Luna woke late in the afternoon, just in time for a late lunch with Celestia. They had agreed upon this arrangement, the one meal that they could reasonably appreciate together without being too irritable. However, Luna’s mind drifted off to Braeburn. She had a student, her first one in a very long time. And then there were these feelings… Luna sighed. She knew that it shouldn’t go anywhere, and remembered how badly last time went. She looked at her sister, and debated. She could probably talk with Celestia about this, seeing as she knew how it was like, but she was unsure how to broach the subject. However, it seemed that she wouldn’t have to as Celestia decided to first. “So I hear you have a student, Luna. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised about it. Seeing what happened with the last one…” A bit of anger leapt upon Luna’s face, but Celestia quickly backtracked. “Ah, right. Sometimes I forget how sensitive you are about the subject. My bad, Luna. But you can’t really blame my concern. I can tell by your demeanor that you’re bothered about him.”
Luna sighed. It would be surprising to somepony else how well Celestia could read emotions, but not to Luna. Honestly, it would’ve been more surprising if she couldn’t. After all, they were sisters. Luna looked up into Celestia’s eyes. “I know it went poorly with Sombra. It still hurts, sometimes.” she let out a small dry chuckle. “You must think me a fool to try again, especially with a male student.”
However, Celestia shook her head. “Not really, Luna. You’ve learned from your past, and I trust you that it won’t end the same way. If it goes beyond a teacher/student relationship?” A mischievous, albeit jealous look crept onto her face. “Well, I’ll support you in that, no matter what.”
A blush heated Luna’s face, and she shook her head. “I don’t intend for it to go that far. He’s just my student for now. It’s probably best that I keep it professional.”
Celestia’s face drooped with concern. “I know you’re worried about getting… involved… with your student. But don’t make my mistake! I missed my chance with Starswirl, and I’ve regretted it every day since! If you don’t take a chance, you’ll just end up kicking yourself for it later.”
Celestia had a point, she supposed. But Luna wasn’t sure she was ready for a romantic relationship. She got up from the table, and sighed. “I promise to… think about it.”
Celestia beamed and smiled. “That’s all that I can ask, sis. Trust me, if you go for it… you won’t regret it.”
Night had fallen, and it was almost time for her to give Braeburn his lesson. She was nervous. She hadn’t taught anyone in over a thousand years, so that was only natural. But that wasn't the only issue. She had felt these jitters only once before, when she was considering getting serious about Sombra back in the day. She shook the feeling away, and tried to focus. She had a responsibility as his teacher, anything else was secondary. Steeling herself, Luna flew delved into the dreamscape. Now that she recognized his Dream Signature, it wasn’t very hard to find Braeburn’s dream. Locking on, she shot off towards it without a second thought.
Upon entering the dream, she noticed something different from before. The scene wasn’t of the picnic under one of the trees of an Apple Orchard this time. This time, she arrived at s sprawling plain on a calm summer morning. She saw a building in the distance, and she started to drift towards it. The closer she got to the structure, the more detailed it became. It was constructed of marble and obsidian, striped in an ever-repeating pattern. Upon closer inspection, it had large doors- sizeable enough to fit an adolescent dragon. She noticed stained glass windows decorating the perimeter about a fetlock length up the wall. The patterns of the windows were of an Apple Orchard, but Luna supposed that was to be expected. She soon touched down outside the impressive structure. Mayhaps she didn’t really need to teach Braeburn much if he could already conjure something like this in his dreams. She then called out to him. “Braeburn? I’ve come for your lessons.”
It wasn’t much longer before Braeburn showed up. As he did, the building started to peel away into dust. Once he was close enough to talk, he apologized. Sorry ‘bout startin’ without ya, I just got a mite carried away.”
As Braeburn rubbed the back of his head bashfully, Luna let a smirk light upon her face. “It’s quite alright, Braeburn. I find it admirable that you were able to make something like that without instruction. It’s a good way to gauge how much you need to be taught to reach your potential.” She then sat nearby and started to focus. “Now, allow me to show you how I do it, and then I’ll ask you to replicate it. Are you ready?” After Braeburn nodded, Luna made a sweeping gesture with her hoof. The whole landscape changed and shifted around them. The plains started to shed grass and the ground was painted into an orange-brown color. A river was etched into the land, and it started to ravage the land. Luna then made it as if the time had lapsed forward a century or so, and the river had already carved a decently sized canyon. It was nowhere near as impressive as the canyons she had seen before, but she felt this was a good start. She then swept her hoof in the other direction, and the changes she made reverted.
She looked at Braeburn. “Alright, now your turn. Take your time- emulating erosion is pretty complicated for a beginner, but I see great potential in you. Give it a shot.”
Braeburn took a deep breath, and focused as hard as he could. He would do his best.
To be continued…