****

Princess Luna

Entering the dream world came later tonight once again, after a week with the new law in effect I was finding my court overrun with ponies. Most were petitioning to see the research, which I gladly provided. After the general masses of Canterlot were calmed the other ponies of Equestria began to flood the royal courts asking the same questions, I began admitting ponies in groups based on questions to speed up questions. It helped, but not by much truthfully.

Then the registration of herds began, we had to make a new wing in the Canterlot archive specifically for this procedure. Current couples were given priority in registering however the process was still a royal headache that not even cake could fix.

Sister was still using the cake method however as her current state shows it wasn’t helping at all, in fact if it wouldn’t cause a scandal I’m sure she would be devouring cake during court as well as in her chambers.

Why couldn’t we have found an alternative to the Law of the Herd? Even I recognize the tyrannical undertones of the registration of herds and conscripting mares and stallions to form new herds was breaching the pony's rights, but...

Shaking my mane out, I focused on the task at hand.

Ponies were already dreaming. I was once again late and a good percentage of the dreams were nightmares as a result of our decision. It was a reality I truly hated to see, Tia had seemed soo assured when she said they would understand, I had even laughed at her quip about the young studs enjoying this law, the thought of the young colts that would be very excited somehow hilarious to me. However just like the young colts would soon find out, herds are a big undertaking, with many far reaching implications.

Some stallions and mares had already left the country as a result of this law. But I had a dream world to manage and couldn't bring those ponies back to let them see that it wasn't the end of the world.

The 'dream world' was more of a 'dream state' really; a magical meditation that let me view other's minds unconscious thought, or more commonly known as dreams. It was a path of the school of mind magic that my mother was keen on teaching Tia but Tia wasn’t interested in dreamwalking, instead preferring the ‘important work’ as she called it, that father did. She loved planetary magic, the feeling of ‘actually doing something’ as she once said when we were foals. And then she wondered why she bedwetting dreams till she was in her twenties, i needed to practice dream manipulation on somepony first!

Of course I would never mess with some ponies dreams now unless they were a nightmare, like the one I see over there. In the dream ‘bubble’ a mare is stepping onto a train as she leaves her family behind, the train fades as the mare, in tears, is forced to the ground the shadow of a stallion above her. I had seen enough of her nightmare and placed my horn to the bubble, entering her unconscious mind. My magic dissolving the shadowy figure, this wouldn’t do, and with that thought I changed the bedroom to a ice cream parlor. I left as she was pressed to the glass trying to decide which of fifty two flavors to try.

I barely had a moment to wallow in the state that nightmares currently were in before another dream -similar to the last one I had visited- popped up, this time it was a widowed mare. Her stallion’s funeral playing out before us dream Celestia and Luna assigned her to a stallion, the stallion's figure cast in shadows like the previous nightmare, I quickly banished the shadow pony. But I was at a loss at how to fix her dream, it had gone back to the funeral, and looking at it I recognized this mare now.

Three months ago the changelings had launched an invasion at our niece Cadence’s wedding, I had most embarrassingly slept through it. Not just the practice run and the wedding, but the invasion itself. Not only that but I had not even noticed that my own niece had been replaced by the changeling queen. She had been right there at breakfast, lunch and dinner! Though Tia has tried to assail my guilt over the fact, pointing out that I hardly knew Cadence and that I was still adjusting to the new pony society after my time on the moon, I still knew I could have done better.

If I was still this naïve at one thousand two hundred years old then what hope did I have to match mother’s wisdom?

But alas all I could do for the mourning mare was to send her a visage of her late stallion, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances to her fears. If I had woken during the invasion i'm sure I could have prevented her stallion from even having to fight, he never would have been near the building when it collapsed, but then I could just as easily condemn the construction ponies from putting off tearing down the building till after the royal wedding.

Blame was getting us nowhere, making our heart ache. Perhaps we needed to view a fun dream before we tended to more nightmares.

Looking across the dream bubbles I passed over many, none were traumatizing enough to warrant immediate interference, the few good dreams I found were sweet. Scenes of foals cuddling with giant teddy bears and young lovers sharing a chaste first kiss played across my mind, but I still did not feel my mood change despite the happy images.

Reaching to the furthest reaches of Equestria’s domain I looked for a fun dream, perhaps a traveling merchant dreaming of his travels, or a traveling musician.

I paused over a dream bubble that was distorting shape under a yellow field of magic which was repelling a white field of magic. This was new, My mother had briefly mentioned magic protecting dreams bubbles, although she had appeared shakened when she took sister and I under her wings and explained how that was the most magical of beings stepping in on a pony’s dream, protecting them. Her explanation had been paltry then, but I had been a foal then, just learning the schools of magics before I choose my specialties.

