Massive shimmering orbs floated in the pitch black, illuminating the void that Princess Luna found herself in. A silvery liquid dripped off them, falling down into the abyss below. Inside each was a blurred image, every one depicting something different. They were gateways into different worlds--ponies’ dreams.

This was a sight that Luna had grown very accustomed to. It was part of a routine that she had done for thousands of years. Granted, coming back to it after her banishment did feel somewhat refreshing. The dreams were different to those in older times, reflecting how much life had changed in Equestria.

There was neither a surface to this realm, nor gravity. The alicorn floated between the orbs, inspecting each in turn. There were thousands of orbs, but checking each was a simple task. Each orb was surrounded in an aura and if that aura was white, then the pony was having a good dream.

Luna gazed into one of them, seeing a world filled with confectionery. The land itself was a myriad of biscuits and trees were replaced with candy canes and lollipops. The Princess smirked. Scrying wouldn’t be needed for her to tell who’s dream that was.

She drifted through the dark, seeing no anomalies yet. Everything seemed fine, at least for now. There were many more dreams she had left to check. Some dreams were wild, some mundane, and others embarrassing. Though it wasn’t her right to judge them, merely keep a vigil over them.

Luna stopped, raising an eyebrow at one of the orbs before her. Unlike the others, this was was obscured by darkness, taint dripping off the orb. Luna frowned and went straight for it. After her banishment, nightmares always made her feel uneasy.

The orb showed only Ponyville, everything looking fine. Something was going to happen, but Luna didn’t have the power to tell what it was. What she could do though, was to scry it. She bowed her head forward and focused, her horn beginning to glow a grayish blue. Three beams of magic shot out towards the orb, coalescing at a point on the gateway. Images filled her mind, all of them having a single gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane and...unique eyes.

From the scrying, Luna had the identity of the dreamer: Ditzy Doo Hooves. Now she was ready to enter. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and slowly entered the portal. Going through always felt cold and unnatural, a feeling that didn’t last very long.

She felt solid ground underneath her hooves and opened her eyes, seeing Ponyville at night. This town always felt charming to her. Simple but far from boring, yet at the same time relaxing too. It was hard to put into words.

She then began the task of finding Ditzy. Ponyville wasn’t that big, so it wouldn’t take her too long to find the dreamer. Hopefully she’d be noticeable, getting chased by monsters or something else that was nightmarish. True enough, the Princess soon saw a couple of ponies in the middle of the town. She approached them, but kept quiet and opted to observe the situation.

A trio of stallions surrounded a gray pegasus, who kept low to the floor, shaking slightly and looking up at them. Her wide eyes darted from stallion to stallion, her face full of fear. Nearby her sat a perfectly good looking muffin, until it was squashed under hoof by one of the stallions.

One of the stallions, a brown earth pony, grinned maliciously.“Well there goes that. Don’t worry Wall-eyes, it looked rotten anyway.”

“I-I told you, my name’s Ditzy! Just...just leave me alone! Please!” the mare pleaded, hiding her face with her wings.

“No can do, Bubblebutt. Your eyes...they just ain’t natural,” said another stallion with a blue coat.

The final bully, a red unicorn, snickered. “And you mess up all the time. I’m surprised you can even do your job. Oh wait.” He magicked over a brown sack, then dumped many letters on Ditzy. “You can’t even do that right! I’ve never gotten the right mail from you! Never!”

“I try my best!” Ditzy roared, but quickly backed down again under the stallions’ glares. “I do...”

The bullies then resorted to merely chanting names at her, most insulting her eyes or her intelligence. Deciding that this had gone on long enough, Luna stepped forward, her horn lighting up at the stallion’s hooves left the ground.

“Wha--what’s going on?!” the brown pony cried. He glanced down at Ditzy. “What are you doi--argh!” He rubbed his forehead, freshly bruised from a collision with his friends’ heads. Luna then simply jerked her head to the side, tossing the three off into the distance, their screams becoming muted and quieter as they disappeared. She didn’t care--they were only illusions.

