//------------------------------// // Shipping North // Story: Agate's Vigil // by Wingnut //------------------------------// Dreamwalking was strange, but unlike other kinds of magic, it certainly had one thing going for it: it was never dull. Whether fun, scary, or just plain bizarre, dream magic always left you wide-eyed with wonder. Granted, one did need to calm down and fall asleep first, but after that, the fun could begin. "Wakey wakey, Dream Step." "Mmmh... Don't want to..." "We have dreamwalking practice today." "Five more... Hours..." "Come on, you're already asleep in the waking world. There's really no need to sleep in a dream," Agate rolled her eyes as she poked the sleepy shamare in the side. "Wait, what do you mean... Uh..." "Becoming a little more lucid? Don't get scared, now, or you'll wake up for real," Agate cautioned her. "Oh... Huh. No, I can... I can hold it. I won't wake up. It's becoming easier," Dream Step noted, standing up and looking around. Their surroundings weren't very well defined. It looked a bit like a simple room in a wooden house, though everything was too blurry to make out any details. As Dream Step focused, everything morphed, changing into the room in Sea Gale's house that she was actually sleeping in. "Alright... Where to now?" "Let's do something simple tonight. Just a trot around the village. You do need actual, normal rest, and if you expend a lot of magic while asleep, you'll wake up feeling drained," Agate explained. "Yes, and if I do it too much, I won't be able to tell whether I'm asleep or awake any more. I remember. Let's find the- actually, wait. I can walk through walls like you can, right?" "Of course," Agate chuckled. "Really, it's the least you can do while dreaming. But like I said, let's save the harder stuff for next time." "Well, I certainly didn't want to die, but some of the things you can do did make me a bit jealous now and then," Dream Step grinned, walking straight into a wall and bouncing off. "Hey! What gives?" "You need to actually believe you can do it," Agate chuckled. "Or stop disbelieving. Just... Relax your mind. Just a little. It's a delicate dance." "Right... Let's try this again." The two bodiless spirits eventually managed to shove themselves through the wall, though it took an unusual amount of effort. Putting it down to all the wards the house was protected with, the pair trotted away, looking around. Looking at the real world while asleep was a bit like using spirit sight, though not entirely. Inanimate things turned gray and blurred together, while beings with spirits glowed bright, providing little islands of light in a dark sea. They could still see the world as it was around them, while looking into the distance made things turn strange. Faint and barely perceptible ribbons of magic slowly undulated in the air, almost like the aurora itself, while shadowy shapes flitted about in the darker corners. Getting closer made them fade away, though, like an illusion in the endless tundra. "Are those just figments of our own sleeping minds, or are there actually things that we can't see even with our spirit sight, lurking just behind reality?" Dream Step asked, glancing at the weirdness further out. "Perhaps both, perhaps neither. Back in the day, Dreamcatcher told me that the dream world and the waking world are not all that separate. They're either intermixed, echoes of each other, or some other poetic analogy. It's how you are able to see in dreams what might happen in the real world. You said yourself that you can't define it too rigidly," Agate shrugged. "I know, but the itch is still there. I just need to learn to balance it with letting loose, I suppose," Dream Step nodded. They kept moving through the sleeping village, Dream Step stopping occasionally near some of the houses. It didn't seem to have any rhyme or reason, until Agate saw the glowing outline of a dreamcatcher in one of them. The dream representation of it seemed almost liquid, flowing back and forth with the magic currents, the strands of the web looking like they were reaching out to grab something nearby. "Huh. Weird," Agate muttered. "Yup, dream magic is still crazy," Dream Step chuckled. "But they really work, something I'm quite proud of." "Why check on them, then?" "Better safe than sorry. I'm still new to making these, after all." They moved on from the house, their attention getting diverted by a flash of color here and there. The dreams of ponies manifested as bright beacons in the otherwise drab plane of existence, though they were not the only ones present. Some of the older trees were visible as well, towering over the landscape in even larger shapes than they were in the waking world. "Is this what trees dream about? Just getting even bigger?" Dream Step chuckled. "I'm surprised trees dream at all, but what do I know. They have their spirits, as does the land, water, and even air," Agate shrugged. "And there's purely dream spirits, aren't there?" "So I heard. I'm not a shamare, so I never met one. Then again, they're supposedly hard to find even for dreamwalkers. As I'm sure other teachers already told you, spirits tend to be attracted to shamares already. You see them, and they see you. Not every kind of shamare gets her tuurngait, though." "Well, it would have been nice to have some help from the get-go, even if some of the spirits allegedly whisper nonsense to you." "As Dreamcatcher told me, it's not impossible, but dream guides are complete opposites of the wispy and small spirits shamares usually bond with in the beginning. She called them "The Ancients" - huge, imposing beings that she likened to the constellation