Baby bonesby Undead_ChaptersChapter1 another mundane dayChapter 2 day outChapter 3 changesChapter 4 dreamsChapter1 another mundane dayLoudly interrupted from their slumber they angrily wriggle around and wake up and stare at the alarm clock keeping their gaze on it entering a staring contest with the it It keeps ringing in defiance of the foal's anger and wins. the foal finally gets out of bed to turn it off. Yawning they then groggily go to the bathroom to freshen up. Opening the door they step inside and start cleaning themselves getting in all the sockets even having to take some parts out of socket to be thorough. While showering they started thinking how being a skeleton has taught them the pro's and cons of being just bones. cold weather causes no problems no matter the duration of exposure and they didn't need as much nourishment as other's. But the food they eat needs to be specially made for them to actually be capable of consuming it. Otherwise its pointless to even try to eat. The food would just fall out anyway and the worst con of all. most ponies are scared of them or unnerved. So if they ever go outside they have to wear clothes to conceal themselves from other's. it helps but isn't perfect if a strong enough wind comes by they end up being revealed to everyone nearby. This even causes problems with schooling. How could they go to school when doing so would cause all the filly's and foals to scream in terror? So home schooling was chosen as the prime candidate. Cant cause mass hysteria if they aren't outside in the first place right? Finishing cleaning themselves and brushing their teeth they leave the bathroom but still lost in thought they continue to think of how they've gotten here. Being an orphan that's a skeleton not surprisingly caused what could've been a more large selection of ponies. that could've taken them into their care to almost completely dry up. But somehow either through some stroke of luck or divine intervention a pony took them in. Oof! The very pony the skeleton bumped into while going into the hall way. To be more specific their adoptive mother. "Had your head in the clouds dear?" she says while chuckling. Bashfully looking down then looking back up I say. "Uhh.. yeah?" "What's on your mind then hmm?" She says in interest. I say "its nothing" as I shake my head. She raises an eyebrow then says. "if it was nothing then how did you get distracted then?" Shakily I respond. "its just the same stuff as before." Sitting down she begins to comfort me holding me close cooing. "I know I know but its going to be alright hun Things will get better." Picking me up she proceeds to go downstairs to make breakfast. While eating I try to forget about what other's think of me for at least a moment and look at the bright side of things. I may have trouble socializing with others due to being bones but I do have someone who loves me,cares for me,means the best for me. For this ounce I am smiling and enjoying the company of my mother. The first months where a struggle but maybe just maybe it will get better. Maybe ponies wont be as scared of me anymore? Looking past the bones and seeing that there is a pony within? Would I make any friends? Joking and playing? Before even finishing my thoughts it was time for mom to go to work A hug with a kiss on the forehead and she's off. and time to for me to get to my school work. I trot over and look at the pages and sigh. If only it was something remotely interesting but sadly it really wasn't to me anyway. Usually history can be pretty engrossing but this was dry as bones. Why can history have fantastical events and even ones that make me snore? The subject is a like a revolver with random empty chambers in it. some times something actually happens other times its so dull I end up wanting to bang my head against a wall until I pass out. But I am going to have just suck it up and power through it if I am ever gonna get anything done. Especially since if I don't I am gonna get scolded by my mother. Hours go by getting bored to death due to the withered material I had to read and somehow soak up this boring worthless information into my skull. I say with agitation. "Id rather have math over this!" shaking my head in annoyance i continue. "at least there is something there! Something to solve like a puzzle!" My face falls into the pages as I say. "But no I have to read about how things have been for the past 1000 years." Raising my head up I say in a mocking tone. "Blah blah some slight changes here blah blah some slight changes there blah blah." "wheres the extravagant events?!" "The only real changes Ive read that could be interesting is technology!" face palming i say. "But its been skimmed over with no actual care!" "Did they really not bother to at least explain how they came to be!" starting to rub my skull due to gaining a headache i say. "The time of discovery or invention is there! But there is no act of discovery?!" "Or the process the inventor went through to make it?!" "Or the talent to manufacture the materials to create it?!" "Ugh!" Falling backwards onto my back in Boredom I stare at the ceiling. Why did it have to be so dry? So lifeless and boring. The writer had no respect for the hours of work that goes in to making any invention. The time and money necessary to achieve such a thing requires respect. But there was none in any of those pages. I growl as I say. "its like they just wanted to get it done in the quickest and laziest way possible." Glancing around their room they see their calendar and look at the current date. And immediately started to get peeved when looking at Wednesday that one damn word annoys them to no end. Out of all of the words that one made no damn sense in how it was spelled. If its meant to be pronounced as wensday then shouldn't it be spelled that way? Sunday,Monday,Tuesday those are all fine. even Thursday,Friday and Saturday are fine. the middle one is where shit hits the fan its like they tripped up suddenly then regained balance. or someone made it up and was so proud of it then demanded it be included because they felt special. Only to create a blemish on at almost pristine set up for names of the days of the year. The letter D doesn't even make a sound like the letter s does. so why is it there? And why is there an es after it? It makes no logical sense in any way. The inner angry rant over a calendar gets interrupted by the sounds of someone opening the front door. Quickly looking at the clock tells them that their school day is up and now family fun begins. Smiling forgetting the pages of bland writing and the stupid calendar they run downstairs to greet their mother. Chapter 2 day outIf i where to say i expected to be spending time outside then id be lying. but i can at least be grateful that the reactions i am getting are more subdued than they used to be. They must be getting used to me but are still wary of being too close. Some progress has been made even though it is still much to be desired though. The reason for going out was a surprise to me. A picnic, i would be lying if i said i wasn't looking forward to it. But first she wanted to go get some books from the library. This peaked my interest after having to read those boring and bland 'history' papers. On our way to the library we got mostly stares but some ponies waved and gave a friendly greeting. Things definitely appear to be getting better. The choice of book i went with was magic related. I am a unicorn. well a unicorn skeleton but i should still be able to use magic anyway. At first the librarian stared at me with what looked like fascination but mother was able to snap her out of it. that was definitely a first for me. The pony was a unicorn and was purple well there is a lot of purple on her. My moms choice of book was mice & stallions. Never really heard of that one until now but the book on magic i went for was for more basic spells. Something for a young unicorn to start off with nothing complex or fancy. On our way out i could just feel the unicorn staring at me as we leave but it'd be best to just ignore it and move on better than being screamed at. Twilight lost in thought couldn't stop herself from