Luna and the Dreamscape - Episode 9: Fire Heart

[Hippo]

Luna made her way to the dream room. Inside, a table that would normally be empty was adorned with several midnight snacks, including cookies, milk, and tea. Luna was puzzled when she first saw it, but then warmly smiled when she realized who might have set it up. So this is what it feels like to have a protege. Luna thought to herself, wondering what it was like when Celestia had Twilight following her around with youthful energy and potential. She levitated the teapot and pour herself a cup. When she pulled the cup close to her mouth, she heard a knock on the door to the dreamscape office. The moment caused Luna to spill tea on her face slightly. The tea was very warm, and started to burn Luna a little bit, but nothing too serious. She gasped but tried not to yell, pulling a napkin off the table and bringing it to her face to wipe the mess before anypony could see her. A Princess should never look messy.

​

A guard opened the door. "Yes. Um. Excuse me, Princess. I was told by your assistant to tell you that there is tea and cookies on the table for you."

"Thank you." Luna turned around with a hiding smile. "I appreciate it."

After the guard left, Luna exhaled and rolled her eyes. It was time to get to work. She sat comfortably on the chair, and started humming herself a made up lullaby she probably made up a couple days ago, she couldn't remember. Her eye lids began to close and just a moment after her head fell to a soft limp, with a smile written across her face.

​

[Lux]

Night had fallen over Canterlot as a full moon illuminated the city below and a starry sky provided a feast for the senses to anypony who was awake to look up at the sky. Nearby the sprawling campus of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was a place known as Clover Park, named after the famous protege of Starswirl the Bearded, Clover the Clever. The park was a fairly open grassy land dotted by trees, stone pathways, and benches. In the center of the sprawling park was a statue of the park's namesake, standing proudly on a pedestal as a source of inspiration. This place, being so close to the school was in the daytime a frequent place for students to relax, study and meet friends while taking a moment from their busy school schedules.

Tonight the normally quiet park was teeming with a crowd nearby the statue. There a red unicorn young enough to be a student there was putting on a show, dancing with the grace of ballerina while doing something very unusual: juggling three fireballs in the air with her magic. The crowd of fellow students, teachers, and passerby Ponies cheered as the young mare performed such a feat, and the performer was growing ever more excited as the crowd grew in intensity.

This is to set things up. The nightmare will begin on my next turn.

[Hippo]

Luna walked down a hallway. After about ten steps, she had gained the coherence to see where she was and what was around her. The dreamscape she walked in projected the memory of a hall way on the second floor of Celestia's School of Gifted Unicorns. At the end of the hallway was an open door that had access to a typical Canterlot-style balcony. Luna approached the balcony carefully, and upon sneaking carefully, saw the outside park below featuring a festive gathering of young ponies where students and faculty at the school could enjoy their conversation and share new tricks and stories. The park, named after Clover the Clever, was structured in dream almost perfectly. If this dream was projected by memory, the dreamer must obviously had been here before.

When she looked down, she could see a young unicorn showing off her fire magic by juggling fireballs. It seemed very tame, despite the element used, and all the ponies in the area, though posed as a reflection of real ponies, were entertained and were drawn towards the magical feat. Luna smiled as she saw the crowd of ponies gather more and more numbers. Although the school was not used for entertainment magical purposes, it certainly didn't do any harm to have a break to show off one skill in amusement. It seemed this was a pleasant dream, and Luna started making her way back into the school to attempt entering another state of the dreamscape.

​

[Lux]

"Thank you," Fire Heart said positively beaming at the response as the three fireballs vanished, "For my next trick I'm going to do a little tango with a twist."

The orchestra heard only by the young mare began to play and the young mare closed her eyes and conjured a fiery coil from her horn, moving around her like a snake. A she danced the coil spun out with each turn and move like it had a mind of its own. At first the crowd stood amazed at the sight and Fire Heart could only hear the oohs and aahs, but the more the red unicorn fed off of the excitement of the crowd and her own excitement while being locked into the rhythm of the dance the sounds of the crowd grew more of concern. The magical fiery cord was growing longer and larger as the young mare danced and then suddenly the mare herself appeared engulfed in flames. Fire Heart wasn't burned by them as it was like a second coat of flames rested just above her own crimson coat. And each time the pony placed her hooves, flames erupted on the grass and spread.

