Protean

by Incognito Velvet

Rating: teen
Tags: Human, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna, Drama, Original Character, Mystery, Spike, Profanity
Length: 14925

My first week in Equestria was rough to say the least, but I’m not out of trouble yet. The Canterlot Elite want to meet the new Royal Ward, Spike’s concern mounts over a new project of Twilight’s, and in the Badlands, something sinister stirs...

Since her transformation, Bookish has been enjoying living her peaceful new life in Ponyville. She’s got all the books she can read, the company of friends, and a lovely spot to watch the sunset from. If it were up to her, she could just live there in peace for the rest of her days.

Unfortunately for her, the world seems to have other plans. After trade from the Badlands all but ceases, pressure mounts on the Princesses to act, and Luna’s Ward is in danger of being caught under the scrutinous eyes of the Canterlot Elite. Twilight works late into the nights, consumed by some new project, unwilling to accept help even from Spike. And unbeknownst to our protagonists, something stirs in the shifting sands to the south.

But no worries. After all, an easy life would get boring eventually, right?

Published 2021-08-03 19:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-04-30 04:15:07 UTC

Prologue: Midnight at Canterlot Castle

“That was the last petitioner for tonight, Your Highness.”

Sweeter words could no poet write, nor bard sing.

The city had grown busy as of late, and Canterlot’s Elite had unfortunately begun attending Night Court when their supposedly urgent matters could not be addressed by her Sister that day.

Princess Luna had at first regarded the petitioners with a cold stare- thought that they were merely made desperate by being unable to see the Princess of the Sun. But after this many nights, her gaze had softened, and she saw them now more clearly. They were desperate, yes, but now she saw that many of them had good reason to be.

Princess Luna stood up from her throne, and stretched her stiff muscles. She turned to face her attendant, a young pegasus stallion, and she gave the best smile she could manage, tired as she was. He awkwardly smiled back.

“Thank you for your service as always, Inkwell.” Luna said.

The young stallion blushed, fumbling with his papers as he made an embarrassed attempt at a bow. “Thank you, Your Highness!” he squeaked.

While she’d surely deny it if asked, Luna found that she quite liked the stallion. Hiring him had been Celestia’s idea, but he’d been invaluable in helping her adjust to the massively increased workload since the Badlands settlements had all but ceased trade with Equestria and its allies. Some sort of reward for him was in order. A payrise, perhaps? It did seem to lack the personal touch… Regardless, this would have to wait for another night.

Luna raised her voice to just below a shout, speaking now to the room at large. “Thank you all for your service tonight. You are dismissed.”

Clinks of metal on metal echoed throughout the throne room as the numerous guards in the room saluted in unison. Luna didn’t wait to see them leave, for she was more than eager to leave herself.

Walking along the corridors of the castle, she breathed a sigh of relief. The throne room seemed almost designed to be so stiflingly boring, it was a wonder her sister managed to stay sane after all these years. Luna quickened her pace. What she needed after so long in that dreadful place was some fresh air, and time to think on the night’s happenings.

And there was a lot to think on, truthfully. So many of Canterlot’s Elite that had petitioned her lately raised genuine concerns about the reagent shortage. The combination of that and newspapers picking up on the story too had led to something of an air of doom about the palace of late. Though most of that was the fault of the press sensationalising every little piece of it they could, and it was hard to believe that those very same ponies who bemoaned their fates in her court were not involved on some level with those articles- the noble class certainly had a reputation for such underhanded tactics to get their way.

That is not to say that all those who appeared before her had entirely self-interested reasons for doing so, but it was certainly hard to argue that any of them were being truly selfless when they stood to lose so much money and power.

A great deal of different suggestions had been made on how to fix the shortage tonight, as there had been every night. She’d even finally heard some new suggestions today- including from a stallion from the College of Alchemy, who had requested a research grant. The most popular suggestions, however, remained the same: increasing naval trade with Zebrica, or the truly sickening suggestion of sending a military force into the Badlands to ensure that trade returned to its previous volumes. The former was not a bad idea, and in fact was based upon a suggestion by Celestia a few years prior, but the latter…

She stopped in her tracks, having come to a balcony overlooking the palace gardens. This was a place of relaxation, in her mind. Had she been so lost in the miasma of her thoughts as to walk here purely out of habit? She drew in a deep breath, enjoying the sweet smells of the exotic flowers that her sister had arranged be collected from the world over, before slowly exhaling.

There was no need for such stress about so few ponies pushing for another war, even if they were nobility. They knew not what they were even suggesting, most likely. Luna leaned against the guard rail, draping her front legs over it. A cool breeze blew over the gardens, and she felt the urge to follow it, to clear her head as she once did, flying over her beloved city and subjects. She missed those times, in moments like this.

But, she considered, perhaps just as there were now pegasus guards to keep the night skies safe, her sister had kept Equestria safe, and raised a world that did not even think of war?

She laughed a mirthless laugh at the thought.

“Just as I was beginning to think I had adapted to this new era…” she said to herself.

An Equestria without war had little use for… She shook her head, stopping herself there.

Luna found her train of thought drifting towards darker topics, and that reminded her of the other type of petitioner she received. Some of the Canterlot Elite had been asking after her Ward, despite no official announcement having been made of her existence. They seemed to not know where Bookish was, but they knew that she was a she, so Luna imagined that they would find out soon. The demands to meet this Pony who had been raised without notice from nothing to the top of noble society were loud and growing louder, and dismissing them out of hoof anymore would surely be harmful to Bookish’s future interactions.

Luna had only been isolating her from the nobility because she was trying to protect Bookish from the countiless suitors and sycophants she’d no doubt accumulate, but it was becoming clear that the time she would have to teach her to protect herself from such types was rapidly vanishing. Her poor filly was barely even acclimated to Equestria enough to be able attend a school, and soon she herself would be forced to throw her into the deep end of the country’s political movings.

Luna scowled. Pegasus guards be damned, she needed to clear her mind tonight before dreamwalking.

With a beat of her powerful wings, she leapt from the balcony, vanishing into the night.

Author's Note

Well, here we go! If you’re a new reader, and wondering what exactly is going on, I’d recommend reading the prequel to this, which can be found here! (I hear the writer is a bit of a weirdo tho :raritywink:)

For my retuning readers: thank you for sticking with me on this wild journey, and I wanted to let you know that this story will update weekly on a Tuesday, just like always, but remind you that I’m still on hiatus for another week.

Most importantly, I’d like to give a huge thanks to Rocinante, Star Sparkle, Silver Lockes, and 0_0. Without them, this fic might not have happened, or at the very least would not be at the same level of quality.

Gosh, that was a lot... :twilightblush: I hope you enjoy this little teaser of what’s to come, and remember that it’s okay to take breaks if you need to. Have a wonderful week!

13: Party Fowl

Author's Note

I’m sorry to keep you all waiting, but this next arc is proving quite a lot more delicate to put together than the last. Thank you all for your patience, and welcome to all the new readers! And now...

Ahem.

Esteemed guests, without further ado:

13: Party Fowl

---Protean---

The Golden Oaks Library stands tall over most buildings in Ponyville. As the last rays of sunlight spill out over the town, it’s nothing short of a sight to behold. Though the surrounding houses are silhouetted, its bark still always seems to glow the wonderful golden color of the sun, which, I’m told, is supposedly how the tree had received its name.

When I asked, nopony was sure exactly whose dumb idea it had been to hollow out the majestic tree for its current purpose, but then again, they didn't seem to mind. The magic within the oak keeps its leaves growing, after all, so it does stand to reason that no real harm had been done to it.

Most residents of the town today don’t really give the building much thought at all. But, if anypony were to ask them, they’d certainly be able to tell you that the tree is a beautiful and iconic landmark of their quiet town.

I slide off the bench I’ve been sitting on with a yawn. I stretch all four legs, taking in the sight one last time for the day before I head inside to eat. Since being unceremoniously taken from my world three weeks ago, ‘their quiet town’ has now become ‘our quiet town’. I can’t complain, though. I really like it here.

I’m not technically grounded anymore, but I still haven’t really been allowed much freedom- not that I’ve really tried to convince Twilight or Luna otherwise. This tree has become my home, but I still don’t quite feel comfortable with the idea of just gallivanting around town. The freedom to simply watch the sun setting from my favourite bench is enough at the moment.

I walk the short distance between the bench and home, ready to cap off another happy and uneventful day.

As I close the door behind me, I can hear chatter coming from the library’s front desk. “Yeah! And the coolest part was when he used his final ripple, wasn’t that amazing?!”

I don’t recognise the voice. Must be someone here for a book, although I’m almost certain the library is meant to be closed already. Sure enough, going to investigate reveals Spike sat behind the library desk, talking animatedly with a young and nerdy-looking unicorn stallion. Spike notices me standing there pretty quickly and stops talking, giving me a little wave.