This was real, it wasn’t a story mother told be once upon a stormy night, it was really happening.

I wanted to burst into action to protect the pony but my mind stopped me, her words coming back to me, the most ‘magical of beings’ was protecting this pony. What chance did I stand against the beings such as that?

However as I watched, wings outstretched in preparation to act, the white field of magic stilled. My eyes locked onto the white magic and I could have sworn I heard a stallion laugh hysterically before the magic dissipated with a flash. Blinking at the sudden flash I noticed the yellow field was gently fading from the uneven dream bubble. Who was this pony, I wanted to know more so I touched my horn to the bubble.

Inside I was blown away, it was chaos.

Trumpets were blaring of their own accord, a horde of off color Tronanas were clapping their little gloved hands, and a stage held something, no somepony I didn’t dare believe existed. A black Alicorn stallion stood holding a cinnamon bun in his magic as the Tronanas cheered him on, the trumpets growing louder as he brought it closer to his muzzle.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THYE DREAM?!”

All activity halted as my voice echoed back at me.

The stallion unpinned his ears, cocking his head to the right, looking me over as the Tronanas faded into the blackness and the trumpets faded. I jumped and flew over to his stage, the cinnamon bun fading as he sat on his rump.

“This is a weird dream…Why did I make up a Alicorn mare? I mean-“

“I’m not made up, I’m real! My name is-“

He shook his head. “Nope, you are an obviously a dream. The banana is still here.”

Looking where he was looking, there was a yellow Tronana on the stage now.

“What?!”

“If I’m dreaming there is always a banana somewhere, it is just a thing my mind does. Speaking of my mind, why did I dream up you? Am I horny or something?”

For the second time tonight I started blinking owlishly, I couldn’t decide what I felt. The one thing I had to know was if he was real, a real Alicorn. Father, mother, my sister, and now cadence were the only Alicorns I had ever seen. My parent’s parents having passed away over eight thousand years before my birth.

He couldn’t be real.

Narrowing my eyes I circled him, he looked like a stallion, although an old world version of a stallion not the new world stallions that existed now. He had a lithe muscled body, well defined proportions, and a good deal of height. If I had to guess he was half a hand taller than Tia and he most certainly towered over me. Moving on to his wings, His feathers ruffled a little but they still shined in the stage light, a truly masterful dream to get such details down. His mane and tail were plain black, not an ethereal wave to them at all, a trait I know all true Alicorn’s had. It was our way of burning excess magic, all Alicorn foals and made Alicorns had regular manes and tails. It was a sign of power to have an ethereal mane. On top of the absence of a proper mane he also had no cutie mark.

I had seen enough, he was clearly a fake. Those magical beings must be having a riot for pranking the princess of the night.

Snorting I made to leave his dream, looking what last time at his face, confusion clear on it. I shall make this perfectly clear to him. “Good bye fake Alicorn.”

With that I returned to the dream world intent to see sister in her dream and let her know of this craziness. Finding her dream bubble was not terribly hard, however what I found filled me with worry.

Entering my sister’s dream I found it more appropriate to call it a nightmare, she was a young adult again with just a faint bit of ethereal wave to her mane then, and my younger self stood beside her in tears.

It was our parent’s funeral.

Unbidden tears flowed from my eyes as the procession of mourners brought forth their varying gifts, noble fillies gave sympathetic hugs and bows to my sister as I cried freely beside her. Tia’s eyes were dry, her words strained, and body stiff with expert control at such a young age. I didn’t remember it this way, my tears providing a curtain to the ponies that expressed grieve and by the end wishing us good luck ruling. Even then I hated the majority of the noble pony’s insincerity and duplicity.

Blinking back tears I swept a wing across the scene leaving us in her chambers, albeit still in her dreamscape.

“Luna?” She said in her normal voice, her youth left in the other dreamscape.

“Yes Tia?” I replied solemnly, moving to nuzzle her neck.

“I’m sorry you had to see that. I-I have been feeling troubled lately, I fear I have failed as a princess. It is not my imagination that the nightmares you consol now are from the law.”

I looked away from her shimmering eyes, my ears dropping, her statement held more truth than I wanted to let her know, than I wanted their to be. No longer did most ponies fear nightmare moon, they feared The Law of the Herd.

Tia’s voice broke, “I thought as much.” Sniffling, sister put on a fake smile, “I am a big pony you know Lulu, a little thinking and my sadness will pass, and before you know it the ponies will understand why we did this.”

