Doctor Whooves and Derpy are walking along a dirt path. A heavy forest borders both sides of the path. Derpy is walking ahead of her companion, apparently watching both sides of the forest at the same time. She is keeping a brisk pace, and Doc is trying to keep up with her.
Doc speaks up, slightly out-of-breath. “Look… Miss Derpy… where exactly are we going?”
Derpy turns around and raises a hoof to her mouth. “Shh, Doctor please. I’m in the zone.” She turns back around and continues forward. “Call me…the Daring Derp.”
Doc stands still for a moment, looking at her with a look of disbelief on his face. “O… kay….” He breaks out of his daze and quickly catches up with her. “… But what are we doing out here? Do you even know where we are?”
Derpy turns her head to look at him, but continues to walk forward. “Well, were traveling, right? That’s kinda what we have been doing.”
Doc slowly rolls his eyes from one side to the other as he thinks. “Well… yes, but we have always had a destination in mind. We’re just-“
Derpy does a little hop of excitement. “We do have a destination! Legends tell of an ancient castle that lies in the middle of a giant ravine that holds an item of great power. So, that’s where we’re going!”
Doc is becoming flustered and starts to stumble over his own words. “B- But why? W- What do we even know about this castle, or- or this item? It probably doesn’t even exist! The whole idea is just-“
The forest is now behind them and in front lies an amazing sight. A sheer cliff drops into a large canyon that appears to be about a mile across. Near the center of this canyon lays a large pillar of stone, on top of which is an impressive, ancient-looking castle. Its multiple towers and spires seem to rake the sky. The castle’s gate is reachable by a skinny, winding pathway; an inexplicable wall of stone that makes it seem that the canyon was actually dug out around it. From this distance, there does not appear to be any signs of life coming from the ancient battlements.
Doc and Derpy are just standing at the edge of the cliff, staring in amazement at the sight. Doc suddenly finds his voice. “Actually, I’ll admit, that… that’s quite impressive.”
Derpy turns to look at him. She has a huge smile spread across her face. “See? I told you it was here. Come on!” She starts to head down the pathway towards the castle.
Doc tries to stop her by putting a hoof on her back. “Now hold on Derpy, something isn’t right here. Something about this whole situation just seems off. You seem so intent on finding this item, but you don’t even know what it is! If you ask me, this just reeks of a MacGuffin-“
Derpy suddenly turns around, startling Doc with a face with huge eyes and a smile that was wider then he had ever seen before. “DID YOU JUST SAY A GA-MUFFIN,” she shouts with glee. She quickly takes to the air with a flap of her wings. She holds her forelegs over her head as she looks towards the sky. “IT SHALL BE MINE!” Her voice deepens on the last word, and she zooms off towards the castle faster than Doc had ever seen her fly.
Doc just stands there with his mouth open but contorted into one of horror. “Oh dear,” he says, watching Derpy fly straight towards the castle. He closes his mouth and shakes his head. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. I mean really, what could harm her in an ancient castle….” His head starts to drop and his eyes scan back and forth. “… Where an artifact of great power….” His head quickly snapped back up. “… Oh dear...” He quickly starts running down the path. “Derpy!”
He doesn’t get very far before he stops dead in his tracks, his mouth completely agape. Derpy had just dived straight through the reinforced wooden gate that led into the castle, completely splintering it. Though he is still quite far from the castle, he can hear noises that seem to be coming inside, as clear as if was right next to him: Splintering wood, clanging metal, crumbling stone, rattling chains, and squealing pigs for some reason. He wants to run and help; he wants to make sure Derpy is safe, but he can’t. His legs aren’t moving, no matter how hard he tries, as if something was holding him still. He just stands there, watching and listening, as stones start to fall from the castle’s walls. The castle is starting to fall apart, made clear as a tower separates from the castle and falls into the ravine. Doc tries to scream out to Derpy, but no noise comes out. He stands, immobilized, until he sees something shoot into the sky from the castle. He strains to move his head to get a better look. It’s Derpy and she’s holding a muffin of unusual size. She’s quickly flies towards Doc, laughing gaily the whole time.
Doc sits down on his haunches slacked-jawed, staring at Derpy and the giant muffin she had procured from the now collapsing castle in the distance. “I must be dreaming.” He sits still for a moment before suddenly furrowing his brow. He cocks his head to the side. “Hold on….” As he thought, his eyes slowly widen. He quickly stands up straight and smiles. “… That’s it, isn’t it? I really am dreaming!” He chuckles as he looks around at his surroundings in a new light. “Fascinating.”
