Into Your Dreams...

Chapter 11: The Last of the Torment

By the time I could see the gate in the distance, It had grown dark and Fluttershy had been sleeping for about 30 minutes. The gate disappears behind the tree line once more and I hear Fluttershy start sleep-talking some.

"...mmmmmmm...oh right there..." She tensed up a second then relaxed and trapped her hooves over the side of my back, shifting around and said "...I like you Joe...zzz...Like-like..." She giggles a bit "Really?...zzz..." then she stopped.

I had simply kept walking, but processed this new turn nonetheless. I had had an inkling that she liked-liked-loved-me by how she felt safe hiding under my wing, and how she kissed my cheek after completing the 1st ring of the three. I realize now, as well, that keeping her safe is a big priority of mine, that I was comforted back when I was first meeting the mane six. I find that I really did like the sensation of her kissing me. And above al I realized that, I would be devastated if I lost her.

Finally reaching the gate, I decided to try my hoof at the task of opening the door. I stood before it, and willed it open. My horn sparked a few times, but nothing happened. Unfortunately, the light show of rogue magic sparks woke up Fluttershy. I felt her stir, lift her head and look around. Then she saw the gate and hopped down.

"Sorry, I must've dozed off."

"It's no problem, I just need to know how to open the gate," I inquired sheepishly.

"Hmm? Oh that's easy, just channel your energy through your cutie mark, not your horn."

"Ohhh..." It made sense. Fluttershy wasn't a unicorn and she could open it.

I went back and tried again. This time my wings got a jolt of energy and I shocked myself. Fluttershy comes up and bows her head and the gate opens with a flash of pink energy. I smiled Sheepishly and we headed back out to Fluttershy's house.

"I'll see you in and then head over to Vinyl's and rest the night. We can make the cure tomorrow."

"Okay," Fluttershy yawned, the yawn seemed almost scripted, faked. "You know you can stay with me," She said, the desire slightly detectable in her voice.

"Sorry, I haven't talked to Vinyl since Applejack and Twilight took me from the party and she'll be worried I'm sure."

"Oh," her face drooped, "Well...the offer still stands, just in case. Just have angel let you in and show you to the guest room."

"Okay thanks Fluttershy." I then kissed her cheek, making her jump back in surprise, then left the house.

Walking to Vinyl's I went over the day and found that following becoming the Guardian, I had newfound confidence, like having that power gave me a permanent boost of confidence. Like when I started talking to Bearclaw, I didn't stutter once while he was giving me the death stare, and even worked up the courage to kiss Fluttershy. Things were looking up.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to Vinyl's pad, and I found that some lights were still on. I opened the front door with my key and walked inside the door.

"Vinyl, you awake?" I called softly.

"Mirror?" Vinyl came from the kitchen area to see me and had an expression of shock on her face. Something was off though, she had called me by my pony name.

"Who's there Vinyl?" Called another voice, a male voice, from what sounded like the dining room.

"No one Jake!" She called back, "What are you doing here?" She seethed at me.

"Ummmm...haven't I been staying here for a week?"

She stared at me, "You didn't get the message did you?" I shook my head. "Well I-" She was cut off by a reddish-orange unicorn with a blue mane coming in the room. He had a long Beiber-bowl cut and his cutie mark was a pencil drawing a smily face. He was taller than Vinyl, as a stallion should be, but I had about six inches on him.

"And you are?" He asked in a supercilious tone.

"Mirror Shadow. You?" I replied, straight faced.

"My name is Jake Silver, nice to meet you." I could see Vinyl start to sweat.

"Enchanted," my voice belying the statement.

"Well now that the niceties are out of the way," His face changed to one of anger, "What are you doing in our house!"

"Well I just got back from a trip to the Everfree forest, and having trekked to the inner sanctum and back, beating the challenges, earning this guy here," I motioned to my cutie mark," AND becoming the Guardian of the Everfree Forest, I wrongfully expected that the home I had been staying at before the whole thing would allow me back, but agin, I guess I was wrong."

"Yes, yes you were," I could see Vinyl start to shake, hearing Jake say this and seeing my cutie mark and my new position, but not hearing that I had gotten the cure yet. "Now, get out before I get you out myself."

"Look, this was just a misunderstanding," I glanced at Vinyl, "Threats aren't necessary."

"Like I said, get out before I make you!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me."

He turned around and bucked me into the door, which was closed, and I once again began to freeze up, this time quicker and starting from my side where he bucked me. He began to approach where I lay on the ground, frozen, and opened the door to kick me out. He accomplished the first, but my inner fire prevented him from doing the latter. I quickly jumped as he bucked again, effectively dodging hi admittedly weak attack. I grabbed his hind legs, and hurled him onto the lawn.

