Chapter 2: The Lonesome Bat
Chapter 3: Dreamlike Reunions
The two night ponies happily ate their meal at the small table, telling stories and sharing a little more of their past with each other. The thick black curtains on the windows were pulled tightly shut to keep the sun’s bright rays out, leaving the pair comfortably in the dark.
“So you just ran off into the forest and got lost?” Scarlet asked in between a few bites of her salad.
Silver nodded, taking a sip of water and clearing his throat, “Yeah, we were actually camping out in a park that wasn’t too far away from here I think. It might have even been this place too for all I know, it’s kind of hard to remember all of that.”
She chuckled, “Well seems like it was your destiny to come back here then. So did you guys do stuff like that often? Or was it just a once in a while kind of deal?”
“My brother and I were boy scouts growing up, so we camped a lot until we both outgrew that. There were a lot of summers spent in the forest, or along a riverbank— all stuff I just loved as a kid.”
“I bet it was a blast, my parents used to take me and my sister camping all the time when we were little and I think that’s part of why I found my way back over here.”
“Oh it was, I’ll never forget those memories, really gave me an awesome appreciation of the outdoors, and even helped out a bit when I was on my own for a while.”
“After ETS you mean?”
Silver nodded, taking another bite of his salad, “Yeah, when I had the falling out with my dad I just decided to go off on my own for a bit. Camped around some nights, crashed couches on others, even stopped by a few pony villages from time to time. It was kinda fun but definitely lonely. Only ever really ran into a few other night pony stallions, started to make me think that I was maybe the only one around for a while, made things feel kind of lonely and awkward when you think about it,” he paused for a moment, “— I mean in the sense that there weren’t many ponies around that were on the same schedule.”
The mare let out a small, a small laugh, “Don’t worry I get what you mean, but hey at least you’re a step up from that now.”
Silver smiled, “That’s right, I’m camping with another geek now, what could be better than that?”
“Camping with a geek out on the beach maybe?”
“That does sound relaxing. Maybe we can take a little excursion somewhere sometime?”
“That’d be a ton of fun, I’m dying to get back down to the pier.”
“I haven’t been there in ages, so I like that idea.”
“All the more reason to go then,” Scarlet added in between bites.
“Sounds like a solid plan to me.”
She smiled, “See, I knew we’d be great friends.”
“I never doubted you for a moment.”
The two continued their conversation between bites, and before long they had finished up their meals. Silver stacked up the bowls and carefully brought them toward the sink, rinsing them off and setting them aside to dry.
He glanced back toward Scarlet who had already hopped onto the bed and burrowed into the covers, “Are these fine here?”
She nodded, “Yep, if you can’t tell I don’t really have a dedicated glassware place, so just anywhere out of the way works fine for me as long as it’s not complete chaos.”
“What about organized chaos?”
She replied with a playful frown, “How about no chaos?”
He smiled, “Gotcha, a little chaos it is.”
She shook her head, letting out a laugh, “I guess I can live with a little chaos, as long as it doesn’t get too out of hoof,” She glanced back toward Silver, who had taken his place on the couch and let out a chuckle, “You sure you’re okay on the couch there?”
Silver nodded, “Yeah, I think I’ll be fine.”
“You think or you know?”
He slowly shrugged, “I.. I mean I think so? It can’t be that bad right?”
“Maybe not, but are sure you don’t want to share the big comfy bed that’s being taken up by one incredibly small pony?”
Silver began to speak, but paused for a moment, looking between the two options, “I… You sure it won’t be a bother?”
Scarlet shook her head, “Not at all. It’s a big bed that I have all to myself, and you have an uncomfortable couch that’s going to give you a stiff neck in the morning or something. I really don’t mind sharing, you don’t need to worry about being in my personal space or anything.”
“You sure?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, “Maybe I’m just too used to being around humans.”
She nodded, “Yep, no need to worry, I don’t bite.”
“I didn’t realize that was something I had to worry about,” He replied with a small laugh.
She let out a chuckle of her own, “Well we do have fangs but last I checked I wasn’t a vampony, so I think you’re good.”
Silver nodded as a smile spread across his face, “Right, well uh I guess that works for me too then.” He hopped off the couch and trotted toward the bed, hopping up and making himself comfortable.
“See? Better right?”
Silver nodded, “Better.”
A small smile spread across the mare’s face, “Told you so.”
“I never should have doubted you. So what kind of dreams should we explore today?”
“Dunno,” she shrugged, “I think it’s your turn to pick.”
Silver nodded, “Well I ran into a night pony that had some crazy nightmares a while ago, that might be fun to explore.”
“Nightmares? You have a weird definition of fun, my friend.”
“Oh come on, doesn’t a big adventure through some crazy nightmare sound like a great time? We don’t even need to worry about breaking it up, this is kind of his thing.”
“For Freddy Krueger maybe,” she replied with a laugh, “but if that’s the dream you want to go explore then that’s what we’ll do.”
Silver let out a yawn, “I promise it’ll be a great time.”
“I’m sure it will,” she let out a yawn of her own and rolled onto her side, “sweet dreams Silver.”
“Sweet Dreams.”
Thunder crashed in the distance, lightning illuminating the forest around him and casting strange shadows all around. The night pony fearfully glanced to the side, swearing to himself as the shadows seemed to stretch into terrifying wraith like figures. The sounds of those shadowy monsters crept ever closer from the darkness, seemingly surrounding him. To say that Stanley was afraid would be an understatement... he was terrified, but his night pony instincts kept telling him to be brave and push forward through the forest, he was the scary monster after all, not them.
The thunder continued to crash all around, the bright flashes doing nothing to reveal the creatures hunting him. Two more crashes, another series of flashes... Stanley made a run for it, running like he had never run before in his life. The heavy downpour of rain did nothing to make this feat easier, only making his fleeting attempts at escape even more fruitless. Soon enough Stanley found himself cornered against the cold rocky face of a mountain, facing a snarling beast that he had no chance of reasoning with. This was it, he knew that there was nothing he could do to escape his fate, and with another crash of thunder and a strike of lightning, the creature lunged out from the abyss...