There really wasn’t much I could say to that, my sister was determined to bottle her feelings from me, even in her dreams. Her stubbornness was one of the traits that made her a great ruler but it also held her back, it had taken nearly a thousand years of my absence for her to delve into lost magic and create an Alicorn to sooth her loneliness. Unfortunately there wasn’t any true Alicorns around anymore, our reproduction being a slow and unpredictable nature.

The fake Alicorn seemed like court gossip now, petty, and not worth Tia’s time. It wasn’t my job to judge what ponies dreamt of, although I did avoid some ponies dreams like parasprites.

Giving her a wing hug I left her dream, I knew she wouldn’t cry in front of me.

A quick scan showed the great beings weren’t back; the distorted dream bubble was gone as well. But before me were thousands of nightmares playing out, needing reassurance and peace, though my sister may deny help from us these ponies still needed it.

****

Princess Celestia

Luna had given me space for the last two days, not visiting in the dreamscape, nor visiting my chambers in the changing hours. I felt bad for keeping my feelings from her but I am supposed to be strong, how can I expect her to stay strong if I don’t maintain my composure?

I was supposed to be the older sister, take care of Luna, a task which I had already failed once before.

Making my way from my chambers I squared my shoulders and set my ears forward, I was the princess of the sun, I was strong. Outside my doors the guards in front of my chambers flanked me, on guard for anypony that wished to hurt me, a reality that was seeming more possible everyday.

After Queen chrysalis defeated me three months ago I began hearing the odd court gossip that I was old, weak, and naïve. With the fact that I not only didn’t recognize Cadance, the mare I known since she was a filly, as being replaced. That fact brought my supposedly well hidden flaws to their attention, like how had I let my sister get to the point that darkness consumed her?

'Wasn’t Celestia just an awful sister?' was a common sentiment along with the equally painful, ‘Be careful or Celestia might send you to the moon!’

It all hurt soo much, even my guards that walked beside me I have heard use that ‘joke’ thinking I could not hear them.

The most recent law however had started a even more troubling rumor, Golden Script just had to put our secret in his findings, the same report that was now one of the most widely read scientific reports of this century.

‘Were they sterile?’

‘How can they carry on the line if there isn’t any male Alicorns?’

I could hear the court mares talking already as I made my way straight to the throne room, breakfast would only make the day court last longer than it would already, and as such i dismissed it. Eventually the court would have to quiet, i just had to make it till then.

Whispers were already quieting ahead of me as the doors opened.

Although my ears were trained forward, my understanding smile was beaming, and wings were settled, it was all a act. If I were honest I would be locked in my room, crying my eyes out, a cake halfway down my throat. However I couldn’t be a pony, I was princess of the sun and I had to answer for my decisions. Father would have been proud.

Thirty two redirections to the herd registration department, twenty two petitions against The Law of the Herd, and four mares trying to petitioned for a right to keep same sex couples together before I was stunned out of my façade.

“Presenting Azure Heights and Barium Seal of Manehattan.” Loud Script, my herald, announced to the room.

“Hello, my ponies how can I help you today?”

Before me a turquoise unicorn mare levitating a letter and a yellow earth stallion stood, suddenly losing their nerve, and shuffling their hooves on the carpet. I could already see the petition unfolding in my head, they-

“Princess we come bearing important news and most likely even more important mail.” The mare took a deep breath, confidence returning. “We request a audience with both you and Princess Luna, we were told to deliver this letter to both of you.”

This was new, but I wouldn’t wake my sister without a just cause, her night court was filled to the brim every night now. Some Ponies petitioning never left the castle grounds I have been told, simply petitioning both night and day court.

“Surely whatever you say can be passed along to her later, she is asleep at the moment.”

“NO! Ari said this was for both of you, YOU have to. This-“

My eye twitched, “Azure Heights I am sure it can wait-“

“-is incredually important! We met an Alicorn!”

The whole court froze at her words, quills at the ready as everyponies eyes locked onto me. My body heated under the looks, feathers twitching.

“Azure perhaps-“, I tried to help her save her muzzle, there wasn’t any other Alicorns. After over a thousands years I knew without a doubt there were no other Alicorns, I had been resigned to that when we never went into heat. Our mother had explained it as magic requirements, in layman’s terms, we had a lot of magic so it took a lot of magic to reproduce. No magic, no estrus, equals no foals.

