Chapter 4
For the accomplished dream walker, being able to fashion your own space within the Realm of Dreams can be seen as something of a rite of passage. These spaces—embrasures, as some call them—are formed from the aether itself, shaping a small portion of the Dreamrealms into a hidden pocket that the dreamer can enter quite easily but which others may not be able to find.
Utmost caution must be exercised in the creation of an embrasure, as they take on the properties of the location in which they are created, and one may find they’ve fashioned a space from a material which is, in itself, quite harmful.
Without the presence of the dream walker within it, dream embrasures tend to lack permanence and dissipate quickly. However, if the oneiromancer recreates the same space night after night, they may find that their embrasure begins to retain some permanence within the world of dreams, sometimes even surviving for multiple nights without being maintained.
Under extremely rare circumstances, a dreamer’s embrasure can last for months, or even years after they last visited it. Some myths have even spoken of embrasures that have lasted for centuries, their original creators long lost to history. Such spaces must be avoided, for there are beings within the Realm of Dreams which may have taken up residence while the creator was away. This is why such spaces must always be dispelled when no longer needed.
Applications of Oneiromancy, Practical and Theoretical by Starlit Field, second revised edition, 133 A.F.
Trixie bit back a curse as the field of stars suddenly snapped back into place. It had been almost a week since her first visit to the Gloaming, her fifth day of trying to form her own personal space within the Dreamrealms, and she was beginning to wonder if she’d ever get this part down.
A sidelong glance showed her that at least Smidgen wasn’t doing any better. She watched as the area around the small mare seemed to pinch and twist for a moment before suddenly snapping back into place, leaving Smidgen looking tired, frustrated and, alas, completely visible.
Princess Luna quite suddenly appeared behind them and spoke. It was a testament to how often the Night Princess liked to pull that trick that Trixie barely even flinched. “Very good, Trixie, Smidgen. I believe you both almost had it that time. Please start again.”
“Yes, Princess,” Trixie and Smidgen said together, though Trixie’s voice had a bit more bite to it. She grimaced, hoping that the Princess hadn’t noticed her mounting frustration.
Lucky for her, Luna didn’t seem to pick up on it, just nodding before looking over at the stocky brown earth pony stallion who had joined them on their third night in the Gloaming. “Cloverleaf, you have your third weave backwards. I suggest letting the entire pattern dissipate and beginning anew.”
“Yes, Princess,” Cloverleaf mumbled in his hick accent. “Sorry, Princess.”
“No apologies are required for failing when putting forth your best effort, Cloverleaf,” Princess Luna replied before moving on to check the progress from the rest of the Dreamguard.
Trixie watched the princess as she recovered her strength for another attempt. After Cloverleaf, Luna moved on to Morning Mist, who was experiencing her first night in the Gloaming. Being suspended with a field of stars apparently below her kept kicking her flight instincts into overdrive, leaving the poor mare wide-eyed and trembling. At least she wasn’t flailing all six of her limbs anymore. Luna wrapped a wing around Morning Mist and spoke calmly into her twitching ear.
In addition to those two, Golden Glow and Tinsel had both managed to proceed far enough in their training to come to the Gloaming with Princess Luna. That left several others working on what Trixie now considered “basic training” in the Threshold.
“I think I’m ready to try again,” Smidgen said.
Trixie broke off her observation of the other members of the Dreamguard in order to stare at her diminutive friend in frank disbelief. How could she be ready again? Trixie felt like she’d just run a marathon!
“Yeah, me too,” Trixie replied, projecting a confidence that she didn't dare to examine too closely. She would not be left behind, dammit!
Pushing aside her weariness, Trixie began weaving the aether in her imagination once again, wishing she had the skill to actually see it for herself. Luna said it would come with practice, but it was so frustrating! She knew she’d have succeeded by now if she could just see what she was doing!
Trixie closed her eyes, trying to calm her frustrations. A disordered mind makes for disordered weaves, as the Princess liked to say.
The weave started coming together, and Trixie gave it a push, trying with all her might to impose the product of her imagination onto the fabric of the Gloaming itself. According to Luna, the Gloaming had been chosen specifically for the ease with which it could be shaped into an embrasure. If this was supposed to be easy, then Trixie decided she didn’t want to even know what hard was.
Space twisted around her, taking on the semblance of curved glass walls, as if she were standing inside a large, transparent egg.
