Stars Relit

by Rocinante

Unspoken

/ / / Unspoken / / /

Luna wasn’t familiar with this colt, or his problems, but the dream had caught her attention. Now inside it, she found herself mesmerized with the creativity of his self torment. Trapped on an angry sea, the colt battled sea monsters from the deck of a floundering ship. He fought with everything he had, but his own dream fouled him at every turn.

Hidden among the storm clouds, Luna nudged the dream. The ocean calmed, and the ship floated higher. Bit by bit the monsters fought with less fury and the colt’s luck turned. With the playing field leveled, the little colt defeated one monster, then another. She could have sundered them, but she felt these were monsters the little one need to slay himself. Content with her work, Luna turned and stepped out of the dream.

The dream parted like fog, letting her step back into the space between. As the mist of the dream vanished, Luna expected to find the glittering expanse of the moon and stars. What she found, was a haggard and twitchy Twilight Sparkle.

“Are you okay?” Luna asked.

“Yes! Not really,” Twilight answered.

Stepping clear of the dream, Luna let it drift away. “Do you want to talk about it here, or in creation?” she asked. It had been a long time since she had seen Twilight this shaken, even longer since she had come to her for help.

Twilight didn’t speak, instead she turned away from her and began to weave a spell. It was one Luna herself had taught Twilight: her dream finding spell. As a dream bubbled forth, Twilight opened her mouth, but whatever words she had in mind refused to come out. Again she began to speak, but only a groan came out. Stamping her hooves, Twilight resigned her efforts to talk and just pointed at the dream.

Walking up next to Twilight, Luna felt the dream Twilight had summoned. It was the quiet, peaceful dream of a young mare. “Who is this?” she asked.

Twilight’s magic rippled over the dream, holding it in place, but careful not to alter it. “Evening, this is my friend Evening’s dream,” Twilight chanted.

“Okay...” Luna said. Twilight worried her when she got like this. Her divine gift had a few quirks that neither Celestia or hers had. They had figured out long ago it was best to just let her show them, over trying to explain anything. “Do you want to go into the dream?” Luna asked.

“Yes,” Twilight said in a sigh of relief. The stars’ geis was an infuriating shackle—showing Luna the old memories within Evening was her only option. Not waiting for Luna, she stepped into the dream. Lush grass greeted Twilight’s hooves as she waded into the dreamer’s world. Breathing in the dream's serenity, Twilight let it calm her frustrations.

A smaller-than-real Evening sat in a boundless field. In the skies, a Wonderbolts performance played out for the sole spectator. Looking back Twilight watched Luna manifest and blend with the dream, her form shifting from alicorn to spangled pegasus. She started to allow the dream to define her form too, but decided against it. She wanted Dash... Evening to recognize her. Hopefully she could show Luna what she couldn’t tell her.

Evening didn’t notice her sit in the grass beside her; joining in watching the show. The host of fliers danced in the air above their heads. Their wings making every movement properly, the stunts in proper form. Dreams were normally stylized, details often omitted for the sake of expression. Fine details were reserved for things of special importance.

“Do you want to fly with them?” Twilight asked, leaning closer to the filly.

Evening jolted to the sudden presence of her mentor, then grinned. “You’d let me ride on your back?”

Twilight smiled, shaking her head slightly. Dash’s love for flight burned within Evening: she was amazed she hadn’t already taken to the air under the power of her own dreams. Perhaps the logical side of her brain was holding her to the false gravity. “There’s a spell that will let you fly.” Twilight said, dragging a hoof across the turf, she tore away the grass and exposed fresh soil. Altering the dream as little as she could, Twilight formed incomprehensible signs and scribbles in the exposed dirt. It was nothing more that a ink blot, but it was enough for the unicorn to assume what she wanted it to be. And that’s all that mattered in dreams.

Looking over the stylized formula, Evening’s horn flared. Its light scouring her sides, erupting feathers from her coat. Pink magic and yellow feathers, became orange wings that glowed like burning embers. The filly’s face beamed in ecstasy as she used her construct wings to power off into the sky.

Luna couldn’t help but smile at the foal-like joy radiating from Evening as she soared into the sky. Flying dreams were always emotionally powerful: it was strange to Luna that Evening had needed a sort of permission to indulge in the fantasy. “Is that what you wanted to show me?” Luna asked skeptically.