“Welcome back from your break! Is it nice out there?” he says.

“As wonderful as always.” I say, with a nod my head. Looking at the desk’s counter, I can see a pile of books on Spike’s ‘returns’ trolley. “Do you want me to help you with those, by the way?”

I’ve actually been helping Spike out quite a bit with running the library since I’ve been able to move about easily in this body. Turns out that the library has been open pretty infrequently since I got here- and as soon as I found that out, I suggested that I could help Spike out with what I could. It took a little convincing, but after I said that it would be good for me to get used to interacting more with other ponies, and assuring Twilight that I would still be practicing reading when things were quiet, she reluctantly agreed.

I still feel like I could be doing more to help out, but any other requests I make are summarily denied by either Spike or Twi. I’m not quite sure why, either. I was always raised to do my share of the chores, or more, when others couldn’t or didn’t, but in a society like this, who can say what the most prevalent child-rearing strategy is?

“I could do with the help, Bookish,” Spike says with a hum. “But are you sure you’ll put them in the right place?”

I’ve been waiting to hear that. Spike has always handled reshelving the books himself, at Twilight’s request- she said something about a letter from Luna, I think? But the other day I finally got Spike to explain the ordering system to me, and after building it up in my head for days as this super-complex system that would blow my mind… It’s literally just the dewey decimal system. Except in this world, they call it ‘Starswirl’s Sort’.

I give Spike a catlike grin. “I’m certain.”

Both he and the stallion standing on the desk roll their eyes. Spike picks up the book on top of the pile, and taps on its hardback cover with a claw.

“Prove it then- where does this go?” he says.

“O ye of little faith. Let’s see…” I take the book from him and look at the spine. It’s titled ‘Ripple’s odd adventure’, and is numbered as 834. “Easy as pie. Fiction section, just the other side of that bookcase.”

I point the book at where I mean, and Spike raises both eyebrows in pleasant surprise. “Right! Was that a fluke, or did you really learn Starswirl’s Sort so fast?”

“I really learnt it so fast.” I say, and start to wheel the trolley over to where the first book needs to go, raising my voice so he can still hear me. “There’s only, like, twenty categories to memorise. Why are you acting so surprised?”

“She’s almost as bad as Twi…” I barely hear Spike mutter under his breath. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.

I hear the stallion give a little laugh. “She’s quite the clever young mare! Say, Spike, I haven’t seen her around Ponyville before- is she the very same filly that I’ve heard Twilight has been looking after?”

“Yup, that’d be her.” Spike replies. “She was a bit of a clawful just after she arrived, though.”

Oh, how I want to yell a rebuttal to that. Thankfully for Spike, I don’t want anyone’s impression of me to be ‘the filly who screams and can remember things’, so I let it go and let the two return to their conversation before I arrived, which seems to be about one of the books he had been reading.

I keep at my work, and continue to push the returns trolley between bookshelves, until I find myself pushing towards the last book’s home, which I know is just across from the main desk.

It’s weird though, since I can’t seem to find the empty spot where it should go. I’m sure it’s meant to go here, did I make a mistake? I look again at the book’s Starswirl number, and no, I’m pretty sure it should go back around here. I’m just about to begrudgingly ask Spike for some clarification when a voice cuts through my thoughts.

“Oh! That one goes up high, let me help you with that!” the stallion says. I don’t have time to yell for him to stop before I see his horn ignite with magic.

I yelp with pain and reflexively raise a hoof to my horn, losing my balance in the process. I stumble for a few steps, trying and failing to take a calming breath as the pain of thaumic feedback start to set in. Even though I know that the sickening, stomach-churning feeling I’m feeling is just my own body automatically responding to a perceived magical threat, it doesn’t make it any better.

Mercifully, his magic stops after a few seconds, and that stupid damned unicorn has the audacity to rush over to my side, his face all concern and worry. He reaches out nervously with a hoof, but it’s slapped away by Spike.

“Don’t.” Spike says, with unusual terseness. “She’s probably okay, but give her some space, Minim.”

“Okay… I’m sorry…” he says in a very small voice, bowing his head low and backing up as instructed. He apologises a few more times, and excuses himself before dashing away, shame plastered all over his face.

I take a few shaky breaths in and out, and blink away tears that I didn’t realise I’d been crying. This is starting to really get out of hoof. It feels like every time it happens, my reaction to magic gets a little bit worse, and even after weeks, I still haven’t made any progress in stopping the reflex.

“I’m really sorry about Minim, he didn’t mean to hurt you…” Spike says, once there’s no doubt that we’re alone in the room. “Did you try to do what Twi told you?”

“It’s ok…” I sniffle, nodding my head. “I tried, butI just can’t do it. The pain is too much for me to calm down in time.”

“There’s gotta be a way for you to do it. I just know there is!” says Spike, and I give him a weak smile.

“I know there will be, but in the meantime, hey- at least we can close the library on time. I’m starving.”

He thumps me on the shoulder playfully. “Alright, alright. Can you go lock up? I’ll whip you up something to eat, pronto!”

I feel a little lazy, so I think I’ll take some time to collect myself before getting up. I’ve probably earned a little laziness after that mess of a social interaction, anyway. I lie back against the desk, content to just daydream for a while.

After I close the front door behind me, I hold my hoof to the locking runes. I listen out for the telltale ‘click’ of it activating, then I stroll my way along to the kitchen, where a delicious and peaceful dinner should be waiting for me. I round the corner, and...

“SURPRISE!”

I’m not sure if my ears are ringing from the yelling or from the party poppers, but since they’re all an inch from my face, I’d hazard a guess that it’s both.

The kitchen is filled with about a dozen ponies, both familiar and not, all wearing party hats. I stand there dumbly with my mouth hanging open, completely unsure of what to make of the whole situation. On the table, I can see plates piled with everything from salad sandwiches to carrot dogs, and looking over at the kitchen counter I can even see a bowl of punch. I feel almost bad for how much effort must have gone into what was almost the most unfortunately timed party of all time, and I’m now incredibly glad I took those few minutes to relax before I came in here.

The entire room is silent, and from the faces of the crowd I can tell that they’re eagerly awaiting some kind of reaction from me. I shut my open mouth, and put on the best smile I can muster.

“Thank you so much everyo- everypony,” I start. What in the everloving fuck does one say in this scenario?! “Let’s all have a lot of fun!”

There’s a cheer, and the crowd breaks apart, most serving themselves some food. I sigh, and scan the rather crowded room for either of the only two faces I expected to be seeing here. I need to find one of them, and I most definitely need to ask them what the fuck is going on.

I barely get a second to breathe before I feel someone place something on my head, and my vision fills with Pink. Ah. That would explain the surprise party. I pull my head as far back as I can without moving, and sure enough, I’m treated to the sight of one of Twilight’s friends, Pinkie Pie. Twi had told me a while ago to expect a party from her at some point, but I didn’t think it would be like this.

“Hi, Bookish! My name’s Pinkie Pie! Twilight said you should already know that, but I figured ‘what the hay, I’ll tell her just in case!’, so here I am, telling you!” she says, in a single breath. My eyes glaze over as she continues, “Twilight didn’t want to tell us much about you because it’s supposed to be a secret, BUT she did say that you were some sort of creature from another world that got stuck here, and that made me think you must be really sad and lonely, so I told myself ‘I’ve just got to throw that pony a party, that’ll cheer them right up!’, but Twilight said that I couldn’t, but then two weeks ago--”

Spike walks between us, and closes a hand around Pinkie’s muzzle, mercifully silencing her motor mouth.

“I think she gets it, Pinkie.” he says. “Right, Bookish?”

Spike snaps his fingers in front of my muzzle, and I focus my eyes on him. “Uh, right, yeah!” I hastily say.

Now that I’m paying a little more attention, I notice that he’s wearing a party hat too, though one of his spines has poked a hole in the back. It’s an amusing sight, but after casting my eyes around the rest of the room, I give a look of puzzlement to the pony I know must have planned this all.

“Actually, wait, I don’t think I do get it. What exactly is this a party for, Pinkie?”

Spike releases his grip on Pinkie’s mouth, allowing her to answer. “Well duh, it’s for you, silly! It’s your ‘Welcome to Equestria, And Congratulations on Only Making One Kafka Joke’ Party!”

“Huh. That… mostly makes sense, I suppose.” I scratch my head with a hoof, still baffled by the whole situation.

“See Pinkie?” Spike says. “Now buzz off, and let her enjoy herself.”

She didn’t seem to mind his rudeness, happily responding with “Oki doki, loki!” and bouncing away to the other side of the room. Complete with her own ‘bouncing’ sound effect, seeming to come from nowhere. My mouth is once again agape, and I feel like I know significantly less about what’s going on for having asked.

