Dreamweaver

by Revenant Wings

Chapter 7 - Lesson 01: Awareness

It had been days since Twilight had this dream.

And yet it seemed quite eager to start her off this time.

Twilight found herself starting almost immediately off at Princess Luna’s chambers, without the ability to go much farther. The hall was well lit behind her with three sets of lamps, but after the lights of the third set the hall became an impenetrable blackness; Twilight tried using a spell to create a small pool of light, but it was like the hall just ended and her light shone on a wall. No other doors were present and the door to the princess’ chambers was cracked open.

Twilight still found it more polite to knock.

“Come in,” the familiar, almost dream-like male voice responded kindly.

Rather odd way of thinking about it… Twilight mused to herself.

Twilight pushed open the door to see Apollo sitting at a small desk with a small purple book probably smaller than most books she had in the library. It was also quite unfamiliar to her. Apollo was practically adorned in the regalia of the Princess of the Night; dark blue hoofcups, the necklace around his chest, the crown with the shape of the moon on his head. His fur was an even more striking dark blue and the similarly colored eyes twinkled at her like the stars in his mane as she entered the room.

Twilight almost thought he looked oddly striking and handsome. There was something in both the economy of his movements and the serene grace with which he seemed to do everything that intrigued her as much as she was wary of him.

“So, do you accept my offer?” Apollo asked curiously though without hurry.

I have one question, Twilight dared.

“I presume you have many,” Apollo said with a hint of a light laugh. “I shall answer as many as you wish.”

How come you don’t like being seen face-to-face?

“I rather like to experiment. Much like yourself, from what Princess Luna has told me. I’m afraid I got into a magic accident that burned an eye and caused multiple other wounds. It’s a rather personal thing, but if it sets your mind at ease, I could show you what I mean.”

…I’d rather not. But it does seem kind of weird only meeting in dreams like this.

“I understand completely. It’s rather difficult to establish a connection if one does not know the actual pony.”

More than that. You chased me for nine nights. And the whole thing of telling me about the Nightmare Night pranksters… I feel less inclined to trust you for that since I can’t see who’s behind it.

Apollo smiled at her gently. “You are as inquisitive as Luna told me you’d be,” he said, amused. “You have my word that I have no dark magic; I simply saw that in their dreams the night before. Consider it a friendly warning of sorts.”

Wasn’t so friendly the first eight times, Twilight deadpanned.

“Then let me make it up to you,” Apollo said. “Come; I’ve heard you’re a bright young mare. It shall be interesting to see your capabilities.”

Apollo got up from his position behind the desk and started walking towards the door. Twilight went to open the door for him, but Apollo sat down and patiently watched her was a shade of amusement in his face. It took a minute before Twilight realized both that he wasn’t going to follow her and that he was smirking at her.

…what are you looking at me like that for?

“Come back in here and close the door. I have a more appropriate place for us to train your magic.”

Twilight, confused, went back into the room and closed the door behind her until it clicked shut. Apollo finally got up and closed his eyes. His horn pointed to the door for a moment and glowed brightly, but suddenly stopped glowing with a loud zap, at which point he opened his eyes and smiled contently.

“Would you like to go through first?” Apollo asked.

Twilight cocked her head. You did nothing.

“Oh? Why don’t you go see for yourself.”

Twilight went over to the door and grabbed it with a hoof and pulled. Light suddenly flooded the room and the sound of birdsong and running water like a gentle stream came through the air. Twilight stepped through the door and looked outside the room.

It looked nothing like Canterlot Castle.

It actually looked like she had just stepped outside Fluttershy’s cottage sometime in the early morning. A small path led from the door, down a small hill, and over a small brook heading into a nearby forest. The path led down and away through a little valley and Twilight could see it lead off to Ponyville sitting in the distance. Twilight stepped out of the door and felt the warm ground beneath her hooves and the warm sunlight on her coat. She turned around to Apollo, completely awestruck.

“It’s just dream magic, my dear Twilight,” Apollo said. He broke out laughing and followed Twilight out of Princess Luna’s chambers. “Nothing to be afraid of. You’ll learn some yourself soon. But first, a test of magic in dreams, which is quite different from dream magic itself.”

Twilight shook herself out of her stupor and followed Apollo as he walked down the trail. He stopped somewhere in between Fluttershy’s cottage, which was now a fair distance behind them, and Ponyville… which looked like it hadn’t changed position at all.

Um… are we heading into Ponyville? Because it doesn’t look like we’re getting any closer.

“No. Matter of fact, this flat piece of ground will make a decent training area.”

Apollo motioned for Twilight to stand a little bit ahead of him. Twilight came and stood in front of him, but Apollo began waving her back further and further down the path. Twilight was eventually standing somewhat far away from Apollo such that the dark-blue pony had to speak in a booming, powerful voice in order for Twilight to hear him.

“One of the first things I am going to teach you is simple conservation of formation,” Apollo told Twilight. “With normal magic, one can manipulate direction and amount, but never the formation of how multiple items are picked up. While you might get everything pointing the same direction, you won’t have everything in the exact same position you picked it up in.”

What about bouquets? Twilight asked.

“Ever notice most unicorns tie a ribbon around a bouquet and pick it up by that? It is a very fine motor skill to be able to pick up multiple objects at the same time and keep them in the same position, much like how one might pick up every individual flower in the bouquet and hold them together as such.”

Apollo’s horn glowed and he picked up a rock sitting close to the path. He set it down in the exact center of the dirt path, then began to draw two squares around it, one small square and one large square, with the rock in the center.

“A convenient test for conservation of formation is to pick up a pile of dirt. The ground here is soft, so it will do. The goal of this test is for you to pick up first a one-meter-cubed block of dirt then a three-meter-cubed block of dirt without disturbing the rock.”