"Oh my gosh, that pony is on fire!" a voice exclaimed.

"The grass is on fire too!" another shouted.

The screams awoke the unicorn from her trance and she stopped dancing, her eyes wide in panic. The once pleasant Clover Park was now in flames! Ponies were running around screaming, some trying to find their friends and family, some coughing on the thick black smoke and even a few passing by with their manes and tails on fire.

"Everypony don't panic," Fire said with a nervous tone,"I... I can fix this."

She tried to concentrate on the flames hoping to make them go away like she did with the fireballs she juggled. But instead of making them go away the flames grew higher and hotter, obscuring everything around where she was standing save for the Clover the Clever statue which rather than having a pleasant encouraging stare now looked menacing in the light of the flames. Added to the fact were the screams which grew more numerous which meant one thing: the flames had reached the wooden homes and businesses of the city! She knew nothing could be done now, that much of Canterlot and even the lives of many of its citizens would be destroyed.

"No, please,,," Fire said in tears collapsing on the scorched grass with the flames still surrounding her, "I'm not a monster."

[Hippo]

 

Just as Luna was about to walk through a portal to transport herself to a different plane of the dreamscape, she hear yelling and screaming. The kind of yelling and screaming that comes from fear and terror as apposed to the kind from Nightmare Night, where several little fillies and colts voice their fearful expressions for all to hear and recognize for fun. Luna closed the portal without entering, and returned to the balcony she had watched the dream take its main shape. But it's condition was much more fearful than before. Fire started spreading onto buildings and trees, all coming from a pony who seemed to be on fire. As all the ponies fled for their imaginary lives, the pony on fire pleaded for control, but she had no control in her hooves. This dream turned nightmare could be anypony's. But Luna was going to wage her bets on it being the pony in the center, who's fire not only burned away the things around her, but burned away her content with her ability to control herself as well.

Luna fluttered down to the ground level, her mane and body unscathed by the fires, regardless how close they came to her. Luna was immune. Luna stepped up to the pony. An unwelcome fire kindled all around her, her ears pointed with devilish flame tips. Above her, fire turned to smoke that bellowed into the sky. "It would appear your little gather is a little burnt." Luna stated whimsically.

​
 

[Lux]

For a moment Fire Heart lay there sobbing, the only other sounds being the crackling inferno and the intermittent screams of ponies in the distance. 

 

"It would appear your little gather is a little burnt." a familiar voice was heard nearby, although amid the chaos the young mare didn't know who. What was odd was that the voice seemed very calm even under the circumstances. What pony could be so calm like nothing was going on... unless. The mare opened her eyes and looked up to see Princess Luna staring down at her. The red unicorn remembered that snowy night when Fire Heart met the Princess and stayed the night at the castle. It was a welcoming sign that the Princess was here, as she was a source of calm in any storm. But then a wave of fear overtook the young mare. The Princess knew what she did, how she destroyed buildings and grounds, as there was no way she could hide it. 

 

"I'm so so sorry!" she said as she bowed, "I thought I had control this time but then I did this! Please don't banish me from Equestria!" 

[Hippo]

Banish her? Of course, that was nonsense. In order for this to require a real banning, this would have had to happen in the real Canterlot. And of course, it would have never gotten out of hoof like this if this really was Canterlot. "Banishment?" Luna responded flatly, paused, and then smiled. "Oh, I don't think so. You just need a little help extinguishing your fear." Luna flapped her wings forward, giving Fire Heart a magical rush of air, and that removed the flames from her pelt. When Luna saw the mare, she recognized her immediately. "Oh, Fire Heart. It's you." She smiled warmly.

Meanwhile, in the backdrop, several ponies were continuing to scream for their lives, some of them having fires on their tails, some dodging burning structures as they fell into the ash-covered streets of Canterlot. The sky was blocked by the billow of smoke, no stars nor moon could be seen. However, Princess Luna paid no mind to the action around her and had no interest in saving the day, she only looked into Fire's eyes. "What made you feel this happen?" Luna's question may have seemed puzzling to Fire, for if Fire did not know she was dreaming, she may not understand the wording.

​
 

[Lux]

Fire kept her head down, waiting for the inevitable. She thought about all the ponies she had to say goodbye to: her classmates, her teachers, her friends, her family, and most of all a certain marefriend. Losing her would be the worst of all and would no doubt crush Fire Heart. 

