Chapters My little Dreamer: Dreaming is magic
Chapter 2: No Rest for the Dreamer
“What do you mean the princess was abducted?” Feather Dream asked between bites of her tulip sandwich.
“I mean exactly that!” Starlight exclaimed, “The princess was taken by Night Mare Moon who turned out to be her sister Princess Luna! And-”
“Take a breath Star. We cannot have you choking.”
The two pegasi were sitting outside at a restaurant in Ponyville enjoying an early lunch. After Feather Dream had left her patrol the previous evening she returned home and went straight to bed. While she had slept, dreamlessly thankfully, Ponyville had been under attack.
“Right,” Starlight took a gulp of air, “and she was saved by six residents of Ponyville. Can you believe that? Ponies from our town saved the Princess!”
“From here?” Feather Dream asked like someone would ask about the weather, “Really? That is surprising. How did they do it?”
“Well,” Starlight spoke slowly, surprised herself by the pink pegasus’s interest, “it turns out that they are the ponies who wield the Elements of Harmony. Oh the Elements of Harmony are-“
“I know what they are,” Feather Dream interrupted before listing the elements off like grocery items, “Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter, and the sixth unknown-”
“Magic.”
“What?”
“The sixth element is magic,” Starlight said with a radiant smile.
Feather Dream’s expression stayed blank, “Hmph, that seems so,” Feather Dream searched for the right word, “obvious. I wonder if I could have figured it out for myself, if I had thought about it for more than five minutes.”
“Did you know about Night Mare Moon’s return?” Starlight said through a mouth full of hay fries.
“I think I read about it somewhere, but I had always assumed it was an old pony’s tale.”
“Well anyway,” Starlight said, “The ponies that saved Princess Celestia are from here, like I said. Wait no, five of them are from here. The Element of Magic is from Canterlot and, would you believe it, she is Princess Celestia’s star student. And it turns out she will be living here from now on.” Starlight took another deep breath before eating another hooffull of fries.
“Wait, what?” Feather Dream’s ears twitched with interest.
“Oh I have so much to tell you.”
Starlight then recounted the previous night’s adventure as well as the brief celebration of Princess Luna that happened that morning while her friend slept. Feather Dream stared at the blue mare speechless. The pink pegasus took a slow bite of her tulip sandwich and thought for a while. She looked at her freckled faced friend who smiled back while drinking a chocolate shake.
“So,” Feather Dream asked slowly, “what is this Twilight Sparkle like?”
“I’m not sure to tell the truth,” Starlight admitted, “I haven’t really met her yet. I got all of this information from Pinkie Pie.”
Feather Dream adjusted her glasses, “How accurate is this information then? I mean, sometimes Pinkie Pie does not seem to know what is going on in her own head, and sometimes she seems to know far more than she ever should.”
“Well,” Starlight puffed out her cheeks, “I saw what happened when the Princess was taken away and when Night Mare Moon showed up and the celebration this morning. Not only that, but Pinkie Pie Pinkie Promised me that it was all true.” Her wings drooped slightly, “I guess if you don’t believe your bestest friend forever then you can go ask Twilight Sparkle. She lives at the library now.”
“Really? Well I do believe you but…”
“You want to meet Twilight?” Starlight could not hide the surprise from her voice. Feather Dream was a loner. She only associated with whoever it was necessary for her job and basic living. There were only three other ponies that she could consider close.
“Kind of,” Feather Dream admitted, “I would like to know who this unicorn is, leaving Canterlot to stay in Ponyville of all places.”
“Hey!” Starlight exclaimed, “I like it here!”
“So do Star, but must admit that Canterlot and Ponyville are two very different places.”
“True,” Starlight sighed, “I have always wanted to go there. I heard that the Grand Galloping Gala is supposed to be amazing. I would love to go.”
“Hmm, it would be interesting,” Feather Dream put a hoof to her chin in thought.
“Wow Feather Dream,” Starlight looked at her friend in confusion, “Showing interest in two things in one day? Are you feeling alright?”
Feather Dream spoke flatly, “Taking interest in events that are far out of the ordinary is not strange.”
