With a Shine in His Eyes

by Kotushk Fier

Dreamscapes

The picnic I shared with Punch and her daughter was delightful, but I had to cut it short. Yawning heavily, I bid her a good day and headed back to my hotel, ready to get some sleep. Nodding curtly at the attendant at the desk, I waited until he retrieved my key and gave it over. With a small bow of my head, I left him alone and returned to my room, unlocked my door, and fell straight into my bed without even a shower. And that is when the dreams came.

<A beautiful landscape, starkly white. Dust billowed across the surface, blown by a wind I could not feel. Looking up into the sky, I saw billions of bright and vibrant stars, twinkling with an intensity I could normally only see with a telescope. I could feel nothing, though. I ran for miles upon miles, and could not find or sense the presence of another soul. This place was vastly beautiful... And infinitely lonely.>

I woke with a start, a light sheen of sweat coating me, as if I had actually been running. The snow white dreamscape left me feeling cold and alone. I had to look out of my window in order to reaffirm my place in a populated world before I could return to sleep. Closing the drapes to close out the midafternoon sunlight, I returned to my bed, and my dreams.

<"Walk with me, Novalis."

Nodding my head, I followed Princess Luna as she turned and walked into the landscape from before. The billowing dust storms and starlit canopy no longer felt lonesome. I could feel an intimate air rising around me and the Princess. Our silent walk was short, however, as we soon came to a dome rising from the very land we tread upon. With but a flicker from her horn, the dome opened, and we walked inside.

"Novalis, welcome to my sanctuary."

Sanctuary? Did that mean...

"Princess, are we on the moon?"

"Yes, Novalis," she replied with a laugh. "And please, while we are here, call me Luna."

To recover from the shock of being given the privilege of speaking so intimately to her, I took a look around the inside of the dome. Large bookcases surrounded us, filled to capacity with an untold number of books and scrolls. With a mere glance at the titles, I could see that they were all very rare records, worth a vast amount per title. Returning my awestruck gaze to the Princess before me, I found her curled up on a padded reading dais. With a motion of her wing, she beckoned me to join her. Wrapping me with a wing as I stumbled clumsily up to join her, she brought me close and whispered into my ear.

"How would you like to read with me for a bit?"

A shiver ran through me as her voice tickled my ear. I could only nod dumbly as she began levitating a few scrolls over to where we lay. After picking a few out, she sent the rest back and unfurled some very ancient charts and diagrams of the stars.

"These very charts have been replicated many times, but these ones in particular were hoofwritten by Starswirl the Bearded himself. He was one of my favorite proteges back in the olden times."

I looked over the charts before me with reverence. Starswirl was the leading authority of magic and knowledge when he was alive. He had made many advancements in magical theory and scientific research, many of which we were only now beginning to grasp with our own minds. I never knew he was an astronomer, however. I saw that the maps we were currently viewing were only on the stars I had studied with Luna so far. But... something was amiss.

"Pri- I mean, Luna, these stars aren't in the same place anymore. They're... Hmm. They seem to be closer together than they are today."

"Very good, Novalis. Would you like to hazard a guess as to why?"

I thought about it for a few moments. Why would the stars seem to be moving? Wait. They all seemed to move slightly outwards from the points mapped out by Starswirl.

"Is... the universe expanding? Is the universe actually growing?"

I saw that I was correct by the way Luna's eyes lit up and she broke into a large smile.

"Very good, Novalis. You show great promise. Yes, the universe is indeed growing. Most of my students before you thought that the universe couldn't possibly grow. Too many thought I was jesting with them, trying to trick them, as it were."

"What does that mean for us, though?" I couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"It means that the stars I place in the sky, while I have no further control over them, are travelling beyond the previous borders of the universe. Some are collecting planets as they spin away, and are even supporting new life. New life is sprouting from the very stars I place in the sky for my little ponies to enjoy."

I look up at that time, and noticed that the dome had an opening at the very top. I could see stars travelling slowly across the scope of my vision, and had newfound wonder for what may be connected to them. Perhaps more of them had life now? Maybe life was growing at this very instant?

