//------------------------------// // Winter Relationships // Story: Agate's Vigil // by Wingnut //------------------------------// Dream Step's meditations and inspiration finally culminated into a revelation a couple weeks later. Agate was with her, and they were visiting the sea shore once more. The young shamare took to standing in the waves again, feeling the water splashing against her and trying to push her over as she held firmly in the shallows. It began slowly. A large wave smashed against her chest, making her stumble and fall. Going down, she quickly surfaced, spitting and shaking the water out of her eyes. Moving back to shore, she began smiling, which turned into chuckling, and then - into laugher, getting progressively louder and unhinged. "AHAHAHAAAHAHHAHAH! I GET IT NOW! I UNDERSTAND! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAH!" "You get... What now?" Agate inquired, mildly concerned for her student. "MAGIC! DREAMS! WAVES! THE FLOWS AND EBBS, THE CURRENTS AND THE WAVES!!! AHAHAH!" Dream Step yelled, rolling in the sand. "You sound like you went insane." "I think I did! Haha!" She laughed, though a little quieter. "You don't sound all that unhappy about it though. I remember you being concerned when I told you how Dreamcatcher used to be." "Well, you didn't tell me just how fun being crazy is!" "Alright, Dream Step, gather yourself. Yes, some mystic revelations can make shamares a little unhinged, but that depends entirely upon you. Control yourself," She said firmly, tapping Dream Step on the forehead. "Nope!" She yelled, surging to her hooves and trotting around the beach while gesticulating manically. "You don't get it! That's why it never worked! It's not about control! Dreams are madness! Dreams are chaos! Dreams are the sea! The magic sea, splashing onto the shores of our skulls as we sleep, carrying off our spirits into places unknown! The great Breath, the sea of magic, whatever you call it! You can't put it into orderly runes and enchantments! You can't contain it! That kills the entire magic! You need to let it go, make it flow!" "So... Does that mean you understand how to make dreamcatchers work now?" Agate asked, gently nudging her student back to some form of rationality. "I..." Dream Step's eyes went wide, as if experiencing the entire revelation a second time. "Yes! YES! The currents, they sometimes carry something foul, something a foal shouldn't have to ever see! Like befouled water in a stagnant puddle! But the weave catches it, and then the Sun purges it with glorious fire, and then - fun! Oh yes!" "Wait, what was that about purging with fire - and she's gone," Agate chuckled as she began to gallop after Dream Step. The madly grinning mare stopped shouting, though her expression was still something that could cause concern in the average pony, especially if they knew that she was a shamare. Which they did, politely getting out of her way as they heard her coming, not wanting to get tangled up in whatever shamaric business she was engaged in. Agate followed her to Sea Gale's house, where Dream Step barged into her corner of the workshop, panting from exhaustion and still damp and sandy from her dip in the sea. Disregarding everything, she immediately began working on an incomplete dreamcatcher that she had left there some time before, her manic glee turning into absolute focus as she wove the threads together, muttering something all the while. Agate observed her for a few minutes before shrugging and cantering off. She could see and feel that Dream Step was performing magic of some kind and channeling it into the dreamcatcher, but she couldn't quite figure it out. She accepted a long time ago that her dream magic was always going to be relatively rudimentary compared to someone with innate talent, and she left her student to do her thing. "Had some kind of flash of inspiration, did she?" A teenaged mare asked casually, passing by into a different room. "She did, yes. You don't seem surprised in the slightest," Agate confirmed. "Pfft. Nah, we're used to this kind of stuff here," The mare laughed. "You should see what it's like when the family's all here and the house is full of shamares. Or when we have more than one journeying shamare. Getting woken up by some crazy howling spirit a neophyte shamare called on by accident loses the shock value after the first few times. Or screams from the shamares. Or mad laughter." "Wow, uh... That doesn't sound like most shamares I know," Agate said, rubbing her chin. "How many students did you have so far?" "None. Dream Step's the first." "There you go, then. If you've been hanging only around elders, then yes, they're fully in control. Just like all other ponies, like a young craftspony making a spear for the first time and finding that it's crooked or something similar, young shamares also have some oopsies now and then. Except theirs are a bit more... Wild, would be the word, I think. Grandma Gale knows how to deal with them, though. Taught us some stuff, too." "Yeah? Like what?" "Whack the shamare on the head with a big spoon. Brings them back from whatever vision they're lost in and really