//------------------------------//
// Luna and Dream Step Get to Know Each Other 
// Story: Twilight and Luna's Lessons in Teaching: Redux 
// by dracone 
//------------------------------//

				Luna and Dream Get to Know Each Other


After Twilight, Spike and Eclipse were officially out the door Luna turned to Dream Step and in her usual starry gentle voice said, “we should get to know each other, but I want to know what you want to do first.”
Dream's stomach gave a light rumble causing her to give a sheepish smile at the umbra alicorn. “And that's my cue to leave,” said Storm Walker, “Princess Celestia, would you be kind enough to show me to where I'll be staying and explain the preparations you've mad in regards to me?”
Sensing what Storm was playing at the moment he spoke the ivory alicorn nodded and said in her usual mother-like voice, “of course, follow me,” with that she lead the green pegasus out of the room.
Giggling a bit after her sister and Storm Walker had left Luna said, “there's a small dining hall near the throne room, I'll take you there and you can ask anything you want of the kitchen staff.”
Dream's eyes went wide as she looked up at the night princess and said, “I can decide what I get eat? That's never happened before, maybe a menu would be a good idea.”
“I'm still acclimating to modern Equestria myself,” said Luna, “I often ask the serving staff to bring me a menu of the dishes available.”
“You're getting used to Equestria?” inquired Dream as they made their way to the dining hall, “I thought you were a ruler of the nation!”
“I am one of Equestria's diarchs,” said Luna, “but there was a period where I was... absent from Equestria.”
“How long? The way you said 'modern Equestria' implies that you were not present in the nation for a few decades.”
the black coated alicorn gave a deep sigh before saying, “you'll learn about it someday, so I guess it's best I tell you,” after a pause in the conversation as they trotted into the dining hall she said, “but I'll have you wait until you've had something to eat, it's not the kind of story that should be told to somepony on an empty stomach, especially when she's going to be learning from me.”
After they were seated Luna asked one of the nearby guards to have a waiting pony bring her and Dream a pair of menus, the guard nodded and gave a salute and trotted off towards the kitchen area. A few minutes later a fancily dressed metallic yellow unicorn colt of around five years trotted into the room with a pair of six page cloth menus and set them down in front of Luna and Dream before he said in a slightly posh accent, “take your time, my kind mares, call when you are ready to order,” with that he gave curt bow and trotted out of the room.
“It would seem Blueblood took our suggestion seriously,” said Luna with a knowing smirk, “that was his son, Gold Standard.”
“He didn't seem to have a mark,” said Dream, “I noticed when he turned to leave.”
“Yes, well, we can discuss such things later,” said Luna, “for now choose what you want for lunch.”
Dream flipped through the pages of the menu, each page dedicated to something different. A page salads, sandwiches, soups, beverages, pastas, and pizzas. The word menu was posted in small font at the tops of each page. Dream gave a little giggle as the cloth of the menu brushed he hooves and forelegs. After looking over everything carefully she told Luna she was ready, Luna called for the waiter and  lime pegasus mare trotted in with a pad and smile, her auburn eyes twinkling with delight.
“What is you like today?” she said with a chipper agrarian accent.
“Hello, Lime Ring,” said Luna, “Dream Step has decided on what she wants from the menu, go ahead sweetheart.”
Dream Step looked at the pegasus mare then back to her menu for a few seconds before saying, “um, a dandelion and orchid salad, a strawberry and lemon pizza, and a glass of blueberry limeade, please,” said Dream Step in a timid voice.
“Make that a double order,” said Luna, “I fully intend to try what she is having. And if you could bring the dishes out in stages I think would be better for her, I fear all of the dishes coming out at once might overwhelm her.”
“Of course your majesty,” said Lime Ring, “if it's not to presumptuous of me, what are doing with a a filly at the dining table?”
Luna smiled at the green mare and said, “my sister arranged for her to be my new protege, I'm going to get her back for messing with my personal space at a later date.”
Lime Ring nodded and said, “you're orders will be out soon as they are ready,” with that she left the room.
“Um, Lady Luna,” said Dream Step, a few minutes after Lime Ring had left the room, “I noticed you are not using the royal 'we' when you speak, I thought all rulers were supposed to do that.”