 

"Banishment? Oh, I don't think so. You just need a little help extinguishing your fear." 

 

Fire looked up at Luna wondering how her act could be so easily waved off with the same ease as a parent dismissing a child's honest mistake. Before she could respond, a magical rush of wind extinguished the fiery shield surrounding the unicorn but strangely not the flames around them. 

 

"Oh, Fire Heart. It's you." 

 

"Um...yeah it's me."

 

It was a greeting that the mare didn't expect, like the two were meeting on the street or having tea in a cafe. Despite the chaos surrounding the two Luna remained fixated on her. Did the fact that Luna now recognized her would change things? 

 

"What made you feel this happen?"

 

For a moment Fire mulled over the question. it wasn't a straight "How did this happen" or "What causes you to do this" but a strange mass of words. 

 

"I...I don't know what you mean Princess. I can tell you why this happens, but what me feel this happen? If you're asking what I feel when it happens it's usually extreme emotions like being really excited or sad or angry. Strange...now that I think about it, I know I should have felt excited performing in front of others but I didn't feel anything like I do normally..." 

[Hippo]

"Well, let's take a look at that then, shall we?" Luna turned around, placed her wing behind fire heart, and pushed her along to walk with her. Luna would lead her out of the courtyard into the street that leads to the main Canterlot road. On both sides, fires were still raging, ponies were still screaming, and destruction was imminent. Luna ignored it all the entire time. "So you feel excited, sad, or angry. You don't normally get this exited about something like this. Did something happen recently? Something happen to get you more excited? You know sometimes, ponies don't realize how far their emotions can stretch. A negligible feeling of adrenaline can create the most interesting and chaotic events in your dreams." It occurred to Luna that Fire may not have gotten that important bit of context just yet. "Oh. By the way. You're dreaming."

​
 

[Lux]

"Well, let's take a look at that then, shall we?"

 

As Princess Luna led her on, Fire Heart cringed seeing the destruction around her and the still ever-present screams around her. He hated seeing ponies upset or especially in pain, but for some reason Luna was ignoring all this, focusing solely on her. Surely something was wrong as she didn't see the Princess of Night as apathetic. A Princess would go and help quell the chaos before addressing one who was unharmed. Then again she expected some reprimand and so far received none, another mystery for the red unicorn.

 

 Did something happen recently? Something happen to get you more excited?

 

"I..." Fire began to explain before Luna told her something that made her stop. 

 

 "Oh. By the way. You're dreaming."

 

"This is a dream?" Fire Heart replied as she looked around, realizing that was why the Princess acted the way she did towards the things around them.

 

"Ugh, not again!" Fire Heart said as she frowned, "This was third dream like this that I had this month. Oh, you asked me what caused the excitement if it wasn't the dream alone, right? Err...it's kind of a long story, starting with how I got my cutie mark. I'll try to make as short as possible. Basically I was bullied a lot in school by a certain colt and one day I just got angry when he teased a younger pony  that my fire magic just happened. In that moment I found my talent but I was also afraid that I'd hurt some ponies. You see, my fire ability comes at a price of being tied to me emotions, so every time I get upset or excited I start to lose control. There are times that I scorched my bed at home after a nightmare and I could see the fear in my parents' eyes of what i would do. That's why they sent me to Princess Celestia's School, to see if my magic could be controlled. Even though it's way better than when I started going there, there's always this fear that I'll lose control once again and I'll accidentally hurt somepony. Then I'll be some kind of monster, alone and unloved. You understand what I'm saying, right Princess Luna?" 

[Hippo]

Luna listened carefully to the words of Fire Heart. Luna cared deeply for what she had to say, but Fire Heart almost spoke helplessly as if there is nothing she can do. She did ask for Luna's help. But what could Luna do to help her on the right track? She needed to understand a little more. As they kept walking, Luna turned a corner that hugged a building that lead to another quad. In this grassy area, you could see some of the more elementary forms of entertaining young foals who were attending the school. Even a prestigious school named from Celestia required sensitivity for those so young. A familiar playground was always there for them. Luna hoped that maybe this would help spark a memory. "Tell me more about school. What was it like for you when you started out?"

