Dreamweaver

by Revenant Wings

Chapter 2 - Relative Normalcy

Dear Princess Celestia:

I am writing this letter not because I have a friendship report to send to you. I am writing because I have been having problems with dreams that I can’t understand. The first time I had the dream, I was walking along a dark corridor when I saw a light. I walked to the light and woke up. I simply thought it was just a metaphor for me waking up and would not have bothered you if it weren’t for the fact that the dreams have gone on and revealed more to me with every time I’ve experienced them these past eight times.

For example, the first night I was walking along a dark corridor and went towards a light. The second night, I had found that the light source was a torch and carried myself through another door shining with light. The third night I found the door led to the entrance hall of Canterlot Castle. I should be fine since this is familiar territory, but I haven’t been inside Canterlot Castle for nearly two years and can see all the different changes that have taken place with every time that I have the dream without ever seeing them myself. Furthermore, it feels like something is watching me every time I have those dreams, and it has followed me since the fourth dream yet I cannot even see its face.

Princess… I'm scared. Nothing like this has ever happened before, and none of my books seem to have an answer. I have consulted every single book I have on dream theory and meaning, every book on symbolism and psychology, and yet I have found nothing. Not even Star-Swirl the Bearded has such information in his books, and he wrote one of the books I have on dream theory. I know you take pride in me for my knowledge and learning, but this time I’m afraid I can’t. I need your help. Any sort of help would be fine, but please… I need something.

Your faithful and beleaguered student,

Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight sealed the letter and placed it with a note on her desk for Spike to send it to Princess Celestia; the dragon had left to go play with the Cutie Mark Crusaders earlier that morning and would likely be back by the time Twilight had finished her errands she had planned for that day. Taking her saddlebags and a few bits, Twilight left the Golden Oaks Library and began her walk through Ponyville.

Her first stop was Sugarcube Corner for what Carrot Cake had referred to as a “coffee cake”. It was light and sweet with a thin layer of icing over it, and Twilight had become fond of having one with a cup of hot chocolate in the mornings. Twilight went over to the cupcake-shaped building and went inside, the bell tinkling to announce her arrival. Carrot cake himself was at the counter this morning and waved to Twilight as she walked in.

“Good morning, Carrot Cake!” Twilight called.

“Good morning, Twilight,” Carrot Cake responded. “How are your studies going?”

“They’ve been going smoothly,” Twilight replied. “How are Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake?”

“They’re entering into Cheerilee’s class next year,” Carrot Cake said. “Cup Cake is out with them getting their school supplies and some early books for them.”

“Sounds they’re off to a good start,” Twilight said, smiling. “Never too early to get a foal interested in books, I say.”

Carrot Cake nodded. “Anyways, how about that coffee cake and hot chocolate?”

“That sounds wonderful,” Twilight said. She was about to say “thank you” when she opened her mouth wide and yawned. Twilight quickly brought a hoof to her mouth out of courtesy and when the yawn finally subsided Twilight felt more tired than ever before. “You know… I think I’ll take a small coffee instead of a hot chocolate.”

Carrot Cake jumped, causing his tie to flip up and stick there for a moment before settling back down. “Pardon me, but… did you just say a small coffee?”

“Yes, please,” Twilight said. “And a little cream and sugar in it if you don’t mind.”

Carrot Cake went over to a coffee machine behind the counter and pulled a lever, causing a stream of coffee to come out into a little cup. “You almost never order coffee. Did you have a late night of studying last night?”

“Well, I did stay up a little later than usual, but I still got to bed at a decent time. I just woke up in the middle of the night and had a little trouble getting back to sleep due to a dream I had.”

Carrot Cake scooped two spoons of sugar and poured a little cream into the coffee as Twilight talked, taking up a spoon in his mouth and stirring it as he contemplated what Twilight had told him. “You should ask Princess Luna about it,” he said through the spoon in his mouth. “She would know something about dreams and having trouble falling asleep being the Princess of the Night, wouldn’t she?”

Twilight shook her head and laughed. “Oh, I couldn’t bother her with it. She probably has other royal duties that would be more pressing than smaller things like restless nights.”

Carrot Cake raised an eyebrow as he dug into the pastry cases and pulled out a coffee cake, putting it on a plate with a napkin and placing it on a tray with the coffee. “Well, Nightmare Night isn’t far away. Perhaps if the Princess comes down to Ponyville again as she’s done these past years, you could ask her about it then.”

