“Help! Somepony! Anypony!”

Silver Spoon’s cries for help were lost to the wind. She trotted in place, glancing up at the night sky with nervous apprehension. The woods around her were composed of dead, rotting trees and tall weeds. The howl of Timberwolves could be heard in the distance…

“Help! Please! I’m lost!” Silver Spoon called out.

The road in front of her split into three paths. Every time she started down one she froze and decided to return to the intersection. Ravens were circling overhead now, threatening to swoop down at any moment.

“P-please! I need help! I don’t know where to go! I… I got separated from my friends!”

Princess Luna watched the dream with sadness in her heart. The feeling of being separated from everyone was a feeling she knew well. Sympathetic to the foal’s plight, Luna revealed herself by stepping out of the shadows of the twisted trees.

Silver Spoon immediately cringed away, startled by Luna’s presence, but she quickly brightened when she realized who it was. “P-Princess Luna! Thank goodness you’re here!” Silver Spoon ran to the princess and bowed before her. “I’m lost! Can you fly me out of the woods?”

“Silver Spoon… the way out of the woods is down one of these paths. Why have you not taken one yourself?”

Silver Spoon nervously turned to the three pathways and frowned. “But… I don’t know which one will lead me back to Ponyville…”

“You must have confidence, child. Any path will lead you from the woods. All you need do is pick.”

“Pick?” The foal shook in her spot and examined all three paths as though her life depended on it. “But what if I pick wrong?” she whispered.

“Wouldn’t that be better than waiting?” Luna inquired.

“But I could become even more lost or… or… I could run across Timberwolves and be eaten… What if my friends are looking for me right now? What if I choose wrong and they never find me? What if I can never find my way back?” Silver Spoon fell to the ground and covered her head with her hooves. “I can’t! I’m going to do it wrong! Please, Princess Luna! You decide! Tell me which path to take! I don’t want the responsibility of picking!”

Luna was taken aback. Did the foal really want her to decide? “But why, child? I told you each path will lead you from the woods…”

“I don’t want to pick! I don’t!”

Nightmares were an odd thing, Luna knew that. Sometimes ponies acted differently in their dreams, shaken by some unseen fear or worry. Indecision wasn’t a common problem Luna had seen, but she thought she had a solution.

“Silver Spoon. I am going to fly back to Ponyville now. These paths will lead you back eventually; all you need is the conviction of self to take one.” Luna spread her black wings and took to the sky, leaving the frightened foal in her place.

“Wait! Please don’t leave me!” Silver Spoon reached out for the princess, but it was all in vain. Once Luna had gone she curled up on the crossroads and sobbed, completely unable to handle the responsibility of choosing… Luna waited a few moments, watching her from on high. The foal didn’t move. She continued to wait in the woods as the shadows grew longer and the Timberwolves drew closer.

Such an odd child, Luna thought to herself. I will need to do something more if I am to help her… Troubled by the nightmare, Luna left Silver Spoon’s dreamscape with a heavy heart.

---

The next dream Luna stepped into was a bright and vibrant sky filled with clouds, rainbows and, most of all, Pegasus ponies. Everyone was flying and enjoying themselves. Luna used her magic to blend into the dream, concealing her presence. Who was dreaming this wondrous and adventure-filled dream?

A small Pegasus filly caught Luna’s eye. It was Scootaloo. She was flying with the Wonderbolts, looping through the skies like a pro. Luna smiled to herself as she watched the dream unfold. She loved these happy and playful dreams. It meant the pony having the dream was happy and healthy. Perhaps I’m not needed here, Luna thought to herself as she enjoyed the feel of the dream wind against her mane.

“Rainbow Dash! Watch me!” Scootaloo called out to the dream Rainbow Dash. All the Pegasus ponies watched as Scootaloo did a loop de loop midair. The Pegasus ponies cheered. “I did it! I totally did it! Did you see, Rainbow Dash? Did you?”

“I sure did, kid! Great flying!”

Scootaloo was bursting with happiness and pride. Her tiny wings were beating a million beats per minute and, if Luna didn’t know any better, she would swear the filly was part-hummingbird.

“Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked. Luna looked over to the filly and saw she was slowly descending out of the sky, despite the fact she was flapping her wings as hard as she could.

“Me?” Scootaloo asked with a fearful crack in her voice. “Oh, I’m totally fine! Completely! No problems here! One hundred percent okay!”

