The Dreamrunner

by Blue Flame

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Dark, Alternate Universe, Romance
Length: 22363

There is always a time to make a decision in life. Sometimes you have choices, and others you just have to live with. If I was given a choice, I would have been different. My name is Sweetie Belle, and I'm a Dreamrunner

There is a moment in life when one must take their first steps to adulthood. It is in these moments that Sweetie Belle finds herself alone and without the fillyhood friendships she knew and loved the most.
Ever since she received her cutie mark, she has been plagued by terrible dreams which slowly descended into the most terrible of night terrors. Visions of disasters and death greet her every time she falls asleep with seemingly no rhyme or reason to the madness she faces when she risks a peaceful night's rest. With no help from her friends or sage advice from her elders, her dreams begin to answer Sweetie's own questions as to their meaning when her nightmares begin coming true.
A blessing from her ancestors of or a curse of the future, she must live as an oracle of the night: A Dreamrunner.

Featured on 11/13/14

Thanks to Word Worthy for editing

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-04-27 03:43:32 UTC

Prologue

        The iron door of the damp, dingy cell opened, letting a stream of bright light into the small concrete box. It was barely enough to stay sane in. The walls were slanted in just such a way as to keep it dark, damp and cold.

It was torture.

A grey figure appeared out of the light and dropped a metal tray in front of me. “Dinner,” he said simply as he closed the cell. Darkness once again ate at everything. From the uncomfortable steel bed bolted to one of the walls, I dragged my malnourished body to the tray. Stale bread and water lay pathetically in the center. Quickly, I scarfed down the food. After a month in this place, I had gotten used to it. I drank the water in a single swig and dropped the metal cup onto the tray and cringed at the loud sound that echoed off of the walls. I dragged myself back to my bed and lay on top of it and pulled out a journal from under my pillow, and picked up a quill from under my bed. I wrote with my mouth instead of my magic, as they’d put a magic dampener on my horn so that I couldn’t use it.

        My name is Sweetie Belle, and I am a prisoner. I’ve been taken by the Griffonian government because they thought I was part of some plot to assassinate the Queen of Griffonia and overthrow their parliament. They continue to torture me to try to get me to give them answers that I don’t have. They allow me a journal and a quill to do whatever I need. After a week of refusing to touch it, I decided to write my story anyway. Maybe they’ll read it and let me go. It was all just a massive misunderstanding. I was going through Griffonia to get to Zebrica, and, through some great feat, ended up here.

        So, If you’re reading this. . . it means either that I succeeded, or I died trying. It also means that if you’re reading this, you’re someone close to me. Rarity, if it’s you reading this, I want you to know that I love you with all my heart. I’ve remembered you every day of my trip. I know I haven’t seen you since I left three years ago, but I can still picture you in my mind as beautiful as ever. Scootaloo, Applebloom, If you’re reading this, I succeeded. I want you to know that you are my best friends ever. Even though we drifted apart throughout the years, I still had you two in the center of my heart. Princess Twi- sorry. Twilight, if you’re reading this, I want you to spread this story around. I’ve gotten this far. Even if I failed, I still got this far. No other pony on this planet would have gone as far as I have. I’m not a pushover anymore.

        For all of you who are reading this who have no clue who I am and have no clue what I’m talking about, you’re in for an interesting story. I’ll sum it up as quickly as I canm without giving away too much. I’ve been traveling the planet to see if I can chase down Death. Literally, and metaphorically. I’ve seen and learned so much from the ponies, griffons, zebras, and minotaurs I’ve met over the years. Heck, one of the minotaurs even left a parting gift over my eye. If I had moved just a little bit to the left. . .  never mind. I’ll tell you about that later. Currently, I’m 21 years old and I’ve seen more than the oldest and wisest beings on this planet. I’ve fought in more wars than most battle-hardened veterans.

I just want to go home. I’ve been trying to find a way to break out of this place, but no luck so far. I’m trying to remember a moment when everything started going wrong. Was it when I was born? No, I think it was my 8th birthday. Actually, everything mostly started going downhill after my 17th birthday, so I guess I’ll start there.

Chapter I

“Happy birthday, Sweetie Belle!”

I had just blown out the candles on my cake and everypony was cheering. DJ Scratch blasted her newest mixtape as Pinkie Pie handed out the cake. I had thought that turning seventeen would make me feel something, like happiness or some sense of freedom.. All I felt was the repetitive beat of the music, my own heartbeat, and an inexpressible emptiness.  It’s difficult to explain exactly what I was feeling. I guess it was like feeling satisfied, yet horrible? That’s the basic idea. Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on with me. My life used to be so simple. It was so perfect before. I wish I could go back before the nightmares.

I started to be able to use my magic ‘properly’ on the same night I got my cutie mark. It was about three weeks before the party. I had always thought I would never use magic in my life, but one day it just started working. Princess Twilight explained that I was just a late bloomer, and usually late bloomers turn out to be some of the most powerful unicorns on the face of the planet. She revealed that Starswirl the Bearded was a late bloomer, too, and look how he turned out.

A strange thing happened, though. I had no dreams for about a week after the whole incident. Then, I started getting nightmares of grisly things happening to good ponies. I always try to help out in the dreams, but I can never move.

It started out being small things like arguments and accidents, but a couple weeks later they turned into house fires and robberies. Soon after that, they turned into dreams of foalnapping, and the night before last, the first murder. I woke up in a puddle of my sweat after I saw the murderer kill the other pony. I pulled my covers over my head and cried until my sister, Rarity, came in and tried to comfort me. I haven’t slept much since then.

I was exhausted, but terrified of falling asleep and experiencing the nightmares again. At least tonight my two closest friends, Scootaloo and Applebloom, are spending the night. We used to call ourselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, until we all got our cutie marks. Heh, I remember the day I got my cutie mark. It was such a happy day. I was singing at school one day and my teacher, Ms. Cheerilee, told me I should enter the school talent show. I would have joined with Scoots and AB, but it was apparently a solo talent show. Scootaloo and AB didn’t really know what to do for the show, so they decided to just watch me. Sweet Celestia, I was terrified. I shook so hard you could have probably felt me shake halfway across town.

After my name was called, I stepped onto that stage and everything changed. I knew the real reason AB and Scoots didn’t want to be in the talent show. Of course, they told me that later, but I had put two and two together. They had Ms. Cheerilee make it for me. They had seats in the very front to watch me. I remember feeling so happy that I felt like crying. I actually think I shed a tear or two. The microphone stood near the edge of the stage, so I walked over to it and adjusted it to my height.

The music started, and smoke poured from the sides of the stage. It was a song I’d written when I had a crush on this one colt from school. I was so stressed at that point on the stage. Thoughts of failure ran through my mind. What if I screw up? It’ll mess up everything. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon will never let me live this down if I mess this up. I’ll never hear the end of it. I’ll have to live in a box under a bridge or something. Maybe wear a paper bag over my head. I started to sing the first couple notes, but my voice felt really shaky. Probably because I was shaking so darn hard. The music continued, and so did I.

The loudest cheer I had ever heard in my life came roaring from the crowd. I couldn’t speak anymore, I was too dumbfounded to move.

“Thank all of you, so much” was all I could manage to say.

As the crowd cheered on, I felt something. I suddenly felt a radiant warmth in my chest, and then it was gone. I don’t know what happened, but the crowd cheered louder than before, which I thought was nearly impossible. I looked back at my flank, and… It was there. I did it.

It was beautiful, and it still is beautiful. It’s a pink heart with a treble clef sticking out the top and bottom. Both the left and the right sides have bass clefs sticking out of them. In the center of the heart, is a small, bright pink heart with a few notes surrounding the entire mark

AB and Scoots ran onto the stage and embraced me. They were both so happy for me, and all three of us had tears in our eyes. I was a very emotional filly at one point. Sad to say that I’ve seen enough to have lost most of it.

Scootaloo got her cutie mark a little bit before I did, she was showing off scooter tricks to Rainbow Dash when It appeared. It was a wheel with wings and the whole thing was on fire. She celebrated by rubbing it in Diamond Tiara’s and Silver Spoon’s face.

AB was the last one to get a cutie mark. She got a zap apple, after she harvested almost all of the zap apples by herself when the rest of her family was too sick to work. She was more modest, so she didn’t rub it in Diamond Tiara’s face like Scootaloo did, but she did have a pretty big party, and she invited all of her family. They literally came from everywhere. Some came from Appleoosa, and some came from Detrot. Some came from Cowpenhagen, and others from Stalliongrad. That was probably one of the best dinners I’ve ever eaten in my life.

My party lasted one night, but it was one heck of a party. All the other foals from school were invited.

I like to think of good memories like those when I feel down or sick. Getting my cutie mark is my favorite.

“Sweetie Belle? Snap out of it, girl!”

I suddenly came back to my senses. Applebloom was waving a hoof in my face. When I shook my head to wake myself up, she stopped and smiled.

“Sweetie Belle, are you thinking of somepony? A colt, maybe?”

I looked at her with a smirk on my face. “Oh, be quiet, Applebloom. I’ve walked into you ‘having fun’ with Rumble in the barn before.” Applebloom shut up after that and blushed. Scootaloo, who had just walked in with a tan bag slung over her back, overheard us talking and fell over clutching her stomach in laughter. I couldn’t resist, and neither could Applebloom. We all rolled on the ground laughing like old times. We all had drifted apart after we got our cutie marks. Applebloom spent most of her time working on the farm or spending time with her coltfriend, and Scootaloo got into the junior flyer league at the Wonderbolt Academy. It was nice when we actually could get together again, and we usually discussed the increasingly dumb ways we tried to get our cutie marks.

“Remember that time where we all tried to get our cutie marks in graffiti art?” Scootaloo suggested.

“Ooooh, don’t remind me of that one!” Applebloom laughed. “Applejack made Sweetie Belle and I clean the side of the barn while you got off scot-free. You could have helped, you jerk!” I giggled at the face Scootaloo made

“Oh! do you guys remember the time John Mare came to ponyville for his concert?” I asked.

“Oh yeah!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “I was soooo pumped to see him. I remember Rarity obsessing over her backstage passes.”

“And then we spilled coffee on them,” we all said at the same time. We shuddered at the thought of Rarity’s face if she had actually discovered that.

“It’s a good thing we worked our flanks off and bought her new ones before she noticed.” I said.

A knock on the door of my room interrupted the conversation. Rarity popped her head through the door, and announced.

“Sweetie Belle, dear, take your medicine before you go to bed tonight. We don’t want to be up all night with our head in the toilet again, do we?” She brushed her mane back into it’s flawless position before adding, “well, I know you girls are nice and grown now, but even older mares need their beauty sleep, and it’s getting late. Good night!”

The moment she left, Scootaloo immediately demanded,

“Spill it.”

I sighed heavily. There’s no getting out of this one. Unless…

“Nothing! I just caught a bug earlier this week.” I quickly spat. I smiled, but then quickly regretted not telling the truth. I somehow forgot that I have this weird thing with my left ear twitching when I’m lying.

Applebloom stared at me sternly. “Sweetie Belle, I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re lying. Not to mention, living with my sister has taught me a few tricks. Spill it.” Scootaloo didn’t say anything, but nodded instead.

I sighed again. I’m not sure why exactly I’m disappointed. On the inside, I knew it was going to happen anyway. “Fine, but don’t throw up on me.” I told them everything in detail about the nightmares. They both looked a bit green, but they didn’t say anything. Scootaloo was the first to recover.

“S-Sweetie Belle, I-I think you should get some h-help. That’s n-not normal.” I don’t blame them for being so queasy. Heck, I’d thrown up so much, Rarity burned my sheets, and my mattress.