“Welcome to Pinkie Pie.” the dragon says, giving me a solemn look. “I’d say you get used to it, but…”

Trailing off there tells me all I need to know, really. Spike and Twilight had told me stories about Pinkie Pie’s wild antics before, but neither did the mare justice. Even I seem to be at a complete loss for words of how to describe her. I watch her hop about and make small talk, and it dawns on me. She’s utterly chaotic, yes, but smiles seem to follow in her wake. She’s like a hurricane of happy bubbly energy.

It’s when Pinkie has made a full lap of the room that I frown, and return my attention to Spike.

“Have you seen Twilight anywhere?”

He nods, and points to the ceiling. “Yeah, but she’s still in her study though. Why, do you need her to bail you out of this?” He says, looking suddenly concerned.

I hold out a hoof to try and halt his train of thought. “No, I’ll be fine, I promise- just feeling a little overwhelmed. I’ll try and enjoy myself as much as I can.”

Spike’s expression softens, but doesn’t go back to a smile.

We walk over to the table, and I load up a plate with a mixture of everything on offer-- I’ve not been a pony for long enough to have found anything I hate yet, thankfully. Although that might just be an endorsement of Spike’s skills as a chef, who knows. Speaking of, I recognise a lot of the dishes. All of them, even. I’d better make a mental note to properly thank Spike later for doing the catering.

I sit myself down in a corner, and place my plate in front of me. Spike joins me a moment later with a little dish of assorted gems, and a large glass of punch.

“So who all is here, then?” I ask quietly, taking a few bites of a carrot-dog. God these taste good.

Spike takes a long drink, before replying: “Well I know you know Pinkie Pie, and we met with the Apples last week,” I nod. “But there’s also Fluttershy, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rarity…”

I sigh. “And I suppose I should try to socialise?”

He smiles apologetically. “Probably, if you’re feeling up to it? You want me to introduce you to somepony?”

“I think somepony just wants an excuse to talk with Rarity~” I say in a sing-song voice.

“Do not!” Spike retorts, making the most adorable angry face. I burst into laughter as he throws his arms up in exasperation. “Fine then, you’re on your own.”

I finish my carrot-dog with a giant bite, and hop up onto my hooves. It wouldn’t make a great first impression anyway, hiding behind Spike as he introduced me. This is technically my party, after all. Let’s go gettem, Me!

The only question that remains then, is who to pick?

Rarity is a no on principle, seeing as how I don’t want my wingman to swoop in and be stolen away afterwards. I would like to find a pony ‘my age’ to talk to, but this town (or at least this party) seems wholly devoid of teenagers--or rather, the pony equivalent thereof. There’s a trio of ponies I can see huddled under the table that look like they’re almost a full head smaller than me, which I think puts them at around half my age? That rules them out. I hardly feel like talking to a kid, much less three kids- they can get real annoying real fast. How about Fluttershy? I wrack my brain for anything I’ve heard about her from either Spike or Twilight, and can’t remember much besides her love for bunnies and her apparently timid nature. I can’t imagine talking with her being much fun, either.

That leaves the only three other ponies in the room that aren’t in the Apple family: a duo of candy-colored mares who seem to want the world to know that they’re madly in love; or a lone earth pony mare with a grey coat and an immaculate black mane, who completes her look with a bow tie around her neck.

My debate between finding the lesser of two evils or giving up and sitting with Spike is interrupted when I see somepony new enter into the kitchen.

A beautiful blue pegasus walks in, and the world seems to hold its breath as she moves. I’ve not been here for long, but even an idiot like me can see how incredibly fit she is. She stands at a head taller than me, and her muscles look so well defined that even her wings somehow outstrip the few other pegasi I’ve seen, and her flank… I force my eyes away, staring into her sparking magenta eyes, which stare right back at me…

“I think you broke her, Dashie!” says Pinkie Pie, and the sound of the room returns all at once.

I’m not sure whether to respond with ‘No, I’m fine,’ ‘Your mane looks amazing!’ or a confused ‘How did you get here so late?’. Unfortunately, I open my mouth before I settle on one option, and blurt out “How did you get looks so fine?”

I would’ve assumed she’d laugh at my embarrassing display, but she merely flicks her mane and flashes me a winning smile.

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” she says, not a hint of annoyance or reprimand in her tone. She knows how ponies see her, and she’s proud of it.

Her eyes dart around before she leans in, moving her muzzle close enough to me that I can feel her warm breath tickling my ear.

“Although, usually it’s from colts.” she whispers. The hairs on the back of my neck all stand on end, and then I feel my muzzle heat up in a fierce blush.

I fall to my haunches, and the mare I now know for certain to be Rainbow Dash walks casually over to the punch bowl with Pinkie in tow, leaving me totally awestruck.

Smooth.

---Protean---

The smooth sand of the badlands stretched out for miles. The sight was serene: white sand, bathed in pale moonlight beneath a starry sky. Truly, an unparalleled view.

But to Jet, however, the night was nothing to admire. To him, the night was a time of great danger. If caught without the heat wards of one of his family’s nests or hives, the sand would be far too cold at night for his chitinous body to withstand for all that long.

The badlands were beautiful, yes, but they were deadly.

During the days, meganeura hunted amongst the sands, and at night, if the cold didn’t get you, the nightmarish Serpopards would.

But deep down, Jet knew what the deadliest creature in the badlands was.

He shivered, feeling his carapace starting to harden in the cold night air. He liked the night. Moreso than his brothers and sisters, at least. The cold helped him to think, and the stillness and peace, along with the distance from the others, helped him clear his mind of the day’s worries.

And tonight, he had a lot on his mind.

Was it normal, he wondered, to question the methods by which you remained alive? He knew he must be the only one of his kind to think that way, but surely in Equestria, things were different?

If only he had been born there, in one of their wonderful cities or quaint towns. He wouldn’t have to hide his nature, or repress any thoughts he didn’t want his mother to intrude upon. He wouldn’t have to live with the horrifying guilt of how he got his meals every day, he’d be normal! His conscience would be clear, and he’d spare as much thought to the flowers he ate as he once did towards his food.

Perhaps someday, he thought, he could run away. Disguise himself as a traveler, and journey to Canterlot. When he was younger, he’d even thought that if he was lucky, he might be sent there officially, to guard one of the trade caravans.

But he was older, now.

Jet had been out in the cold air for too long, and while he could feel that he wouldn’t last much longer without the warmth of the hive, he wasn’t ready to go back yet.

He took one last longing glance at the moon, closing his eyes in a silent prayer for salvation. Jet turned his back, not wanting to see that his prayers would go unanswered for another night. He scurried back into the warmth of the hive, a place which he knew with certainty that prayers to the Two Sisters did not reach.

14: A Little Self-Control

---Protean---

Twilight, Spike and I sit in silence around the table, our choice of breakfast in front of each of us. While Twi looks as energetic as always, both myself and Spike look positively exhausted after yesterday.

I unenthusiastically gulp down another spoonful from my bowl of ‘Frosted Celestia-o-s’. They’re Celest-tastic! Since discovering this world’s divine selection of cereals, I’ve been taking a break from toast.

“So, how did the party go?” Twilight prompts.

Spike and I share a glance. One look around the kitchen might begin to give you an idea, but the party had gotten rather… out of hoof, after nopony had thought to stop it from running late into the night.

Streamers are stuck to most surfaces, somehow including the ceiling, and what few of the half-deflated balloons remain bob sadly up and down, the helium inside barely able to support their weight. The sink appears to be filled with a strange green slime, and I daredn’t say how, since there wasn’t any green food or drink served at the party. The floor and kitchen counter are a mess of sticky pink pools from where punch had splashed onto things, and smears of what I am wilfully choosing to believe is icing are visible on a few cupboard doors. Thankfully, the windows seem to have avoided the party hurricane that evidently swept through hear last night, but the curtain rail from the kitchen’s window was not so lucky- it’s currently bent at a near-perfect ninety degree angle. But more importantly it now lies, curtains and all, in the sink.

Neither me nor Spike seem to want to speak, but Twilight clears her throat, making it very clear that she isn’t going to take our silence as an answer.

“Well, y’know…” I start, stalling for time.

“Do I?” Twilight asks, with a smile. I know that smile. That’s the smile of a pony who definitely knows what happened, but wants to see if you’ll try to lie to her first.

“It was her idea!” Spike blurts out. “Ponies started to get tired, and Bookish asked Pinkie if she knew about ‘energy drinks’. Then everything got really out of control!”

“Nice one,” I mutter under my breath.

Last night I’d managed to cook up a theory, after a little experimenting- I think Pinkie Pie knows a lot of things that she just plain shouldn’t be able to know. My first proper test doubled as a fix for the diminishing energy of the party: I asked her if she had any cans of Monster. My suspicions about her were proven right when she managed to produce several bottles from inside her mane, and my memory of the rest of the night is a complete blur from then on.

Twilight’s stare fixates on me, and I swear to Celestia it nearly kills me where I sit.

