Dreamstrider

by OkemosBrony

Chapter 2

My eyes jolt open, and in a split second, I almost forget I had been sleeping.

But when I sit up and look around me, I’m not in my bed. I’m not even in my room. I’m...I don’t know where I am.

There’s a massive circular thing in the middle of the room which has a huge globe coming out of it. There are some other pieces coming out of it as well, but it looks like whatever was supposed to be on top of them is long gone.

Looking around, I see that it’s a circular room, with a desk at one end that has a massive window behind it. I can see it’s still night. Along the walls of the circular room are doors, which look like they haven’t been opened in years.

“Hello?” I ask to the emptiness. “Is anypony there?”

When nopony answers me, I stand up and start walking around. I go up to the huge globe’s stand and see some really intricate designs which look a lot like the grooves you would put in something powered by magic. While it’s cool, there’s nothing on it saying what it or any of this is.

Guess there’s only one way to find out. I try to power up my horn, and when I finally do, I tilt my head down and shove my horn into the slot. Nothing happens, so I try even harder, but it still doesn’t do anything. I guess it’s something meant for a grownup to power up.

“It hasn’t worked in nearly a thousand years,” a calm voice says behind me. I quickly take my horn out and turn around and see Princess Luna looking down at me.

“Princess Luna?” I ask. “Does this mean I’m dreaming?”

“Indeed it does,” she says, walking up next to me.

“I thought you only visited ponies if they were having a nightmare?”

“Technically, it is you that is the visitor in my dream tonight, child.”

How?

Probably because she’s seeing me really confused, she sits down next to me. “I pulled you into my dream so that I may meet you.”

Me? “Why do you want to meet me?”

“It has something to do with that,” she says as she points to my flank. I realize she’s probably talking about my Cutie Mark.

“What does it have to do with it?” I ask, looking down at it myself.

“Do you know what my ability to enter others’ dreams is called?” she asks, suddenly changing the subject.

I shrug. “What?”

“Dreamstriding,” she says a little proudly. “It is a rare gift only a few are ever born with; the ability to enter others’ dreams and manipulate them.” She turns to me and smiles a little. “And you’re the first one that’s been born in over a thousand years.”

“Me?” I ask. I can’t have heard right. A thousand years?

She nods. “Yes. I felt it when you were born, even though I was all the way on the moon. When I came back, I watched over you every night until I decided you were ready.” She points to my Cutie Mark again. “And then I gave you that.”

“Ready for what?”

She smiles widely. “Becoming a Dreamstrider, of course.”

“Wow,” I whisper to myself. “For real?”

“For real.”

I don’t know what to say. Is this what everypony else feels like when they get their Cutie Marks? Because it’s really weird. Like, I’m excited and really scared all at once. I always thought destiny was a word, not a real thing. But I guess this is my destiny. I’m a Dreamstrider.

“Well?” she asks, lifting one of her wings up and gesturing next to her. “Will you help rejuvenate the sentinels of the night, watching over everypony and keeping them safe? To become my personal student and study the long-forgotten art of dream magic? Aurora Borealis, will you join me to help recreate the Dreamstriders?”

“Yeah,” I say, even though I’m really nervous. I can feel my heart pounding away in my chest and my stomach jumping around. “Where is this, anyway?”

“This is where the Dreamstriders were based.” She points behind us, to the desk in front of the window. “That is where the head Dreamstrider worked. I oversaw them, but I was too busy with my duties as Princess to be able to lead all of them, so I had somepony do it for me.” She smiles and looks down at me. “It’ll be yours one day.”

“Really?” I ask excitedly.

She nods. “You are the oldest Dreamstrider currently alive, besides me of course. I will teach you, and you will help me teach and then oversee the other Dreamstriders who are too young right now.”

“And what’s that thing?” I ask, pointing at the massive globe.

“It’s an orrery,” she says, admiring it. “It was quite impressive when it worked, but sadly, it has fallen into disrepair. I have always meant to fix it, but I had no reason to before now.”

