Be Yourself
Though she was Celestia’s personal student, not all of the time Twilight devoted to her education was spent with the Princess. Even putting aside individual study time, the simple fact of the matter was that Celestia had all of Equestria to rule, and could not spare the hours required to personally tutor Twilight on every subject. Though she made a point of personally instructing Twilight at least twice a week and regularly worked with her other instructors, Celestia mostly left Twilight in the care of the faculty of her School for Gifted Unicorns. That was what they were there for, after all.
Celestia’s faith in her faculty was not misplaced, and they did an excellent job instructing Twilight. Though she never viewed any of them as her teacher in quite the same way she was Celestia’s student, Twilight got to like most of her instructors, and they were rather fond of her in turn. This fact of Twilight’s education had several implications, most of which were very positive. Twilight got to see more of the castle, she got to go outside more often, and she was exposed to multiple perspectives on her studies.
It also meant she got to spend more time with foals her own age.
“Hello, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, shuffling her way into Celestia’s personal study. It was their regular Tuesday check in, which according to the schedule meant a review of Twilight’s progress from the last week and followed by an hour of personal tutoring to catch up on any gaps or weaknesses. In practice though, Celestia had almost always finished reviewing Twilight’s progress before she arrived, and the tutoring regularly ran overtime. Every time it did, Celestia would tisk and chide herself and swear within Twilight’s hearing that next time they only had an hour. And yet, the very next week, they’d stay all the way to dinner. It was one of Twilight’s favorite parts of the week.
“I’m ready to get started,” she said, putting down her saddlebags and quietly pulling the books out one at a time.
“Twilight,” Princess Celestia said. Pausing briefly, she glanced out the window and inspected the weather. It was a beautiful summers day without a cloud in the sky, and the sun shone down brightly over the streets of Canterlot. That done, she turned back to Twilight, and cleared her throat. “May I ask why you are wearing earmuffs?”
Twilight paused.
“No I’m not,” she said, tucking her tail in beneath her.
“Twilight,” Princess Celestia repeated, with just a hint of reproach. It would have been hard to miss the fluffy pink band that adorned Twilight’s head, or the giant insulated ear protectors that covered both sides of her head. But even if Celestia had been struck with a very particular sort of blindness, she could hear that something was wrong just as well. Twilight did not shuffle into their review sessions, she bounded into them. And yet, here she was, unpacking her books one at a time, scrunched up like she was hoping not to be noticed.
“My ears were cold,” Twilight said, turning her gaze down to the floor.
“Twilight, it is a perfectly warm—”
“I’d really like it if we could just study now, Princess.” Twilight’s voice was so quiet she was almost whispering, and her tail was tucked up so tight under her it brushed her belly. “If that’s okay.”
For a few long seconds, Celestia said nothing. And when she did speak, it was in a tone of firm, unquestionable command: “Twilight, come here.”
Twilight shivered as she stepped up to Princess Celestia. Her gaze remained fixed on the ground, and when she stood at the Princess’s hooves, she squeezed her eyes shut. She was as a prisoner awaiting their executioner, and she flinched when she felt Princess Celestia take hold of the earmuffs. The Princess pulled the muffs aside, and lifted them off Twilight’s head.
Red stained the inside of the fluffy pink covers, and covered Twilight’s coat with a sticky sheen. Thick wads of bandages were stuffed into both of her ears, but they too were long since soggy with blood. Twilight’s eyes remained shut, and she attempted to fold her ears back in shame, but a squeak of pain escaped her when she did, and they quickly came forward again.
Celestia, ageless and a veteran of a darker time, said nothing. Instead, she reached out and rang the bell to summon the servant, who appeared at her door at once. “Tell the guards up the hall to bring me their first aid kit, please,” she instructed.
While she waited, Celestia carefully removed both bundles of soggy bandages, and inspected Twilight’s ears. Twilight started to sniffle, and tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but Celestia only brushed her side with a hoof, and shushed her gently.
The guards were not long in coming, and Celestia quickly took their kit from them. Alcohol-soaked gauze cleaned Twilight’s coat and the outside of her ears, and then an alcohol swab gently cleaned the inside. Twilight would sometimes flinch or whimper, but when she did, Celestia would gently shush her and tell her to hold still.
It took several minutes for Twilight’s ears to be clean enough that Celestia was sure she had seen the extent of the wound, and that Twilight was in no real danger. Though she felt great relief, she did not show it. Instead, she patiently finished disinfecting the area, bound Twilight’s ears up in gauze properly, and carefully applied four bandaids to the affected area; one on the inside and outside of each ear.
Then, she sat down next to Twilight, and asked her a question: “Did you try to pierce your ears with a nail gun?”
Twilight shivered, and shook her head.
“Twilight,” Celestia continued, still in that calm tone. “What did you try to pierce your ears with?”
“A drill press,” she whispered. “From the enchanters practice room.” A feeble whine escaped her, and she rubbed a tear from her eye, letting it roll down her face. “Am I going to be ugly?”
“No,” Celestia said, reaching down to rub Twilight’s shoulders with a hoof. “It is a very clean hole. The only reason it bled so much is it wasn’t treated properly. In a few months, you won’t even be able to see it.”
“Oh,” Twilight said. Princess Celestia watched her shiver on the floor, and then scooter closer. With one gentle movement, she came up flush with Twilight’s side, until the two were pressed together. Twilight was tiny in comparison—barely the size of Celestia’s barrel—but that made her just the right size for Celestia to wrap an entire wing around her, bundling her up inside. Twilight tucked her head into the Princess’s shoulder, and sniffled loudly, the occasional tear running down her face.
“It’s okay to cry,” Princess Celestia cooed.
“No. I’m a big pony.” Twilight shook her head. “Big ponies don’t cry.”