trying to understand how a pony could just be bones. What kind of magic could be responsible? could it be necromancy? maybe but then there would've been reports of its usage. Such magic has been outlawed due to its corrupting quality's. Not to mention the chills a pony gets when nearby someone who was resurrected including the hostility. On the inside twilight is focused on figuring out the cause but on the outside she looks like a statue or is doing a fantastic impersonation of an owl. Causing a certain dragon to walk over confused by Twilight's condition. "Twilight?" spike says as he pokes her. then he tries some soft shoves but still no response. spike then takes a deep breath and says loudly "TWILIGHT" Twilight screams in surprise to the sudden shift in volume of her surroundings looks over to spike rather annoyed. "spike i was rather busy with my own thoughts. did you have to do that?" sighing spike asks "what was it" clearing her throat twilight responds "its about the two ponies that where here. one was a skeleton and i cant quite place as of why they are skeleton" looking over to the front door she continues "it probably isn't necromancy so maybe they intentionally inhabited a skeleton?" creasing her eyes she says "but that hasn't been documented anywhere so maybe they botched a spell?" shaking her head in exasperation she says "i just cant figure out why!" Spike says in disbelief "are you sure you weren't just seeing things?" Twilight facepalms as she groans. There is no way she was just seeing things that little pony was a skeleton. But she just couldn't figure out why. Continuing on our way to our destination through the streets for our picnic we got to a soft field of grass with many trees. The sound of chirping birds and the feeling of soft wind brought a smile on my face. Lying the picnic blanket on the grass and setting the basket on it we lay down and start enjoying the food,books and our company. The soft rays of the sun and the soft warm fur of my mother as i read is something i will treasure. I wriggle a little to get in the most comfortable position before reading about a certain spell. One of the most basic and commonly used spells a unicorn learns is levitation. They need to know what they want to levitate and continue to keep focus. When the number of objects being levitated increases the difficulty to keep them being levitated does so as well. This includes the size and weight of the object and ounce the unicorn loses focus the object or objects fall. A unicorn can even levitate themselves but it tends to be viewed as a waste of mana unless its absolutely necessary. The term time flies when having fun is true since the last time i saw the sun's position was in the middle. But now its beginning to set. Putting the blanket away we start to head back home. getting tucked in i get whisked away in the world of dreams. "molly come here!" i say as i place the marker down. mining in hoxxes is tough work. The glyphids and mactera don't make it any easier either but they're gonna have to try harder if they wanna best a dwarf. Noticing a lootbug i give it some pets. "aw look at you! you like that?" hearing molly make their way over i go to deposit the minerals as i hear. "alert! meteor fragment headed your way! clear the marked zone immediately!" I frantically look around as i see the zone underneath me. booking it i get away then i hear the lootbug die as the meteor fragment impacts the ground. after shaking my head sadly i go over and avoid the hot ground to order some rock crackers to hookup to the meteor. "Rock cracker pods are released and are headed your way!" the sound of drilling fills the cave as the rock crackers land. hooking them up to the meteor i hear "all rock crackers attached! start up the power pods when your ready!" I start them up and prepare for the fight that awaits me. It was brutal, the glyphids and mactera didn't hold back but i still held on. Ping ponging from the two power pods to keep the rock crackers online i finally get the meteor open and start depositing the plague hearts. but just as i deposit the final one i hear "contact! we got four! or wait six! no twelve! gasp a lot of aliens heading your way!" I shake my head as i get ready for the swarm. Chapter 3 changesThis wave was the worst, so many bugs everywhere. I try to make enough distance away from them in order to properly fight back slamming my pickax down on any unfortunate bug in my way as i get far enough away from them. As i was creating more and more distance between me and them i start putting down a turret but just as i finish it i get grabbed by a leech. My turret quickly shoots it killing it before i get hurt too much saving me, getting put back onto the ground i see the bugs getting closer and closer to me. The turret starts firing off at them i blast my turret causing it to shoot a big explosion at a group of bugs killing them. But more and more kept on coming i try adding another turret. That helped but they where still coming, more and more kept coming. seeing this as a losing battle i take out my grenade launcher firing off at them nuking a big portion of them and creating a danger zone of radioactive particles. i yell "eat that you blasted bugs!" I then start looking around for a place to establish a better defense i notice an entry way to an unexplored part of the cave, taking out my platform gun i start making a way there, digging through the dirt then running through the long expansive tunnel i get to a big space perfect for a defense against a swarm. I recall the turrets and just as i am about to start putting them back down. mission control says "Something big is headed your way better prepare for the worst" In utter horror i say "dreadnaught" Quickly attempting to put the turrets down it spawns in the same room as me, and starts spitting explosive rocks everywhere causing me to have to retreat. Running away back where i came from i use my shotgun to take out any of the smaller bugs in my way just as i was about to get out i get knocked into a wall by the dreadnaught. A dreadnaught just had to spawn and just as it was about to put me down as i was pinned to a wall. It was about to begin to screech so in a last ditch effort i whip out my grenade launcher with its fat boy overclock just as i was about to fire off at it i hear a loud ringing noise get louder and louder then. Abruptly woken up from the dream just as i was about to get a down i quickly turn it off and proceed to start the day as i usually do. Bathe,brush and eat. The usual start to any ones day and from what i was told by mom she's going to be coming home later than usual for a meeting of some kind. Not sure what its about, she doesn't want me to worry about it. So i dive into the school work for today as she leaves for work. Hoping its at least somewhat interesting unlike last time. Then as i see whats in store for me today all that hope is lost in an instant as i bury my face into my hooves while groaning in annoyance. "Why cant i get a break" i say as i scowl at the paper responsible for my torment. "just as i thought the last one was bad i have to deal with this!" sighing i say "might as well get it over with" Its been a few months since she transferred from the night shift to the evening shift. Done so in order to better accommodate raising a foal. It may be doable to raise one even while still on the night shift but it would've been even more difficult than it is now. Arriving in time it will be an hour until the fall ins then the preparation for the shift. One of her comrades approaches then says "early as always fletching." Smirking fletching says "wasn't expecting you this early cutlass. trying to keep up with my schedule?" Chuckling cutlass reply's "like that would ever happen, but while I'm here i gotta ask." Looking around around before speaking she then say's "hows your foal doing?" Sighing fletching says "there is some improvement." Shaking her head she continues "but they are still having some trouble with how they are viewed by other ponies." Wincing cutlass says "yeesh poor kid, i can't imagine what that's like." Creasing their eyes they say "what could even be the reason for ponies to be