strange place, he repeated to himself. There had to be more to it than he know, though.

October passed into November, between the conversations with Luna in the dreamworld at night, and the daily meals plus a dose of natural light above, Goldleaf fell into a comfortable if somewhat repetitive routine. In Equestria, the ponies prepared for war. In Sarathûl, even the jailer and his lackies whispered about the coming invasion. It was no secret to anyone that the Emperor meant to make war on the “alicorns.” That too was interesting.

“Have you noticed that?” he asked Hemlock one day, while they were getting their fresh air above ground.

“You notice a lot of things.” said Hemlock.

“They call us alicorns. Not just us two, but everypony back home. I don't think they realized almost all of the alicorns are gone.” Goldleaf looked off at the palace walls, where the guards walked. “And if they're preparing for a war against Equestria as it was before that plague...”

“Our odds don't look too good.” Hemlock frowned. “When they let me fly up to the wall, I can see dozens and dozens of ships down in the harbor. They’re huge, and there’s more every week!”

“They really are going to invade, then…” He imagined the fleet Hemlock saw. Countless tall galleons, shining banners flowing, coming over the horizon to their homeland’s shores... How could anything stop such an armada, short of the Princesses themselves? Did they even have that much power? Equestria’s future was not looking good at all. And as the two captives would learn soon from Luna, Equestria’s present wasn't looking very good either.

Author's Notes:

Two chapters in the same week?! I told you I've been busy filling in the blanks in my time away. Plus, fall term is almost over. :^)