Princess Celestia said nothing to that. She didn’t have to say anything. She just held Twilight, and cooed and made comforting sounds, and in time Twilight did cry. She cried into Celestia’s shoulder, and hugged her leg, and snuggled up into her wing. Crying didn’t make her feel any better, but the feelings pent up inside her had to go somewhere, and she knew no other way to express them. Princess Celestia was there all the while, holding and comforting her student.
When the crying was over, it was Princess Celestia who spoke. “Is that why you wanted to pierce your ears?” she asked. “Because you’re a big pony?”
“I’m nine,” Twilight insisted, with a defensiveness to her words that couldn't hide their uncertain waiver, or just how hot her eyes still were.
“Twilight,” Celestia said. “Who told you to pierce your ears using the drill press?”
“You have to promise not to punish them,” Twilight answered, an instance to her words. Her pace increased as well, her words coming faster as she raised her voice. “They weren’t bullying me. Everypony else did it too. It was just my fault that I moved at the wrong time.”
“Do you trust me, Twilight?” Celestia asked, lowering her head down to Twilight’s level. “Do you know that I’ll always do the right thing, and never, ever hurt you?”
“Y-yes,” Twilight said. After a moment, she nodded more firmly. “Yes, of course I do. I’m your faithful student.”
“What are the names of the ponies who told you to pierce your ears using the drill press?” Celestia asked, her nose almost touching Twilight’s.
Twilight hesitated, but only for a moment. “Rowan Wood, Thorn Brush, Lucky Charm and Dazzler.” She swallowed. “But Princess, they really didn’t make me. We all pierced our ears. I wanted to. I wanted to fit in.” She looked down. “Make friends.”
“A true friend wouldn’t have insisted you put your life in danger just to be a part of the group,” Celestia said, emphasizing her words with a firm squeezing of her wing around Twilight. “Friendship isn’t about fitting in. Real friends appreciate you for who you are.”
“But what if they don’t like me?” Twilight asked. “What if they think I’m boring or... an egghead.”
“You can pretend to be somepony you’re not, Twilight, but in the end...” Celestia brushed one of Twilight’s ears with a hoof, even that slight motion electing a wince of pain. “You’ll always get hurt. True friends don’t make you hide who you really are.”
“But what if I can’t find any true friends?” she squeaked.
“You will, Twilight. I promise.” Celestia twisted her head down, and with the utmost care, nuzzled Twilight between the ears, careful not to bump either of her wounds. “And until you do, you’ll always have your parents, and your brother, and me.” She pulled back, and smiled. “I like you just the way you are.”
“Y-you do?” Twilight asked, slowly lifting her head. Gently, a smiled creeped at the corners of her own mouth.
“I do,” Celestia said warmly. “Now, repeat after me: Be yourself.”
“Be yourself,” Twilight answered.
“Be yourself,” Celestia repeated, this time with more energy and verve.
“Be yourself!” Twilight called back, seeing Celestia’s new enthusiasm and doubling it.
“Be yourself!” Celestia grinned.
“Be yourself!” Twilight called out, ending the cadence with a giggle, her usual color and cheer restored. “Oh, thank you, Princess!”
“Of course, Twilight,” Princess Celestia cooed, practically beaming as she lifted her wing and folded it back against her side. “Resisting peer pressure is never easy. You learned a valuable lesson today.”
“Uh... does that mean I’m not in trouble?” Twilight asked hopefully.
“Of course,” Princess Celestia said. “In fact, I promise I will not punish you.”
Celestia indeed keep her word, and did not punish Twilight. She did however take Twilight right home, and Twilight’s mother had made no such promises.
“I will never stick any part of my body into a machine,” Twilight said. Her tone was dull and the words came slowly, but she spoke them clearly and well. She did not know how her words triggered the mechanism, but it would not go until the spoke, and if she did not speak clearly, she would have to speak again.
Somewhere to her left, a loud click signaled the mechanisms acceptance, and in front of her, another mellon rolled into the drill press.
Then, the drill came alive. A hiss of air escaped from its motors, the bit whirling in as it spun up. The operators wheels turned themselves, and abruptly, the drill slammed downwards, plunging into the mellon below it. So great was the force of the impact that the bit smashed through the top of the mellon in an instant, puncturing instead of drilling. Bits of melon rind scattered in all directions, and the mellon itself thrashed violently, caught between the torque of the spinning bit and the downward force holding it in place. Twilight in her restraints, tried to look away, but she couldn’t. She had to watch.
Once inside, the drill bit spun without resistance, not so much drilling through the melon flesh as liquefying it, producing that horrible sound. It was the sound of hooves when she pulled them from thick mud, the squeal of hot gears, and the crunch of an insect dying when somepony crushed it. It was a sound Twilight never wanted to hear, and it just kept coming.
Until the drill was done. Until it retracted. Then, the chute that had delivered the mellon let it go, and its gutted remains rolled forward, to splatter against Twilight and drip down her front.
“Ninety-five,” said the voice to her right. A mare’s voice. “Again.”
“I will never stick any part of my body into a machine,” Twilight said. And then it all began again.
Twilight could not see where she was, she could feel very little. She was lying flat against hard stone, her legs strapped to the wall behind her. It was an unnatural pose for any quadruped, and Twilight could feel the strain all up and down her shoulders. Muscles and tendon were stretched to the point of pain, while her flesh was bunched and pinched against the stone. What felt like a metal clamp held her head in place, forcing her to look ahead, while blinkers cut off her peripheral vision. The drill press was was her world. It’s shape, and it’s sounds, and the sticky fluid that covered her.
The fluid was only fruit juice though. It was only fruit juice.
