The Beginning of Something New
It had only been a few months since Luna had cast off the weight of her guilt over Nightmare Moon, and she was looking through the dreamscape as she tended to do, when a certain dream caught her eye. It wasn’t a nightmare, no. But it had an oddly compelling pull to it, and Luna didn’t quite know why. She glided over to the dream, and looked at the surface of the sphere. Projected within was a vast field of apple trees, and there was a pair having a small picnic underneath one of the larger trees. Luna sighed at the sight. Romantic love… Something I will likely never experience… Just as she was about to leave and mope elsewhere, she could feel the dream morphing, shifting. She then realized that this was no dream. It was a memory being replayed in the dreamer’s mind, and it was about to turn sour. So, taking charge, Luna dove inside the memory that was becoming a night-terror.
As she drew closer to the center of the relived memory, she could make out a the pair better. One was a yellow furred Earth Pony stallion. The other was a buffalo cow. While Luna blinked about that for a moment, she soon shook it off. After all, things were different now. Ponies having relationships with non-ponies wasn’t as frowned upon as it used to be. As she drew closer, she could hear the buffalo mare speak up. “I’m sorry, Braeburn. It’s just not going to work out. I’ve found somefalo else.”
The now named Braeburn had shock on his face as he reached out, and yelled after her. “Little Strongheart! Please don’t leave me!” As he reached for her in vain, Little Strongheart edged further and further away, until she was less than a speck on the horizon...
Just as things were about to make a turn for the worse, Luna made her presence known. “Braeburn Apple.” She descended through the clouds of the dream, fully expecting nothing of note to occur. She’d just assure him that he could learn something from this and move on, as was usual. Though when he turned to see her, something powerful that she had never quite felt before ran through her being. His green eyes and two-toned sandy mane and tail just seemed so stunning. She noticed that Braeburn seemed to be lost in her presence as well, though that was to be expected. She shook herself off, filing that away for later as she landed. Though, it wasn’t quite smoothly. She had to steady herself so she didn’t tip over, but it was probably subtle enough so that Braeburn wouldn’t notice. Projecting a calm and commanding demeanor, she addressed Braeburn like many she had helped before. “Be at peace, for this is but a dream. One based on a memory, but a dream nonetheless.”
She waited for a bit, gauging his reaction. He seemed to be confused at first, but he then realized something. “Oh, that’s right! Ya’ve been helpin’ ponies wit’ nightmares an’ such! Ah forgot ‘bout that for a moment there.” He let out a chuckle, and the tone of it made the strange feeling return- only for Luna to push it down quickly. Braeburn tilted his head slightly. “Ya alright there, Princess Luna?”
A bit surprised that Braeburn had caught that, Princess Luna proceeded to to push it down further. She nodded, and tried to change the subject. “I am quite alright, Braeburn. Now, to the matter at hoof.” she cleared her throat a bit, and continued. “Now, that memory that you were reliving- how often does it come into your dreams?”
Braeburn may have been a somewhat simple stallion, but he could tell when somepony was hiding something. Though, he decided to not press his luck at the moment. He instead opted to answer her question. “Well, it used ta be much worse, comin’ round nightly. But these days, it usually only pops in once a week.”
Luna nodded with a smile. “It seems that you’re fighting off the nightmare yourself pretty well. In a few weeks, you might only experience these nightmares once a month. You might eventually beat it entirely. I have faith that you can.” Luna stood, ready to leave. “Farewell, Braeburn.”
Before she could leave though, Braeburn called out. "Wait! Though my nightmare's gone, Ah don't feel quite safe alone in my mind right now. Would you... stay here ‘til close to mornin’?"
An odd request it was, to be sure. Nopony had dared to ask her stay that long- mostly because by the time she arrived, morning was near. But here, morning was hours away yet- not to mention that time worked drastically different in the dreamscape. On top of that, others might need her to break up nightmares later in the night. However, she couldn’t just leave him here. He was frightened, and a bit out of sorts. She sighed. “I can stay for a little while, but I can’t say how long. I may need to leave to deal with a nightmare. Is this acceptable?”