“Like I haven’t heard that one already,” I mumbled. I casually walked over to my dresser to open one of the drawers. I pulled out a homemade remedy for vomiting that Rarity cooked up with some of mom’s old medicine books. The green, sickly liquid was in a small glass jar. Small roots and pieces of broken flowers were floating around in it. I really didn’t want to drink it, but with the girls in the room, I didn’t want to bother them with any puking. I popped off the lid and stared at the substance for a second before chugging it.

“Hmm… Pretty minty, actually.” I explained, after finishing it off. “I’ll have to tell Rarity that she did a good job with this.

“Wait, so now you won’t have those dreams anymore?” asked Applebloom. She hadn’t spoken since I started telling my story.

“Well, I’m not sure about that... It just prevents vomiting.” I answered.

“Oh.”

Scootaloo then put down her sleeping bag and crawled into it. “Well, If you have bad dreams, then Applebloom and I will be here to comfort you when you wake up.”

“Yeah, Sweetie Belle, we’re both here for ya,” Applebloom added, spreading out her own sleeping bag.

I actually felt very touched by their loyalty, and was forced to hold back tears. “Thank you guys so much. You have no clue how much it means to me.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it, sis. You’d have done the same for either of us.” Applebloom said before getting in her own bag.

My mattress was missing because somepony burned it! So instead, I pulled out extra covers I kept in my closet and crashed on the love seat. I hadn’t realized how incredibly exhausted I was until now. The second I pulled up the covers, my eyes suddenly felt a million times heavier. I shook a little bit, but not from the cold. I shook from the thoughts of falling asleep again. Would I have more dreams like the last one? Or would I have those great rainbow and cupcake dreams? Before I dozed off, I remember muttering “goodnight” as I turned out the lamp.

I was standing in front of Sugarcube corner, but something was off. There was something fishy here… Was it the air? Yes, I think so. It seemed darker than normal. The smell, too. There was something strange about that. It smelled like smoke. Like something was burning!

I now saw that the entirety of the building was expelling a ghastly dark smoke. Mrs. Cake was the first to emerge from the burning bakery. Her shocked face smothered in ash. She ran straight out without a word and stood outside the building. Mr. Cake was the second to come barreling out.

“Where are the children!?” She shrieked. Her face was a disaster. Her black eyeliner ran down her cheeks, smeared by her tears. if Rarity saw her mane, she would most likely gag

Mr. Cake then looked at her with a sad, but grim look. It was almost as he would have saved them, but something had stopped him from it. “I don’t know. I’m sorry! I couldn’t find them!” He turned and scrambled away from the fire as fast as he possibly could. Mrs. Cake seemed to have gave up hope completely, but then her face screwed into a determined look. She ran back into the bakery. I watched with sweat dripping down the side of my face. I could almost feel the heat of the fire radiating off the building.

BOOOOM!

Standing there in horror, I witnessed the building explode into massive, roaring flames.

I could make out three different voices screaming in agony. But they only lasted for mere moments before finally dying off.

Breathing heavily, my eyes snapped open. It took some time before I adjusted to the darkness of the room. Good. AB and Scoots aren’t awake.

I’ve never had a dream about ponies I know dying these horrible deaths before. Am I going insane? Am I going to be thrown into the psycho ward?

I’ve been awake for a few hours now. Applebloom and Scoots are still sleeping in their sleeping bags, snoring softly. I’ve decided to just stay awake for the rest of the night. No point in going back to sleep now. I move to the window and lay my face on the cool, refreshing glass. The clouds block the moon, but that doesn’t stop it’s beauty from showing through the gaps every once in a while.

“Look, Rarity!” I pointed at the big, round and cratered circle in the sky. “It’s the moon! Make a wish!”

Rarity smiled, and whispered in my ear, “See, Sweetie Belle, usually it’s the shooting stars that grant you your wishes,” She pulled me into an embrace and pointed to that gorgeous, silver orb. “But it’s different for you, Sweetie Belle. You’re a special filly. You get to wish on the shooting stars, and you get to make a wish on the moon if you want to. Poor old Rarity isn’t special enough to wish on the moon. Go ahead, Sweetie, make your wish.”

“Thanks Rarity, you’re the best.”

“Maybe, just… Maybe…”

I put my hoof on the window and stare out. Shutting my eyes, I faintly whisper, “Oh,  Moon, please take these nightmares away from me. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this. If this is the very last wish I ever make, please make this one come true. Make the nightmares go away.”

The door to my cell opened up again, blinding me for a few seconds.

“It’s time for the white room.” A grey Griffon said deviously.

“NO! Not again!” I screamed, hugging the bed. Of all the torture tecniques these griffons used, the white room was the worst. If you think my cell itself is enough to make you go insane, then you’re so very wrong. The white room is just simply enough a completely white room with one door and no windows. Solid white. They make you sit in it for 24 hours, but they give you food and everything. It seems like a super easy punishment right? Wrong. If you try to speak to yourself to break the silence, your own voice will echo off the walls and drive you insane. The silence of the room messes with your head. Your brain tries to fill in the silence by giving you hallucinations. It is the worst you can get in this place. The physical beatings have stopped working on me, so they just drop me in the white room and watch me from a camera in the top corner as I see my worst nightmares come to life.

The grey griffon picked me up and tossed me into the room and quicky shut the door. All I could scream as he shut it was

“Please! No!”

CLICK

Chapter II

I fell out of the white room as soon as the door opened. I had been laying against the door. My own blood covered the walls from me banging my face trying to make the hallucinations to vanish. My own waste was scattered around the room. Stomach bile in one corner, and the the rest of it in another. The grey griffon grabbed me and dragged me back to my room. He dropped another tray of stale bread and water in the middle of the floor. He locked the door and left again. The only way I’ll be able to stay sane in this place is my journal. I pulled myself back onto my bed and started to write again.

Eleven months. It’s been eleven months since the last vision. I guess my wish came true. I thought everything would go back to normal. I really, really did. I hoped that I could go back to running around with Applebloom and Scoots. Some say that ponies never need to grow up. We can be young forever in our hearts, and that’s what I grew up believing, that’s what I always planned; I don’t care if it was foolish of me at this point, I just want to go back.

But sadly, there comes a day when something happens. It can be a thought, a moment, or it can be a look, but something breaks inside. Something deep inside your heart and mind just vanishes. Then suddenly, you realize that you’re no longer a filly. You look around yourself, and the joy and color of the once beautiful world has faded and greyed. Then, in that split second, you know it’s all over. Everything from before is just a memory, and it can’t be the same way ever again.

I was the last of my friends to see this. Applebloom was the first to decide to grow up. She started to work on the farm more and more until one day, she stopped coming to meet Scoots and I.

At the clubhouse, her crusader cape hung limply on a wooden pole. The wind pushed it around like a flag. Now, she’s just another face that faded into the grey.

Scootaloo was next. She was accepted into the Wonderbolt Academy, and is now flying with her idol. I felt happy for her, but inside I knew that it wasn’t real. She bought a home up in Cloudsdale and has been living there for the past five months. She’s got a really nice coltfriend who she’s been dating for about two years now, and he asked her to marry him recently; she said yes.

On their wedding day, I gave a short speech on our friendship, and then let them cut the cake. I still think that speech was manure. I went to the clubhouse later and saw that Scootaloo’s cape was now also hanging next to Applebloom’s. I had put a preservation charm on them to keep them there as long as I possibly could.

That was three months ago. I still go to the clubhouse every other day by myself to keep it clean, and silently hope that maybe one day one of them would be there, but they never came. Every time I sit by their cloaks, I end up crying for hours on end, hugging my own cloak.

Today. Today is the day I end this shallow charade. Today is the last day. Today… Today is the day that I give up.

Slowly, I walked into the clubhouse. The pitter patter of rain could be heard on the roof and deck. I sat down in the middle of the small rug that I had made with Rarity years earlier. Some writing was scratched into the wall in front of me. Strange, this was never here before. I moved my face closer to the writing and read it aloud.

“At some point you have to realize that some ponies can stay in your heart, but not your life.”

A Friend

Whoever did this is right. There’s no point to hold on to this anymore.

Walking out to the deck, I pull out my cape from my saddlebag and observe it. I felt an urge to weep, but I couldn’t tell if I was or not. The rain and wind had picked up to the point where my mane was now soaked. With a final look, I tied the cape around the third, and final pillar, and put a preservation spell onto it. I don’t know if I could handle the gravity of these memories right now. I have to get away from here.

As fast as I possibly could, I left that place. The place that meant everything to me hours earlier means almost nothing to me now.  Another grey area in my life, except that this time, it hit me hard.

The sun shone bright in the sky while the birds chirped happily. The skies were mostly clear with the exception of a few clouds. The marketplace seemed exceptionally crowded today, with the bustling sounds of bits being dropped on the side of the wooden countertops and delicious smell of the various foods being sold.

The leaves slowly fell off the branches of  the trees, covering the dirt below them. A compendium of my new life overshadowing the one I wish would have never left me. The sun felt almost like a spotlight for a sick twisted play that some twisted pony had created for the entertainment of other sick twisted ponies. I guess I’m the star.

It’s been two weeks since I’ve been to the clubhouse, and I have to say, I think I pulled my life together. I couldn’t take the sadness anymore, so I decided to distract myself with other productive tasks. It worked pretty well. I have a couple new acquaintances I've met around town. It feels pretty good to spend time with others again.

I work for Rarity part time, and I’m a waitress at a local restaurant during lunchtime. I’ve been able to move out after I graduated Cheerilee's school, and now own a small townhome at the edge of town. It’s probably the prettiest place I’ve ever lived. With the help of Fluttershy, I found this place and bought it before anypony else could. The home itself is on the edge of a small lake. It even has it’s own little pier where I sit occasionally to read, or to just take a well deserved nap. It’s painted a pearl white, and has blue windowsills to give it a more welcome look. Its not a huge home, but It’s big enough for me. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and one kitchen. Perfect for a single mare living on her own.

Rarity showed me a poster she found in Manehattan for a Broadway singing audition. She said she had been at a fashion show, and found it taped to a window. The audition is in the spring. That gives me about six months to prepare for it and also fund myself. For the entire trip I’ve estimated that I need about twelve thousand bits and right now I’ve saved five thousand. Probably a clue to take overtime.

I trotted on down to a small street vendor and bought some vegetables. Then over to the neighboring vendor to purchase some spices.

I think I’ll pay a visit to the Cakes. I used to babysit the twins when Pinkie Pie and the Cakes were all out. Since I’m headed to Rarity’s right after, I might as well grab her a little something on the way. I work my way down the narrow pathway to the center of the market. The sweet aroma of desserts was so strong here that you could almost taste it!

I arrived at Sugarcube corner and walked inside the open doors. Pinkie Pie was behind the counter with a huge smile on her face. Around her neck, hung her engagement ring. Just last week, Cheese Sandwich asked to marry her, and she agreed. The marriage is scheduled to be in spring and everyone is really pumped. The two biggest party ponies getting married? This was gonna be the talk of the century.

“Hello Sweetie Belle!” She sang, as I reached the counter. She moved over to the display, ready with a bag.

“Hey Pinkie Pie,” I said nonchalantly. I looked in the food display to choose what I want. Cupcakes? Nope… Hmm. “I’ll take three of these blueberry muffins please,” I said.

“Okie Doki Loki! That’ll be five bits!” She declared, as she filled the bag and handed it to me.

I took the bag from her, and handed her six bits from my purse. “Keep the change Pinkie.”

She waved, and then looked at the clock on the wall. “Uh oh! I’m late for my date with Cheese!” She sprayed on some perfume, and ran out the door yelling “Bye Mrs. and Mr. Cake! I gotta go! Oh and bye Sweetie Belle!” I smile and waved back. Mrs. Cake’s voice cut through the air and said,

“Okay then, bye dear! Be back before three in the morning this time!” Pinkie was already out of earshot, and probably didn’t hear. Typical Pinkie.