A strange feeling welled up from within Stanley, and for once in his life as a night pony instead of flinching back and accepting the worst, he simply closed his eyes and decided to be brave, stomping a hoof on the ground and trembling as he expected to meet a grisly end. Almost immediately he could tell that something was off. The usual crushing feeling that followed this part of the dream simply hadn’t happened. With a hesitant pause, he opened his eyes and jumped back against the rockface, staring back at the shadowy creature that was just sitting there frozen in time, as if he had simply hit the pause button on reality.
“So uhh, having a fun time I see?” Came a voice from all around him, causing the yellow night pony to glance around the dim forest.
“What… who... who’s there?”
Silver and Scarlet walked into view, gazing at the strange wolf-like creature that was frozen in time, “Hey Stanley, long time no see.”
The night pony’s face softened, “Oh, Silver, it’s just you. Good to see you again,” He glanced toward the red mare, looking back toward Silver, “A new friend of yours I’ll take it?”
Silver nodded, “Stanley this is Scarlet, an astronomer from over in Idyllwild. Thought we’d stop by and see if you had any crazy nightmares for us to explore.”
The night pony waved around, “Well as you can see it’s all just nice and peachy here, no nightmares at all,” he paused for a moment, returning a smile, “So Idyllwild eh? So I’m guessing you’re not down in LA anymore?”
The stallion shook his head, “Not anymore. We met a week ago in our dreams, though we crossed paths before that too.”
Scarlet stepped forward, greeting the other pony with a smile, “Yeah Silver got tired of being all alone so I figured why not solve that problem by inviting him up to the mountains.”
“And I thought it was a great idea,” Silver cut in, “life got a little boring after you went back to OC and that Dusk guy didn’t stick around too much after so I was kind of a loner for a while.”
“Oh shoot, you should have told me, I know a few other night ponies who set up camp in the area, they probably would have let you tag along.”
Silver shrugged, “Nah it’s cool. I love the mountains and Scarlet says it’s really nice and secluded from everything else. Besides, it’s not like I don’t get interaction, I’ve still kept in contact with some of the others.”
“Others like Dusk and Star I presume?”
Silver nodded, “Every once in a while. I’m guessing you still hang with Moonlight?”
“Off and on, If you’re asking if we’re a thing then the answer’s no. As much as it’s nice to have each other’s company we’re not that close. Besides, she’s made it clear that she wants to stay down here, I still don’t know if I want to stay out in OC or catch up with some old friends in Arizona. I was actually going to go see one of them in a few, I haven’t talked to him since before ETS, but maybe a move could be a nice change of pace.”
“Well hey, if you ever want to stop by and rest your head along the way I’m sure we could find a place for you,” Scarlet replied back to him.
The yellow night pony glanced back over to the mare and smiled, “That sounds wonderful. Maybe I’ll make a trip up there if I ever wind up getting bored down here. I still don’t know what I’m going to do for sure, I guess it’ll depend on what my friend’s up to, for all I know he could still be human.”
“Have you tried walking to him yet?”
Stanley shook his head, “I did earlier, but came up short. If he’s a pony he’s probably not a night pony, unless he’s staying up for some reason. I figured I’d work through some stuff and then maybe check back a little later when he might actually be asleep.”
“Well if he’s in Arizona it shouldn’t be too much longer.”
The night pony nodded, “Yep. Figured I might as well work through some stuff while I waited, you guys happened to show up toward the end of it.”
“Still getting those nightmares regularly then?”
He waved around the frozen dream, “Yeah, still dealing with them, though I’m getting better at working through the actual fears. I’ve talked with Phobia Remedy a few times and she’s helped me work through some of them, now it’s just second nature to confront them instead of blindly trying to run from them.”
Silver nodded, a warm smile coming across his face, “Well that’s great to hear, I always thought it was good that you were choosing to run through them with friends instead of away from them, and I’m glad it’s actually helping,” He paused for a moment, “So I’m going to guess you have some other plans today then?”
The night pony nodded, “Yeah… sorry if I can’t really host a big nightmare for you, I mean I could probably set one up, but there were some other friends I wanted to try and get in touch with. I feel like I’ve just barely gotten my life back on track as a pony, and figured why not just go down the list and see how everyone’s faring.”
Silver nodded, “That’s fair enough, I understand.”
“But hey, I’m game for something tomorrow if you’re still interested, I’ve got the whole alien dream that I’ve still never worked my way through, maybe that could be a fun exercise?”
Silver smiled, “Sounds like a blast,” he glanced back to the red mare, “Well I guess we’ll leave you to your little adventure, we’ll probably go run around some nearby dreams until night, feel free to stop by if you want to hang out or anything.”
“Will do Silver, take care.”
“You too Stanley.”
The night pony nodded, opening up another dream and walking off, leaving the pair alone as the rest of the nightmare faded away, leaving them in the open dream realm once more.
Scarlet looked toward Silver and smiled, “Well he seemed nice.”
“Glad to see he’s doing well,” he paused for a moment, “Guess that kind of puts a damper on our plans eh?”
She shrugged, “Wanna go jump into a nightmare or two? See what kind of adventures we can go on?”
“You mean jump into something we’ll have no chance at preparing ourselves for?” He said in a surprised voice, doing a small double take.
An adventurous smirk slowly spread across her face, “You afraid or something?”
Silver replied with a smirk of his own, “You wish!”
“Let’s get going then, I’m sure there’s plenty of adventures out there just waiting for us.”
The stallion let out a small laugh as he followed her lead, heading into a nearby nightmare.
A dark cramped hallway greeted Stanley as he walked through his friend’s dream. As he glanced around the narrow space an uneasy feeling passed through him, though he simply pushed that lingering fear into the back of his mind. To the casual observer this might seem like the start of a bad nightmare, he knew what nightmares felt like, and this was definitely no nightmare.
Figures he’d have some weird alien dream, The night pony thought to himself, shaking his head and letting out a chuckle as he proceeded down the hallway. As he stepped through the door at the end, he found himself in a large circular chamber bathed in a pleasant blue light, an annoyed voice echoing through the chamber.