​
 

[Lux]

Fire Heart resisted not breaking down in her dream after telling  Luna about her life. The mare didn't know exactly what the Princess could do to help her, but at least she could see that the Alicorn cared for her plight. It was the same level of caring that her parents or marefriend showered upon her. But to her surprise instead of Luna offering help she wanted to know about Fire's school, especially when she started out.

 

"Well, I remember that I almost didn't into the school because of the test that all ponies need to go through. The test was tailored to me talent since my magic is so closely tied to it. I remembering having to light several candles in the room using only one lit candle, and I couldn't move the candle. So I had to use my fire magic, but I was scared to not use it a lot for fear of burning the school down. But I managed to light the candles and pass the test. The first few days were a little scary as I wasn't close to many of my classmates again out of what could happen. It was hard to disguise my magic though due to having to show what I could do in practice classes and my cutie mark. But the more I got used to school the more I opened up to other ponies and did btter in classes." 

[Hippo]

Luna could see the emotional struggle Fire Heart was dealing with. The fears of her magic use stemmed from the pressures she had as a foal, up to and even including her enrollment in Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. Luna had seen several current students studying at the school struggle with the same emotional effect, its was mostly too common. However, the perspective of the ponies in the moment felt as if they were the only ones that struggled to control their magic and their emotions.

"Oh, so I assume when you opened up more, you made some friends. What did your peers think of your magic? Were they afraid of you? Did they make you feel better?" Luna stopped were casual walk at the park enterance of the filly courtyard, where the youngest students of the school have their recess. In the firey environment with grass burnt was a lonely merry-go-round and the remains of a slide, along with several wooden picnic tables in the back which were now charred.

​
 

[Lux]

"Well, I guess I made a few acquaintances," Fire said thinking back to the time she joined the school which felt like an eternity ago, "but at the time I'm not sure I can say I had many friends and I don't think i had any best friends. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't some reclusive pony who ate her meals in her dorm room and stayed in the library when she didn't have classes. I ate with ponies, went to their parties and had fun. But there was always this invisible wall between me and them that would go up at certain times when a pony wanted to get to know me more and become my friend. This wall especially would go up when we talked about learning magic. I was excited talking about it, but when it shifted to our own magical talents I'd feel very nervous that I'd have to perform in front of them because... this would happen."

 

She gestured with a hoof to the courtyard where as a filly she would play, especially the merry go round that was her favorite ride, but now all of it was reduced to a charred ruin.

 

"Were you like me Princess Luna as a filly? Did you have trouble with your magic and was afraid to show it to others?"

 

Fire was very careful with her question. Bring up memories of the past was bad enough, but Fire knew the story of how Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, her banishment and her eventual return. Something told her just by looking at the Alicorn that she was not over those painful memories. The last thing she wanted to do was to upset the Princess trying to help her. Still, it seemed that the Princess understood her plight, and Fire wanted to know if it was because of somepony the Princess knew or her own personal experience.

[Hippo]

"Sometimes I get nervous even now." Luna said to surprise. "Fear of under-performing, or in your case, over-performing your magic is something everypony deals with. I guarantee you your classmates felt the same fears and worries, even if they did not show it. My foalhood," Luna giggled, "is not a particularly good example of what it's like to struggle with magic, however recent times, I had struggled to gain confidence in magic after I returned from my exile. Even for a princess alicorn, attempting to raise the moon after a thousand years of menacing thoughts and selfishness is no simple task. Every time I would glow my horn, I would be afraid that something black would come out as a result of me using my magic again." Luna cast a spell from her horn that slowly pealed away the charring from all of the playground equipment that was present in the yard.

"But wasn't there ever a time when you saw somepony else struggle with their magic? How did that make you feel? Were you afraid of them? Did you help them?"

​
 

[Lux]

Fire's eyes went wide in surprise as she learned that Luna did in fact have trouble with her magic, not as a filly but recently as the fear of what happened with Nightmare Moon still lingered each time the Alicorn used her magic. The more that Luna spoke about her classmates and how maybe they too struggled with their magic the more she looked back at when she started school and even up until now how the ponies around her developed their magic. 

 

"I do remember my classmates struggling with their magic, but most of the time I saw them have trouble creating and maintaining control enough to keep it going, not in the fear of losing control like I do. It made me feel... sad... like I understood what they were going through in a way. Still I didn't think that they understood how dangerous my abilities could be if I lost control. Like...you know...this..."