“I know but-”
“Enough Starlight I am fine.”
“Okay, sorry.”
Feather Dream then suggested that they go visit Twilight Sparkle. The duo finished their lunch and headed over to the town library where a large crowd had gathered.
“Wow,” Starlight said, “Did every pony come to meet the new mare? I would think they would have been fine with Pinkie’s welcome party.”
“I am not sure,” Feather Dream said. She walked up to a cram colored earth pony with a blue and pink mane and tail. She was slightly bouncing with a toothy grin.
“Hey Bonbon,” Feather Dream asked the excited mare, “What is everypony doing here?”
“Haven’t you heard? Twilight Sparkle has an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala!” Bonbon shrieked before running back into the crowd.
“An extra ticket?” Starlight’s eyes widened, “I want to go!” She started to fly above the crowd, but was pulled down by Feather Dream.
“Hold on a second. What makes you think she will give you the extra ticket? You said it yourself, Star, that you barely know her and she probably does not know you at all. It is more likely she will bring one of the other Bearers of Harmony.”
Starlight fiddled with her braid, “But there are five of them. How will she choose?”
Feather Dream sighed, “You said she was Celestia’s student. She could ask the Princess for enough tickets to take all of them.”
“Oh, true,” Starlight said frowning, “And I bet she wouldn’t ask for a ticket for some pony she doesn’t even know.”
“Exactly, now I have to go on patrol for the rest of the day. We can meet up tomorrow if the weather holds up, unless you want to come with.”
“No thanks,” Starlight’s braid swung back and forth, “I was planning on doing something else today.”
“Oh, what?”
“Umm well, I uh,” she stumbled over her words.
“Secret?”
“Yes.”
“Pinkie Promise?”
“Well no, but I uh.”
“It is fine,” Feather Dream awkwardly patted her friend, “I will not pry. Like I said; patrol. See you later Starlight,” Feather Dream took off.
“Bye Feather Dream,” Starlight waived frantically after her friend. Once the pink mare was out of sight the blue pegasus ran a hoof along her mane, blushing and skipped toward the park.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful. There was only a small planned afternoon rain shower that had a partial interruption by Rainbow Dash.
Feather Dream returned home that evening and went through her process of ending the day. Luna’s moon had begun to rise when she picked up the Daring Do book from her nightstand. She ran a hoof through her black and white striped mane when a thought occurred to her.
I never met with Twilight Sparkle…hmm. Oh well, since she is living here I will probably get the chance eventually.
She cracked the book open and snuggled into bed to read. By the time Luna’s moon had risen Feather Dream turned off the light and went to sleep.
My little Dreamer: Dreaming is magic
Chapter 3: Dreaming in the Rain
Author's Note
Hi every pony! Sorry this chapter came out later than I wanted :/ (I was feeling discouraged)
Chapter 3: Dreaming in the Rain
Feather Dream awoke to the pitter patter of rain against her window pane. She rubbed her eyes grateful for the dreamless sleep and put her glasses on. She looked out the window at the light rain shower and let out a yawn.
“Today was supposed to be sunny. I guess we now know when the Truth Dream is happening.”
She stretched out her wings and cracked her neck and shoulders. After brushing through her black and white mane and tail, and eating a quick breakfast, Feather Dream left her house and headed for Cloudsdale. On her way the rain increased its speed and severity, soaking the pegasus through.
By the time she arrived at the weather control station Feather Dream spotted two other pegasi that had arrived before she did.
One was a pegasi that had joined her on her first patrol; a turquoise mare with a yellow diamond cutie mark. Orion stood near like a chunk of night sky and waived as Feather Dream flew in.
“Are you two here for the weather service?” she asked.
“Yes we are,” Orion said. The mare, Melody Gem, nodded.
“Do we know who is acting as captain for this event?” Feather Dream looked around trying to find other pony volunteers. The workers would come later during their job hours, which was a worry. They would have to rely on the strength of a less lazy type of pony before they joined. It helped to have a competent captain who was well liked and took charge.
“Well,” Melody said, “I think they appointed you as captain.”