titans themselves, speaking in forgotten or incomprehensible tongues." "You... Never mentioned beings like that before," Dream Step blinked, turning to look at Agate as they kept trotting slowly through the dream village. "Because Dreamcatcher herself only mentioned them in passing. According to her, she discovered them by accident, when she was experimenting with just how far she could go in the dream world. It was an unexpected find, to say the least. Usually, if you want to get anywhere in dreams, you need an anchor or destination point of some kind, so accidentally bumping into someone or something is quite unlikely." "So what happened with the dream spirits that she met?" "She lost them. She didn't know their names, and their appearances were "beyond description with words", as she put it, so she wasn't able to find them again, though she didn't look all that hard, either. We're only seeing all these sleeping ponies right now because we're focusing on the village. If we weren't maintaining the dream's structure, we could travel an endless plain for a year, and never meet a living soul. Focus on a place or a pony, though, and you can be there instantly. So many limits and rules the world and our minds put on us don't apply here." "Rules like... Not suddenly turning into a bird?" "Heh. Yes," Agate grinned, immediately turning into one. Hopping on Dream Step's back, she continued speaking, despite having a beak. "You can goof around, if you want. Fly, stand on water, breathe underwater, start a fire with a thought. None of it will carry over into the waking world, though." "But your shapeshifting did," Dream Step pointed out. "Kind of, but it's a special case in this instance, and I did need to practice and learn a bunch for it to actually work when I was awake. I'm fairly certain that if dreamwalkers were able to somehow make changes to the waking world as if it was a dream, they would have discovered it by now. And turned the whole world upside down, probably," Agate shook her head. "Fair enough... I still want to learn how to shapeshift, though. Teach me?" "Sure. It's the easiest thing in the world. Want to be a bird?" "Yes?" "Then be one." "You... Just tell me how," Dream Step scrunched her muzzle at Agate. "I am telling you. Just be one. It's literally that simple," The spirit shrugged with her wings, immediately poofing back into a pony, and then turning into a bird again, faster than Dream Step could blink. "You had practice-" "Again, in the waking world. None of that matters here. You should be better at this than me, even. This is your domain, dreamwalker. Your birthright. Want to be a bird? Be. One," Agate instructed, lifting off and flying in circles around Dream Step's head. "Right. Okay. Be one," She muttered, spreading her forelegs and lidding her eyes. After a few moments of nothing happening, she glared at Agate. "Did you just think the words "be a bird", or did you visualize the bird you wanted to become?" "N- Ugh. Let's see..." Dream Step focused again, furrowing her brow before forcefully relaxing again, letting out a long exhale as her form blurred. Moments later, she collapsed into a fluffy looking duck, wobbling for a moment before stopping. She blinked confusedly for a few moments, pulling her wings in front of her bill to get a better look. "A duck, huh?" Agate asked, flitting down to the ground. "I like ducks," Dream Step shrugged with her wings. "Next step, then. Can you fly?" "Well, according to you, there's very little I can't do, is there?" "Now you're getting it." It took her a couple tries, but before long, Dream Step was zooming about, flapping her wings in ways that probably wouldn't have worked in the real world. As Agate said, though, none of it mattered in there. The pair of them giggled as they dodged and wove around each other, racing between various obstacles. It was hard to tell time even when one was lucid in a dream, but their fun didn't last all that long. With a surprised "Huh?", Dream Step suddenly turned back into a pony, faceplanting into the ground from a fairly large height. Landing next to her, Agate turned back as well, raising an eyebrow. "Thought about being a pony for a moment, did you?" "Yes," The flattened mare sighed. "I see what you meant now. It's almost too easy. Think of something idly, without thinking about the implications, and it just... Happens." "Precisely. Anyway, like I said, you shouldn't do too much just yet. Let's trot around a bit more and go back to actual sleep," Agate suggested. "Alright." "So, why did you want to learn how to do that, anyway? There's little use for it. You can just... Will yourself to be somewhere, and you will." "Practice is practice, and flying is just fun," Dream Step shrugged. "And you never know what's going to be useful one day." "Thinking of travelling the dream realm? Finding ancient spirits and asking for their wisdom?" "...Oh HAY no," The young mare resolutely declared. "If even Dreamcatcher didn't bother too hard to find them, I definitely won't. I really have no desire to be a pioneer, Agate. I'll just stick to the safe edges of unexplored territories, thank you very much. I certainly don't want to end up as a cautionary tale." "And I'm not pushing you to be one. I was just curious. I don't think I'd be interested in meeting such a being myself. I flew a bit too high once already." "What do you mean?" "...If you ever fly, whether in the dream realm or in the waking world, don't fly towards the Moon. I got a bit too close once, and I swear the Moon turned to look at me. It was... Unspeakable. Massive. Monumental. If I wasn't dead already, I think I might have died