Luna slowly opened her eyes as she brought herself out of her trance. The waking world swam back into focus as she left the dreaming one. She was in her bedchamber, laying in her bed that could easily fit three ponies. The moon’s soft glow flowed in through the glass doors to the balcony outside her room, bathing it in its faint light. The blacks and dark blues that colored her bedchamber devoured the light, while the jewels and glitter on the tapestries and furniture reflected it, making her room her own private night sky.

“So, how did it go?”

Mostly private.

“Were you waiting here this whole time, Discord?” she asked, looking up at the draconequus. He was standing on her ceiling upside-down and playing with a yoyo that also completely disregarded gravity by falling up with each flick of his wrist.

“What? I thought you would be happy that I managed to be patient for once in my life,” he huffed.

“I do not fancy the idea of you watching me while I’m sleeping,” she said with a glare.

“If you have problems with how I operate, write it down and put it in my suggestion box,” he said with a wave of his hand, conjuring a wooden box in front of her with the word “suggestions” scrawled on it in sharpie.

“There’s no slot for me to put anything in,” she said with a raised brow, looking it over.

“Exactly.” He snapped his fingers and the box vanished. “Now, please tell me how things went; the suspense is killing me.”

Luna let out a disgruntled huff. “Not exactly as planned. I was able to doctor Twilight’s dreams easily enough. Her mind needed very little prompting to descend into a nightmare about her own guilt and shortcomings, and it ran with the constructs I planted in it.”

“So you went with the self cannibalism dream we discussed?” he asked with a grin. “I must say, the whole eating herself thing was quite inspired. You and I should write scripted nightmares together more often.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said dryly. “As for my sister… well, I’d almost forgotten how strong her mental defenses are, even against my influence. I couldn’t set up the dream I wanted for her.”

“That’s too bad; that one was going to be so fun, too,” he pouted, twirling the yoyo around like a lasso. “I had to think really hard to come up with the part where she swaps spit with herself.”

“A mental image that still disturbs me,” Luna deadpanned with a shiver. “I ended up turning her own mind against itself. Celestia has taken to bottling up her emotions until they ferment and grow, even over centuries of time. So I let loose her guilt and regret.” She sighed and recoiled a bit into herself. “I wish there was another option. It was… it was extremely hard to watch her suffer like that. It was hard to watch Twilight suffer, for that matter.”

“Watching the ponies you love suffer always is. Always worse when you cause it, I imagine,” Discord said with a solemnity that made Luna pause. That’s when Discord hit himself in the eye with his yoyo and all of his dignity flew right out the window. “Gah, stupid thing!”

Luna chuckled weakly. “I know… I’ve seen my loved ones suffer plenty over my millennia of life.”

“We both will in the near future until this whole mess is over with,” he said as he rubbed his wounded eye and his yoyo dangled limply upward. “Fluttershy is still practically a zombie, last I checked.”

Luna bit her lip. “About that… while I was dream walking, I took the time to drop in on the dreams of the other Elements to see how they’re faring.”

“I guessed as much; you were out of it far too long to change just two dreams,” Discord said, putting his paw on his hip as he resumed his yoyo flicking. “How are they doing?”

Luna looked out her window to the plains to the south, towards Ponyville. “All of their dreams are restless to varying degrees, and I tried to help as best I could. Rainbow Dash dreamt of giant versions of Twilight and Spike fighting over Ponyville and carelessly crushing her and all her friends. Applejack dreamt of the others turning into wolves and tearing each other apart while she was chained to the ground and muzzled. Pinkie Pie sensed my presence and forced herself to wake up before I could see her dream; still not certain how she managed that, but then again how does Pinkie do anything that she does? Rarity is dreaming in her coma, largely about Spike back when times were good and about the fire. Fluttershy…Fluttershy had it the worst. I’m not really sure how to say this.”

“You sounded like you had a confession to make, and I’m not hearing one,” Discord said with a cocked eyebrow.

She sighed and shook her head. “Fluttershy was having a nightmare that involved the fire, the broken and burning corpses of her animal friends, Rarity slowly dying in front of her… I had to do something. I couldn’t just leave her like that. So I hastily rifled through her mind and pulled out the closest desire that her brain could associate to the situation. The problem is that I think I may have uncovered something that Fluttershy buried quite a while ago.”

Discord tossed his yoyo out the window, sending it falling into the sky. “Those are words that cannot possibly lead to anything good. You have my attention.”

“How do I say this?” she asked herself, putting a hoof to her chin. “I think I may have brought up old romantic feelings that she’d buried under layers of denial and self doubt.”

“It’s Fluttershy; everything about her is under layers of self doubt,” Discord sighed.

“Touché. The problem is that said romantic feelings are for, well… Rarity. I didn’t linger long enough to explore the underlying causes and psychological ramifications,” Luna admitted. “When I realized what I did, I fled before I could cause more damage.”

Discord groaned and flopped down onto the floor in a heap, his head in his hands. “Great. Just great. I already arranged for Cadence and her hubby to come down here to help us sort this out, but now she has to deal not with just a spat between lovers, but a love triangle. You know, you’re very much like your sister in that the more you try to help, the more you make things worse.”

