//------------------------------//
// Restoring the Dream 
// Story: A Dream at Twilight 
// by Paradise Oasis 
//------------------------------//

After the events of the party, I was never the same again.

I wandered around the castle, like a ghost haunting the great stone structure. I simply went through the motions of my life; going to school, going home to eat supper and study, then off to sleep, so I can guard other ponies' dreams. I avoided Paradise and Buttons like the plague, and simply sat off by myself at lunchtime, alone. By day I trotted around as a solid phantom, and by night I chased phantoms out of other ponies' slumber.

But others had taken notice of my descent into depression, and it worried them greatly. my teacher began asking why I never talked to the other students anymore, and my mother noticed how I never smiled or laughed anymore. Several of the adults went to Majesty with their fears and concerns, and I soon found myself called before to royal throne to explain myself. 

"Child, what is troubling you?" My queen asked in a concerned tone. "Has your training become too much of a burden for you? What can the rest of us do to ease the pain that troubles you so?" 

"There is nothing you can do, great Majesty. This duty, this responsibility... has drained all of the joy from my life." I explained to her, trying to sound as formal as our queen did when she spoke. "It is a burden I must bear alone... and a pain that I must endure, alone." 

"I say Neigh, Twilight Shine... I shall not allow one of my subjects to suffer under such agony." The look on Majesty's face turned angry, burning with the fury of a raging volcano. "Guards, summon forth Dream Gleamer here to my throne room! Twilight, please go and wait out in the hallway." 

I nodded sadly, trotting out through the towering archway, as Dream Gleamer came trotting in. The guards shut great bronze doors behind me, and I heard a great shouting match erupt from the other side of the wall. I'm not quite sure what the two were shouting back and forth, but I heard two loud voices shouting back and forth for nearly twenty minutes, before Dream Gleamer finally came out of the door, and gave me a very heartfelt apology. 

"Listen, Twilight... I'm really sorry about how roughly I handled your training." Gleamer told me, sitting down beside me, and putting a hoof on my shoulder. "I guess I let my own bitterness from my time as a Dream Beauty, affect the way I mentored you."

"No no, Gleamer.... you did just fine." I replied, looking up at my teacher. "You were just trying to tell me how harsh the life of a dream beauty can be. I really appreciate your tough lessons on my responsibility, and how I shouldn't break the rules like I've been doing."

Dream Gleamer looked a me sadly, a gleam of guilt in her eyes. "Twilight... I..."

"When I was a little filly, my mom filled my head with so many dreams." I told her, looking away. "To make friends, to earn merit badges in filly scouts- heck, I even wanted to play in a band, until I discovered I was tone deaf." I closed my eyes. "But those dreams, I can't have them. Not just because I can't dream at night, but my Dream Walking spoils my regular life for me. So, I guess it's better to just go about my duties, and give up on the rest of my life." 

Dream Gleamer looked at me for a few moments, before finally speaking up. 

"Twilight, listen to me. Just because you can't have your dreams and fantasies the way you want them, doesn't mean you can't live them at all." She reached down with her hoof, and lifted my chin. "As long as you are able to learn control, and remember to follow the rules, you can do anything you want to do!" She cocked her head to one side. "Don't you any have any pastimes? Any hobbies you enjoy doing? Maybe you could use that to pass the time, and distract you so you don't go bringing creatures from your imagination to life."

"Well... I always wanted to join Sweet Stuff's cooking club, and I could join Button's sewing circle." I replied, my face starting to light up again. "And maybe I could help Paradise with story club at the Dream Valley library." 

"That's the spirit, Twilight! Do the things you want to do!" Gleamer encouraged me with a smile. "Listen, Twilight... you are blessed with a joy few other ponies have; you don't dream your dreams at night, you actually get to live them."

I sat there, thinking about her words for a moment. My heart began to lighten a bit, but there was something that still bothered me. 

"Yeah, I guess so... still wish Quarterback hadn't turned out to be so self-centered."  I muttered, shaking my head. "That does it, I'm totally done with trying to date, it's not worth the headache." I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, I'll probably end up married to some stuffy scholar pony twice my age when I grow up."

"Well, there will be time enough for that when you grow up." Dream Gleamer replied with a grin. "For now, I think you should just start focusing your life on living."

I nodded my head in agreement, before trotting back down the hallway towards my mother's apartment in the castle. As I passed the closed door on the Dream Castle Schoolroom, I noticed a small sign taped up on the door;

Dream Valley cheerleader tryouts, tomorrow at six.

"Hmmmm...." I thought aloud, rubbing my hoof under my chin. "Perhaps it's time I start doing something, for myself..."