Feather Dream looked at the scarcity of ponies and understood. It was not that she was incompetent; it was entirely that she was not well liked. At least most pegasi seemed to regard her with a wariness that affected her reputation.
Her face remained impassive, “We will need more than this if we are going to correct this storm. It is a big one.”
Melody shrugged, “Others went down to the towns to prepare them by cleaning up branches and to explain the situation to the towns’ people. I think they even, briefly, recruited nonpegasus ponies to help them out.”
So there are others. Feather Dream thought before saying, “Even so, they probably will not be back for a while and I would rather we had more ponies before we left.”
“Wait for me!” A voice called from above. Starlight landed, not so lightly, near them with a flop.
“Hi every pony,” she said with a sheepish grin.
Feather Dream glanced at her with one eyebrow raised. Her best friend responded with a tackle hug. Then the red maned Pegasus trotted over to where Orion stood and floated at attention. Orion tried to keep himself from laughing, but failed.
Standing up and brushing herself off Feather Dream cleared her throat and said, “We still need a few more ponies than this. Like I said before; it is a big storm.”
“Oooo, fun,” Starlight giggled.
“Did any of you three hear about any pony else volunteering for weather service?”
“Thunderlane said he would be helping again,” Melody said, “Also I heard that Solar Flutter, Lightning Flitter and Sparks wanted to participate, but I’m not sure if they were fully commited.”
“Let us hope they do,” Feather Dream said as lighting crashed and thunder rumbled, “We will need them, but we also need to leave soon. We will wait another ten minutes before we go.”
Within the next ten minutes all but Thunderlane had arrived. The team was slightly better prepared. Feather Dream hoped they could keep the storm together before the weather team arrived. She looked outside as the louds got darker and the wind picked up. Without a moment’s hesitation the little group took to the sky.
The process of controlling rouge storms involves flying through the clouds and severing pieces of it to clear some of it out. The rest would be moved a part from the other clouds to produce light scattered rain showers.
With most clouds this is harmless. Small storm clouds are easily dealt with this way, but as a storm gets bigger the more dangerous it becomes.
The lightning alone could seriously injure a pony. Add in the disorientation caused by a loss of navigation and even a trained and prepared pegasus could find themselves in danger.
This was why Starlight always worked on bigger storms. Her cutie mark, three pointed stars, alluded to her ability to always know where she was in the world. If Starlight was blindfolded and dropped off somewhere she had never been before she could find her way home with very little trouble.
Starlight’s love of thunderstorms also contributed to her reason for volunteering. She learned everything she could about them, out of books or through experience. She did not fear the storm; she understood it and showed the respect and caution needed to control it.
“Okay Star,” Feather Dream turned to her friend, “We need you to cut the storm into sevenths then each of us will take a section and- wait is that Thunderlane? What is he doing?”
He was tumbling through the storm clearing out small wisps of the storm cloud without making any actual progress and seemed to be putting himself in danger.
“Orion, can you reach him?” Feather Dream asked.
“I think so.”
“Then would you mind saving our fellow pegasus?”
“On it,” Orion said with a grin.
The night sky pegasus launched himself at the bumbling stallion. As he closed in Orion angled himself and grabbed at Thunderlane pulling him around and bringing them back to the group.
Orion’s special talent was accuracy, he could launch anything, himself, or any pony else at a target and 99 out of 100 times he would hit exactly where he wanted. His interest in physics and geometry helped him analyze all the elements he needed to perfect his shot.
“Change of plans,” Feather Dream said with hardly a glance at Thunderlane, “make it into eighths.
As they controlled the storm, more pegasi showed up. Each was then assigned to a different section to help. By the end of the down pour there had been little damage, excluding a tree that had fallen onto the library after being struck by lightning. At least not pony was hurt.
Feather Dream went to bed late that night exhausted and slept dreamlessly once more.
My little Dreamer: Dreaming is magic
Chapter 4: I Dream of Trixie
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. My little Dreamer: Dreaming is magic
Chapter 1: What Dreams are Made of
The clouds sailed past as Feather Dream flew. The pink pegasus pumped her wings, feeling the elation of flight. The wind tousled her short black and white striped mane. Then the joy of her flight reached her lips and she smiled. Smiled! The usual emotionless expression wiped from sight.