of fright then and there," Agate recalled. "Huh. Noted." ❅ ❆ ❅ When she was awake, Dream Step still worked on making more dreamcatchers, though she decreased the time she spent on that. At first, she was buoyed by enthusiasm and inspiration, which were further enhanced by the large demand. Working day in and day out on the same thing for months wore her down, though, and she started taking more breaks. There wasn't all that much to do in winter, but the young mare still managed to find various ways to relax. A lot of them involved talking to the numerous Sea Gale's family members about their own lives and the knowledge journeys of those who were shamares as well. Those were small distractions, though. Besides her training, chatting, and enchanting, the thing that occupied the most of her time became her interest in Spear Throw. The young stallion dropped by soon after winter began, and Dream Step looked unusually happy to see him, her tail twitching in excitement as she grinned widely. They were in the workshop, Agate lazing about on a high shelf while Dream Step tinkered with a dreamcatcher. Tossing her mane back, she waved to him as he blinked in surprise. "Well hey there, Spear Throw! What brings you by?" "Oh. You, uh... Remember me? D, ah... Dream Step?" "Why wouldn't I?" She raised her eyebrows. "Well, you looked like you were quite deep in a shamaric trance of some kind back when I first saw you," He shrugged. "Oh, it wasn't that deep. And I wouldn't forget you, don't worry. You're quite the memorable stallion," She smiled with a wink. "Oh, uh, thank you?" He smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "So, any reason you sought me out? Or were you just looking for Agate again?" "No, I don't think there's anything else I need to know from the traveler spirit. I did want to see you, actually. Word of your craft has spread far and wide." "Hm. You're not having nightmares, are you?" "Oh no, nothing of the sort," He shook his head. "But I was planning on travelling north, or perhaps east, and I felt that I should take some gifts with me for some distant relatives. And... Well, I was never all that creative with gifts, but I felt that something as unique as a dreamcatcher should be well received." "Really. Why such different directions, though? Couldn't decide?" "There's little difference, I think. I'd have to make a wide circle either way, since I have relatives both in the southern and northern tribes," He shrugged. "May I... Make a suggestion?" Dream Step ventured carefully, licking her lips as her voice shook just a tiny bit. "Yes?" "Come with us. We're planning to resume my journey once spring comes. We'll definitely be going north, though." "Oh," He pursed his lips as he considered the sudden offer. "Is this some kind of... Mystical advice? A shamaric vision? Prophetic dream?" "No, no, nothing of the sort," Dream Step waved it off. "Just a friendly suggestion. I can make a few dreamcatchers for you, no problem. But it's a long journey, you know. It took me quite a while just to get here from the southern lands. Have you travelled before? What if some of them get damaged while you're travelling? It'd be better to have me on hoof and make some on the way." "That sounds... Very generous of you. I did go to the great Gathering the year before with some of my kin, yes, and while the journey wasn't particularly arduous, I wasn't carrying any potentially fragile cargo, either. Really, though, you would do all that, just for me?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Whatever do you mean? I'm a young, inexperienced shamare. You're a hunter, yes? And since you live on the shore, you must know at least something about sea travel, right?" "Well, I did go on a number of fishing trips, and though I am more useful with a spear than a harpoon or a net, I am certainly not hopeless in the water..." "Great! I could really use a companion, you know! Agate helps a lot, but while she makes an amazing scout, she can't exactly pull me out of any sticky situations. We could travel together, help each other out, complement each other's skills, you know?" Dream Step explained, her smile back in full force. "I... Well, traversing the plains is easy, but the northerners do always say that it's best not to travel through their territories alone..." Spear Throw mumbled as he debated her offer. "No rush. Think it through," Dream Step nodded, backing off a little. "And don't worry, I'll have your dreamcatchers for you either way. You're not leaving until spring comes either, right?" "No, I'm not." "Great!" She clopped her hooves excitedly. "We should meet up later and talk more. Discuss some details, and all that. Are you free tomorrow? Or later?" "Well, I was planning on doing some maintenance on my equipment tomorrow, but we could meet... In the evening? Working by candlelight is no good when doing delicate work," He nodded slowly. "Excellent. It's a date!" "A wha-" "See you later, bye now!" As the flummoxed stallion slowly turned around and left, Dream Step giggled, rubbing her hooves together. A few moments later, she flinched, raising her eyes up. Agate was still there, lying weightlessly on the top of a shelf. Raising her eyebrows just a hair, she looked at her student. "Shush." "I didn't say anything." "Your silence says a thousand words." "No it doesn't." "You have that look on your face." "What look? The completely neutral one that doesn't say anything at all?" "Hmm, maybe. Or maybe it's a subtly smug look." "Why are you so sure I'm trying to say something?" Agate rolled her eyes. "Well, I was expecting you to pull your "I'm an ancient spirit and I saw this all play