The two watched in silence as Evening flew among the Wonderbolts. “No,” Twilight finally said. Reaching into her magic, Twilight again stirred her element, she would awaken Dash like she had Applejack. But her element would not answer her. She reached deeper, but she found only herself.

Luna jumped back, the space around Twilight crackled and hazed black. Panic and fear laced Twilight’s magic as it scoured blindly for something. The dream absorbed the taint, the grass wilted and the skies darkened; the foal’s dream would soon be a night terror. Luna shattered the dream.

Evening jolted out of her sleep, cold silence and mid-morning sun greeted her as she reoriented herself. She didn’t know what had woken her, but she was undoubtedly awake.

“You ok?” her roommate asked from her writing desk. “You were sleeping kinda restless.”

“Yea,” Evening said, rubbing at her withers. She could still feel the phantom wings. “Really strange dream.” Checking the clock, her first lecture of the day wasn’t for a few hours yet. “I’m going to the library,” Evening said blandly. Sliding out of her bed she left the dorms and headed across the lunar campus.

- - -

The space between dreams rushed in to fill the void. Luna’s senses reeled at the shock, but she righted herself in a thought. Inky smoke still clung to Twilight. Lunging forward, Luna threw her hooves around Twilight, and flared her own magic.

“Easy girl,” Luna cooed into her ear.

Love and concern pressed against Twilight’s panic. Where was her Element? “Where is it!?” Twilight asked.

“Shh...” Luna stroked Twilight’s neck. “Focus on me. I’m here.”

Luna’s words and magic dragged her out of her panic, just enough that she found the smoke her aura was creating. Dark magic, on accident: this wasn’t good. Celestia’s oldest lesson echoed in her memories, see your own magic first.

Twilight relaxed in Luna’s grip. In steady steps, the aether around them returned to its normal state. Letting go of Twilight, Luna waited for her to speak. But Twilight’s magic winked out all together, and her form dissolved from the space between. With a frown Luna followed suit.

Awake and in her bed, Twilight kept her eyes closed. She wanted to cast a spell, any spell, just to see that she could. Equally she wanted to find her Element of Magic, to hold its physical form, to see that it was still bound to her. But she held still.

The crack of hooves on her balcony told her somepony had landed. When their hoofsteps entered her chamber, she knew who it was without looking; Luna’s gait was unmistakable.

“Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked.

It was a question that made Twilight’s stomach knot. Unwilling to speak, she nodded. Luna shuffled at the answer: she was relaxing. Luna hadn’t been sure. “Is my tiara on its stand?” Twilight asked, afraid to look herself.

“It is,” Luna answered.

“I tried to use the Element of Magic, but it wouldn’t answer me.” Letting her inner magic stir, Twilight felt ever so lightly for the Element’s power. It was there, right where it always was. But where had it gone?

“Why,” Luna sounded insulted.

“I need to show... you something. That you know I can not speak freely about.”

“And so you were going to use your friend?” Luna asked. Twilight winced at her words. Luna hated to see Twilight like this, but she could not let her follow that path. Stepping closer, she laid on the bed next to the quietly sobbing Twilight. “Shh...” she whispered, placing a wing across her. Twilight jerked away from the touch, but then relaxed into it “I know. I know,” Luna said, wiping away a tear from Twilight’s cheek.

- - -

Evening slid another book off the shelf and scanned its pages. Finding the desired passage, she sat it next to the book that had referenced it; which in turn laid next to the book that had reference that one, and the dozen other books it had referenced. The family tree, by way of bibliography, stretched the span of several bookshelves within the archives. Tracing the branches or referential material for a previous passage, something nagged at her senses: she was being watched.

Crouched and weary, Evening looked to find Princess Twilight watching her from the edge of the sprawling mass of books. She should have found relief in that, but something in her mentor’s expression worried her.

“Princess?” she asked. One word, but many questions.

“I’m sorry,” Princess Twilight answered. She was smiling, but her eyes were wet.

“For what?” Evening asked, walking towards the Princess, careful not to temple the books.

“I tried to use you. I did use you. And my element rebuked me for it.”