Ditzy paused for a moment, trying to take in what just happened, and looked up at the face of her rescuer. “Thank you, um, for--” She did a double take upon recognising the mare before her. “Princess Luna?! Oh my gosh, sorry, I forgot to kneel!” She immediately bowed her head and knelt down respectfully.

Luna hid her smirk and levitated the letters, burning them all away with blue fire, the ashes going off into the wind. “Rise, Ditzy Doo. There is no need to be formal here.” Ditzy nodded and scrambled to her hooves, her eyes going off in different directions. Admittedly, this took Luna off her guard, despite having seen them before from the scrying.

“Thanks for helping me get rid of those idiots.” Ditzy frowned, but with her eyes, she looked more endearing than threatening. She then blinked a couple times and looked down at the crushed muffin. “Oh, not my muffin! Aw, it was going to be so tasty too...”

Luna smirked, her horning glowing as a new muffin appeared out of thin air. It was a simple treat, the flavour being blueberry. The Princess levitated it towards the pegasus. “Perhaps this will suffice?”

Ditzy stood there, awestruck, looking to and fro between the muffin and Luna. “For me? Are you serious?”

“We are equals here, Ditzy,” Luna said with a friendly smile.

“Then call me Derpy,” she replied, taking the muffin with a hoof. Luna raised an eyebrow, but Derpy continued, “It’s what my friends do.”

“I see.” Luna stood there in bemusement as Ditzy ravenously devoured her muffin, licking her lips after she was done.

“Mmm, that was great!” Derpy let out a burp, her cheeks flushing red. She grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about that!”

Luna waved a hoof dismissively. “It is fine.”

Derpy nodded quickly. “Oh, okay. Blueberry’s a nice flavour by the way, do you like it?”

The alicorn stroked her chin. “It is one of the few types of muffin I have tried so far...it may be my preferred choice.”

“There’s so many out there! Which haven’t you tried?”

“Hmm...” Luna stood there, mulling it over for a bit while Ditzy stood there, a warm smile on her face. “Strawberry is one.”

“Alright! Hang on!” Derpy concentrated, biting her bottom lip and furrowing her brows. Soon enough, in a puff of yellow magic, came a strawberry muffin. Luna took a step back, almost losing her breath. The pegasus then took the muffin and brought it closer to the royal. “Here you go!”

The Princess was silently stunned for a good few moments. Derpy conjuring a muffin wasn’t surprising, since this was her dream after all. It was her act itself. “Um...” Luna cleared her throat, taking the treat with her magic. “Thank you, Derpy. This is very kind of--”

“Less talking, more eating,” the gray mare ordered. Luna slowly nodded and took a bite. Then another. And another. Before she knew it, there were only crumbs floating in the air.

“Wow, you really liked that one!” Ditzy exclaimed, giggling when she saw traces of muffin around Luna’s mouth.

“Yes...I suppose it was quite delicious.” Luna coughed, brushing the crumbs away from her mouth with a hoof.

Derpy’s grin only grew bigger as she was hit with realization. “Wow...I just gave Princess Luna a muffin and she loved it!” She stopped, tilting her head to the side and raising an eyebrow. “But wait, this is a dream, so you can’t be real.”

The alicorn shook her head. “I have the ability to access ponies’ dreams. I do so to help them with their nightmares. So let us consider yours.” She gestured with a wave of her hoof for Ditzy to speak.

“Well, what is there to say?” The mare shrugged, looking down. “I was getting bullied...for something I can’t really help.” She sniffed. “It isn’t fair.”

Luna gently put her forehoof under Derpy’s chin, raising the pegasus’ head so that their eyes met. “Say no more.” Ditzy’s eyes gained a moment of focus, both looking at Luna. “Ignore those bullies. Do not let their words take on any meaning.” The Princess smiled sweetly. “If you ask me, I think your eyes are very unique. And you don’t seem to be an idiot to me. In fact, you are one of the more kinder ponies I have met in dreams.”