Why not smile? Feather Dream thought. The sky was a lovely shade of blue, the clouds soft and white, and the wind blew to her aid rather than hamper her flight. Feather Dream smiled; all problems disappeared from memory.
Then everything darkened. The clouds built up, becoming threatening thunder storms. Feather Dream’s smile turned down in horror. The sky faded to an inky black. There was a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder. Feather Dream’s wings snapped to her sides and the mare fell from the sky. Her attempt to cry out was to no avail. No sound escaped her lips. She continued to plummet until right before she hit the ground Feather Dream woke up.
The pink mare sat up in bed; breathing heavily with her heart thumping erratically. She retrieved her round black glasses from the night stand. Looking out the window she saw that Celestia’s sun was peeking over the horizon, fading the dark sky into a rosy pink. Her little, quiet, cloud home floated securely near Ponyville. She rubbed at her temples with her hooves to contemplate that last dream. It was not just any dream; it was a Truth Dream. She tried to recall how she felt during the Truth Dream, but her heart beat and breathing pattern had returned to normal and the emotion was gone like a long lost memory.
Feather Dream’s cutie mark, a cloud and quill, represents her ability to predict otherwise unpredictable weather in her dreams. While most weather is conducted by the other pegasi, an occasional disturbance or miscalculation would result in the unpredictable weather. Her job is to report when she gets a Truth Dream and detail the coming weather.
“And it is never nice weather either,” mumbled Feather Dream, “Always big storms or freak sudden temperature changes.”
The other problem with this special talent was that the dreams never told her when it would happen. She had to learn from experience that it never happened past seven days. The weather would only last one day and afterwards the schedule would return to normal. Feather Dream would send in the report so the rest of the weather crew could prepare for it and make proper adjustments to their plans. She would sometimes help out even though it technically was not what was required of her.
Feather Dream was finishing breakfast when there was a knock on her door. She opened it to find a smiling blue pegasus with a dark red mane floating outside.
“Hi, Feather Dream! Good morning,” the mare said.
“Hello Starlight,” Feather Dream replied, “What are you doing up so early this morning?”
“Don’t you know?” Starlight asked, “Today is the Summer Sun celebration.” With that she did a flip and accidently hit Feather Dream in the face. “Oh no, I am so sorry Feather Dream.” Her wings drooped and she landed on the cloud carrying Feather Dream’s house.
“You do not need to apologize. I am alright.”
“Sorry.”
“Star,” Feather Dream sighed, “I mean it. I know it was an accident. You do not need to apologize for every little thing. And stop right there.” Starlight put a hoof to her mouth to prevent herself from speaking.
“Right, the Summer Sun celebration, I had almost forgotten that it was being held in Ponyville this year. Let us hope the weather stays nice.”
“I heard Rainbow Dash is going to be clearing the skies,” Starlight had jumped in the air and had returned to floating once again.
“She will get the job done,” Feather Dream said, “Unless my Truth Dream was about today.”
“You had a truth dream?” Starlight said her wings drooping slightly, “I’m-“ her hoof once again covered her mouth.
“Yep, it is nothing too serious; only a thunder storm.”
“Ooo,” Starlight’s eyes glittered with happiness, “I love thunder storms.”
“But you would not want it to get in the way of the celebration would you?”
“No,” Starlight admitted, “Maybe it will happen the day after.”
“Maybe,” Feather Dream replied, “but I still have to report it. That way we can prepare for anything.”
Feather Dream and Starlight flew away from the little house and headed to Cloudsdale.
“So,” Feather Dream started, “why did you come?”
“I thought we would hang out today, you know, for the celebration.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. After I make my report I am going to take hoof in preparation for the weather. I do not have time to go to the celebration, not that I care.”
“Not that you what?” Starlight exclaimed, “Princess Celestia, I repeat, Princess Celestia is coming to Ponyville to raise the sun-“
“Which she does every day,” Feather Dream interjected, “I honestly do not know why we make such a big hoopla about it.”