Twilight scoffed. That’s so simple a foal could do it.

“Have you been able to?” Apollo asked curiously.

Twilight almost immediately regretted her decision to speak up. Um… well, I’ve never needed to.

“Then the lesson is still applicable. Especially because we’re doing it in a dream. Never forget that, Twilight. Now, certainly you must understand the conditions behind which this test must be completed.”

The rock cannot fall through the dirt, and I can’t touch the rock with my magic.

“Precisely. So first, we will start with the one-meter-cubed block, the smaller outline on the path here. I will demonstrate, and then you can try.”

Twilight watched as Prince Apollo’s horn began to glow. The smaller square began to glow with a dark blue magic that Twilight found oddly similar to Princess Luna’s magic. But before she could ask about the color, the square began to lift. The square changed into a cube and was lifted almost straight out of the ground. Apollo moved the block a little up off the path so that Twilight could see underneath it. A one-meter cube was left in the ground, and the dirt removed retained its shape and the rock didn’t sink or fall through the cube.

“If you were to do this normally,” Apollo said, “the dirt would be picked up but not keep its formation, and the rock would simply…” Apollo paused and changed his concentration. The cube of magic became slightly bigger as he transferred his energy from the whole block to the individual dirt piles. The rock easily slipped through and landed with a muffled thunk! in the hole. “The key is to focus at the center of the formation and use your magic power to draw the energy to the center.”

Apollo lifted the rock out, reset the dirt, and placed the rock where it had been originally.

“Go on, Twilight,” Apollo said. “Try lifting the one-meter cube.”

Twilight carefully readied herself and began charging the magic in her horn. Slowly, carefully, she began to cast her magic around the one-meter block.

“Your rock is already sinking,” Apollo said carefully.

Twilight mustered up her energy. The sheer force of her concentration was making her sweat and close her eyes. She managed to pry an eye open to watch as the one-meter block was slowly lifted up off the ground and the rock stayed steady, focusing her magic on moving the center of the mass.

“Good girl,” Apollo said. “Keep your nerve. Concentrate on the center of mass and use that to lift the block.”

Twilight lifted a little more but felt the rock begin to intrude into her magic field. Twilight redoubled her efforts and sent more magical energy surging through her horn. The rock not only stopped moving down, but began to lift itself back up as the block of dirt reformed itself and became a solid cube. But she wasn’t moving anywhere.

Apollo… I can’t move it any more… It’s taking too much energy…

“Remember what I’ve told you, Twilight,” Apollo instructed. “Not just what the goal of the test is.”

Twilight tried lifting it again, but the block of dirt stayed firm. She heaved and heaved with all her might, but her magic stayed firmly shut. The rock didn’t move, but neither did the block of dirt.

What’s lifting a block of dirt have to do with dream magic…?

It wasn’t for a while afterwards, this single thought repeating in her mind, that Twilight finally understood.

Dream magic… it’s a dream. I’m not actually expending any energy because I’m not physically doing anything. It’s all mental. So… does that mean I have to ignore the physical pain and energy because it doesn’t actually exist? Because it’s all in my head?

Through her one open eye, Twilight could see Prince Apollo smiling, and she knew what he was really testing her on.

Twilight pried open her other eye; now that she remembered she was in a dream, she found regaining her energy much simpler. She braced herself and stood firmly on the pathway and slowly lifted the block further out. Every ounce of magical strength she had was in her horn, but she backed off a little bit and found the block suddenly gliding out of the hole. Once she had realized it was in a dream, it took hardly any magic to pull it out.

“Excellent work, Twilight! Excellent! Luna was correct, you really are as bright as she claimed!”

So, Twilight asked, the one-meter block still hovering, does that mean it’s time to move on to the three-meter block?

Apollo shook his head. “We won’t have to. You seem to understand basic dream manipulation. The test was not about moving the block, but simply your awareness. Once you are aware that you are dreaming, you can begin to manipulate your surroundings to whatever you wish. You can take charge of the forces influencing the dream and command them to your whim and will. You haven’t just moved a dirt block, a truly impossible task given the millions of infinitesimally small pieces at one time even in this one-meter cube; you have used the dream’s environment and brought it to your command.”

Twilight lowered the block back down and set it back in the hole. It’s like a philosopher and scientist once said: to bake an apple pie, you must first construct the universe.

“I confess I’ve never heard that one before,” Prince Apollo mused, walking over to Twilight’s side.

You need to get out more.

Apollo laughed. “I suppose I do. Twilight… you are a surprisingly bright young mare for your age. Treasure it and use it well and you can do anything you wish.”

Apollo took a hoof, placed it around Twilight gently, and pulled her close in a hug. Twilight looked up at the stallion and into his dark eyes, shimmering and glittering and reminding her of the night sky. Looking at him in the relative daylight, Twilight thought him to be… quite handsome indeed.

Where’d that thought come from?

“…I’m sorry?”

…Oh. Twilight felt her face get hot and looked away, not daring to make eye contact with Apollo again. It’s nothing. I just… I was just thinking about this whole dream magic thing.

“It will take time,” Apollo said sweetly. “But remember, in dreams, time is relative and of no issue. We can take as long as we need and still get things done in a night.”

Oh, Celestia, his voice is heavenly… Twilight thought, and this time she managed to keep it to herself.

Author's Note:

You think it's starting to get surreal now. Wait until I release Chapter 9.

Comments

[Nebula1701]

O.O

[Techgirl]

Well that last part was interesting,

Oh, Celestia, his voice is heavenly

I'm hoping this is a disguised TwiLuna story now