“Ninety-six,” said the voice to her right, as another mellon rind splattered against Twilight’s exposed underside. A older mare’s voice that was very familiar, though Twilight did not know where she had heard it before. “Again.”
“I will never stick any part of my body into a machine,” Twilight said.
Ninety-seven. “Again.”
“I will never stick any part of my body into a machine.”
Ninety-eight. “Again.”
“I will never stick any part of my body into a machine.”
Ninety-nine. “Again.”
“I will never stick any part of my body into a machine.”
One hundred. Twilight tensed in anticipation of the command.
“That’s enough,” said the voice to her right. “Let her go.”
Abruptly, the restraints holding Twilight undid themselves, and Twilight slid to the floor. Her rear impacted first, sending a sharp pain up through her tailbone, and she rolled to her side as she squeaked. Her pain was quickly forgotten however, as she watched the drill press, the chains, the blinders, the braces, and the stone wall itself rise up on tiny legs, bow to her, and then retreat off into the distance. They soon faded, lost to sight, and Twilight found herself surrounded by a darkness that seemed to go on forever in all directions. She was alone, enveloped in silence.
Until the mare cleared her throat.
Twilight’s breath caught, when she turned to see the strange mare who was the source of the voice. She was like Princess Celestia, but her mane was a field of stars, and her coat was a mix of blues and blacks. The black matched her crown and choker, while her boots were a sparkling silver. “I... I know you. You’re... you’re...”
“Princess Luna,” the mare answered.
“What...” Twilight said. She tried to push herself to her hooves, but her legs shook too hard, and she couldn’t find the strength. With a trembling voice, she asked: “What is this place?”
“This is the dream realm,” Luna answered.
“Why did you bring me here?” Twilight shouted, though there was more fear than anger in her voice, and her words quickly became strained. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I am your teacher,” Luna said. “And tonight, you had to learn a very important lesson.”
“What lesson is that?” Twilight demanded. “How to stand there and have mellons thrown at me!?” Her voice cracked as she shouted, her little body shaking on the floor.
Luna said nothing, watching with dispassionate eyes as Twilight started to sniffle, her tail tucked up around herself. “You’re awful!” she finally shouted.
“The pain will fade with your memory.” Luna finally spoke. “A nightmare such as this leaves no scars upon the soul. You will recall the lesson, but in the end, this is only a dream.” Twilight had nothing to say to that, and so Luna continued, “There is more I would like to teach you tonight, but I can see you are not...” She paused for a longer period. “Ready.”
As Twilight watched on with wide and tearful eyes, Luna simply stood there and stared back. “If you are not ready to learn,” the Princess of the Night said after some time, “I suppose you may as well enjoy your dreams.” She tilted her head. “Shut your eyes and take a step forward.”
Twilight hesitated, but under the weight of Luna’s stare, she slowly shut her eyes, extending a trembling hoof forward to crawl along the ground. She expected to find only the hard stone, but instead, her hoof plunged down into hot water. Her eyes flew open in shock, and she leapt backwards, only to find her tail and rear pressing up against smooth bath title, and the world in front of her full of steam and light.
She was in a bathhouse the size of an ocean. Before her stretched a vast field of pools, hot baths, walkways and showers, going to the horizon in every direction. Pools in the shape of squares, and circles, and triangles. Pools that made maps of Equestria, or the shapes of ponies’ heads. Pools that stretched up into the air and became one with the blue of the sky. Soaps that cleaned coats, soaps that changed race, soaps that made ponies shrink or grow to the size of titans. There were steam rooms that erased memory or made fantasies come true, and scattered all about were attendants—ponies with bat wings and grey coats and big fluffy ears.
And little towels. The bat ponies had those little towels too.
“This is better, yes? Ponies enjoy this sort of thing?” Princess Luna said, her voice reminding Twilight that she was not alone. Twilight snapped out of her shock, and turned her head in time to see Princess Luna giving her and uncertain look. It was the first time that Twilight could remember her showing any expression at all.
But then again, Twilight didn’t remember her very well. So she just mumbled, and nodded.
“Good. Then step inside. Your coat is filthy.” Luna slid into the water ahead of Twilight. Tall as she was, it only came up to just above her knees, and she had to settle down in the tisle to get it to rise up to her back. Her ethereal tail and mane spread out in the water, dispersing through the currents until it seemed the whole of the bath was reflecting starlight.
At the edge, Twilight hesitated. She looked left and right, for anywhere to go other than after the horrible pony in front of her. But where was there? There was nothing except the baths and those bat-monsters. And so, with shaking legs, she crawled down into the water.
The water was clean, and clear, and it was hot. Just the temperature Twilight preferred. Exactly the temperature she preferred, in fact. She wasn’t sure what to think of that. But it did feel nice.
“Just relax,” Princess Luna said, signaling one of the bat creatures. Soon, Twilight felt a cloth softly rub against her backside, working the fruit juice away. The juice had started to dry, and had turned sticky in places, but Luna was steady and gentle. Twilight’s coat was soaped with foam, cleaned, and brushed free of half-stuck hairs, until it was as shiny as it had ever been, and Twilight was left to soak in the hot water. “There,” Luna said. “Is that not good as new?”
“Thank you,” Twilight remembered to say, staring at the water.
Silence hung over the two for a time.
“The pain will pass in the morning, Twilight,” Luna said. “All will be forgotten.”
Twilight sniffled quietly, “Well I remember it now and it hurts.”
“It was a very important you learn not to put yourself in danger,” Luna answered. “I had to be absolutely sure it would sink in.”
“Well you know.” Twilight looked away, and swallowed, taking a second to find her breath. “Princess Celestia is my teacher too, and she manages to teach me without tying me up and throwing melons at me!” Twilight’s voice suddenly picked up, coming on hot, though her gaze remained fixed on the ground. “So maybe I don’t need two teachers after all. Maybe you can go away and let me dream in peace!”