out before and it's cute" shtick again." "Oh. Well, in that case, you're going to be disappointed. I saw romance play out now and then, yes, but only from a distance. A great, great distance. I'm not going to offer you any advice or comments on this, since my own experience is essentially zero. For better or for worse, you're entirely on your own in this," Agate shrugged. "Oh. Hm," Dream Step rubbed her chin. "Yup. Good luck," Agate nodded. "And who says it's romance? We do need a travelling companion, after all." "Okay, now you're just being silly on purpose. I'm dead, Dream Step, not blind." ❅ ❆ ❅ Harsh as the polar winters were, the ponies were quite used to them. The previously bustling seaside village hunkered down, shuttering every window and plugging every hole the cold could get in through. Many of the merchants and other travelling ponies moved further inland, or to other wintering spots. The fierce winds blowing in from the sea were probably not to their liking. The locals spent a lot of time snoozing and conserving energy, though there were still opportunities to keep busy and fill their pockets. Summer or winter, the sea still kept spitting out seashells and seaweed, and fisherponies still kept going on their trips, though they did pay extra attention to the weather, and never ventured far from shore. Many ponies took up making new equipment, repairing and replacing what they lost during the year with the materials they gathered during the warmer months. Shamares likewise meditated and worked on enchanted trinkets and charms, stocking up for the usual rush of excited fortune seekers that came with every spring. One young shamare kept herself busy in a slightly different manner, however. Grinning, Dream Step hopped through the snow, tossing up flurries of powdery snow with her passage. Talking was also a traditional pastime during winter, great amounts of knowledge and history getting passed down from the older generations to the younger. Her talks had more to do with making new history rather than passing down old knowledge, though. Taking off her winter coat, she shook out the snow before trotting inside. Taking in the various scents of a lived-in home, she stashed her coat in her room before going to one of the fireplaces the big house had. Sea Gale was there, lazily sipping on a cup of tea as a few of her descendants laid about, tinkering with various knick-knacks. "How was your outing, youngling?" The elder shamare asked, tossing a log into the fire. "Productive, but cold. Normally, I'd say that I'm used to the wind. It gets quite strong over the tundra plains as well, but something about the sea winds just cuts you to the very bone," Dream Step sighed, stretching herself out in front of the fire. "They carry the full cold of the north," Sea Gale nodded. "Your preparations are going well, then?" "Yes. I learned how to paddle a kayak, keep myself stable, all of that stuff. I'm a novice, obviously, but I know the basics, at least. Still not entirely sure just how useful that is going to be, but if it comes to it, I should be able to cross the waters on my own power." "That's nice, dear. Now, tell me how your other project is going." "What project? I'm not doing anything else right now, save for making the occasional dreamcatcher," Dream Step frowned. "Come now, child, don't play coy," The elder grinned. "I... Have no idea what you're talking about," Dream Step gulped, suddenly feeling a faint sense of dread settle into her stomach. "I'm talking about you trying to net Spear Throw, of course. He's not one of mine, but he's still family. Good choice, by the way. The colt is honest and has a good backbone, but I could tell that he doesn't have much to apply himself in around here. Sandy Shell is fairly safe, and beasts are a very rare danger. Going with you should show him that there's more to the world than this one settlement. Don't drag him away too far, though, alright? I'm sure he'll still want to visit now and then," Sea Gale nodded sagely, the younger ponies sniggering at Dream Step's expression. The entire gamut of emotions ran through Dream Step's expression as she seemed to have trouble deciding how to react. Taking a deep, deep breath, she eventually settled on exasperated frustration, groaning as she glared at Sea Gale. "I was so happy that Agate wasn't going to do her "wise elder" thing with this one. Clearly, I celebrated too early! Can't you old smartflanks let us young ponies do anything without sticking your muzzle into it and commenting on it?" "Nope," Sea Gale chuckled. "Now spill. How's it going? Went for a roll in the snow yet?" "WHAT! No! And I wouldn't tell you anyway!" "You just did. Anyway, taking it slow and gentle? That's probably for the best. Even the ponies from our own family line still aren't entirely at ease with getting together with shamares," The elder sighed as Dream Step groaned and dragged her hooves across her face. "You're talking as if it's a done deal already," She muttered. "It's not?" "Of course not!" "Hmm... No, I think it is," Sea Gale nodded confidently. "Oh, come off it. We spend most of the time talking about survival and travel in the north. He barely even knows I'm interested in him," Dream Step scoffed. "You seem quite determined, though." "Yes, determined to find a stallion. I'm not going to just grab the first one I see, though. That's why I want to travel with him first. To see if it'd work out or not." "Hmm... A logical, cool, thought-out adult approach... Both ponies are fairly disciplined and mature... Yup. It's a done deal," Sea Gale nodded again as Dream Step groaned. ❅ ❆ ❅ While Dream Step was tempted to