“Look, I told you a dozen different ways, there need to be more tests! No... we’re not set up to transport anything that far and you know it, hell we don’t even have a good grasp on sending inorganic things across a room and you want to try and send someone clear across a state?”
A harsh muttering came from the comm, though Stanley couldn’t make sense of it. The unicorn at the comm shook his head again, letting out a sarcastic laugh, “This is groundbreaking work and you’re treating it like some high school science project, if something goes wrong then I’m not going to be the one responsible for it… No, no you don’t get it, you’re saying what those mad scientists want you to say, and believe me my friend, they’re not working in your interests.
Stanley crept closer, still keeping to the shadows as he tried to get a better read on the pony sitting at the terminal. The voice sounded familiar, but aside from that the pony bore no resemblance to the human he had previously been, something that didn’t surprise Stanley in the slightest.
“Yes of course it’s a potential risk! Didn’t you bother reading their documentation?! Teleportation isn’t something you can just mess around with, there’s far too many variables involved to just jump in without the proper safety failsafes!” He paused, letting out an annoyed sigh, “Oh really? You’re just begging to get hit with a slew of ethics violations when your travelers show up at their destination as a pile of ash! Ha, that’s a good one, no, go ahead and get the think tank on the comm and then I’ll consider helping out with whatever crazy plans you’ve got in mind.”
He angrily hung up the comm, and resumed pressing buttons on the console. The lighting in the room around him suddenly shifted from pleasing blues to harsh reds as his chair turned around.
“Heya Pat.”
The figure jumped back in surprise, nearly falling over his chair as he lit up his horn to better illuminate the room, “Who are you? How the hell did you get in here?!”
“Why don’t you take it down a few levels Pat, It’s just me,” The night pony casually replied back.
He dropped his defensive stance for a moment as the familiar voice clicked in his head, “S...Stanley? Is it really you?”
Stanley walked out from the shadows, revealing his form to his old friend, “In the flesh… or fur I guess? It’s been ages since we chatted, thought I’d stop by now that the world’s kind of getting back to normal.”
Patrick stood there for a few moments, finally chuckling to himself, “You know? I shouldn’t really be surprised that you turned out to be a night pony… Stanley “The Wolf Man” Himself… Sorry if it seems like I’m laughing at you, I’m not. Though maybe Drac is a more fitting nickname now eh?”
“Don’t worry Pat, I’ve learned to face my fears… but can we finally let that nickname die?”
“Oh you know I can’t do that Wolfie, you remember how scared you were when you first saw that movie?”
“Come on Pat, I was afraid of everything back then…”
“Of course, but you also insisted on leaving every light on at night for a month so the Wolf Man wouldn’t get you.”
Stanley couldn’t help but laugh with his friend, as annoyed as he was it brought back a slew of memories he hadn’t thought about in a long time, “Ok Pat, I’ll give you that, but let’s get serious for a moment. How have you been lately?”
“Two months is a little late for a reunion checkup don't you think?.. But hey, better late than never right?”
The night pony shrugged, “Guess so. I’m sorry about that by the way, I figured phones are kind of hard to use with hooves so I wound up ditching mine. I guess I could have been a little more proactive with trying to get in contact with you though, I’ve been slowly working down the list and trying to see what’s up with everyone from back in the day.”
“So you came to see me first then right?”
The night pony let out a laugh, “Of course, who else would I visit?”
“Jess maybe?”
“Yeah, as if… I kind of already ran into her in the real world, she’s in the same boat as me.”
“She’s a scary bat horse too? Why do I feel like that’s fitting.”
“Probably because it is, remember how competitive she’d get whenever we played? That energy’s gotta go somewhere.”
“I’ll take it she was a little too busy to fit in a visit to her old flame then?”
Stanley shrugged, “Probably, I didn’t realize you still thought so much of her.”
“Oh I didn't… though another visit post… well whatever you can call the global schism would have been nice.”
“I’ll pass that onto her, who knows, maybe she’ll finally stop boasting about the hockey game she killed you in.”
“You mean the one where she cheated?”
“Totally,” He paused for a moment, “Not that I don’t find this year's long grudge interesting, but I’m kind of here for another reason.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“Well I’ve been thinking of skipping town, figured I might try and get in contact with some family out in Arizona, heard there’s some promising pony communities popping up around there, thought it might be a good idea to touch base with some of the ponies I knew out there.”
Patrick let out a small laugh, “So uhh, funny you say that. I’m actually up in one of those myself, some place out in the Grand Canyon if you’re interested in stopping by.”
“Is it that obvious?”
He shrugged, “A little bit, but hey I wouldn’t mind an actual face to face visit.”
His face lit up, “That’d be great, I don’t know if I’ll stick around forever, I’m just so genuinely curious to see if they’ve actually been able to get it off the ground. All the little villages around me feel like they’re half way there, but I know it has to be working for some.”
“I’m gonna assume you’re following the vision?”
Stanley froze for a moment, “Well… not fully. It’s hard to explain, but I guess I just like some parts of it. I mean I see stuff like riverview popping up out east, and I kind of want to see more.”
“Well hey come on down and stop by and see if it lives up to the hype, it’ll be just like the old road trip days,” he added with a smile, “So have you ever actually been to the Grand Canyon?”
“No… but it’s never too late for a first time visit right?”
“That’s the spirit I can’t wait to see you again, we’ll have to catch up over lunch like the good old days when you get here. Where’d you wind up after all the chaos anyways?”
“Not too far from where I was. I’ve been visiting some of our old haunts lately, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t making me nostalgic for the old days.”
“Well I can’t wait to see you again. So uhh… is there a good way to send you the coordinates for this place? I mean it’s a little hard to describe it especially if you’ve never been there before.”
“Send it to my old discord if you can, I’ll see if I can get someone to help me out with it, I’ve been long overdue for a visit with my parents, I don’t think they’ll mind at all.”
“Hey whatever works best for you Wolfie. This is going to be a blast, I’ll let some of the locals know you’re stopping by.”