makes them focus on the here and now," The mare proudly explained with a grin. "I'll... Keep that in mind, though I won't be able to use that myself," Agate said with a smile. "What about the mad laughter and the, hm..." "Unhinged attitude? That goes away, I think. Grandma described it like staring at the most maddening, convoluted and unsolvable puzzle for a decade, until finally, the whole thing suddenly just makes sense. I'm not a shamare myself, but I imagine I'd laugh from relief or joy too, if that was the case." "I see. Thank you for your help." "You're welcome. Talk to grandma if there's any weird problems with Dream Step, she should be able to straighten her out." "Will do." ❅ ❆ ❅ Eventually, Dream Step's supernatural elation ran out, and the salty, sandy, tired mare slowly and grumpily cantered from the workshop to the kitchen. It was a little while after dinner, so the room was mostly empty, save for a few stragglers and Sea Gale, who was waiting for the traveler shamare with Agate. Raising her head from the cup of tea she was nursing, the elder sniffed the air. "You smell like the sea. And sweat. I'm assuming you didn't wash all that often while following your visions. You'll probably need a dip in the river." "A big one, yes," Dream Step nodded. "At least I won't need to do that again." "Oh? Finished with your revelations from the sea? A bit unusual, that, by the way. I don't recall shamares other than the watersingers to gain insight from the waves. Did you make any friends in the water?" "Nope. Not what I was looking for," Dream Step shook her head, looking through the pantry and the remaining pots for leftovers. "And what is it that you were looking for, if you can put it in words?" "Understanding. Of magic, dreams and their structure. I understand now, though. There is no structure. Like the sea. Dreams are huge, like the sea. But also, the sea is both bigger than mountains and unmoving, and yet, it is most definitely not structured. It stays in one place, yet it's also... Undulating, shifting, moving all the time. I was afraid, you know. For a long time," She sighed, retrieving a bowl and ladling some mushroom stew for herself. "Of what, youngling? Of a dark future you might see in your visions?" Sea Gale asked, her voice quiet. "Not what I could see, but what seeing would make me become. Agate... Told me about the last dreamwalker that she knew. As I understood it, Dreamcatcher was... Not in full control of her powers, even after many years. I thought I could be different. Force order into it. But... That is clearly not possible. If I want to make use of my skills, I guess I'll just have to... Learn to swim in the currents of the dream world. Metaphorically," Dream Step shrugged, sitting down and eating. "Many have sought to master their surroundings, young traveler, with disastrous consequences. Time and time again, ponies have learned that the only thing you can truly master is yourself. True mastery comes from within. Grow strong and stand firm, and no currents, dream or otherwise, will be able to drag you to where you do not wish to go," The elder spoke firmly, with the experience of decades adding weight to her words. That made Dream Step put her spoon down for a moment, raising her eyes to look in Sea Gale's. After a long minute, she slowly nodded, getting a small smile and a nod back from the elder. Going back to her plate, she resumed eating, silence falling across the room. The heavy parts of the conversation seemed to be over and done with. While Agate had questions, she waited until her student was done eating. As she reclined and rubbed her belly in contentment, Agate went ahead with a less dramatic, but still important inquiry. "So, does this mean that you finally managed to create a working dreamcatcher?" "I... Think so," Dream Step replied uncertainly, wrinkling her muzzle in thought. "I touched it, felt it, tasted it. With dream magic, intent and function matters far more than form. I think it works. It feels like it works. But... This is a bit harder to test than a spell charm. I actually need to find a pony that's having nightmares, hang it up in their room, and then hope that it's actually the dreamcatcher that's doing it and not the nightmares just going away. Hrm..." "I'm sure you can think of a way to know for certain." "Probably," Dream Step shrugged, to which Sea Gale raised an eyebrow. "I'm certain you'll find no shortage of willing volunteers. It's not like there's a chance of it malfunctioning and giving a pony nightmares or anything of the sort, is there?" "Absolutely not," Dream Step scoffed. "The worst that could happen is that it doesn't work." "Sounds like you need to talk to some ponies, then. Spread the word." "Tomorrow," Dream Step groaned. "After a good sleep. And a dip in the river." "Good, the smell might put ponies off. Then again, they might be more lenient on a shamare. We're known to be odd," Sea Gale nodded. ❅ ❆ ❅ The next day, the student and teacher decided to split up. While Dream Step went to sort out her hygiene problems, Agate trotted around the village, talking to ponies. When darkness began to blanket the