Pumpkin and Pound Cake walked into the store, past me, and trotted upstairs. They’ve really grown a lot. I’ve been roped into babysitting them countless times. They’re honestly the most annoying children in Ponyville. Though, sometimes the Cakes were miserly with their money, I still got paid decently for the hours I committed. I still managed to keep them out of trouble for the most part. They might be smart, but those little rats are so incredibly ignorant at times. Pound Cake was just annoyingly ostentatious, constantly showing off his flight skills to his sister and ends up crashing or knocking things over. Every time I tried to complain to their parents, those foals accused me of slander. I swear those kids are the children of Discord himself.

I walked out of the front door of the building, and down the steps. The wind blew my mane in my face, but I was too apathetic to care. Something strange caught my nose.

“AUGH! Pinkie! My muffins are burnt! Again!”

I don’t even bother to go back to replace them. My luck is my adversary. I shook my head and threw my muffins in the the trash. I continued walking, but smelled burning again.

“Strange. I thought it was the muffins”

A scream rattled the ground, and I turned to see. Heat instantly jumped onto my face as I turned. Sugarcube Corner is on fire. Typical.

At least, that’s what I thought. I actually released a stream of curses that could put a sailor to shame. Unsure of what to do, I dropped my saddlebags and shook in fear. This feels so familiar, but from where?

You know, fires are supposed to be one of the most destructive forces on the planet, but I think it’s just as beautiful as dangerous. Every single finger of flame danced around the wood like an intricate sacrificial dance. The bright orange and yellow colors remind me of AB and Scoots. Is this what “Paralyzed by fire” means?

A loud crack interrupted my thoughts, and dropped me back into reality. The children. They’re still inside!

I don’t know what took over me. If I remember correctly, fight or flight? I think I’m fighting. In a blink of an eye, I was in the burning building. Parts of the ceiling had already come down, and are now burning slowly on the floor. Something ran down the stairs and past me. It stopped in front of of the door and looked at me. It’s Mrs. Cake!

“Sweetie Belle! What are you doing, dear? GET OUT! Mr. Cake is on his way down with the kids. Come on! Get out of here!” she shrieked as she pointed at the door.

“I’m going to help the kids. You go on ahead! I’ll be right out!” I responded. Mrs. Cake seemed unsatisfied with my answer, but nodded and ran out the front door. A second blur shot past me and stopped.

“Mr. Cake? Where are the children?” I questioned.

He only looked at me with a sad eyes and ran out the door. My mouth dropped. My brain went into panic mode. Where are the kids? A voice echoed around the burning house.

“Daddy! HELP!”

They’re okay! My heart exploded with relief and I darted up the stairs to their room. When I walked in it was a disaster. Broken pieces of the ceiling were everywhere. I started to get dizzy from the huge amount of Carbon Dioxide, and lack of Oxygen. My vision slowly blurred, but was still enough so I could find the twins.

“Miss Sweetie Belle! Here!”

I turned to look from where the voice came from. There. They were under the bed. Pound Cake seemed to be unconscious and his sister was draped over the top of him in tears. I gasped before grabbing them both and putting them on my back. I tried my best to keep them balanced on me as I moved quickly, but carefully down the stairs. As I got to the ground the stairs collapsed and crumbled behind us. The ceiling was starting to go too. I picked up the pace toward the door, but time seemed to slow.

I couldn't hear anything other than my own heartbeat and the sickening crunch of the wood. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I stepped out the door into the painfully bright light. I’m not sure what would impair me more. The light, or the burning house that was about to collapse.

“Oh my babies!” Mrs. Cake screeched, as she ran past the police line, ignoring the police order for her to stay. I carefully pulled the two foals off my back, and into her open hooves. She hugged them for an incredibly long time before she looked my way.

“Sweetie Belle, you don't understand how grateful I am” She wiped a tear from her eye, and continued. “If it weren't for you, I’d be childless. Thank you.”

I sat on my haunches in silence in realization of what I just did. I just… I just saved the lives of two children. I ran into a burning house and saved two children. Wait…

In my dream, Mrs. Cake ran into the fire to save the children. Since I was there instead of her, I saved her life, and the children too. The dream. How did I know this was going to happen before it happened? And why did I react in a situation in which I wouldn’t normally react in?

Too many questions. Too many unknown answers. I reacted in the way one of those mares that always get saved by a superhero. I fainted

SMACK

On cement.

I’ll feel that in the morning.

Chapter III

I awoke in a white room to a monotonous beeping noise. Needles stuck out of my forelegs and chest. Wires were connecting me to a small machine with moving lines on it. A bag of water was hung over a rack and one wire led to my shoulder. My hooves and half of my back was covered in gauze. I tried to move, but a pain resonated through my body. I moaned and laid flat on the bed. On a small table next to the bed was a clock that read 7:39. It’s been seven hours already? A voice interrupted my thoughts.

“No broken bones luckily. Just muscle exhaustion and a couple of bad burns.” I slowly turned my head to the right, where a white pony stood with her eyes scrutinizing a clipboard. “Pretty fast recovery for the stuff you just went through.”

Oh trust me, I’m not recovered psychologically yet. I thought.

“Rarity?” I asked inquisitively.

“Close. Nurse Redheart. Rarity’s outside. It was really heroic what you did back there. Those kids would be literal toast if you hadn't jumped in and saved them. I feel almost honored to be in your vicinity.” She did a faux bow.

“How are they? The Cakes?”

“Sad story. Mrs. Cake is fine, and so are the kids, but Mr. Cake was taken by the police for being suspect of arson. His trial is next week.” she stopped to write something down on her clipboard and continued. “So, now that you’re awake, do you want me to let her in?”

“Who?” I asked, stupidly.

“I’ll take that as a no. I’ll tell her to come back tomorrow morning. You take your rest Sweetie. There’s some food on the tray on your left if you’re hungry.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” She replied. She pulled out a small bell from her small medical bag. “Ring me up if you need anything at all.” She smiled, and left.

I picked up the tray of food to only put it back down. Blueberry muffins. My absolute least favorite food. I’m starving, but I’m NOT eating that crap. I stuck my tongue out and picked up a juice box instead. I had to physically use my hooves to pick things up and put them down, because when unicorns become extremely exerted, they can’t use magic until they’re rested enough. It sucks that it hurts to move at all. This is gonna be a fun night.

“Oh Sweetie Belle! You’re alright!” Rarity squealed. She locked me in a hug and squeezed. It hurt. A lot.

“Yeah, hey Rarity. let m g- OW!” She let me go after I yelped.

“Sorry,” she replied sheepishly. “The doctor says that you’ll be able to leave the hospital by tomorrow if your soreness goes away. Isn’t it wonderful?”

I scratched my ear and looked at her. “Yeah, I can’t wait to go home.” I briefly reminisced about my comfortable mattress at home and my warm covers. The stacks and stacks of dust vinyl records were just begging to be played. My walls were plastered with posters of Pink Void. I had even gone to one of their concerts and they played my favorite songs. ‘Another Brick in the Stall.’ I have some Sapphire Shores posters here and there too.

“Oh no no no! You’re not living by yourself after that tragic scene! You’re going to live with me for a week or two. That is, until you get yourself pulled together.” Rarity rambled on about how my sweet innocent little foal mind had been scarred and whatnot.

“I don’t have a say in this, do I?” I asked, knowing the answer.

“Nope. Make sure you stop by your apartment to grab your things. I’m afraid I moved most of your old things into storage.” She said with a giggle. I sighed and shook my head. “Oh! And there was something Twilight wanted to talk to you about. Something about an interview for a book or something.”

“Oh, okay? When does she want to talk to me?” I asked.

“Now would be a good time, if you don’t mind,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said as she entered the room. She had grown a lot since her ascendance to Princess. Her mane had grown much longer and she’s taller too. Her mane looks more ethereal, like Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. Her crown gleams with the reflection of the lights around the room and the sunlight streaming through the windows.

“Princess Twilight!” I exclaimed, taken by surprise. I quickly bowed and looked back up at her. “What was it that you wanted to talk about?”

“Skip the formalities please, Sweetie Belle.” She smiled, sitting down next to my bed. “We’re all friends here. I mean really, I want to be treated like a normal, average, everyday pony.” She paused, and then said, "Kind of like when you called me Twilight when we still did Twilight Time. Those were some crazy times"

I giggled "yeah, those were the days.” I thought of the time I was learning how to move larger objects with my magic and caused an entire bookshelf to fall over. Good thing Twilight was outside talking to Fluttershy. I would have never been able to clean it up in time. Sure, all the books were mismatched, but she sure as heck didn’t realize it until I left. “You needed to ask me something?” I asked. Twilight turned to Rarity and asked,

“Rarity, could I speak with Sweetie Belle in private please?”

“Oh of course! I’ll be outside if you need me,” she replied. Rarity walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

“Is there something wrong Princess?” I asked.

“Twilight…” She grumbled.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. You should be telling me about your problem. I was told by Rarity that you’ve been having dreams about horrible things. Can you give me an example of these dreams?” Twilight pulled out a notebook, quill and ink bottle and set it down on the side table next to my bed. “I’ve been doing some research on dream patterns with the help of Princess Luna.”

I felt a bit sick trying to remember some of the dreams. Princes--  Twilight, I corrected myself, must have noticed I was a bit green.

“It’s alright Sweetie Belle. Take your time.”

“Well…” I started. “ I haven’t had dreams like that for months. The last one I had was the…” I stopped in the middle of my sentence.

No way.

“Sweetie Belle? Are you alright?” Twilight asked.

“The last dream I had was of Sugarcube Corner burning down.”

The room went dead silent. I don’t know how much time passed, but it got more uncomfortable by the second.

Quietly, I implored, “Is there something wrong with me?” Twilight just stared at me with a bad copy of Princess Celestia’s poker face.

“Sweetie Belle, once you’re out of this hospital, I need you to visit me in my castle for a few tests.” She wrote something in her notebook and asked “Any other dreams that stand out to you?”

“Well, there was this one dream. I-It was about a year ago. I dreamed of a pony being murdered in cold blood. She was just walking down some street at night, and a pony wearing a white suit and black tie came and stabbed her in the thr-”

I had to stop. I don’t want to discuss this anymore. I feel sick. I grabbed the waste basket next to my bed and emptied my lunch into it. Breathing heavily, I kindly asked Twilight to leave and let Rarity back in.

She agreed and stood up. There was a look on her face. Was it sympathy? Disgust? I guess she’s still working on her poker face. She walked out the door and let Rarity in, who was eating… Of course, a blueberry muffin.

“What was that about darling?” She asked after she finished her muffin.

“Nothing. I might be spending some time with Twilight in her castle though.”

“Sweetie Belle! She’s a Princess! You can’t just call her ‘Twilight’! How rude of you!”

“Aaaaand that’s the last one.” Nurse Redheart said as she picked up the papers I had just signed. “Get better, and I hope I don’t see you in here for a long time.”

“Thank you Nurse Redheart” I remarked. She waved as I left the building. It still hurt a bit to walk, but not from the soreness. The bandages on my burns sometimes stick to the wound and detach when I move. That always hurts the most. Other than that, I’m right as rain. Nurse Redheart says that as long as I put on a new bandage after every shower, it should heal in a matter of days. I was pretty surprised that it would heal so quickly. Then she told me that I also had to take some prescription pills from the local drugstore.

The day was pretty bright. The sun’s right above Ponyville, so it’s probably noon. I think I’ll head over to my apartment before heading over to Rarity’s. I need to pick up my toothbrush and other necessities. Maybe even a couple records. I slowly made my way over to my apartment, right next to the restaurant I work at.

