Dreamscape

“Okay, so the first thing that we need to do is figure out what’s been causing all these strange appearing and disappearing acts.”

“Right,” Lucidity responded, already feeling better than she had when they’d first started this leg of their journey. “Let’s start with you. Are you sure that you have no idea how you got here?”

Lucidity shook her head in response. “Nope, not a clue. It was just suddenly—poof! Subconsciousness to consciousness, just like that. It’s a pretty strange feeling actually.”

“That reminds me, how do you know that you’re my subconscious? I mean, I didn’t know, and I thought that you couldn’t know anything I wasn’t already aware of.”

“I dunno. I just sort of knew, you know? Maybe taking residence in a more physical form gave me some sort of innate, instinctual knowledge of what I was. Or maybe you subconsciously suspected I was your subconscious and I picked up on that. In any case, I have no idea how I got here and know next to nothing about the Dreamscape, so…”

“You’re right. This isn’t getting us any closer to finding a way out of here.” Lucidity let out a deep sigh, wondering which options were left to them at this point. “If only there was a way to test out some spells,” she lamented. “But there’s nothing in here to levitate and any sort of flare would only draw Luna’s attention.”

“What about me?”

“Huh?”

“You could try to lift me,” Lucidity clarified.

“No, you’re too heavy for me to lift. I’d need something much smaller to practice with.”

“Wasn’t that the whole reason behind you taking those magic-strengthening courses in college?”

“Those were focused in magic theory, remember? Not real-world application. Miss Postulate even told the class multiple times that a lot of what we were learning wouldn’t be feasible in the real world. A large portion of what we learned in our last year was impossible to test empirically and had never been proved.”

“Well, considering that we’re not exactly in the real world right now…”

Lucidity stopped abruptly and turned to face her double. “Wait. What did you just say?”

“That we’re not technically in the real world right now?”

“Yes, exactly! We’re not in the real world, we’re in the Dreamscape. That means that right now, we’re—well, I’m—dreaming. And you know the only way out of a dream, don’t you?”

“Um, Lucidity. I don’t think that’s such a great idea...”

“Oh, hush. You’re my subconscious, not my conscience. And besides, what’s the worst that could happ—?”

Lucidity quickly jammed a hoof into her conscious self’s mouth. “Are you crazy?” she hissed. “Do you have any idea what saying something like that would probably do to us in here? And as far as worst-case scenarios go, how do both of our deaths sound? Or even worse, an eternity trapped in Dream Limbo.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean, is that dying in here will only make things a lot, lot worse.”

“And just how exactly do you know all that?”

“I just feel it somehow. But trust me, it’s not a route we should take except as a last resort.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re probably right. Do you have any better ideas?”

“Nope, I can only think of things you would already be able to come up with, remember?”

“It sure doesn’t seem that way.”

“Well, I’m more attuned to your thoughts and memories than you are. Those kinds of things just stick around in my head for a lot longer, that’s all. Especially the things that you’ve already forgotten about.”

“How convenient,” Lucidity remarked dryly.

“Sooo?”

“What?” Lucidity asked, unsure as to what her companion was driving at.

The grey mare stood fully upright in response, wobbling on her two hind legs as she quickly gestured at the entire length of her body before her off-balance posture caused her to collapse back down onto all fours.

“Alright, alright. I guess I could try to lift you with the help of some aural cross-bracing. Now lie down.”

Her subconscious quickly complied, eager to begin. “Sure thing, Lucy. Anything to get off of these sore hooves for a little while,” she joked.

Lucidity screwed her eyes shut in concentration, straining to form a mental construct of the structure she needed to build in order to lift her doppelgänger into the air. She tried to fit her light-blue aura around the model, shakily at first, but more confidently and assuredly as she continued adding more and more magic to her design.

Eventually satisfied with her hornwork, Lucidity reopened her eyes and was dismayed to find a dismal scene awaiting her. What she had thought had been a well-constructed lifter had turned out to be nothing more than an azure mishmash of aura, looking more like a tangled knot than anything else.

Her subconscious studied the creation with a mock-critical eye as Lucidity let it dissipate back into the Dreamscape. “Well, that wasn’t too bad anyway, for a first try,” she said at length. “But seriously though, don’t let that attempt get you down. With some more practice, I’m sure you’ll pick up this theory stuff in no time.”

“Not likely; this is some pretty advanced magic. Besides, don’t you remember the grades we got in some of those courses?”

“And do you remember what I said about this not being the real world?”

“What are you getting at?” Lucidity asked cuttingly, trying to get to the point.

“Well, for example, in the real world, I doubt that anypony could separate somepony else from their subconscious, much less managing to do so without causing irreversible harm to either party. The physics of the Dreamscape probably operate much differently from those in your world.”

“And just how do you know all that again?” Lucidity asked, one eyebrow raised.

“I don’t; I’m just guessing. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

“It also doesn’t mean you’re right.”

“Well, aren’t you being a glass-half-empty sort of pony today,” Lucidity said in an overly exaggerated, accusative tone.

“Nope, just realistic.”

“Well, in any case, I bet all that magic theory stuff is a ton easier to do in here—while you’re dreaming. I think it’d be worth it to at least try out some of what you learned in school and start practicing it until you get your skills honed. Besides, if we want to be able to fight back against Luna when she launches her next surprise attack, we’ll have to do better than bright lights and loud noises. What we need are good, strong, defensive spells, and I think I know the perfect one to start with.”