return to Highglade in person, she eventually concluded that physical distance would make little difference in explaining the dream world to Mystic Weave. After a few more sessions practicing dreamwalking with Agate (and a few she did alone, though she didn't tell Agate the details, only that "she managed to visit who she intended to"), they were ready to make the journey. "Alright, so... What now?" Dream Step asked, as the pair stood in a blurry, dark void. "Now, we have several options. Honestly, the options are nearly limitless. Your imagination is the only thing that could hold you back. When I used to fly, I was coasting somewhere between the waking and the dream worlds, and it was quite fast. My goals were physical locations, however. Our target is Mystic Weave's spirit, which is currently asleep and resting in the dream world. As such, we can reach her while travelling entirely through the dream world, and that is incredibly fast," Agate explained. "What do we actually do, though?" "We travel, in literally any way possible - flight, galloping, picturing yourself swimming through a swift dream river that carries you to your destination, anything. You need to put your mind into a frame of moving somewhere, and have a clear destination in mind. Having a target is far more important than the actual method of getting there, by the way. We're not acquainted with Mystic Weave all that well, so I want you to keep her in the forefront of your mind the entire time. This is extremely important," Agate cautioned, conjuring an image of the enchanter in front of them. "Right... Focus on our destination. Got it," Dream Step muttered, taking in the illusion. "Now, you need to pick a method of travel that would consume the least of your attention. Use the rest to focus on Mystic Weave." "Flight," The young mare said immediately. "Flight it is," Agate nodded, turning into a bird immediately after. "Ready? Let's not lose sight of each other. I still haven't tried travelling to another's dream with someone else." "I'm ready, and I don't think you need to worry. You were right, this is my birthright. I think I'm getting the hang of this. Let's go," Dream Step nodded back, now in her duck form. "Good. Let us away, then. In fact, why don't you take the lead?" "Gladly." Taking off, Agate flapped after Dream Step, keeping her in her sight while trying to maintain the image of Mystic Weave herself. Though her flight was a bit clumsy, Dream Step was sure of her destination, plowing dead ahead without a waver. Which was good, given that the world around them didn't remain blank as they moved. Various images, both faint and sharp, danced in the corners of their eyes. Animals, ponies, places, both impossible and real, and things beyond description tugged at their curiosity, tempting them to veer from their goal and explore the little spheres of light floating in the endless sea of the dream world. Agate knew that approaching those lights could lead to anything from encountering a pony's dream, to a vision of the future, or an echo of the past. She also knew that she could spend a decade in the dream world and not learn a single thing, wasting her time sifting through ephemeral nonsense while trying to find a nugget of truth or wisdom in it all. That was the fate Dream Step wanted to avoid, focusing on more concrete and earthly matters, flying straight as an arrow. As always, it was impossible to tell just how much time passed while they slept. Even if they spent hours flying, the time spent always seemed like it passed in a moment, and before long, they approached a colorful collection of lights, honing in on a particular one. "Highglade. It has to be," Dream Step breathed. "Indeed. Now, all we have to do is find Mystic Weave," Agate agreed. "I think I have her scent," Dream Step said, making Agate give her a puzzled look. "I don't think ducks track by scent." "Details. Let's land. Here." They found Mystic Weave, though she didn't seem to be dreaming. The mare's blurry form was curled up, faint images of what must have been her bedroom surrounding them. Glancing at each other, the pair of dreamwalkers nodded, approaching the elder and turning back into pony forms. After another glance, Agate beckoned to Dream Step to take the lead. "Elder... Wake up, please... I need to talk to you..." Dream Step whispered gently, her hoof hovering over the shamare's form. "Errgh... Go away, foal... Don't you know it's rude to wake an elder..." The mare muttered, sleepily smacking the hoof away. "You can keep sleeping, you know. Just pretend to wake up so I can show you some dream magic," Dream Step snorted. "Well, now you're just babbling nonsense," The elder shamare scoffed, her form becoming more solid as her eyes fluttered open. "No nonsense. Magic!" Dream Step cried, making Mystic Weave scowl angrily. "Now listen here, you. Yelling like that in the middle of the- You. Dream Step? And... Agate," She faltered, looking around. "Hello, elder. Welcome to the dream world!" "Oh... Huh. Okay," The shamare regained her focus immediately, looking around with rapt curiosity. "Bit drab. My dreams are usually more colorful, though I never felt so much... In control." "That's exactly the reason, elder. Your resting mind isn't making a jumbled recollection from your memories for you. If you want to change something, you need to do it yourself," Dream Step lectured. "Change something, to... Anything I want, if the stories are correct," The elder mused for a moment, before conjuring a bowl of sweet berries in her hoof and munching down. "Really, elder?" Dream Step snorted with amusement. "What? It's winter. I missed those, though