“Oh, please,” Twilight said, taking her tray and walking over to a table. “I’m sure Princess Luna’s gotten offers from other cities to have her come down to Nightmare Night. Baltimare has large celebrations around this time.”

Carrot Cake looked like he was going to say something in response, but he closed his mouth as soon as he opened it and gulped. The resulting silence between the two would have been awkward if it wasn’t for a few other ponies coming in wanting to order something from the Cakes, and Carrot Cake preoccupied himself with taking their order.

Meanwhile, Twilight happily ate the cake and sipped the coffee, letting the still-slightly-bitter drink wake her up from the uneasiness of the previous night. She contemplated talking to some of her friends about the dream, but she was afraid that none of them would understand it. Rainbow Dash would like it because it sounded like a horror story, but she wouldn’t be able to give any advice. Fluttershy would be compassionate, but likely would be scared by the dream as much as Twilight was. Pinkie would probably just think it was all fun. Applejack wouldn’t get it because it dealt with Canterlot Castle, somewhere she had only been a few times and wasn’t exactly fond of the elite, and Rarity wouldn’t get it because it dealt with Canterlot Castle, and she would be wondering why Twilight hadn’t gone to Canterlot without at least dreaming up a dress. Hopefully, Spike would have sent the letter to Princess Celestia by the time Twilight returned home, and maybe she’d give an answer back.

Twilight pushed the thought away as she finished her breakfast and continued on with her daily chores. She stopped by the paper store to buy some more scrolls, ink, and quills. She went to the town hall to pick up some new book donations for the library, including one on astronomy that Twilight thought it would be good to look into later that evening with her telescope. After a quick trip to the chemist’s shop to pick up ingredients for more experiments, Twilight deposited her load at home then went back out for lunch at one of the cafes, where she ran into Rarity and Fluttershy, who looked like they were heading back from the spa. Rarity waved to Twilight and the two joined Twilight eating a sandwich and hay fries at a table.

“Twilight, darling!” Rarity greeted Twilight. “You should have gone to the spa with us today. They were having a special where the mud mask and massage treatment were half off!
And it’s the same quality work from Aloe and Lotus but at a cheaper price than usual.”

“Hey, Twilight,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Hey, Rarity. Hey, Fluttershy,” Twilight responded. “I’ve had some errands I’ve been needing to do for a while and decided today would have been a good day to do them. Maybe next time I’ll join you.”

“Oh, dear,” Rarity said, “you look like you need it, though. I mean, if only you could see the bags under your eyes. Not very becoming at all.”

“And your eyes are all red,” Fluttershy commented. “Have you been having trouble sleeping, Twilight?”

Twilight shook her head. “It’s nothing to worry about, girls. I’ve just been staying up later than usual. I’ve taken on a larger project than usual and just wanted to spend some extra time on it to see if I could get it finished early.” Applejack would be smacking me in the face with a hoof if she were here now…

“Oh, well, good luck on your experiment,” Fluttershy said.

“Or perhaps you need a sort of sleeping mask like I have,” Rarity said. “It makes things nice and quiet and dark and perfect for getting your beauty sleep. Then again, you don’t have a little sister running around.”

“Yeah, Spike’s usually in bed early and Owlowiscious is usually pretty quiet unless he’s flying around outside,” Twilight agreed. “Ah, well. Perhaps I just need to start a little earlier so I can get to bed at my usual time.”

“And perhaps you could sleep in a bit more,” Rarity said. “From the times I’ve seen those lights on in the library, you’re not getting the amount of sleep somepony is supposed to be getting for maximum health and wellness.”

“I’m fine, Rarity,” Twilight said sharply. “Really, it’s nothing to worry about.”

But Fluttershy did. “Twilight, are… are you sure you’re okay? You’re a little more, um, on edge than usual.”

It wasn’t until Fluttershy pointed it out that Twilight realized she was being defensive. Twilight yawned again, wishing she had another cup of coffee with her as she finished her lunch. “Perhaps I should go to bed a little earlier. Anyways, I don’t want to keep you any longer and I still have to run to the market, so I’ll talk with you two later.”

“I need to go, too,” Fluttershy said. “Angel’s running out of carrots. Do you mind if I come along with?”

Twilight smiled. “Certainly, Fluttershy. See you later, Rarity.”

“So long, dears!” And Rarity went back to her shop at Carousel Boutique.