Stanley let out a laugh, “Oh I’m sure it’ll be a blast, let’s just hope it’s not the literal kind again.”
“Still upset over the firecracker incident?”
Stanley flashed his fangs for a moment, “Do you even have to ask that?”
“Oh lighten up Wolfie, it was just a prank.”
“Har har.”
Prologue: This Wasn't Your Average Everyday Flu...
Author's Note
Chapter opens shortly before the counter spell. You might be wondering what happened to the original two stories, and I've decided to merge them together into one new story that'll more or less contain the same content, just heavily reworked. Hope you all enjoy it :D For more info on why I've decided to do this, you can check out this blog post: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/893992/an-update-on-dreamers-departures
Chapter 1: A World of Change
Joshua opened his eyes and hesitantly looked around the strange dream that he had found himself in, sensing something strange about it that almost seemed alien to him, as if he had entered a dream of someone else’s creation. Bright stars set in an endless black void surrounded him, though it was clear that he was not in the open dream realm, something about it all just felt too different than usual.
As he turned around, his eyes landed on a tall dark blue mare with both wings and a horn who greeted him with a warm smile, “Greeting, I apologize for intruding upon your dream but my time here is limited. There are many more I need to visit before the night has passed and I only have so much time to visit them.”
The night pony raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry, and you are?..”
“My name is Princess Luna, though you have likely not heard about me yet. I lead the night ponies in a world known as equestria, a world that is unfortunately the source of your own world’s current crisis. To be brief, I believe we have found a way to end the further spread of this crisis’ transformation, though we can not do it alone.”
Joshua contemplated her words as he looked around the starry expanse of the dream, “Well when you put it that way I guess it all makes perfect sense,” He paused for a moment, “I’m just joking around by the way. It sounds like a tall order, though I’ll admit that everything else has been stranger so far so I guess this really isn’t all that crazy in comparison… I'm Joshua by the way,” He turned back towards her, “Now before I agree to help, I have a question or two of my own.”
The princess nodded, “Please do ask, young Joshua, though do keep in mind that our time is limited.”
Joshua nodded, “Well let’s start with the obvious question, what brought you here? To my dream that is. What made me stand out amongst all the other night ponies in the world?”
The princess eyed him with an unreadable expression for a few moments before giving a small nod, “You are among the night ponies that have rejected the vision that was presented to you, that sets you apart from many.”
“It does?” He let out a chuckle, “That’s funny, you’re actually not the first pony I’ve run across to come to that same conclusion, I’m afraid I’ve actually earned a reputation as an outcast in a lot of the others’ eyes because of it.” he shook his head, “Nevermind my personal problems though, why is that specifically important to you? I don’t mean to come off as rude or anything, I’m just trying to get a handle on the moment.”
“Do not fear, I would only expect suspicion and curiosity given everything that’s transpired for you. To put it simply, your rejection of that vision shows that you have not fully cast aside your former life, and that you may be able to help stop this crisis, even if it’s only through playing a small role.”
The night pony nodded, “Right then, that answers that. In that case how can I help?”
“You are no doubt aware of your world’s crystal ponies no? I know they are small in numbers, but no doubt you’ve come across one before.”
“What about them?” He answered with a shrug, turning once again to gaze at the bright stars around him, their otherworldly light stirring a strange feeling of pride within him.
“They are the key to spreading the spell that can end this, though I’m afraid that we must have their agreement if we wish to have them cast that spell.”
“And how can I help with this? I don’t know how much you know about our world, but I’m in an area where there’s not very many ponies around, let alone crystal ponies. In fact I think I’ve only ever come across one out there in the waking world.”
“Physical distance is not an issue, you are familiar with dream walking correct?”
A grin slowly spread across his face, “Aha, that’s the million dollar question there,” He turned towards her again, taking a few steps forward, “Let me guess, you want me to go lurk in their dreams and convince them to help you? I’m sorry but I’m not in for the whole invading other ponies minds thing if that’s what you’re asking.”
The princess shook her head, “It appears you misunderstand the purpose of this request, I only ask that you share this message with them, nothing more,” She paused for a moment, “It is clear that you have reservations, I know you have no reason to trust me, but could you please share this message? Surely you can see the importance of it.”
Joshua contemplated this for a moment before nodding, “If all I’m doing is acting as a courier than sure. I’m not a big fan of the mind games that the others tried to pressure me into, something about it all just left a bad taste in my mouth, but if you are who you say you are then I guess I’ll trust your word. Like I said I don’t know how many I can actually talk to in the waking world, but I promise I’ll share this with whoever I can,” He paused, “So this is their choice in the end right? I won’t be influencing their decision like I was asked to do with the vision?”
The mare shook her head, “You are merely a messenger, their approval or denial will ultimately be up to them.”
He nodded, “Okay then. I’m in, but only because this is giving them the choice and not forcing it upon them. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have my own reservations about this, but if this gives me a chance to use my powers for a greater good then I’m all for it. Though I can’t promise how many I’ll be able to share this with, I'll try my best.”
Luna smiled, “That is all that I ask. Perhaps someday we will have the chance to meet again under less dire circumstances, your previous reservations and desire to use your abilities for the greater good is quite intriguing and I would be interested in learning more about you at a later date, when the current crisis is ended of course.”
“Of course, feel free to just drop on by whenever’s most convenient, I’d genuinely really love to chat some more when there’s not important work to be done. So is there anything more I can do in the present? I mean I feel like for the first time since all of this happened I have an actual purpose, a new direction to go in if you will.”
The mare shook her head, “I have nothing more to request at this time, however I do encourage you to keep using your abilities to serve the greater good, it is a noble goal to have and could certainly become a force for good if utilized properly. I apologize again for the lack of a proper explanation for all of this, but again our time is limited. If there are other concerns, I will return you to your dream, please do be quick however, we only have so much time to act on this.”
Joshua smiled, “Thank you Princess, I do hope we’ll meet again someday.”
“Farewell young Joshua,” She said as her form faded from the dream, leaving Joshua alone amongst the stars once more.