 

She waved her hoof over the scene of the still burning Canterlot before saying, "I mean it's not like you see a pony who can create and control fire or has magic linked to their emotions every day. But I tried to help them with their magic, and oftentimes things turned out where they were better. But that still didn't help me feel better about what I could do and I kind of kept my magic a secret from them." 

[Hippo]

"Like this?" Luna looked around. "You do realize this is a dream right? I did say it before, I'll say it again as a reminder. What you see here isn't necessarily what is going to happen if you don't correct the future consequences of a situation. Too many times dreamers see their dreams, awake from them, and expect what happened in their dream to be some sort of telling of the future, or even be a rare tale from an unseen past. Most times, dreams are nothing more than emotion, your mind having the freedom to experience it's thoughts, for better or for worse, into dramatic chaotic, sometimes pleasant though, scenes that can feel real while in them. The fact that you are dreaming about your fire magic emotionally is no coincidence. Magic wielding ponies all incorporate their emotional state into their magic. You don't think Cadance experiences love when she casts love magic?"

Luna finished wiping the playground clean with her magic, the swings and the slides all shining with luster. "So you've done damage like this before. What cities have you burned down in the past?" Luna asked with a smirk.

​
 

[Lux]

Dreams weren't a strong point for Fire Heart. She hadn't picked up a book on dream interpretation or had many lessons on the subject in her school. What she gleaned from the limited information that either a dream was just made up of random events and had nothing really to do with anything substantial to interpret or that a dream was prophetic, signaling something would happen if a pony did not change their course of action. Fire felt that the later was happening, especially since this became a recurring nightmare. But Luna after was the Guardian of Dreams so she accepted that this dream didn't portend a dark end for her and Canterlot. 

 

"No, I guess I'm over-exaggerating a bit with this, aren't I? Maybe it's not the fact that this will happen like this but that something will happen where I will damage something or hurt somepony I care about. And I do get that I would be dreaming something about fire since it's what I do. But I'm worried because I came dangerously close to losing control a couple of times, not burning down cities but other stuff. Like one night after getting my cutie mark I had a bad dream. I don't even remember what it was but I remember the bed on fire! Luckily my parents were there to put it out, but to think that I almost burnt down my house! Then something similar happened in my dorm the first month I was there. I was nervous about how things would be in school that I flared up with my talent and if not for the dorm being made of stone it would have been an issue."

 

She shook her head as if to chase away the memories as one last one took it's place, making her ears flatten, "Then one thing happened a week or so ago. I had an argument with a pony that I cared so much about to the point that she had to stop my flames because I couldn't. To think that I could have hurt her just getting upset over something so stupid!" 

 

Setting up an interesting triangle between Fire Heart, Luna, and a pony that Luna knows very well. Let's see what happens.

 

[Hippo]

As Fire Heart apologized for her obtuse assumptions, Luna saw her subject become more aware of her surroundings. But as she explained more, Luna could also tell that there was indeed worry for her emotional struggles. Every unicorn who has above average magical ability is expected to maintain a peace of mind, so that they do not accidentally let themselves cast spells without knowing their mindset's direction. Most unicorn ponies require that peace of mind in order to even cast a single spell. But rare unicorns, like the one of Fire Heart's ability, are desperate to gain control of the magic they can already wield, even at a young age or education.

"It is extremely vital that you control your emotions, Fire Heart," she reflected back at the student. She walked away from the playground and made her way to the street, where embers of once made houses were laying, still hot. "You possess great ability, Fire Heart, but you must remember that if you do not build things in the correct order, like your ability, you will not be able to perform your magic the way you should." Luna began using a restoration spell and slowly, the magical aura wrapped around burnt wooden planks and started putting them together, their ashes regenerating to hard wood as she moved them.

"Most unicorns can't even perform one spell until they learn to control their emotions. And as far as the one you care about. You know there is a saying. 'You always end up hurting the worst, the only ones you truly love'. It sounds like this pony might care for you back, as she helped instead of running away. Tell me, who is this pony? What is she like?"