Derpy blushed, digging at the ground with a hoof. “Hehe...thanks, Princess Luna.” She then stood tall, looking determined. “But I do embrace my qualities! I wouldn’t change my eyes for the world. It’s just that sometimes...” Sighing, she loosened her form. “I have moments of weakness.”

“As does everypony, Derpy. Do you have friends to call on in times of need?” Ditzy nodded quickly. “Good. With them at your side, there is nothing you cannot overcome.” The Princess spread her wings, but hesitated in doing so, staring at the muffin lover. “Now, I am afraid I must go. My work is done here.”

The alicorn took off, hovering above the ground. It was an effortless task for her, yet her powerful wing beats easily created a considerable gust of wind. “Farewell, Derpy. Stay true to yourself and do not let others put you down!” She flew slightly higher and gave the mare below a friendly wink. “And thank you again for the muffin.”

“No, thank you Princess Luna! Goodbye!” Derpy waved enthusiastically, watching as the Princess of the Night went higher into the sky. The powerful being then made a quick turn and flew towards the moon.

Another dream had been settled. Luna congratulated herself for a job well done and set her sights for the massive white sphere in the night sky. Still, she couldn’t help but look back at the pegasus below and smile. She was glad that they met; Derpy was quite the bubbly character. Alas, there were other dreams to attend to.

As Luna got closer to the moon, her horn glowed brightly as she opened up a portal back to the void. It was barely bigger than herself but she got through with ease, finding herself surrounded by orbs once more. The night was far from over and her work was far from completed.

Luna’s eyes shot open. She quickly scanned the area, confirming that she was back in the waking world. The Princess was sat upright on a large, dark blue bed. Four wooden posts that were delicately carved stood at each corner, holding up a ‘roof’. From that dangled black silk curtains, surrounding the alicorn. She brushed them aside and stumbled out of bed, a bit shaky on her legs--transferring from the dream realm to the mortal one always took it out of her.

The room she found herself in wasn’t a particularly spacious one. It was circular, the walls midnight blue. A bedside cabinet stood beside the bed and a royal chest was on the other side. The ceiling was dark but covered in paintings of the stars.

Apparently somepony had heard Luna get up, for there was soon knocking at the door.

“Yes?” Luna spoke loud enough so that her visitor could hear, but it was evident that she was tired.

“Permission to enter, your Highness?”

Luna brought her hoof to her face, sighing quietly. “Granted.”

The door slowly opened, daylight spilling into the room. A white, earth pony guard with gold armor entered and knelt before Luna, who rolled her eyes before he could notice--her night guard weren’t as obsessed with formalities.

The guard eventually stood up. “It is good to see you awake once more, your Highness. Do you require anything?”

“A nice morning brew will suffice. The castle cooks know how I like it.” She waved the guard off, but it was in vain.

“I shall get it at once, Princess.” The guard performed a salute--taking his time with it too-- and marched off, closing the door behind him.

Luna almost threw herself back on the bed, her eyes half open. Technically, her time in the dream world did count as sleep, since she had to be in that state to even access it. Despite that though, the power needed to travel to other ponies’ dreams had to come from somewhere. So Luna was definitely not a morning pony.

She traced a circle on the bed, mulling over her dream jumping. After seeing Derpy, she had entered a few more dreams but none of their dreamers stood out like that gray mare did, which was weird, considering that all she did was give her a muffin. On the other hoof, Luna rarely got a thank you present for her actions. Usually, a pony would thank her only in words and would stand there in awe.

Another knock at the door. “Permission to--”

“Granted.”

The door opened once more, the guard from before holding it open. In came a couple of servants, helping move in a tray. On it was Luna’s morning coffee and a plate with toast, covered in raspberry jam. Luna wasn’t one for grand breakfasts.

“Thank you.” The Princess nodded at each of the servants in turn as they exited, then looked at the guard, who was about to speak. “That will be all. Back to your post.”