Joshua sat idly on the outskirts of the town he had called home for most of his life, gazing up at the stars above him. Even though it had only been a week since the counter spell had been cast, it still felt like there was so much panic and fear going on in the world. Despite the chaos, he couldn’t help but feel a calm wave of peace wash over him as he gazed up at those bright lights dotting the empty night sky. His phone buzzed a few times, but he ignored it, not wanting to deal with the frustration of trying to use it with his new hooves.
Instead he checked to make sure it wasn’t an emergency, before pushing the phone further into his bag. Free from that distraction, he looked back up to the stars, the clear sky affording him an amazing view that just couldn’t be beat. Those flickering points of light reminded him of the dream realm, something that seemed straight out of the stories he used to read as a kid. Among all the chaos and frustration, that was at least something he could find enjoyment in, and it had fascinated him ever since he first learned how to dreamwalk. It was something that he saw infinite potential in even if it was only available to the night ponies and their mysterious wardens.
Right now his emotions were running wild, he just wanted to curl up in a ball and let it all out, but he shook those thoughts away. Instead he thought back to everything that had happened over the last few weeks. So much of it had confused and eluded him, the vision in particular standing out as something that he honestly couldn’t make heads or tails of. The idea of this perfect world where everyone lived in harmony together seemed wonderful, but he was a realist, and it was obvious that the vision was just that— an illusion.
It didn’t help that the already changed ponies that recieved it seemed to change even further overnight, and it honestly frightened him to think about. There was obviously something malicious at work, even if the intentions of those spreading it were good. Good intentions couldn’t excuse it for what he felt it was; pure brainwashing. He had been one of the few to reject the vision and refuse to spread it outright, which made him feel like even more of an outcast than he already felt like, especially among the small handful of overzealous night ponies he had briefly befriended before leaving them too.
“Everything happens for a reason right?” He asked no one in particular, “There has to be some purpose for all of this, for the magic— everything.”
He let out another sigh, turning his thoughts back to that strange ability that only night ponies seemed to possess. Instead of sulking like some dejected child, he could at least try and use this new power to help those around him. Sure, it wouldn’t be easy, but he never liked to do things the easy way. What was the fun in just having something happen on it’s own? No, there was a brand new world of possibilities that had been opened to him, and he was eager to explore every avenue of it, even if it meant doing a lot of hard work.
A strange feeling began to well up in the night pony, it was almost as if he was on the verge of figuring out something important. But what was it? Was it this dream, this idea? Or was it the overarching idea of taking a bad situation and trying to make it better? As if to answer his question a bright light lit up the dark landscape around him, causing him to squint his sensitive eyes shut for a few moments before it dimmed to reveal the image of a silver moon eclipsed by a bright sun resting on his flank, sealing his fate.
For a moment he was elated, this was his cutie mark after all, something that meant he had managed to figure out what his special talent in life was! He excitedly jumped up, trying to get a better view of it. An Eclipse, something that hardly answered his questions, but at least he had direction going forward now. As he reached for his bag with a wing, a twinge of regret started to wash through him. This meant there was no going back, but was that really the worst thing imaginable? He certainly didn’t feel all that wrong as a pony, and most of the time he barely even thought about his time as a human, even though it wasn’t even that long ago. Regardless of the answer, it was too late to alter course now. His former life was seemingly over in that moment, but yet he was hesitant to simply cast it aside. His dreams, plans, everything that he had worked towards up to this point were far too important for him to simply give up on.
“Silver Eclipse… That has a nice ring to it.”
With a shrug he took off into the night sky, back towards his family’s small home, eager to share the news with them, hoping that it could at least lighten the mood. As he flew over the city and through the night sky, he glanced down at the world below him with a newfound optimism. Before long he was nearing his home, and he slowly slowed his approach before clumsily touching down on the front lawn, groaning as his legs took on more of a strain than he was expecting. Now that his fate was sealed, he’d have plenty of time to get used to flying. After pausing to dust himself off, he trotted towards the front door, stopping for a moment as he glanced at the worn in handle. It was definitely something he didn’t want to fumble with, let alone try and use it with his mouth, so instead he opted to knock on the door a few times, hoping that he wouldn’t disturb his likely sleeping family too much.
A few long minutes passed before he decided to sit down on the small wooden bench near the door, fishing through his bag for the neglected phone. After some struggling he finally managed to unlock his phone, glancing at the unread messages from both of his parents saying that they were heading to bed. A small feeling of guilt passed through him for a moment, but surely they’d understand in the morning. With some further effort, he managed to dictate a message, letting them know that he was going to spend the night out on the porch, and to let him in in the morning.
“Hey, wake up.”
Silver let out a groan as he started to stir from his sleep, “Just five more minutes okay?”
“Josh, you’re out on the porch again. You can either sleep inside or stay out here, I’m not going to carry you in though, my back’s killing me again.”
“Hm?” He pulled his head up for a moment and squinted his eyes at the bright daylight, turning towards his partially transformed father, “Oh, right.”
“Did you have a nice sleep at least?” his father asked as Silver started to slowly stand up.”
The night pony let out a long yawn, “You know, I did, but not for the reason you’d think. I’ll tell you all about it inside.”
The partial nodded and hobbled back inside, the night pony trailing close behind him. “I hope this isn’t going to be a regular thing, you know how it makes your mother worry.”
“It does more than that, please just give us some heads up that you’re going to be out so late next time, alright?” Silver’s mother answered back from the kitchen.
Silver flashed a nervous smile, “Sorry about that… you’re not done with breakfast I hope, right?”
“There’s a plate set aside for you. You’re lucky that your brother’s still asleep, otherwise he might have eaten the rest of it.”
“So what’s the news you wanted to share, Josh?” Silver’s dad asked as he laid down on the couch.
“Right, that. So uhhh, I guess I should just rip the bandaid right off,” He turned slightly and gestured a hoof towards his flank, “I got my cutie mark last night! Isn’t it great?!”
“You what?” His dad suddenly sat up and looked towards him.
“Yeah! I was going to tell you guys about it last night but you guys were asleep, I didn’t want to wake you up again,” He beamed, “I’m just so excited, it’s like I finally have a direction to go in after all of this!”
