#` ☽main v☾ / luna `

[alicornae]

open starter.

  the young princess was still getting used to the castle- so vast and unfamiliar, and it made it that much more intimidating for her. nevermind how long it’s been, there’s no doubt it was more than just her home- the castle had changed over the years.   but if she could focus on one thing at the time, she’ll be able to keep her head on her shoulders. at least, for a little while.

  shoe-clad hooves clicked loudly in the empty halls as she wandered them like a ghost, directionless. luna didn’t know what she was doing outside of her room, all she knew is that she was restless. there was nothing much for her to do there aside from read or aid in dreams, and even the latter took too much energy from her to do comfortably. so her legs decided for her.   and that, to no one’s surprise, had wound up getting her lost. her legs were already tired, and luna had a sneaking suspicion that she’s passed that particular painting twice now.

    her ears pinned back flat as she let out a tired groan. nothing made sense here, and she was starting to lose her patience with it. but then, her ears perk back up as she heard a separate set of hoofsteps approach, moving her direction.   pretty teal eyes look up to watch the other as they passed through. this was going to be her only chance, but her throat tightened up, her voice stuck in it. no! she refused, and with brows furrowed, eyes set upon the other with an almost intense gaze as she cleared her throat.

“  W-We require assistance!  ”  she winced at the sudden loudness of her voice in the previously quiet room, but surely the other pony could not ignore the plea of royalty, right? she silently prayed that it was enough.

[princepsluna]

@the-ancient-magus​  ♥’d

  it’d been a few weeks since her initial re-arrival, and she didn’t feel any less anxious. sure, it wasn’t as bad as it was the first few days- she’d refused to leave her room, or if she ever did, she’d stick to celestia’s side like glue. she even attempted to hide under her legs, like a filly.   but who could blame her? over the last thousand years, everything had changed. especially the castle. but she was happy to have celestia, the one familiar thing in her past that stayed with her. and also of course, her teddy ursa ... but no one needed to know that.

  but a night came when luna was gazing out her balcony, head resting on her forelegs that were crossed on the cold stone lining, the gentle evening breeze brushing gently through her light mane. and she gazed at the stars.   then, her ear twitched, flicking backwards as .. something rustled behind her .. almost like the sound of wings.

  sluggishly, luna peeked over and then everything perked up, eyes widening and ears pin-straight on her head. no .. it couldn’t be ...   before she could even think, her body rushed towards him, barreling into his chest as she rubbed her face on his neck.

“  F .. Fred, h-how ...  ”  she breathed, shaking her head in disbelief against his warm fur as her body shivered in shock,  “  Is this a dream? H-How are you here?  ”

[alicornae]

@universalcarnival dreamt ....

... of cotton candy clouds and checkerboard landscapes- everything topsy turvy. the fish soared in the skies and birds leaped in the vertical rivers; any kind of chaos imaginable was here.

dreams were always strange, no matter who it was. dream logic was as dream logic does ; sometime it is and it isn't. she knew it well, despite it's ever changing scenery. but here, something was familiar. and she knew who it was- she was just surprised that he of all creatures needed HER help for once.

on dark wings she soared over the maddened landscape until she felt where she belonged, just off the jagged edge of the world .... was a cottage; soft and green, but melancholy in a way. the grass was almost faded into a gray, and the same with any other color provided here. as she alighted on the cobblestone path, it felt ... strange. empty, and yet ... something seemed to stir inside it- only glimpses of something alive in the window.

eyes narrow in confusion as she approaches the old door, some of the wood curled up from age. luna gives it a small push anyways, and with some force it gives- along with a long creaking sound as it opened for the princess. the musty smell hits her first as she steps inside, looking around the dim house. she knew this place- she didn't know why she didn't realize it before. perhaps it was the lack of animals that tricked her mind, but this ... this was fluttershy's cottage. but older- MUCH older. the owner had left it a long time ago, but with care. white sheets covered the furniture, looking almost ghostly in the darkness.

but where was he? the living room was empty, so she went to the kitchen- nothing. the bedroom was next, but still, nothing. the dust on the floors remained untouched, even by her own hooves. as she came back down the stairs to the living room, a flicker of movement caught her eye. it was quick, and the darkness was quick to swallow it. but she knew the darkness and its ways, and its fears.

the spirals of her horn lit up and softly shone in the dark house. she only needed to walk a little bit in before she found him in her light.

" Discord? " she uttered, her voice unexpectedly soft once she'd seen his face- lowering her head a little to get a better look at him, " Be not afraid ... We are here. "

[alicornae]

@lepuspaw ♥'d.