Luna cringed, holding in the urge to shout at him for his impudence in the royal Canterlot voice. “My… apologies. I just didn’t want to leave Fluttershy in her own personal cell in Tartarus.”

Discord got to his feet and brushed himself off with a sigh. “Sorry, sorry; that was uncalled for. I know you were just trying to help, and I really do appreciate it. Fluttershy means a lot to me, you know? It’s really been killing me that I can’t just snap my fingers and make things better again like I’ve done with the rest of my problems for thousands of years.”

“That’s because you’ve never had a friend before. Quick fixes seldom work when it comes to friendship,” she assured with a small nuzzle. “I feel much the same about Twilight, so I can sympathize. I can’t express in words how much I worry that the weight of the crown is consuming her as utterly as it’s consumed my sister.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head; we can make things right again if we put our heads together,” he said with a chuckle as he reached out and patted her head. “Dear lord, that was so saccharine I think I’m going to puke.”

“Pat my head again and I’ll fashion your gonads into metal-plated wind chimes,” Luna said without a hint of mirth.

“Oh how I would love to see you try,” Discord cackled, pulling his paw back all the same.

There was a knock on Luna’s chamber door. “Luna?” came the very weak voice of Twilight from the other side. “May I come in?”

“And that would be my cue to leave,” Discord whispered. “Have fun!” With a wink and a snap of his fingers, he vanished.

Luna blinked in confusion before shaking her head. “Come on in, Twilight,” she called back.

The heavy doors creaked surprisingly softly as Twilight pushed them open and peaked inside. Darkened bags drooped heavily beneath her violet eyes. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“Not at all; I was just taking a break from my dream walking duties,” she half lied. “What brings you to my room at this hour of night?”

Twilight blushed softly as she trotted inside, closing the door behind her. She avoided eye contact and lightly rubbed her forelegs together. “This is going to sound incredibly childish, I know, but… I had a really bad nightmare.”

“If you want me to keep a special eye on your dreams, all you have to do is ask,” Luna said with a smile.

Twilight shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I was hoping… that is, I was wondering if…if you would mind if I…” Twilight drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes as if bracing for an incoming projectile. “Would you mind if I slept in here with you tonight?”

A bit of heat graced Luna’s face as she asked, “May I ask why, Twilight?”

Twilight shook her head and turned back for the door. “No, no, forget it. I knew it was childish.” Her horn glowed to open the door again, but her violet aura was overtaken by Luna’s blue one, holding the doors in place.

“Do not mistake my curiosity for condescension or disapproval. You’re allowed to be open and frank with both Celestia and I without fear of judgment, Twilight. You’re one of us now, and we’ll be together a long time,” Luna assured.

Twilight turned back to Luna with a brighter blush. “It’s just that, well… ever since I was a filly, if Spike or I had a really bad dream, we’d cuddle up together in bed. Just being together made the nightmares go away. That never really stopped, no matter how old we got. And since he’s gone… well… I was just hoping…”

“May I ask why you chose me and not my sister? You two are much closer, if I may be so bold,” Luna asked with a tilt of her head.

Twilight was silent for several long seconds. She said nothing, but she didn’t have to. Luna knew. She put Celestia in the younger alicorn’s nightmare, after all.

“I just… don’t want to bother her. She’s the princess of the day, so she needs her rest when it’s not daytime, right?” Twilight lied with a nervous smile. “Besides, you’re my friend.”

“That I am,” Luna giggled with a smile. She opened up a wing and motioned toward it with her head. “Come. If it’s company you want, I’d be happy to provide.”

Twilight let out a relieved sigh and cantered over. She crawled in bed with a deep blush, cuddling up to her friend’s side under her wing. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Luna reassured as her horn glowed, pulling the covers over the two of them. “It gets lonely being the princess of the night, truth be told. Very few ponies aside from my guards are even awake, let alone spending time with me.”

“Sorry,” Twilight mumbled. “My duties are during the day, and I usually relax and study at night, so… sorry.”

“It’s fine, Twilight,” she said, leaning down and nuzzling her cheek against Twilight’s. “I’ve gotten used to it.”

“If you want, I could come to relax and read in here at night. If you don’t mind,” Twilight added.

Luna blushed brightly, though she quickly closed all the blinds to hide it. “I think I’d like that. Now you get some sleep; the sun always rises too soon for the weary, does it not?”

Twilight chuckled sleepily. “Too true. Goodnight, Luna, and thanks again.” The younger alicorn shifted against the older to get comfortable before laying still and drifting back to sleep.

“Goodnight,” Luna muttered, giving Twilight one last nuzzle before laying her head down and entering the realm of dreams again. Her heart was heavy with thanks that she didn’t deserve. She knew that Twilight would be back in her bedchamber in the near future. She’d have to be. The nightmares certainly wouldn’t stop anytime soon; not until things were set right again.

With a grieving heart and soul, Luna got back to her task of sowing horror and sorrow for the mares she loved the most. Next Chapter: Dear Dissent Estimated time remaining: 28 Minutes