“I used to,” said Luna with a smile, “I grew out of it after a few years, mostly because I noticed my sister didn't use it when talking to anypony. That said, I usually slip into that mannerism when I'm angry or distraught, the castle staff quickly learned not approach me when I'm in such states.”
“Great Spell and Grand Charm will find yet another thing to show displeasure towards when they make an arrival in Equestria,” said Dream Step with a deflating voice and her ears pulling back.
“Care to elaborate, Dream,” came a soft and gentle, almost maternal, voice from Luna.
Dream Step let out a deep sigh before saying, “I've been keeping a mental score of things that the influential ponies in Bridleton would find distasteful. They'd probably be amused by the train, but state that such a thing is nothing more than a passing fad. They would say something about it being offensive that royals would not show their 'superiority' to the 'common ponies',” she made little what motions with her hooves when she stated her quotes, stopped looked at them and realized she had been talking with her hooves and voice, “I've... never done anything like that before, I've never even seen or heard of anypony doing the motion I just did. Where did I pick that up?”
Luna just smiled and said, “sometimes when a pony experiences a dramatic change in their lifestyle they develop new quirks. As for where you picked it up, you didn't have to  since such actions just come natural to some ponies. I will admit I do that when talking about nobles I can't stand myself. I initially thought Blueblood to be one such pony worthy of mocking, that is until I learned it was a carefully crafted act to make the majority of the nobility think he was living up to their standards. He's really quite good at it, he missed his calling as an actor in my opinion. Then again I'm always thinking that ponies would do better in the arts, I myself am an artist and that's why I had the training room being filled with artistic tools.”
Dream looked around seeing a few paintings carefully set into the room. After looking at them for a moment she said, “I always liked admiring the art of ages past, but Bridleton's style has remained unchanged for a few thousand years now. No new pieces will ever be truly made, everything has a standard to conform to and you aren't allowed to add your own personal touch, not even your name on the back where nopony will see it. I tried a simple painting once, with my brother and sister playing lookout, it was just some crushed plant dyes and water along with my hoof prints on a blank parchment,” her ears went flat before she continued with, “Grand Charm caught us before I could finish the simple foal's painting with my hooves and unceremoniously set it on fire. The tears that Eclipse and I had over the ashes lasted a good two minutes, all the while Grand Charm was giving us a speech about how we were only supposed to be using our magic for everything other than walking. We were fortunate that I was doing it on a stone floor, I tried to make the impressions match with the feel of the stone under my hooves.”
“I think you'll do well, but you've moved past the age for such things now,” said Luna, “it's time you learned how to use proper art materials.”
“That example I gave was three months ago,” said Dream Step, “I don't know why, but nine months ago I felt the urge to do that, and have been trying do so every three months since. I don't know what's wrong with me.”
“Absolutely nothing,” said Luna with a smile and nurturing tone, “your creative side just wants to express itself.”
“I'm glad to see you two are getting along so well,” came Celestia's voice before the ivory alicorn took a seat across from Luna, “you'll be heading to bed after this I presume, sister,” she continued.
“After seeing to Dream Step's getting to bed,” said Luna, “since my duties pertain to the night I thought it would be a good idea that she learn to be active after the moon rise.”
Dream's eyes went wide, “I've always felt more at ease at night, but I kept on being told go to sleep during that time. The only ones who didn't have a problem with it were my siblings.”
“Yes Storm Walker and Eclipse do seem to be supportive siblings,” said Celestia with a smile.
“Sunshine Bottle too, when she wasn't around our mother or grandmother,” said Dream with a light smile.
“Who is Sunshine Bottle?” said both the royal sisters at once, with notable surprise.
“My eldest sister, and sibling,” said Dream Step, “remember what we told you about our brother?”
Luna nodded before saying, “he has a tendency to omit information because he thinks that because it is common knowledge to him it must be known by nobility, even if he has never encountered their culture before.”
“Hopefully his training in the Royal Guard will lessen that tendency, I think it admirable that he keeps such things tucked firmly under his wings,” said Celestia, “but he has to know when to provide information as well on the off chance that the pony he's talking too doesn't know what he is talking about.”
