Dreamweaver

by Revenant Wings


Chapter 8 - In Love with a Dream

Twilight awoke about three weeks after her first lesson in dream magic feeling refreshed.
Today, Twilight had decided to go to the spa with Rarity and Fluttershy. It was not often that she did so, but she felt like she deserved a break from her studies. Prince Apollo – actually just Apollo, but his striking resemblance to Princess Luna often caused the title to come with it – came to her dreams once every couple of nights, teaching her the ways of dream magic. Twilight’s last sessions were entirely about lucid dreaming and learning to recognize when she was in a dream or not and looking for clues to help her out.
But these nights were rather more exhausting than she had thought. Apollo had warned her of the exertion that would occur and the restlessness that would come with it, but she didn’t expect it to be so profound. A few nights of restless sleep wherein her mind was still active made her wake up sluggish and feeling like she still needed sleep. Apollo shortened the time of the dreams so that she was only restless for about thirty minutes, but it still took a toll on her; waking up a few nights ago, she noticed she had bags in her eyes and had contacted Rarity and Fluttershy about going with them to the spa to relax.
But last night had no problems. Strangely, Apollo had visited her off his usual schedule, but not for a lecture. They had just talked. Apollo told her stories of old magicians he had been bestowed the chance to meet, and Twilight told him of her own exploits and learnings in magic. They had talked for hours in a dream that had taken place on a moonlit hill on a starry night just outside of Ponyville; the town seemed to be bustling like a festival and gave a cheery atmosphere. After talking for a few hours, he’d left, but told Twilight he managed to see how she was doing and was sleeping peacefully.
And she had. She woke up feeling rested and relaxed, though the bags under her eyes told her the spa treatment was certainly welcome. And it had been a while since she’d hung out with Rarity and Fluttershy apart from the other Elements. Twilight cleaned her face up a little and got herself ready to go before heading out and over to the spa of Aloe and Lotus.
Rarity and Fluttershy were talking outside.
“Twilight!” Rarity called. “Are you ready for a full treatment?”
“Hey, Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she approached. “You look like you could relax a little.”
“Hey, Rarity. Hey, Fluttershy,” Twilight smiled and said back. “Yeah, I’ve been having a few restless nights lately.”
“Oh?” Fluttershy asked. “If you wanted, I probably could help you with that, too. I know a few things that are nice when I’m having trouble sleeping.”
“It’ll be alright,” Twilight said as the trio entered the spa. As a matter of fact, I have a bit of a story to tell you.”
“Oh-ho-ho!” Rarity tittered, a grin growing on her face. “Twilight Sparkle engaging in a bit of gossip? I’d never thought I’d see the day!”
“It’s not gossip,” Twilight reprimanded, though a grin was growing on her face. “However, it is almost as juicy as it.”
Twilight said no more as the three paid for full treatments. They were wrapped in towels by the twins Aloe and Lotus and guided over to the sauna. Aloe brought in a load of hot stones and poured them in the center, and Lotus brought in a bucket of hot water. As Aloe left and shut the door, Lotus wrapped a towel around herself before taking a ladle and pouring the water over the coals one scoop at a time, causing the room to be filled with hot steam. Rarity and Fluttershy settled themselves in to hear Twilight as she began.
“A few months ago,” Twilight began, “I began to have strange dreams about being in Canterlot Castle. I was walking the corridors at night, couldn’t see anything, and was being chased by somepony.”
“Ooh!” Rarity gasped. “It sounds like the beginning of a gothic romance novel.”
Twilight nodded. “The first few times the dream happened, I didn’t know what was going on. But eventually the figure came closer and closer to me. Finally, after nine times, the figure showed himself. It was a stallion, but he looked remarkably like Princess Luna.”
“Perhaps he was Luna’s twin?” Fluttershy asked. “Do any of the princesses have relatives we don’t know about?”
“The bloodlines are extensive,” Rarity put in. “Blueblood himself is distantly related to Celestia, as are many of the Canterlot nobility. I’m sure Luna would have one or two alive today herself.”
“I would think so, too,” Twilight continued. “But I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“It’s just a thought,” Rarity said. “But don’t mind me; do go on.”
“It’s actually a disguise. He says he’s battered and bruised extensively, so he used Luna’s form so as not to scare me. I… I must admit, I don’t entirely mind. He poses a rather striking figure; his coat is a deep, velvety blue, his eyes are blue like the deep ocean, and his mane glitters with the night sky. He… he’s handsome.”
Rarity smirked a bit, but said nothing. Fluttershy was smiling politely, but wasn’t speaking up. Twilight continued.
“I’m sorry, I was getting a bit off topic. Anyways, he’s apparently a master of dream magic. Luna told him about my skill in magic and he wanted to teach me dream magic. So, every few nights, we meet up in dreams and he teaches me about some aspect of dreams: acknowledging I’m dreaming, moving around in them, even changing them to how I want.”
“Oh, wow,” Fluttershy said. “It sounds complicated. I’ve heard of lucid dreaming and always thought it’d be nice, but I’ve never been able to make it work.”
“Neither have I,” Rarity said. “I’ve always wanted to lucid dream myself acting out parts from my favorite novels, yet I am hardly able to remember my dreams, much less cause myself to realize I’m dreaming. I’ve heard only a small proportion of ponies can do that.”