The partial stood up and slowly walked over, “Josh that’s great for you, but what does this mean going forward? You’re stuck as this… this thing now right?”
Silver paused, “That’s a weird way to put it, but I guess. It just feels right, like it was meant to happen this way.”
“So what does this mean for your job? Your bills? You know I’m happy for you but what about your own commitments?”
“I… guess I didn’t really think about that… But look, this gives me a direction to go in, it’s like a fresh start that I can try and do something with.”
“But is that direction going to pay for your bills? Money’s tight enough as it is Josh, now you’re basically down a job too.”
“But I feel like I know what I’m supposed to do now, your cutie mark is supposed to show what your special talent is, so that means I have something that I’m really good at that I can put to good use.”
“So what is that talent then? Astronomy or something?”
Silver paused, unsure of how to answer, “It’s… complicated. I think it ties into night pony stuff, but I won’t really know until I have a chance to really see what I can do.”
“Okay, but what exactly does that mean?”
“It means that I have a talent that I can apply towards something. Look, I was always told to follow my dreams, and I can literally do that now.”
“Well that’s good for you, but you need to get your head out of the clouds for a moment and actually think about how this is going to affect your future, because I don’t think you realize how big this is.”
“I do realize how big this is, I’m stuck this way for the rest of my life, but at least I know I’m good at something. Can’t you just be happy for me instead of getting on my case about it?”
“I am happy for you, but I’m also being realistic. You might not think about it now but it’s going to come up on you fast. Just remember that you can’t get by on dreams.”
“I’m not getting by on just dreams, what I’m saying is that I can actually do something with those dreams.”
“And I hope you do, but you can’t just wander around like some brainwashed alien thinking that all of your problems are solved now, the world’s not that simple.”
Silver froze for a minute, “Look, this was supposed to be a happy moment and we’re starting to argue back and forth again. I just want you guys to realize that this is a part of who I am now and it’s not going to change.”
“Josh, what your father’s trying to say is that the world’s not going to change either. We’re both very happy for you, but we’re also worried because you’ve changed so much…”
“For the better.”
“I don’t know if it is for the better, the world’s so crazy right now that I can’t tell if this will be a good or bad thing in the long run,” His mother replied, a look of worry spreading across her face.
“We’re not asking you to throw your new opportunities away Josh, we’re just trying to be real and say that it’s not going to be something you can realistically change overnight. Whether you do something with your dreams or not, you’re still going to have obligations that won’t just go away now that you’re a pony. Remember that because it’s important.”
Silver let out a sigh, “Maybe I just need to cool off for a little, I don’t want to ruin this moment with another argument.”
“Don’t do this.”
Silver snapped back towards his father, “Don’t do what? Duck out of the conversation because you’re not happy about this? I don’t want to fight, I know what I want to do and I’m not going to back out of it now.”
His father let out a sigh of his own, “I hope you do know what you’re doing, because I don’t know if you do right now.”
Silver picked up his bag and turned towards the door, letting out an annoyed sigh, “I’m going for a walk, I’ll be back later. Call me if you need anything.”
“Josh, we’re not discounting anything you’re trying to do.”
He looked back towards his mom, “I know you’re not trying to, but you two wouldn’t understand how big this is. It’s a pony thing and I think I just need to cool off for a little bit. I promise I’ll be back later.”
“Just please give us a call if you’re going to be out late again, for me?”
Silver started to walk towards the door, pausing and turning back towards his mother, “I will.”
Three Months Later
The full Moon shined brightly overhead, dimly illuminating the lone figure of a midnight blue night pony resting in the grass a far distance away from the nearby city. Silver Eclipse simply sat there reflecting on the past three months and the crazy world of change that he had gone through.
Ever since ETS, his life had seemed to take a turn for the worse. The West Coast had been hit by the pandemic especially hard, yet his own area seemed to get off easier than others, and that didn’t help his case in the slightest. Human/Pony relations, while finally seeming to get a bit better, were still far from being perfect and every interaction he had with his former family and friends only seemed to end in increasingly frequent arguments. He knew they didn’t truly hate him, at least he hoped that was the case, but the constant arguments and shouting matches between him and his family were just too much for the night pony to take, so he did what any rational pony would do; cut out the negativity from his life and try and move on as best he could, which was easier said than done.
Silver had been among the very first in his town who had shown symptoms of the transformation, and as such his peers increasingly grew leery of him, treating him like he was some kind of brainwashed freak. As much as it stung him and made him want to just shut out the world, in a weird way he could understand their fears. His understanding did little to help his own struggles however, and he continued to dwell on these feelings often.
So much had changed in such a short amount of time, with many ponies now behaving entirely different to when they were humans, all the fear and resentment was only natural. It still didn’t make it feel any better however. Silver thought back to those chaotic times, when it seemed as if the entire world was on the verge of ending. The pandemic had started innocently enough, seemingly just another bad case of the flu that everyone seemed to be getting. However as time went on it had become very clear that this was not the case when the first signs of the transformation began to show.
While his immediate family had started down the same road he had, neither of his parents had fully transformed, leaving him and his brother to feel like outcasts. They had been lucky, still having had the chance to rehumanize and try to return to their old lives, and in the end so did his brother. The fact that he was the only one to wind up as a pony in the long run and earn his own mark had probably been the very thing that drove such a large wedge between him and his family. As happy as he was to have earned it at the time, the novelty was starting to wear off and it was only bringing his mood down more. It didn’t seem as bad at first, and for a while it even seemed like he could just resume his life as normal, but as the days went on his family only seemed to distance themselves more from him, treating him as if he was something lesser than their own flesh and blood.