village and the tasks of the day were done, she sat down for another storytelling session with the locals, though this time, she added something new. "Now, I'm going to tell you about a pony you probably haven't heard about. Her name was Dreamcatcher, and she was a southerner shamare of some renown..." When she was finished, Agate had a fairly sizeable group interested in acquiring a dreamcatcher or two for their foals. The particulars of Dream Step's presence and talent already made their rounds through their village, and it didn't take long for the listeners to add two and two together. At first, they assumed that the young shamare would need some kind of help in her quest, but were happy to know that she actually already cracked the mystery of their manufacture. Dream Step herself, meanwhile, sequestered herself in the workshop, doing her best to make as many dreamcatchers as fast as possible, though without sacrificing anything in quality. Sea Gale and a few of her mystically or artistically inclined siblings helped, making the frames and basic parts according to Dream Step's instructions as she worked on the finishing touches and enchantments. It wasn't easy, of course, given that she only really acquired her understanding the day before, and she was working with ponies that were completely unfamiliar with what she was trying to teach them. There were mishaps and failures, and at the end of the day, they only had half a dozen dreamcatchers that Dream Step judged to be adequate. "Don't judge yourself so harshly, youngling," Sea Gale rolled her eyes at Dream Step's sour expression. "This is a massive achievement already, and six items in a day is quite the feat. Enchanting is not like boiling a pot of soup, you can't just toss a bunch of stuff in, pour some heat into it, and dish out plate after plate. Each and every thing needs to be made individually, with meticulous care." "Right, right. Us younglings need to learn patience." "Precisely." "Ugh. I'd rather learn how to be faster." "I'm sure you will, in time. Until then... Patience." "Bleh. Let's just see how many ponies Agate brought in. Hope they won't be too disappointed." "Oh, I'll set them straight if they dare to heckle you," Sea Gale chuckled, but Dream Step could hear the steel behind that threat. Getting up and dusting themselves off, they made their way out of the workshop and towards the front entrance. Fortunately for them, the crowd was actually quite small. Agate figured that Dream Step couldn't have made all that many dreamcatchers, and acted accordingly, whittling down the interested ponies to the ones with claims of the worst night terrors afflicting their foals. "Hey, Dream Step. Got your ponies," Agate nodded towards her student. "Good. Greetings, everyone. As you already heard, my name is Dream Step. I am a... Journeying dreamwalker of no renown, though if this works, that might change soon. Come inside, and if you don't mind, tell me a little about why you came here tonight." Naturally, guests in Sea Gale's home couldn't just turn up for business and leave just like that, oh no. The hospitable shamare would not have it. Accepting their fates with wry grins and barely noticeable rolls of their eyes, the dozen-odd ponies shuffled into the dining room, sitting down for a sizeable dinner. In between bites, a few of them shared little bits of what was happening in their homes. "...And he can't remember anything afterwards. Anything at all. He doesn't even scream in fear. He just wakes up, without so much as a sound, and sits there, utterly gripped by a sense of profound terror, and he can't explain even the tiniest bit of what stalks his dreams. He's perfectly fine during the day, but every few nights, it happens again," A grizzled hunter explained, his frustrated expression clearly conveying how much he'd like to find and put down whatever the dream stalker was. "She wakes up crying, with tales about getting dragged off. There's no monsters or beasts, just some kind of invisible force dragging her around as she helplessly scrabbles, finding no purchase with her hooves. Sometimes it's the forest, sometimes - the depths of the sea. She's not afraid to go out either, but it's almost like there's something that's trying to make her afraid," A tired mare with baggy eyes sighed. "My son says he keeps having recurring dreams about wandering through some kind of nightmarish version of Sandy Shell. There's not a single pony around, and everything is twisted, broken, or destroyed in some way, and he has to avoid shadowy of monsters as he tries to make it home, only to find it likewise ruined. Given the sheer impossibility of the things he describes, we're quite certain that they're not prophetic visions. Just nightmares that need getting rid of," A young stallion shrugged. Dream Step heard them all out, nodding occasionally, but not saying much. She was deep in thought, paying especially close attention to the stories like the young stallion's, ones that might have indicated a deeper, mystical connection to the dream realm, like hers. Agate knew that she would have liked to find more dreamwalkers, but the chances