“Well, this pony is helping me to train myself in lucid dreaming,” Twilight explained. “The only problem is my mind is active now at nights because of these dreams and so I’m occasionally restless. That’s why I agreed to come to the spa with you today.”
As Twilight finished her tale, she wondered whether or not it was the right idea to tell it. Certainly it wasn’t a bad thing to tell her friends about it, but she wondered if it would suddenly go out that Twilight was learning a new magic both literally and figuratively under cover of darkness. Not that that was a bad thing, either, but others might wonder about who this Apollo was, why they’d never heard of him, and if they could get him to teach them, too. It might scare off the already shy Apollo just when he was beginning to become friendly with her.
The last of the water was poured and the steam had almost disappeared. Lotus turned on a fan and the rest of the steam blew out and Aloe took the trio over to three benches. They all laid down on their backs and had two ponies come up each; one began to do a facial on them and began cleaning their hooves, and another started a gentle massage.
Once they were settled in, Rarity spoke up once again. “It sounds like there’s more to this story, Twilight.”
Twilight fidgeted slightly. The pony at her hooves waited patiently until she’d settled down again. “Well, there is one thing.”
“What is that?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, he’s rather shy. He told me he doesn’t even like to go out among other ponies all that much. One of the few reasons he contacted me is because Luna told him. But… last night, he came in my dreams and had a talk with me. No lessons, just us two, talking. It’s like… it’s like he’s lonely. Like he wanted a friend and finally enjoys my company with him. I’m kind of glad I’m the one who made him want to come around and start socializing with other ponies.”
Rarity nodded sagely. Twilight’s view became cut off as the pony doing her facial and hooves placed two pieces of cucumber over her eyes, but she could still hear Rarity talking in an almost sing-song voice somewhere over to her right. “Oh, Twilight, dear… I think you’re in love.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, though was unsure if the other unicorn could hear it. “What do you mean?”
“I think you’re sweet on him,” Rarity elaborated. “You speak almost reverently about him, you seem to feel pride in that you’re the one he’s talking to, and you have already stated that he looks handsome to you.”
“It’s strange, though,” Twilight said. “He reminds me so much of Princess Luna. The princesses are always held up as high standards of beauty, and rightly so. But… there’s something about this stallion that is intriguing in addition to being handsome.”
“Falling in love is quite natural,” Rarity said. “Almost everypony, at some point in their lives, will find someone they love and fall for them head over hooves. I remember when I was that way with Blueblood; always thinking about him, how dashing he was, and how much I wanted him to sweep me off my feet.”
“I don’t seem to have any of those, though,” Twilight said.
“You kinda do,” Fluttershy commented. “Um, what I mean is, you already have called him handsome, and you seem to really enjoy the fact that you’re getting these private lessons with him.”
“I should be enjoying it,” Twilight said. “I’ve only heard bits and pieces of dream magic, but to learn from someone as skilled as this pony is a rare treat.”
“Ah-ah-ah!” Rarity tittered. “I hear it in your voice, Twilight. And, if I had to guess, you’d probably be blushing and your heart pounding right about now.”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but soon closed it. Rarity was right. At the thought of the handsome stallion from her dreams, Twilight had felt her face go hot and her heart began to beat faster and faster. And even now Twilight could not shake the image of the velvet blue stallion from her mind.
“No need to be ashamed, darling,” Rarity said sympathetically. “If he enjoys your company as much as you say, I’m sure he would feel rather honored himself if you told him about your feelings. Might even be good to take the time to thank Luna for introducing you two.”
Twilight pondered the idea for a long time. She was silent as the massage finished and her facial was eventually washed off. The three ponies walked out into the bright sunshine, and Twilight began to feel like that wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
“You know what?” she said. “I will let Luna know. It’s certainly unexpected, but perhaps I’ll be able to see him face-to-face soon enough.”
“I’m sure he would like that, too,” Rarity said, a knowing smile on her face. “But take it slow, especially considering he’s shy. Don’t want to scare him off too quickly.”
Twilight nodded and waved goodbye. Rarity and Fluttershy walked off in the opposite direction.
“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked. “Do you… do you really think Twilight’s telling the truth? That she’s not just telling us a story?”
Rarity gave a thoughtful hum, but soon smiled again. “Fluttershy, I was half inclined to say that myself. But she told us with such conviction I can’t help but think there’s some truth to her tale. And if she has fallen in love with a young stallion like herself, who am I if I keep her from pursuing him?”
“…and if he’s not real?”
“Twilight is a logical and rational pony. Do you expect her to do something illogical and irrational?”
“Well, no. Not really.”
“That’s settled.” They were about to enter a tea house, but Rarity stopped suddenly at the door. “Oh, but she forgot to give us his name! Poor mare’s probably flustered with coming to terms with her love. No matter; I’m sure we’ll learn things in due course. Come along, dear; it’s time for our tea.”