“  Thou hast nothing to be afraid of, We promise.  ”

[alicornae]

@imperiialfrost​  ♥’d.

“  I don’t want to be here anymore than you do, trust me.  ”

[alicornae]

  @lostfireprince​  said  :  "Oh? Is that a regal presence similar to the little prince? Ah no... it is but a mirror, an opposite. A regent of the dreamscape however... How interesting. I had thought the Dream Runners would have died off, but you remain... tell me: How frustrating is it to know that I am around? Dancing in the dreams of your making and corrupting them into Night Terrors? You should see the little prince, he's so tired... running from rusted blades." A dark suave voice speaks out to Luna, almost teasing.

  the voice sent a chill up her spine, a familiar cold she’s felt time and time again. the alicorn visibly tensed, her black dapples spread further into her deep blue fur, her ears twisting backwards before pinning to her head and her muzzle already wrinkling as she bared her teeth. the mare whipped around, finding nothing but the dark room she stood in, her spiraled horn already alight with her blue aura and illuminating a face full of hatred.

“  You.  ”  luna growled, a deep and threatening rumble from her throat that shook the void-like room they stood in, glaring at the darkness with glowing teal eyes, her dark pupils already turned into angry slits,  “ We should have known, ‘twas you poisoning his mind. Cease this nonsense! Or does thou favor the end of our blade once more?  ”

[alicornae]

@lostfireprince​  ♥’d.

  the face of the mare weary, but in her teal eyes was a frustration and fury that was a lot more alive than she looked- with out of place feathers and messy mane. it was clear her night was anything but restful.   suddenly, she trots up to the other alicorn, looking him in the eyes with a cold, silent glare. the queen of the night is silent for a moment, even as her frown deepens, eyes squinting as if to see something beyond what he could in his own eyes.

“  ...  Please, get some more rest. Stop staying up. ”

[princepsluna]

@cflight​  said  :  "I should be the one protecting you."

angst prompts  /  accepting !!

  there was no hesitation to her dismissal, shaking her head and wrapping them close to her in her wings, feathery and soft- a shield from the cold night air. the alicorn sighed, giving another, more softer shake of the head as she rested hers atop theirs.

“  No, We ... I need to be the one protecting you.  ”  she says as a shaky, exhausted sigh interuppted her as she shifts, ignoring the aching in her body.   the nightmare felt longer this time, maybe a bit more intense too. but for ekira? there was nothing she would fight harder for than for them. the monsters that manifested in their dreams where something she was capable of protecting them from- regardless of the cost of her body.   and protect her? she almost laughed at the notion. she was an immortal alicorn princess, the moon riser. the night incarnate, some would call her.

“  All this power ... you have many strengths, Ekira, do not doubt that— but you do not have what I do,  ”  she continues, her voice soft, but steely in its determination to make her point,  “  What a waste of all my magic .. if I cannot keep the ones I love safe? ”

[princepsluna]

@twxlightbeforedawn​  ♥’d

  the rustling of paper wings was beginning to become grating upon luna’s ears, which were now pinned back on her head in annoyance. even after every magic blast, more and more just kept taking its place. they weren’t malicious anymore, she’d taken care of the nightmare and turned it back into something  more manageable for the dreamer ... who still fluttered about the place.

  there wasn’t much luna knew about twilight beyond their brief interactions, and from what she reads in her sisters letters. even in one of her more personal spaces, a place neither reality nor unreal, luna was even more lost on the character of twilight sparkle.

“  Thou are dreaming ... and yet you’re still studying?  ”  she inquires with confusion in her voice, tossing her head to shake off the flying books that tried to nest in her nebulous mane.   her ears turned forward curiously as she walked towards twilight, who already had a pile of books on a desk, which was also a tree branch with onlooking flying books. she glanced at the paper she was furiously writing on, mostly nonsensical words from what luna could see. but clearly they made sense to the young mare.   in a place where nothing was limited, the monarch could barely wrap her head around spending time in this realm doing work. which of course was not the strangest dream for a pony to have- workaholics and the like tended to dream a similar dream. but ... that didn’t mean luna struggled to understand why they would spend time doing the same thing they did when in waking.

  and especially so, in the case of the princess of friendship.

“  ...  You’re a strange one, Twilight Sparkle.  ”

[alicornae]

@universalcarnival​  ♥’d.

“  I— I apologize, did I say something .. strange? You ... seem to be upset.  ”

[alicornae]

@imperiialfrost​  ♥’d.

“  ... I pray I do not offend, but ... it seems to me that you’ve been alone here for a while. ”