He had tried to stay at home and continue his life as usual despite the fact that he was never going to truly fit in with them again, but it never seemed to work out the way he had hoped it would. For a few days it almost seemed as if it was, but then the big argument happened. His father couldn’t accept his new direction in life, and the two had finally hit a breaking point. Mean words were exchanged and feelings were hurt, and Silver had decided that it would just be better for him to go find his own way in life, even if it meant having to do it on his own. He had started with renting out hotel rooms for a few nights, and then crashing on couches when he had blown through his funds, and then when even that fell through he decided to just rough it out in the wilderness, camping out under the stars most nights, and spending time with some of the local pony groups that had all come together. As much as he enjoyed the friendship, he was still more often than not the only night pony in the group, and it only made him feel like more of an outcast.
He wiped a tear from his eye as a wave of emotion surged back through him, making him curse that damned mark again for causing all of this. With a deep sigh, he looked back to the mark that seemed to taunt him, reflecting on the image of the moon caught in an eclipse that now dictated who he was, though he couldn’t help but feel at least a small bittersweet acceptance at his fate.
He shook his head, trying not to let his emotion get the better of him. Some things couldn’t be helped though, and as much as he wanted to be the big scary night pony the world saw him as, he couldn’t help but let out another sad sigh. The self isolation was clearly getting to him, and it was definitely not healthy in the slightest. It was just so hard for him to interact with the others when he was on a completely different schedule, and there were so few night ponies around him that he just couldn’t help but feel all alone in the world.
He let out another sigh, "I can't let this get in my way, my life may have changed in a big way, but that doesn't necessarily mean that this has to be the end of it right? If I quit now and don't try to do anything meaningful then what have I been working towards all this time?" He calmly said to himself.
As if he was waiting for an answer that was never going to just come to him, he sat in silence for a long while, enjoying the calm serenity radiating from the scene in front of him, reflecting on all of these things and thinking towards the future, his new future. Perhaps with time old relationships could be mended, that was still near the top of his list, however he was also determined to pursue his research no matter what species he was and regardless of what others thought of him.
Most of the ponies that he knew took hold of the vision they had all received shortly after transforming, seemingly no longer caring for the world that they had left behind. It was a wonderful idea, but he just couldn’t settle for something that felt too good to be true. Perhaps he would be proven wrong, he knew that he couldn't spend all of his time dwelling on the past after all, but he still couldn’t stop himself from wondering “what if?”. What if his life had taken a different turn, what if he hadn’t transformed? What if ETS was just all a bad dream?
These were all questions he asked to himself every time he spent meditating. He felt something during every session, and the more he focused the more it felt as if he was reaching some peaceful plane that hovered somewhere in the middle of being awake and asleep, and it was something that called out to him, pulling him forward and giving his lonely life a semblance of meaning. Silver was determined to make sense of his talents and abilities but he knew it wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded coming out of his own mouth. So much had changed around him and his own self imposed isolation didn’t do much to help either, the bitter feelings of loneliness only acting as a constant reminder of his past.
The dream realm was at least a place where he could feel at home, sometimes he’d remain alone in his own dream, trying to craft it into amazing and fantastical places, and other times he’d go off and explore some of the other dreams, curious to see what others were doing with their abilities, meeting his own fair share of strange and unusual ponies along the way. The experiences only seemed to make his interest stronger, and in turn that drove him to spend more time in his own dream, eager to do something amazing with his ability that he just knew he’d unlock if he could only focus a little harder.
Silver let out a long yawn, and he decided to put his thoughts on hold for now. He’d be asleep soon, and that meant he’d have more time to play around with his abilities, a thought that brought endless joy to him. As his thoughts began to drift off to sleep, he began to plan out his new course, taking note of everything that he needed before embarking on his grand journey. As the morning sun rose Silver reflected on one final thought before falling into a deep sleep: It would be a new dawn for him, and he wouldn't need to worry about anything or anypony else to ensure that his dreams would become a reality.
A lone mare sat amongst the starry backdrop that comprised the dream realm, pondering on what they were about to do. ETS had changed her life just as much as everyone else’s, but it also seemed to open her eyes to something else. Much like Silver, she was the only night pony in her area, and it left her feeling all alone in the world. She didn’t know whether it was instinct or intuition, but she could almost sense a similar feeling when she had stumbled across his dream before, and it brought a smile to her face knowing that there might be other ponies out there that felt the same as she did.
The mare felt a little strange at the thought of just trying to jump into someone else’s dream, the ability was still new to her, but she figured there was no harm in at least talking, even if at the very least it helped her make sense of her situation.
The pony who’s dream she had been watching was determined to make the best of their situation, even if it was a little unorthodox. Self isolation and meditation wasn’t normally out of the ordinary, but this pony chose to spend more of their nights in their own dream, just tinkering with the landscape like it was some advanced computer game. It was hard for her to get a good read on other ponies' dreams, but this one felt different, and she was intrigued to learn more.
She supposed that it wasn’t the weirdest thing imaginable, but it definitely stood out for a night pony, and she couldn’t help but feel a certain compassion for this pony that was very obviously hurting. She didn’t know if it was her new pony instincts talking, or just the thought of another pony being sad driving her forward, but It would be a detriment to her very own morals if they didn’t make an attempt to change somepony else’s life for the better, even if that change was simply offering friendship to somepony in need.
There was much to do in order to meet his goals, and Silver honestly had no real idea of where to start or what to really do. His hobby as of late had been creating a dream that he could summon time and time again. A daunting task for the detail oriented night pony, but one that he was determined to perfect, even if it meant he stood out amongst the other night ponies.With no other direction, he started as he always did, with a large room, adding in the detail as he imagined it. He had always found that visualizing a floor plan made the experience a lot easier to tackle, and so he did. Each night he focused on trying to recreate that room and pushing it further. Sometimes it was a few small changes here and there, other times it was trying to make something bigger.
“Did you make this on your own?” Came a lone voice from the far side of the room, pulling him from his work.
“Huh? Who’s there?” Silver turned towards a red night pony that was looking around at the dream he had been constructing, “I wasn’t expecting any company tonight.”
“Sorry if I’m intruding. I’ll take it you don’t get very many visitors, I’ve seen your dreams before… something about them just drew me here.”
Silver slowly nodded, “Right... So uh, what’s up?”
“Well I guess an introduction’s a good start. I’m Scarlet Moon, nice to meet you.”
