Author's Note
This story is (hopefully) the beginning of something longer, as well as an experiment. This first chapter was written to receive both feedback and criticism about my writing to better myself. I urge you all to lend a helping hand in improving my writing.
I Dream...
Rarity stood wide eyed in the doorway to her kitchen.
Sweetie Belle had prepared a full meal for the two of them, garnish and all. Eggs were sprawled across platters, dotted with a bit of parsley on each. Pieces of perfectly made toast sat beside it, cooked to a crisp, golden brown. Glasses adorned the table, one on either side, and as Sweetie Belle finished pouring the orange juice, the room fell silent.
And that silence was quickly broken by an exuberant cry. "Sweetie Belle! This... this is incredible!"
She was about to take a deeper look at the meal laid out before her, when she heard something loud and particularly annoying...
Rarity was awoken by the sound of her alarm. It took her a second to come to her senses before she turned it off. The room before her was dim, the only light source being a window whose shades had been pulled up slightly. The faint sound of birds broke any silence that could have been. Shadows danced on the walls of her room, taking the shape of objects that happened to pass by. Rarity simply laid there, drinking in the exquisite scene before her.
And then she remembered her dream. Sweetie Belle, actually cooking something? How outrageous. The foal couldn't even do orange juice correctly. The last time she tried, she somehow managed to BURN it. Which, by all means, was an impressive feat on its own, but not particularly in the same way.
She sat in bed for another 5 minutes, lost in her own thoughts. Unfortunately, her train of thought crashed very violently upon hearing the booming sound of a door slamming open.
"Good morning Rarity!" Squealed a high, squeaky voice.
She nearly jumped.
The door had been hastily opened by none other than Sweetie Belle. She stood in the doorway, positively ecstatic. Rarity wondered what kind of thing her sister could have done to make her so excited.
"Come downstairs! I made breakfast!" Sweetie Belle dashed out of the bedroom.
'Breakfast.' That was all Rarity needed to hear. She darted out of bed and made a beeline for the kitchen. Her sister was horrible at cooking! Her mind raced with the possibilities. What had she done this time? Had she caused another fire in the oven? Maybe she'd burnt the orange juice again! Or maybe...
Rarity stood wide eyed in the doorway to her kitchen.
Sweetie Belle had prepared a full meal for the two of them, garnish and all. Eggs were sprawled across platters, dotted with a bit of parsley on each. Pieces of perfectly made toast sat beside it, cooked to a crisp, golden brown. Glasses adorned the table, one on either side, and as Sweetie Belle finished pouring the juice, the room fell silent.
And that silence was quickly broken by an exuberant cry. "Sweetie Belle! This... this is incredible!"
She was about to get a closer look at the meal laid out before her, when she froze in place with unrelenting anxiousness. A feeling of Déjà vu washed over her like a tsunami. Was she remembering this correctly? Had her dream, ending just a few minutes ago, really been so similar to this?
Rarity closely examined the room around her. The eggs, the toast, the garnish, all in the same place. Sweetie Belle pouring orange juice just as she entered the kitchen. The silence that permeated the room just after that. It was all, completely, indistinguishably identical.
But she couldn't believe it! Such a thing was impossible, right? She convinced herself that it was all just a coincidence. It was just that, yes, an anomaly.
She didn't believe a single word she was thinking.
But, she forced herself to let go of the thought anyways. There was no point to standing around, gaping at the mind-boggling circumstance laid out before her. She had to get on with her day eventually, and with such a gorgeous meal in the near future, Rarity thought it was best to immediately resume that day.
Rarity strolled down the quiet streets of Ponyville. Not many people were out and about right now, but she spotted a few ponies dotted around here and there. Roseluck and Applejack were trotting casually down the road, flowers with both of them. They were in the middle of a conversation, when Applejack suddenly stubbed her hoof on an unseen rock.
Rarity couldn't help but snicker. Though, still, she felt a little bad for poor Applejack. Stubbing your hoof hurts. A lot. Rarity would know.
As she continued her stroll through the town, she came upon the library, and stopped for just a moment. She thought about how Twilight was probably curled up somewhere with a book in hoof, reading something about astrology, or sorcery, or medicine. Twilight had lived happily in that library for as long as she could remember, surrounded by knowledge.
Normally, she would have ended the thought right then and there, but a worrying realization struck her like a brick: She hadn't seen Twilight for two days. Rarity scolded herself for almost completely forgetting about her friend, and directed herself towards the library. Her casual walk turned to a brisk trot as she neared the massive piece of foliage, and slowed as she approached the door.
She knocked on the door. "Hello? Twilight?" She knocked again. "Are you there?"
She was relieved to see the door quickly open, revealing a small, purple and green figure. "Jeez Rarity, calm down!"
"Oh Spike, wherever is Twilight? I haven't seen her in a few days," she said anxiously.
"Oh, Twilight?" He pointed behind him with his thumb, in the direction of Canterlot. "There was... an Emergency. She told me to take care of the library while she attended to her "princess duties.""