The guard saluted firmly. “At once, your Highness.” He then shut the door, leaving Luna alone again.

Luna lifted up her coffee mug with her magic, blowing on it gently before taking a sip. As the warm liquid poured down her throat, she felt quickly energized. She then took a bite of her toast, thinking.

Something was missing.

She got up and trotted out of the room, going down a large white hallway. Suits of armor from the Night Guard of old lined the halls, as did paintings of guardians of the night, heroes never forgotten. Occasionally there would be a painting of Luna herself and they would be the grandest of all.

Celestia’s guard saluted her as she went by, saying nothing. Luna longed for her guard, as they usually honored her with a respectful nod, much quicker and to the point. The paintings appeared with less frequency and on different subjects as she turned a corner, eyes carefully spotting the features of each hallway. Truth be told, the castle had changed alot since she had been banished and sometimes she still lost her way. Not that she told anypony, of course.

Eventually she came to the castle kitchens. Suitably large, she strode into one large room with lines of kitchen appliances, cooks hurryin about between them. One saw the Princess and stopped to give her and bow and soon all of them were doing so.

“Where is the Head Chef?” Luna asked, glancing over every pony in the room.

A unicorn stallion stood up and galloped over to the alicorn, almost bumping into the others who were still bowing. He went up to Luna and gave her another little bow. “What can you I do for you, your Highness?”

Luna look down at her yellow colored subject. He was actually relatively new, the previous Head Chef being a griffon. But since Luna’s return, she thought it was odd to have a griffon running things in a castle of ponies. She also changed the uniform, ditching those silly old white chef hats because they made her laugh.

Luna leant forward, keeping her voice fairly low. “Might you have some strawberry muffins in your stock?”

The chef quickly shook his head. “Um, no. My apologies, Princess.”

A small smile crept upon Luna’s face. “Do not worry too much. Just make sure that you acquire some as soon as it is possible.”

The stallion nodded, giving Luna another quick bow before rushing off to another room. The alicorn turned to leave and the room began to come to life again, the cooks focusing on their tasks once more.

Luna didn’t look back, walking back through the grand halls. As she turned a corner, she froze, seeing a figure approach that was even bigger than herself.

“Ah, good morning, sister,” Celestia greeted Luna. The white alicorn had two royal guards beside her, holding spears. They gave Luna a salute but otherwise remained silent. The darker alicorn refrained from commenting on their uselessness. “I did wonder why you weren’t in your chamber.”

“I was merely making a request to the castle cooks,” Luna stated. “The kitchens lack something I desire.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. “Oh? What might that be then?”

Luna stole a quick glance at the guards. “Nothing of importance. Merely a small treat.”

“Hm. As far as I am aware, we didn’t run out of cake,” Celestia replied nonchalantly.

Luna hid a smirk. “No no, it’s not that. As I said, it is irrelevant.”

Celestia gave her sister a warm smile. “Very well.” The dark alicorn returned the expression--after everything that happened, her sister’s trust was a very special thing to her. Celestia’s smiled then faded, replaced by a neutral expression. “Unfortunately, I have matters that need attending to. Farewell, Luna.”

“Farewell,” the younger sister said, giving her older sibling a respectful nod as she went by. The two Princesses mostly kept trivial matters to themselves and only consulted the other if they needed assistance. That way, every day didn’t end with a recount of every little thing that happened.

Upon entering her room, she sat on the bed and warmed up her breakfast with a quick spell. Hmm...what must be done today? she thought, while she crunched on some toast. To be honest, there wasn’t much that could be done during daylight. Celestia handled most affairs then, along with her most esteemed advisors. Luna was a Princess but that didn’t mean she did everything.

She sighed after swallowing a mouthful of coffee. Sometimes, her days just blended together. Upheaval in the kingdom was the furthest thing from what she wanted, but a stable rule was often a boring one.

Yet there was one thing that could liven up her day. Luna grinned to herself, enjoying the rest of her meal while she planned her next actions.