“It was a good choice, sister,” said Luna, “I noticed his mark. Dream, do you know what it represents.”
“My brother keeps saying he's a guardian, and that it his duty to protect ponies that have earned the right to his protection.”
Luna and Celestia smiled at this, Luna then asked, “what was your brother's duty before you began your trek to Equestria?”
“Whatever Great Spell, Great Seal and Grand Charm demanded of him,” said Dream, “he was mostly a messenger pony or specifically ordered to watch Eclipse and I between our lesson plan periods. Pegasi were never really permitted to serve militarily. Earth Ponies were forced into it, and the griffons were held into their roles by contracts that were maintained and held by most of the nobility, they also had amendments forced onto the contracts that made it so that things that were not favorable to them were part of the deal. None of the ponies in the army wanted to be there if they weren't the commanding unicorn.”
“That's just wrong, surely you are permitted to discover your true talents,” said Luna.
Dream shook her head and said, “mares aren't permitted to take part in most of the jobs or duties of the nation. No mare is permitted to be part of a standing military force if she is not there for provide meals for the troops. A mare isn't permitted to take part in crafting of any goods if it isn't pottery or clothing. The fact of the matter is that Bridleton is stuck in mentality that the original Artanus deliberately avoided, the Artanus that rules now has no legitimate links to the original. That said, one of my brother's best friends is a mare that helps out at the forge.”
“What's her name?” inquired Luna deciding to start things out on a good note in light of the newly given information.
“Forge Hammer,” said Dream Step, “her father decided deny convention because every time he tried to get an apprentice the colt he had his eye on was assigned to somewhere else by Grand Charm, and to make matters worse she would send him a note to hurry up on getting an apprentice. If you want to know more you're going to have to ask my brother, that's all he's told me on the subject.”
“I'll be checking up on him in a few weeks,” said Celestia, “I'll be asking him about such matters then.”
It was after this line of conversation that a pair of silverware and salads floated to their place in front of Dream and Luna. Dream stared her silverware before Luna without a word picked up Dream's salad fork, took a light stab and brought the salad's contents to Dream's muzzle before saying, “come on say 'ah', you can eat the rest yourself, but I want you to try a bite of it first.” Celestia quietly smiled at her sister's actions, Luna had always had a soft spot for foals and this moment was no exception. But instead of asking Luna to stop she witnessed Dream Step motion for the dark alicorn to bring herself closer (which wasn't hard since the two were sitting next to each other) and whisper something into Luna's ear. When Luna leaned back to a proper sitting position Celestia noticed a smile on the faces of both her and Dream Step. What Celestia witnessed next looked more like a mother feeding her daughter more than a mentor helping their student with a meal, Celestia decided to not think much of it considering it was her sister and Luna still had to find an instructional method that worked for her.
The lessons would wait 'til Luna had raised the moon once again, until then it was just two ponies enjoying a meal before heading off to sleep. “Not that we are happy to see you sister, but why are you here? We thought you would be occupied with the court at this hour.”
“I see you have a little annoyance at my presence, Luna,” said Celestia with a teasing tone.
“Of course I am annoyed with your presence, this is the time I must spend for the initial bonding with my student so as to develop a proper lesson plan for her,” said Luna punctuating the part of her statement about having a student with overly hard pounds of her hoof on the table that rattled the dishes that were currently on it. “I want to spend a few hours alone with the filly before bed, mostly so that I can help keep any potential bad dreams away.”
“Um,” said Dream Step with a concerned voice, “I accidentally enter another pony's dreams when I'm not feeling calm, that was almost constant back in Bridleton. The number of times I was actually calm enough to experience my own dreams totals to about a week. Fortunately I usually ended up in Storm Walker's dreams or Sunshine Bottle's dreams. Both of their dreams were pleasant. However around the time I felt a need to express my artistic side I ended up in the dreams of Great Spell and Great Seal, those dreams were scary and what prompted me to follow through on Eclipse's plan for escape. She's way smarter than anypony thought, we all thought she was the scaredest of us all, but she was the most fearless.”
“Actually she was probably the most scared of you all,” said Celestia with a smile, “she just chose to use it in a more constructive way than cowering in fear.”