Braeburn nodded gladly. “Ah know that ya’ve got places ta be, but Ah really do appreciate this.” He looked over the orchard, almost like he noticed it for the first time. Luna saw that it grew crisper with clarity, more realistic with detail. Her jaw was slightly ajar as she marveled at the level of detail that Braeburn was adding to the scene. He smirked, and nodded. “Ah think that looks much better. Ever since Ah heard ‘bout what happened in Ponyville with the connected dream an’ the Tantabus, Ah’ve been experimentin’ with this sort o’ thing whenever Ah realize that Ah’m dreamin’.” He turned to Luna with a smile. “What do ya think?”
This craftsponyship of one’s dream was impressive, to be sure. It was nowhere near her own work, of course, but it was an admirable thing for somepony to trying shaping their dream. She looked at Braeburn with curiosity. Maybe… “Braeburn, I could teach you how to mold your dreams better, if you like.” When he turned to face her, Luna saw surprise on his face. She looked away slightly, a bit bashful. “You have a knack for it. Were you a unicorn, your talent might have been in dreamcrafting.”
Surprise lit on Braeburn’s face. He never thought that such a thing would occur. He was an Earth Pony- a simple stallion, with simple values. He was being offered lessons by the Princess of the Moon. The weight of it all was a bit overwhelming. She saw in him potential, and that alone was unbelievable. Was this really happening? He shook himself out of his awe, and nodded slightly. “If you really want to, sure. I don’t have much in the way of paying for lessons, however…”
Before he could go much further, Luna shook her head. “No need to worry, Braeburn. As my first student in dreamcrafting, I could hardly charge you. It is a new experience for me to teach somepony that. That alone is payment enough.”
At Luna’s smile, Braeburn felt his face grow a bit flushed. He proceeded to avert his gaze. He couldn’t bare to think what might happen if she noticed. “Th-thank you, yer Majesty. It’s an honor to receive such an offer. When do we start?”
Luna had noticed his actions, a bit of hope in her. Maybe… She shook her head. No, the admiration was most likely just coat-deep. It wasn’t uncommon for ponies to appreciate the Princesses that way, especially these days. She nevertheless filed his actions away for later reference. “The dawn comes soon, Braeburn. I must go. I will drop by your dream tomorrow if I have time. We can start the lessons then.” She gave a little wave. “Farewell, Braeburn.”
He waved back, slightly bashful. “See ya, Princess Luna!”
Luna left the dream, finding herself on the balcony of Canterlot Castle. She sighed deeply. Of course, these things were not to work out. She knew it to be so, after all things hadn’t panned out last time she had her eye on somepony… She shook her head. She lowered the moon, and she saw her sister raise the sun into the sky. Luna was tired, and dragged herself to the table where Celestia waited. She idly ate the meal that had been prepared, not really paying attention to what Celestia was saying. Luna non-committedly thanked Celestia for the food, and dragged herself off to bed. Dream-walking was a tiring thing, and Luna needed a good rest. She drew the blackout curtains of her room, and drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note
Finally got this to a point I feel comfortable with posting it. As for when it might update... that's hard to say. I might need a bit of help figuring out where to go next with this fic...
Luna woke late in the afternoon, just in time for a late lunch with Celestia. They had agreed upon this arrangement, the one meal that they could reasonably appreciate together without being too irritable. However, Luna’s mind drifted off to Braeburn. She had a student, her first one in a very long time. And then there were these feelings… Luna sighed. She knew that it shouldn’t go anywhere, and remembered how badly last time went. She looked at her sister, and debated. She could probably talk with Celestia about this, seeing as she knew how it was like, but she was unsure how to broach the subject. However, it seemed that she wouldn’t have to as Celestia decided to first. “So I hear you have a student, Luna. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised about it. Seeing what happened with the last one…” A bit of anger leapt upon Luna’s face, but Celestia quickly backtracked. “Ah, right. Sometimes I forget how sensitive you are about the subject. My bad, Luna. But you can’t really blame my concern. I can tell by your demeanor that you’re bothered about him.”