were slim, and it didn't sound like any of the foals had the gift. "Alright, well... If you're expecting me to offer some kind of insight or meaning, then I'm afraid I have none," She finally spoke. "Dreams are hard to understand even for the ponies that dreamt them, let alone others. And remember, I'm both still new at this, and knowledge in this field is quite hard to come by." "Regardless whether you understand or not, you claim you can do something about it, yes?" The hunter asked. "I believe so, yes," Dream Step nodded. "Then that's more than enough for me," He shrugged. "Right. Mind you, I think they will work. I make no promises. I think I understand the principles behind them, and I think I managed to recreate them correctly, but that's all there is so far. Thinking. I need solid proof." "Yes yes, the traveler spirit already filled us in, and you said you are new to this yourself. Nothing to do now but try." "Right, sorry, I'm a little nervous. I'll just... Be right back," Dream Step nodded, getting up and trotting off to the workshop. The ponies cleaned up the table and set the plates aside, waiting for Dream Step to come back. A few minutes later, she returned with a makeshift tray on her back. Taking the piece of wood, she set it down on the table, the visitors curiously leaning in as she gently picked up one of the dreamcatchers. "There it is. Hang them up over the beds of your children." "Hmm... Like a spiderweb," A mare muttered, picking one up herself. "Yes, exactly. To catch all the nasty stuff that's bothering your foals." "And will these really catch whatever spirits are bothering our foals?" "Uh... Well..." Dream Step hummed, tapping her chin. "I'm not entirely sure it's the fault of spirits." "That's not what my elders told me," A stallion spoke up, the other ponies murmuring in agreement. "Elders can be wrong," Dream Step shrugged. "I saw the magic, the swirling mess that is the dream world. I'm not saying that spirits can't be the cause of dreams. But... It's not just all spirits. It is like the sea, with swirling currents, swells and eddies. And sometimes, a chunk of something foul and rotten gets picked up by the current, getting dragged into the greater mass. Even as foals, ponies are strong and alert when we're awake, their spirits focused and active. But when we sleep, there's next to nothing tying us down any more. We become little more than branches, floating in the sea of dreams, getting swept away by the currents to spirits know where. And if the current carries something nasty..." "It is more like a poison than an attack, then?" The hunter asked. "Something like it. Again, not in every case. I talked to a great many shamares already, and though they knew little of dream magic, I learned plenty about other things, such as spirits. You know that just about everything has a spirit, from the wind to the stones, faint as some are. Some are both ancient and very powerful, though that does not mean that they are smart. A spirit can be as old as the world, and be as dumb as a rock - literally." "How is this related to nightmares, though?" "Well, as I've been told, some shamares think that talking to spirits can make them smarter. Introduce them to thoughts and ideas they never considered, same as you do with foals. For example, there's a consensus amongst shamares that there were no trickster spirits in the north until ponies arrived, and taught some spirits about the concepts of humor and fun, especially pranks or jokes." "Yes, and though the first shamares that taught the spirits that are long gone, their legacy remains," Sea Gale scoffed. "Once in my youth, as I was trotting around in silence and honing my spiritual senses, I heard mysterious whispers beckoning me forward. I was excited to receive my first piece of spirit wisdom, until they told me that they were guiding me towards the horrific remains of some poor soul. That put me off, but I gathered my courage, and pressed on. And I did find exactly that, just... Not in the way I was expecting." "So, uh... What..." Dream Step blinked, not sure where that bit of conversation was going. "I found a spot where someone or some animal had used to relieve themselves," The shamare rolled her eyes. "Actually, no, it would be more accurate to say that the spot was where they suffered a grisly fate indeed. There were... Leavings... Everywhere. The ground. The trees. The branches that were higher up than my head was. Horrific remains, indeed. I never heard a spirit laugh before, but every susurration of the leaves for the next few days sounded like faint giggles carried by the wind," She grumbled, many of the ponies present coughing or forcing their mouths to remain closed to hold in their laughter. "Wow, what a crappy prank," Agate snorted, which broke the dam, every pony present bursting out in laughter as the shamare narrowed her eyes at the spirit. The visitors mostly stopped trying to restrain themselves, holding on to their bellies as they enjoyed their mirth. The exception was Dream Step, who probably didn't want to insult her host, doing her best to contain herself, breathing deeply and wheezing, mostly managing not to laugh. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she wiped her eyes and cleared her throat, doing her best to appear businesslike again. "Anyway, that, ah... Unpleasant tangent aside, spirits can learn, and spirits are essentially made of magic. And when ponies are afraid, they start seeing things that they are taught to be afraid of everywhere, giving their fears various forms. Claws, eyes, fangs... Every tiny sound and every flicker of a shadow appears like the shape of a predator, poised and ready to strike at you. It all just keeps feeding into itself, making the whole thing worse and worse, until you manage to get to safety. " "Our fears give our foes strength, in more ways than one. We hunters are well acquainted with this truth," The hunter nodded. "Yes, though in this case, I'm afraid the foal's fears might unwittingly give the magic dregs form, and perhaps even some limited capacity for thought. What might simply be a particularly turbulent current of magic could make your foals scared as they sleep, which in turn might form a malevolent spirit over time as their fears give it shape. One that could learn to actively hunt and stalk through pony's dreams," Dream Step sighed, rubbing her forehead. "That's..." The stallion grimaced, his legs tensing. "Again, just guessing. I'm still a novice, but when I was young, it did sometimes feel like there were dark things following me in my dreams, just out of sight... And I had no shortage of nightmares. It could be nothing but foalish fears, ones that fade away as you grow up. Or, it could be something worse. Either way, I will not stand for it. No foal should suffer untold horrors for no reason. Take a dreamcatcher. Hang it up over your foal's bed. When morning comes, let in the sunlight, or carry it outside, even if it's the long night. It should purge whatever foulness got caught in the net either way," Dream Step quietly explained, gazing off into the distance as she briefly became lost in the memories of the past. "Anything else we need to know? Any rituals or special steps to perform?" A mare inquired, holding a dreamcatcher with extreme care, as if it could burst into flames if handled improperly. "No... No," Dream Step shook her head, coming back to the present. "They're perfectly fine as they are, and they should work without issues as long as the net and frame aren't damaged." "Very well then. I shall take this home immediately," The hunter nodded, carefully taking one in his teeth, the other ponies following his lead. "Come find me a few days later. Tell me if there's any change in your foal's dreams," Dream Step nodded tiredly, a yawn suddenly overtaking her. "Well, looks like she had a long day. Best you get going now," Sea Gale nodded, surprising everyone with just how easily she let her guests go. ❅ ❆ ❅ At Agate's advice, Dream Step took a day off afterwards. Though the young mare was eager to get back to work, Agate urged her to clear her head a bit first and re-center herself. They talked about small things and explored the surrounding areas, enjoying the foreign landscape for its own sake, without any mystical inspirations and urges guiding them. "How long do you think it will take for those ponies to come back with news?" Dream Step mused, sitting under a large pine and admiring the sunset over the sea. "No talking about work today, remember?" Agate smiled. "The day is almost over," Dream Step huffed. "Yes, almost. But it's not over. And the answer is, as long as it takes. If I had to guess, though, they might take as long as a week, to make sure that the nightmares have truly stopped." "A week... Well, at least that's plenty of time to make more-" "No talking about work!" "Argh!" Fortunately for Dream Step, Agate didn't say anything the next day, and she was able to return to her tinkering. The inspired mare worked hard, though she did remember to take breaks and not to overdo it, now that her mystical fervor was gone. The ponies that took the first dreamcatchers were a varied bunch. Some dropped by daily to report in, while others did take a full week to come by again. Each and every one of them said the same thing, though - their foal's dreams were serene and undisturbed by any night terrors. Needless to say, Dream Step was elated by the news. By the end of the week, her situation changed quite drastically. Until then, she was just another young mystic looking for her place in the world, one that had issues both improving and applying her talents. At most, ponies knew her as Agate's student, paying little attention to the mare herself. After her debut, word quickly began to spread about the mysterious young southerner shamare with exotic, forgotten talents. Protecting foals was always a noble and highly respected endeavor, and being able to get rid of nightmares, something the parents usually had little to no ways of combating, was a very enticing offer. It wasn't quite an overnight event, but Dream Step suddenly became a very popular pony. She had to spend the first couple weeks answering the same questions over and over as dozens of interested ponies kept asking her for