"Sorry for the misunderstanding." I said to Vinyl, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jake didn't know what he was up against as he charged at me and quickly met a left hook-hoof?- to the face and sprawled out on the lawn again. I used my wings to take to the skies, ad then shot down where he was laying. He quickly rolled out of the way as my forelegs stuck into the ground about 6 inches. I recovered and turned around and bucked jake as hard as I could. I felt the connection and sent him flying into one of the pillars in front of the house.

I felt the energy waning, so I cut the walk and teleported to Fluttershy's house and whispered to angel.

"Hey, Fluttershy told me to ask you to show me her guest room."

"Right this way," angel replied in a decidedly British accent.

"Thank you."

Angel showed me to the room then hopped away and left me to my own devices. I felt myself swaying with exhaustion and I fell forward onto the rug and blacked out.

I woke up in a hospital bed, attached to my arm was a UV tube and I heard the characteristic beep of an ECG machine in the background. I did a double-take back to my arm...my human arm. I stared at the palm of my hand, turned it over and examined my knuckles as well. It was my hand, I was human. I felt my head for my horn but found nothing but some hatted hair stuck to my forehead. I sat up and felt my back, no wings. I threw off the covers and found my body as it had been before being transported to Equestria.

I quickly looked around and saw my dad asleep in a chair off to the side of the room. I tried calling out to him, but my mouth didn't work. The bed began descending, I jumped off, the IV ripping out of my arm and the ECG pads coming off my chest. I grabbed the ledge of where my bed was descending, but my father came forward and had a devilish grin on his face. He then stepped forward onto my hand as I tried hauling myself forward and I dropped. I looked pleadingly, extending my hand up to him. He looks, grabs my hand and pulls me up, then throws me into what is now a dark abyss, I fell and fell until I blacked out.

My eyes shot open and I awoke on the floor of Fluttershy's guest room. I shuddered at the clarity and the realism of the dream, and stood up. I got in at around 11:00 at night and it was now 7:00 in the morning. It seems no matter where I am my eight hour sleep clock never misses a beat.

I was still rattled from the dream as I went out to the main room to find Fluttershy getting out the animal food.

"Need any help with that?" I asked her.

She eeped and leapt about 3 feet in the air with surprise dropping the bag she had been holding. I quickly levitated it before it hit the ground. I set it on the ground gently and went over to her.

"Sorry for startling you, Angel showed me in last night." I explained.

"Yeah he told me, I just get scared easily," She replied sheepishly.

"Right. So do you need help?"

"Forget that, what happened last night, I though you were staying at Vinyl's."

I sighed, I wasn't even sure yet, it had happened so fast, but I told her what I knew. "Well I'm not exactly proud of what happened but here goes..." I then proceeded to tell her about going in and the peculiarity of Vinyl calling me by my fake name, I went on aboutJake bucking me into the door and she gasped when she made the connection.

"You had another torment attack?" She asked.

"Yes I flung him out of the house and went after him. I knew underneath that I should have just left, but for some reason I kept at it, even after flinging him out of the house. I should have just teleported or something but I did it anyway."

"From what Twi said that seems to be the nature of the Torment. You should head over there now for the cure before it happens again," She said.

I hadn't noticed it at first but I saw fear in her eyes after telling her the story. Before leaving, I say,

"I'm so sorry Fluttershy."

"It's okay, just get the cure."

"Will do."

I grab the flower from my room and walk out the front door. I didn't want anypony to see me so I focused and teleported to the library instead and knocked on the door. Twilight opened the door, greeted me and showed me inside.

"So how was it? I can already you've got your cutie mark."

"It was definitely interesting time, how much do you know of the Inner Sanctum?" I asked, curious.

"Well I know about the three challenges and that there are flowers on the inside to cure various ailments, but past that I have no idea."

So I told her my adventure through the challenges, what it was like to see them first-hoof, and about the sanctum. I explained about how Fluttershy told me about the other places in the Sanctum and my getting my cutie mark. Twilight gasped in amazement when she heard I was the guardian. I finished by telling her about understanding Bearclaws and saving Paws, the trip back, keeping secret what Fluttershy said and my run in with Mr. Silver. I produced the flower and she took it to another room.

"That's one heck of an ordeal, but I thought you were staring at Vinyl's the past few days."

"Another time?" I ask.

"Well we have about thirty minutes to wait for enough of the cure to be distilled from the flower."

I sigh, "Alright."

Twilight nodded, pleased for my compliance, and went into the room, and I heard various clicks and whirrs, then she came out again. We plodded upstairs to her room where I took a chair opposite to her as she lays down on her bed.

"Short and simple, I had another Torment attack."

Twilight's face dropped and took on a grave expression, "you didn't hurt Vinyl did you?"