I can't seem to feel flavor all that well in dreams," The mare sighed. "Fortunately, there's no such thing as pain, either, so there are some advantages. Anyway... It took me a while to understand how to make dreamcatchers myself, so... Well, I don't know how well I'll be able to explain it, but..." Dream Step said with some awkwardness, reminding Agate of herself, back in the day. "Just try, Dream Step. This reminds me of the time shamares asked me to try and teach crystal magic to them. I was terribly nervous because I pretty much didn't know anything, but didn't want to disappoint them. It doesn't matter if you fail. Just do your best," She encouraged her student. "The old spirit is right, youngling. If I fail to learn, well, maybe it's because it's not possible to teach an old pony new tricks," Mystic Weave nodded. "Alright, but... Problem is, I can't talk about it. The understanding... It's not possible to put it into words. The best I can use are crude analogies, and... Just sit down and watch. I'll try to show you," Dream Step sighed, taking in a deep breath and focusing. Agate nodded and sat down. Mystic Weave stared at her for a long moment as she didn't seem to be sitting on an actual surface of any kind, before shrugging and sitting down next to her, blinking in surprise when it actually worked. Shooting a glance below her, she forcefully wrenched her eyes back towards Dream Step. The young dreamwalker, meanwhile, began her lesson. Opening her eyes, she spread her forelegs wide, letting out a breath and floating upwards into the air and letting out a breath, shaping the world around her. She started small, by conjuring a faint wind that carried small sparkles through the blank dream void. Those sparkles then began to change into streaks of colors, painting a familiar landscape. The sandy beach looked similar to the one near Sandy Shell, which wasn't surprising, given that it was the only one that Dream Step saw. At the same time, though, it somehow appeared grander through the distorted dream perspective, the simple dunes looking almost as large as mountains, while the pines towered higher than the eye could see. The sea was the main attraction, however. Great, massive waves roared as they splashed across the sand, the water barely stopping short of the watching pair. With a gesture from Dream Step, another wave arose, this one swallowing the entire horizon as it roared at them. Mystic Weave's eyes went wide at this, and the old mare flinched and tried to jump away, only to be stopped by Agate. "No fear," She whispered as she held the elder in place with a foreleg. "This is a dream. Nothing can hurt you. Watch. Try to understand what she's showing us." The water crashed over them a moment later, washing the landscape away. Their surroundings turned dark again, though there was something faintly glowing surrounding them, a bit like fog or mist. It reminded Agate of the world's magical field one could feel when in deep meditation. If it was supposed to be a representation of being underwater, it wasn't entirely accurate, but she wasn't going to start interrupting for such trivial things. Dream Step began chanting, a wordless song that rose and fell like the swell of the sea. Waving her forelegs again, she made their surroundings thicken, her motions causing waves in the dream-water. Agate could actually feel it flowing through her, threatening to drag her off. Mystic Weave clearly felt it too, the elder getting a firmer grip on the sandy bottom. Next, the dreamer carved out a rune in the air with a hoof. Agate recognized it as part of a protective ward, one that was fairly common. The water crashed against it, but it didn't stop the back-and-forth motion as it surged around the rune, eventually washing it away. Then, she began turning her right foreleg in a circle, strands of some kind of wispy material beginning to gather on the tip of her hoof. As she continued, the strands slowly turned into thin ropes, from which she wove a web. From the corner of her eyes, Agate saw Mystic Weave lean in, intently studying the dream representation of the enchantment. It was quite obvious that it was supposed to be a dreamcatcher, but this wasn't the kind of enchanting that Agate was familiar with. Slowly, colors began gathering around the construct as Dream Step continued weaving, adding to it bit by bit, strand by strand. It was like nothing Agate saw before. The best comparison she could come up with were the descriptions shamares told her of the visions magic mushrooms gave them: it was colorful and fascinating, but also completely bizarre and mind-boggling. As Dream Step's chanting slowly died down, she held the finished product before them. As the young dreamwalker said, it was impossible to put into words. The best analogy Agate could come up with was metal and an actual spiderweb. The rigid, firm rune worked for some things, but not for the slippery dream stuff. The dreamcatcher, meanwhile, was flexible and durable at the same time. Certainly not as durable as the rune, but the stuff it was supposed to catch was very ephemeral, so it didn't need to be. It flowed and ebbed with the magic, like a spiderweb in the wind. And yet, it was entirely capable of catching what it was intended to catch. Both for Agate, who was used to working with firm, solid crystals, and Mystic Weave, who worked with wood and metal, the idea of such an enchantment was very, very hard to grasp. It was like a small bubble of water inside a larger body of water, made from the same exact dream stuff their surroundings were. They both approached it, inspecting it from all sides, trying to see something