Starlight let out an exasperated sigh and turned to her friend, “So you really are not going to participate?” Her eyes were downcast and wings drooping.
“Sorry Star,” Feather Dream comforted, “Maybe…next year?” When her flat expression failed to help her friend, the pink pony tapped the blue one’s shoulder lightly.
“Right,” Starlight perked up, “Next year. I will hold you to that.”
The two of them arrived at Cloudsdale and made their way over to the Weather Observation Tower. It was here that pegasi kept their eyes on the weather patrol and made sure they stayed on schedule. This was also the building where they prepared against unusual weather.
Feather Dream was about to knock on the door to her superior’s office when she turned to her friend. “Thanks for flying me here, but I can do the rest on my own.” A shadow of a smile crossed her face, “You should go enjoy the festivities.”
“Okay, but promise for next year,” Starlight said.
“I promise.”
“No, you have to Pinkie Promise. Okay Feather Dream?”
The pink pony sighed, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. There happy?”
“Perfectly,” Starlight giggled, “and you know what happens if you break a promise don’t you?”
“Forever.”
“FOREVER!” Starlight smiled, “See you after the celebration.”
“Right,” Feather Dream replied, “See you soon.” She knocked on the door. There was a gruff, “Come in,” before she entered.
Sitting at a desk was a large brown pegasus with a silver mane. His cutiemark was a thunder cloud with black lightning. He looked up from his paper work as Feather Dream entered the room.
“Hey boss” she said, “I have some weather to report.”
He glared at the news, his bushy eyebrows pushed together, “Just great and right in time for the summer sun celebration too.”
“Sorry sir,” Feather Dram said, “If I could control these events, well,” she shrugged, “They would never happen.”
“Even though it is your special talent,” he said just as he had many times before.
“Can we skip this? I would like to finish my report so that can get started on preparations. And do not worry too much boss; it rarely ever happens on the first day. You know that.”
“Indeed,” he grunted, “So what does it look like?”
Feather Dream recounted the weather in her dream, avoiding anything that expressed her personal experience, and filled out the necessary paper work before leaving.
“Wait Feather Dream,” her boss called out, “Who are you planning to put on duty today of all days?”
“There will always be the occasional mare or stallion that does not care about the celebration, but most ponies I will put on call so that they can enjoy the celebration unless I need them.”
“Good luck with that and take care.”
“Will do,” she turned and flew off to find some volunteers, willing or not.
After finding two ponies that cared about the event as much as she did and were willing to help, Feather Dream was having difficulties convincing anypony to actively watch the weather. As she circled Cloudsdale she spotted a dark blue stallion with a constellation of an archer for his cutiemark.
“Hey Orion,” she said as she landed in front of him.
“Oh, hello Feather Dream, what are you up to? Are you enjoying the start of the Summer Sun celebration?”
“I cannot. I am on duty.”
“You had a truth dream?” Orion shifted back and forth, “Now? That must be rough.”
“It is only rough because I am having trouble finding volunteers.”
“Is that so…”
“Yes and I was wondering-”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I am meeting with someone.”
“Who?”
“Not telling.”
“Spoilsport,” Feather Dream said with no concern or change in her voice, “Will you at least be in reserve, like the last five ponies I asked?”
“Sure, but only if it is really important.”
“Is a threatening thunderstorm important enough?”
“No problem I got your back. What are friends for?”
“Thank you Orion,” she turned away and flew off to meet with the other two pegasi for patrol.
“She has changed so much since then,” Orion muttered watching her leave, “I wonder if that had not,” he shook his head, “That is in the past now. I have to go meet up with Starlight.”
The day went by without an incident. The sky stayed clear and only darkened as the day came to a close. Feather Dream looked at the two pegasi, Melody and Thunderlane who had been monitoring the weather all day with her. She dismissed them with a “you may go,” and watched as they shrugged then flew down to Town Hall where the Princess was to make her appearance. The Princess would not arrive until it was closer to dawn, but there were small celebrations and parties happening all through Ponyville to keep everypony awake. Feather Dream returned to her little house to sleep, rather than participate with the rest of the town.
Author's Note
Hi so this is my first fic and I hope you all like it. ^_^