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

"I can't believe it... my own daughter, is going to be the next Dream Beauty!" My mother had exclaimed, upon finding out about my selection as Dream Gleamer's replacement. "Twilight, I cannot tell you about how absolutely proud of you I am!" 

My mother and the queen had taken me aside after my selection, to congratulate me on my new position.  Both were talking to each other, as much as they were talking to me. 

"Your daughter has a lot of responsibility she is taking on, and is facing a burden that none other in this castle can even begin to comprehend." She turned away from my mother to face me. "Are you certain you will be able to handle this task, young one?" 

After several minutes of thinking, I looked back up at both of them to answer that question.

"I do not know, if I shall succeed or fail, my queen." I told them, holding my head high. "I only know that I shall try my very best."

Sigh... If only I knew what I was willingly getting myself into.

.....

"And so we begin." Dream Gleamer warned me, thew weariness in her eyes evident. "These are the duties you must perform, and how you are to go about performing them."

"Yes, my lady." I nodded obediently. "I am ready and willing to receive your wisdom."

The two of us are in the tower room of Dream Castle's western turret; a room the queen had set aside for my training, as well as my Dream Walking work. The starlight Lantern rested on the table before us, and as we gazed into it's ever-changing light, Gleamer began to explain the history and traditions of the Dream Beauties. 

"Our order goes back to the first six mares of Ponykind, when the nightmares first plagued  the earliest equine." My teacher tells me. "The nightmares grew worse and worse, ponydom's dreams poisoned by the corruption of shadowy spirits who haunted their dreams. When the terror grew too much for those earliest ponies to handle, a mare named Stardazzle stepped forward, taking on the duty of combating the nightmares as her own." 

"So, she became the first Dream Beauty, sacrificing her own ability to dream happy dreams?" I asked in awe. "That was a very heroic thing to do, sacrificing her own good night's sleep, to aid her fellow ponies."

"Indeed, those of us Dream Beauties who came after her- Crystalline, Windsweeper, Skysplasher, Mayfair, and Circle Dancer-  have tried to live up to that yellow earth pony with a pink mane's legacy."

"And now that job is passing on to me." I sighed, shaking my head. "All right, no pressure... what do I have to do in order to dream walk?" 

"Stare into the lantern's flame...concentrate your thoughts onto the dreams of others." Gleamer told me, as we both set down in a meditative position. "Then, allow yourself to fall into slumber. Let the lantern be your guide to the dreams of other equines."

I sat there and meditated, concentrating on the flames, and let my mind drift as I slowly closed my eyes. As I slipped off into slumber, I found  myself outside of my own body, and looking down and staring at my own unconscious form. 

"Wow.... is that me.... asleep?" I asked in disbelief. Looking down, I stared at my own translucent hooves in shock. "This is so surreal..."

"Follow me, there is much we have to do." Gleamer told me wearily. "Follow me, and I think we'll start with a simple dream of a little thirteen-year-old filly."  

The two of us pulled away and traveled through an eerie realm of stars and clouds. It felt just like a normal dream, but I was aware I was asleep, and in full control of my actions. 

We found ourselves standing over a white Pegasus with a multicolored mane, and a paint brush cutie mark. The terrified little filly tossed and turned in her sleep, moaning and crying to herself.

"No no, keep away!" She muttered, rolling over again. "Somebody help, don't let them get me!"

"Oh no, it's sounds like she's having a terrible nightmare!" I panicked, looking to the older mare. "Dream Gleamer, what do we do?"

"Stay with me now." She replied simply, as she put a spectral hoof on the filly's forehead. "Just do what I do, and watch carefully."

I put my hoof and the little Pegasus's head, and we were both transported into the filly's dream. Inside, we found her being chased down a long, dark cave by three hungry goblins with spears. The little filly came to a dead end, and only stared back at the monsters in terror.

"Little pony has no wear to go, and looks really tasty." The lead goblin snarled, raising his spear. "Now we cook her up, and make her into a tasty snack!"

"No, no! Stop!" the little filly pleaded, raising her hooves, and preparing for the end. "I don't wanna be some goblins dinner!"

"BEGONE, FOUL CREATURES!"  Dream Gleamer yelled, her eyes glowing in anger, and firing out a white hot light that disintegrated the goblins, and made the cave vanish. "Trouble this child no more, and let her slumber be a peaceful one!"

Everything went to black around us, and the little filly is left in the darkness, sobbing. 

"And now, to give her a more pleasant dream." My new mentor told me. "Watch and learn, my little apprentice."

Dream Gleamer's eyes glowed again, and and beautiful green meadow appeared all around us. Flowers were blooming everywhere, and a  pretty little waterfall trickled it's way down a nearby mountain. Looking up to see the beautiful blue sky, and the sun shining overhead, the little filly began to calm down. 

"Oh, this... this is pretty nice." The Pegasus muttered softly, adjusting her glasses with her hoof. "I wonder what happened to all of the monsters, though?"

"It's really simple, Twilight Shine.... simply vaporize their nightmares, and create a more pleasant dream for them." Gleamer, told me, as I looked down at the filly who obviously couldn't see our hear us. "Now, create a dream, with the power of your will alone. Imagine what would make this dream better for this little filly, and make it a reality in her dream."

I thought for a minute, what would I really enjoy in a dream like this? With a smile, I make my horn glow, and a colt about her age- one of the cute members of the boy band, maneudo- appeared beside her.

"Oh, oh my!" The little filly blushed, her face turning a deep red. "Who are you, what are you doing here?"

"Hello, Seniorita." The handsome little colt with the black mane replied, staring into her with his deep, haunting brown eyes. "And I am here for you."

"Twilight!" Dream Gleamer scolded me. "You are supposed to create what the dreamer desires, not what you desire!"

"Sorry, but I thought she'd enjoy this, she's a filly the same age as me!" I protested, as the musician colt nuzzled the filly. "Besides, Maneudo is Ponyland's cutest new colt-boy band of 1973!"

"Come on, let's get out of here." She grumbled, as the two of us trotted out of the little filly dream. "We have a lot more dreamers to visit, and though the lantern's magic makes the night endless for us, we shouldn't waste too much time here."

I quietly followed after her, but as I looked back at the sleeping filly, I notice her smiling, blushing and giggling in her sleep. As I trotted out of the room after my teacher, I became convinced I had made the right call.

If only all of my dream walking judgement calls had been so crystal clear.

We continued on that night, with Dream Gleamer showing me how to clear more nightmares away, and put happy dreams in their place. Thanks to the power of the lantern, we have an infinite amount of time to complete our task. And as we walk into more dreams, it feels more... natural. And I start to think that everybody was wrong, and this job wouldn't be so hard at all.

Boy oh Boy, I could not have been more wrong about that.