familiar they could work with. This was for the other shamare, though, so Agate didn't touch it. Mystic Weave carefully caressed the very edges of the colorful web, slack-jawed at the sight. Taking it in her hooves, she put her muzzle right to it, her mouth moving, but no sound coming out. After a few long minutes of this, Agate saw her eyes roll up into the back of her head as her form became blurry and vanished, taking the dream-dreamcatcher with her. "What happened?!" Dream Step shouted, scared. "I think she woke up," Agate said. "Oh. Do you think I... Overdid it?" "I have no idea. That made my eyes spin. I'm pretty sure that made my entire brain spin. Maybe it was a bit much for her, or maybe she was struck by inspiration. I don't think there's any way for us to tell, unfortunately. We'll just have to wait until she contacts us." "Well... Alright then. I guess we're done here. How do we go back?" "That's the easiest thing in the world. Just close your eyes, and feel where your body is. You can always do that almost instantly, no matter how far you went." ❅ ❆ ❅ Day by day and month by month, the winter went by. Dream Step learned all she could, both from Spear Throw and Agate. As she promised, the spirit kept her distance and let her student do her thing with Spear Throw. Given their official reason of preparing to travel together, their outings didn't catch all that much attention, though ponies couldn't exactly completely miss the implications of a single young mare spending a lot of time alone with an eligible stallion that was her age. When spring was right around the corner and they were preparing to leave, Spear Throw's parents came to Sea Gale's house to talk to them, say their goodbyes, and find out if anything else was going on. Ironically enough, they seemed to be the most ignorant of what was happening between their son and Dream Step. "So, is this... Some kind of shamaric quest? Is there going to be danger? You can see the future, can't you? Is my son in danger?" The mother asked, her eyes darting between Spear Throw and Dream Step. "It is a shamaric quest in that it is my knowledge journey. Other than that, no," Dream Step rolled her eyes. "And no, I haven't dreamt anything about something bad happening to any one of us." "The traveler spirit tends to get involved in all kinds of wild adventures, though..." "Oh come on," Agate groaned. "Why do ponies around here treat me as some kind of walking portent of doom? Barely any of my adventures can be classified as "wild"!" "I see. You've been quite... Attached to my son, though," The father rumbled, observing how Spear Throw was sitting in a slightly awkward fashion while Dream Step leaned against him. "Oh, for the love of... It's because they like each other, you daft colt," Sea Gale sighed. "Oh. Oooooh. Oh! Ooooooooooooh," The mother cooed, going through several layers of realization at once. "...Ah," The father was more reserved, slowly looking Dream Step up and down with an evaluating look. The mare unconsciously straightened out her back as he did so. Fortunately for her, the stallion didn't seem to find much fault with her. "Oh, this is wonderful!" The mother cried, clopping her hooves together. "So when will I be able to expect grandfoals? Your brother is a year older, but he has the worst luck with mares, I swear. Now, I know shamares are busy with their mystical business, but I'm sure you can squeeze in some time to-" "Mother! We are not remotely close enough to talk about foals yet! And we will be travelling! For quite a long time, probably!" Spear Throw shouted as his father chuckled. "Then travel faster! Time waits for no one!" "Just yesterday you kept telling me how worried you are about me leaving," The young stallion replied through gritted teeth, one of his eyes twitching. "And I still am! Dear, it's a mothers prerogative to be worried about her children. But, it's also my right to be excited about grandfoals! Now, all kinds of things can happen while you're travelling, and if a happy little accident appears while you're somewhere far, try to get somewhere safe for at least a few weeks, alright? I'm sure your shamare marefriend is strong and capable, but it's still best to-" "Alright, I feel like leaving right now," Spear Throw sighed, slumping over. "Weren't you going to leave tomorrow?" Sea Gale grinned. "No, I agree with him," Dream Step nodded, her expression sour. "On a more serious note, this calls for a meeting of our families. You don't strike me as an orphan," The father said, addressing Dream Step. "Nothing is agreed upon yet, but if Spear Throw and I do find ourselves intertwined, then yes, we'll swing by my family in the south, don't worry about that," Dream Step sighed. "Not agreed upon? Come now. Maybe I didn't see it before, but I have heard about you from ponies. It's practically a done deal," The father nodded. "Argh!" ❅ ❆ ❅ Dream Step was a little worried when several weeks passed without hearing from Mystic Weave, but Agate assured her that there was no way their visit could have caused any harm to the shamare elder, save for perhaps a slightly disturbed night's rest and some weird dreams. Her confidence was vindicated when a messenger arrived from Highglade not too long before they were due to leave, bearing a message and a small bit of cargo. "The elder wishes to thank you for the wisdom you shared, and to tell you that it was, and I quote, "The weirdest spirit-damned mystical journey that left me tripping over my own hooves for two days afterwards." She thinks she succeeded in recreating your magic, however, and asks that you examine these "dreamcatchers" and see if they