details about how the dreamcatchers worked, how to use them, how fragile they were, and so on. Dream Step bore it all with a smile, though after a while, it became a bit of a grimace. "Yes, they are all different. No, that doesn't mean that some of them work better than others. They don't work like runes, dream magic isn't rigid like that. There's many ways you can weave and enchant it. Yes, they all work exactly the same," She said through gritted teeth, trying to get a mare that spent half an hour comparing two nearly identical dreamcatchers to finally make up her mind. "So, how does it feel to have found your purpose and achieved something?" Agate asked once the mare finally left, still glancing at her dreamcatcher and looking like she wanted to spend three more hours picking it up and down over and over again and comparing it to the others. "Arrrrrrrrgh!" "Yup, that sounds about right. Welcome to my world, though I suppose I never really sold stuff," Agate nodded sagely. "Wait... What do you mean?" Dream Step tilted her head, blinking owlishly. "Now you know how feeling famous feels like for real. And it has only just begun for you," Agate grinned at her student. "Wait, it's like this all the time for you?" "Differently, but yes. I mean, surely you noticed that it takes no time for crowds to form around me and start asking things wherever I go, even if I have never been anywhere near the western tribe's lands before, right? Again, different in some ways, since I'm known to be a storyteller, but similar in others." "But I barely did anything yet!" Dream Step protested, throwing her hooves up. "Oh? So have I." "Pfffff- What?!" The young mare sputtered as Agate kept smiling. "You did... So many things! I could spend hours just listing them all!" "I suppose. I am old, though. You are young, and you're uncovering lost ancient knowledge and creating defenses against terrible creatures of darkness," Agate nodded smugly. "That- that's completely overblowing it!" "That's how ponies are talking, and will be talking about you already. Believe me, I know. I have lots of experience in that regard. You wouldn't believe just how much a rumor can get twisted and turned around just a few villages away from where something happened, let alone in the same one." Agate waited patiently as her student grumbled and grimaced, working over the things she just learned in her head. Agate didn't know whether she was simply complaining about how ponies behaved in regards to news and rumors, or was trying to come up with some kind of solution. Either way, the old spirit knew quite well that there was none, something Dream Step seemed to pick up on. "There's nothing I can say or do to get ponies to just tell things how they are without embellishing them, is there?" "Nope. Believe me, many ponies besides me have wondered just how and why news seem to get blown out of proportion and outright turned inside out sometimes as they travel. So, yes. Have fun," Agate chuckled. "Ugh..." "Indeed. Welcome to the famous ponies club." "I'm not famous yet! It's barely one village!" "True. Give it a few months, and ponies will be all over you for real. Ah, reminds me of the old days... Everyone went nuts over the few tricks I could barely do with crystals, even though it seemed like absolutely nothing to me. Having some kind of new or forgotten knowledge about magic makes ponies curious," Agate nodded, smiling wistfully. "Great... I never wanted to be famous. I just wanted to do good things and find my place in life," Dream Step sighed. "Doing good things has a tendency to make you famous, even if those things don't seem particularly noteworthy to you. You'll see." "Wait... You did something similar back in Highglade. You kept hamming up how rare dreamwalkers were to Ironmane and his family, so they'd treat me as something special. Is this another joke?" Dream Step grumped, squinting at Agate. "No, I'm completely serious, I promise. Well. Mostly serious." "*Sigh...*" "Fun, isn't it? When your story becomes bigger than yourself?" "Are you... Trying to teach me something?" The student rubbed her chin, her frustrated tone of voice changing to an analytical one. "Maybe. Do you want me to tell you?" "You know what? No. I'll crack your little riddle myself, thanks." "Very well. I'm listening," Agate nodded with a smile. "We... Had similar conversations before..." "Go on." "Though now that I think about it, they were... Opposite. Or, rather, we were in opposite places. I'd say something about some impressive feat or other that you did, and you would play it off as "nothing big". Even though there's literally ballads and fables sung around campfires about your exploits." "And..?" "And I... never believed you. I brushed it off every time," Dream Step grimaced, hear ears folding in shame. "Indeed, though you shouldn't feel bad about it. I'm quite used to it, to say the least. Anyway, this conversation is not a lesson about what you said in the past. Famous or not, you really are becoming your own mare. Honing your talents, sharpening your skills. At this rate, you won't need me as a teacher any more quite soon," Agate explained, which