Twilight and Fluttershy walked to the center of Ponyville where the markets were set up. The harvest season was coming to a close and all the farmers from around Ponyville were out selling their fresh fruits and vegetables. Twilight and Fluttershy walked around the stalls, perusing the vendors as they picked up everything from lettuce to cabbage to carrots to zucchini.

“Um, Twilight, can I ask you something?” Fluttershy said.

Twilight nodded. “Certainly. What about?”

“Well, it’s about your sleeping schedule.”

Twilight looked at Fluttershy curiously. “What about my sleeping schedule?”

“Well, you see, one of the bats that I take care of that lives in a tree, well, he’s been flying around your tree lately. But a few nights ago he came back and told me that you were up at three in the morning looking like you had just woken up. If you don’t mind, I was just wondering if you were having any trouble with…” Fluttershy’s voice already quiet voice faded away.

“Any trouble with what?”

“Well, I don’t know… maybe you’re having trouble sleeping and, um, I could offer some help like singing a lullaby for you at night.”

Twilight smiled at the yellow pegasus. “Thank you for the offer, Fluttershy, but I’m up later than you are most nights. Remember last Nightmare Night? You were asleep before the foals were out gathering candy.”

“You do have a point…”

Fluttershy and Twilight finished their shopping in the market and started to head their separate paths home. “The offer remains, if you want me to,” Fluttershy said, then waved and flew off towards her home on the outskirts of Ponyville, while Twilight walked back to the library.

Spike was at home mixing up a few servings of oatmeal, a small salad, and a bowl of rubies. “Is that you, Twilight?” the mare heard him call from the kitchen.

“Yes, Spike,” Twilight called back. “I was just at the market. Did you have fun with the Crusaders?”

“Yeah. We went hiking up one of the hills around Ponyville and had a picnic lunch. Oh, and I got your note and sent it off to Princess Celestia when I got back home. She hasn’t sent back a response yet.”

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said, walking into the kitchen and giving the young dragon a hug. “I have two things for us to do this evening when we’re done with dinner. First is helping me put away the things I got from the market, then I have a few books for library donations. If you help me out and we get done fast enough, I’ll let you have an extra scoop of the chocolate ice cream we got earlier…”

There was a purple and green blur as Spike dashed past Twilight and went into the main library, eagerly searching for the books. Twilight laughed at the little dragon’s eagerness – it wasn’t hard to get him to do much – and followed him out to help him with the chores. When the books were put away and the food was put away, Twilight and Spike ate dinner, then Twilight helped Spike with serving up the ice cream, which the dragon ate slowly to enjoy every single bite; that and Twilight was watching him to make sure he didn’t get too greedy. When Spike was done, he found a Daring Do book in the library and went upstairs to read it while Twilight went to her room to calibrate the telescope.

Twilight had just finished getting her telescope ready for use for that evening when she saw a green flash from behind the door. A little while later, Spike came rushing in and clambered up to the ledge where Twilight was sitting holding a scroll in his claw. “It’s from Princess Celestia,” he said. “But it also says I’m supposed to give it right to you and not read it.”

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said, taking the scroll out of Spike’s claw as the dragon returned to his Daring Do book. Twilight unfurled the letter and read it over.

Spike: I would appreciate it if you do not look at the contents of this letter and give it directly to Twilight.

Dearest Twilight, my most faithful student:

It disheartens me to see a letter coming from you, especially with the tone of distress that was put into it. However, I am sure that even with my knowledge I do not know about the realm of dreams any more than you do and must apologize for being unable to understand your dreams or be able to interpret them. While Princess Luna states that she is busy with the royal duties I have given to and shared with her, she says that she will be coming down again on Nightmare Night and could hopefully find a way to speak with you about the dreams.

Again, I am sorry I was not able to answer your question. For now, I will suggest a slightly restrained use of magic and hopefully the dreams will go away on their own. If they persist, Princess Luna will be down within the week for Nightmare Night and you may receive further counsel on the matter from her.

Your mentor and friend,

Princess Celestia.

Twilight had to admit it was something, just not the something that she had hoped it was. Why couldn’t Princess Celestia, with her thousands of years of knowledge, understand the nature and cause of her dream? For the time being, even Celestia had told Twilight to consult Princess Luna about her dreams, and it did seem like the most logical choice.

But Twilight noticed something strange about her reaction to the letter. Why hadn’t she gone immediately to Princess Luna? What had made her constantly shy away from sending a letter to the princess of dreams and the night? Furthermore, why did it take so long for her to even realize it as a legitimate solution?

For once, Twilight didn’t know how to go about answering her own questions.