Water lapped at the two ponies’ sides for a time. Twilight’s shout echoed among the infinite baths, quieter and quieter with every iteration. Then Luna spoke.
“Celestia is...” Luna paused. “A better teacher than me, yes. I often find other ponies difficult to understand. Particularly foals. I would greatly prefer it if I could simply leave you to her instruction. But she won’t teach you the right lessons.” Again, Luna paused. “She taught you wrong today. She taught you the wrong lessons.”
“No, you’re the one teaching me stupid lessons.” Twilight insisted. “She taught me to believe in myself, and to not let bad ponies who are only pretending to be my friends pressure me into doing stupid things. She taught me that real friends like me for who I am!”
“And I am sure she taught the lesson very well,” Luna replied, her ears drooping faintly. “But it is not true. All Celestia taught you today was another lie.”
“Oh, sure, who am I going to believe?” Twilight demanded. “The nice, gentle Princess of Light who always takes care of me and make me feel good about myself, or the cruel, nasty, Princess of Darkness who ties me up and throws melons at me!?” Her breath ran out, and she had to draw another to add, “Huh!?”
“I don’t want you to believe either of us,” Luna said, with a small shake of her head. “I want you to think for yourself. Recall these events, and use your own mind. Do you truly believe that Rowan Wood, Thorn Brush, Lucky Charm and Dazzler were cynically pretending to be your friends?”
“No!” Twilight answered, with an indignant snort at the pony in front of her. Luna only stared at her, until the contradiction struck her. “I mean...” Twilight quickly backtracked. “They’re not mean or anything. But they aren’t real friends.”
“And what is a real friend?” Luna asked.
“Real friends don’t make you change yourself to keep being their friend. They like you for you,” Twilight said, a firmness coming to her words.
Luna showed no reaction at first, considering Twilight carefully. Then with a clear voice, she asked, “Is Princess Celestia a real friend?”
“Y-yes,” Twilight said, but the firmness from a moment ago had vanished as suddenly as it came.
“So if you ignored her lessons, and refused to change yourself, and kept being who you were, she wouldn’t mind?” Luna asked, not breaking from her even tone or neutral expression.
“That’s different,” Twilight insisted, pulling away from Luna in the water. “Princess Celestia is my teacher. I’m here to learn from her.”
“And you have nothing to learn from your true friends?” Luna asked smoothly. “Your brother is your friend, did he never teach you anything? What about your studying companions in class?”
“That’s different!” Twilight tried to stop her hoof, but succeeded only in swirling the water around her. With a sound between a snarl and a whimper, she turned away, wading away from Luna and back to the edge of the pool. “Shut up. I hate you!” Twilight scrambled up to the edge of the pool, but couldn’t find the strength to pull herself out, and after a few frustrating moments settled back into the water. “I hate you. Princess Celestia is my friend.”
“Yes, Twilight, She is,” Luna spoke slowly. “She is your friend because when she tries to change you, it’s because she wants to help you.”
Luna paused to take a breath, and when she continued, it was was with a softer voice, and a more gradual cadence. “Friends often demand that you change who you are. They will demand you abandon destructive habits. They will demand that you stop doing things that irritate them. They will demand that you show consideration even when you think their complaints are foolish. They will grow, and become new ponies, and they will demand you grow with them. And if you do not, they will stop being your friends.”
“But that’s wrong!” Twilight insisted.
“That is life, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna replied. “You are changed by the ponies around you, whether you like it or not, and you will change them.” Luna’s horn glowed, and she reached out with her magic, gently pushing Twilight’s wet bangs out of her eyes.
“Friendship,” she said, “isn’t finding ponies who like you just the way you are. It’s finding ponies who are worth changing for, and who will change you in ways you wish to be changed.”
“And what if I wanted the ponies from today to change me?” Twilight turned her head, shaking off the effects of Luna’s magic.
“Rowan Wood, Thorn Brush, Lucky Charm and Dazzler were and are thundering idiots who nearly got you killed.” Luna’s tone turned firm. “And I think you would be much better off if you didn’t associate with them. But...” She drew her mouth into a line. “If that’s really the sort of pony you want to be. You can make friends with whomever you want.”
Twilight said nothing, looking at the edge of the pool.
“Is that the sort of pony you want to be?” Luna pressed.
“No,” Twilight said. “But it doesn’t feel right. I don’t want to judge if another pony is worth being friends with. I don’t want to have to decide how they’re going to change me.”
“Refusing to decide is a decision all its own. Celestia will change you. I will change you. Your friends will change you.” She shook her head. “If you do not decide which of these winds you wish to catch, you will find yourself at the mercy of all of them.”
“Well can I choose for you to go away?” Twilight asked, turning her head away and folding her ears back.
“For tonight at least, yes.” Luna rose and pulled herself from the water, shaking out her wings as her ethereal mane and tail reformed behind her. “Good night, Twilight Sparkle, and sweet dreams.”
And for the rest of the night, it was as Luna commanded.
Twilight awoke with a hazy memory of strange places. Usually she couldn't remember her dreams at all, but on that particular morning, bits and pieces surfaced. There was something about a bath and ponies with fuzzy ears, and what fleeting images she could recall seemed quite pleasant. And yet, for some reason, whenever she thought about the dream, she started to feel helpless and angry. It was enough to put her in a bad mood for the whole morning.
The feeling passed by lunch though. It was only a dream after all.
Twilight’s Wednesday afternoons were taken up by her Magical Item Theory class. The room was abuzz with chatter when Twilight walked in, and she quickly realized students were looking at her and pointing at the bandages around her ears. With burning cheeks, she hurried to her seat at the end of the row, settling down next to Jump Cut.