Luna studied my reactions, smiling slightly. After awhile, she leaned in close to whisper to me again.

"I think that's enough for today. Even though I cannot teach you right now in the flesh, I figured you would enjoy more learning. Time to sleep now, dear Novalis."

With those words, the Dome and Moon faded into blackness around us. The last thing I saw and felt before complete darkness overtook me was Luna leaning in and kissing my forehead.>

I woke slowly, swimming from the currents of sleep back into reality. After shaking the last bit of sleep from my eyes, I looked around my room in disappointment. A dream. I had no way of telling what that dream meant, but I felt lonely without my teacher nearby afterwards. I was used to my dreams with her being interrupted by her in the flesh, and I felt oddly alone without that embarrassment.

Sighing softly, I clambered out of bed a bit clumsily, and took a look out of my window. Dusk was starting to fall, and some of the stars were twinkling in the sky. I recalled my dream, and thought about the possibilities of life surrounding them. Hmm. Maybe Twilight would like to talk about it. She enjoyed learning as much as I did, and I was sure she wouldn't be asleep yet. Buck, she might even be at the library of this town if it was open this late.

After leaving the hotel, I trotted down the street towards the large tree in the center of town. With nothing else to do, and no one to talk to, I began to daydream. As usual, my thoughts were on Luna. And like normal, I fell into another romantic haze.

<"Good job on the lesson I gave you, Novalis."

"Thank you, Princess. But it is your personal tutoring that is to praise."

My eyes roamed across her when she wasn't looking. A simple, elegant black nightdress adorned her body, lightly falling over and accentuating her curves. Black crystal shoes adorned her lovely hooves, and her crown seemed to be freshly polished. Her mane and tail, as always, were expertly groomed, flowing freely without a tangle or mass in the stars.

"Enjoying your view?"

Well... I thought she wasn't looking, anyways... I looked away from her flank and noticed her eyes twinkling with mischief. She lightly trotted over to me and circled around me, eyeing me closely. Clicking her tongue every so often, I began to feel tense under her gaze.

"Now, what would a fine young stallion like yourself be thinking about when viewing me, hmm? What thoughts invade your mind?"

I swallowed nervously, too afraid to speak.

"Come now," she said, drawing very close to me and staring into my eyes, "tell me your secret thoughts."

With a sudden surge of bravery, I opened my mouth and began to tenderly speak my heart to her.

"Well, Princess,...>

"YOU NEED TO GET THE BUCK OUTTA THE WAY, BUDDY!"

I was snapped back to reality by a shouting voice from my left. Looking over, I quickly backpedaled as a large wagon careened past me, and a large stallion chased it down the street. I nearly got run down while daydreaming!

Sighing and shaking my head to clear the last vestiges of my daydream, I decided to start controlling that more. No need to be hurt while dreaming, right? With a chuckle, I turned and resumed my trip to Twilight's. Perhaps she had some tips on controlling one's mentality.

Author's Note:

Whoa. A new chapter? What a shock. I am starting to feel more creative since the stress from my job is finally fading away. I am still looking for a job, but why squander the time I have free now? So with that, I am hoping to start putting chapters out at a much better pace than before. And hopefully my dear readers can forgive an author his poor amount of work.

Comments

[Knavethefish]

A bit short, but still enjoyable.

[Kotushk Fier]

2870792
Tis the third longest chapter of Shine to date.

[Knavethefish]

2871887
It depends on how much time I have
, but I still feel for longer chapters.

[Kotushk Fier]

2872249

I used to write a story with at least 4k words a chapter, but I wasn't very fond of writing that long. I tend to write my chapters in one sitting, over the course of about an hour or an hour and a half if it needs heavier revision.

[ChillaxBrony]

Hey. Hey. Hey. Look. Listen. Post more. Kthnxbye

[BrokenSpaceBar]

An update?! I thought this story is dead

[Knavethefish]

2872276
Ehh, That was only a suggestion. Not really my place to try and take control by pretending my opinion is that of many nonexistent people.

[Kotushk Fier]

2877713
No, not dead. The creativity I have used to be dead... A very stressful and thankless job tends to do that.