“And all the doors?” I ask as I point at the doors on the walls surrounding the orrery or whatever she called it.

“Individual quarters. Each Dreamstrider was given a place of their own for sleep, study, and relaxation. You’ll notice there are not many; the largest we ever grew was to about twenty Dreamstriders.”

“What happened to them?”

She pauses for a moment. “I transformed into Nightmare Moon, and they lost their direction.”

That’s sad. I guess I can give her some new ponies to know, though. I always hear that deep down, Princess Luna’s really lonely.

“What would I have to do to become a Dreamstrider?” I ask.

“You would have to move in with me,” she says a little sadly. “Which would mean leaving your family behind.”

“Oh.” I’m not really sure. Sure it’d be cool, but leaving everypony behind?

“I’m sure you’ll love it,” she says, becoming happier. “It’s not like you’d never see them again, and you could always write back and forth. Your parents would be upset, but I’m sure they’d understand.”

“I guess,” I shrug.

“And you’d probably go to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, as well. It never hurts to get a thorough education in magic, especially when you’ll be doing something like Dreamstriding.”

“I’m not really gifted,” I admit.

“You’ll do fine,” she says confidently. “I’ll help you if you need it, and you will only need to go for about a year or two. After that, ponies start to focus in on their special talent; yours just happens not to be taught there.”

“When will I need to come here?”

“Soon. I will come to you tomorrow, after you get home from school. I shall explain it to your parents then, and then we can start.”

“Okay,” I say nervously.

Seeing I’m kind of unsure about it, she pulls me into a hug using her wing. “You’ll enjoy it, I promise. Helping ponies when they really need it is satisfying, and you’re doing a service that everypony needs.”

“It does sound exciting,” I tell her.

“It’s fascinating,” she says, probably thinking about some of the stuff she’s done. “Our world pales in comparison to the one of dreams. I only hope that someday, I may be able to show you what I have seen.”

“So...is this place real or fake?”

“It is real,” she confirms. “Well, not where we are sitting right now. There is a place in the real world just like it; I am there now. I fell asleep in it so I may create a mirror of it in my dreams, then bring you here to show it. But of course, as this is a dream: we are only in a copy of it.”

“Cool,” I say with a smile.

“There are definitely a lot of ‘cool’ things you’ll be able to discover as a Dreamstrider,” she says, looking down at me.

“I’m kind of nervous,” I tell her.

“It’s only natural,” she smiles. “Believe it or not, I too was nervous when I began my training. It is not a magic many ponies are familiar with, and it is now one that not many know exists.”

“We know you visit us in our dreams,” I remind her.

“They do not know it is a gift,” she says with a slight shake of her head. “They believe different things, but most believe it is one of my duties as Princess of the Night, and so only I may perform it. The original Dreamstriders have faded from history, a breeze long since passed. Even some of the highest mages in Canterlot doubt their existence, as they have not been able to recreate the tales they have heard.”

“Why me, though? Why us?”

“It is a mystery I have never been able to solve,” she admits. “I have travelled far and wide in the world of dreams and poured meticulously over grimoires and magical field notes from all times and places, yet none have ever discovered the source of our gift.”

“Maybe we’ll find it together!” Wouldn’t that be cool? To find something nopony ever has before?

“I would not doubt it,” she says happily. “Every Dreamstrider brings something new to our organization, and they always discover parts of the dream world previously unseen. Perhaps you will find the part telling us of our origin?”

When the room starts to light up a little bit, she turns back to look at the window. I look back as well and can see the sun starting to poke over the horizon.

“Alas, it is time for us to part ways,” she says while hanging her head. “I will come to your house this evening.” She looks at the sun, then squints at it. “You’ll probably be waking up right...about…”

The world turns pitch black as I can feel my sheets around me again and hear my alarm clock going off.

---

“Aurora!” Cressie elbows me in the ribs pretty hard, like she normally does. That probably means she’s been trying to catch my attention and just hadn’t yet.