I entered my home and turned on the light.

“SURPRISE!”

I was surprised alright... At the amount of ponies crammed into my small apartment. There’s gotta be at least thirty ponies here!

“...”

Pinkie Pie jumped in front of everyone. She clasped me into a hug, which surprisingly didn’t hurt. Was she crying?

She sniffed, and nearly wailed “Sweetie Belle, thankyouthankyouthankyou for saving Pumpkin and Pound Cake. I- I- I’m a horrible pony! I wasn’t careful enough! Thank you so much! How can I repay you? Those foals mean the world to me, and I don’t know what I’d do if they were gone!”

“You don’t need to do anything, Pinkie. It wasn’t your fault.” I hugged her for a bit, until she let go.

I backed away slowly while smiling, and greeted some of the other ponies who came. I talked with Mrs. Cake and her children. They seemed to be doing alright. Pound Cake seemed to be more shaken up than his sister. I moved over into the kitchen/dining room to grab something to eat. Great. Is this gonna be a long running thing? A large silver platter stacked with blueberry muffins stood in the middle of the table. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel so hungry anymore.

Everypony started to leave after about half an hour. The only ponies left were Rarity and me. We silently cleaned the place up and washed the dishes. I threw out the muffins when Rarity wasn’t looking, and strolled into my room to grab some stuff. I had a small, blue wagon that I could carry my stuff in, so I started to stack my towel, my curlers, my toothbrush, and a stack of records.

“Sweetie Belle, hurry up! I have a very important meeting to go to!” She whined.

“A trip to the spa isn’t ‘a very important meeting’” I replied sarcastically.

“I don’t need to hear that tone, young lady!”

“Ugh.”

I had just finished moving into my old room. It’s a bit cramped, but it feels like home. Rarity has been keeping it in good shape. No cobwebs to be seen, well, anywhere. The room is still decently bright and hasn’t lost its color. My bed is as comfortable as ever, as well as my covers. I have new bed sheets and new pillows to replace the old worn ones. I’ll have to remember to thank Rarity for this later.

I moved my things into a corner of the room and pulled out a John Mare record. I put it on my record player, and dropped the needle. The sweet sound of guitar flowed through the air as I layed down on my bed.

I looked over to the clock on my wall. 3:30.

“Oh yeah, I was supposed to meet Twilight at her castle.” I said to myself. I grabbed my saddlebag, turned off the record player, and put the record back. Shutting the blinds, I moved out of my room, and headed downstairs.

“Rarity, I’m going out.”

“Okay dear, I’ll be at the spa until six. When you get home, go ahead and cook us something to eat. I’m dying to try your new Daisy and Mushroom soup recipe.”

“Bye.”

I shut the door behind me as I left.

“Hello Spike.” I smiled at the baby dragon, who had grown a little. “I’m looking for Twilight?” I had arrived at the front of the castle and knocked on the door. Spike had just answered.

“Hey there Sweetie Belle. Yeah, come on. Follow me.” He held the door open and let me in. With the door clicking shut, he moved in front of me saying “This way.” I followed him down a corridor and into a large, two story room that looked like a library. On the roof was a massive circular window to let the sun in. The room was beautifully decorated, and very carefully designed. White marble pillars held up the second story above a decent sized sitting area and a fireplace. The grand staircase was also a beautiful white marble.

“She’s up on the second floor somewhere. You might have to do some digging.”

“Thanks Spike.” I said.

“No problem,” he shrugged and walked into the sitting area.

I made my way up the stairs, taking in the absolutely gorgeous artwork that covered the walls. At the top of the stairs, there was a fountain with a golden clock mounted on top. There was an inscription under it that said, “Most accurate clock in Equestria. Loses one one thousandth of a second every three hundred years.”

“It’s cool isn’t it?”

I turned to look at Twilight standing behind me, with a few books levitating next to her. Her mane was slightly frizzled and out of place. The whites of her eyes had turned red, like she pulled an all nighter. I nodded in answer to her question. She smiled and motioned for me to follow her.

She led me to a large table covered in open books and papers.

“Sit down, Sweetie Belle. Make yourself comfortable.” She suggested. I followed her request and sat in a large, plush chair.

“You’re not talking much are you?”

“Should I be?” I asked.

“Well, no. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, but it’d be so much more comfortable for the both of us if you talked more. I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall here. Loosen up! Like I said before, we’re all friends here.”

“Sorry.” I replied. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.” I scratched my ear, but accidentally scraped my hoof against my burned area.

“OW!”

Twilight moved over to me and said, “Here, let me put a spell on there. I promise that you’ll feel much better afterwards.”

“Okay.”

She lit up her horn and I felt a warm, tingly sensation on my back where the burns were.

“There. Done.” I touched my back expecting it to hurt, but it didn’t. I pulled off the bandages to see that the wounds were still there, but they were completely numb.

“W-what did you do?” I asked in awe.

“Oh nothing. Just a simple spell I discovered while reading up on the healing properties of magic.” She reported.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, where were we? Ah! right.” She picked a large book in leather binding and held it in front of me. “Read this page and tell me if it rings any bells.”

I’m confused. “Ring a bell for what?” I asked, scratching my ear.

“It’ll all make sense after you read.” She answered. Genuinely curious, I took the  book and read the open page. Every paragraph I read, my eyes grew wider, and my heart beat slower and slower. This… This is impossible!

“Would you please read out loud page five hundred thirty two, paragraph six?”

“Yes Ma’am” I said, flipping to said page. I cleared my throat before reading.

“Ahem… Thirty six years after the entrapment of Nightmare Moon, a sixteen year old colt named Sweet Dreamer reported having strange dreams after his birthday. After further research, he claimed to have had premonitions of things that happened near him. After a certain dream, he claimed that the dreams stopped.”

I continued on, “If I recall correctly, I was walking along a creek in the woods. Suddenly, a flash flood came, and I drowned. Four years later, Dreamer was found dead. He had drowned.”

“That’s enough. Thank you.” I shut the book and tried to take in what I had just read. After I couldn’t bring my thoughts together, I just put the book down and sat quietly. I broke the silence after a question came to my mind.

“So, there were others before me?” I asked quietly.

“Yes.” Twilight said as she pulled out a long scroll from a shelf and laid it flat on the table in front of me. She pointed to the top of it. She was pointing at a pony.

“This is your oldest known ancestor.” She moved her hoof about a third of the way down the paper and pointed at another. “This is believed to be the pony in the paragraph you just read. Sweetie Belle, you are related to that pony.” I decided to stay silent as she spoke.

Moving to near the bottom of the paper, she pointed at a pretty female pony.

“This is your Great Great Great Grandmother. Her name was Quartz Sun. Her records have shown that she had made regular visits to the family psychiatrist. I had to do some digging, but I found a couple notes taken by her psychiatrist. They always were about some strange dreams that she was having. She constantly ranted about some pony in a black suit and tie coming for her. She died a natural death at the age of eighty three, but had to have somepony take care of her for forty years. The entirety of Canterlot thought she was insane, so she lived the rest of her days inside her home. Now I know this isn’t comforting, but-”

I was starting to feel a bit aggravated at her attempts to sound like she understood what I was feeling.

“None of this is comforting Twilight. None. Zip. Zero. I don’t know what point you’re trying to convey here, but it isn’t working. So, what? My ancestors had it and ended in the psycho ward. Now tell me how to get rid of it permanently, and stop rambling on. I have a full life ahead of me, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’m determined to keep it. Now, you tell me how to get rid of it now, or I’ll do it myself.”

After finishing my rant, I got up to make my way to the door.

“Wait!”

Her voice cut through the air like an ultra sharp razor on thin linen.

“Sweetie Belle, please. Sit down and let me finish talking.” She motioned to the chair, and continued. “Now, I’ll tell you straightforward that there is no immediate way to cure this. Or any way at all.” She confessed.

“Sweetie Belle, Dear, I know you won’t understand this, but… You have a gift.” That stopped me right in my tracks.

“A gift?” I inquired.

“Yes. It’s inherent! Don’t you see? You said you dreamed of the Cake’s home burning down, correct?” I nod. “And when it was burning down, you prevented them from getting hurt, correct?”

“Where are you going with this?”

“Don’t you see Sweetie Belle? You’re a hero! You can use your power for the good of Equestria!” She exclaimed.

“No, I think I’m okay. I want a NORMAL life.” I started walking again, but this time I made it out the door without any other interjections.

I finally got back to the Boutique without any other issues. The sun was low in the sky, and the moon was peeking over the horizon. A bit later than I had planned, but oh well. Stupid Twilight and her “good of Equestria” crap. I need to focus on pulling the rest of my life together before I can help others do the same. Sure, I got lucky and didn’t die when I was saving Pumpkin and Pound Cake. That doesn’t mean anything though! I like those foals, and I would risk my life any other day of the week to save them from a burning bakery. It’s just… Basic pony moral. I don’t think I could take the stress of saving others every single time I had a dream about them. I’m no superhero. Heck, I can barely take the pressure of a small math test, let alone the lives of random ponies in need. My brain is overheated. I need some sleep.

I moved through the dark home, and up the stairs to my room. I think I’ll skip dinner. Seems like Rarity’s already asleep anyway. I was starting to get a raging headache from the argument with Twilight. I never yell at anypony other than Rarity, but she’s my sister, and we have our quarrels. It’s natural, but I yelled at the Princess! I sighed and slipped under my covers. It’s been a long day, and tomorrow is gonna be even longer.

“I hate Mondays. I have my stupid lunch rush shift tomorrow. Some customers there can be real jerks. I hate my life sometimes.”

I shut my eyes, and fell into a welcoming slumber.

“Ugh, that was a crappy day at work.” I said, as I wiped sweat off my forehead. “Sooo many jerks. I think I’ll quit.” I said to myself as I walked home. I saw Granny Smith on the side of the street with a couple of bags of groceries.

“Hey there young’un. What’s yer name again Sweetie? Oh right! It is Sweetie!” She gave a hearty laugh, before coughing. “Would yeh be so kind to help sweet ole Granny Smith?”

I put on my best “Sure” face, and walked over. I really don’t feel like doing this, but I’m Sweetie Belle, the good samaritan. “Yeah, No problem Granny.” I said as I picked up three of her five bags. “Oh, do you know how Applebloom is? I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

It took her a moment to “Hear” my voice, but she then enthusiastically exclaimed “Oh! Applebloom? She misses yeh and the other one a lot. What’er name agin?”

“Scootaloo.” I answered.

“Right, right, Scooter Balloon. Yep, she misses you a lot, and always talks about yeh.” Visibly getting frustrated with her… Oldness, I suggested we start walking. Fortunately for me, she agreed.

Slowly, but surely we made our way down the road on our way to drop her off at Sweet Apple Acres. I can hear something, but I’m not sure what. Eh, It was probably nothing.

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!” a voice screamed.

I turned to see a carriage speeding toward us at a speed I thought was unimaginable for one. A terrified looking stallion sat on top with what seemed like kegs of cider. A cigarette hung from his mouth as he screamed.

“RUNAWAY CARRIAGE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!”

“GRANNY!” I yelled, tugging at her side.

“Wuh?”

“We have to move! Now! come on!”

The carriage got closer and closer until...

THWACK

Chapter IV

“Sweetie Belle! Can you come here please?”

I put down my silver platter on an empty table and went over to my boss. He was a fairly chubby pony with a moustache. His cutie mark was a chef’s hat, but we rarely ever saw it due to his white coat draped over him.

“Yes Mr. Sourdough, what can I do for you?” I asked, tying my hair back.