“I’m really sorry Twilight… And, u-um, in my defense, I didn’t think this would happen?” I offer. “Please don’t be mad!”

At that, Twilight sighs a defeated sigh, and relaxes her glare. “It’s alright… Please don’t feel like you need to take responsibility for this, Bookish. Pinkie Pie, like most of the ponies at that party, are adults.”

I open my mouth to retort that I am an adult, but I’m silenced by Twilight raising her hoof and continuing. “I know you feel like an adult, but you’re not. You have at least fifteen full years before that, so it’s okay to take a step back, and let older ponies take charge.”

I nod, unable to help myself from feeling guilty all the same. “Okay…” I say, in a small voice.

“Honestly, I can’t believe that mare!” Twilight says angrily, before launching into a rant about how this was just like Pinkie, so instead of listening to that, I turned to Spike.

“Sorry again Spike, I didn’t think things through properly.” I say, hoping he isn’t too mad that I trashed one of his favourite rooms through my decisions last night.

He merely shrugs. “It’s no biggie. Like Twi says, you’ve gotta take it easy Bookish- as far as I’m concerned, this is Pinkie’s mess to clean up.”

You too, huh?

I give him a weak smile. “I’ll try my best. I guess I am still getting used to this, right?” I say, gesturing to my body. Spike simply nods by way of a reply, a smile on his lips.

Twilight stops her muttering about Pinkie, a lightbulb all but visible over her head.

She turns to face me. “That reminds me of something important. Come on Bookish, let’s go upstairs.”

We walk up and into my room, and we both sit down on one of the pillows I have on the floor for just this purpose. She fidgets a little on her cushion, smoothing it out with a hoof before laying herself down on it.

Once we’re both comfortable, she speaks up. “Spike told me about what happened in the library yesterday. The headaches are getting worse?”

“I-I…” I stammer. “Yes…”

Here it comes. Damn it Spike, I haven’t told her about this for a reason! Even though she’s told me what to do, I can’t manage to get my magic under control… Twilight’s just going to be disappointed in me, like she always seems to be. I lower my head in shame, and brace myself for the verbal onslaught I’m sure is to come.

But it doesn’t come.

Twilight gently raises my head with a hoof, and the expression I see on her face is one I least expected- guilt.

“I’m so, so sorry Bookish…” she says. “How long has it been- and without me even knowing, I--”

She lowers her hoof, and I take a tentative step towards her. She doesn’t finish whatever she was about to say, and the room momentarily quiets.

“Maybe the problem isn’t just that you can’t focus, but you don’t know what to focus on. Have you been able to draw on your magic at all, yet?” Twilight asks.

I shake my head. “I haven’t really even tried… I’ve been a little afraid to, honestly.”

Twilight looks a little taken aback by that, but hardly misses a beat. “Really? Then I think we should start there. Having a feel for your magic must be the key!”

I smile at that. Twilight’s problem-solving tendencies remind me an awful lot of myself, and I’m glad she wants to help.

“Alright then, let’s do this.” I say, as much to myself as to Twi. “How do we start?”

“Start by getting as comfortable as you can, and closing your eyes.” She says, and after adjusting my sitting position a little, I do so. “Good. Now, can you feel your horn? Focus on it, and tell me what you feel.”

What do I feel? There’s a gentle air current in the room, and I think I can hear the sounds of the town outside-- No, hold on, focus. I take a calming breath, and try again, ignoring my other senses and focusing only on my horn. Once I do, I start to feel a warmth spread throughout my body. It’s subtle, and not unpleasant, but I still feel a noticeable heat. I wonder if that means I’m doing it right?

I let out a gasp. “I can feel… Something! Lots of little things, all around us. I don’t know how to explain it, but I can just tell they’re here. This is… just, wow...”

“You’ve got it!” Twilight says, with a little giggle. “What you’re feeling is the ambient magic of Ponyville. For now, don’t try and do anything, but can you feel any of the magic wanting to come towards you?”

I can. I don’t know how I can tell what the magic ‘wants’, but some of it wants to come towards me. It’s inviting, somehow- beckoning, almost. As if its purpose is to gather to me, and my purpose is to gather it.

I absentmindedly give an affirmative hum, totally absorbed by this new task. Probing my new senses I can feel some sort of tether between my horn and the magic- or to be more precise, hundreds and thousands of tiny little tethers. This must be it! I do the only thing I can think to do: pull.

Heat. My face flushes, the warmth from earlier building abruptly from a pleasant tingle into a powerful heat, and I can feel beads of sweat start to form on my forehead, damping my fur as they fall.

“Bookish,” says Twilight. “You need to let go of that magic. I know it’s tempting, but it’s not yours, and you can’t have it, so you need to push it away.” Her tone is calm, but insistent.

The heat starts to get to me, and my single minded focus breaks. I open my eyes, and see exactly what Twilight means. My vision is filled with a powerful pulsing blue light, centered just above my eyes- on my horn, most likely. It definitely didn’t feel like this much magic when I was pulling it in. God damn it, I got carried away with myself!

I can’t focus anymore, and any sensation of connection I had to the magic around me starts to fray. I try to find the tethers I pulled upon to get myself into this mess, desperately wanting to push them away. I can’t feel them anymore.

I try to whip my head around to where Twilight’s sitting, but my body barely responds. It feels like I’m moving through molasses. If even such a simple movement is nigh impossible, then what about my breathing?

“Twilight?” I say, trying my absolute best to not slip into panic “I don’t think I can? What do I do?”

“Try to stay calm.” she replies.

Easy for you to say. I flit my eyes over to where she is, but I still can’t see her, damn it! My breaths become shallow, and the heat in my horn is starting to burn.

“That’s not working!” I yell, as the blue light starts to pulse and fizzle. My heart’s nearly beating out of my chest, and I feel like I’m gonna pass out from lack of oxygen. “Twilight, help!”

“Bookish! I need you to turn to face me.” she says. I try my best, but my head refuses to turn at anything faster than an agonisingly slow speed. “Put all of your focus on me! Concentrate!”

I finally manage to face her, tears in my eyes from the exertion and stress of it all. She’s standing there with a wide stance, a look of concern and focus on her face. Our eyes meet for a split second, and I see a faint smile of relief on her lips.

Then her horn ignites, and my world is consumed by blinding light.

---Protean---

Pods lined the walls and ceilings of the distribution chamber. The contents of each pod wasn’t visible through the opaque substance that made up their outside, but every changeling knew what they contained- livestock, suspended in a perpetual sleep by the magics and fluids within. The love produced while the animals slept was the main source of food for the hive, and so this room and its contents were of great importance.

All in all, about a third of the hive’s changelings were in some way responsible for maintaining this room, everything from making sure it was optimally lit to protecting the chamber itself from the wildlife of the badlands’ more insistent predators. Among those who worked here was Jet.

Jet’s job was to diligently maintain these pods by cleaning their hard shells and harvesting any filled love crystals, replacing them with empty ones. But all of that was about to change!

He’d been practicing magic when he wasn’t working, and finally it seemed that it had paid off. Mother knew of his devotion, and had finally promoted him to the position of podtender. Fulfilling this elite role in the hive had been Jet’s dream since he was a nymph- and not just for the extra food and love rations. No, Jet’s main motivation for joining the ranks of the spellweaving podtenders was the favour it would earn him from his Queen.

If he could make it to that position, if he was skilled at it, if he could find the right moment to ask… It wasn’t unheard of for the podtenders to take leave from the hive, should they ask for it, as guards to one of the many trade caravans they ran to equestria. He could see the world beyond the badlands, the one that returning infiltrators spoke of so fondly.

But in order to be able to do that, he had to do this. He psyched himself up, and then hovered over to his new supervisor. The larger changeling buzzed his wings in greeting as he approached.

“Jet. Congratulations on becoming a podtender.” he said, making no attempt to hide his lack of enthusiasm. “You are ready to learn?”

Jet nodded, and after a short delay, his supervisor’s jagged horn lit green.

There was a sensation of an invasive presence in his mind, and a dizzying sense of being in two places at once, but after a moment, the knowledge was his. Learning through such a spell wasn’t pleasant, but Jet shook his head clear, his balance holding steady.

“Not bad.” came his supervisor’s gruff voice. “Most of the chaff I get sent don’t stay standing for that. Maybe there’s some hope for you at least.”

Jet didn’t reply, and allowed himself to be led over to one of the room’s many pods. They stopped there, waiting for further instruction. It wasn’t too hard to guess what he’d be told to do though, given the spell he had just been taught. It was the very same spell that had just been used on him, in fact- one that allowed the caster to enter a target’s mind.

His supervisor grunted, and pointed a holed hoof towards the pod. “Go on then. Go inside the livestock’s weak mind, and make it dream of love.”