* * *

Princess Luna looked over the scroll disconcertingly.
The handwriting was familiar and quite welcome. The items in the letter were not. It took her almost four times reading through the scroll to make sure that she was not seeing things.
This is not going as expected…
Once she was sure the scroll wasn’t deceiving her, she got up and walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle and headed towards the opposite wing. She knocked three times on a set of two large golden doors as was customary, and let herself in without being told. Princess Celestia was at a table having a cup of tea and looked up with a rather content smile on her face.
“Good evening, sister,” Celestia said pleasantly. “Is everything alright?”
Princess Luna placed the scroll in front of Celestia, who scanned it. Even before she had finished reading the first time, her brow furrowed and creased. Princess Luna sat patiently, watching as Celestia seemingly re-read passage after passage just as she had done. When she looked up, she was glaring at Luna.
“I thought you said everything was—”
“I thought everything was fine!” Luna said, voice steadily rising. “It was going fine. Then, all of a sudden, this happens.”
“He’s under your control,” Celestia said calmly. “I would have thought, in your nightly comings and goings, that you would have noticed such a thing.”
“I would not have expected this,” Luna said, trying to restrain herself. “You said it might be difficult, but I was not expecting this.”
“Is there a way you can possibly go in and change it?”
“It will be difficult to at this stage. I am due to come back tomorrow night, and what would she think if her mentor suddenly disappeared and I am there in his place? No, it would be unbecoming of us. And no, I’m not using the royal ‘we’; she’d think you’d have some hoof in it, sister.”
“Perhaps an extra hint. Except… except if he goes and does this again, I would be afraid.”
“I am, too. It is the first time such a thing has happened. I have gone and searched all the records, and none have had such problems.”
“Perhaps it is simply in her head. She wishes for him to appear, and so he does.”
“But she remembered so clearly.”
“You do not think she has simply willed him to existence?”
“That is the only explanation I can think of. I have given her hints as you said I should, and yet the disguise has become what she sees. She cannot attribute it to the source.”
Celestia closed her eyes. “You may need to monitor him a little closer. This is a rare phenomenon. If things go any more awry, intensive measures may need to be taken.”
“What do you mean?”
“At first, be frank and truthful about the situation. Let her understand what really is going on. If it continues… we may need to eliminate him.”