A new thought enters his head, changing his expression to one of curiosity. “Now wait a minute….” The right side of his face scrunches up, causing his eye to close and his mouth to form an unusual smirk. It reverts to normal before he continues to speak. “… Right! Sure-fire way to check if you’re dreaming is to test your pain responders.” He looks down at his front hooves. He moves them up and down a few times - first the right, then the left - all the while maintaining a quizzical smirk and a furrowed brow. At last a solution comes to him, though he doesn’t seem particular pleased with it. “I really hope I am dreaming,” he says hesitantly as he raises his right hoof so that it was a fair distance away from his face. He swings his hoof back towards himself, and as soon as it makes contact with his head, he vanishes without a trace.
*Doctor Whooves awakes*
Derpy is oblivious to the sudden disappearance of her companion. She remains content and completely unharmed, lying atop the giant muffin, slowly nibbling at it. Her eyes are closed and she has a big smile on her face. The castle has completely crumbled into the ravine below; there was nothing left of the grand structure that once held that widely sought-after GaMuffin.
*Derpy awakes*
The Imperial Army paraded down the streets. Their black, chitinous armor and stubby horned helmets gave them a bug-like appearance. It’s like they’re not even trying to hide how tyrannically evil they are. Here to collect tribute for the Queen, no doubt.
Spike stood on the roof of a building a few blocks away from the marching army. He was sure they couldn’t see him; not that they should even care. He hasn’t caused them any trouble; just the local government. Bunch of cowards. We have our own military force, but we don’t even try to put a fight. Sure, they have superior numbers, but they act like drones. I doubt they even have free will; I wouldn’t put it past the Queen to have brainwashed her entire army.
He knew there was nothing he could do to stop them, but he believed in a bright future. One day the Empire would fall, and he would be on the front lines when it happened. He could have joined the military, like his friend Harwell, but then he would have be taking orders from the same people who just let the Empire march right over them. Harwell’s probably at attention with the Imperial Army around. I should try and find him. He opened up a hatch in the roof and dropped down inside.
He always could find Harwell wherever he was. He wasn’t sure why; he just sort of knew. Right now he was standing on the side of the main street near an alleyway. The Imperial Army was gone – some were patrolling the city while the others stood by as the Imperial Ambassador convened with the city officials – but the city’s military remained at attention, afraid to leave their posts.
Spike snuck up behind Harwell. “Hey Harwell,” he said casually. Harwell shuddered before quickly turning around, his spear at the ready. As soon as he saw Spike, he relaxed his stance.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Harwell whispered loudly, “I could have hurt you!”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Ah yes, the ever-vigilant soldier.” He did nothing to hide his sarcasm. “What would you have done if I had been one of those Imperial goons?”
Harwell opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it. He sighed. “I knew you weren’t. One: I recognize your voice, and two: no Imperial would call me by name, even if they did know it.”
Spike gave him a smirk. “You always were sharp. I still can’t believe you joined the military; you’re not that great with a weapon, you would rather be reading your books, and to top it all off,” he said as his smirk grew wider,” your favorite color is purple. I bet all of the other soldiers get on your case for that.”
Spike could see Harwell’s annoyed face through his helmet. “First off, there is nothing wrong with a man liking purple. The color used to represent royalty-“
“Which fits you so well,” Spike interjected with his regular sarcasm.
Harwell ignored his comment and continued. “Secondly, I joined the military because tactical history happens to be a particular topic of interest for me, and this is the only place where that kind of information could be useful.”
Now Spike was starting to get annoyed. “Not if you’re just letting the enemies walk through the city like they own the place.”
“Technically, they do own the place,” Harwell replied matter-of-factly.
Spike leaned against the alley wall and shifted his eyes away from Harwell. “Only because those doormats we call ‘city officials’ don’t mind being stepped on.”
Harwell sighed. He just didn’t understand why Spike insisted on fighting all the time. “What would you have them do? Going against the Empire would put the entire city at risk.”
Spike looked like he had more to say, but he had enough of this pointless chatter. “Whatever, I’m going back to the hideout.”
Harwell shook his head at another of Spike’s quirks. “Why do you insist on calling it that? It’s just our house.”
Spike had already turned his back towards Harwell. “It’s where I go when I don’t want to be found; to me, that’s a hideout.” He raised his hand and signaled back to him, “See ya later,” and with that, he disappeared back into the alleyways.