scared of a foul anyway?" Nervously swallowing fletching says "yeah pretty odd isn't it?" Perplexed by fletching's change in demeanor cutlass asks "is there something bothering you?" Looking at and away from her friend she says "nope nope nothings bothering me nothing at all!" they both start staring in uncomfortable silence until fletching sighs and says "its because they are a skeleton, that is the reason why ponies have been so scared of them." blinking in utter shock they struggle to respond opening their mouth they try to say something but close it, failing to put into words how they feel about that. Out of all the reasons being just bones doesn't sound like a good reason to be scared in their opinion. But that might just be their experience as a guard influencing their perspective. They fight close to their opponent unlike how fletching prefers long range. Training to be a guard takes years of hard work and after the things they've seen a skeleton is so mundane in comparison. A hydra or even a timber wolf is more threatening than a skeleton. Even changelings are on the list of things to worry about. Their ability to disguise as anything gives them an advantage at infiltration. even dragons are more of a threat if they want to be. Whats the worst a skeleton could do? especially one that's a foal? A foal doesn't have the experience or skill especially if they are incapable of getting a cutie mark. In disbelief they say "that's it? they're a skeleton?" Nodding fletching says "yes and I'm just as shocked as you are." Scoffing they reply "what a bunch of pansy's." rolling her eyes they continue "living such a soft comfy life they cant handle seeing a skeleton walking around." Before fletching could reply, more of her fellow guards have arrived and are getting ready for the day. One of them says while chuckling "i don't think I'll ever stop laughing about that ticket fiasco in ponyvile." The other says back "no kidding, those ponies can be real crazy." Shaking their head they say "all over a ticket, even though everypony is gonna get one anyway." while laughing. Another guard chimes in "well that's ponyvile for ya, they'll go crazy over anything." "pft I'll say, they chased a mare across town over a ticket" they laugh as they exclaim "a ticket!" Before the conversation could continue it's interrupted by fletching clopping her hooves together then pointing towards their sergeant, who looks over at the guards, calling names and then proceeds to tell them the places they'll be guarding for the evening after a run on a track. Hours later while patrolling the castle halls with one of her fellow guards they pop a question. "do you have any plans of your own for the gala?" they say while smiling. shaking her head she says "not really, unless i could bring my foal with me i think I'll be staying home." Even if she could bring them it would very likely lead to the gala being a complete and utter disaster and it would create a big mess for them to clean up after. if she didn't bring them with her there wouldn't be anyone home to keep them safe. She would be stuck in a lose lose situation, either cause a massive panic or risk their safety. Staying home seemed like a much better option, its not like she'd be missing out on anything anyway. It looked like that wasn't the answer they where hoping for "oh come on fletching you've got to go at least ounce, you've been skipping out on it for years." Looking rather annoyed she says"its just not my style, my foal is more important than some party." Chuckling they say "just like what you said last time, well minus the foal." Shrugging she says "I've never really gotten the appeal anyway, it just doesn't sound as exciting as everypony says it is." as she looks to the side. thinking to herself she just cant get whats so special about it. ponies back home keep saying its this big glamorous event but it just always sounded too good to be true. she honestly thinks they are overselling it. anypony can go to canterlot at any day of the week, so whats so grand about this grand galloping gala? Looking back over to her fellow guard she asks "you've been there right? whats it like?" She briefly sees a sparkle in their eyes as they say "you get greeted by Celestia and there's drinks,food,music and dancing i cant wait to go again." With child like wonder in their eyes. Yawning she says "sounds like a snore fest." While smirking. Tripping over her words they stop then say "what! really fletching?!" cantering back to her side while saying "you get greeted by Celestia herself how isn't that worth it?" before fletching can respond the enchantment on her armor starts to glow telling her the shift is over. "well its time for me to go" she says as she leaves. "oh, bye fletching." her fellow guard says while waving. Its time for her to attend that meeting at the school house with miss cheerilee. Looking around the grassy fields as she's on her way to the school house she basks in the beauty of the sunset. Not wanting to be late she only allows her self to look for a sec before entering through the front door into the hall way and quickly trot to cheerilee's office door. Closing the door to her office she sits down as cheerilee welcomes her. Cheerilee starting it off by saying "judging by your foals performance i think they can physically attend school soon." Fletching says in surprise "you sure? even after what happened last time?" Sensing her worry cheerilee says "that was months ago fletching, this change will be beneficial for them, your foal needs to get out and socialize." Fletching sighs then says "i just don't what a repeat of last time, it was a real mess, the screaming, the cries for their parents, not to mention the name calling." "if any of my students where behave inappropriately by being cruel to your foal they will be punished accordingly fletching." says cheerilee. "when will they attend school?" fletching says in interest. "they will be physically attending school next week." says cheerilee. "shes taking way longer than i expected." i say in boredom as i stare at the ceiling. I say "i am just so damn bored" as i bury my face into the cushions of the couch for sec. Looking around the room for anything to forget about my boredom for just a minute or more i look at the grandfather clock staring at the pendulum go back forth as it goes tick tock tick tock. I then look over and notice the sink is slightly dripping the water going plip plop plip plop looking away i start covering my skull with my hooves then start slightly rocking back and forth due to my boredom. "cant, just, so, BORED!" i scream into the couch cushions in sheer agitation. Hearing hooves starting to inch closer and closer to the door i look over in the direction of the sound. to see mom opening the door and saying "im back with some news." she says like she is singing. getting off the couch and trotting over to hug her i say "what is it?" and in surprise i hear her say "you will be attending school next week." in shock i say out loud "what!" Author's Note This took longer to write than intended. but i wanted to figure out names,cuties marks and color schemes of those 2 character's. and get it to a state i was happy with. Edit: 5/27/2023 i misspelled cheerilee DOH i was one letter off but its fixed Chapter 4 dreamsThe surprise still on my face after hearing the news i ask. "why? how? what about what happened last time?" I say in my confusion. Fletching says in an attempt to calm her foals nerves "that was months ago, things are going to be different." Holding her foal close she says "How about i get dinner started hmm?" She makes her way to the kitchen before i could say anything in protest. While mom was in the kitchen i go grab my book on magic for beginners. Going up and down the stairs has always been a bit of a struggle, i may have gotten used to walking on four legs but my small stature doesn't help me one bit. Opening the door to my room i grab the book and head back down stairs. I may not have a special talent in magic but i want to learn anyway after all i do have a horn, so of course there will be some very useful spells i could learn. levitation isn't the only spell that makes life easier