A Little Chat

By; Zero_Starlight

"What are you up to now, babe?" I asked, peering out onto the balcony where Twilight was relaxing, apparently lost in thought.

"Just cloud gazing..." Twilight replied lazily, and I smiled softly as I walked over, sitting beside her and looking up at the clouds.

"That one looks like a ice cream cone..." I muttered, relaxing and closing my eyes, letting the cool breeze brush at my hair.

"That one looks like a book." Twilight replied, pointing out another shape in the clouds. I blinked and rolled my eyes at her.

"Babe, nothing wrong with that or anything, but are books the only thing you can think about besides me?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up!" Twilight giggled, punching my arm lightly, before rolling over and snuggling closer to me, sighing happily.

"Love you too, babe." I said, smiling as the cool breeze and the warmth of Twilight beside me lulled me to sleep...

Dreams.

Dreams are what shape our subconscious mind, mold our mental image, and form the pillars and foundations of our ideals and lines of thought.

My dreams were... complicated, to put it bluntly. Sometimes the fog of mental images would wrap me in a shroud of confusion, leaving me restless when I awoke. Other times my mind would simply... shut off, for a time, leaving me to wallow in an void of emptiness, letting me at the very least sleep peacefully.

But when the fog cleared, and the void was filled, memories of a long forgotten time would come out to play. The memories were terrifying in their realism. I watched as faceless people burned alive, their screams echoing in my head, and I wanted to scream too, I needed to let this absolute horror out. But I can't, for I have no mouth with which to scream.

I woke with a gasp, my lungs greedily sucking in air as my heart pounded in my chest. I sat at a precipice, the razor thin edge between dreams and reality. For a moment, I smelled the faint odor of smoke and charcoal, but these faded quickly once I regained my senses.

I was back on the porch of Twilight's library, and Celestia's Sun had long since surrendered the sky to Luna's stars and Moon. My bookworm was still laying against me, her breathing even, calm.

I discover someone has placed a warm blanket over the both of us, opting to take, while being a nice gesture, the ultimately lazy choice. More than likely Spike or Owlowiscious.

Speaking of night dwellers...

"Good evening, Mr. Starlight."

She still hasn't learned.

"The same to you, Princess of the Night, but please, I would have expected you to have adopted the casual informality that has come into vogue while you were otherwise preoccupied." I replied, giving a smirk.

Luna nodded, gazing up at the stars, her stars.

"You certainly know how to put on a show, Luna." I remarked off hand, earlier thoughts of fear and destruction forgotten, a blessing that would not go to waste.

Luna gave what I assumed was her version of a giggle, "Why does that sound familiar?" She asked, turning her eyes, which held both innocence and a hint of child-like mischievousness, on me.

"Haven't the faintest, toots." I drawled in that particular one-of-a-kind accent that all taxi ponies in Manehattan seemed to inflict.

"Perhaps because Twilight here says it almost every night?" Luna shot back, raising her eyebrows.

"Great minds think alike, I suppose." My grin widened, and I continued my examination of the stars above.

"You are troubled."

"Was it that obvious?" I asked with only a hint of sarcasm in my voice, my smile fading.

"To me, yes." Luna noted, my sarcasm appearing to go so far over her head it might very well become a constellation in its own right.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes and smiling a little as Twilight shifted, curling her body closer to my own.

"Tia has informed me of your... predicament." Luna noted, and I smiled at her informality in regards to her older sister.

"You make it sound like it's just another bump in the road." I joked weakly.

"It's as hard or as easy as you make it, Zero." Luna countered.

For a moment, I let silence fill the air, my eyes focused on that point of the horizon that never seems to move, never getting closer, but never getting further away at the same time.

"I'm tired, Luna." I finally said, and I felt it, a heavy weight of weakness overtaking me. "I'm tired of not knowing my past, not knowing who I was before I came here. I'm tired of the memories that come in my sleep, slashing my moral to ribbons."

"You hide it well." Was all Luna offered, giving a sad smile.

"I've had practice." I noted, looking over at Twilight.

"She balances you." Luna stated, looking at the sleeping mare beside me. I felt a soft smile on my face as I brushed an errant strand of Twilight's mane out of her face.

"In a way... Yes, I suppose she does." I sighed, "I just hope that my dependence does not weigh heavily upon her..."

"She's a strong mare." Luna replied, and I laughed.

"That she is."

"In time, perhaps she will transfer that strength to you."

"Perhaps..."

"Good night, Zero." Luna said quietly, melting into the shadows of her night like water into a stream.

"Good night, Luna." I replied, and for the moment, I relaxed, giving myself once more to dreams, which were blissfully empty of fire.

END

Author's Note; This story was... OK, I suppose. I don't really know what I was aiming for, but this is what came out of my mind onto paper. Remember to comment, favorite, and tell your friends, and I'll see you all in the future!