“But, we still ran from the problem and left some of the ponies that meant more to us than anything,” said Dream with a sorrowful tone and drooping ears and downcast eyes, “I feel guilty for enjoying this meal when my sister and brother's friends are still back in that place.”
“That just shows you have a good heart,” said Luna, who also shot her sister a look that told her that it was time to leave, Celestia took the hint and left with a comment that she would try to see the two at another time. After Celestia had left Luna said, “there's nothing you can do for them as you are now, but once you reach a certain point in your studies you might be able to help them. Don't let your darker side take hold, hold it back with your inner light. I know personally what it means to let your darker aspects take control.”
“Does this have to do with the story you said you need to tell me, but don't want to?” inquired Dream Step.
“Yes,” said Luna, taking deep breath she said, “are you aware of tale about a mare and the moon?” Dream shook her head, “very well,” said Luna with resignation, “a little over a thousand years ago I let my darkness run unchecked and became a being known as Nightmare Moon, what caused it wasn't instantaneous and that part of the story was never explored. Before Twilight Sparkle and her friends banded together and reclaimed the Elements of Harmony and purged me of the darkness that had nearly consumed me they were wielded by Celestia and myself. The six are honesty, kindness, laughter, loyalty, generosity and magic. My sister wielded honesty, kindness and magic while I wielded laughter, generosity and loyalty. It was a few hundred years after we used the elements upon Discord and turned him into stone. My own generosity and loyalty, my two greatest virtues, opened up a chink in my armor. The ponies I considered my dearest friends were lost to me and it was those very virtues I had called on for strength that began to become twisted and invert causing me to see their loss as a betrayal of everything. I blamed my sister for the loss, although looking back with a clearer head now she never had anything to do with my loss. My anger and jealousy at my sister for not experiencing the same loss as me grew until the darker aspects became so strong they caused my personality and form to change into something more menacing. I became Nightmare Moon and almost brought the whole of Equestria into a cataclysm with a never ending night. But that was only part of it, I just didn't want to bring night eternal. I also wanted the respect and admiration that Celestia had with the majority of our subjects. There were a few pegasus clans that had showed a great deal of admiration for me so I granted them the gift of the night, I transformed them from simple pegasi into what are known as the Bat Ponies by most of Equestria, but many of the the ponies that more knowledgeable about such things call them Thestrals.”
“That's a pretty word... did you say bat? I've always had an admiration for bats, but we were never permitted to have pets. I really wanted a bat to share my nights with, especially the past five months.”
Luna smiled and said, “after enough progress has been made for you to keep your ability in check we shall travel to Ponville, there is a pony there that will help you to find the perfect companion, she is one of the sweetest mares you will ever meet, and she is also one of Twilight's best friends. That means you might see your sister during the visit. I know you feel like you were separated, but that's only true if you believe it. You may be apart physically, but if you keep the ponies you care for most in your mind and heart you will never be apart. Thinking of the good times with my sister while trapped in the Nightmare after she banished Nightmare Moon to the moon for a thousand years helped me gain some measure of influence over her actions. I managed to make it possible for Twilight and her friends to first use the elements. If Nightmare had been in full control she would have been very violent and most likely killed Twilight and her friends.”
“You're thousands of years old? Bridleton was established a little over three thousand years ago, the last anypony saw the original Artanus or Myrraldin was a little over six thousand years ago.”
“Equestria was founded a little over five thousand years ago,” said Luna with a smile, “my sister and I didn't take over leading the nation until the nation was a little under a thousand years old. Of course that was after we bested Discord, before then we just maintained simple duties. For me that meant raising and lowering the moon in addition to watching over the dreams of ponies at night. For my amusement, and that of a few others, I would brighten the stars of the constellations I had found as a filly.”
“If you were just separated from the Nightmare doesn't that mean the essence is still out there? Sorry it's just a thought, I'm worried that the power that took you over will find me... and maybe turn me into a being calling herself Fallen Dream or something equally as dreary.”
“No worries the remnants of Nightmare Moon were handled by Celestia herself, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Now, let's finish your appetizer before the main course gets here.”
“What about your salad?” inquired Dream Step.
“I'll get to it after I've been assured you won't mope about circumstances you have no control over,” said Luna with a smile.