“Oh my gosh,” Jump Cut said, when Twilight settled down next to her. She was a year older than Twilight, and one of the few students to get their cutie mark after being accepted. Her illusion magic always strong, but it was only at Celestia’s academy that she found her love of film special effects. “It’s true!” Quickly, she leaned down. “Did you really...?”
“Yeah,” Twilight nodded, trying to focus on her little multicolored class notes. “Does everypony already know?”
“You didn’t hear?” Jump Cut asked, dropping her voice to a stage whisper. “Rowan Wood, Thorn Brush, Lucky Charm and Dazzler were all expelled last night. You’re the only one who didn’t get thrown out of the school!”
“Oh.” Twilight looked down at her books. After a pause, she added, “My parents just grounded me for a thousand years.”
“You’re lucky you got grounded—you could have been killed!” Jump Cut started to shake her head, but paused when the professor walked in, signaling that class was about to start. “You have a free period after this, right? You’ve got to come hang out with me and tell me all the details. Some of the girls and I were going to go paint our hooves.”
“I don’t like painting my hooves. But thanks anyway,” Twilight said, finding her place in her class notes and silently reviewing. Jump Cut took that as her dismissal, and turned away, but after a moment, Twilight lifted her head.
Jump Cut was nice. She was smart. She didn’t go do dangerous things in the machine shop. And Twilight couldn't help but notice her class notes were very well organized. Even color coded with highlighters
“Actually,” Twilight said, “I’ve never really painted my hooves before, but maybe you should show me how?”
Hesitantly, she smiled.
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I don't really agree with some of Luna's lessons, but you've got an interesting story here that I'd like to see more of.
Being completely analytical about everything in life isn't good for you either, it takes out the fun.
Nice. Another story from you that's going in my favourites. :)
Have you thought about submitting this to the group The Nightmare Teacher? I don't know exactly how group submission things work, but it seems to me like it would fit.
The contrast, man. The contrast!
Very good thing here. I'm watching.
I will definitely be reading this at a later date. I enjoy portrayals of Luna wherein she is not a buffoon, and there are not nearly enough stories on Fimfiction which take advantage of her ability to enter dreams.
Also, this story is phonetically--if not thematically--similar to that of one of my favorite stories on Fimfiction: 'Destiny' and Other Lies Told to Foals. So I'm predisposed to read it.
After Luna said Celestia taught the wrong lesson, I was expecting her to say "The right lesson is 'Don't risk getting yourself killed over something so stupid'. "
5743644
Good thing no one advocated that here, then. Judgements aren't always completely analytical, but you always make them.
Reminds me of The Moon's Twilight by Wanderer D, without the clop.
5743314
I don't think we are meant to agree with all the lessons.
This Princess Luna is not healthy; she never shows emotions and is entirely analytical. She amuses herself while angling to teach contrasting messages to her sister when appropriate. She aims to get Twilight angry and frustrated like any proper Socratic teacher would in those lessons as well, almost the complete opposite to Celestia's mothering nature. And she constantly amuses herself by messing with Twilight's dreams yet takes the memory of them away when she wakes. I get the impression Twilight is as much a toy to Luna as she is a student.
Shes not a bad being, but she'd definitely NOT be a teacher anyone wants interacting with a child. There is a reason that style is typically done with those older as it could turn a child into an apathetic sociopath. The unreal nature of the dream world (and how it's used to expand on those lessons) only adds to the experience. Twilight is downright mean to Luna in the later chapters, and Luna never reacts to either happy or negative actions, not reinforcing either, only adds to that apathy.
The problem with the two sisters I see is in fact a realistic one, when presented with 2 teachers who have opposing views it's easy to see one as right and one as wrong, but in truth it's absolutism that is usually the problem. Your friends should like you for who you are, yet at the same time want to help you change some aspects of yourself, it's a tricky thing, knowing what aspects of yourself to change and what ones to staunchly keep. The importance of grades is another, grades are important because they are useful toll for gaging your progress in education, but at the same time focusing purely on a grading system is a mistake and a poor grading system skews the results. Both Princesses have valuable things to teach Twilight, Twilight is going to need to find the balance between extremes. It could be Luna ends up learning about finding the balance with in herself, Twilight's description of Celestia's lessons and the deep caring she shows for the little filly being something the Night Princess can't avoid thinking about.
Very intriguing story.
I'm looking forward to seeing how Twilight will change Luna.
Sorry but... Mellon -> Melon.
I am really enjoying this. I hope you continue it soon so I can see this duality story play out.
...I wonder if Luna will ever pop up in one of Twilight's crayon drawings? That would certainly freak Celestia out! :)
I like Luna's teaching style. It seems like fun.
What about sticking machines inside parts of her body? A mare has needs you know.
5744671 Though Luna is clearly not healthy at this point it seems to me that she has to teach hard lessons as she is working with the subconscious.
She isn't laying out something that can be memorized. Every night she must tell twilight who she is.
The only time she seems to be playing with Twilight is when she is trying to teach her a lesson about priorities.
I think Luna knows she can't afford for Twilight to fail because she knows that Twilight can save her from Nightmare Moon. Possibly explaining why she seems so stoic. She's scared and depressed.
Okay, it's the mental torture/abuse tha throws me off. I don't know if I should continue reading this; it's well-written, but so off-putting...
5745761 I...
I sadly have agree with your statement. Luna`s methods are extremely cruel let alone crude. She basically tries to brain wash twilight after trying to fit in then give a complete contradictory statement of friends changing you but friends change with you. I know I guy who has remained the same for all of my time school( which included him throwing a shoe at a annoying guy during chemistry) and I don't discredit him as a friend.
Life changes us. your pain, my joy, your promotion, my experience with losing a long acquainted grand father- it all boils down to our choices and memories we make. We can let friends change us or we can find those who gladly change and age with us.
