Luna yawned and stretched. It has been hours since the sun went down. Her bedroom was illuminated only by the flickering light of a small candle beside her bed and the moon's light. The fresh air coming in from the outside through wide-open windows did little to help her weariness.
'There goes another day of humoring a handful of ponies and having to listen to their petty squabbles...'
While her sister usually handled these on her own, there were times when Luna was also expected to shoulder at least a portion of her burden. It was only fair.
Fighting another yawn, she blew off the candle, making the room darker still. For a moment, she just stood there, enjoying the soothing summer air and gentle light of the moon that snuck in through the large windows—her moon.
After a while, the silence of the night was interrupted by a faint clanking of metal. Lazily, Luna leaned out of the window and saw a few small golden specs crossing the atrium below.
'Change of guard,' she thought. She couldn't make out any details from the distance – not that she particularly cared about what the guards were doing. She pulled herself away from the window and at last collapsed – rather ungracefully – into her soft bed.
'The work is not finished, though,' Luna reminded herself, and a soft grunt escaped her muzzle. A part of her wished she could skip her dreamtrotting tonight. Nopony would know, and surely nothing bad would happen if she just allowed herself peaceful sleep tonight. Just this one night. Luna shook her head and pushed that idea out of her mind. Tired or not, she had her duties.
She sighed and tossed about a little, trying to find a comfortable position on the bed. Once she was satisfied, she focused on her magic. The dreamtrotting spell came to her as if on its own. She's cast it so many times that it took practically no effort anymore. Luna relaxed her mind and allowed it to slip away into the dreamscape.
The sensation was always the same—a strange combination of weightlessness followed by a gentle pull into nothingness. While it wasn't a physical sensation, she remembered that once, she compared it to being pulled through a jar of pitch-black honey by an invisible string. It was not a great metaphor, maybe, but about as close as she could get to describing it.
Soon, the pulling stopped, and the dreamscape sprung into existence for her. Over the years, Luna has mastered navigating the twisting branches of the dreams that stretched all around her. As she walked, her mind was assaulted by scraps of dreams that pulled it in every direction. Some dreams were almost like little flies and scattered as she approached them. Others were more bothersome, requiring a more-or-less gentle magical push to get them to leave her alone. The dreams she was the most interested in usually paid her no attention.
The dreamers that were too occupied with their fantasies, good and especially bad – those were the ponies she was interested in. Their dreams were easy to spot for somepony with her experience. Murky and lethargic, too occupied with themselves to do much else.
A young colt whose friend moved to a different town
His dream was without a spec of color. Hardly defined, it hovered at her eye level as she approached it. There wasn't much Luna could do for the colt. His dream was ill-defined and constantly shifting - filled with empty swings, abandoned toys, and echoes of laughter. She whispered a few kind words for it and was pleased that a bit of color crept in. She dared not to enter the fragile dream and wake the dreamer, but she stayed and talked to it a little.
An old mare whose birthday nopony remembered
The inside of her dream was pleasant. A little house with balloons, cakes, and soft music. The table was set for at least a dozen, but besides the mare, only Luna was there. She took time to talk to her and ask her how she was doing. It seemed to have cheered the pony.
A wannabe theater actor nervous before his first big performance
He stood on a gigantic stage, on the verge of tears, stuttering out his lines. His audience was composed solely of empty chairs, which still booed him every few seconds.
A young stallion who planned to propose to his special somepony
His marefriend couldn't remember his name and her father kept shouting 'Over my dead body!' every time he tried to speak.
Luna took the time. Experience taught her that no matter how much she tried, she would not be able to help all the dreamers who needed her. Not even most. The best she could hope for was to help a few ponies at least a little every night. With each dreamer, she took her time. She talked and listened to them, occasionally employing a little of her magic to try and calm their dreams.
It was slow work, but time in the dreamscape passed at its own pace. Sometimes, her night would drag on seemingly without end. Other times, it'd pass by so quickly that she hardly got to do anything. Even with all her experience, she didn't understand how exactly it worked—tonight, though, appeared to be one of the longer nights.
Soon, she lost count of just how many dreams she had visited. Maybe it was a dozen – probably even more. She glanced around her, trying to find another dream to help, when she noticed something peculiar in the distance. For the briefest of moments, she could swear that she had seen her own reflection staring back at her from within one of the dreams.