“I don’t understand. Your element? Are you okay?”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile at Evening's concern for her. “Yes, I’m fine. It was temporary. Are you okay though?”

“Yea. Why wouldn’t I be. Is this about your friends?”

“I owe you an explanation. Or as much of one as I am allowed to. Do you know what happens when a pony dies?” Twilight asked, her voice shaky.

“You said they were in the stars. Like the old legends say, the dead go to live in the stars, shooting stars mean a loved one is watching.”

Twilight nodded. “That is all ponies are meant to know. Something older than knowledge made it so. Not even I can break that law.”

“You know more don’t you?” Evening asked.

Twilight only looked at Evening for a moment before speaking, "I used you in an attempt to get around that. It was a breach of our friendship at the deepest level.”

“That was actually you in my dream, wasn’t it?”

Again Twilight answered with a long silence before she spoke, “Can you forgive me?”

“Of course,” Evening said leaning forward to press necks, but halting as she remembered the Princess’s status. Twilight frowned at her hesitation; reaching forward, she pulled the filly into a hug. A soft smile returned to her face as she felt Evening relax into the embrace and return the hug in earnest.

What time is it anyway?” Evening asked.

“Almost eight o'clock,” Twilight answered, glad for a change of topic.

“Horseapples, I missed my lecture.”

“Which one?” Twilight asked.

“All of them.”

Twilight laughed. The stacks were easy to lose yourself in. She had missed her fare share of lectures after getting engrossed in the solar archives. “So what are you researching?” she asked. Looking to the sprawling collection of books, she recognized the pattern, it was a trick she had used many times.

“Well, I started looking up spells that would give me wings.”

“Those don’t work like you hope they do,” Twilight interjected.

“Yea, I remember Spike’s story about Rarity. And all the ones I found look pretty much the same, all evocation school. So, I started looking up transmutation, to see if I could make my own spell, and that lead me to fate manipulation—cause what if I could trick creation into thinking I had been born a pegasus.”

Twilight winced at Evening train of thought. She knew where she was going and it wasn’t pretty. Rewriting fate, even temporarily, was second only to time travel in its complexity.

“-that’s when I found this,” Evening said, bringing Twilight back to the present, as she hefted a book in front of her.

Twilight took the book into her magic, and turned it to see its spine Visions in the Dark by Dream Weaver . “I knew this author. But I don’t remember her writing this,” Twilight mused.

“You knew Dream Weaver?” Evening’s voice pulled her from the page.

“Yea, she was just a little younger than me.” Twilight answered, opening the book to examine its contents. “How do you know about her?” she asked, snapping back to the present.

Evening shrugged. “There’s a whole chapter about her in our book on the dangers of magical obsession.”

“There’s a textbook on that?” Twilight asked, forgetting the book she was holding for the moment.

“There’s a class on that. Mandatory for all incoming students.” Evening's tone made it clear she found the class a waste of her time.

“Huh,” Twilight said, making a mental note to audit the class next semester.

“I have no idea where that book belongs,” Evening said, wading back into her sea of books. “It was mis-cataloged. Had the number for Fate Forgotten. Still haven’t found that...” Evening said, glaring at a shelf Twilight assumed the book had come from.

Returning her attention to the book, she flipped through its pages. Twilight found her old colleague's familiar pattern of multi-chapter preambles, punctuated by the cryptic text of her visions. Dream Weaver died penning her thirty eighth vision; so she had thought. But here were four prophecies that were unknown to her. These were lost works.

The first vision rang true, as all her others had been: a warning that could have saved much heartache during the conflict between the deer and the griffins.

“I have a copy of Fate Forgotten in my personal library,” Twilight answered slowly.

Curiosity sent her to the final pages, in search of a prophecy not yet come.

“Awesome!” Evening cheered. Twilight didn’t hear her.

In the third century since the taming of chaos, harmony will ebb. The power of the dark ascends and the light retreats to security, so that the dark cannot encroach upon it. When the hearts of harmony fall from the stars, the transition from the old to the new time is already accomplished. For it is just when perfect equilibrium has been reached that any movement may cause order to revert to disorder.

Comments

[Icantreadallthis]

Dat cliff-hangar

[djthomp]

And suddenly epic happened.