“Sweetie Belle, go to the back and load those barrels of cider onto the carriage out back. They’re supposed to be going to Griffonia tonight. I was going to do it but… I forgot. SO now it’s your responsibility to get those barrels shipped and on their way.” He started to hobble away, but then turned around. “Oh, and I’m sorry Sweetie Belle. You’re gonna have to work late again tonight.”

“Do I get overtime?”

“Oh Celestia! What a card!” He laughed rambunctiously before grabbing another waitress, and laughing even harder. “Overtime! Ha! That was funny.” He suddenly stopped laughing and said solemnly, “Now get those barrels out.”

See, this is what I have to constantly deal with every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday. He is such a jerk, but he owns the place so I can’t do anything about it. Overtime doesn’t even seem to be in his dictionary. I guess ‘asshole’ isn’t either. I should quit, but I can’t. I need the money. I sighed and took off my apron. After folding it carefully, I dropped it into my cubby inside the employee lounge, and made my way down to the storage room.

The storage room is basically a large garage. It had enough space to house three carriages, and still had enough space to hold at least thirty barrels. There was only one carriage in the room though. To compensate, It had an attachable trailer to hold extra barrels. I started loading the barrels one by one into the carriage first. Once I managed to fit twelve barrels in it, I decided to sit inside the stagecoach and take a five minute break from all the heavy lifting. Since Sourdough is such a rich prick, he can afford automatic carriages. Apparently, they run on diesel instead of horsepower. You just have to sit inside and control it by a couple levers or something. Crazy how rich ponies can afford the good stuff.

“I hate my job.” I said laying back, trying to relax. “I really need to quit.”

“SWEETIE BELLE!”

Startled, I kicked my leg and hit something hard. Whatever, I’ll deal with that later. I scrambled to my hooves, and for some reason, saluted.

“Yes sir?”

“What in Tartarus do you think you’re doing? Get back to work! This shipment is supposed to lea-” He was interrupted by another green pony stepping through the door.

“Don’t be startled. Just here to take the shipment.” He pulled out a cigarette, and strutted over to the big garage door. Grabbing a rope on the side of the door with his teeth, he pulled it. The door started to move up and let the sunlight from outside in. I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before. I guess it’s just DeJa Vu.

“Well! hurry up and load those barrels!”

“Yes Sir.” I said as I moved over to the trailer, and started piling barrels into it as fast as I could. I got to the last barrel, and I just basically stuffed it in there and shut the door.

“Good, now go back inside and clean the dishes. It’s the only thing you can do right anyway.” He scoffed.

I really wanted to punch him in the face right now. I felt around my chest for my nametag, but it wasn’t there. Dang it! I want to throw it at him. I freakin quit. Oh there it is! I saw it lying in the stagecoach. Heh, he’s gonna get it. I got into the stage coach and picked up my nametag, putting the string loop back around my neck. As I was about to step out, I hit something again and it caused the whole carriage to jerk forward. The wood itself moaned and creaked.

“Sweetie Belle! what are you doing? Get back here this instant! You’re fired!

Pissed, I took off my nametag and threw it at him. The plastic nametag hit him in the eye and caused him to scream in pain.

“Fire THIS SOURDOUGH!” I yelled, letting out my frustration. “PRICK!” I now realized that the carriage was rolling down a hill. I also realized that the green stallion with the cigarette was sitting beside of me with pupils the size of pinpricks.

“Uh, lass? Um...  we might have a wee problem here. The brakes don’t work! They’re loose for some reason! I just tightened them this mornin! Oh shoot! Look out!” he stuck his head outside the door, and started yelling something about getting out of the way. He pulled himself back in and tried pulling the big lever in the middle of the coach. He looked up at me and said “Well, don’t just sit there lassie! Stick yer noggin out the door there and warn everypony!”

I did as I was told, and I saw chaos. Ponies were jumping out of the way like a bunny who’s seen an eagle. “Get out of the way!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Runaway carriage! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!

I saw a couple familiar faces and… “Granny Smith! Get out of the way!”

THWACK

A red paint covered the glass windshield. The force launched me back inside the carriage, and the door shut.

“Got it!” He yell, as he pulled it with his teeth. We both were thrown to the front of the stage coach and landed on each other. After a couple of minutes of disorientation, we started laughing. He hugged me and I hugged him as we laughed maniacally. After we stopped, we realized that the lighting of the inside of the carriage was eerily red.

“I need some air,” I said as I opened the door and stepped outside.

“Me too lassie,” he said as he followed.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH”

The front of the carriage was covered in a viscous red fluid. I know what it is, but I don’t want to believe it. I fell onto my haunches in shock with my mouth wide open. This all seems so oddly familiar, I can’t place it. A slightly mangled body was about thirty feet behind the carriage. I know that it was Granny Smith. I just know it. Wait, I had a dream about this. yes. That’s why this is all so familiar!

“Sweetie Belle! is that you? Applebloom was around here somewhere. Have you seen her?”

No… It’s not Granny. Then who?

“APPLEBLOOM! Mah sis! Wake up lil’ sis!” Applejack stood over the mangled body. I- it- it is Applebloom. I can see it now. Her once yellow coat covered in blood. Her beautiful cutie mark is now gone. That’s what happens when a pony dies. Their cutie mark disappears. It’s a surefire way to tell if somepony is dead or not. Her beautiful red bow that held her once luscious mane was now lying in a bloody mess.

Blinded by the tears building up in my eyes, I clumsily made my way to AB’s lifeless body. I fell by her side and wrapped a hoof around her.

“AB! N-no! This can’t be! You can’t be dead. You can’t!”

“Git away from her, you murderer!” Applejack was crying herself. I didn’t hear her at first, and kept weeping over Applebloom. “Didn’t you hear? I said git offa her!” She grabbed me, and threw me aside forcefully. “You stay away from my family. Ya hear? I don’t wanna see you round anymore! GO! Git out of here!”

Not sure of what to do, I ran. I ran through town with my mane covered in blood, sweat, and tears. I’m sure I got many strange looks, but I don’t care. I just caused the death of one of my best friends! I thought I was emotionally compromised before, but now I’m just a wreck. Why am I so stupid? Why am I so careless? Why? Without thinking, I ran straight into the Everfree forest. Completely blinded by tears now, I was just blindly running through dense forest. After running for what seemed like forever I stopped and collapsed next to a massive tree that could compete with the size of the old library. The light of the setting sun shone through the thick brush, almost mocking me.

“W-what is wrong with me?” I sobbed. To my surprise, something answered.

“"Nothin's wrong with you sweetheart, in fact, I'd say you have a special gift.” I wiped the tears away from my eyes, and saw a strange grey pony in a black business suit. He wore a dashing grey tie and had a well maintained mane and tail.

“W-who are you?” I demanded. My voice still quivering from my sorrow.

“I don't really have a name sweetheart,  Actually, I not even here!  I'm just the result of your mind tangling with your imagination.” He moved forwards toward me and sat down. I slowly moved backwards, pressing myself against the tree. “"There's nothin to fear, I'm the only friend you have now, and i have a funny feeling that we're gonna meet a little more often, Oh, we're gonna have the best of times!” He laughed as he looked at my face.

“Don’t fret, my dear. Let me get those tears off of your face.” He pulled out a handkerchief out of his suit pocket and wiped my eyes with it. “Don't fear sweetheart, lemme get those tears off of your face, There, perfect! You can wash off your friend's blood off when you get home.”

“Answer me,” I forced. “How do you know my name, and how did you know her name?”

“Oh Sweetie belle, you're so naive, I know everything! In fact out of your little, 'crusadin group, you're the last one left!"

“LIES!” I screamed. “Scootaloo is still alive!”

“Ah ah ah!" he taunted, don't be so sure!, she died this morning in a freak training accident, Pretty gruesome too.”

“You’re a liar. Get away from me!” I warned, pushing myself against the tree.

“Think Sweetie Belle. Why are you so special? Why do you see those dreams instead of anypony else? Why did I choose you?” I gasped at what he said.

“Y- you did this to me? Scootaloo’s d- no. It’s impossible. Why are you doing this to me?” I asked.

“Yes, I did. For a very good reason. See, let me explain. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m Death. I’m not a physical thing or pony. I am an idea. I’m only visible to the ones who are special. Like you!” He exclaimed. “Now, I had Applebloom killed to finally get your attention. The past dreams seemed to have flown right by your head. Oh, and congrats on saving the Cakes. It was really heroic of you. Or was it? I made Mr. Cake bolt because I knew that you’d do the right thing and save those children. What would I do if you decided to not do what I wanted? What would have happened if you didn’t save the children? Well, let’s just say Mr. Cake would have buried his entire family.”

“What does this have to do with me? Why me?” I yelled, getting more and more angry by the second.

“I’m getting there. Stop interrupting. It’s very rude. Now, I got your attention by killing Applebloom. Scootaloo was just a coincidental freak accident. Why would I want YOUR attention? Well, many of your ancestors have dealt with me. Nice ponies by the way. I’ll be taking your mother two months from now.” He mumbled something after that, but It was inaudible. “You are a strong spirit Sweetie Belle. I know it. That’s why I chose you! I was there the day you got your cutie mark. You have an incredible voice by the way. I can’t wait to buy your albums in the future. Anyway, I have a short story to tell you. Technically it’s my job to deal with this crap, but I get lazy and want to have fun too.” He took a deep breath and continued.

“Three thousand years ago, way before Celestia, Luna etc, there were small kingdoms scattered around the planet. Seventeen to be exact. A pony named Sharp Point used to raid these lands in search of a greater power. He was an incredibly powerful wizard. Ten times as powerful as Starswirl, or Celestia. After all, he was the one who raised the Sun. Nice guy, that Starswirl. He made really dirty jokes. Anyway, that’s besides the point. Now, Sharp Point took his three armies and marched across the planet, raiding every single little town or village they came across. So, he eventually gained control of all the kingdoms but one. The king of the final kingdom held his ground bravely against Sharp Point. It was a battle that lasted twelve days. This kingdom was Equestria. That king, was Celestia and Luna’s father. Of course, they never knew their father because he died in battle, or their mother who died at Luna’s birth. They were raised into royalty by the nobles. After the battle was over, Sharp point left the kingdom with a device that could open the door to Tartarus. In Tartarus are the riches of a thousand worlds. I couldn't let him get a hold of that treasure, but the rules for killing were different back then, so I couldn’t just nab it anytime I wanted. I had to wait. Over time, he got paranoid and spread the broken pieces of the device all over the planet."

“So you want me to get them?”

“Correctamundo! And if you do it, I’ll bring your friends back to life.”

“But why do you want those pieces so badly?”

“Oh darling, I can't just have anypony just wander into Tartarus any time the want to! They could literally want to wake the dead and take over the planet.”

“Why do I have to do your work if you can do it in less than ten minutes?”

“It’s no fun if I do it! I have immense power! Those dreams you get are a gift from me. I promise they’ll be gone the second you finish your task. Otherwise, you’ll have to live with the fact that you killed your friend along with having night terrors for the rest of your life.” He smiled at the end of his speech. “And besides, I have a job. I am Death after all. Who’s going to take the dead if I don’t?”

“So, you’re saying that if I do it, you’ll let me have my friends back, and take away the nightmares?” I asked.

“Yes. But if you decide not to, I’ll let you keep those nightmares, have you blamed for the death of Applebloom and also torture both Applebloom and Scootaloo in Tartarus. How does that sound?” His voice suddenly got firm and a little scary to be honest.

“I don’t have a choice. Do I?” I asked. To my surprise, I heard Rarity answer.

“Oh heavens no Sweetie Belle! If you don’t do it, you and your friends will be damned into the depths of Tartarus.” I looked at where the voice came from, but Death was the only one standing there. Then, I saw him. His mouth was moving, but Rarity’s voice came out. “I’m a master of deception darling. If you do as I say, I might even leave mother alive for another five years.”