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. She had gotten a bit tense there. Perhaps she needed a bit of time off from working. A bit of relaxation, yes, that would ease her stress. The Spa, perhaps?
"Anything else you need?"
Rarity snapped out of her thoughts. "Uh... No, no. That was it." She was still recovering from the shock she received earlier this morning. Dreams predicting the future? She refused to believe in such nonsense...
But... she was still holding on to a seed of doubt. Clinging to her mind like a parasite, she had to satisfy it to make it fully leave.
As Spike was closing the door, Rarity blurted out "Wait!" There was a pause. "...On second thought, perhaps I do need something else..."
Rarity sat down at a desk to go over the contents of a recently acquired book about dreams.
Her horn lit, passing through to the table of contents. This subject discussed there, that subject discussed here... She scanned the table until she came across a section titled "Anomalies and Peculiarities." She flipped to page 117, and began skimming for relevant information. Finally, she found it. "Dreams about the Future."
The text read as follows:
"In order to understand the anomaly that is the so called 'future telling dream,' we must first trace it back to its origin. As of writing, little research has been done into the topic of this phenomenon. It has existed since the dawn of time, as a rare, interesting occurrence. No methods of replicating the effects of the dreams have been discovered, but personal accounts all seem to conform to a set of particular guidelines.
- A dream will play out exactly as the situation will happen in real life.
- Such a 'dream' will last, at most, a minute.
- The event depicted in the dream happens within a week.
- When the dream is over, the person is awoken by something, whether that be by alarm clock, pony, or otherwise, they always wake up.
- The event depicted always happens.
Though the sample size available at the time of writing suggests this pattern, no indication of repeat incidents in individuals have been observed. With the rarity and spontaneity of such a phenomenon, it is nearly impossible to gather data on it. Ponykind may never know of its true workings."
Rarity closed the book. She'd heard enough.
It was late out. Luna's moon had risen by the time she got around to scanning for the information she wanted, and she was begging for an excuse to stop and go to bed. Fortunately, she had one. That little parasite of a thought in her head had left for the night, putting her at ease. She drifted off to sleep, happy that her mind had been sated.
Rarity approached the library hastily, terrified of whether Twilight was home or not. She went to knock, and hesitated. She doubted that she could do it... but she had to. She didn't have a choice but to find out. She gave the oak door a few hard knocks, and froze in anticipation.
Seconds later, the door opened...
Oh no.
...and inside the doorway stood none other than Twilight Sparkle.
"Hello, Rarity!"
Rarity shrieked.
She shot up from her resting position, waking startled in a cold sweat. It took her a moment to process what had just happened to her, but slowly, she put the pieces together in her head. Once everything fit together nicely, she was baffled by her dream. Upset, puzzled, and fearful of it. She didn't want to believe that it was true, but she had to.
She had woken up suddenly. The dream had lasted a measly 30 seconds. It ended so abruptly, but it felt so... real.
She denied it. She denied it all. This wasn't real, this was... a coincidence. An anomaly. She'd been through it before. She'd prove it. She wouldn't go to the library. That would do it. She could defy the future.
She rose from her bed, laden with doubts. She couldn't be destined to whatever her dreams said she'd do. She still had free will. She had to power to decide what happened to her. Her choices could not be so meaningless.
She was a panicked, frenzied mess, tormented by the thought that her own dreams could tell her what she would do, and what would happen, and that she couldn't change it at all.
Rarity had time to reflect on it all. What she had been thinking, and what she had told herself. It was all ludicrous. She needed to calm down, and collect her thoughts. She would approach the library, and find the truth, even if the truth absolutely petrified her.
Rarity walked across the streets of Ponyville. This time, they were quite a lot more active. They were more... alive. So many ponies crossing paths, so many places ponies had to go.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Applejack and Roseluck again. Since when did they become such great friends? She just had to ask her about it later.
She could also see the CMC, riding around in that wagon of theirs. Rainbow dash laid face up on a hastily moving cloud, keeping pace with the CMC. She seemed to be enjoying the ride.
Then, she saw something most peculiar. There was a foal in the middle of the road doing non-stop cartwheels.
Rarity had little time to ponder this, however. She was nearing the base of the Golden Oaks Library. She slowed her pace in dread, but she knew that she had to do it. It was her responsibility to find out. And so she did it.
Rarity cautiously approached the library, terrified of whether Twilight was home or not. She went to knock, and hesitated. She doubted that she could do it... but she had to. She didn't have a choice but to find out. She gave the oak door a few hard knocks, and froze in anticipation.
Seconds later, the door opened...
Oh no.
...and inside the doorway stood none other than Twilight Sparkle.
"Hello, Rarity!"
Rarity shrieked.
Author's Note
I decided to write another chapter, because I felt that this story needed a little more to work off of to really grab some people's attention. Also, I just enjoy writing about this.