“My mare isn’t lying, the bucking Alicorn saved our lives twice and this is the least we can do to help him…And Azure was going to come here anyway.” Barium Seal spoke for the first time, his ears pinned back and a scowl on his muzzle.

Turning to a guard I sighed, “Wake my sister.” She may prank me for years to come but I wasn’t going to get rid of them till I brought her here, and the court was running even further behind at this rate.

“May I have the letter?” Azure Heights floated the letter over to me, my golden magic taking it from her blue magic as the castle shook slightly.

My sister was awake.

In record time Luna had the doors opened, marching with heavy hoof steps to the side of the throne. Her eyes had bags under them, her wings looked slightly ruffled, and her tiara was slightly crooked.

“Luna-“

“SPEAK THY BUSSINESS PONIES. WE ARE MOST TIRED AT THIS HOUR.”

My ears rung as the court pinned theirs back at her Royal Canterlot voice, a old tradition I felt she was purposely forgetting to not use indoors. She was going to deafen me at this rate.

“U-um, we met a Alicorn.” The previously brave mare was crouched low to the ground at Luna’s presence.

“Go on…” We all looked at my sister in shock, she wanted to hear more, and she wasn’t using the Royal voice anymore. Just what was she planning?

Was this all just an elaborate prank?

Azure picked herself up from the floor as everyone gave her their attention. “Well, like I said we met a Alicorn. But we met him by accident, you see we ran away-“

“Him?!”

“You ran away?”

We looked at each other in shock. How Luna was more interested in the gender of the supposed Alicorn than the fact that these ponies had ran away from Equestria was ridiculous!

“Err-“, she looked between us her tail flicking nervously,”- yes him, Ari is very much a stallion. Anyway, we left Equestria but we were captured by Diamond Dogs-”

Gasps echoed around the room as everyone leaned forward slightly wondering how they had escaped, I was fuming inside. We had a deal with those dogs and they broke it by the sounds of it.

“-However they also captured Ari and his…mare. Well she wasn’t officially his then. Anyway-“

“Diamond dogs were able to subdue and capture a Alicorn Stallion?” Luna looked as skeptical as I felt, that made no sense.

“They must have caught him when he was sleeping, cause he slaughtered them when he got free. He is a brute.” Barium replied, unknowingly annoying his mare.

“Ari’s a gentlestallion!”

“He yelled at us.”

“He unlocked our shackles.”

“No he gave you the key after he used it on his…mare first. You unlocked our shackles.”

“But he helped rescue you from the slave traders in Saddle Arabia!”

A gasp echoed around room at that.

“Because…”

“I ran into him by chance… But he gave us food and water!”

“He ate our breakfast at the inn.”

“He had just rutted his mare senseless last night, he needed the energy!” A blush was on Azure’s face now.

“Yes, he could have got us kicked out with her screaming; he didn’t even put up any sound or smell wards!”

“But He’s really hot! The inn keeper mare wouldn’t have kicked him out.”

“He’s a too tall jerk.”

This verbal tennis match seemed to be going more of a personal direction, perhaps they needed to see the relationship consoler. I will have to-

“CEASE THY BICKERING, WE HAVE QUESTIONS!”

There went my hearing again.

“How did this stallion look like?” Luna asked Azure with a look in her eyes that if I didn’t know better I would call panic.

“Ari is all black, has the most amazing wings, and is taller than even Princess Celestia!” Azure chirped out, seeming to love to talk about Ari. Although I was a tad hopeful now, this could be a actual Alicorn. The only question that remained was where he had hidden himself all this time…

Coming back to my thoughts I noticed a dark blue magical line hovering halfway up my horn.

“Is he about ye tall?”

“Yes!”

“And no cutie mark?”

“y-yes…”

“AND HIS MANE LAYS LIKE YOURS DOES?”

Azure and Barium just nodded, cowering before Lulu’s voice. If I was being honest I was starting to think my sister knew something with the way she described him. Had she heard of him and not told me? I know we had been busy but I would think she would tell me if she met or heard of another Alicorn.

My thoughts were interrupted as Luna started muttering to herself, eyes darting around. I stepped up to her, hoof raised to calm her, only to have her fall over in a faint. I caught her in my magic but I couldn’t contain the chaos that had exploded in the throne room, Loud Script tried to be heard above the barrage of questions but was failing.

Worry for my little Lulu dominating my thoughts I used the Royal Canterlot voice, ”DAY COURT IS POSTPONED, NIGHT COURT WILL BE AS SCHEDULED UNLESS ANNOUNCED OTHERWISE.” With that I teleported my little sister to my chambers, she most definitely knew something about this ‘Ari’ stallion.