“Hm?” I lift my head off my desk and look around; everypony’s putting their saddlebags on their backs and walking out, so I guess school’s over for today.

“What’s with you today?” she asks. “You’re acting really weird.”

“Sorry, I just…” I’ve got to think of a lie. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Oh. Okay!” She quickly puts her bags on, then nudges me and tries to get me to move faster.

“Cressie, why don’t you go wait outside for Aurora?” Miss Sunbeam says as she walks up to the both of us. “I’d just like to talk with her for a little bit.” Cressie nods, then trots out of the room.

Uh oh. She’s going to get mad at me for not paying attention today, isn’t she?

“Is everything alright?” she asks, actually sounding concerned.

I look up at her, and she’s looking down at me with worry on her face. “Everything’s fine,” I say.

“You just didn’t seem very engaged today,” she says, sitting down in the space between the rows of desks. “I remember your parents telling me you liked school when I met with them before school started. Are we just not learning anything you find interesting?”

“I didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all.” I figure I should keep my story straight.

“Well, hopefully you’ll sleep better tonight,” she says, putting a hoof on my shoulder before getting up, picking up my bags in her teeth, and placing them on my back for me.

I start thinking about the Dreamstriders again, and how Princess Luna said nopony really knew much about them. Miss Sunbeam seems smart; she probably knows something. “Miss Sunbeam?” I ask.

“Yes?” she asks back.

“Have you ever heard of the Dreamstriders?”

“Dreamstriders,” she whispers to herself. “No, I can’t say I have. How come?”

“Oh. I, uhh...read about them in a book last night. It said very few ponies knew they existed, and I was wondering if you ever heard of them.”

“They sound interesting,” she smiles. “We do a research project later in the year, where you choose a topic you like, learn about it, and then present it to the class. You could do yours on them, if you’d like.”

“Okay.” Now I feel kind of bad; I think I like her. And I think she likes me. She seems like she would’ve been a good teacher. I wish I wouldn’t have to leave her.

“I won’t keep you,” she says as she goes back to her desk. “I don’t want you getting home late and having your parents worry about you.”

I turn around and head out of the classroom and then out of the school, where Cressie is pacing back and forth. There are still some ponies waiting, mostly young ones who need their parents to come walk them home. “There you are!” she exclaims when I walk up to her.

“Sorry about that,” I blush as we start walking home.

“What was that all about?” she asks.

“Oh. That? Nothing.”

“As long as I’m not late getting home,” she says. “Remember that time we hid in the bushes to jump out and surprise Grapevine and Snowflake? I got grounded for getting home so late!”

“I remember that,” I laugh. “And we completely missed them and waited for what seemed like forever?”

“That was three years ago,” she laughs. “Can you believe it? Three years ago! That was so long ago!” Wow, she’s right. Can’t believe it was that long ago.

After giggling over the Bush Incident, as we’ve come to call it, we just go back to walking in silence. I look over at her, and she’s just staring up at the sky, a big smile on her face.

Should I ask her? She’s an earth pony, she probably doesn’t know anything about magic. Nopony ever does, it’s hard being a unicorn in a town of earth ponies. And besides, Miss Sunbeam didn’t even know anything.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” The words seem to have just slipped right out of my mouth, without me telling them to. I guess I am asking her.

“Sure!” She stops looking at the sky and turns to look at me.

“Have you ever heard of Dreamstriders?”

“Nope!” She then goes right back to looking at the sky, without asking me about them or anything. She does that sometimes. Lots of ponies find it annoying, but I don’t. I guess that’s why we’re friends.

We finish walking the rest of the way home in silence. I’ll miss her when I start training with Princess Luna. I wish she didn’t say that I have to move. I don’t know anypony in Canterlot, besides Princess Luna now I guess.

I wonder what ponies in Canterlot are like. I’ll be able to meet some of them at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Mom and dad said sometimes unicorns in other places can be kind of uptight and look down on others, so I’m kind of nervous. I guess there’s nothing I can do but be nervous, though.