This was getting scary. “Give me some time to get my thoughts together please. I-I need some time to reprocess everything that just happened.”

“Sure, Sweetie. I’ll be back in two days. Don’t worry about being called a murderer either. I blamed your boss for it, so you’re off scot free. Go home, get some rest, tell Rarity I said hi, and I will see you in forty eight hours!”

He raised his hoof to stomp it on the floor. I tried to say “Wait” but he slammed his hoof on the earthen ground. Wait. No he didn’t. I’m in my room? “This is too much to take in at once. I need a shower. A long one.”

            After my shower, I strolled downstairs to see if I could get something to eat. That Death guy said something about killing AB on purpose. I would do something about it, but I'm just too exhausted. I just want to go to sleep. As I got to the bottom of the stairs, there was a knocking at the door.

          "Coming!" I yelled as I lazily dragged myself toward the door. Twisting the knob, I opened the door. “Applejack?” Applejack stood outside the door.

“H-hi Sweetie Belle, c-can I come in? I have something I want to say to you.” She said. She looked so guilty, but at the same time intimidated.

“Uh, yeah. I guess. Come on in.” I said yawning, motioning inside.

“Awfully kind of you Sweetie Belle. Something I haven’t been to you. Kind. I’m sorry that I yelled at you earlier today. I-I found out that it wasn’t your fault that Applebloom is… is.” She stopped and looked like she was holding back something big. “I’m so Sorry Sweetie Belle! I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me! I’m sorry I called you a murderer! It- it was the heat of the moment, and I… I’m sorry. Please! Please I beg for you to forgive me. It wasn’t right of me, and it isn’t what Applebloom would have wanted.” She pulled out a small white card and gave it to me. “This is for AB’s funeral. I want you to be the one to give a speech instead of me. I don’t think I have it in me to do it. You have the Apple family’s highest honors. Sweetie Belle, you were beyond a friend to Applebloom. You were even beyond the point of calling you family. You’re more than that, and that’s the absolute highest honor I can give you.”

I took the card from her silently, and stared at it.

“I’m sorry for your loss of Applebloom, and Scootaloo. You were a family on your own. I can imagine what it feels like to lose a family member because I just have, but I can’t possibly imagine losing a second one or both of my best friends. I’m really sorry, and I give you my wishes.” She locked me in a hug, but I stayed silent. “I have to go now. I have to go prepare for the funeral. Stay strong Sweetie Belle. I know you have it in ya.” With that, she tipped her hat and left.

I have no tears to shed anymore. I literally faced Death himself. I really didn’t have much to say at that point. I went upstairs to get in the shower so maybe the hot water could wash away everything from my mind. If death by stress is a real thing, that’s how I’m going to die.

Chapter V

As carefully as possible, I slipped on a small silver necklace that Applebloom had given to me for my fifteenth birthday. Her family was going through some hardships at the time, so it really meant alot to me that she gave me something at all. I didn’t expect her to get me anything. I found out later that she went hungry for a week so she could get me this necklace. I was so touched, that anonymously, I donated half my personal savings to the Apples, and now their business is booming again.

I don’t know what it was, but I heard somepony say happy birthday to me. I turned, but there was nopony other than me in the room. I must be going insane. The dress I wore was an extremely intricate design made by Rarity for me specially. She poured her heart out for me in a single night to make it as perfect as possible for tonight. It was black with white lace all around the sides to give it an ethereal feel.

My mane is done up in it’s normal way, but has seemed to have lost its poof. Even though it’s curly, it just doesn’t feel right. Rarity walked into the room, and strangely enough, her own mane seemed to have lost its bounce. Her eyes tried to seem happy, but I know Rarity a little too well. When we get back to the Boutique later, we’ll have to restock on ice cream.

“Sweetie Belle, somepony is at the door looking for you.” Just by looking at her face, I knew something was off.

“Okay,” was all I said as I passed her and arrived at the open door. There stood… Rainbow Dash in Wonderbolt dress uniform. Also next to her was another sun-yellow pegasus, also in full dress uniform. They both wore white hats with a black rim on it, almost covering their eyes. The uniforms were blue, and they both wore white collar shirts with a black tie. Silver and golden badges hung on the breast of the blue coats. A gold leather strap went diagonally across their chests.

“Ms. Sweetie Belle?” The yellow pegasus asked.

“Yes, that’d be me,” I replied.

“I’m Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts, and this is Corporal Rainbow Dash. I believe you’ve already met. Can we please come inside?” She asked as gently as possible, but with a certain military firmness in it.

“Yes, of course. Come in.” I said as I moved aside. “We can sit in the living room down that hall, second door on your left.” I stated as they moved past me. I followed them down the hall and into the room. “Please, sit.” I said as I sat on a couch opposite from them. They sat, and took off their hats. Rainbow Dash seemed awfully quiet. For the first time since she came in, she finally spoke.

“Sweetie Belle, I have some very bad news to give you.” Her voice seemed shaky, but managed to keep it stable enough to speak somewhat normally. I think I know why they’re here now. I took a deep breath trying to prepare myself for what was coming.

“Your friend, Scootaloo, crashed in a training exercise and was killed. We’re very sorry for your loss.”

I let it sink in for a moment, or a few moments, I’m not even sure. The two officers sat patiently in front of me. I’m not sure how long I was silent, but long enough for a couple tears to roll down the side of my face.

“Why was I informed? Shouldn’t her husband have been informed?” I asked, wiping the tears from my face. Rainbow Dash seemed even more uncomfortable now, but still managed to speak.

“Scootaloo’s husband passed away just two weeks ago. We think that her depression got the best of her, and she- she- she…” Rainbow Dash stopped. She knew she wanted to keep her military stature, but this was just as personal to her as it was to me. I know Rainbow Dash. She probably thinks that Scootaloo’s death was all her fault or something. I’m not taking this as hard because I knew it would happen sooner or later. Her face started to puff up and tears rolled down her cheeks as well. Spitfire was just looking down at the floor.

“You and me, we’re all she has now.” Rainbow Dash sputtered. “I know today is Applebloom’s funeral, so that means whatever I’m feeling is double for you. I can’t possibly imagine what you’re feeling.”

Yeah, you really couldn’t

“She’s going to have a military funeral. You have to come. We’re all she’s got now. No other friends or family. Just us two.” Her sentences cut into small segments because of her heavy breathing. “It’ll be two days from now. Please come. It’ll mean a lot to me, and it’ll mean everything in the world to her.”

It took her a few minutes to calm down enough to continue, and Spitfire seemed to be getting pretty emotional herself listening to what Rainbow had to say. Quiet sobs could be heard from her as Rainbow Dash reached in her coat pocket and retrieved something from them. She presented them to me in a way a nurse would give a newborn to its mother.

“T-these were hers. I’d like you to have them. I don’t think I could stop myself from feeling guilty if I see them every day in my own home. Besides, you knew her better than I did, and they probably mean more to you than to me.”

I took the objects as gently as I could from her, and lay them on the center table. Her dog tags and her cracked goggles. On the side was etched,

‘To the best young flyer in Equestria’- RD

The navy blue paint around the rim of the lens was chipped, scratched and worn. Something stood out though. A color that didn’t match the color scheme of the normal uniform. Red. Blood red.

The two officers stood up and fixed their uniforms to make them look more presentable. Rainbow Dash’s was soaked with tears, but only the shoulder of Spitfire’s uniform was a little wet.

“Sweetie Belle, if you need us, send us a letter and we’ll come over. Okay?” Spitfire said.

“Okay…” I replied pathetically.

“See you at the funeral, and good luck for today.” Rainbow dash said as she followed Spitfire to the door.

“Thank you both.”

They nodded, put on their hats and flew up and out of my sight.

“Scootaloo…”

“We are gathered here today to mourn for the death of a beloved Sister, lover and friend. Applebloom was a hardworking pony who put other’s needs in front of her own. She was a kind pony who loved her coltfriend, and family. I as a sister miss her very much, but I don’t deserve to be the one to talk here right now. Sweetie Belle, come on up.”

Applebloom was to be buried on the farm in the Apple Family Cemetery. Weather ponies had made it rain all across town. Black umbrellas covered the majority of the ponies sitting at the funeral. I had chosen not to. The rain poured over me as I looked up at Applejack, who had just called me upon the wooden pedestal. Next to the pedestal was Applebloom’s closed casket. It was covered in red roses and various other flowers. On the top of the casket was Applebloom’s red bow in all its glory. Pictures of Applebloom were scattered around the casket. I was in more than half of them along with Scootaloo. Applebloom’s coltfriend stood in a clean, but now wet black suit and tie, the water dripped down his face, which was now contorted as if he’s about to burst into tears. I acknowledged him as I slowly stepped up to the wooden podium. I took a deep breath before I began.

“Hello ladies and gentlecolts, I’m here to talk about Applebloom. If you’ve lived around here long enough, you have most likely seen me, Applebloom, and Scootaloo running around the place trying to get our cutie marks. those were the good days. We would go out almost every day to go try to get our cutie marks in some ridiculous task like tunnel digging or something. Applebloom was an amazing mare to me as a friend, as a sister to Applejack and Big Mac, and as a Marefriend to Rumble.”

I continued speaking about all the great adventures we managed to have without getting in too much trouble. I shared with everyone, the great laughs we had and also the times we cried together. As I finished up my speech I said something that caused everypony to stir a bit.

“Friendship… It’s everlasting, and no matter what happened or will happen in the past, present, and future, nothing can break a friendship like ours. Not even Death himself. I will keep her alive in my heart for many years to come, but I’ll need your help to do it. Everypony here knew the sweet mare, so keep her alive in our hearts. Maybe one day… She’ll be back because of our friendship. Long live Applebloom. Thank you.”

It was silent for a second or two, I heard a few sniffles from the crowd, but then I heard applause. Applejack was the first to start applauding, and eventually the whole crowd began to stomp and cheer. I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t sad. I simply walked off the platform, and silently sat next to the coffin.

I sat for hours in the cold rain. Most of the crowd had gone inside after my speech. Only Applejack stood next to me with an umbrella.

“Sweetie Belle, sugarcube, go inside. You’ll catch a cold.” I only replied with a grunt. “That was an incredible speech sugarcube. I felt every single word in my heart. I just wanted to say thank you.” I looked up at her, and we locked eyes for a second. I broke off the stare, and just simply got up and walked through the door of the building where everypony else went.

I walked through the building, but it was empty? Strange. I walked through the long hallway, trying each door hoping it would be the right room. I reached the end of the hall where the last door was. I twisted the knob with my magic, and… It opened!

I walked through, but… huh? I’m in the same hallway? I ran back to the same door that just opened, and it’s locked! I went to every door again, trying to force them open, but none opened.

“Welcome to my hallway of horrors.” A familiar voice interrupted. “Pretty cute name huh? Oh, by the way- “ He took a bite of an apple that was in his hoof, and it turned to dust. “I liked that speech you just gave. Powerful, but sentimental. The best kind.

“What do you want?” I demanded. He just laughed and looked at me with a large grin that even Pinkie Pie couldn’t compete with. It literally went ear to ear. I gasped, and took a step back trying to open the doors behind me.

“Don’t worry Sweetie Belle, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just here for our conversation that we stalled earlier. Oh and by the way, that dress looks gorgeous on you. You look like such a grown mare! I remember when you were first born… They grow up so fast!”

“Stay away from me!” I screeched, batting my hooves in his direction.

“Oh, I almost forgot, how silly of me! Happy eighteenth birthday! I got you a gift.” One of the doors behind me opened, and a big sky blue box with white ribbon floated eerily out of it. Then the door slammed shut, startling me. The box set itself down in front of me.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Open it. It’s made specially for you.” I didn’t really have a choice here, so I opened the box. Inside it were two small necklaces. One was an orange gemstone, and the other was a circular yellow crystal.