for me. I can only imagine how more of a struggle i would've had adapting might've been for me if i didn't get such a lucky card in the game of life. but then my luck immediately ran out and i got bad card after bad card, not like i was that lucky originally anyway. Its not like i didn't have to struggle a bit to even get my hooves and horn to do what i wanted them to anyway, all those times of falling on my face whenever i tried to speed up my pace, or things slipping out of my grasp when trying to grab them. Or even the times i struggled to even get my horn to glow in the first place. It was like if you randomly was giving a new appendage you've never had before, that you now had to figure out how to get it to actually move. Even though i think i did have it before? Then my train of thought shifts. What special talent would i get if i could? Doesn't really seem possible due to a lack of flesh for one. But maybe it would still happen in some way anyway just to spite expectations. Where would it appear anyway? Would it even be visible? Or would it just become an innate talent that can not be known unless seen or told. Using the book to practice levitation i start to spin it around. I start to get lost staring at the book, becoming hypnotized by its spinning. Shaking my head i break out of the trance then start to look around the room. I hear the sizzling of hay at the stove then look back at the book. I start to get a bit of a mischievous grin, i proceed to make it spin faster and faster. I say speen book speen in my head, spin faster! All of a sudden my concentration is lost by mother prodding me with her hoof. The book gets launched hitting me in the face. "OW! Damn literature!" i yell in pain. Chuckling she says "Now hun books are not toy's they are for reading" while emphasizing the word reading she picks up the book and puts it down on the coffee table. Grumbling i say "I wasn't playing with it i was practicing" While rubbing where the book hit me. "Well you can practice tomorrow" she says as she goes back to making dinner. In the dead of night a librarian is reading every book she can that could lead to the answer she is looking for. But no matter which she read she couldn't find any answers to the mystery that was driving her mad. Nothing got any where near close to matching the description of what she saw. The skeletons described in any relevant books say either they are mindless slaves to the summoner. or are so hostile that everypony including the summoner would get attacked on sight. Obviously this doesn't match the description at all, the foal was well behaved and in the care of a thestral. If they where any danger to ponies then they wouldn't be near anypony, because they would've been dealt with long ago. And what skeleton that has every been summoned have an interest in learning about magic? Its like this is the first case of something that has never been documented or so rare that nopony had the chance to or this library just didn't have the right book? Completely disheveled and bone tired she works on putting all the books she read in their places on the shelves. But she cant get out of her head how mysterious that foal is, the secrets of their condition driving her mad since she first saw them. At this point she might have to do some investigation herself but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Until then she has to get some sleep, she has stayed up for far too long. groggily walking to her bed she flops into it, getting wrapped into its sheets, quickly falling asleep. In the dreamscape a certain foal usually would be having a more elaborate dream, this time however they decided to dream of something small for a change. Sitting in a beautiful field of grass they look off into the night sky as they hold close a plush of a purple porcupine with red shoes and hat. They can only imagine how their second attempt at school would go. The running the screaming, cheerilee desperately trying to calm down the foals, The name calling. Without warning the dream starts to go south. The stars in the sky start blinking out at an alarming pace, the moon starts to gain an evil smile laughing at them, the grass starting to turn brown and die and the leaves of the nearby trees falling revealing the dead branches, voices of the foals becoming a cacophony. Just before it could get any worse they yell stop as they gain control back banishing those fears deep into the back of their mind. If they don't keep their dream in control then a certain pony a certain alicorn will have to intervene. They don't want her here, there are foals out their that deserve her attention more than they do. They don't need her, they don't need her sympathy, they can handle this. They can control their dream, they can keep it in line, no other foal to their knowledge has this much self control. They don't need her here worrying about them and their well being. They don't deserve her care or her worry. They don't deserve it. They are not as important as the other's. They are nothing but a drop of water in the ocean of pain and fear other filly's and colts are having. Their problems are not as important as the others. Even after regaining control the dream is still cracking, buckling at the seems of the built up sorrow. Creating inconsistencies, creating noticeable flaws. little inconsistencies that when you notice them you wont be able to get them out of your head. Their fears still eating away at the dream, they cant ignore them anymore can they? But in their stubbornness they try to ignore them anyway, holding the plush tightly refusing to acknowledge anything that is going on around them. Doing their damnedest to ignore it all and wait for the sun rise. But tears start to well up in their eyes, when all of a sudden they hear someone behind them that wasn't there before. "What troubles thee so my little pony?" Moments before. It has been so long since she has patrolled the land of dreams. but weeks after being freed from the clutches of the nightmare, she has been able to get back into the swing of things. step by step, inch by inch, she has grown accustomed to it again. shacking off the 1000 year rust that has grown onto her. The dream realm is luna's responsibility, her domain. The dreams of her subjects can either be pleasant or nightmarish. Nightmares, those are her main focus, those are the ones she is most concerned about. As she trots past one that can be classified as a more private dream she cringes a little and shudders. Many moons ago before her fall, due to her own curiosity she wandered in one and got a rather nasty surprise. Since then she'd avoided them like the plague. such dreams are best to be left alone, privacy is a special commodity. as she looks away from it she notices one that requires her undivided attention. Black tendrils wrapping around it and a black mist starting to seep from it, but just as she was preparing to fly to enter it they vanish when a blast erupts from it leaving slight cracks. Clearly whoever it was has some level of control over their dream but their resolve is starting to crack. Whoever it was they have some underlying fears and problems under the surface, problems that require some comfort from her. She fly's over to enter it, once she does she starts to notice the cracks manifesting in the dream. The moon is slightly crooked, the trees have chips in their bark and are starting to twist and the field of grass has some weeds here and there. With concern visible on her face she says "What troubles thee so my little pony?" Back to now. Stiffening upon hearing her voice i struggle to respond. This wasn't supposed to happen, she wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be helping those that deserve it, i don't deserve her help. "y-you can go. i-im fine" i say while stuttering and wiping away tears i only just noticed where there. This only made her more worried. Sighing she sits beside the foal and holds them close with one of her wings. Awaiting a response from them. Not getting one she breaks the silence by asking "what is troubling thee?" They look towards the hills in the distance they sigh then say "I-ts just i am supposed to be going