"No, I didn't hurt Vinyl, just somepony named Jake Silver," My head was in my hooves as I explained everything to her. She was surprised at his violence towards me in a misunderstanding, and was silent at the end.

"I really hope he's okay." I said.

"Hmm...Jake Silver..." Twilight seemed deep in thought, her brow furrowed. She then looked back up and snapped-somehow- and said, "Of course, Jake Silver was the one convicted of the Canterlot crime spree. He pulled a series of heists in Canterlot, then made off with the loot. He was caught and convicted but escaped somehow between the court and prison. I heard Vinyl talking about a boyfriend yesterday but I didn't put two and two together. I never would have figured he was a criminal."

"Oh shit." I said, earning a disdainful look from Twilight.

"Joe I would rather have you not use such language around here."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, "It slipped."

"It's fine for now, just keep it to a minimum. And try not to at all when Spike is here."

"Oh yeah, where did he go? Is he asleep somewhere?"

"No, the CMC wanted him to do something yesterday and he said he was going to spend the night so he'll be back later."

"Cool. Oh, by the way do you know what happened to my trumpet? I didn't see what happened to it when you and Applejack took me away from the party."

"Oh I grabbed it on the way here when we, um, took you. It's next to the bed."

"Thanks for that. Did you put it back in the case?"

"Yes, all but this bit," She pulled the mouthpiece out of her mane, and blushed, "It intrigued me."

"Hmm..." I decided not to ask what I was thinking, "So did you like my playing?"

"Yes it was amazing! I loved every second of it, I could only imagine the difficulty of a skill like that."

"Well thank you Twilight, it means a lot."

"We still have about ten minutes until the cure is ready..." She left her sentence unfinished.

"Would you like me to play someth-"

"YES!" She cut me off.

I laughed a bit and went over to my trumpet and inspected it to make sure everything was in proper order. The valves were a bit dry, so I took care of that and started thinking of a good piece to play. I remembered my experiment with the magic accompaniment and allowed myself to think broader. I thought through my jazz background this time, and finally settled on Glenn Miller's Pennsylvania 6-5000, a little more complex than I had aspired previously.

"Alright let's go down stairs. I'm gonna try something new and I might need space."

"Oh, okay." I could see Twilight getting excited.

We went downstairs and she moved the table from the center of the room, and sat on the steps as I stood in the middle. As before, I thought about the different instruments in the big band set, and simultaneously arranged them in the ideal band arrangement. I focused especially hard on the rhythm section as to make sure they were perfect. From the space in front of me, Shadows appeared and soon the instruments formed in their respective rows, trumpets in back, trombones, then saxophones, then a row of clarinets in front, with the rhythm section on the side. Just like last time, the instruments tuned to each other as they grew more defined. I then jumped to the back with my trumpet and I cued the other instruments and we started the first note, ringing out perfect.

Twilight jumped from the shock of the new instruments, the suddenness and intensity of the first notes, and the fact I had invented a new magic. I could see the excitement in her eyes as we reached my solo and I took off for about a minute and we finished the song.

Twilight got up and started clapping he hooves together gleefully.

"Joe that was amazing! The fast pace, the range, the MAGIC!"

"Thank you," I said, dissolving the ghost instruments.

"How did you do that with the other instruments?" She asked, bewildered.

"I just created them in my mind from having heard the song so many times that I just projected it through my horn with magic and played along."

"Wow." She shook her head.

I creed my throat, "Is the cure done yet you think?"

"What? Oh yeah, yes the cure, sorry I was preoccupied for a minute there." She trots back to the room and came out holding a vile of yellow liquid, swirling around with a red liquid.

"Drink it and your Torment will be no more."

"Finally."

I levitated it to my lips and downed the pungent liquid in one gulp. I coughed violently and Twilight produced a bucket that I promptly vomited a blue liquid into. Twice more this happened before I got to the restroom. An hour later when I was done, I got a glass of water from the sink, rinsed and spit into the toilet to get the taste of blue out of my mouth.

I flushed and left the bathroom and went to find Twilight.

"Ugh was that supposed to happen?"

"Yes sorry if I didn't explain adequately enough."

"Its fine don't worry about it. I opened the window to get the smell of blue out of your bathroom so just FYI for the next time you use it."

"Thanks, where are you off to next?"

"Back to Fluttershy's until I can build my own home."

"Well remember you're always welcome here." Was it just me, or did I see another hint of a blush on her face?

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you Twilight."

"My pleasure."

I picked up my trumpet case, and headed to Fluttershy's

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A/N: So many implications, I have a few more cards to play but my hand is pretty much on the table. All you need to do is look at the clues. Sorry for taking so long, this was the last of the paper-chapters and I'm putting my other fanfiction on hiatus to work on this one now so expect more chapters soon (the next chapter may take a bit since it is to be a major turning point in the story but after that...XD)