---

I keep looking at my clock every few seconds. It’s hardly changed from the last time I looked at it. I try to read my book again, but when I get only a few sentences in, I lose my concentration and check the clock again. Did I just dream all of that?

I bet I did. The Dreamstriders, being the only pony who can help Princess Luna, it’s too good to be true.

But I can’t get rid of the feeling. It felt real last night, and I’ve never had a real-feeling dream before. I feel like it really was real.

There are a few soft knocks at my door. “Aurora?” mom asks, her voice kind of shaky. “Would you come downstairs for a few moments?”

Princess Luna did say she’d come tonight...could it be? Either way, I guess I’ll find out. I jump off my bed and walk to the door. When I open it, mom’s looking down at me like she’s worrying about something.

Without saying anything, she steps aside and lets me walk down the stairs first. When I get downstairs, Princess Luna is sitting at the table, looking at me. Dad’s across from her, and he turns around and looks at me.

“Good to see you again, Aurora Borealis,” Princess Luna says with a smile.

Mom and dad both look at me, their mouths wide open. “She knows you?” dad asks.

“I visited your daughter in her dreams last night,” she tells them. “Sit down, won’t you?”

They both sit down at the table across from her, and I sit between them. “Why are you here?” dad asks her.

“Your daughter was born with a unique ability,” she says as she looks at me. “She was born a Dreamstrider.”

“‘Dreamstrider’?” he asks back.

“You know that I can enter and manipulate the dreams of other ponies,” she starts to explain. “And your daughter shares that ability with me.”

“How did this happen?” mom asks.

“Nopony knows,” she responds while shaking her head. “But she was born with this ability, one that cannot be learned.”

“Why are you telling us this?” dad asks as he puts a hoof around me. I think he knows why, but he doesn’t want to admit it.

“Dream magic is a long-lost school of magic.” She pauses for a few seconds. “I am the only one that knows the discipline. So, in order to help Aurora reach her full potential and realize her special talent, I will need to take her to Canterlot so she may study magic with me.”

I can feel dad hug me tighter. “Does she have to?” he asks.

Princess Luna nods her head. “She’ll be able to come back during the holidays, and you could up and visit her anytime.” She smiles a little. “I wouldn’t ask you two to give up your daughter forever.”

Mom and dad look at each other, then down at me. “Do you want to?” mom asks.

I really want to, but it sounds like it would really make mom and dad upset. But if this is my special talent, do I even have a choice? I can’t just ignore it. This is tough.

“I’ll do it,” I say after thinking over it for a little bit. I guess it would be fun to learn dream magic, even if it means having to leave everypony behind. And Princess Luna was right; it’s not like I have to leave them forever. Just for a little bit. All my cousins and aunts and uncles live far away, and I still get to see them. It’ll be just like that, yeah.

“We can help you pack,” mom says, looking down at me.

“I will wait.” Princess Luna smiles. “Take as long as you need.”

We get up and walk upstairs, then dad says he’ll get a suitcase and goes to their room while mom follows me into mine. While I pick up my book and clock and place them on the bed, mom goes to my dresser and starts pulling some stuff out, mostly my winter clothes.

“You excited?” she asks as she places my scarves on the bed.

“Yeah,” I say, though I’m kind of unsure.

“Nervous?”

“Yeah.” This time, I’m much less unsure about my answer.

“It’s okay to be,” she says, coming to me and putting a hoof on my shoulder. “I remember when I moved away to college; I was nervous, too. It’s a big step in your life, and you’ll be able to live somewhere completely new, meeting all sorts of ponies and having all sorts of experiences we never will.”

We’re pretty silent for the rest of the time we’re packing, including when dad comes in and help us. I guess they don’t really want to talk about it.

When we’re finished and have about two suitcases full of winter clothes, books, things like my toothbrush and hairbrush, and stuff like pictures to remind me of home, I look around the room, which is now kind of empty. Some of my stuff is still here, but it’s still weird to see my room so empty.

“Looks like that’s it,” mom says as she looks around. “I’ll go tell Snowy and Dew Drop what’s going on. We’ll meet you downstairs.”