to school next week but, wouldn't they all still be afraid of me?" looking in her eyes they say "they where all terrified of me! screaming and running around like i was gonna hurt them!" as they break eye contact they say under their breath "I'll never have friends. everypony thinks im a monster." The field starts to fade into the dark, The night sky becoming blocked by a twisted net of trees. Sensing the foal is losing control of the dream luna lights her horn and returns them back to the field. "Thee shall has't friends my little pony, they may beest afraid before, but." Giving her a questioning glance i ask "but?" "how long has't been since thee whither there last?" she asks. answering the question i say "3 months ago?" nodding she says in response "Then they've hadst plenty of time to adjust." Shaking my head i say "But they could still be scared, i am just going to create a mess again! i-" Luna puts a hoof to the foals mouth then says "I believeth thy fears art misplac'd" lowering her hoof she continues "Thee can not assume the worst,'twill only worsen thy fears." she says in finality "thee shall has't friends, thou art not a monster" They then proceed to admire the night sky in silence. Off to the side the moon stares down with a big menacing grin. the next morning Opening their eyes to the sound of the alarm clock they turn it off. Not wanting to get up they roll over and snuggle deep into the bed. sighing happily to the warmth of the blankets they begin to close their eyes. But their eyes shoot back open revealing empty sockets upon hearing a knock at the door. Turning over i see mom opening the door, she walks over and looks down at them with an eyebrow raised and says. "you better not have been thinking of going back to sleep" Still to this day i'll never know how mothers have this sense of their children doing something mischievous. I wouldn't doubt she'd say it is mother's intuition, its what every mother says when their kid asks how did they know. I get out of bed and continue with my routine. But even now the fear of the upcoming day of school is looming over me. how could i not worry about it? What happened before is very likely to happen again. Wasn't like i was good at introducing myself anyway, and being a skeleton doesn't help. Maybe it wont be as bad as i'm thinking. Maybe i will only get odd stares this time and maybe just them whispering to each other? No screaming or running? I can at least hope so. Slowly making the way down stairs suddenly my sense smell somehow returns just to give the bird to reality. I hastily speed up almost tripping down the stairs at the smell of chocolate chip. I dont care how i can smell it i want it right here and right now. Running over i quickly sit down at the table. With a sly grin mom says "looks like somepony is excited for waffles" "You bet i am" i say with a wide grin Chuckling she finishes preparing the waffles for her foal and her to enjoy. Author's Note came back to edit and make luna's dialogue more accurate. regardless of how much time it has been i haven't abandoned this. its just that a different project has taken up most of my time.
Chapter1 another mundane dayLoudly interrupted from their slumber they angrily wriggle around and wake up and stare at the alarm clock keeping their gaze on it entering a staring contest with the it It keeps ringing in defiance of the foal's anger and wins. the foal finally gets out of bed to turn it off. Yawning they then groggily go to the bathroom to freshen up. Opening the door they step inside and start cleaning themselves getting in all the sockets even having to take some parts out of socket to be thorough. While showering they started thinking how being a skeleton has taught them the pro's and cons of being just bones. cold weather causes no problems no matter the duration of exposure and they didn't need as much nourishment as other's. But the food they eat needs to be specially made for them to actually be capable of consuming it. Otherwise its pointless to even try to eat. The food would just fall out anyway and the worst con of all. most ponies are scared of them or unnerved. So if they ever go outside they have to wear clothes to conceal themselves from other's. it helps but isn't perfect if a strong enough wind comes by they end up being revealed to everyone nearby. This even causes problems with schooling. How could they go to school when doing so would cause all the filly's and foals to scream in terror? So home schooling was chosen as the prime candidate. Cant cause mass hysteria if they aren't outside in the first place right? Finishing cleaning themselves and brushing their teeth they leave the bathroom but still lost in thought they continue to think of how they've gotten here. Being an orphan that's a skeleton not surprisingly caused what could've been a more large selection of ponies. that could've taken them into their care to almost completely dry up. But somehow either through some stroke of luck or divine intervention a pony took them in. Oof! The very pony the skeleton bumped into while going into the hall way. To be more specific their adoptive mother. "Had your head in the clouds dear?" she says while chuckling. Bashfully looking down then looking back up I say. "Uhh.. yeah?" "What's on your mind then hmm?" She says in interest. I say "its nothing" as I shake my head. She raises an eyebrow then says. "if it was nothing then how did you get distracted then?" Shakily I respond. "its just the same stuff as before." Sitting down she begins to comfort me holding me close cooing. "I know I know but its going to be alright hun Things will get better." Picking me up she proceeds to go downstairs to make breakfast. While eating I try to forget about what other's think of me for at least a moment and look at the bright side of things. I may have trouble socializing with others due to being bones but I do have someone who loves me,cares for me,means the best for me. For this ounce I am smiling and enjoying the company of my mother. The first months where a struggle but maybe just maybe it will get better. Maybe ponies wont be as scared of me anymore? Looking past the bones and seeing that there is a pony within? Would I make any friends? Joking and playing? Before even finishing my thoughts it was time for mom to go to work A hug with a kiss on the forehead and she's off. and time to for me to get to my school work. I trot over and look at the pages and sigh. If only it was something remotely interesting but sadly it really wasn't to me anyway. Usually history can be pretty engrossing but this was dry as bones. Why can history have fantastical events and even ones that make me snore? The subject is a like a revolver with random empty chambers in it. some times something actually happens other times its so dull I end up wanting to bang my head against a wall until I pass out. But I am going to have just suck it up and power through it if I am ever gonna get anything done. Especially since if I don't I am gonna get scolded by my mother. Hours go by getting bored to death due to the withered material I had to read and somehow soak up this boring worthless information into my skull. I say with agitation. "Id rather have math over this!" shaking my head in annoyance i continue. "at least there is something there! Something to solve like a puzzle!" My face falls into the pages as I say. "But no I have to read about how things have been for the past 1000 years." Raising my head up I say in a mocking tone. "Blah blah some slight changes here blah blah some slight changes there blah blah." "wheres the extravagant events?!" "The only real changes Ive read that could be interesting is technology!" face palming i say. "But its been skimmed over with no actual care!" "Did they really not bother to at least explain how they came to be!" starting to rub my skull due to gaining a headache i say. "The time of discovery or invention is there! But there is no act of discovery?!" "Or the process the inventor went through to make it?!" "Or the talent to manufacture the materials to create it?!" "Ugh!" Falling backwards onto my back in Boredom I stare at the ceiling. Why did it have to be so