Never have I let social desires make my choices. And that's not a matter of opinion but fact!
But at the same time celestia`s methods are too soft and focused on making friends than actually finding good friends. This is the difference between reality and the shows purpose. In reality we don't try ignore or avoided our friends like they did with pinky for her party, we merely laugh it off or just hint at what's going to happen.
But that's my stance on the issue. besides it a show for young girls so we should take liberties when creating new back story.
I believe that Luna's methods are superior, if only because she rarely tries to force a viewpoint on Twilight. While she may come off as cold and cynical, she forces Twilight to think through the issue and decide for herself, rather than telling her what to do as Celestia does. While both are helping her develop, Luna is providing the depth of thought and the context that Twilight can't see, but inevitably exists behind Celestia's own advice.
Luna might be the one teaching the straight-forward lessons, but at the same time Celestia isn't in a position to do that, she needs Twilight to really like her, not simply be tolerated out of necessity, like Luna is right now. Celestia teaches her the lessons in a loving way, and then deals with the accepted faults that spring up from not demanding perfection - which she doesn't even need to do right now due to Luna taking the role of the perfect strict teacher.
It's going to be really freaking weird to see Luna and Twilight interact outside of dreams later (assuming this happens).
Well, that was pretty nice.
Luna's chapters are pretty descriptive. Fun, if at first glance a smidge dark with how she seems to enjoy stomping on creatures in her dream world as a steampunk mecha robot last chapter and here where she uses the very printing press to restrain and symbolize her head being drilled and the insides becoming mush. Won't say more then that but suffice to say your dream worlds are pretty creative and give the filly a nice contrast to Celestia's form of teaching.
Great stuff so far. Luna is pretty old fashion and quite right in her fundamental teaching methods. It's a dream anyways so she can sure take in some liberties. A bit sad to think she's forgotten almost every night. Interesting relationship these three share though. Seems Luna's lessons are actually sinking in.
Although I would say that the mental torture really went over the line in this chapter, I still think that Luna is, at heart, teaching good lessons. She has the right intentions, but a thousand years of lunar isolation have obviously not been kind. But at least she's trying, right?
Okay, so this chapter is making me a little less supportive of Luna than I have been in previous chapters, but I still say she's at least as good a teacher as Celestia.
I love this so far, keep up the good work.
5743644 Perhaps. Then there are those of us who have a great deal of difficulty turning that mode of thinking off. Luna strikes me as one such person, which makes me identify with her a little better than with Celestia.
I like that Twilight doesn't remember her dreams. It speaks to Luna applying a conditioning approach rather than some sort of persuasive one, which strikes me as clever. Also, I imagine that most ponies don't remember their dreams, so Twilight's lack of memory might simply be what Luna has to work with, rather than what Luna's decided to implement. In that case, the conditioning with the melons makes much more sense, as that'd really be the only way for Luna to be sure the lesson would carry over the border between dreams and reality.
5747144 You can't force a person over to a line of thinking like that, there's a point when it becomes a hindrance, but anyway, I'm not smart enough to argue the point so i'll just say I don't agree with the teaching method and outcome and leave it at that.
This is a story that I want more of.
I'm not sure I really buy it.
I suppose my first objection is that it's another fic where Luna is the dark sister. I get why that's done (it's a human thing), but I think it misses the point of the series--Luna can be scary, but she's also fun-loving and desperate for approval. The entire reason she had a mental break was because ponies were afraid or uninterested in her night even though she tried to make it beautiful for them. She has her temper, but it's a passing thing from what little we've seen of it.
Note that I'm not objecting to her being OC, but just that it's a tired archetype of her character.
The story concept is interesting, but it seems pretty weird to try to teach someone through dreams when Luna herself says the will fade. That means the lessons fade too, so . . . yeah.
I also find that Luna's lessons tend to split some pretty fine hairs to make some really big mole hills. It's not that they're wrong. But it reaches the point that I wonder that she bothers teaching Twilight at all. The value of her lessons is often as debatable as that of Celestia's for someone who claims to be trying to get Twilight to think for herself IMO.
yes cant wate for more
5746408 Let me clarify, allow them to come to the conclusion of their own thinking, not look it up on their own. I asked them the basic questions of the steps, like what do you do first, can you do that 'yes' then I have them do that. What do you do next 'I Don't know' then I tell them how to do it, and let them work that part. I tell them how to do it step by step, and let them do the work, what everyone wants is me to do the question for them.
Luna is teaching twilight important lessons, good lessons at that, but her methods are rather questionable. Anyway, excellent story!
What I love is the balanced (as in not merely an archetype) characterization of the princesses.
Keep going.
5747634 Ever heard of an Asian?
5746702 The lessons are ...fine most of the times, but the methods I find disturbing.
Dreams actually can cause lasting trauma. One of the reasons normal, even terrible, nightmares don't is because we know that they are aren't real--but Twilight's are more than flimsy dream-nothings, they affect her waking world, and as her ever-stronger-than-before memories of Luna show, have a permanent effect on her psyche that is bypassing whatever Luna's done to keep Twilight from remembering the dreams. What she's done here would qualify as emotional abuse in any court in any nation that recognizes emotional abuse as a crime. Perhaps had it been something she saw once, or even a handful of times, it would not have been--and something like that is already so powerful that it won't be forgotten. But one hundred? One hundred times that she has to speak the words to metaphorically splatter her own head, covering herself with what is very obviously, even to the child Twilight, supposed to be her own blood? Each time with her own words killing "herself"? It doesn't matter whether permanent harm comes from this. Torture, however justified one may claim it, does not become permissible just because one can erase the victim's memories of it.