Intrigued, Luna went after the dream without thinking. It didn't take her long to find it again. It floated around lazily and calmly. As she approached it, the dream perked up a little. It twirled in front of her and then returned back to its peaceful state. It didn't seem troubled in the least. Still, Luna could not resist a small peak inside.
The sight that opened to her was a familiar one. It was the grand throne room of the palace. Everything was exactly the same. Well, not exactly. Like most dreamers, this one also struggled to recreate the finer details. The polished stone floor was a little too monotonous, the thrones a little too big and blocky, colors not quite right... But that was hardly unexpected. It was the dreamer's imperfect memories of the room that created the dream in the first place. What Luna was more interested in was what was happening in front of her.
Two ponies were sitting at the foot of one of the gigantic stained glass windows. One of them was her, or at least her as the dreamer's mind imagined her. In the dream, Luna was very much like her, except maybe a little shorter. Sitting next to her was another pony. Luna couldn't see his face, but she could tell it was a gray pegasus stallion. He and her dream-self were sitting side to side, looking at the glass and talking.
Luna decided to get closer. She knew she didn't have to be worried; as long as she did not wish to be seen, the dreamer would have no idea she was there. As she made her way closer to the pair of ponies, their voices became clearer.
"… it wasn't so bad. I hardly remember any of it. Bits and pieces only for the most part."
"Still a thousand years… I can imagine it wasn't easy coming back after such a long time."
It was then that Luna realized what the stained glass the pair was looking at depicted. It was her, or rather, Nightmare Moon's, exile to the moon and subsequent return. In the top panel, her corrupted form stood tall and regal, with the moon shining behind her. At the bottom, its mouth was twisted in a snarl. The scattered pieces of colored glass around Nightmare Moon's body gave the impression that she was disintegrating.
"Of course, it wasn't. I was most afraid that I would be shunned still for my past deeds. It wasn't so, however. For that, I am still grateful."
Luna finally reached the duo and managed to get a close look at them. The gray pegasus had a white mane and amber-colored eyes, with his cutie mark resembling a coat of arms—not uncommon in Canterlot. Something about the pony seemed familiar, however. She could have sworn she'd seen him somewhere, but she couldn't remember. His near-perfect recreation of her form, however, left little doubt that she was not wrong. Surely, the two of them must've met in the past.
Even from up close, her dream self was an almost perfect copy of her. Dream Luna appeared relaxed. She had a gentle smile on her face and a soft look in her eyes. Overall, she seemed somewhat less stern than her real self.
"Sometimes I just think I could – I should - do more," dream Luna added after a moment, earning herself a look from both the dreamer and the real Luna.
With a hint of uneasiness, Luna realized that this version of her was maybe a little too similar to herself.
"You help ponies all the time, Luna. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," the dreamer spoke calmly and flashed his Luna a warm smile. He outstretched his wing and gently stroked her back, barely touching her in the process.
"If you were to ask a random pony to tell you one thing about Princess Luna, how many would not mention Nightmare Moon?"
"Why ask a random pony? Your friends wouldn't think of Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia wouldn't, I certainly wouldn't. Isn't that enough?"
Luna intently watched her dream self smile after hearing the reply and return the dreamer's gesture. For a while, the two ponies sat there together, their outstretched wings touching each other ever so slightly.
"I suppose that is a pretty good start," dream Luna said finally.
"I am inclined to agree."
Dream Luna shuffled close to the dreamer and leaned into him, wrapping one of her wings around his seated form. The duo sat there, bathed in the colorful light passing through the stained glass. "Do you mind if we just… sit here for a while?"
"Not in the slightest," the dreamer replied without hesitation.
Luna watched the scene unfold in front of her with an uncomfortable knot forming in her stomach. As the two ponies in front of her sat in a silent embrace, she felt like an unwelcome and unwanted intruder. Which, if Luna was being honest with herself, she was. Despite the rational portion of her mind screaming at her to leave, she couldn't make herself do it. Her eyes were glued to the ponies in front of her. They seemed so calm, so happy. She seemed so happy.