“You don't understand, I'm the elder twin it's my duty to...”
“Keep your sister safe,” finished Luna, “and it's her duty to do the same, do you trust your sister?”
“I trust in all my siblings,” said Dream as the fork lifted to her mouth in Luna's magic and the filly took another bite of the salad making slow deliberate chews for a minute before swallowing and saying, “I just never trusted the influence that seemed to govern my elder sister. I cowered in fear of her, so did Eclipse. But then one day she changed, she started sneaking off to the library and pouring through books in sections of the personal library we had never even approached before, everything she did wasn't like she had been before, it's like she had become a different pony.”
“No, she just figured out how to use what she had to an advantage,” said Luna as she lifted another morsel of the salad to the filly's mouth, Dream opened up and bit it off the fork and began chewing before Luna continued, “she just found her courage. Courage is having the power to act in spite of your fear, the fear is still there, you just use it to motivate you differently than most other ponies would. It's unhealthy to deny your fear, so you see...” Dream Step took a quick gulp of her food.
“But Eclipse kept hiding the fact she was afraid during the entire planning for the escape and the escape itself.”
“What were the first she things she did when she came to Equestria?” asked Luna in a gentle voice that was free of  condescension.
“She fell asleep at your hooves next to me, then after we arrived here she ran to Lady Twilight,” said Dream Step with concern evident in her voice, she's only shown an immediate feeling of safety around a few ponies, but never to to that extent it's like she...”
“Wanted Twilight Sparkle to be her maternal figure,” finished Luna, “your brother mentioned something about her occasionally being able to sense the true personality of other ponies.”
Dream Step nodded before saying, “every time she encountered a new pony she would show fear or comfort, but it only seems to happen during the summer months, that's why he said occasionally, if she could get a handle on that ability it could help us with deciding who to trust.”
“You should never put so much faith in a singular ability,” said Luna with a serious tone, lifting a large portion of Dream's salad that was almost too much for her mouth.
“Um, Lady Luna,” said Dream timidly, “I think you are trying to give me a little too much.”
“Oh, sorry sweetheart,” said Luna as she pulled some salad off the fork with her magic and set it back on the dish, “there we go, I want you to chew this slowly, I have something very important to tell you.”
Dream Step made an “aaaaahhhhhhhhh,” sound and bit down on the downsized morsel.
“Good girl,” said Luna as she saw the filly taking very slow chews, “I was the same way with my Dream Walking ability after I learned it had another property. You see, I could look into the pasts and possible futures of ponies by entering their dreams and the dreams of those close to them. I still can, but I'm not as reckless as I was back then. There was a time when I would rely entirely on the ability to glimpse a pony's future in my decision making. When my sister found that I was doing amazing work, but seeming to be deprived of my rest she confronted me at one of my weakest, and admittedly more embarrassing, moments and confronted me about it all. I was too tired to try and evade her and just blurted out the truth, that was the first time my sister had heard of that property of my dream walking. Do you know what she did after that?”
Dream just shook her head, seeing as she still had a mouth full of food, this caused Luna to chuckle before saying, “she scolded me with one of her infamous, 'you are such an idiot' stares before she pulled me into one of her warm hugs. I only use the ability while helping guide ponies every once and a while. I also used it to write a very special book, the same book that Twilight read the tale of Nightmare Moon's return within in fact. I created a book of prophecies before I fell to my inner darkness, at the time I didn't realize I was fated to be Nightmare Moon.”
“Really?” asked Dream Step with surprise, “how come?”
“Divining into the future can be tricky,” said Luna as she lifted the last of Dream's salad to her muzzle, “now eat up while I tell you about it, chances are that you might be able to do the same once you have finer control over your magic,” Dream took the last of the salad without a word and nodded curtly after pulling the food off the floating fork, Luna smiled and said, “There was a pony a few centuries before my turning to Nightmare Moon, she showed all of what my sister believed would be the signs of Nightmare Moon. Remember this, those watching for signs of heroes and villains as well as prophecies can be lead astray by decoys. That mare, her name was Night Mask and she was an actress that was down on her luck and was being manipulated through a series of spells a group of less than friendly unicorns had created to amuse themselves, one of those unicorns happened to have access to the archive where Celestia and I kept the prophecies I had managed to divine.” Dream Step stared at he dark alicorn in awe, her food being chewed much more thoroughly than any of the other bites she had taken with her mouth still closed, she looked like she had forgotten to swallow, “you can swallow your food now, Dream,” the white filly gave a big gulp that indicated she was swallowing, “very good, we managed to free her, had all guilty parties arrested, and passed a new set of laws to curtail such unscrupulous behavior. One of the first things I did after my return was Track the career and Night Mask, as well as the rest of her life. She became an actress of incredible standing, and had seven foals with a good stallion. Night Mask was a unicorn, and her husband was as well. And you actually met one of her descendants.”