​
 

[Lux]

Fire Heart's ears flattened as she listened to Luna while traveling away from the now pristine playground and where reminders of the dangers of lack of control were still present. What interested her was that her gift was indeed rare, and that while many unicorns had trouble casting spells due to lack of control she was the reverse. Well, she kind of knew her gift was rare as she knew only two other ponies that could even remotely do fire magic. 

 

"Helping me control my magic and emotions was actually why my parents had me go to Celestia's School. And while I am much better than I was before, there are still times I lose control. But, maybe it was that I'm still doing my fire magic, but I haven't been focusing on controlling my emotions. I guess I thought that being in school would cure the emotional control problems like a doctor curing a cold." 

 

Now was the time that Fire Heart could explain who this special somepony was. It struck her what Luna said that her actions could hurt the most those who she cared about. 

 

"Well, I think you know her Princess as she told me she now works for you. Remember that night when I got caught in a snow storm and there was another unicorn there named Ice Storm? After that we became great friends, and then we recently became something more than that actually."

[Hippo]

Luna was very careful, as her restoration spell continued to bring back what was once a clean place to play for fillies and colts back its original form. But as she finished, she couldn't help but lose focus a bit as Fire Heart revealed who her special somepony was. Luna smiled immediately. "You don't say. I would say that I am surprised, but to be honest, I am not. You too seemed very friendly towards one another, and even though you were both with me that night a while ago, you two were also with each other. Oh, what times shared does."

Luna started walking down the road again, passing by several places that were leveled to a pile of embers. Until she came across another building that while also burnt, otherwise looked melted. "So, you think it's possible this reoccurring dream is also fueled by a little bit of regret with a loved one, this Miss Ice Storm?" Luna chuckled almost, speaking among a dreamer with confidentiality, on the subject of somepony Luna shares her own secrets with.

​
 

[Lux]

Fire Heart wasn't yet one to tell about her relationship with Ice Storm to many other ponies. It wasn't that she felt embarrassed. Instead, the red unicorn somehow felt like telling it to everypony would somehow jinx the situation. To her surprise though Luna saw this coming in a way due to how the two interacted in the Canterlot Castle.

 

"So, you think it's possible this reoccurring dream is also fueled by a little bit of regret with a loved one, this Miss Ice Storm?" 

 

"I do. I mean... earlier on it was about being afraid that my parents or my friends would get hurt or worse due to my problems controlling my magic. But now that I met her, the stakes have only become higher! There is another reason though that this nightmare is disturbing..."

 

Fire Heart paused, hesitating to tell the next part, a crucial element to her nightmares and fears. But there was no way to go back, not when she opened the door. Besides that, if she was going to have Luna help her she would have to bear her heart. 

 

"This is kind off hard to tell, but before I told ice I love her, I got upset with her. Not just a little, but to the point that I lost control of my magic. Even when I reconciled with her, I couldn't stop my magic on my own! It took Ice Storm to use her magic to help me! I know that I shouldn't dwell on the What Ifs, but I was so close to hurting somepony I loved!"  

[Hippo]

Luna used her magic to lift small piles of rubble that had spilled from rooftops of Canterlot. As she listened to Fire Heart's regrets, she could only think about her own personal experience as it related to such a devastating conundrum. And quite wittingly, Luna responded with yet another smile with ironic supplemental conversation that, given the context, if spoken from anyone who wasn't wearing a crown, would probably be frowned upon. "I wouldn't know anything about having overwhelming frustrations with someone I cared for. It's not as if Celestia and I had any kind of feuds in the last one thousand years or so." Luna quit her magic briefly and stepped towards Fire Heart and looked her in the eye. "Celestia is not a lover, she's my sister, but I do deeply care for her, and she to me. But it didn't stop my rage from growing. It didn't stop my jealousy from seeping into my being. Even when my sister tried to convince me, she could not tame my bitterness. She often mentions the guilt she felt, she feels that she could have prevented it. But I could have as well, and no one is more responsible for my own actions, than me myself."

"But you." Luna gave a swing of her head, inviting Fire Heart to follow Luna as she walked slowly towards the rubble of what seemed to be some kind of shoppe. "Has Ice Storm offered to help with your rage? If what you say is correct, and what I know to be true of Ice Storm, than she has. She may be able to help you, but only you yourself can make that decision to improve your self control. Do you know where you stand?"