“Do you like them?” He asked me. I stared at the two necklaces and didn’t say anything.

“Why are you giving me these?” I asked, feeling a bit skeptical. He only turned, and opened a door beside him. He motioned me to follow him.

“I’ll just show you. Come on, this way.” He walked through the doorway, and I followed. Suddenly the door slammed behind us and we ended up in a bland grey business room. A long wooden table stood in the center of the room, and pictures of rich ponies were all over the walls. We walked through the room to the end of the table.

“Okay, so now I’ll give you a choice. There are two doors in front of you,” he said as he pointed the newly formed doors in front of us. “If I told you that if you take the left door, you save your friend’s lives, but give me your sister in exchange. If you take the right door, you give me your life in exchange for your friend’s lives. Which door would you take?”

I stood for a moment, staring down the doors.

“It’s alright, take your time.”

I moved towards the right door and twisted the knob. I felt like something was pulling me into the room.

“Aaah!” I yelled as I was sucked into the infinitely black abyss. Suddenly, I felt like I was falling. Look! a light! I looked under me, and surely there was a bright light. As I fell, the light got bigger and bigger until… What?

“Welcome back. I like you. You’re a lot of fun to mess with.”

I was back in the grey room, sitting in one of the business chairs.

“Neat little trick huh?” Death said with a grin, clearly satisfied with himself.

“Yeah sure, but what was the point of all of this?” I asked, shaking my head.

“Oh, my dear, These necklaces are the souls of your friends. I’ll be keeping them with me until you finish your quest.” He pulled the necklace over his head and sat down next to me.

“But I-I don’t even know where to start!” I muttered.

“I’ll tell you where the first piece of the compass is, but after that, you’ll have to figure it out on your own. So, you better run over to a library and read up! Kids these days. Just don’t read anymore!” He vanished from the chair and appeared behind me.

“So are you going to tell me where the first piece is, and how to get it?” I asked, getting a little annoyed by Death’s playful antics.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll have have a letter written to you after Scootaloo’s funeral. Right now, you look pretty soaked. Let me fix that.” In a split second, I no longer felt drenched. I was completely dry. Dress and all.

“T-thanks. I guess.” I said.

“No problem kid, anytime. Oh wow would you look at that!” he said pointing to a clock on the wall. “It’s getting late! It’d be best if I send you off now. Bye!”

I blinked, but when I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t in the room with Death anymore. I was on the floor with everypony crowding around me asking if I was alright. Applejack ran over to me asking,

“Sugarcube, are you okay? Ya took quite a fall there.”

“Uh, yeah I’m fine. What happened?” I asked.

“You walked in here looking like you were coming out of a pub after a long night of drinking, and then you collapsed in the middle of the floor. Here, lemme help you up.” She held out a hoof, and I took it. I pulled myself up and brushed off my dress.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The door to my cell opened again, and the grey griffon simply said

“Go to the courtyard.”

He led me out through the facility, and into the grassy courtyard. Thirty foot concrete walls stopped prisoners from escaping. Pegasi had to go to a different courtyard that was covered in magical chains that electrocuted you if you touched them. Other prisoners in uniform walked around talking to each other. Some exercised and some just sat and smoked. In the middle of the grass, there was an excessively large patch of frozen grass. Strange, it’s Summer right now. I then realized that the frostbite was in a full circle. Around Death.

“Hello Sweetie Belle.” He said kindly.

“What do you want?” I spat.

“Oh, I’m just here to help you escape. You do want to do that don’t you?”

“Yes” I replied simply. “What do I have to do?”

“It’s simple. Walk out.”

“It’s not that simple! Guards everywhere, electrical fences and whatnot.”

“Sweetie Belle, do you want to save your friends?” He asked sternly

“Yes. I do.”

“Do you trust me?”

“No”

“Good, now just walk out the front door when you get back to your cell.”

“Fine.”

The grass around Death started thawing, and small flowers began to bloom. He waved towards me and moved the stray hairs of my mane out of my eyes.

“That’s a really cool scar you have there” he said as he scrutinized my wound. “Must’ve hurt.”

“Get away you creep. And yes, it did hurt.” Only then did I realize that I was talking to thin air. He was gone. The loud alarm sounded, which meant the prisoners needed to return to their cells. As I walked back, I saw something in the grass. A jail master keycard!

“Time to test this out.”

Chapter VI

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!”

Chapter VII

        I examined the picture closely while sketching it on a sheet of paper.I already drew a top view, and now was working on a side view. I have to be as detailed as possible when working with this. If it’s just the slightest bit off, I’ll be discovered too quickly. Carefully, I carved the strange symbols onto the side of the Dial and added the final touches around the edges.

        “Finally, six hours of work payed off.” I sighed as I put down my small incision tool. I guess it really was worth taking that mason’s class back in school. I pretty much replicated the picture I had taken and it was Identical. The only thing I wasn’t exactly sure of was the weight. I have no idea how much it weighs, so I took a guess and made it about as heavy as a small concrete slab I found outside the house. Since I never got a chance to actually hold it, this seemed like a pretty good estimate. I put the decoy Dial back onto the table and put a preservation spell on it so that it doesn’t get damaged any time soon. In exhaustion, I lay on my couch and read a bit of Sherclop Pones, my favorite book series of all time.

        The hours ticked on, and the sun fell out of the sky, and was replaced by the cool blue and purple colors of the night sky. Stars littered the yonder, sparkling in all its glory. On a clear night like tonight, if you went deep into the woods, where there isn’t much pony-made light around you can look into the sky and see another galaxy! When I took astronomy back in the tenth grade, I learned about it. It’s called the Milky Way or something like that, but it’s still really difficult to see even in a dark place. I heard the best place to see it from is one of the poles, but I don’t think I’ll be going there anytime soon. I always thought the concept of space and time interesting. Maybe one day, we’ll get to explore the Milky Way, but it won’t be anytime soon either. It’s like 2 million light years away.

        “You know what?” I asked myself, throwing down my book. “It seems like a good night for a walk.” Grabbing, a scarf and one of these hats with the sting on the two sides of the ear flaps. I always thought they were cute looking, so I asked Rarity to make me one. Tying on my scarf, I opened the front door and shut it behind me as I walked out.

        It’s Hearth’s Warming eve tonight, so ponies were outside decorating their homes. It’s Friday, and most of the foals have started their Winter Break a few days before, and are running around doing their unique little snow dances. One filly that I liked in particular, whose name was Sly, was sitting watching the other foals running around laughing and screaming in joy. Sly is a lonely filly. She has five other sisters that live with her mother in Las Pegasus, but she didn’t have any friends. She sat on a bench, wearing a scarf and hat much like my own. As I got closer, I realized that she was singing.

        “Light and day is more than you'll say

Because all

My feelings are more

Than I can let by

Or not

More than you've got

Just follow the day

Follow the day and reach for the sun!”

        I sat next to her while she sang, and pulled her into my hooves. Sly was a small, light grey unicorn with a mane as white as snow. Shes a bit of an oddball compared to the other colts and fillies. When she was young, her father didn’t have a job and she and her family of seven went hungry most nights. She, as the oldest child in the family, decided to take charge because her father was too depressed about his wife leaving him to do anything and her youngest sister died of pneumonia. Angered, Sly began stealing food to feed her sisters and father, and eventually started stealing jewelry to sell for money. A year later, her father finally got over his depression and got another job. A pretty well paying one too, but Sly? No. She didn’t stop stealing. She loved it, and one day she got a cutie mark for it. A lockpick. She always wore saddlebags to hide her cutie mark from the public and claimed to be a blank flank. Honestly, a pretty smart choice on her part.

        “Hey there, Sly. Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve!” I seemed to have surprised her because she jumped as soon as I grabbed her.

“Oh hi Miss Sweetie Belle! Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve!” She exclaimed, jumping onto me and giving me a hug.

        “Now, Sly, what did I tell you about calling me Miss? I’m not THAT old. I’m only 18!” I said giggling at her.

        “You’re old! Hehe. I’m fifteen! You’re like a hundred years older than me. That means you’re old!”

        I thought of a way to mess with her, so I said,

        “Okay youngun’ you better brush your teeth and clean your room or else!”

        “Nooo! Not the room!” She faux cried.

        I played around for a few minutes before I decided it was time for me to leave.

        “Okay Sly, I have to go for now. Have a nice Hearth’s Warming Eve! Tell me all about it when you see me again!”

        “Okay Sweetie Belle!”

        As I walked away, she called out.

        “Sweetie Belle, you forgot something!” I turned to look, and sure enough she had my hat and scarf. I hadn’t

noticed they were gone at all.

        “Sly, you have GOT to stop stealing. It’s wrong.” I said as I took my things back.

        “Aww, but… It’s fun!”

        “No, Sly. You can’t take things from others.” I thought about the incredible amount of irony in my words.

        “Oh, I’ll try, but my cutie mark won’t have a meaning anymore!” She protested

        “It will! Maybe one day you can be a locksmith or something!”

        “Aww, but that’s boring!”

        “Maybe it is boring, but it’s the right thing to do.”

Sly huffed, but nodded. “Fine.”

        “That’s a good girl. See you around Sly,” I said as I left.

        The night grew old, as I headed back home after a delicious hayburger and fries dinner at a local diner. Just as I walked in the door, the clock struck eleven. It’d probably be best for me if I fell asleep, so I decided to do just that. The stairs creaked underneath my hooves as I dashed up them into my room.

        I need to write Rarity a note or a letter or something saying that I’ll be gone for a while. She should be back later tonight or early tomorrow, and I don’t want to be here to hear her lecture. I think it’d be best if I went back to my apartment and left the note somewhere she can see it. Turning on the light, I jumbled around my things to find a paper, quill and ink. I ended up flipping over half the room to find a quill, but I found it eventually. I sat at my desk and wrote.

Dear Rarity,

If you’re reading this, that means that I’m gone. I’m long gone, so don’t bother to try and find me. I promise to write you letters on my journey because I don’t know when I’ll be back. I might be gone for a month or a year. maybe a few years. I just don’t know. What I do know is that I need to make this journey because I feel like it’s the right thing to do.

By what I know is that I’ll be all over the world. Remember how we planned to visit Prance this summer? I’ll probably be going there along with Germaneigh and the Griffin Kingdoms. I might even be able to visit Camelu or the Deer Kingdoms in Cervidas. Anyway, I’m straying from the point. My point is that I love you, Rares and I’ll miss you.

Your Dearest Sister,

Sweetie Belle

As I finished the letter, my nose began to bleed, and a drop or two got on the paper, staining the bottom corner in my blood. I decided to ignore it, and pin it onto the fridge. After that, I grabbed my few belongings and the decoy and headed back to my apartment.

        My bed in the apartment isn’t nearly as comfortable as the one at the boutique, but it’ll have to do.

        “Okay,” I thought aloud to myself. “That creepy guy said something about me being able to run around and create dreamscapes from my memory. I guess I just have to think really hard, and it’ll happen.” I turned out the light and closed my eyes. “I hope this works.”

        “What?!” I’m in an infinitely white room. No wall or floor to be seen, just floating in white.

        “Welcome to the Dream Realm Sweetie Belle. This is YOUR realm. You can do anything you like here.”

        I no longer get startled by Death’s sudden appearance. I just sighed and shot back.

        “Just tell me how this works. I tried thinking of the inside of the mansion right before I went to sleep. Why didn’t it work?” He chuckled and shook his head.

        “Oh Sweetie Belle, just think about this. You think of something and try to fall asleep, but you don’t get that thought when you actually are asleep. Why is that?’