Jet didn’t need to be told twice. He cast the spell, and suddenly--

His eyes shot wide open, and he staggered back from the pod, bile rising in his throat even as he frantically tried to cut the flow of his magic. He caught a hoof on a rock and fell to the floor, where he lay there, quivering. That wasn’t the mind of a simple creature like a cow, or a dog. That was a pony. A living, breathing adult pony. A pony with a family, and friends, and...

Tears formed in the corner of his eyes as he threw up the contents of his stomach in front of him. His supervisor groaned, walking slowly over to Jet’s side.

“A misfire?” he said, sighing. “We’ve all done that at some point, I guess. Can you stand, Jet?”

‘It wasn’t a misfire,’ Jet almost corrected him, but thought better of it. He’d been given an out, and he knew to take it.

“Yesh..” he slurred, before wiping his muzzle off with one of his forelegs. “My bad.”

After helping Jet to his hooves, the larger changeling chirped in amusement. “Bad? It takes most drones days to be able to connect to a pod properly. Even though you stumbled at the last step, you exceeded my expectations. Mother was right to send you here.”

Jet’s stomach churned at that. This had been his dream, hadn’t it? He looked around the room, taking in for the first time the sheer size and scale of the distribution chamber, with what must be hundreds of pods lining its walls. Hundreds of ponies lining its walls.

This wasn’t right. What Mother was doing in here was wrong. Those ponies were alive, just like he and the others in the hive were. How could she not see that, how could the others not see that?

Jet’s oblivious supervisor gave him a little smile. “I didn’t mean it last time, so let me just say: congratulations on becoming a podtender, Jet!”

Author's Note

Here we are again! So many things happening, and all so fast... Do let me know what y’all think about what we have going on, but do know that just reading on is enough for me :twilightsmile:

Have a wonderful week, and don’t forget to hydrate! (or you will instead diedrate)

16: The Power of Positivity

---Protean---

“Go to the Sugarcube Corner early, Bookish. You can buy yourself something to eat, and then you’ll definitely not be late.”

My mock-Twilight voice doesn’t even feel fun, and it gets me a capital L Look from across the counter. Yes, so sour is my mood that even a glower from Pinkie Pie doesn’t dissuade me from complaining.

“I’ve been waiting here for nearly an hour, Pinkie. It feels like I’ve ordered half the menu, and the mare Twilight said would be tutoring me still isn’t here.”

I sigh exaggeratedly, and rest my head on the counter dejectedly.

“Aw, don’t look so down in the dumps! Besides, if she were running late, I’m sure my Pinkie Sense would’ve let me know to tell you! Well, probably!”

Sweet Celestia, she just doesn’t shut up. There’s something infuriating about somepony so relentlessly cheerful, even in the face of something so irritating. It goes against the grain, almost- telling you that you’re wrong to be annoyed or sad. Annoyingly, Pinkie tends to be right in her assessments of the sort, but that just makes her even more unbearable.

Just then, the doors swung open for the first time since I walked in earlier, revealing the very pony who had so graciously kept me waiting for so long. Octavia Melody, grey-coated earth pony, talented cellist, and my tutor in all those subjects I can’t manage on my own. She stood with grace and poise, not taking a step into the shop until her eyes settled on me, at which point she walked over to greet me with a smile on her face.

I’d seen her briefly at my party the other day, and I suspected Twilight was hoping we’d be introduced to each other there, but alas, without any prompting, I hadn’t quite managed that.

“Sorry I’m late Bookish, I had quite the Eventful Morning thanks to my roommate…”

“Hey, these things happen!” I say, forcing a cheery smile on my face. “I could hear the capital E and M there, what happened?”

She smiles slightly, and beckons me to follow her to a booth over by the window.

“Vinyl Scratch happened,” she sighs. “She can be quite… inscrutable?”

Ah. I’ve heard of her. Or perhaps it would be more apt to say that I’ve heard her, sometimes even from the other side of town. I didn’t know they lived together though, the idea that the two could get along doesn’t quite fit my image of either. Maybe I made too surface-level a judgement of the two?

I nod politely at her comment about Vinyl, and we sit down. Octavia shrugs off her saddlebags, letting them fall onto the table between us. It’s only now that they’re on the table that I notice that she seems to have brought half a library’s worth of textbooks with her. She seemingly picks two at random, and gently places the rest back in her saddlebags, and onto the floor underneath the table.

“So, Bookish. I don’t fully understand the situation you’re in, but I’m told that you’ve had a bit of a gap in your education?”

I shrug, looking down at the floor to hide the little twinge of shame that bites at me. “Yeah, it’s been difficult to force myself to study some subjects…”

“Well that’s only natural.” she says, without even a moment’s hesitation. Mildly surprised, I whip my head up to see an expression of understanding. “If studying was that easy, why would ponies ever need teachers or tutors?”

It’s weird, but hearing her say those words is far different from reading them on a page, or being told them secondhand. Her words flowed as naturally as breathing, and it was clear she believed them wholeheartedly. And so I believe her too.

I don’t realise how tense I am until I let out a breath I’d been holding in for too long. The air is electric with potential, and I know that it’s always best to strike when the iron is hot. So I dare, and decide to take the first step forward.

“Can we start with Equestrian History?” I ask, pointing to one of the two books out on the table.

She smiles, a glint in her eyes. “Certainly.”

“...and she really gets how I learn, right? Like, she even made the battle of brighthearth sound interesting, and I mean–”

Spike puts a claw to my muzzle, stopping my ramble in its tracks. “We get it, Bookish, you like Octavia. Gosh, you’re almost as bad as Twi! Some of us are trying to eat our dinner in peace…”

I blush. I have kinda been talking for a while, and prodding my hayfries reveals that the untouched plate has gone cold.

“Sorry Spike, I got a little bit carried away there.” I sigh. “I really wanted to be telling this to Twi, I guess?”

Spike pats one of my forehooves, and smiles reassuringly. “Hey, I get it. After this long, we both know how she gets when she’s focused on a project.”

I giggle, and finally start tucking into my food properly. Returning home to a mcpones was a welcome treat, if a little unexpected, but definitely speaks to the level at which Twilight is absorbed by whatever she’s currently doing. Celestia knows what it is– probably literally, in this case– but she clearly doesn’t think it’s worth leaving her study over. Not that I’m complaining of course. After a long day of hard study, nothing is better than something with plenty of grease and salt.

A minute or so passes of me shovelling as much food into my mouth as is physically possible until the silence is broken by Spike clearing his throat.

I raise an eyebrow, slowing, but not stopping my eating.

“Hey, Bookish?” He looks away, tracing shapes on the chair with a claw. “If it’s okay… do you want to study together, after we clean up? I-It’s just that, with Twilight so busy, I get a little lonely, and-”

I embrace him tightly. “Of course we can, Spike. I’d appreciate the company.”

I must’ve embarrassed him, because he takes a while to formulate any coherent response beyond a muffled “-fank you…”

Celesita bless you Spike, I don’t know what I’d do without you.

After that, I slow down my pace of eating a little as we finish off our meal, and once we do our minimal clearing up, the two of us go about the rest of our evenings.

I figure I’ll basically spend what’s left of the day reading in my room, and then hopefully chat with Luna once I get to sleep.

As I walk up the stairs though, a sudden impulse takes me. I walk past the door to my room, all the way to the end of the hall, and knock a few times on the door. Silence. A few more knocks, louder this time, and I think I can hear muffled sounds from within. I feel a sudden sense that I shouldn’t be standing where I am, and just as I take a few hesitant steps backwards, the door suddenly bursts open.

Twilight is lying atop a toppled pile of books, both her and the mess having spilled out into the hallway. Frankly she looks like shit, the fall aside- her hair, particularly, is a dead giveaway that she’s been spending too much time in her study.

She gives a sheepish grin, and picks herself up. “Sorry Bookish! I didn’t hear you through the noise dampening enchantments- and ohh, I’ve made such a mess…”

She starts to tidy up the books, and I move to help her. “It’s fine, Twi, but you know, maybe if you let me or Spike in once in a while, this place wouldn’t be…” I trail off, looking into the nightmare of books and papers and dishes inside Twilight’s study, “... such a trip hazard?”

I giggle at my own joke, though no reaction from her. We each put our pile of books back into the study, and we’re left standing across from each other in awkward silence.

“So…. What’s the matter, Bookish? Do you need my help with something?” she asks, smiling awkwardly. “Did your session with Octavia go well? Are you running out of potion cells? Oh! Did you want to do some more magic practice?”

I sigh inwardly. A concern for Twilight being cooped up in her study isn’t one of those options, but is it really alright for me to just outright say that? It’d be weird, right? To come right out and say that I wanted to spend a bit of time with her, who’s ostensibly my guardian while I’m staying in the Golden Oaks Library. But she’s been really busy, so busy in fact that she barely spends any time with Spike. Argh, why is this so difficult?! She clears her throat, reminding me that time marches on as I agonise over my decisions.