Just a little more, Trixie thought, putting all of herself into it. The space around her began to firm up, taking on color and a sense of solidity. Trixie was so surprised by her sudden apparent success that her mental grip on the weave fumbled, and the space around her disappeared with a snap that left Trixie shaken and dripping with sweat.
She’d failed again. She’d almost had it, and then she lost it at the last moment! Trixie bit back a frustrated growl and turned to see if Smidgen had seen how close she’d come.
The space where Smidgen had been was completely empty. Trixie blinked and looked around, wondering if her friend had wandered off.
“Splendid!” Luna said from behind her, and this time Trixie did jump. “It seems like Smidgen has succeeded!”
Trixie felt like her blood had turned to ice, and for the first time in days she once again felt that feeling of vertigo she’d experienced when she first entered the Gloaming. A moment later, the space where Smidgen had been standing seemed to twist, unraveling to reveal an exhausted dark brown mare with a triumphant smile.
“Excellent work, Smidgen!” Luna exclaimed. “I had not expected anypony to succeed with this so soon!”
“Thank you, Princess!” Smidgen’s smile somehow grew larger, though it faltered somewhat when she met Trixie’s eyes.
Trixie reminded herself that Smidgen was her friend, quickly smoothing her features and managing a smile of her own. “Congratulations, Smidgen,” she said as gracefully as she could.
“Thank you,” Smidgen said, showing off that smile that turned her face from plain to beautiful.
“It will come easier, now that you’ve had your first taste of success,” Luna said. “Next, you should try making your space larger, if you can. Once large enough, you will have a relatively safe space in which to practice more advanced workings.”
The radiant smile was tucked away as Smidgen straightened up and saluted. “Yes, Princess.”
“I think that’s enough for tonight,” Luna called out. “We can continue tomorrow night.”
Trixie stiffened. She couldn’t quit now! She’d almost had it! “Princess, I was really close. I think with one more try, I could—”
Luna had started shaking her head before Trixie even got to her second sentence. “Nay, Trixie. New workings take a surprising amount of strength from the weaver, and you are too new to dreamwalking to accurately gauge your endurance as of yet.”
“But I almost—”
“Trixie,” Luna said, her voice stern and just a hair away from disappointed. “As I have told you repeatedly, time spent in the Dreamrealms is not the same as time spent dreaming. You need to spend time with both your body and mind asleep to truly replenish your strength.”
Trixie opened her mouth to protest, but Luna’s expression brooked no argument. “Yes, Princess,” she mumbled instead.
~~*~~
A pillow flew across the room, rebounded off of the wall, and landed on the floor.
“Ugh, it’s not fair! Trixie whined, flopping down on her back on her now-pillowless bed. “I was so close!”
Not only had Smidgen created an embrasure before she did, there was also that blasted shadecloak—which Trixie still hadn’t had a chance to try making, even though she’d finally gotten her hooves on the book which detailed the process of making one.
There were more ponies in the Dreamguard every day now, most still stuck doing basic work in the Threshold, but more and more making it to the Gloaming every night. At the rate things were going, Trixie might soon find herself surpassed, and not just by Smidgen. Left behind, to watch as others achieved the greatness she so desired.
This was not acceptable.
Her horn flicked on, and her discarded pillow rose up off of the floor and floated over to the bed. Trixie hugged the thing over her face and let out a muffled scream.
If only she’d had just a bit more time… Luna was being overly cautious. Trixie knew her own strength better than Luna did. She knew she would have been just fine staying in the Gloaming for another try or two. Perhaps even three. If only the Princess would have allowed her to stay a little longer. If only Trixie was allowed to enter the Dreamrealms by herself, then she could have all the time in the world…
Trixie’s thoughts trailed off as she sat up in bed. It was a simple idea, and one that made her a pretty nervous, but why couldn’t she visit the Dreamrealms by herself? Sure, Princess Luna would be furious, but only if she found out. And, if Trixie could create an embrasure large enough, then not even Princess Luna would be able to find her. She could practice all the different weavings she wanted and regain her rightful place at the head of the class!
Plan in mind, Trixie lay back down and started her meditation. As she felt herself slipping into the Threshold, she congratulated herself on what was definitely her best plan, ever.
~~*~~
“This is such a bad idea,” Trixie whispered to herself. The dreadful stillness of the Path of Shadows surrounded her, no darker with Trixie’s horn instead of Princess Luna’s to light the way, but so much more menacing now that she was alone. "I should have slept on it. I never make good decisions when I'm tired. I shouldn’t be here, this is so stupid…”
Trixie Lulamoon, the darkness seemed to whisper to her.