dry? So lifeless and boring. The writer had no respect for the hours of work that goes in to making any invention. The time and money necessary to achieve such a thing requires respect. But there was none in any of those pages. I growl as I say. "its like they just wanted to get it done in the quickest and laziest way possible." Glancing around their room they see their calendar and look at the current date. And immediately started to get peeved when looking at Wednesday that one damn word annoys them to no end. Out of all of the words that one made no damn sense in how it was spelled. If its meant to be pronounced as wensday then shouldn't it be spelled that way? Sunday,Monday,Tuesday those are all fine. even Thursday,Friday and Saturday are fine. the middle one is where shit hits the fan its like they tripped up suddenly then regained balance. or someone made it up and was so proud of it then demanded it be included because they felt special. Only to create a blemish on at almost pristine set up for names of the days of the year. The letter D doesn't even make a sound like the letter s does. so why is it there? And why is there an es after it? It makes no logical sense in any way. The inner angry rant over a calendar gets interrupted by the sounds of someone opening the front door. Quickly looking at the clock tells them that their school day is up and now family fun begins. Smiling forgetting the pages of bland writing and the stupid calendar they run downstairs to greet their mother.
Chapter 2 day outIf i where to say i expected to be spending time outside then id be lying. but i can at least be grateful that the reactions i am getting are more subdued than they used to be. They must be getting used to me but are still wary of being too close. Some progress has been made even though it is still much to be desired though. The reason for going out was a surprise to me. A picnic, i would be lying if i said i wasn't looking forward to it. But first she wanted to go get some books from the library. This peaked my interest after having to read those boring and bland 'history' papers. On our way to the library we got mostly stares but some ponies waved and gave a friendly greeting. Things definitely appear to be getting better. The choice of book i went with was magic related. I am a unicorn. well a unicorn skeleton but i should still be able to use magic anyway. At first the librarian stared at me with what looked like fascination but mother was able to snap her out of it. that was definitely a first for me. The pony was a unicorn and was purple well there is a lot of purple on her. My moms choice of book was mice & stallions. Never really heard of that one until now but the book on magic i went for was for more basic spells. Something for a young unicorn to start off with nothing complex or fancy. On our way out i could just feel the unicorn staring at me as we leave but it'd be best to just ignore it and move on better than being screamed at. Twilight lost in thought couldn't stop herself from trying to understand how a pony could just be bones. What kind of magic could be responsible? could it be necromancy? maybe but then there would've been reports of its usage. Such magic has been outlawed due to its corrupting quality's. Not to mention the chills a pony gets when nearby someone who was resurrected including the hostility. On the inside twilight is focused on figuring out the cause but on the outside she looks like a statue or is doing a fantastic impersonation of an owl. Causing a certain dragon to walk over confused by Twilight's condition. "Twilight?" spike says as he pokes her. then he tries some soft shoves but still no response. spike then takes a deep breath and says loudly "TWILIGHT" Twilight screams in surprise to the sudden shift in volume of her surroundings looks over to spike rather annoyed. "spike i was rather busy with my own thoughts. did you have to do that?" sighing spike asks "what was it" clearing her throat twilight responds "its about the two ponies that where here. one was a skeleton and i cant quite place as of why they are skeleton" looking over to the front door she continues "it probably isn't necromancy so maybe they intentionally inhabited a skeleton?" creasing her eyes she says "but that hasn't been documented anywhere so maybe they botched a spell?" shaking her head in exasperation she says "i just cant figure out why!" Spike says in disbelief "are you sure you weren't just seeing things?" Twilight facepalms as she groans. There is no way she was just seeing things that little pony was a skeleton. But she just couldn't figure out why. Continuing on our way to our destination through the streets for our picnic we got to a soft field of grass with many trees. The sound of chirping birds and the feeling of soft wind brought a smile on my face. Lying the picnic blanket on the grass and setting the basket on it we lay down and start enjoying the food,books and our company. The soft rays of the sun and the soft warm fur of my mother as i read is something i will treasure. I wriggle a little to get in the most comfortable position before reading about a certain spell. One of the most basic and commonly used spells a unicorn learns is levitation. They need to know what they want to levitate and continue to keep focus. When the number of objects being levitated increases the difficulty to keep them being levitated does so as well. This includes the size and weight of the object and ounce the unicorn loses focus the object or objects fall. A unicorn can even levitate themselves but it tends to be viewed as a waste of mana unless its absolutely necessary. The term time flies when having fun is true since the last time i saw the sun's position was in the middle. But now its beginning to set. Putting the blanket away we start to head back home. getting tucked in i get whisked away in the world of dreams. "molly come here!" i say as i place the marker down. mining in hoxxes is tough work. The glyphids and mactera don't make it any easier either but they're gonna have to try harder if they wanna best a dwarf. Noticing a lootbug i give it some pets. "aw look at you! you like that?" hearing molly make their way over i go to deposit the minerals as i hear. "alert! meteor fragment headed your way! clear the marked zone immediately!" I frantically look around as i see the zone underneath me. booking it i get away then i hear the lootbug die as the meteor fragment impacts the ground. after shaking my head sadly i go over and avoid the hot ground to order some rock crackers to hookup to the meteor. "Rock cracker pods are released and are headed your way!" the sound of drilling fills the cave as the rock crackers land. hooking them up to the meteor i hear "all rock crackers attached! start up the power pods when your ready!" I start them up and prepare for the fight that awaits me. It was brutal, the glyphids and mactera didn't hold back but i still held on. Ping ponging from the two power pods to keep the rock crackers online i finally get the meteor open and start depositing the plague hearts. but just as i deposit the final one i hear "contact! we got four! or wait six! no twelve! gasp a lot of aliens heading your way!" I shake my head as i get ready for the swarm.