“Can you sit and talk with me?” I blurt out. She looks a little taken aback at the request, and I blush bright red. “Um, while we do a little magic practice?” I hastily add.
“Of course we can! I was going to wait a while before I asked you again, but being able to use your magic really is important.”

‘She really can be dense sometimes’, I think to myself, and follow her lead into my room.

A blank dreamscape stretches out before me, vast and white, flat as far as the eye can see, the horizon line blending perfectly with the endless expanse of white above.

Ah, a dreamscape? Then I’m asleep, I guess. I wonder how I can tell? Other than the surreal nature of the place, that is. Rather, the question should be ‘how am I lucid?’

Is this a side effect of so much time spent with Luna, I wonder? She has mentioned a few times that she wanted to teach me a little about dream magic. Could this be some sort of weird test?

I sit down on my haunches, and try to lean my head comfortably on my shoulder. It was easier as a human to sit like this, but it’ll do. Let’s rewind then, what happened today? Or it might be yesterday, I guess, but that’s kinda besides the point. I studied with Octavia, came home to the library, and then… My mind drew a blank. What’d I done after that? I scratch my head, trying to dredge up the thought, when my hoof scrapes across the base of my horn. I click my tongue at the unpleasant sensation. Stupid horn, getting in the way…

Wait, that was it! I went to find Twilight, and practiced my magic again. It was pretty uneventful this time, though rather stressful. She made me wear some sort of stupid ring that limited how much magic I could draw in, and wearing it made me feel like shit. Quite how something so unassuming and small could be so evil I’m not sure, but apparently it was possible.

Nothing else had happened after that, had it? I remember saying goodnight to Twilight, then getting ready for bed, and taking a potion cell… That should be it, I think. I don’t think there’s any gaps in my memory of today, so what’s the explanation for my being stuck in this stupid dream? I slam a hoof against the stupid ground, and it doesn’t even have the decency to react like a proper surface, no shock traveling up my leg at the impact whatsoever.

I grunt in annoyance, and shift to a lying position.

I can usually exert some level of control over my dreams, so that’s always worth a try. I close my eyes, willing the scene around me to change to a meadow on a warm summer’s day. It usually helps if the image is specific, so I focus on each and every detail in turn, from the breeze upon my fur, to the smells of freshly cut grass, and the birdsong echoing from above.

I open my eyes, and there’s no change. Well, not to the dreamscape, that is. Far in the distance, just where I imagine the horizon line ought to be, there’s an equine figure. I can’t quite make out much from here, but it definitely has a dark coat. Maybe a blueish mane?

I stand up, and start trotting over to it. It’s taking a while, but slowly the figure starts to become clearer. I can’t make out much, but I think it’s a stallion, and I think he’s moving towards me too.

Ugh, this is gonna take ages! Stupid fucking dreamscape, stupid walking, stupid–

I blink. In front of me, maybe a few feet away, stands the odd stallion. I blink again, and rub my eyes in disbelief.

Hm. Maybe this place isn’t as unresponsive as I thought?

“No, you were right the first time.” He says, in a voice that’s somewhere between a rough hiss and a musical hum.

What? “I’m sorry, what do you mean?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at the stallion. Something about him isn’t quite right, but what, exactly?

“The dreamscape,” he says, shrugging. “This one’s not yours, so you can’t change it like you usually do.”

Not my dream? Maybe this is some sort of test from Luna. If you’re there Luna, I’m starting to get a little scared, so if you could please just show up, we can laugh over how I reacted.

“Oh, really?” I ask, faking a smile. Let’s stall for time. “So whose dream is this, exactly? Yours?”

He shakes his head. “No, I can’t dream. This is… Well, it’s not really accurate to say any one is dreaming this. It’s…” The figure puts a hoof to its chin, as if reaching for a way to explain the concept. Not unlike Twilight, actually.

“If I had to say this dream belonged to anyone, I’d say it belonged to Equestria. It’s a sort of… connected neutral space, where dreamwalkers can weave together doorways between the dreams connected to it.”

My eyes widen in surprise as he says that. Not from the words he was saying, but because I can finally put a hoof on what about him is so unsettling. His features are completely indistinct. Even this close, I can only make out as little detail as I could when I first saw him off in the distance.

It’s as if my eyes simply recognise the shape of a black coated stallion, and simply refuse to see more. The effect is uncanny, and, seeing it for what it is, I’m even more unsettled than I was before.

“You, though, are no dreamwalker. That’s why you’re stuck here, and why your usual little tricks don’t work.”

He’s smiling, I can tell from his voice. Luna, please, this really isn’t funny.

“You’ve got quite some power in that little filly head of yours, I’ll give you that.” He says, gesturing above my head. Gesturing to my horn? “Your thoughts are practically radiating out from you. You could have quite the future ahead of you!”

He takes a single step forwards, and I flinch. Time to wake up now. Yep, time to wake up.

I scrunch my eyes shut, willing myself to wake up from this stupid nightmare as hard as I can. How did it work in the wizard of oz? Click your heels together 3 times, and… Ah, fuck, I don’t even have heels!

I feel, rather than hear, the figure take another step towards me. And another, and another, and–

---P-Γ-θ-T-Σ-α-n---

I jerk suddenly awake, as if awaking from a long and troubled nightmare, my body slick with sweat. Where the fuck am I?

A tunnel. The place where I always sleep. Which makes sense, now that I think about it. I shake the sweat off myself, hopefully clearing my head in the process. It almost works, too, which is nice. Although, now that my head is clearer, I feel my body demand that I get myself over to the dispensary ASAP.

Walking along the eerily unfamiliar tunnels along the path I know leads to the dispensary, I don’t feel quite right. What is that nagging feeling? It’s not hunger, or thirst, though those are a part of it… I stagger my way along, starved as I am from spending so long asleep.

I’m there now, and I’m rather displeased to see so many others are here too. I can’t make out their features, not even the colors of their coats, but I make my way over to the nearest terminal and take my provisions. I look down at my food, a confusing blur of greens and reds, and my stomach churns at the thought of eating. Ugh, I think I’m gonna be sick… But I mustn’t, what would the others think?

No, I have to maintain the charade for a while longer.

I lie down against the wall, eager for sleep to take me again, but I can’t quite get comfy no matter how hard I try. How could I sleep at a time like this? How could anyone?

I need some fresh air.

The cool air out here feels nice against my body, and looking up to see the empty sky above fills me with a relaxing sense of immediate panic, my heart pounding in my ears, and I sigh in relief. There really is nothing like the wonderful lack of moonlight and the serene grace it casts over the land.

Is tonight the night? There’s nothing more for me here, is there?

I touch a hoof to the sand experimentally, recoiling a little at just how cold it is. Then, more confidently, I take a single step down onto the sand. Then a second, then a third, then a fourth. Then I’m trotting across the dunes, then galloping, fleeing from this accursed place as fast as I can, getting as far away as I can from her, fleeing for what feels like forever, running and running and running and-

---ρ-r-o-π-e-a-η---

“I’ve got her, y’all!” Yells out a voice from in front of me, with a familiar southern twang.

Ugh, my eardrums. Please. There’re nicer ways to get a filly awake, you know.

I open my eyes, wincing at the sudden brightness, and shielding my eyes from the sunlight shining through the trees above me. I… appear to be lying down on the floor of a forest? And towering over me, a tired, but mostly concerned Applejack.

Her eyes narrow in suspicion. Quite what I’ve done to earn her distrust remains to be seen, but I’m sure she’s about to tell me. Hopefully in a speaking voice.

She lowers her voice to a whisper, and says, “Now, ya mind telling me what’s so important ya need to sneak out to the everfree at the crack’a dawn, Bookish?”

Oh.

Author's Note

I’m back to stay, knock on wood. Let’s get to the good stuff.

Hope you enjoyed, and hope you’re looking forward to where we’re going from here!

As always: have a wonderful week, and don’t forget to remember that this story for sure isn’t dead!

17: I Can Explain

---Protean---

“You were sleepwalking? All the way out of Golden Oaks, all the way out into the Everfree Forest?”

Applejack’s incredulity had been tiresome on the walk back home, but now it was really starting to grate on my nerves. Deep breaths, Bookish, deep breaths. I let out a sigh, and flop back against the sofa I’m sitting on.

We- ‘we’ here now having dwindled from ‘Twilight and all of her friends’ to ‘Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack’ -are sitting or standing around in the main room of the library. Fluttershy sits next to me on the sofa, Applejack stands in front of me, and Twilight seems lost in thought, pacing around the room. All but the former of the three wear similarly sceptical and/or worried expressions on their faces.

“What else do you want me to say?” I ask the room at large. “I told you everything!”

Applejack sighs. “I know y’think that, sugarcube, but it just don’t make sense!”

“Maybe your ‘magical lie detector’ can tell you something.” I mutter.