“Who?” said Dream with excitement.
“Your sister's new mentor,” said Luna matter-of-factually.
“Lady Twilight! Did she have a role in the Prophecy of Nightmare Moon?”
“Yes, she was the inheritor of the element of Magic.”
“One of the Elements of Harmony? She was a successor?”
“Yes, the element of magic is a key, without it nopony can fully access the other elements.”
Silence reined in room for several minutes. A pair of glasses with the requested beverage floated in carried by a topaz aura, Dream's plate and silverware floated out, a large pizza of the requested type floated in and came down between the two ponies before a new set of plates positioned themselves on the table so as to not disturb the drinking glasses, then two triangular slices floated out from the large disc and  set themselves on the plates of the two ponies before the sound of hooves retreating was heard. Luna smiled and started to slowly eat her salad and sip her beverage.
“Why are you just now starting on your salad?” inquired Dream Step, sniffing her slice and staring at the triangle with interest.
“You've never seen pizza before,” said Luna with a smirk, “I reacted the same way when I first encountered it. Go ahead, take a bite of the slice.” Dream took a bite and her eyes lit up before she scarfed the rest down and gave a sheepish smile. “I did the same thing,” said Luna with warm smile, “I have always had a love of foals, I would like to think that if I had any they would be very much like you are, only a little better adapted to life here.”
“I would want to have a mother like you,” said Dream as she tugged at a piece, which broke prematurely causing the filly's eyes to water in preparation for crying.
“Your sister seems to already have decided that Twilight is her new mom,” said Luna, “you might not recognize her at your next meeting, she'll probably have a number of Twilight's quirks and nuances, and you might adopt a few of mine by then as well,” she took another bite of her salad, then a nibble of her pizza, “there is something off about this pizza, but since you've never had it before you probably...”
“The dough it a little too rich and we need another set of fruits as toppings since these two don't seem to play nice with the cheese... how did I know that? I've never encountered any of this, it's like I'm recalling somepony else's memories.”
“Actually, everything you said was of suspicions that I had. The kitchen staff here is wonderfully competent, but they have a tendency to get over zealous of components to the dishes they make or throw things together so as to surprise the 'royal pallets' without regard to how it actually is. All that said, it is a bit odd that you would able to discern all that from your first time of eating the dish. Are you sure you've never had pizza before?”
“I had never heard the word before today,” said Dream Step, “in fact I'm not sure how I managed to properly read the word properly, seeing as it is quite foreign to me. Something isn't adding up, wait I remember Eclipse said something during the last week before we made to Equestria that got her and us confused.”
“What was that?” said Luna.
“She said something about being hungry enough to down her weight in 'hayburgers', the thing is before that moment none of us had heard that word before. It's almost like...”
“Something else was deciding your words,” finished Luna.
“Now that I think about it,” said Dream Step as she took a big bite and quick chew of her new slice before swallowing, “the three of us have picked aspects that we never had prior, and didn't have a chance to really learn. Strom Walker called us both 'little honeysuckle' a few times in the week before we made our escape, he never used that word in reference to ponies before. Even Sunshine Bottle said things that she hadn't before, it's almost like... something was crawling through cracks in a barrier. Maybe when I have enough control over my magic we can use our Dream Walking abilities to try and find it within me.”
“Your reactions to normal expressions here in Equestria does seem a bit odd, a look at some of your aspects through your dream region would be a good idea.”
“A bit of warning Lady Luna,” said Dream Step, “I can tell when somepony enters and is looking around my dreams. I caught Great Spell doing it once, I forced her out ten seconds after I became aware of her presence.”