Chapter 3 changesThis wave was the worst, so many bugs everywhere. I try to make enough distance away from them in order to properly fight back slamming my pickax down on any unfortunate bug in my way as i get far enough away from them. As i was creating more and more distance between me and them i start putting down a turret but just as i finish it i get grabbed by a leech. My turret quickly shoots it killing it before i get hurt too much saving me, getting put back onto the ground i see the bugs getting closer and closer to me. The turret starts firing off at them i blast my turret causing it to shoot a big explosion at a group of bugs killing them. But more and more kept on coming i try adding another turret. That helped but they where still coming, more and more kept coming. seeing this as a losing battle i take out my grenade launcher firing off at them nuking a big portion of them and creating a danger zone of radioactive particles. i yell "eat that you blasted bugs!" I then start looking around for a place to establish a better defense i notice an entry way to an unexplored part of the cave, taking out my platform gun i start making a way there, digging through the dirt then running through the long expansive tunnel i get to a big space perfect for a defense against a swarm. I recall the turrets and just as i am about to start putting them back down. mission control says "Something big is headed your way better prepare for the worst" In utter horror i say "dreadnaught" Quickly attempting to put the turrets down it spawns in the same room as me, and starts spitting explosive rocks everywhere causing me to have to retreat. Running away back where i came from i use my shotgun to take out any of the smaller bugs in my way just as i was about to get out i get knocked into a wall by the dreadnaught. A dreadnaught just had to spawn and just as it was about to put me down as i was pinned to a wall. It was about to begin to screech so in a last ditch effort i whip out my grenade launcher with its fat boy overclock just as i was about to fire off at it i hear a loud ringing noise get louder and louder then. Abruptly woken up from the dream just as i was about to get a down i quickly turn it off and proceed to start the day as i usually do. Bathe,brush and eat. The usual start to any ones day and from what i was told by mom she's going to be coming home later than usual for a meeting of some kind. Not sure what its about, she doesn't want me to worry about it. So i dive into the school work for today as she leaves for work. Hoping its at least somewhat interesting unlike last time. Then as i see whats in store for me today all that hope is lost in an instant as i bury my face into my hooves while groaning in annoyance. "Why cant i get a break" i say as i scowl at the paper responsible for my torment. "just as i thought the last one was bad i have to deal with this!" sighing i say "might as well get it over with" Its been a few months since she transferred from the night shift to the evening shift. Done so in order to better accommodate raising a foal. It may be doable to raise one even while still on the night shift but it would've been even more difficult than it is now. Arriving in time it will be an hour until the fall ins then the preparation for the shift. One of her comrades approaches then says "early as always fletching." Smirking fletching says "wasn't expecting you this early cutlass. trying to keep up with my schedule?" Chuckling cutlass reply's "like that would ever happen, but while I'm here i gotta ask." Looking around around before speaking she then say's "hows your foal doing?" Sighing fletching says "there is some improvement." Shaking her head she continues "but they are still having some trouble with how they are viewed by other ponies." Wincing cutlass says "yeesh poor kid, i can't imagine what that's like." Creasing their eyes they say "what could even be the reason for ponies to be scared of a foul anyway?" Nervously swallowing fletching says "yeah pretty odd isn't it?" Perplexed by fletching's change in demeanor cutlass asks "is there something bothering you?" Looking at and away from her friend she says "nope nope nothings bothering me nothing at all!" they both start staring in uncomfortable silence until fletching sighs and says "its because they are a skeleton, that is the reason why ponies have been so scared of them." blinking in utter shock they struggle to respond opening their mouth they try to say something but close it, failing to put into words how they feel about that. Out of all the reasons being just bones doesn't sound like a good reason to be scared in their opinion. But that might just be their experience as a guard influencing their perspective. They fight close to their opponent unlike how fletching prefers long range. Training to be a guard takes years of hard work and after the things they've seen a skeleton is so mundane in comparison. A hydra or even a timber wolf is more threatening than a skeleton. Even changelings are on the list of things to worry about. Their ability to disguise as anything gives them an advantage at infiltration. even dragons are more of a threat if they want to be. Whats the worst a skeleton could do? especially one that's a foal? A foal doesn't have the experience or skill especially if they are incapable of getting a cutie mark. In disbelief they say "that's it? they're a skeleton?" Nodding fletching says "yes and I'm just as shocked as you are." Scoffing they reply "what a bunch of pansy's." rolling her eyes they continue "living such a soft comfy life they cant handle seeing a skeleton walking around." Before fletching could reply, more of her fellow guards have arrived and are getting ready for the day. One of them says while chuckling "i don't think I'll ever stop laughing about that ticket fiasco in ponyvile." The other says back "no kidding, those ponies can be real crazy." Shaking their head they say "all over a ticket, even though everypony is gonna get one anyway." while laughing. Another guard chimes in "well that's ponyvile for ya, they'll go crazy over anything." "pft I'll say, they chased a mare across town over a ticket" they laugh as they exclaim "a ticket!" Before the conversation could continue it's interrupted by fletching clopping her hooves together then pointing towards their sergeant, who looks over at the guards, calling names and then proceeds to tell them the places they'll be guarding for the evening after a run on a track. Hours later while patrolling the castle halls with one of her fellow guards they pop a question. "do you have any plans of your own for the gala?" they say while smiling. shaking her head she says "not really, unless i could bring my foal with me i think I'll be staying home." Even if she could bring them it would very likely lead to the gala being a complete and utter disaster and it would create a big mess for them to clean up after. if she didn't bring them with her there wouldn't be anyone home to keep them safe. She would be stuck in a lose lose situation, either cause a massive panic or risk their safety. Staying home seemed like a much better option, its not like she'd be missing out on anything anyway. It looked like that wasn't the answer they where hoping for "oh come on fletching you've got to go at least ounce, you've been skipping out on it for years." Looking rather annoyed she says"its just not my style, my foal is more important than some party." Chuckling they say "just like what you said last time, well minus the foal." Shrugging she says "I've never really gotten the appeal anyway, it just doesn't sound as exciting as everypony says it is." as she looks to the side. thinking to herself she just cant get whats so special about it. ponies back home keep saying its this big glamorous event but it just always sounded too good to be true. she honestly thinks they are overselling it. anypony can go to canterlot at any day of the week, so whats so grand about this grand galloping gala? Looking back over to her fellow guard she asks "you've been there right? whats it like?" She briefly sees a sparkle in their eyes as they say "you get greeted by Celestia and there's drinks,food,music and dancing i cant wait to go again." With child like wonder in their eyes. Yawning she says "sounds like a snore fest." While smirking. Tripping over her words they stop then say "what! really fletching?!" cantering back to her side while saying "you get greeted by Celestia herself how isn't that worth it?" before fletching can respond the enchantment on her armor starts to glow telling her the shift is over. "well its time for me to go" she says as she leaves. "oh, bye fletching." her fellow guard says while waving. Its time for her to attend that meeting at the school house with miss cheerilee. Looking around the grassy fields as she's on her way to the school house she basks in the beauty of the sunset. Not wanting to be late she only allows her self to look for a sec before entering through the front door into the hall way and quickly trot to cheerilee's office door. Closing the