He nodded, “Silver… Silver Eclipse.” He awkwardly paused for a few moments before letting out a small laugh, “I know it’s a little corny, but what can I say, it fits my mark, so why not just roll with it?”
She smiled, “I like it, has a nice ring to it. So do you do this kind of thing often?”
“Make dreams? Kind of…” He paused, looking around at the small library he had built, “I’m sorry, I guess I’m just not used to this, is there anything I can help you with?”
She shook her head, “I guess I’m just curious about you,” She hesitated for a moment, “Look, this is going to sound strange, but I can sometimes feel things that others can’t, It’s not always clear, and I can’t always get a good read on it, but I felt so much sadness and unease when I came across your dreams a while ago, and it made think about my own situation.”
“Your own situation? Wait, you’ve been to my dreams before?”
She nodded, “Just in passing, but I picked up on a strong feeling when I did, and it really made me think about my own life right now. I’m sorry if I’m just assuming things, but you’re probably the only night pony in your area too right? If it’s anything like my situation, it must make you feel—”
“ — alone…” Silver turned towards her and smiled, “That’s exactly what I’ve been going through. So is that why you’re here? Because you feel the same?”
She shrugged, “I… I don’t really know. I guess I just didn’t know what to really do going forward. This whole dream walking thing is new to me and It’s just hard to get a good feel for. I hopped through a bunch of dreams at random, but yours was the only one I felt any kind of strong emotion from, I thought that maybe trying to talk with someone that’s going through something similar would be a better way to make peace with it all… if that makes sense.”
Silver nodded, bringing up a couple of chairs and a table, “It does… I guess I’m not really the best at making friends, but uhh, feel free to stick around if you want. I can’t say I’m going to be the most interesting conversational partner, but if this helps you then I won’t argue.”
Scarlet nodded and took a seat while Silver summoned a couple of drinks, “So what’s your whole goal with this? Like I said before, I guess I’ve just never really seen a night pony do something like this before.”
Silver shrugged, “Just trying to get a better grip on crafting dreams. It’s tricky but I feel like I’m starting to get a hang of it.”
“Dream crafting… interesting, can’t say I’ve seen too many ponies that give that a shot.”
Silver nodded, “Me neither, but hey that’s why I’m trying it out,” He paused for a moment, “So uhh, If you don’t mind me asking... what did you do in life before this all happened?”
“A little of everything, but a whole lot of nothing I feel. I always liked to stargaze though, wanted to do something with that, but never really figured out what,” She gestured towards her flank, “Got my mark in it though, so I guess that’s a plus. I don’t really know what my talent is, but it’s almost like I can pick out objects in the night sky really well, like I just know where they’re at and what they are.”
The blue night pony passed her one of the drinks and took his own seat, “Well, it sounds like you figured it all out… Stargazing, that’s something I haven’t done in a very long time.”
She smiled, “Well, if you’re ever in the mood to take a trip up my way I’d love to reintroduce you to it. So where about are you anyhow?”
“Well right now I’m kind of on the edge of LA. Lived there most of my life but I had some… stuff come up that I’d rather not get into. Needless to say I’ve just kind of been camping for a while now. Not really sure where I’m headed overall. How about you?”
“Me? I’m in the mountains, up in Idyllwild. There’s a little pony community set up in an old camp ground that my parents used to take me to all the time as a kid. Thought it’d be a nice getaway given that I couldn’t really afford my home anymore.”
Silver nodded, “Well, maybe I’ll take you up on that offer sooner rather than later, I’ve kind of been drifting around here, haven’t really found anywhere to just set up shop in.”
“Do you have anything concrete planned out?”
Silver shrugged, “Well not really, at least not out there. It’s going to sound strange, but I want to try and put my powers to good use in here. This is a dream right? None of it’s real so we could probably do anything we wanted to do here then, so why not do something productive.”
“What kind of things do you have in mind?”
Silver shrugged again, “I guess I don’t know yet, I’ve been trying to make the same basic construct each night, see if I can make something that sticks. I guess my plan from there is to try and figure out what I can actually do with the concept.”
The night pony smiled, “Well it sounds like a fun idea, need any help with it?”
Silver smiled, “Well, I’m not a hundred percent sure how you could help with this specifically, but it’s always nice to have a good friend. You don’t know how great it is to finally have someone I can just talk to again, even if they’re just some random dream stranger. I mean I feel like the world’s ended, my family doesn’t want to talk to me, I don’t really have any close friends left, and there’s hardly any pony around me that I can feel a connection to. It’s just… frustrating you know?”
Scarlet nodded, “Definitely. Like I said it’s just so lonely out there, it’s really nice to chat with someone that’s going through the same kind of thing.”
“Well, I guess that’s a stroke of luck then? We’re both a couple of loners wondering what’s going on in the world then,” He paused for a moment, looking back towards the mare, “Well tell you what, maybe I could try and make a trip up there sometime, I’m sure it’d be a lot better than just sitting around in the grass on the outskirts of town like some lost puppy. So what’s the little community called anyways? You said it was set up in some old camp ground right?”
She nodded, “Used to be called Hurkey Creek, but we’ve all just been calling it Green View. Lots of nature and trees all around, seemed like a fitting name. Do you still have a phone or something? I could send you the address,” She paused, taking a drink from the cup, “I know it sounds crazy right now, inviting you along to some random little village, but we’re social creatures and I know the isolation’s been killing me, I’m sure it’s the same for you, especially if you’re just out on your own. I could show you around and introduce you to some of the locals.”
Silver smiled, “That’d be nice, I haven’t charged my phone in a few days, but let me give you my info anyways, I know a place I can charge it at tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll be a hassle to fly all the way out there, but it’ll sure beat sitting around all alone.”
As he gave her his information, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of happiness knowing that he wasn’t all alone in the world right now. It felt like a crazy idea, travelling such a far distance on his own just to meet up with a dreamer he barely knew, but it was a chance to be around another pony he had something in common with, and if it meant that he wouldn’t be so alone, then maybe it wasn’t the craziest thing that he could do in a world that had just gone through such a crazy change in itself.