“You can also tell who is invading your dreams?” said Luna with surprise.
“Only if I've encountered them before,” said Dream Step, “if it's somepony I've never seen or heard before then their identity is a mystery to me.”
“I never encountered anything like that before,” said Luna, “I wonder if I'm the same way, we can look into it once you have a bit more control or I can get some assistance from Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh right,” said Dream snapping out of the deep thought at Luna's words had put her into, “Lady Twilight copied the dream walking spell from one of those books that's being sent somewhere I don't want to know about.”
“That might change one day,” said Luna, “you or your sister might think that one of you might have found away to finally destroy them, or research them in a way that can benefit other ponies. That bag your sister brought is having its magic matrix studied by some of the best magical minds in Equestria, when they're done it'll be sent to Twilight for her to study and your sister to pass final judgment on what is to be done about it. It was she who brought that bag with improved storage to Equestria, we think it only fair she decide what is to be done about it afterwards.”
“I already know what she'll say, she said that if it was ever given back to her she would 'treat it with the respect it deserves', she had no malice in her voice when she said that, she sounded sad when she said that. It was like she regretted not being able to... mourn the creature from whom the bag was made. One of the last lessons before our escape we had was an item enchanting lesson, we each were given a random item to enchant. Eclipse asked something when she received her item.”
“What items did you all have to enchant?”
“Sunshine Bottle had to enchant a flower pot, I got stone shield, and Eclipse had a... fox hide placed in front of her. She... looked like she was going to cry when she saw what she was given to work with, she hid the pelt somewhere nopony would find it after the class, neither of us could get an enchantment going.”
“I think I know what your sister did,” said Luna with a smile, “she wanted to give poor creature its last rites and respect its sacrifice, in other words she buried it and sent up a small prayer for its soul. I can not be sure about such things, I was just making an educated guess, we will have ask for confirmation from your sister when we see her next. Your sister said the bag was made from the hide of a deer, why would they use the hide of another living creature? Especially in such a disrespectful manner. Deer are a people with their own culture and language.”
“The unicorns that rule over Bridleton have a massive sense of superiority, one that makes the nobles here in Canterlot look like foals playing at nobility. They believe that everything is beneath them, be they be pony or something else entirely. The deer are a wild people that have rejected most technological advancements, many of the high standing unicorns think it 'fashionable' to hunt foxes, deer and various birds. Eclipse, Sunshine Bottle, Storm Walker and I didn't think much of it. That is, until about a year ago. Around a year ago Eclipse suddenly made the motions of feeling ill when she heard that ponies were going on their monthly hunt, it wasn't until a few months ago that my brother, elder sister and I showed signs of being disgusted at the act. Every time after that day Eclipse looked at anything that was made with animal hide she would start shaking say how much the leather-works were creeping her out. I will admit the deer skin bags did make mefeel uneasy, but I didn't know how much those bags made my sister feel like she was going to be ill.”
After finishing her slice Luna said, “I noticed you talk more about your siblings than yourself, is there a reason why?”
“There's nothing special about me other than my ability, and I can't even control it. I'm less likely to jump into somepony's dreams when I'm near my sister, there's absolutely nothing I'm worthy of saying about myself.”
“Except that you have a natural humility that very few ponies ever find when they look all their lives for it, you are just as amazing as your siblings. Your elder sister may be better at magic, but she's been learning longer and actually was taught the basics; your brother might be tough and strong, but that's because he's spent years working at it; and your twin might be very knowledgeable, but that's because she spent so many hours reading what she could. You, on the other hoof, looked at what others were doing and made the choice to not put forth the effort because you were afraid to work your talent. You said you've felt the fires of an artistic soul burn within you recently, who is to say it wasn't always there? You just resigned yourself to a position where you would continue to feel useless.”
“Art hasn't changed in Bridleton for thousands of years,” said Dream Step with a resigned sigh, “Great Spell kept on saying artists don't amount to anything more than somepony who makes decorative pieces.”
“That's another problem I see,” said Luna with a gently prodding voice, “you're letting others dictate what is possible for you, they can't really know what you're capable of. You shouldn't let anypony other than you dictate what is possible for you. Remember You are no longer in Bridleton, Equestria is much different. Anypony, regardless of the standing they were born into can become whatever their talent says they are special at. Can you guess what the talents of the alicorns you've encountered are?”