Trixie’s throat locked up too tight to even whimper and, for a dreadful moment, she almost lost control and charged off blindly down the path. Instead, she lay down on her belly, burying her head in her forelegs as she tried desperately to calm herself.
In the days since her first trip down the Path of Shadows, Trixie had very nearly managed to convince herself that the voices that she’d heard back then were all in her head. Now, though, every ounce of fear she'd felt came rushing back at the sound of that dry, terrible voice. Her mane felt like it was trying to stand straight up on her neck and her skin felt a size too small as she cowered in the brittle darkness. Far too late, she began recalling all of Luna’s warnings about this place. Could she even find the Gloaming? If she turned back now, would she even be able to get back to the Threshold by herself? Would whatever-it-was that was whispering her name even let her try?
“Be calm,” Trixie said, repeating Luna’s words. “Remember where you’re going. Keep it firmly in mind. You’ll know when you get there.”
A little, piping voice answered her. “Get where?”
This time, there was no problem with Trixie’s throat. She leapt to her hooves and let out a full-voiced scream of panic, spinning in place to find the owner of the voice.
“Down here,” the voice said.
Trixie looked down to see a cat-sized creature lying on the path. It had four stubby legs, which ended in soft-looking paws under its body. Long ears, rather like a rabbit’s, were upright and turned towards her. The creature’s blue eyes were large, nearly too large for its head, and rested over a tiny little whiskered snout. A thick tail, shaped rather like a fox’s, was curled around the creature’s body, the tip flicking idly.
But most remarkably, it was a blue as pale as the summer sky. Its thick fur glowed with it, enveloping the creature in a small pool of azure light.
The creature tilted its head as it gazed up at her with its too-large eyes. It blinked as Trixie gaped at it, then broke into a giggle.
“You’re funny,” it said in its piccolo voice.
“And you’re glowing,” Trixie said, terror momentarily forgotten. It just looked so cute and harmless. “Who or what are you?”
“Puka.” Its little pink nose wriggled as it rose up on its back legs. “Is good to meet you,” it said, bobbing its head briefly before going back down on all fours. The long ears folded around and laid down its back.
“Ah, it’s, um… Good to meet you, too,” Trixie said. “My name is Trixie. Puka… is that who you are, or is it what you are?”
Puka considered that for a moment, tilting its head first one way and then the next. “Puka is Puka.”
“Ah. Okay.” Trixie looked around before returning her gaze to the creature before her. Not that she was complaining, but it seemed just a little too… adorable for a creature that she randomly encountered in a place as oppressive as the Path of Shadows. She was half expecting it to suddenly reveal a mouthful of oversized fangs and leap at her throat. “I don’t suppose you know how to get to the Gloaming from here?”
“Gloaming?” Puka straightened up, looking excited. “Yes! The dream sea! Yes, Puka knows the way. Trixie wishes to go there?”
“Yes, I…” Trixie trailed off as yet another huge flaw in her plan revealed itself. She slumped and sighed. “No, I guess not.”
“Why not?” Puka asked with another adorable head-tilt.
“If I go there, Princess Luna will almost definitely find me before I manage to make an embrasure and hide myself.”
“Hide from Luna?” Puka padded over and sniffed at her hoof. “Trixie is a pony, yes? Why do you fear Luna?”
“Well… technically I’m not supposed to be here right now,” Trixie admitted. “I only came because I wanted to practice making an embrasure, but the Princess wants me to take it slowly.” She scowled. “I know I’m strong enough to keep going, though.”
Puka sniffed at her again, its whiskers tickling at her fetlock. “Trixie just needs a place to practice dream-working?”
“Yes,” Trixie said. “One that isn’t the Gloaming. One that’s safe.”
“Puka knows a safe place. You wish to go?”
“Well, I don’t know… I’m not...” Trixie broke off, not quite willing to say she didn’t trust this small, glowing creature quite yet. It had been friendly so far, and she didn’t want to risk making it unfriendly.
“Is not good for Trixie here. The darkness knows you.”
A cold shiver raced down Trixie’s spine. “It does?”
“A Gaunt One whispers to you,” Puka said, its voice suddenly somber. “You have heard it. Can you fight it?”
“A Gaunt One?” Trixie wracked her brain as she trembled and stared into the darkness around her, but she couldn’t recall reading about such a creature. And Luna was planning on teaching them how to fight, but only once they got past what she considered the basics. There was no risk in delaying that lesson, the Princess had assured them, because she would always be there to protect them in the Dreamrealms.