That night, the choice to leave was made for her. The dream suddenly dissolved around her, and she wasn't quick enough to escape. As the dreamer awoke, so did she. She was alone once more in her bedroom. That tight knot still in her stomach…
LINEBREAK
Despite the events of the previous night, Luna found herself feeling surprisingly well-rested. She couldn't even remember how long it's been since she'd visited a pleasant dream. It was easy to forget just how refreshing a dream could be. And yet, was there a reason to think that it was indeed a pleasant dream? Maybe for the dreamer, but for her… She wasn't sure how to feel. After all those years, she was used to seeing strange things in ponies' dreams, but it was rare to see herself in them.
"Which ones do you prefer, Princess Luna? Red or purple?" A small pink mare showed two bouquets of roses in front of her face. She hardly cared about their color one way or the other but paused anyway for a moment as if to think.
"They are both nice. But I like the purple ones a little better."
Mare smiled happily and ran off... only to be replaced by a serious-looking stallion levitating four different cutlery sets on a silver tray.
"Excuse me, Princess Luna, but could you please tell me which is more to your liking? You see this set-"

The stallion proceeded to go on and on about the differences in styling and sizes – delivering a rather deep analysis of the intricacies of cutlery. Luna did her best to appear attentive; she cared about the cutlery about as much as she did about the bouquets. And she cared about those as much as she cared for the entire masquerade gala.
Still, she promised her sister that she would help with preparations, so help she did.
"-whereas this set is a little cheaper, but its décor is not quite up to par with the other three. For the savings, we could, however, afford to add at least fifteen more-"
"Yes, that sounds like the right thing to do. Please use these," Luna quickly interjected once she realized that the lecture was shaping up to be a rather long one. The stallion shot her a rather nasty glare but relented and, with a slight bow, trotted away. Luna was allowed a brief respite. She still didn't even understand why they had to prepare it so much in advance. The night of the masquerade was still almost a month away.
Another pony approached her. "Begging your pardon, Princess Luna."
And in such a manner, she spent her whole morning and a significant portion of the afternoon. She managed to steal an hour just for herself around noon, but there always seemed to be more and more duties lurking behind every corner.
Finally, at eight in the evening, as every day, trumpets were sounded, interrupting the otherwise busy hallways of the palace and signaling that the doors would soon shut for the night. One after another, ponies began to disperse. It wasn't long after the trumpets that Luna found herself wondering about the near-empty halls of the palace. On her way to the kitchens, she met nopony save for a few guards who stood at attention as she walked past them.
She hoped that she would get a chance to talk to her sister at least, but she was disappointed when, upon arrival, she received a note stating that Celestia was still caught in some negotiations. She ate her dinner alone. Once or twice, the servant mares in the kitchens came to check up on her and ask if she needed anything. Luna just politely brushed them off and finished her meal in silence.
Before nine, she was already back in her room. Days in the summer were long, but soon, it would be the time for her to raise her moon. Luna stepped outside on a spacious balcony and waited. From where she stood, she had a view of the whole Canterlot. Its white buildings gleamed in the last rays of the fading sun like pearls. Suddenly, she wished that she had more time to visit the city itself. It was rare that she had a chance to leave the palace. Or rather, it wasn't often that she chose to do so…
As the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the horizon, Luna gathered her magic. Her horn lit up, and through it, she felt the mass of the moon - hiding just behind the horizon. Luna let her magic envelop it. It spread across every crater and embraced every valley and ridge that marred the surface of the moon. Slowly and carefully, as if handling a newborn chick, Luna willed the moon to rise, and at her command, it did. She always enjoyed seeing the first rays of silver light dispel the darkness left behind by the fading sun. Little by little, she raised her moon higher and higher still until it was finally hovering at the very top of the night sky.
Luna released her hold, and the magic faded. For a few more minutes after the act, she stood silently, observing the changed landscape. Everything suddenly appeared calmer and softer. The white buildings in the distance were now illuminated by the combination of moonlight and flickering gas streetlamps. In every other window, a new light would sprang up to dispel the darkness.
While the sight was pretty, Luna eventually grew weary of it and retreated back to the confines of her bedroom. After brief contemplation, she took off her royal ornaments and decided to call it a night early today. This night, at least, she was not as tired as yesterday, and her duty did not weigh so heavy on her as it did the night before. She cast the spell and let her mind slip back into the land of dreams.
She was rather early and, as such, found the dreamland sparsely populated –primarily by dreams of young colts and fillies. It didn't bother her in the least. After a brief search, she found a dreamer in need of assistance. Luna got to work.