As Spike traversed the alleyways, he began to hear a pair of female voices coming from around a nearby corner. He stopped and pressed himself against the wall. They’re not Imperials; they don’t have that distinct droning voice. Still, better play this safe. He took a quick peek around the corner. What he saw were two females, one taller than the other, standing across from each other. The taller female had dark tan and sported her long blonde hair in a ponytail. The shorter female had fair, almost radiant skin that contrasted greatly with her dark, curly hair. Both of them were wearing white robes with light gold trim, emblazoned with a symbol resembling the sun. Spike knew he had seen that symbol on their robes before, but he was having trouble placing where.
“Priestess, please, we really shouldn’t be out here. Imperial soldiers are about,” said the tan female, “It’s not safe for you out here.”
“Kala, you have been my guardian for several years now, the least you could do is call me by name,” responded the smaller female. She looked about with energy, as if she were quite interested in her surroundings.
“Pries… Ari,” Kala quickly corrected herself, “I know this is your first time to the city, but we did not expect the Imperial Army to show up while we were here. You and the elders should remain hidden until they leave.”
“The elders are safe in this city’s temple, and I have you to protect me. Please, I just want to see more of the city,” Ari argued.
Kala persisted in changing her companion’s mind. “I may be able to protect you from a few soldiers, but once they know we are here, they will not rest until they have captured us. The Queen would do anything to stop the Cult of Tiela.”
Those words struck Spike like a hand to his forehead. Of course! The Cult of Tiela! They’re the ones that prophesize the downfall of the Empire. That would explain why they are so worried about Imperial soldiers. Well, any enemy of the Empire is a friend of mine. He casually stepped around the corner, calling out and waving to the two. “Hello ladies. I couldn’t help but overhear that you two are from the Cult of Tiela.”
Kala quickly moved to position herself between Spike and Ari. She addressed Spike with a commanding voice. “Who are you and how long have been spying on us?”
“Calm down, I mean you no harm,” Spike said with that level of sincerity you learn when you often have to talk yourself out of a sticky situation. “I wouldn’t say I was spying as you; just playing it safe. You can’t be too careful with those Imperials about.”
Ari moved up to stand next to Kala. “You see, he just as unhappy about the Imperials being here as we are. He must be a local.” She looked him over. “Not a bad looking one at that.”
Kala quickly turned to Ari. “Priestess! Really, now is not the time!” She turned back to look at Spike. “He’s just a boy; scrawny, probably no good in combat,” she scoffed.
Spike merely smirked back. “I can hold my own. There’s more to combat then brute strength.”
Kala furrowed her brow. “Don’t talk to me about fighting, boy. I was raised as a warrior. I could take on five Imperial soldiers at one time, probably more!”
Spike raised his hand into the air. “Hold on! I didn’t come to start a fight. We’re on the same side, after all. I’ve heard the prophesies spoken by your order, and I can only hope they are true.”
Ari took another step forward. “Of course they are true! ‘The Chosen One will lead her heroes against the Empire and cause it to crumble all around them.’” She turned to look at Kala, motioning her to calm down. “Kala here is just performing her duty as a guardian; keeping me safe from any threats.”
Spike gave a light bow. “I understand, but I assure you I’m no threat....” He raised his head and stared kindly at Ari. “… Certainly not to a pretty woman such as yourself.” Color came to Ari’s cheeks, but Spike could feel Kala’s stare boring into him. He raised himself up and gave a small cough. “I want to help keep you safe. I take it neither of you are very familiar to the city, but I happen to know these alleyways very well. I can make sure the Imperial soldiers don’t even know you’re here.”
Ari seemed very pleased; she clasped her hands together and gave a big smile to Spike, but Kala seemed preoccupied, looking towards the sky. “Did you here that Kala,” she said with excitement. “I can finally see that city!”
Kala suddenly looked at Ari with a serious look on her face. “No time, the elders have just contacted me. We need to get back to the temple immediately. Something is wrong….” She quickly turned to Spike. “Alright, you can help. Can you get us to the north end without being seen?”
Spike stuck a thumb up at them and gave a quick wink to Ari. “No problem! Just stay right behind me and keep up!” He quickly headed down a nearby alleyway, and the two women followed right after him.
“Well, there’s no way we’re going through the front door,” Kala pointed out the obvious. They were hiding on a roof several buildings over from where the elders were hiding, which was currently surrounded by Imperial soldiers. She turned back to look at the other two. “The elders are fine for now. Their chamber hasn’t been found yet.”
Spike looked at Kala quizzically before turning back to Ari. “Explain to me how that works again?”
“All guardians of the cult have a psychic link with the elders and their chosen ward. This way the elders can communicate with them and they are aware when anyone in their care is in danger.” Ari’s sweet smile showed little concern about the current situation.