When she leaves, dad looks at me, then gets down and hugs me. “I’m going to really miss you,” he says, trying to hide his crying.

I hug him back. “I’ll miss you, too.” Now I have to try to not cry. I’ve never lived without dad before, so it’s going to be weird in Canterlot. And not just him, I guess. Mom, Snowy, and Dew Drop have also always been there for me. And now, none of them will be. I always knew Snowy and Dew Drop would go to college and move away, but it was going to be a really long time before I did. I never really thought about living without mom and dad. It always seemed like that would be something I’d deal with in the future.

We just hug for a little bit, then he stands up and walks to the door. “They’re probably waiting downstairs for us, we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

I walk next to him, and we go downstairs together. When we get down, mom is waiting for us, and Snowy and Dew Drop can’t seem to stop looking at Princess Luna. As soon as mom sees me, she runs up and gets me in a big hug.

“I’m going to really miss you,” she says, tears starting to roll down her cheek.

“I’ll miss you too.” Now I can feel the tears starting to come. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she says, tightening the hug. She hugs me for a little while longer before releasing me, and Snowy comes up and hugs me next.

“Love you, Aurora,” she says as she squeezes me tight. I can still smell her perfume on her. It always reminds me of her when I smell it.

“I love you, too,” I say back. Her perfume’s in my mouth, now. That part I won’t miss.

When she gets up, Dew Drop walks over to me and hugs me. She smells like her flowery shampoo, which is really nice in her mane but almost overpowers our bathroom every morning. “Be sure to write to us, okay?” she asks, her voice kind of shaky.

“Don’t worry. I will.”

She continues hugging me, and eventually, they all get down and join in for a group hug. I can barely see through all the forelegs, but I think Princess Luna is smiling at us.

After a few minutes, they start peeling off me until it’s just me, sitting on the floor with a few tears in my eyes. I get up and walk over to Princess Luna, who looks at my family warmly.

“Thank you for letting me teach her,” she says. “I know this cannot be easy on you.”

“We always said we’d support her,” mom says, wiping her eyes. “And if this is what she needs to do, then we’ll let her do it.”

Princess Luna smiles at her, then looks back down at me. “We must leave,” she says, walking to the door. “You all may come and see her off, if you wish.”

They all follow us outside, mom and dad each carrying one of my suitcases in my magic. When we see Princess Luna’s chariot the color of the night sky, two dark gray bat ponies attached to it, we all kind of stare at it.

Now in Princess Luna’s magic, my suitcases fly over my head to the chariot. “Are you ready to come to Canterlot with me?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I say weakly. I turn around to my family, who are all also trying to hold back some tears. “I-I’ll miss you. I love you all.”

Mom walks up to me, wiping the tears off my face before kissing me on the forehead. “We love you, too. Now go be the best pony you can be.”

I smile, then get onto Princess Luna’s chariot. The bat ponies raise their wings and start running, preparing to take off. Soon, we’re in the air over Coltlumbus. I look out over the side, seeing all the houses I knew shrink down to the size of ants.

“I know it must be hard leaving your family behind,” Princess Luna says, putting a hoof around me.

“Yeah,” I admit, looking down at my hooves.

“I will be there for you,” she says warmly. “I know I’m not your father or your mother or one of your sisters, but I hope you’ll come to be able to trust and confide in me.” She pauses for a few seconds, then sighs softly. “I understand loneliness better than perhaps anypony in Equestria. So if you ever need me, please remember that I likely know what you must be feeling.”

“Thanks.” I look over the side again, and Coltlumbus is gone, replaced by a huge, dark field with nothing in it. I’m excited, but nervous and scared at the same time.

Comments

[Grekoy]

I'm beginning to like this. If you are still interested in the Star Guard fanfic just enter star guard in the search bar and enter adventure/romance genre.

[VcSaJen]

She points to my Cutie Mark again. “And then I gave you that.”

Um, no? Princesses can't grant Cutie Marks, nor force it to appear early.