made Dream Step's eyes go wider. "W-wait, you're leaving? But, but the rest of my journey... You have so much experience in travelling the northnerner's lands, and you did so many things there, and-" "And I'm going to be with you every step of the journey. Of course I'm not going to leave you out of the blue like that. But, that time really is coming. If I'd have to guess, there's no more than a few months to go until there's nothing more for me to teach you. And then... There's a couple ways things can turn out." "And they are?" Dream Step asked with trepidation. "The first one is rather obvious. I teach you everything I can, and we go our own ways." "I don't... And the other one?" "Well, if we're not going to be student and teacher any more, we'll need to be something else. Something more, perhaps." "You know what? I changed my mind. Stop speaking in riddles, and spell it out," The frustrated mare sighed. "I've been around for a long time now, as I'm sure you're aware. And I'll be around for even longer. And, I usually find things to do. But, if all I had were cordial, professional relationships, my long wait would be quite maddening. I need some fun, too. Ponies to talk with about silly things, to confide in, to visit when I'm not busy. I need friends. And in my situation, it can be quite hard to make them. Guardian spirits stick around because they have ties they are not willing to break yet - they never go out and forge new ones. I'm an oddball that way. So... Friends?" Agate asked, sticking out a foreleg. "I... I think I'd like that," Dream Step smiled uncertainly, carefully bumping Agate's ethereal hoof with her own. "Good. I'm sure it's going to be a little weird and awkward for a while. The habits from the whole student/teacher thing will take a little time to fade. But I'm quite certain we'll make for good friends," Agate nodded. "I'm sure I'll manage to talk to you like an equal." "Oh, you mean like when you kept talking back to me when I offered you advice or asked about your past? That was cute, yes," Agate nodded. "...What? Cute?" "Oh, you know. Like when just set out towards River Rock, and you tried to give me grief after asking about your first prophetic dreams and the story with Sure Strike. Or all those other times you acted tough and talked back to me," Agate grinned wryly. "I- I wasn't acting tough! I was- I was-" "Demonstrating that you're an independent adult that doesn't need guidance from an old spirit like me, even though you were still listening to everything I say?" "Yes! I mean- What?!" "Hahaha! Sorry, Dream Step, it's just... I both saw and participated in this song and dance before, more than once," Agate laughed. "You younglings, ah... It's really adorable how you try to assert yourself by talking back and acting out, even though you look at me with wide-eyed wonder moments later, when I tell you a story of some adventure or other." "I- You - you cheater," Dream Step grumbled. "It's really not fair when you're an ancient know-it-all spirit. And I'm not acting out! I am an adult! And I'm- I'm sounding just like you're expecting me to again, aren't I?" She sighed, making Agate laugh again. "You don't need to be ancient, Dream Step. Most older ponies could tell you the same exact thing," Agate said, still grinning. "Well, our friendship's off to a great start." "Sorry, my young student, but if we're really going to be friends, I think it's best if we're fully honest with each other. I am an old spirit, and I do have a lot of experience that you don't. None of it prevents us from being friends, though." "You also act like a foal yourself, sometimes." Dream Step snorted. "When you get old enough, you realize that acting dead serious all the time is overrated," Agate nodded. "Anyway, speaking of big, adult decisions, there's one more thing that we need to talk about. A rather important one." "Yeah? And that is?" "Time. Time keeps marching on. We left Snowpitt in late spring, and we spent quite a while travelling through the westerner's forests. Since you were occupied with your mystical journey, you might not have noticed, but winter is almost upon us. You need to make a choice: leave now, or stay to winter here, in Sandy Shell. Travelling in winter through the northerner's lands is possible, but..." "It's not recommended for inexperienced travelers," Dream Step nodded with a small frown. "Putting it mildly, yes. Many of the smaller islands clear out completely, and the vast majority of the tribe gather in the larger, warmer islands, especially in Green Land, which is the farthest point from here. Rougher weather, colder winds, empty islands with no warmth... And with no experience in paddling a kayak, going there in winter is a very, very real risk of death," Agate summarized. "I... I barely just begun making dreamcatchers. There's a lot of ponies here that want one. And I promised to send one to Mystic Weave back in Highglade, but I haven't done that yet, and... There's a whole bunch of things I wanted to do, not to mention that I should probably try to paddle around in a kayak before actually trying to cross the sea in one," Dream Step