The Dreamrunner

The bagpipes blared as two officers lifted the flag of of the glossy, black casket. Thirteen folds later, they walked over to me in perfect timing and presented the flag to me. I took it, and held it close to my heart. As the song ceased, the officers moved away from the casket and Spitfire stepped in front of another group. Seven cannons were lined at the side of the grave, pointed into the air.

“Prepare to fire!”

Seven officers in uniform manned a cannon, and as Spitfire screamed, uniformly prepared to fire.

“Fire”

BANG!

“Prepare to fire”

“Fire”

BANG!

“Prepare to fire”

“Fire”

BANG!

As the last shot rang out, the officers covered the cannons with white tarps before marching back beside casket. Silence. for a good two minutes. Absolutely dead silent. The wind blew softly, and the sun shone brightly.

It’s over.

Finally, I’m home. The Boutique and the shops around it were closed for the weekend in honor of Applebloom and Scootaloo, so it was pretty quiet. Even the wind had stopped blowing. I unlocked the front door, and I entered. I turned around the lights and wandered into the living room. It gets pretty chilly this time of year, especially in this part of town. Turning the lights on, I looked over to the fireplace. Portraits of Applebloom and Scootaloo hung above it gloriously.

“Hey guys,” I said as I lit the fireplace. The room was illuminated by an orange light, warming me and the room around me. Even the various pictures around the wall seemed to be smiling brighter, and the overall feeling of the room was just… The feeling that you feel after you’ve been gone from home for a long time, and finally make it back.

I sighed, releasing the stress buildup since the beginning of the week. I needed some coffee, so I walked into the kitchen and turned on the stove. Opening the closet, I walked in and grabbed a large bag of fresh, unground coffee beans. The smell from the bag cleared my sinuses and sends a shiver down my spine. I don’t know where Rarity gets this stuff, but dear Celestia, it’s strong. I dropped a pot of water onto the now heated stove, and went to grind the coffee beans. I grabbed a small bowl and poured some coffee beans into it. I opened a drawer and grabbed a special wooden stick designed to grind coffee beans evenly and make it as fine as possible. Applebloom had made it for Rarity’s birthday a few years ago. As I heard the water begin to boil I turned to turn down the stove, but a cup of coffee was already sitting on the table next to me.

“What?” I asked, confused. I looked over to the pot of water that was no longer on the stove, but instead in the sink. Turning again back to the table, I saw Death sitting at the other end of the table with his own cup of coffee. I nearly stumbled over a chair. He just smile and lifted that cup to his lips.

“Mmmm. Good coffee. Rarity really does know how to get the best.” He said as he put down the cup and rose from his seat.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“Cutting right to the chase? well i think you and i both know why i'm here. It’s time for you and me to talk business.” he sneered.

“Fine, how do I find the first piece?”

“The first piece is right here in Ponyville. You’ve seen it in pictures before, I’m sure.”

“What is it?”

“It’s… Let’s just say that you need to get close to a particular pony to obtain it. A pony whose name is…” He disappeared from the table, and appeared in the living room. “Featherweight”

“Featherweight? Why him?”

“His father is a collector of rare artifacts, and in his house is a small glass cube that contains the first piece of the compass. The large dial on the very top. I can give you a hint to where to find the next piece after you get that one.” He disappeared and reappeared next to me.

“Why can’t I just steal it?” I asked.

“Well, I didn’t say you can’t. How else are you going to get it? You can’t just break down his door and take it. You have to be smart about it. I say…” He looked me in the eye with a sly look, and then raised his eyebrow.

“No, no, nope! No! I am NOT seducing him just to steal a stupid artifact.” I yelled, bringing my hoof down on the table.  I knocked over the napkin holder, and it fell over with a clunk.

“It’s the easiest way. Besides, you don’t have to do anything with him. just get invited, ask for a tour, he’ll show you the place. When it starts getting uncomfortable, run to where the dial is, take it and then say that you’re leaving. Simple. He won’t realize it for a day or two. That gives you just enough time to get out of Ponyville and towards the next artifact location.”

“This sounds complicated and risky.”

“Sweetie Belle, you’re a Dreamrunner.”

“Dreamrunner?” I asked.

“You see the future in your dreams! Use it to your advantage!”

“I can’t! I have no control over my dreams!” I screamed, starting to get aggravated. He just laughed at me.

“That was just a ruse to get you to do what I tell you. You actually have full control over your dreams. Even Princess Luna has no control over your dreams. Just you.” he said walking to me and brushing the hair out of my face.

“I- I can control them?”

“Yup. You see the future, but you can also use it as a map making machine. All you need to do is have a single glance at the place, and you can literally make a map for yourself to follow. You are one powerful unicorn, Sweetie. All you need to do is harvest that power and use it!”

“I don’t think I can do that. I’m sorry”

“Do you want your friends back?” He asked. He looked at me as I nodded my head.