(The not sticking herself in machines part is hypocritical, too, considering that just last chapter Luna was inside a giant steampunk mecha.)
Luna was right in her qualification of Celestia's lesson here. I think that's the issue I find with the story that gets under my skin--although you show Celestia as the more affectionate of the two, every lesson she teaches Twilight is tainted. Flawed in ways that only Luna can fix (despite her thousand years of isolation and nonrelationship with education and children, having no access to advancements in education or childcare, and being emotional distanced from her own subjects even before her banishment). And she is always right--at least, so far as Twilight is concerned (as her perspective is the only important one, story-wise).
Every chapter paints Celestia more and more as an ignorant tool, happily leading Twilight astray and her affection twisted by our knowledge that everything she's taught Twilight so far is wrong. Every chapter has Luna discrediting Celestia and making what the solar princess said into something that would be harmful to Twilight's growth, her cold distance and lack of affection making her seem more loving than Celestia for its lack of falsity. Celestia speaks honestly, yet her truths are wrong; she is generous, but has given only poisoned gifts; she shows kindness, even as her caring acts direct Twilight in unhealthy directions. It's a wonder she was able to use the Elements at all.
There is no form of equality between them here.
Nonetheless, the story and characters have gripped me, and I am favoriting this.
I do have to give her credit for her ability to keep her temper, though--some of Twilight's accusations have come frightfully close to what Luna would have experienced pre-banishment, but she has shown neither hurt nor anger from them. True, Twilight is only a foal, but when they brush the truth or unhealed wounds, even from the mouths of babes can come venomous barbs.
5747896
Actually, since this is a dream, Princess Luna could've very easily started Twilight at ninety four without Twilight noticing. That's kind of what I assumed when reading, as thirteen minutes of watermelon smashing would've probably gotten boring to the point of undoing the lesson.
Luna's lessons aren't necessarily right either. In fact, that's her overarching point: to get Twilight to think critically and not accept flawed lessons from either of them. (Also, she has access to the world's dreams.)
Also, I see that Celestia is painted as ignorant by the lessons, but go and read the story with the luna parts removed. I think Celestia should look more like a loving parent than someone who is teaching flawed lessons.
The problem is that she's too loving and always gives answers, so she doesn't give Twilight any lessons for critical thinking. Celestia's teaching is good for simple trades with hard rules, but they're not good for teaching researchers, scientists, tacticians, etc., which is what Twilight has to be.
5747843 Why? I think we can all agree that in the forth chapter she clearly crosses a line with torturing her lesson into Twilight. Such a thing is horrible. But her usual teaching style doesn't resemble, but actually contrast it.
All she really does usually is showing Twilight the error in Celestia's lessons and then guides her to the correct lesson through logic deduction. While such a style would not work for all children, MBTI Analyst Types (defined through "Intuitive" and "Thinking" , two attributes Twilight probably owns) are highly receptive to it.
She lets Twilight find her own lessons, which is a very valid method.
This makes it all the more shocking when she instead uses torture to hammer a specific lesson into her head. Please also note that the lesson here is not "Think for yourself before you bring harm to your body", but "Don't stick parts of your body into a machine", which is very inconsistent with her other style.
I find her methods in chapter four just as bad as you do, but I really cannot understand your problem in chapter three. Could you perhaps elaborate, why you find her methods disturbing there?
5745577
5748152 It has yet to be made clear how much of the dreamscape is Luna's and how much of it is Twilight's. Luna could have just as easily come into Twilight's nightmare and, rather then ending it, allowed it to play out. The subconscious mind does have a way of teaching us lessons through abstracts that can be disturbing at times.
5747569
Well it's also theoretically possible to cause interference of light waves in order to cause areas of darkness but that would make it brighter where it doesn't cause darkness and if anything in the room where to move it would change where the areas of interference would occur. Darkness is caused by an absence of light waves and unlike creating a "source" of cold that absorbs heat, light is slightly difficult to absorb.
Is Luna trapped on the Moon in this fic? If so, is she actually Nightmare Moon, or really Luna?
And am I the only one who doesn't have a problem with Luna in this chapter? Considering Twilight could have died, I think being harsher than usual was warranted. Because clearly, if Twilight was willing to use a drill on her ear, she needs to learn a lesson so nothing like that would happen again.
Yeah her method of doing so is questionably wrong, but... that's besides the point.
And just because Luna seems apathetic, or without emotion (Luna's body language tells the contrary), doesn't mean she is. It's perfectly plausible shes wearing a mask. If that's the case, it's entirely possible Luna reacted in a manner similar to a parent who just learned the kid almost died from doing something stupid - That would explain why Luna did what she did regarding the melons, Parents act the same way (Spanking, Yelling, More extreme punishment then usual).
Not that she considers Twilight her daughter, or herself as a parent - Just that it's a natural reaction, and she did put time and effort into Twilight.
... I dunno, I just went into the apathy thing because some commenter far down there mentioned it
You better make this a long story, I need it. Please make it long. Please?
I think Luna is desperately trying to make sure that Nightmare Moon is defeated. Celestia has some idea how Twilight will be able to do it, but Luna knows exactly what needs to be done. I can feel the tension from her in every scene she is in. This is an extraordinary story.
5748152 I actually don't know. Chapter 4 was the only one where the source of unease was obvious. I think it has to do with how apathetic Luna seems.
"until she spoke", perhaps?
That scene with the shackles and machine was a heck of an object lesson.
If not for the qualifying follow-up it could have easily been in some kind of horror-porn or something. But...
Anyway, I'm really liking all of Luna's arguments here. Very rational way of looking at life. Her methods are rather intrusive though, as Twilight doesn't appear to have much sovereign control over her own decisions or reasoning if Luna can just decide it pleases her to make things work out that way. Still, I suppose it helps provide a mirror to Celestia, who holds pretty much absolute authority and restricts her in her own right.