Applejack throws up a hoof in frustration, and goes over to talk to Twilight. Whatever she’s saying, it’s quiet enough that I can’t hear it. I sink further down into my lying position on the sofa, praying that, despite it not being the most comfy, I might be able to catch up on some sleep.

What is it that AJ thinks I’ll say? Why in the hell would I choose to be out of my bed at 3am, and of all places, why would it be the forest I’ve expressly been told not to go into?!

“That wasn’t very nice,” comes a soft voice from beside me. “We’re only trying to figure out what happened to you.”

I sigh dramatically.

“Now, don’t be like that,” Fluttershy continues, “This is very serious. Just because you don’t feel like you have anything else you can tell us, that doesn’t mean you have an excuse to act like a sourpuss.”

I roll my head over to look at her, and see the expected expression of motherly concern. Hers isn’t patronising in the same way Applejack’s is, it’s just the way she is. Her care for animals simply extends out to include anyone else in need. A paragon of Kindness, truly. As AJ and Twi walk upstairs, I take a moment of reflection. Fluttershy’s right, really, there isn’t any reason for me to be acting like this.

“Sorry, Fluttershy…” I mumble. “You all had to wake up in the middle of the night because of me, and I bet you’re all really worried…”

She smiles warmly. “That’s alright, Bookish. I bet you’re worried too, aren’t you?”

“I…” I start, ready to say that I’m not, that I’d just like to go back to bed. But the denial catches in my throat, and I let out a choked sob. “I don’t wanna go…”

I lean forwards into Fluttershy, and cry softly into her mane.

“I’m sorry, I really am… But it’ll be better for everypony if you can be safe, won’t it?”
I want to deny it, but the words don’t come. I can’t bring myself to make Luna worry for me any more.

Luna’s brow furrowed.

It just didn’t make any sense! Sleepwalking? Not even an initiate dreamwalker could lose control of their actions so drastically while asleep, let alone be carried by their subconscious so far as to reach a place as steeped in magic as the Everfree and remain asleep. Even as weak as she was in the art, Luna was certain Bookish had learned enough of the fundamentals of dreamwalking that she wouldn’t sleepwalk.

Twilight had been so sure of her assessment, but…

And then there was the matter of Bookish’s conspicuous absence from the dream world last night. Luna had searched thoroughly for her dream, (not that it was ever too hard to find the traces of her own magic bleeding out from it) but to no avail. There was nothing unusual about dreamless sleep, especially if the pony in question had a particularly tiring day, she supposed. But there was a little part of her that almost thought that Bookish was dreaming, and her presence was being hidden somehow.

And yet, it didn’t bear the mark of being one of the boorish schemes of the only other active dreamwalkers in Equestria. This was worrying, to say the least- at least she could deal with the likes of them. Though, even discounting more sinister possibilities, Luna knew that Bookish could not very well stay in Ponyville any longer. The poor filly would surely be distraught, for a time, but she would recover- and would be afforded the chance to do so, in the safety of her protection.

Luna huffed in frustration. She should have ripped off the bandaid sooner, and brought Bookish to the castle as soon as she was safe to be there, but she hadn’t wanted to tear her away from Spike and Twilight.

“This is quite the mess…” she sighed. “But you shall be safe here, little one. I promise.”

I slump down on the seat of the train, and look longingly out of the window. It’s strange how small Ponyville looks from this angle.

Maybe I shouldn’t have turned down Pinkie’s offer of a ‘farewell party spectacular’, but I wanted to spend my last day before being shipped off to the castle with Spike and Twilight. A whirlwind tour of everything I’m gonna miss, enjoying it all while I still could. My heart aches, knowing who and what I’m leaving behind back there.

The little things, even. The birdsong in the morning, the quiet nights, the library… I wonder when along the way I started to call that place home? Luna’s decision to rip me away from everything I’ve come to know in this world stings, even a day later. I’ll really miss it all…

Sighing, I shake my head to dismiss the thoughts. Spike and Twilight will visit, and I’m sure that Golden Oaks will still be standing when I get a chance to visit them.

The gentle rocking of the train helps, I think. To bring me back to a place where I can just rest on the ride. I’ll try and sleep, I guess. Twilight told me that I should try to, and that there’d be escorts waiting for me when the train reached the end of the line in Canterlot- so why the hay not. I lean myself against the wall of the train car, and close my eyes, letting myself relax.

…Only to be startled awake by a tap on the shoulder. My head darts to and fro, and it takes me a moment to realise I must’ve been asleep for a while. The sun is a lot lower in the sky, and we’ve apparently come to a stop. A blue-coated unicorn stallion stands in the aisle, smiling sheepishly.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to startle you,” He says apologetically “But you’re taking up two seats there, could I ask you to move up a little?”

I blush, and do as he says. I hadn’t realised I’d been taking up so much space, I must’ve slid across the seat in my sleep. How embarrassing…

He takes his seat next to me, and I hear the whistle of the train getting ready to leave the station.

“Next stop, Canterlot! All aboard!” calls the conductor, and soon after I can feel us start to move again.

“Pardon me, miss, but where are your parents?” starts the stallion next to me, “I don’t think a filly should be asleep on her own on such a long train ride…”

Ugh. He’s one of those types. Probably best not to let him know who I am, so what’s the most convenient lie I can think of…

I draw a blank, and opt to just stare blankly at him. I couldn’t have looked more dumb if I’d tried.

He shoots me a quizzical glance. “Say, I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but do I know you? I just get the strangest feeling from you, like we’ve met before.”

Finally, something to work with. “Um, maybe? What’s your name?” I say, trying my best to sound as normal as possible.

“Ink Blue, at your service!” He says, offering me a hoof. I shake it, and he continues. “I run a small inkery in Merston, but if I knew you, it’d be from Canterlot. Do you live there?”

“I… Yes? Yes, I do.”

Fuck, why did I hestitate? Stupid, stupid. He’s gonna get suspicious now, sweet Celestia…

But if he suspects me, it doesn’t show. In fact, on the contrary, he smiles widely at hearing that.

“I don’t suppose it’s somewhere in the Castle District? I fill orders there all the time, and I never forget a face!” he leans in conspiratorially, whispering “But between you and me, I sell the most of my wares to the Princess.”

Confidence, Bookish. Confidence! I giggle, and return his smile. “I do live there! Maybe my family bought some of your ink one time?”

Ink nods, stroking his chin with a hoof. “It’s certainly possible. I do business with a lot of members of house Blueblood, after all.”

I freeze. What did I just do, damn it. I don’t know anything about a ‘house Blueblood’, and I doubt I can pretend to be a member of it, so I think it’s probably best to deflect, and hopefully end the conversation there.

“What makes you think I’m a Blueblood?” I ask, deciding to start small. “There’s not a blue hair on me!”

He winks at me. “Right you are, right you are. Well, I must be mistaken then. I’ll leave it at that, and leave you to your nap.”

Mission accomplished! And so quickly! I’m basically a pro at this. What I’m not a pro at, though, is feeling comfortable sleeping when there’s someone I don’t know sitting next to me. He’s almost twice my size, too.

I didn’t get a look at his cutie mark while we were talking, and didn’t want to be caught looking now, so what better way to while away the time than to think up what it might look like?

Bottle of Ink? Nah, too simple. Ink and quill? Nah, he didn’t seem to be a writer. Blueberries? Well, that wouldn’t even stand out from his coat, would it? Well, there’s surely other possibilities…
And so I keep myself occupied on the ride, wondering when I’ll finally arrive at my new home.

Author's Note

I live! Short chapter, hope everyone enjoys and remembers to always measure twice and cut once!

15: Occupational Hazard

---Protean---

“Bookish!” Twilight calls out, “Are you alright?”

I blink rapidly, and the spots of white in my vision start to slowly clear up. This however does little to help the ringing in my ears, or stop the world from spinning around me, but hey, it’s a start.

“Thank fuck…” I mumble under my breath.

I pick myself up from the floor, and turn to the source of the noise to see Twilight. Her mane is slightly singed, and her fur stands on end a little as though she were charged with static, but she looks to be otherwise okay. “Yeah, I think so. Are you?”

Twilight nods, and walks shakily over to me. She doesn’t look okay, but I guess I can take her word for it? I don’t know what the hell she did back there, but I pretty clearly recall her doing… something, and then taking the brunt of the magic I’d accidentally charged up.

She falls to her haunches next to me, and sighs loudly. “I’m sorry about that, I- I’m a bad teacher, aren’t I…?”

I tactfully ignore that comment, and opt to put a foreleg around her in hopes that it’ll at least make her feel better.

“What happened, anyway?” I ask, and I jump in surprise as Twilight perks up, launching straight into Twilight Lecture Mode.

“And what did happen, pray tell?” Luna asks, before taking another sip from her imagined cup of tea.

I’m dreaming right now, but I’ve gotten a little better at keeping my dreams stable, so tonight Luna and I are having a little tea party in a flower field.