meet your approval," A young stallion recited, hoofing Dream Step a carefully wrapped package. "Oh, excellent! Give me a little while, this shouldn't take long," Dream Step squealed excitedly, unwrapping the package. There were three dreamcatchers inside. The stallion took a moment to sit down and chew on some dried rations while Dream Step examined them from every possible angle. She touched them with the edge of her hoof, rubbed her muzzle against them, looked at them with her eyes both open and closed, and briefly licked one. Briefly going into a trance, she even seemed to fall asleep for a moment before jumping out while triumphantly holding one dreamcatcher. "She did it! I think she really did it!" "You're not the only one that can make these any more, then. Congratulations on successfully teaching an elder shamare new magic," Agate nodded. "It's really great, isn't it? I need to teach more ponies! If I can get this knowledge into the heads of more shamares, then maybe what happened to me won't happen to other dreamwalkers in the future! Oh, I do hope they'll be able to pass it down to others themselves too, without my intervention... You're a great teacher and all, but I think it's for the best if there were more ponies with the knowledge of at least the basics," The young mare gushed excitedly. "Well of course," Agate nodded. "I'm going to be around for a long time, but I'm not going to be around forever, and being the sole pony with the knowledge is hardly ideal." "Alright, I should definitely- Oh! Right! My apologies, do I need to... Pay you anything to take these back to Mystic Weave?" She asked, suddenly remembering that the messenger was still there. "No, the elder paid me to go both ways," He shook his head. "Alright, in that case, let me just... Wrap these back up... And tell her that I'm sorry about the side effects of the dream and that she succeeded in making a working dreamcatcher. It's a little different from mine, but I'm sure that it should work just as well," Dream Step nodded, giving him the package back. "Will do, shamare." ❅ ❆ ❅ The day had come. Chuckling, Agate watched as Spear Throw and Dream Step got into their two-person kayak, their mother still chattering non-stop about foals. A dozen other ponies were likewise preparing around them, forming a small fleet of differently-sized boats, ready to go north. The young pair found a merchant that had a big order of kayaks placed in autumn, and needed ponies to help him actually get them to their destination. Dozens of the small, swift crafts were tied in rows of twos and threes, only the leading one having ponies to paddle them. They agreed to take one for a small fee, with the agreement that they'd be able to buy a kayak themselves, should they be unable to find other merchants to travel with going further north. "And now, we push off... And this is it," Spear Throw explained to Dream Step as he slowly pushed the kayak away from the dock. "There's no coming back after a quick splash now. We're not stopping until we reach the island we're going to, and we're going to be surrounded by nothing but water for a while. Ready?" "Yup. This is new, but nothing too crazy, especially compared to the stuff I get up to in the dream world. I'm worried about my endurance more than anything else, but I think I should be able to manage," Dream Step nodded confidently. "You did well during the practice runs. You'll be fine," The stallion nodded. "Make sure to stop and rest if you feel overstretched!" Spear Throw's mother shouted. "Maybe find a nice, safe island, where you can lay down together and-" "Ok love you mother bye!" Spear Throw shouted, rocketing forward with long, powerful strokes as Dream Step joined in. Laughing, Agate jumped, shapeshifting her forelegs into wings for a brief moment to catch up to the kayak, landing weightlessly on its back. Beside and behind them, the other ponies were moving as well, the merchant's ship taking point. Turning her head around, Agate watched as the shore steadily disappeared from sight. "So, how was your experience in the west? A few times, you seemed worried that they wouldn't like you here," Dream Step asked. "Well, that didn't turn out to be true, fortunately. Not entirely, at least," Agate mused. "What do you mean, traveler spirit? Did someone disrespect you while you were here?" Spear Throw inquired. "A few hecklers during my stories, but nothing out of the ordinary. They do seem to hold different views about me in the western tribe, though. I am famous and respected, but ponies seem to think that I'm some sort of trouble magnet, and that travelling with me is dangerous," She chuckled. "But that's not what they think about me in the north at all, despite the fact that the vast majority of my adventures happened in the northerner's lands. I learned that the merchant is of northern descent, for example, and he thinks that my presence is a blessing." "They really like you here in the north, don't they? You did a lot of things for them, and you still have family here," Dream Step asked. "Kind of, but I think merchants especially like me. For quite a few generations, they, and their ancestors have been trading the crystals from the deposits that I found for the tribe all those years ago. I indirectly brought them a lot of wealth. But yes, I am fairly well liked here." "Well... Even if there's most likely nothing else for me to learn, this should be an interesting journey regardless. Will I get to meet your family?" "Of course. They'll probably insist that you stay with them. Lots of islands to go until we reach Green Land, though," Agate nodded. "Onwards to Green Land, then!"