        “Uh I don’t know. Why?”

        “Hello! My name is Death, and I will be your dream professor for tonight.” He yelled melodramatically, which was creepy enough. The second time he did it was in Rarity’s voice. My body suddenly felt cold, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

        A massive chalkboard appeared out of absolutely nowhere, and Death held an excessively large piece of chalk in his magical grasp.

        “First lesson! The question is, what happens to thoughts you think right before bed?”

        “What happens?” I asked dully. I feel like I’m back in a crappy high school course.

        “Good question Sweetie Belle!” He exclaimed. “I can answer that. Half-baked thoughts that are lost are sent into dream limbo. What ponies usually think of limbo is a comatose sleep session. That’s completely wrong, Right now, where you stand now is your own dream limbo. It’s so infinitely large, that it makes it difficult to find those dead thoughts in your own dreams.”

        “Now, the dream plane is extremely dangerous in every way possible. The more complex the dream, the more of a chance of you being lost in it, and being trapped in limbo. Your body continues normal function when you wake up, but you aren’t you anymore. I remember this one stallion who had built a city in his dreamscape in order to find ways to heist a bank, and yes, this is one of your ancestors Sweetie. He was lost in the city forever, eventually went mad and believed that his dream was reality.”

        We walked up to me and looked me in the eye.

        “You must never ever build more than your brain can handle. Another thing. If you die in your dream, your body will also think it’s dead and shut itself down. There is only one way to exit the dream. There are two ‘portals’ in your dream. One exit and one entrance. Depending on the size of your dreamscape, it may be very visible or extremely remote.”

        “Okay, so what? You expect me to remember all of this?” I asked.

        “Well, if you don’t want to be stuck in limbo forever, yes. I do expect you to remember this. First assignment in the dreamscape. I want you to imagine up a room. A small room with no windows, but with two doors.”

        “Okay. I think I can handle that.” I said, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, there was a door inches away from my face.

        “You can enter now Sweetie Belle.”

        I entered the door, with a twist of a knob. I shut the door, but realized there was no door there.

        “See. You made an entrance, and also an exit. You can’t leave through the entrance, but you definitely can exit using the other door.” he explained, tapping the wall.

        “What happens if there aren’t any exits?”

“Well, welcome to limbo then.”

“Oh.”

“Stop moping around, and maybe I’ll help you design that mansion

“... Fine”

Chapter VIII

        It’s time to finally get that Dial. It’s almost seven o’ clock and the sun has already set. I have the entire evening planned out. I know what’s going to happen before I enact my plan. I have my bag set behind the mansion’s gardens for when I grab the Dial and run. I just need to replicate exactly what I saw in the dream and execute it. Okay, what was the very first thing I needed to do? Oh right. Knock on the door. I hit the door three times in quick succession just like I had planned in the dream. The door opened and on the other side was Featherweight. He wore a nice suit and tie, cologne rolling over my senses.

        “Hi there, Sweetie Belle! You are gorgeous today! Come on in!” he motioned for me to enter. I walked in as he held the door open. The decoy Dial was sitting in my saddlebag. He shut the door and invited me into the living room.

        “How have you been since yesterday, Sweetie?” he asked as he motioned to the couch.

I sat down and answered him with, “Oh, I’ve been just splendid. How have you been? You’re looking really handsome tonight.”

        “Oh, stop it. We all know that you’re the best looking in the room,” he laughed, looking into a nearby mirror. “Oh, and you too, Sweetie Belle.”

        We laughed and then he finally sat down on the couch opposite from me. His eyes dilated and he suddenly jumped up again.

“Can I get you anything to drink? Hard Cider? Wine?”

        He did a bit of a bow and was gone in an instant. I tried running off in my dream to get the Dial around this time, but it failed miserably. I have to wait until after dinner and… other stuff. Mere seconds later he was back with two tall glasses of ice water.

        “Here you go! A glass of water!” After I took the glass and took a sip I put it down on the glass table in front of us. He did the same and sat down as well.

“Oh! I almost forgot! Happy Hearth’s Warming Day, Sweetie Belle!”

“Oh wow, I had completely forgotten about that! Yeah, Happy Hearth’s Warming Day!”

“Did I show you the tree yesterday?”

“T-tree?” This wasn’t planned out in my dream.

“Yeah! We have a giant tree that my dad bought from the Griffin Kingdom forests! Come on! I’ll show you! I can’t believe I showed you the entire house and didn’t show you the tree. I’m a special kind of ignorant. Come on! Follow me!”

This wasn’t going to be good. Wait… maybe if I convinced him to show me later I could go on, take the dial, and get out. Simple! Yeah, good plan.

“Uh, Featherweight?” I asked, trying to make my voice as Fluttershy-esque as possible. “Do you think it’d be okay if we ate something first? I’m absolutely famished.” I widened my eyes and stuck out my bottom lip as far as it would go. “Please?”

“Oh of course! What was I thinking? Dinner it is,” he said as he did a one-eighty. “Come, I’ll show you to the dinner table. This way,” he said as he led me to yet another room. The dining room was spectacular to look at in the daytime, but now it looked much more beautiful. The various silver items on the wall reflected the light from the skylight around the room so that it looks like it’s been lit from angel dust.

“This room is beautiful, Featherweight.”

“Thank you! I helped design it myself!” He called to his butler, who happened to be the only staff on duty for the week.

“Go and make us two large salads will you?”

“Yes sir,” he replied as he trotted off into the kitchen.

“Hey, do you think that you could show me where the ladies’ room is? While they finish preparing dinner?” I asked him.

“Oh, yes of course. Just go down that hall and take a left.” He pointed with his hoof down a dimly lit hallway. Perfect. It’s the same hallway we took to get to the dial!”

“Okay, I’ll be back in just a minute.”

“Take your time!”

        The second that I realized I was out of sight, I ran for it. So close now.

        I pounced into the dial room and swung off my saddlebag. In my dream, Death had shown me weak spots in the glass cover of the pedestal, so if I broke it, the glass didn’t shatter, but instead just let the side fall off. I pulled my hammer and chisel and put it in the exact same spot where I had practiced in my dream.

        “Okay, on three, two, one!”

        I hit the chisel dead center, and a second later, one of the sides tipped over. I grabbed a rag from my bag and carefully picked up the dial and wrapped it up, sweating profusely all the while. Even slower than before, I put the decoy into its resting spot and glued the glass back on with an insta-seal glass glue that I had “borrowed” from Twilight.

        The few seconds I waited for the glue to harden were torture. My heart beat out of my chest, and my breaths drew short. I poked the glue and…

        “Yes! Time to go!”

        Without a moment’s hesitation, I threw everything back in my bag and went back to the table. Featherweight still sat by himself at the table, but there were silver platters laying on the table.

        “Welcome back! Dinner’s arrived!” He said as he motioned for me to sit down. The butterflies in my stomach raged as I took a seat. The hair on the back of my neck stood up with every word he said to me. Of course, I had no idea what he was saying, but I assumed that we should start eating, so when the butler lifted the silver dome, I dug in. I could hear him laugh, so I calmed down. He doesn’t know.

        “So what do you think of the food? I’m assuming that you’re enjoying it?”

        “Y-yeah! I am!” I spouted. He laughed again, but then the rest of dinner went in silence. Once we finished, I thanked him for the food and after many attempts to leave, he finally gave in.

        “Alright then. I’ll see you later, Sweetie Belle.” He said as he waved from his front door. I waved back, but then exited as fast as I possibly could.

        I finally got back to my apartment to get my other saddlebag and a backpack full of supplies. I didn’t plan to stay long, so I just took another quick shower to let all my stress wash down that drain. After that, I toweled down and took one last look at my apartment. I won’t see this place for a while. I took a minute just looking around, holding things that hold all my memories. Old records, an old scarf, a picture of Scootaloo, Applebloom and I all together in our treehouse. I won’t lie. I had to hold back tears on that one.

        What I meant to be maybe twenty minutes turned into an hour until I was done reminiscing. I took one final look around the place before I left. I shut the door and locked it.

        “Goodbye.”

        I walked down to the train tracks so I could easily get to wherever I needed to go next. I had no idea where that was yet, but my question would be solved pretty soon. I started walking by the side of the train tracks in whatever direction. I don’t know which, but I just kept walking. I had to do it. I heard something behind me, so I turned and… something was running right at me. It hit me hard, right in the side. I fell over and so did whatever hit me, but it got up as quickly as possible and kept running. I groaned and got up, but noticed that my saddlebag was open.

        I looked inside and… the dial was gone.

        “Theif!” I yelled, but cringed on the inside at my irony. I started running behind the pony, who was extremely quick. We ran for a good five minutes, and then the rails on the railroad started shaking. NO. The train was coming from behind us! Speak of the devil, it was there in less than a minute.

        I saw the thief jump onto one of the cars of the train, so I worked even harder to get up to that very car. When I did, I lobbed myself into it. I was extremely tired, but I couldn’t think about that. Not now. My friends are on the line here. Hidden in the shadows of the car sat a pony in a hood. I yelled at it. I don’t know what I yelled. I don’t even think they were words, but I yelled. I jumped forward and ripped the hood off.

        “S-Sly!?”

        “Hi Sweetie Belle! Why are you so mad?”

        “Mad? You STOLE AGAIN! And it was something VERY important to me. I need it back. I need it back NOW!”

        “Jeez, you’re no fun.” Sly pushed her mane out of her face, and pulled the wrapped artifact back to me. I sighed deeply and fell to my side.

        “Oh… This could’ve been really bad.”

        “Bad?”

        “It’s a long story that I’m not willing to tell right now. Speaking of stories, what in the heck do you think you’re doing riding this train?

        “I’m running away from home! I want to do something else with my life!” She yelled confidently.

        “Are you insane? YOU ARE STILL A FILLY!” I yelled back at her. She was clearly getting irritated.

        “WELL, SO. ARE. YOU.” She said. Her voice reverberated around the train car. There was another long silence filled with only the rattling of the train car and both of our heavy breaths.

After I had caught my breath, I just simply said, “I’m not running away. I’m not running.”

        “Well, then what are you doing?” Sly asked.

        “I don’t know, but I can’t just let you go off on your own. I mean, first of all, your reason for running away is complete crap. There is no reason for you to have run away, but I know that if I try to send you back home, you’ll just do it again and again until you get your way. I mean, foals do stupid things. I know that for a fact.”

        “Hey!”

        “No seriously, you’re going to have to stick with me for a while. I can’t let you wander Equestria alone like this. There are really bad ponies on this planet. I don’t know what I’d do if I found out something happened to you. I mean, I care about you, Sly. I really do.”

        “But that destroys the entire point of going and finding myself alone.” She argued.

        “Yeah. Finding yourself dead, maybe. Look, just stick with me for a bit, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt. When you’re a bit more mature, I’ll let you go off on your own.”

        “But I AM mature!” She said, looking me in the eye.

        “Hah, yeah right. You running away from home really shows that.”

        “Hey, you can’t say th-”

        “Sly, shut up already. It’s late, and it’s cold. I really don’t want to be doing this right now. If you want to share a blanket, shut up and get over here. If not, then freeze over there in that corner,” I threatened as I took out a slightly worn woolen blanket out of my backpack. To my liking, she shut her mouth and curled up next to me.

        “Good night, Sweetie Belle. Happy Hearth's Warming Eve.”

        “Good night. Happy Hearth's Warming Eve to you too.”

And so the train traveled on towards the Southern lands of the great Deer. These Deer were known to possess magic so powerful that they could see the future, the past and even stop time. Not many ponies venture to their land because they’re all honestly terrified of such beings, but I had to no matter what. What they also possess is the number plate of the compass. This is where I needed to go. This is where my journey truly begins.