“I dunno, I zoned out.” I say with a shrug, which is surprisingly hard to do when laying on my back in this body. Luna raises an eyebrow and gives me a stern look. She can’t hold her serious face for too long however, and we both break into a fit of giggles.

“Okay, okay. I listened to some of it,” I concede. “But she talked way over my head! Maybe my magic knocked the restraint out of her.” I add with a mutter.

Luna rolls her eyes. “And it appears to have knocked the manners out of you,” I snrk at that. “But do continue.”

I nod. “So basically, I drew in a lot more magic than I should’ve. Twilight got my attention, and then quickly cast a powerful shield spell.”

Which, if I understood her right, was quite dangerous, even if I wasn’t channeling as much energy through my horn as an adult pony might have been. If she hadn’t thought as quickly as she had, or wasn’t as talented at spellcasting… I hope I misunderstood her implications, but I think one of us could have stood to lose our horn, or worse.

“Ah, that is perhaps the only thing she did correctly.” Luna smiles. “I’m glad that she at least observed basic magical safety, if nothing else.”

Luna’s tendency to throw little jabs at Twilight is showing through again. I can’t really blame her, but it does make me feel a little sad. I like Twilight. Despite the mistakes she’s made--and okay, they were pretty big mistakes-- she’s good to me, and good to Spike. Or, at least…

Luna fluffs her wings as I trail off in thought. From what I’ve been able to pick up, that's kind of a protective gesture. I raise an eyebrow, and wait for Luna to decide to share with me what exactly she’s reacting to. We aren’t all mind readers, after all.

She huffs. “Well maybe you should be one. It would make conversing with me in your dreams significantly easier.” Luna clears her throat, continuing to her point. “But I was reacting to the memories that you held in your mind’s eye when you thought of Twilight being usually good to you and Spike. She has been acting unusually?”

“Mmm,” I nod. “She’s really irritable in the evenings for some reason. I could swear she’s up half the night, too. I don’t see it too often though, she usually keeps to her study after we have dinner.”

I let out a sad sigh. “Honestly, I feel bad for her. Spike and I think that Princess Celesita needs to stop giving her so much to do…”

“Quite…” Luna says softly, almost inaudibly. Her face betrays no emotion, but she seems to be deep in thought. “But I suppose that can wait. We have something more important to discuss. I had meant to tell you sooner, but through your story and pleasant dreamwork, I was distracted.”

"Ugh..." I resist the urge to wake myself up. This is going to be something super annoying that’ll totally kill my happy mood, isn’t it? But what… the gears of my mind spin round as I try to think of anything this might possibly be.

“Still your mind, little one.” Luna says, giggling into a hoof. “Quite how you think to construct a thought with such chaos in your mind is a mystery indeed- so be calm, and I shall tell you.”

Coming from anypony else, that pet name would be a deathly insult. But from Luna, I can feel it’s a term of endearment, and nothing more. It’s calming, honestly. It always reminds me of the difference in size between us--both literally and figuratively-- and that, no matter what, she’s looking out for me. I take a calming breath, and sit up, relaxing as much as I can in this imagined meadow.

“How much do you know of Canterlot’s society?” She starts.

I hum, thinking back to what few things I might have read, or picked up from Twi and Spike. “There’s ponies from all over in Canterlot, which gives it a rich culture. One book I read claimed that if you couldn’t find something for sale in Canterlot’s markets somewhere, it didn’t exist. That doesn’t sound too relevant though…”

Luna nods along with what I say, and gives me an expectant look, as if to ask ‘anything else?’

“And, um,” I cast my mind back to try and remember anything else. “Twilight complains sometimes about the nobles doing stupid things, so I guess they’re a thing… But I can’t really think of anything else, sorry Luna.”

“Not to worry, you landed close to the topic. Canterlot’s Elites, a class of merchants and nobles, are what I wished to discuss.”

The dreamscape lurches around us, and I struggle to not keel over as we appear in some sort of fancy ballroom. In front of me, and completely out of place, a simple desk and chair stand out to me in the room. Luna gestures from me to it with a wing, so I sit down.

“Though Celestia, and to a lesser extent myself, rule the lands Equestria, it could be said that Canterlot’s Elite direct and control the ponies within those lands.” She sneers. “And indeed, at their dinners and their dances, much is done to decide anything from the price of an apple in Manehattan to the wages of a bricklayer in Baltimare.”

“Standard noble stuff so far,” I shrug. “Rich ponies are asses. Where do I fit into all this?”

She was surely getting to that, but the sooner we can skip the preamble the better. As much as I like hearing about all the little intricacies of Equestria, I’d rather not dwell on this topic for any longer than needed. The dreamscape flickers for a moment at that whim, but the scene remains.

“Very well.” Luna says, her horn lighting with a spell to stop the dream from fraying any further. “I know not how, but word is spreading of your… status, as my Ward. You understand the situation in Canterlot is rather delicate, with the reagent shortages-- the upper class are on edge, simply put. They are looking for something, anything that might save their hides from what is, quite simply, a disaster for them.”

“Wha-? What do I have to do with Canterlot, of all places?!”

Silence.

“Luna, what didn’t you tell me?” I yell, throwing my hooves up in frustration.

Luna doesn’t make eye contact with me, her head dipped in shame. Her voice shows it too, as she replies “Your closeness to me affords you a great deal of political power, so I… I planned to hide you from the sorts who would seek to exploit you for that, until such time as you were ready to face that.”

Slamming a hoof down on the desk does little to calm me down, but doing that instead of yelling something I don’t mean gives me a little time to breathe, and to think of how to best respond to this. Although I suppose it doesn’t matter, since she’s in my head while I’m here anyway, it's still a good habit.

If I’m to understand the subtext of all this, now that this ‘secret’ is out, Luna must either be worried for me in Ponyville, or want me to make some sort of official appearance in Canterlot. Maybe both. Sweet Celestia I hope it’s not both. It’s not long before the worrying starts to occupy most of my thoughts, and my mind goes round in circles worrying about this and that.

Looking up at Luna, I can see she’s hurt by all this as much as I am. I know she meant well, and I know this isn’t her fault either, but I just had to go and overreact… I hop down from the desk, which immediately blinks out of existence, and run over to wrap her in a tight embrace.

Warm as ever. The last of my worries seem to melt away as she nuzzles me, and I will with all my might for that to make it right. Though it wouldn’t take a mindreader to know that I forgave her for what she did.

“We’ll start small,” she whispers, after a time. “For now, I believe they will be more than satisfied with your presence in Canterlot.”

I hum affirmatively into her fur, and she giggles, continuing “It will mean attending a school there, but I hear from Twilight that you have been preparing for that already?”

I have, in small ways. I can read to an acceptable level for my apparent age now, at least. I’ve sporadically skimmed a few textbooks from some of the subjects that I don’t hate, too. Sigh. I knew this was inevitable, but it feels weird to know my simple days relaxing in the Golden Oaks will be over so soon.

“You will still need some time to finish getting caught up with learning, so do not stress too much, little one.” Luna says, ruffling up my hair. “Your days in Golden Oaks won’t be ending so soon.”

I don’t wanna respond anymore. My mental tiredness is catching up to me, and snuggling up to something as large and fluffy as Luna always makes me a little bit sleepy anyway.

I feel like I had to ask her about something else, for some reason, but I can’t remember what. Remembering is an awake thing anyway.

“G’night, Luna…” I murmur.

“Dream well, little one.”

---P-Γ-θ-T-Σ-α-n---

Sharply inhale. Exhale ragged breaths.

There’s trees around me, and it’s dark. That’s okay though, it’s easier to see that way. My eyes dart to and fro, searching for any signs that one of them might have caught up to me yet.

Sigh of relief.

They’re looking for me, I’ve gotta keep running soon, I know. Just a few minutes to catch my breath, and maybe-

Sharp hiss of pain.

I touch a hoof to my side, and upon inspection it’s slick with blood. I shake the green fluid off, and stand back up. If I’ve left a trail, I’ll have to keep moving. On cue, I can hear snapping twigs in the direction I came from. It’s time to go.

---ρ-r-o-π-e-a-η---

“Bookish! It’s time to go!” Twilight calls from the other room.

I’m sat at the breakfast table across from Spike, spoon in hand, and a half-eaten breakfast in front of me. My fur’s still wet from the shower, but I can’t for the life of me remember even escaping from bed this morning...

Had I been sleeping?

I shrug, and get ready to head out of the house. I must’ve been.

Author's Note

I LIVE! THE STORY LIVES!

Seeing so many people put this story in a “dead” folder filled me with sadness, so we’re back in business, baybeee! I hope you’re all as happy to see me as I am to have y’all back for another chapter. Merry christmas, and I hope to regain some of that momentum I had before getting swamped in work.

Remember, of course, to enjoy the festivities- and to stay safe.