Dream just stared at the unfinished pizza, with slices pulled out of it, for a few minutes before saying, “Lady Celestia's talent is raising the sun, yours is raising the moon and I think Lady Twilight's talent has something to do with stars.”
“Not quite,” said Luna with a little giggle in her voice, “you're taking images literally without considering their symbolism. My talent isn't just raising the moon, it's being the Guardian of the Night. I can trot through the dreams of my subjects to ensure that their dreams are not too dangerous or traumatic, raise the moon, adjust the brightness of stars in the sky, influence or adjust the dreams of myself and others, and I don't like bragging, but when it comes to combat I was always more flexible than my sister. All of these mean I'm meant to be the Guardian of the Night. My sister's skills are raising the sun, being analytical, being able to read the true intentions of others, and giving a warm encouragements when she sees the are needed, nurturing of others and releasing immense power on revealed threats in a fairly direct manner. That all means she is meant to be the Guardian of the Day. Twilight Sparkle's talent is magic in and of itself, in all of Equestria's history only one other had that talent. There is a fourth Alicorn, Princess Cadance. Since you haven't met her yet you couldn't possibly guess what her talent is.”
Dream looked at the umbra alicorn for a moment that to both felt like hours before saying, “we were told it was impossible for anypony to have a special talent for magic. Since I can visit the dreams of other ponies naturally does that mean that I have a talent similar to yours?”
“Something my sister and I have learned over our time is that nothing is really impossible,” giving a smirk and giggle she said, “it might be true that you have talent similar to me, but remember even if two ponies claim to have the same talent it will vary in its meaning between them. Now, let us get you to bed. I will see you tonight after I have seen to my duties.”

***********************************

A few minutes later the two of them were trotting through the Night Wing of the castle towards the sleeping chambers. They stopped with a large door that bore a crescent moon on it, “That is my room,” said Luna indicating the door with the moon on it, then gesturing to door to its immediate right, a door with the constellation of a bat winged pony, “this is yours,” she threw open the door. Dream was met with a huge trot-in-closet adorned with various constellations immediately across from the door, to her right a bed that would make any king or queen in Bridleton feel like they were sleeping in a bed for foals adorned with nigh themed sheets that were topped with a crescent moon dominated quilt, the floor was covered in a series of 6 rugs that were placed in such a way that they appeared almost seamlessly one making the imposing image of a crescent moon dominate the space next to bed where one would enter and exit the sleeping apparatus, across the room from the room was stain glass window that took up half the wall showing Princess Luna raising the moon. “Really, my sister's decorating staff went overboard when they renovated this room last! What do you think?”
Dream Step just stood their awestruck for a few minutes before saying, “This is going to be my room? It looks like it is meant for royalty, it's too much... I can't explain it, but it feels right, almost like I finally realized I've come home.”
“That's nice to hear,” said Luna, “but I think that might be an exaggeration, I always intended for this room to belong to my first official personal student.” 
“It feels more like it was intended for your daughter,” said Dream absentmindedly, realizing what she just said Dream quickly said, “I hope I wasn't being presumptuous.”
“No,” said Luna with gentle smile, “I just never really thought about something like that. Get to bed, I will see you in the night when we are both properly rested.
Dream just nodded and headed to the bed, Luna used her magic to neatly pull the covers back and place the filly into the bed before pulling the covers around her, “good dream time Miss Luna,” said Dream Step before falling asleep with a yawn.
“Good night,” said Luna, noticing that Dream looked like a comet of white across the sky that presented itself in the covers of the bed, “little comet.” With that Luna left the room, noiselessly shutting the door behind her. After shutting the door to her room silently behind her she removed her royal vestments and slipped into her bed, a genuine smile across her muzzle as she drifted off to sleep. The Night Princess had always had a love of foals, and now she had one that would be turning to her for guidance. Maybe she would go a little easy on Celestia with her payback, just a little. Just as she was drifting off to sleep a plan she had never considered entered her mind, and would eventually come to dominate her thoughts and dreams for a few hours.