Spike sat in silence for a bit while he let this information sink in. Then he turned to address Kala. “Do these elders know if there is a secret entrance in to this temple through the back?”
“There is a back entrance,” Kala declared after a brief moment, “but the entire perimeter is being patrolled.”
“Well, as I see it,” Spike began to say as he stood up, “they already know the cult is here. They’re not about to give up anytime soon,” he pointed at Kala, “you said so yourself. At this point, getting into the temple undetected seems unlikely, so I propose we work our way towards this back entrance, take out any Imperials that may nearby. As long as none of them see any of the secret doors we use, their reinforcements won’t be able to follow us, right?”
Kala gave a heavy sigh as she stood up. “Looks like we don’t have any other choice.” Then Spike saw something he didn’t think he would ever see: Kala smirked. “Let’s get to it then.”
They made their way across rooftops and down alleyways; taking the long way around to the back of the temple. They eventually reached a vantage point where they could see three Imperial soldiers patrolling the back wall. Spike did a preliminary scan of the wall. “You sure there is a secret entrance here? I don’t see anything.”
Kala gave him a condescending look. “If you could see it, it wouldn’t be much of a secret, now would it?”
Spike gave her a look from the side. “I’m usually fairly good at spotting secret doors, but I’ll take your word for it.” He turned his towards the soldiers. “Only three of them. Shouldn’t be problem for you,” he said, turning back towards Kala, “should it?”
Kala had somehow produced a large, metal mallet that she was now carrying in her left hand with little effort. I’m not even going to ask where she was hiding that, Spike thought as she approached the edge of the building. “Not a problem, you just make sure the priestess gets down safely,” said Kala, shortly before jumping down to the ground below.
Spike turned around to face Ari, who had been standing by quietly awaiting their instructions. “Sorry about this Ari,” he said as he approached her, “but we’re going the same way she did.”
“What are you –“Ari started to say before Spike grabbed and lifted her into his arms.
“Hold on!” Spike shouted as he ran towards the edge of building and jumped off. Ari let out a little squeak as they fell for a moment, but Spike managed to land on his feet and remain upright. Ari was holding on tight – which he certainly didn’t mind – but he was reminded there was more important business to attend to when one of the Imperial soldiers crashed into the wall nearby with a satisfying crunch. Spike convinced Ari to let go and told her to get to the entrance before he saw how Kala was doing.
The two remaining Imperials had Kala flanked; they both brandished their swords as they closed in on her. She showed little concern for the situation, however, as she swung her hammer at the enemy in front of her. It made contact with the soldier’s head, causing him to shift slightly to the right as he crumpled to the ground. She maintained her momentum from the swing to turn around and face the final soldier. He appeared unfazed from seeing his companions fall and he lunged at Kala with his sword. Kala didn’t miss a beat, deftly side-stepping the attack and landing her weapon square on his back. The soldier hit the ground hard, refusing to move after receiving such a strong blow.
Spike just stood there, his mouth hanging open. Note to self: Do NOT get on her bad side. Kala quickly approached him. “Well, don’t just stand there. We need to get inside before more of them show up!” Spike turned around as she passed him. Ari was standing near a doorway that he hadn’t seen before. She was waving them in, “Come on! Hurry!” Spike quickly followed behind Kala, and Ari entered after them, closing the door behind them.
There they were; the elders of the Cult of Teila. The three of them wore robes just like the two women, but their hoods were up, obscuring their faces. The room they stood in was round, with torches attached to columns that made a circle in the middle. Their heads were bowed, but they rose when Spike, Ari, and Kala entered the perimeter of the columns. When they spoke, the do so one at a time, the next taking up where the last had left off. They all sounded the same to Spike; a steady, deep but harmonious female voice. “Finally, you have come.” “The prophesy begins.” “You all have a part to play.” “Even you…” They all pointed a robe-covered arm at Spike.
“Me?” Spike was taken back. “I want the prophesy to come true; I want to be there when the Empire falls, but I can’t fight an army.”
“Not every hero fights with a weapon.” “You have power deep inside you.” “You are the foretold hero.” “The one that is to travel with Chosen One.” “To bring an end to the Empire’s reign.” “Spike…” The eyes of the elders lit up like bright stars in the night sky. “… You are a dragon.”
As the elders spoke those final words, Spike’s mind was barraged with images; images of Chrysalis and the changelings, of Twilight, of Applejack and Rarity, even of Princess Celestia. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. As the world around him began to fade, he heard himself utter three words in his voice; his real voice…
“Yes I am.”