“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash said, flying ahead into a patch of gray clouds.

Scootaloo was dropping faster now, practically falling. The filly remained quiet, despite the fact she was hundreds of feet above the ground. It was clear to Luna she wasn’t calling out for help because she didn’t want to embarrass herself. What remarkable hubris for a child, Luna thought.

Finally, Scootaloo’s tiny wings gave out. She fell from the sky and began to plummet, silent tears streaming up into the air as she went. The filly’s body became limp and before she hit the ground she yelled out in anger. “I hate you, wings! I hate you! Why can’t you work like normal wings!? Why!?”

Luna flew down to catch the filly, but to her surprise, Scootaloo’s dream had already saved the filly for her. A dream version of Princess Celestia flew from the sun and swooped in just in time to save Scootaloo. Princess Celestia took Scootaloo in her hooves and flew back up into the sky, taking the time to wipe the tears of frustration from the filly’s eyes. The little Pegasus looked at Celestia with deep appreciation.

“Princess! You saved me!”

“Of course, Scootaloo. You are my favorite Pegasus pony, after all.”

“I am?” Scootaloo asked in gleeful delight. “Do… do you really mean it!?”

“Yes. That’s why I’ve come all the way from Canterlot to adopt you.”

Scootaloo suddenly got the energy and happiness to start flying once again. She smiled so wide her face could barely contain it. “Really!? You truly mean it!? You’re going to adopt me? Wow! This is the best day ever!”

Princess Celestia smiled as she flew alongside Scootaloo. Everypony in the dream began cheering and celebrating. In a way only dreams could, suddenly everypony in Ponyville was a Pegasus, even ponies who normally weren’t. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were flying with Scootaloo… even Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack were now Pegasus ponies.

“I’ve always wanted to fly with you, Celestia,” Scootaloo earnestly admitted. “You’re the best princess ever!”

Luna felt a twinge of pain in her heart when she heard that statement. Using her magic, she made one of the dream Pegasus ask, “Scootaloo, wouldn’t you want to fly with Princess Luna as well?”

“Nah,” Scootaloo said with a happy laugh. “Luna only flies at night and I would much rather fly during the day!”

Luna slowed her flight and allowed Scootaloo and her dreams to go ahead of her. It hadn’t been too long ago that Luna had helped Scootaloo overcome her fears and form a bond with Rainbow Dash… Had Scootaloo forgotten that already? Was that act of kindness already lost on the filly to the point that now all she wanted was to see Princess Celestia?

Disheartened, Luna slowly fell out of the dreamscape. She left Scootaloo to her flight and family. There was nothing more she could do for the filly… there was nothing more the filly wanted…

With a heavy sigh, Luna used her magic to search for another dreamscape. She still had time for one more… maybe one that wasn’t so woebegone…

---

“Oh! That is amazing! Thank you so much, Princess Celestia!”

Luna immediately regretted entering this dream the moment everything came into vision. She recognized it instantly. This was the dream of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“You’re very welcome, Twilight.”

Twilight Sparkle was standing in front of her mentor, Princess Celestia, in her normal unicorn form, not yet an alicorn in her dreams. They were both in a library, reading books and talking about various kinds of magic. Luna had seen this dream hundreds of times before. If Twilight wasn’t dreaming about this, she was dreaming about some Pegasus guard at the castle; both dreams were something Luna didn’t need to concern herself with.

“I can’t believe how much you managed to write over the years, Princess. There is so much knowledge stored in this library!”

“I had plenty of time during our studies,” Celestia laughed. “Don’t you remember? I would be writing while you practiced.”

Twilight nodded her head enthusiastically. “I do remember!”

“Princess Cadance would occasionally visit as well. She also wrote some of these books.”

“I knew I recognized her calligraphy!”

Luna rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to see or hear about all the great things that happened while she was banished on the moon. Celestia writing books… a new alicorn princess… It was all too much for Luna to bear. Without a single word, Luna flew from the dream at high speeds, exiting all dreams altogether.

Why did her sister have to be loved and revered by all? What made her so special that even Scootaloo would want to be adopted by her instead of by Luna, the princess that helped her first? Luna opened her eyes, exiting her dream-walking trance. A deep bitterness was in her heart… and it hurt to think about it…

Did everypony really need to dream about Celestia?