Royal Reward


                                            This is a submission paste for Pastejam 2023.

                                            https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/39555417


                                            >She set it ablaze. A triad of candles in front of me were suddenly lit by a mysterious shadow figure.

                                            >In my desperation, I galloped to the safety of my house.

                                            >As I'm heading there, I noticed the paths and alleys from my beloved town are different. Something has changed.

                                            >I keep running to the places that are familiar to me, hoping that the shadow doesn't get me.

                                            "Why is it after me? What did I do to deserve this?", you ask to yourself.

                                            >A strong and ominous breeze forms in front of you, making you stop immediately.

                                            >"It is I, Princess Luna, member of the Royal Sisters in Canterlot."

                                            >Your hooves tremble before her.

                                            >"We...I have arrived to this dreamy land by a royal decree."

                                            >You bow to your highness.

                                            >"To be precise, this task shall be done by my sister. Nevertheless, she is dealing with similar affairs in this precise moment."

                                            >You prepare your words.

                                            "Your highness, it is an honor to be visited by you. If I may dare, could you allow me to ask you a question?"

                                            >She ponders.

                                            >"And which question shall it be, my esteemed subject? You may ask your question", she says with an intimidating tone.

                                            >"Perhaps Twilight couldn't fully teach her to control her royal voice", you think.

                                            "There is an unknown shadow figure who has been chasing me since I came here. I don't know where I am or why is it after me. Could you please take me home?", you request with vigor.

                                            >"Do not fear. The one who you have sighted was me. I commenced chasing you to fulfill my duty."

                                            "Am...Am I in trouble, your highness?", you ask with fear.

                                            >"Quite the opposite. This vaguely familiar place is the representation of your hometown, Ponyville. You and I are in a dream room. Each pony has one", she asserts with a refined look on her face.

                                            "So, does that mean I am in my dreams?"

                                            >"Precisely! However, this is not a usual dream. The dream realm is vast and almost endless. There are 2 sorts of dreams where ponies experience this dreams in their sleep. The first one is the "dream cloud", which is where the regular dreams happen. The other one is this place, a dream room. I summon ponies from their dream clouds to their dream rooms in special occasions because dream rooms are more stable, which allows me to manipulate ponies' dreams."

                                            "And why would you need to manipulate a dream, Princess Luna?", you ask out of curiosity.

                                            >"I admire your curiosity. Very well! I shall sate your thirst for knowledge."

                                            >"We, alicorns, reward ponies for their noble duties when time arrives. Yours has started."

                                            >Her horn starts glowing and she sways her body, creating a beautiful display of nebula magic.

                                            >You two are transported to the beginning.

                                            "Princess?"

                                            >"Yes?"

                                            "When I came here, these three candles were here. They were suddenly lit, who I assume was you. Why did do it?"

                                            >"The reason is very simple. Each candle represents one of your most important achievements during your service."

                                            "Princess Luna, that was top secret. How do you know?"

                                            >"My sister told me during one of our night conversations."

                                            >"In most occasions we discuss about politics, housing and the usual kingdom affairs."

                                            >"I am quite impressed by such acts considering you were the youngest in your agency at that time."

                                            "I am flattered, your highness."

                                            >She makerializes a magical wheel. There are three sections, each one has an image of your missions.

                                            >She rolls the wheel and makes the first image pop out of it with her magic.

                                            >"This was the time you captured that despicable bugbear that terrorized entire towns so much. You, and only you, had the bravery and skills to trap it. In my opinion, the iced-honey bars from the cage was a daring strategy. Its tongue got stuck to one and it simply stopped revolting during its transport."

                                            "I feared it could not contain it. I was lucky."

                                            >She smiles at you.

                                            >Her magic blows one of the candles and she spins the wheel.

                                            >"This is the time you found the ferocious diamond dog gang's hideout that was hidden in Manehattan. Without your help, the local authorities couldn't have prevented more robbberies and more cases of enslaved ponies for hard work.

                                            "I guess I was a fighting machine at that one", you nervously laugh at the end of your words.

                                            >"You sure were, agent."

                                            >Luna blows the second candle and with it, the wheel spins again.

                                            >"This is the last one. I must admit it is my personal favorite."

                                            >"You sneaked away in a dragon's cave and successfully retrieved the Book of Ancestral Wonders. An invaluable item full of the acquired knowledge of hundreds of the greatest earth ponies, pegasus and unicorns. This mission was optional, yet you decided to accomplish it. For that, along the excepcional service in your other missions, we have decided to reward you with what you most desire."

                                            >Tears of happiness go through your cheeks.

                                            >"Your heart desires the wonders of travelling. You desire to visit the many locations in Equestria and for that, we give you this."

                                            >She makes an object appear with her magic.

                                            >"The Carriage of Incitatus!"

                                            >"With this carriage, you can travel to anywhere inside Equestria in a matter of hours, minutes or even seconds. It does not matter, as you can decide the pace. It does not require anypony to pull from it either."

                                            "I am so honored, Princess Luna. It's hard for me to find the appropiate words to express my gratitude right now."

                                            "I am very thankful for what you and Princess Celestia gave me."

                                            >"I hope you enjoy, agent Sweetie Drops."

                                            >"It is time for me to leave. Be assured this is not farewell. We shall meet again in another time."

                                            >You shall wake up and see it with your very own eyes when awake."

                                            >And without further ado, she blew out the candle.