Speaking of Celestia, I wonder if this is somehow Luna's way of keeping in contact with her. A shared project, perhaps, that helps Luna feel closer to home even if Celestia isn't in the know.
I'm feeling very ambivalent about this story. It's well written and interesting, but I've been bothered now for a while that there's something odd about the way the two Princesses are portrayed. And I think 5747896 has it right: Celestia is kind, honest, generous and so forth, but she's always wrong, while Luna is capricious, occasionally cruel, peremptory... and always right. It bothers me.
Interesting premise. While I don't agree 100% with every lesson Luna is teaching Twilight, I think they are pretty reasonable, and kind of work in balance with a lot of Celestia's lessons. I feel like Celestia is a better life-lesson teacher than Luna, but I feel like having the perspective of both princesses is the best option of all.
That said, the mechanics of these lesson creep me out, they kind of feel like brainwashing (at least the life lesson dreams, not so much the general magic lesson dreams). Part of learning an important life lesson isn't just hearing a speech and deciding how you feel about it, it's reflecting back on those lessons later on and analyzing them critically in light of new experience. But with Luna's dream lessons, at least the way it appears to me, the conscious memory disappears while unconscious patterns of behavior are shaped. Even when Twilight appears in the dreamscape again, she doesn't seem to have concious memory of any of her previous lessons.
So of course an alicorn princess in total command of the dreamscape is able to persuade a 9 year old of just about anything, but Twilight forgets the arguments and discussion, and just absorbs the patterns of behavior and perspective that Luna persuades her to have. But Twilight doesn't really get a chance to think back, either on her own at a later date, or in discussion with anyone else, and realize she disagrees with Luna when she's not facing a giant alicorn in person in her chosen realm, or that Luna's words don't match the way Twilight observes life working.
Luna's main talent here is getting Twilight to reflect on Celestia's lessons by discussing them with someone else and offering a critical perspective, but of course no one is able to do that with Twilight regarding Luna's lessons. It feels like a bit like Luna is playing a video game, where everytime Luna achieves an objective in convincing Twilight of something, she is able to "save" her progress by having the dream end and not bringing the discussion up again, so Twilight never needs to be convinced of the same idea twice.
On another note, is this a world where Sunset Shimmer was previously Celestia's student? I've felt, ever since the movie came out, that a lot of the ways Celestia shaped Twilight were in response to Sunset's actions, especially things like "Grades and authority figures matter" and "It's really important to find yourself friends." I ask because I wonder if Luna was able to do these dream lessons with Sunset. I would love to see how those went!
5749013 In how far can the lesson in chapter 3 be considered as brainwashing? I cannot follow you there. Please elaborate.
I'm really enjoying this story, and the lessons that Luna teaches.
It seems to me that Celestia is treating Twilight like a child (platitudes, happy lies), whereas Luna is trying to treat her as an adult (think for yourself, be skeptical). In that regard, I think Celestia's really getting the short end of the stick.
It's not completely unfair, I suppose - Celestia has to formulate responses on the spot, whereas Luna has all day to come up with something more meaningful and clever. She would have to be a damned fool to do worse than Celestia with an advantage like that. It's also justifiable given their respective experiences. Luna's had rather a long time to navel-gaze, after all.
All the same, I would like to see Celestia teach a more meaningful lesson. The current setup is nice, but seeing Luna handily (hoofily?
) defeat Celestia every time isn't as good as seeing two serious, well-thought-out but different approaches to the same situation. They are both quite ancient, and I would expect Celestia to be a tad sharper than this, being older than Luna. Maybe she's just underestimating Twilight's intellect, I don't know.
That said, it's still well-written, and the thing with the melon in the drill press was a lovely, visceral image that will really stick with me. I still can't decide if it's overly harsh or downright brilliant. Having seen machine accidents due to foolishness, I think it's appropriate to hammer that lesson in thoroughly. Strapping her down is a bit much, but I think it fits well in the context of a dreamscape.
5750181 It's a story for Luna fans, so of course Celestia, the sister who DIDN'T succumb to jealousy and threaten eternal night like a petulant teenager, is going to be the idiot.
5748750 Luna fanfic.
Celestia is ALWAYS wrong in a Luna fanfic.
5747896 I think what we are, in fact, seeing is Luna giving Twilight half-truths disguised as reality. Her lessons are based more solidly in OUR world's cruel, savage reality.
And, given Twilight's susceptibility to Luna/NMM's (I think this is evil Luna, almost certainly at this point) mind-entry and MIND CONTROL... (memory erasure demonstrates mind control) can we even be 100% sure Celestia's lessons are what they seem from Twilight's POV, given that her memory of them may in fact be altered by the wicked, evil, sadistic Nightmare?
I trust NOTHING in stories where some demented creature is screwing with the main character's mind. The only thing I tend to believe (due to almost always this being the case) is that the mind-screwer is bad and should die horribly.
Then they aren't true friends after all.
Luna's wrong about this. Horribly wrong.
If she were correct, none of us could ever be friends with someone who is mentally disabled, due to their being physiologically incapable of surpassing a certain level. We would find them incapable of growing, and then abandon them.
By Luna's depiction of friendship, Derpy Hooves can never have any friends.
A friend is someone who will stand by someone's side, even when they cannot reach any higher.
Do we believe Einstein had no friends other than high-functioning geniuses? That if he met someone whose IQ was no better than average and couldn't comprehend his physics equations or concepts, that they ceased to be of importance to him?
Luna is wrong. I am right. I rule the universe. All hail Celestia.
If there is one tenet of a true friend, it is this: a true friend loves his friends. Anything less is not friendship, and is at best comfort with familiar association.