Trixie suddenly felt very small, very weak, and incredibly stupid.
“No, I can’t fight,” she admitted in a small voice.
“Then to stay here is not safe.” Puka lifted into the air, hovering by Trixie’s snout. “Puka knows a place. Follow!” it said as it shot off like a comet down the path of shadows.
Trixie stared after it. “You can fly?” she whispered. Then she realized that she had been left behind on the Path of Shadows. Wherever the creature was heading, it couldn’t be worse than here. Well, probably...
“Don't leave me here!” she called as she ran after Puka’s glowing form, hoping she wasn’t making a terrible mistake.
~~*~~
The transition happened suddenly, like somepony flipping a light switch in a dark room. The gloom vanished between one eye-blink and the next, the light somehow not hurting Trixie’s eyes like she would have expected.
“Draumweyr!” Puka called out, zipping through the air with a casual disregard for gravity. “Draumweyr! Is a safe place, the safest. No thing hurts here. No thing hunts here.”
Trixie looked around in awe, the sight before her stealing her breath away. If Puka had indeed led her into a trap, it was at least a pleasant-looking one.
Below her hooves stretched a bowl of land at least two miles across, mostly flat towards the center and curving up sharply towards the ends. Trees covered every inch of space she could see below: oaks and aspens, pine and birch, maples and others that she couldn’t even identify.
Above her, the light blue sky arched cheerfully overhead. Cloudless and as bright as mid-day, though there was no sign of a sun.
It was beautiful, but the more she looked at it the more it seemed strangely artificial to Trixie’s eye. She had the sudden image of an enormous snow globe made of two halves, green below and blue above, with her standing right at the point where they joined.
Trixie turned around to see if she could see outside of the “globe”, only to stare at the ridge of rock, perhaps three yards high, that stretched all along the lip of the forest bowl. She’d have to climb to get to the top of it, but there didn’t seem to be any hoof-holds for her to do so.
How did I get through that? Trixie wondered. There were no gaps she could have trotted through, and no sign of her passage or of the Path of Shadows she’d left behind. It was as if she’d just materialized in the place. Or, she thought with a shiver, as if the place had materialized around her.
“Beautiful place, yes?” Puka asked, flitting around her head in a circle and breaking her out of her worried thoughts. “Safe place. Good place.”
“It’s…What was this place called, again??” Trixie looked around, frowning. Something else was bothering her about this place, and she didn’t feel like she could relax until she figured out what it was.
“Draumweyr,” Puka replied, stopping its flight directly in front of her muzzle.
“Droom where?”
Puka giggled. “Draumweyr,” it repeated.
Trixie spoke slowly and deliberately, repeating, “Draumweyr.”
“Draumweyr! Mae'r dyffryn breuddwydion, yes!”
Apparently not noticing Trixie’s confusion over the string of apparently-nonsensical syllables, Puka touched its fuzzy blue paws onto the rock ridge briefly before lifting off again to do joyful little flips in the air.
Watching the creature fly, it suddenly clicked on what was bothering Trixie. She looked out over the forest, ears twitching. After nearly a full minute of listening, she knew she was right—there were no sounds coming from the forest below. No birdsong, nor the buzzing of insects, not even wind blowing through the trees.
No smell, either, Trixie noted. If there was one thing she was familiar with, it was nature—she’d traveled through enough of it while dragging her wagon behind her. She should at least be able to smell something from the forest below. Instead, all she got was nothing.
“This place isn’t really real, is it?”
Puka landed, its fuzzy face looking up at her solemnly. “Is real enough to stand in. Is real enough to weave in. Is real enough. Is Puka’s found place, and is safe.”
Trixie stared at the creature before her for a good long time, but sensed no guile or ill intent from it. Just an… earnestness, as if it was driven to please her.
“Alright,” she said, relaxing her suspicions just a little. If Puka had intended to hurt her, it probably would have done so already. “Let’s get to practicing, then!”
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YOU IDIOT TRIXIE!
Trixie's got some serious pride issues that need addressing. She's driven to succeed at whatever she puts her mind to, and that's great, but she can't stand not being the best among her peers.