​
 

[Lux]

As the "city" was slowly being rebuilt around her, Fire felt strangely at ease opening up to the Princess. Normally speaking to a stranger like that would be unthinkable even for the sociable mare! At first Fire felt a little disheartened as Luna said she didn't know about overwhelming frustrations. Surely she and her sister had spats. But that was not to debate. 

 

"Celestia is not a lover, she's my sister, but I do deeply care for her, and she to me. But it didn't stop my rage from growing. It didn't stop my jealousy from seeping into my being. Even when my sister tried to convince me, she could not tame my bitterness. She often mentions the guilt she felt, she feels that she could have prevented it. But I could have as well, and no one is more responsible for my own actions, than me myself."

 

It was shocking to hear such words come from Princess Luna as she leaned close like two friends sharing a secret. Fire could only imagine what would happen if she was in the princess's place. 

 

"Has Ice Storm offered to help with your rage? If what you say is correct, and what I know to be true of Ice Storm, than she has. She may be able to help you, but only you yourself can make that decision to improve your self control. Do you know where you stand?"

 

"She has offered to help, and I am grateful of it. I don't get upset often, and certainly not like what happened that time with Ice Storm, but even that one time was one too many. Trying to fix this problem is like a dance. Every time I think I'm making steps toward control I take a step back when I suddenly have a flare up, whether being upset or even excited or surprised. For a while I thought if only I could split my magic from my emotions it would be better, but that wouldn't work as there needs to be emotions to make magic work. But where I stand? Yes, I want, no, need to stop have any flare ups with my fire magic! I need to have control, not chaos. I need to be seen as a pony that could be trusted being with, not somepony that gets consumed by the magic I have! I don't want to be..." 

 

She stopped short of saying "a monster" as that would be a slap to the Princess. 

 

"I mean, I need to be like other unicorns. I need friends and somepony to love, and I don't need anything to hinder that, especially my own magic." 

 

Fire Heart stopped when she and Luna reached a particular part of the city. Even though it was reduced to rubble the red unicorn could tell that this was no ordinary place she passed by without giving it a second thought. This was Ice Storm's shop and home. 

 

"No!" Fire cried out knowing this was a dream but nonetheless overcome by emotions, "This is not what I want. I don't want to see her or anypony else I care for be hurt by me or worse this! But... despite my efforts to control, I have those times of loss of control and I still get these nightmares to remind me of what i can be!" 

 

Having mentioned a shop, I couldn't resist adding Ice Storm's place into the nightmare.

[Hippo]

Fire Heart poured her heart out more. As Fire Heart's honesty and display of emotion came, the more Luna could see what needed fixing. This place in the nightmare was a nightmare version of Ice Storm's shop and home. Luna knew this, but as Fire Heart could see it in it current melted state, she could only be more pessimistic about the situation of her mental and social health. "Calm, now child." Luna smiled back to Fire Heart, attempting to comfort her. "Your mind is boiling uncontrollable, but you should not let your heart become cold in retaliation. It is obvious that Ice Storm means a lot to you. And you are right, having friends in the right places makes all the difference. But don't for a moment think that ponies, especially Ice Storm, would turn her back on you because of a mistake. No one is being more critical of your flare-ups than you."

Luna stepped closer to the shop, and as she did, her hooves froze the world around her. When she stepped into a puddle of water that reflected fire blazing in the distance, the water stood up and froze into a crystal from whence in stood. Luna looked back at Fire Heart, and around her stood a circle of heat, the chilly nature of the architecture losing its frozen state the closer it go to Fire Heart. Luna was troubled by this. But she had to keep an open mind about the possibilities on how to help Fire Heart with this situation. The irony of a unicorn of ice being friends with a unicorn of fire played a role.

"Have you ever gotten so cold from weather that your skins burns? And have you ever shivered underneath your blankets while you have a fever?" The warm feeling and the cool feeling work in tandem with each other. They are opposites and they are rivals, but one cannot exist without the other, and when one leaves, the other comes. You and Ice Storm having any kind of relationship is actual more poetic than you could imagine. Have you ever thought of that?" Luna chuckled. "But let me help you because it seems you find your part in this duo as an unwelcome sight. Ice Storm has seen your flare ups, yes? What has she done to help? If I was to guess, I would suggest that staying away from Ice would only make things worse, it would make you empty. Is it possible, she is the source of cold that will help balance you?"

​