groaned, rubbing her temples. "Or, you could go as a passenger on a larger merchant ship, but those also stop their activities during the winter. We stay, then," Agate nodded. ❅ ❆ ❅ Dream Step's foray into independence and adulthood brought all kinds of new knowledge and experiences for her. A better grasp on her magic was one, as well as lots of knowledge from the collected shamares that she learned from. One experience she clearly wasn't expecting was suddenly becoming relatively rich, as well as having to deal with the consequences. Shamares on their knowledge journeys were more or less given everything within reason for free, with the expectation that they'll do the same thing when they were old and a bright-eyed youngling showed up on their doorstep. It was a circle of debt going back to the very first shamares. When they fully came into their abilities, though, they were expected to put all of that knowledge to good use, for the benefit of their tribe and the world. That was when the free ride ended, which went both ways. A shamare's work was not free, though, depending on their fields, plenty of ponies came to them with nothing but pledges to repay them in the future, since many turned to the mystics out of illness or desperation. Still, there was no shortage of easily barterable goods that shamares made as well, helping them accrue reserves to trade for magical herbs and materials or whatever else they needed. Dreamcatchers were one such good, and since Dream Step was the sole provider, she had full control over the prices. She felt a little guilty charging ponies at first, but she got over it fairly quickly, especially seeing as she was using materials gathered up by Sea Gale's family. While she technically still was a journeymare, expecting her host to provide enough materials to outfit the entire village with dreamcatchers for free went far beyond the allowance a student usually received. "So, how's it going?" Agate asked one evening, watching the snowflakes slowly drift downwards outside. "I'm still new to trading and stuff, but I think I could buy my own kayak. Two, even," Dream Step mused, counting the various valuables that ponies traded for the dreamcatchers. "Still feeling a little guilty?" "Not... Anymore, I think. Well, maybe a little. But I'd feel far guiltier if I just commandeered everything from Sea Gale. Hospitable as she is, I don't think she'd stand for that." "True. Need to leave something for other journeying shamares, too." "Exactly. It'd be unfair, since I can certainly stand on my own four hooves now." "How's the demand, then? Slowing down a little?" "I think so, but also, no," Dream Step scrunched her muzzle. "Regular ponies mostly got what they wanted, I think, but there's a few merchants that are offering to buy hundreds of them, no matter how many I make." "Well, you could probably settle down right here in Sandy Shell and become a wealthy and successful shamare, but I get the feeling that you don't want that." "You're right in that regard. I'm sure I can sell them to merchants anywhere, in any tribe's territory, and they'll find their way across the three tribe's lands just as easily. Once spring comes, I'll be moving on with my journey," She nodded confidently. "Everything more or less wrapped up around here, then?" "Not entirely. I sent several dreamcatchers to Mystic Weave, and she sent a messenger back, saying that while she was fascinated and that it was fairly impressive magic, she just couldn't replicate them, no matter how hard she tried." "I'm not sure how to help you there. Some ponies just don't have the knack for certain branches of magic, myself included. My foray into dream magic only lead me in a circle, teaching me how to improve my shapeshifting while fully awake," Agate shrugged. "Well... Remember how you taught me about dreamwalking? About visiting other ponies in their dreams?" "Yes? I never got all that good at that, too. Once I learned to fly... It's still not as fast as instantly crossing worlds in a dream, but it's still pretty dang fast." "Yes, but if I visit Mystic Weave in her dreams... Maybe I can show her how dream magic works. Help her understand," Dream Step explained, her voice slightly apprehensive. "Finally ready to take the dive into the dream realm?" "Yes. I don't want my knowledge to die with me, only for the next dreamwalker to have to piece things together a hundred years later again. If it's possible at all, I want to teach other shamares the basics, at least. You learned how, after all," Dream Step laid out her position, her voice becoming firmer and more self-assured as she spoke. "You're a good mare, Dream Step," Agate spoke after a pause, making the mare's ears fold. "What? What does that have anything to do with anything? "Nothing. But it's good that you're facing your fears. The importance of courage is something Spear Throw - the old one - explained to me a long time ago. Let's practice. Maybe we can even dreamwalk together." "Oh, Spear Throw?" "Yes? What about him?" "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Maybe I'll visit him too. Just as a practice run. Let's go," Dream Step nodded.