Luna sighed. It would be surprising to somepony else how well Celestia could read emotions, but not to Luna. Honestly, it would’ve been more surprising if she couldn’t. After all, they were sisters. Luna looked up into Celestia’s eyes. “I know it went poorly with Sombra. It still hurts, sometimes.” she let out a small dry chuckle. “You must think me a fool to try again, especially with a male student.”
However, Celestia shook her head. “Not really, Luna. You’ve learned from your past, and I trust you that it won’t end the same way. If it goes beyond a teacher/student relationship?” A mischievous, albeit jealous look crept onto her face. “Well, I’ll support you in that, no matter what.”
A blush heated Luna’s face, and she shook her head. “I don’t intend for it to go that far. He’s just my student for now. It’s probably best that I keep it professional.”
Celestia’s face drooped with concern. “I know you’re worried about getting… involved… with your student. But don’t make my mistake! I missed my chance with Starswirl, and I’ve regretted it every day since! If you don’t take a chance, you’ll just end up kicking yourself for it later.”
Celestia had a point, she supposed. But Luna wasn’t sure she was ready for a romantic relationship. She got up from the table, and sighed. “I promise to… think about it.”
Celestia beamed and smiled. “That’s all that I can ask, sis. Trust me, if you go for it… you won’t regret it.”
Night had fallen, and it was almost time for her to give Braeburn his lesson. She was nervous. She hadn’t taught anyone in over a thousand years, so that was only natural. But that wasn't the only issue. She had felt these jitters only once before, when she was considering getting serious about Sombra back in the day. She shook the feeling away, and tried to focus. She had a responsibility as his teacher, anything else was secondary. Steeling herself, Luna flew delved into the dreamscape. Now that she recognized his Dream Signature, it wasn’t very hard to find Braeburn’s dream. Locking on, she shot off towards it without a second thought.
Upon entering the dream, she noticed something different from before. The scene wasn’t of the picnic under one of the trees of an Apple Orchard this time. This time, she arrived at s sprawling plain on a calm summer morning. She saw a building in the distance, and she started to drift towards it. The closer she got to the structure, the more detailed it became. It was constructed of marble and obsidian, striped in an ever-repeating pattern. Upon closer inspection, it had large doors- sizeable enough to fit an adolescent dragon. She noticed stained glass windows decorating the perimeter about a fetlock length up the wall. The patterns of the windows were of an Apple Orchard, but Luna supposed that was to be expected. She soon touched down outside the impressive structure. Mayhaps she didn’t really need to teach Braeburn much if he could already conjure something like this in his dreams. She then called out to him. “Braeburn? I’ve come for your lessons.”
It wasn’t much longer before Braeburn showed up. As he did, the building started to peel away into dust. Once he was close enough to talk, he apologized. Sorry ‘bout startin’ without ya, I just got a mite carried away.”
As Braeburn rubbed the back of his head bashfully, Luna let a smirk light upon her face. “It’s quite alright, Braeburn. I find it admirable that you were able to make something like that without instruction. It’s a good way to gauge how much you need to be taught to reach your potential.” She then sat nearby and started to focus. “Now, allow me to show you how I do it, and then I’ll ask you to replicate it. Are you ready?” After Braeburn nodded, Luna made a sweeping gesture with her hoof. The whole landscape changed and shifted around them. The plains started to shed grass and the ground was painted into an orange-brown color. A river was etched into the land, and it started to ravage the land. Luna then made it as if the time had lapsed forward a century or so, and the river had already carved a decently sized canyon. It was nowhere near as impressive as the canyons she had seen before, but she felt this was a good start. She then swept her hoof in the other direction, and the changes she made reverted.
She looked at Braeburn. “Alright, now your turn. Take your time- emulating erosion is pretty complicated for a beginner, but I see great potential in you. Give it a shot.”
Braeburn took a deep breath, and focused as hard as he could. He would do his best.
To be continued…
Author's Note
Sorry to cut the chapter short.