As the night progressed, the dreamland became more and more crowded. Luna found that the number of dreams was the only way to judge the passage of time. However, it was far from being a reliable and accurate method. Sometime around the middle of the night, as she was looking for another dreamer to help, she noticed a familiar sight in the distance.
It surprised even her how easily she was able to recognize it, but there was no doubt in her mind that floating not too far from her was the dreamer from yesterday. There was no way for Luna to tell if she was again in his dreams – she would have to get closer. Before she could do so, Luna stopped herself.
'You have work to do here. Spying on ponies is not it!' she mentally scolded herself and turned away.
She would visit a few more dreams and help a handful of bothered dreamers, but every time she returned from a dream, her gaze returned back to the dreamer from yesterday. Try as she might, she found herself drawn to it. The sensation was difficult to resist.
After some more time, the dreams started dispersing, and Luna thought it would surely be day again soon. But the dream she was the most interested in was still there. Luna lost the fight with her inner voice and quickly approached the dream. As she did so, the dream also lazily glided towards her as if greeting her.
Even at a quick glance, she could recognize her form in the dream. Slowly, she slid in, careful not to disturb the dreamer.
The setting of the dream was different this time. Instead of the palace, Luna now saw the dreamer and her other self lying close to the edge of a large puffy cloud. Behind them was a pegasus mansion fashioned out of formed cloud mass – the same cloud on which the two ponies were lying. Luna made sure they couldn't see her and got closer to listen to the duo's conversation.
"-maybe next time, we can take a look into town if you want. It's not too big, but it is rather charming," the gray pegasus offered. Dream Luna nodded with a smile.
"Why not? What was it called again?"
"Little Prancing."
Luna leaned over the edge of the cloud to see what the ponies were talking about.
A long way down below the cloud mansion, she saw a little town. It was tucked in a deep valley, surrounded by forested hills on both sides. A small winding river flowed through its middle, but the dreamer's mind was not focused enough to maintain many details.
"Little Prancing," the dream Luna repeated. "Sounds... cheerful."
"It is a nice town. A little quiet, especially when compared to Canterlot."
"You grew up there?"
"Not really; I spent two summers there when I was a colt. My parents were away, so I was staying here with relatives. I wished I had a house like they did one day," the dreamer laughed and nodded toward the mansion behind them. "Our Canterlot house felt a bit cramped after sleeping here a few times."
So he was from Canterlot, Luna noted. And those amber eyes… Luna was certain she had seen those eyes before somewhere.
"Hmm… You know what I am thinking, Winter?" dream Luna asked suddenly with a mischievous smile.
'Winter,' Luna thought. Now she had the dreamer's name. She tried to think but couldn't remember knowing any pony by that name.
"Probably not, considering that smirk," Winter replied.
Dream Luna looked down over the edge of the cloud and back at Winter. Her smile broadened. Then, without another word, she stood up, spread her wings, and casually stepped over the cloud's edge. Winter sprang to his hooves and followed after her. Luna was left alone; after brief contemplation, she decided to follow.
Flying in the dream was not as exciting as it was in reality. One could not feel the wind rushing by her wings nor the straining of muscles when pulling up from a dive. Not to mention that strictly speaking, she didn't even have to move a single muscle to fly – with no gravity, it was only one's imagination that kept the body in the air. Luna didn't bother to flap her wings. She willed it, and her body floated through the air as she went after the dreamer and her dream self.
The two ponies were moving quickly. Twisting and turning in the air, they got within touching distance of one another. Luna led Winter through a progressively more and more aggressive series of turns and pirouettes, but the white pegasus managed to stay right behind her tail. Then, after an aggressive nosedive, Winter seized his chance and overtook Luna. It was now his turn to lead, and the chase continued.
As the duo passed by her, Luna noticed the expression of carefree joy on the face of her dream copy. Suddenly she yearned that their places were reversed and it was her souring through the air chasing Winter. She floated there, watching the dream unfold and wondered when was the last time she had the time to fly over Canterlot.
The dream was nearing its end now. Luna felt the dream starting to disintegrate as Winter began to wake up. Her dream-self would not get to finish her chase. As the last cloud disintegrated into black nothingness, Luna retreated from the dream.