She has to get over that, but I hope she doesn't get hurt too badly in the process.
did some research, and -thus far- it seems that whether or not trixie can trust the puka is up for grabs, but it's highly likely that she can as puka are often portrayed as not being entirely malevolent beings that are highly unlikely to harm those that come across them (the closest things i found in my research was a "wild ride" but that was only given to those who thought it was a good idea to ride their equine forms (they're shapeshifters btw) who knows, there might even be a puka x trixie ship in the future)(they even having their own version of the "shoemaker's elves" tale)
"Mae'r dyffryn breuddwydion" is seemingly welsh for "the valley of dreams"
and "draum" is icelandic for "dream", but i have very little idea what "weyr" could be. . . the closest thing i came across was something to do with the "dragonrider" series (i think) being a term for a specific group of dragons or something, but my best guess has to be something to do with "weave" (with the opening of the chapter going into what it did, i'm guessing that this "draumweyr" is an "embrasure" of some sort.)
Oh, Trixie...
8087932 I'm guessing that weyr is related to weir, which can be a protected pool in a stream, or more accurately, the low dam which creates such pools. Usually as a trap for fishing, although loggers and other users of shallow streams will build weirs to create navigable passages out of stretches which aren't quite there. Or as storage for logs before flood season.
Finally got around to reading this, and loving it already. Something about dreams just work so well in MLP fiction.
Glad to see more writing from you too, Hoopy.
A weyr is a creature's home, or place of safety.
Amazing how easily Welsh can be used as a stand-in for an alien language, isn't it?
Such silliness aside, this happens to be a rather interesting story indeed, and I'll keep it on watch for now. I'd really like to see what other fey and such you integrate.
Blue, huh? Who wants to bet that's Luna's pet or Luna in disguise?
"No fairy is more feared in Ireland than the pooka. This may be because it is always out and about after nightfall, creating harm and mischief, and because it can assume a variety of terrifying forms."
Celestia damn it, Trixie.
i'd bet if Trixie attempted to make her space like her wagon she'd find it a lot easier, go with the familiar.
it seems that puka are known for leading people away from harm so we shall see how this goes.
8089308 The pooka can be helpful or harmful in Irish mythology, but it's usually only helpful if you do something for it.
Additionally, since Lucid Dreamer said that things take up residence in abandoned embrasures, having Puka say that it's his 'found place' probably isn't a good sign.
Gloaming means twilight, by the way. I'll bet Trixie will be thrilled when she finds that out.
I actually want Trixie to start disliking Smidgen, and I feel like some signs are already appearing of an unstable friendship due to her success
8087868
I myself am left to wonder what it was in Trixie's youth that's made her so desperate to be the very best, like no one ever was.
8089308
Depending on the version of the myth, they also bring good luck and lead folks away from harm. Seems to be dependant on the person and that person's, "quality."
Trixie's pride and jealousy are going to get her into so much trouble. Kind of reminds me of Luna's somewhat checkered past.
8087932 Excellent analysis, that feels like a really good guess about the nature of the Draumweyr.
Ah, the puka. As I interpret them, they will never lead you into danger... that you cannot handle.
Tracking.
Oh, this one seems benevolent, not quite harmful in an active way. I suppose. As long as you treat one with repect and kindness i think. Fae do take debts of gratitude and obligation very seriously. You think that has to do with their age?
the first creature you meet in a dreamworld on a path that is known to have malicious fey ... and you just follow it to a place you've never been? After you've worn yourself out training? After you've said you've worn yourself out training out loud? After you've admitted you don't know how to fight?
Trixie is a special kind of stupid tonight.
Trixie, you have followed your foolish vanity into the depths of Adobe Software's Dreamweaver product line! Run away NOW, before their overpriced, crash-prone, and unstable bloatware devours you!
Oh, wait... that's Real world stuff...
Right then. Let's see, Trixie's in a place called the "Valley of Dreams," and one of the worst places is the Vale of Echoes.
Surely there could be no link between the two.
...Luna?
...weyr
8087932
If I am not mistaken is germanic, or rather slavic word and it could be translated as " fort in the hills "
Depends on context even bowl ( as if valley that can ' t be reached ), defensible place
Fortress of dreams, or maybe fortress dreamed into being ( definitely kind of embrasure that Luna was warning about )
8091609 Puka puka? Puka-chu! *gets beaten down for bad word play*
Ah, Trixie. Always looking for shortcuts.
Run away dream train.
Crash inpending
Trixie
What are you doing, Trixie
Trixie stahp
Dangit Trixie!
This can only end well.
What... What is that thing? I get the feelings it's not malicious, but still going to cause trouble for Trixie.
After all, a safe place doesn't neccesarily mean a place Trixie wants to stay in...