*Spike awakes*
The landscape was desolate; dirt and rocks as far the eye could see. There were a few scattered trees, but they were void of any leaves; clearly long dead. The only signs of life were a few old structures – a farmhouse, a silo, and a windmill. The sky was dark and grey, and the world was silent. A dense fog obscured everything around a set distance from the farmhouse.
Suddenly, there was a speck of color against the dull, monochromatic landscape. Pinkie Pie walked out of the farmhouse. She stopped just outside the door to look around. She gave a faint sigh before moving on. As she walked across the barren land, she kept looking around as the world around her began to change. The trees sprang back to life, growing leaves and blooming flowers instantly. The ground beneath her hooves turned green as grass grew and spread out from her steps. As she looked toward the bleak sky, a brief rainbow adorned the clouds, and the pink mare smiled at the beautiful creation.
Pinkie began to hop around as the landscape continued to come to life. Piles of rocks began to flash multiple colors before exploding into confetti or rising into the sky as balloons. Some of the trees began to bear cupcakes and bottles of sarsaparilla as “fruit”. The farmhouse changed color and form until it looked like it was made of gingerbread and another rainbow graced the skies above the transformed structure.
Despite all the change, the dense fog on the edge of the scene remained, and only thing left untouched was the silo. Pinkie bounded up to the dull and decrepit tower and knocked on the door with a big smile. When she didn’t get a response, she opened the door and stretched her forelegs inside. As they retracted, Pinkie embraced another mare that appeared to be her twin. She bore Pinkie’s cutie mark on her flank, but her pink coat was dull like the silo, and her mane and tail were completely flat and lifeless. Her face featured a prominent frown as she gazed somberly back at the silo.
Pinkie Pie led her dour counterpart over to a couple of chairs set up facing a screen. Pinkie pulled a projector out of thin air and placed it on the table behind the chairs as her dull twin pawed at the ground, tearing the grass up. Pinkie brought her forehooves up to her head, which she tapped a couple of times before pulling a film reel out of one of her ears. After threading the film, she jumped into her chair and beckoned her other half to sit in the adjacent chair. The straight-maned Pinkamena – who had produced a small pile of rocks from the ground – rolled her eyes as she slowly slunk into the chair.
The light that suffused the landscape dimmed as the projector started up. The screen flickered to life with images of Ponyville and Pinkie’s friends as the events of a previous day played out in front of the two mares. Pinkie pointed out the smiling faces of her friends and the fun they had together to her companion – all the while enjoying a bag of popcorn she had pulled from hammer-space. Pinkamena looked on – taking in the scenes and commentary – but appeared unmoved compared to her energetic doppelganger. She only sighed and begrudgingly sat through the show.
Princess Luna viewed the dreamscape from a window hidden in the sky. She had seen these events played out before; every time they ended the same way. She really believes she can change a part of who she is, Luna thought. How many more times will she try? Luna couldn’t help but smile as she answered her own question. Until she succeeds. She saw the film flicker to an end and the light returned to sky. I wish you the best of luck, my little lucid dreamer. She was about to leave before she spotted a lone pink cloud floating nearby. Luna used her magic to disperse the cloud completely, but not before it released a single drop of chocolate milk that fell to the ground unnoticed. Luna hummed inquisitively before closing the window, causing it to vanish from the dreamscape.
The screen, chairs, table, and projector had disappeared. Pinkie had taken the film reel and slid it back into her head with ease. Pinkamena was trudging back to the silo, but Pinkie bounded up to her and hugged her one last time before she reached the door. Pinkie whispered something into her ear, and for a brief moment, Pinkamena’s face changed. It wasn’t a smile, but it wasn’t a frown either.
Pinkie released her, and Pinkamena walked through the door into the dull and lonely silo. Pinkie slowly turned around and walked back to the farmhouse as the silo door closed. As she entered the house, the landscape began to change back. The gloom spread out from the silo and the bright colors receded to the house. The balloons and confetti faded, the fruits from the trees fell and sunk into the ground, and the rocks returned as the grass withered away. The last thing to change was the farmhouse; the gingerbread structure turned back into a dilapidated wooden house that lacked any paint.
The landscape was once again desolate and grey, with one small exception: A small rainbow graced the sky, right above the silo.
*Pinkie Pie awakes*
Author's Note
I've been wanting to get this scene done for sometime, as it was the first one I came up with when I started this dream story concept. It was originally going to be a dialogue between Luna and Pinkie with more explanation as to what Pinkie was doing, but I began to feel that it was going to be boring; too much "tell" and not enough "show". I'm glad I removed the dialogue all together; the story is about Pinkie, not Luna, and I feel this approach allows for a wider interpretation. Dreams are what you take from them; they change as your view differs.