“Yes, I want them back”

“Okay, Now would you kindly stop whining and begin your mission?”

I blinked again, and he was gone. His cup of coffee vanished from where it was before, and appeared in front of me. The cup was empty, but I could taste the coffee in my mouth. Weird.

“Hi there Featherweight!”

“H-hi Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here?” He looked around, trying to see if there was anypony there trying to mess with him. As soon as he realized they were alone, he started to calm down a bit.

“Hi there.” I giggled. Honestly, he was pretty cute, but I wouldn’t date him. “I just came by to say hi”

“To me? Why me?” He asked.

I really didn’t want to say that I want to date him, so I figured out another plan.

“I’m a collector like your dad. Could you show me a few of your dad’s things?” His smile seemed to fade completely, and he simply replied,

“Oh. I- uh can’t do that. Sorry. Dad’s really protective over his stuff, sooo.”

“I’ll kiss you if you do.” I interjected, cringing in the back of my head, but managing to keep a straight face.

“W-wh-what?” He asked, his pupils turning into pinpricks and his cheeks turning red from his embarrassment. Overall, it was pretty darn adorable, but still not my type.

“You heard me. If you show me your dads collection, I will kiss you. On the lips. No questions asked, and no strings attached.” I smiled warmly.

It took him some time to grab his bearings, but he eventually agreed and told me to follow him. While we walked to his house, he started blabbing collecting gibberish that I could care less about. I just simply nodded, said yes here and there and thought about how much I hate my life.

When we finally arrived, I was dumbfounded. This house is MASSIVE. Like, I thought Diamond Tiara’s house was big, but this trumped the place by a factor of four. This place almost put Princess Cadance’s castle to shame. The white brick house was four stories tall, and had Griffin statues all over the the roof.

“Here we are! Home sweet home.”

“This… Is a really big house.” was all I could say, gaping at the house with my eyes wide open and my mouth metaphorically hitting the floor.

“Thanks. My grandfather used to work directly under Princess Celestia, so he got a good retirement fund. My dad has always collected things since his foalhood, so he was like, “Why stop now?” ya know? If you like something, you just gotta do what makes you happy. My dad told me that”

“He’s a pretty smart Stallion, your dad.” I said to keep the conversation going.

“Yeah, he is.”

Ironically, the conversation ended right there, and was an awkward silence until we finally entered the giant, red maple door. We entered the home, and the inside was more grand than the outside. Red velvet carpet covered a mahogany floor that shined like it had just been polished. The walls covered in various artifacts. On one wall, there were various precious rocks everywhere and on the other were tons of ancient weapons.

“I know, it’s cool isn’t it? Come on, I’ll give you a tour.

Thirty, surprisingly interesting minutes later, we arrived at the final room in the house. In the very center of the room, stood a small marble pedestal. A cube of glass sat on top, almost like it was it’s own precious item. Inside the case a smaller marble pedestal complete with a wire frame to actually hold up and display the artifact.

There it was. The first piece of the compass. It was a very small, circular gold plate with strange numerals written on the top.

“This is my father’s most prized and most expensive item in the entire house. I’m proud to say that I found it for him years ago.”

“Wow, can I take a picture of it?” I asked, motioning my eyes to the dial. My heart began to beat. I really hope he forgets...

“Uh… yeah sure!, but you have to kiss me first.” Darn.

“Uh, yeah sure! No problem!” I said as moved closer to him. “Hey, do you have any guards here?” I questioned. I don’t want anypony to be walking in on us.”

“Oh! The guards? They have this week off. Nopony has ever tried to steal any of my dad’s stuff before, so we give our guards long breaks. Everypony respects my father enough to not cheat him. He’s honestly a nice pony. Now enough talking. Let’s kiss.”

We both moved forward, closed our eyes, and our lips locked. This was the third kiss of my life, and by Celestia! It was actually terrific! His lips tasted like honey and he smelled wonderful. I almost didn’t want to stop. I’m surprised he doesn’t have a marefriend.

I broke off the kiss slowly and left a little strand of saliva between our mouths. There was absolutely no tongue at all. This was just a really, really good kiss!

A few seconds later, he started blushing again, and excused himself to go get his camera. He was honestly really cute.

“Say cheese!”

“Cheese!”

FLASH

The camera flashed, and a photo slid out the front. I took it and examined it, looking at the artifact. Perfect. I can recreate this at home with some of Rarity’s stuff.

“Thanks so much Featherweight! Thanks for the tour and the kiss!”

“No, thank YOU! Hey, you wanna come over tomorrow too? Dad’s gonna be out of town, so we’ll have the place to ourselves.”

I thought for a moment then agreed. I just need to show up a bit late, when it starts getting dark, and then I can take the Dial, and replace it with a decoy.

“Yeah! Sure! How does eight sound?”

“Perfect!”