door to her office she sits down as cheerilee welcomes her. Cheerilee starting it off by saying "judging by your foals performance i think they can physically attend school soon." Fletching says in surprise "you sure? even after what happened last time?" Sensing her worry cheerilee says "that was months ago fletching, this change will be beneficial for them, your foal needs to get out and socialize." Fletching sighs then says "i just don't what a repeat of last time, it was a real mess, the screaming, the cries for their parents, not to mention the name calling." "if any of my students where behave inappropriately by being cruel to your foal they will be punished accordingly fletching." says cheerilee. "when will they attend school?" fletching says in interest. "they will be physically attending school next week." says cheerilee. "shes taking way longer than i expected." i say in boredom as i stare at the ceiling. I say "i am just so damn bored" as i bury my face into the cushions of the couch for sec. Looking around the room for anything to forget about my boredom for just a minute or more i look at the grandfather clock staring at the pendulum go back forth as it goes tick tock tick tock. I then look over and notice the sink is slightly dripping the water going plip plop plip plop looking away i start covering my skull with my hooves then start slightly rocking back and forth due to my boredom. "cant, just, so, BORED!" i scream into the couch cushions in sheer agitation. Hearing hooves starting to inch closer and closer to the door i look over in the direction of the sound. to see mom opening the door and saying "im back with some news." she says like she is singing. getting off the couch and trotting over to hug her i say "what is it?" and in surprise i hear her say "you will be attending school next week." in shock i say out loud "what!" Author's Note This took longer to write than intended. but i wanted to figure out names,cuties marks and color schemes of those 2 character's. and get it to a state i was happy with. Edit: 5/27/2023 i misspelled cheerilee DOH i was one letter off but its fixed
Chapter 4 dreamsThe surprise still on my face after hearing the news i ask. "why? how? what about what happened last time?" I say in my confusion. Fletching says in an attempt to calm her foals nerves "that was months ago, things are going to be different." Holding her foal close she says "How about i get dinner started hmm?" She makes her way to the kitchen before i could say anything in protest. While mom was in the kitchen i go grab my book on magic for beginners. Going up and down the stairs has always been a bit of a struggle, i may have gotten used to walking on four legs but my small stature doesn't help me one bit. Opening the door to my room i grab the book and head back down stairs. I may not have a special talent in magic but i want to learn anyway after all i do have a horn, so of course there will be some very useful spells i could learn. levitation isn't the only spell that makes life easier for me. I can only imagine how more of a struggle i would've had adapting might've been for me if i didn't get such a lucky card in the game of life. but then my luck immediately ran out and i got bad card after bad card, not like i was that lucky originally anyway. Its not like i didn't have to struggle a bit to even get my hooves and horn to do what i wanted them to anyway, all those times of falling on my face whenever i tried to speed up my pace, or things slipping out of my grasp when trying to grab them. Or even the times i struggled to even get my horn to glow in the first place. It was like if you randomly was giving a new appendage you've never had before, that you now had to figure out how to get it to actually move. Even though i think i did have it before? Then my train of thought shifts. What special talent would i get if i could? Doesn't really seem possible due to a lack of flesh for one. But maybe it would still happen in some way anyway just to spite expectations. Where would it appear anyway? Would it even be visible? Or would it just become an innate talent that can not be known unless seen or told. Using the book to practice levitation i start to spin it around. I start to get lost staring at the book, becoming hypnotized by its spinning. Shaking my head i break out of the trance then start to look around the room. I hear the sizzling of hay at the stove then look back at the book. I start to get a bit of a mischievous grin, i proceed to make it spin faster and faster. I say speen book speen in my head, spin faster! All of a sudden my concentration is lost by mother prodding me with her hoof. The book gets launched hitting me in the face. "OW! Damn literature!" i yell in pain. Chuckling she says "Now hun books are not toy's they are for reading" while emphasizing the word reading she picks up the book and puts it down on the coffee table. Grumbling i say "I wasn't playing with it i was practicing" While rubbing where the book hit me. "Well you can practice tomorrow" she says as she goes back to making dinner. In the dead of night a librarian is reading every book she can that could lead to the answer she is looking for. But no matter which she read she couldn't find any answers to the mystery that was driving her mad. Nothing got any where near close to matching the description of what she saw. The skeletons described in any relevant books say either they are mindless slaves to the summoner. or are so hostile that everypony including the summoner would get attacked on sight. Obviously this doesn't match the description at all, the foal was well behaved and in the care of a thestral. If they where any danger to ponies then they wouldn't be near anypony, because they would've been dealt with long ago. And what skeleton that has every been summoned have an interest in learning about magic? Its like this is the first case of something that has never been documented or so rare that nopony had the chance to or this library just didn't have the right book? Completely disheveled and bone tired she works on putting all the books she read in their places on the shelves. But she cant get out of her head how mysterious that foal is, the secrets of their condition driving her mad since she first saw them. At this point she might have to do some investigation herself but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Until then she has to get some sleep, she has stayed up for far too long. groggily walking to her bed she flops into it, getting wrapped into its sheets, quickly falling asleep. In the dreamscape a certain foal usually would be having a more elaborate dream, this time however they decided to dream of something small for a change. Sitting in a beautiful field of grass they look off into the night sky as they hold close a plush of a purple porcupine with red shoes and hat. They can only imagine how their second attempt at school would go. The running the screaming, cheerilee desperately trying to calm down the foals, The name calling. Without warning the dream starts to go south. The stars in the sky start blinking out at an alarming pace, the moon starts to gain an evil smile laughing at them, the grass starting to turn brown and die and the leaves of the nearby trees falling revealing the dead branches, voices of the foals becoming a cacophony. Just before it could get any worse they yell stop as they gain control back banishing those fears deep into the back of their mind. If they don't keep their dream in control then a certain pony a certain alicorn will have to intervene. They don't want her here, there are foals out their that deserve her attention more than they do. They don't need her, they don't need her sympathy, they can handle this. They can control their dream, they can keep it in line, no other foal to their knowledge has this much self control. They don't need her here worrying about them and their well being. They don't deserve her care or her worry. They don't deserve it. They are not as important as the other's. They are nothing but a drop of water in the ocean of pain and fear other filly's and colts are having. Their problems are not as important as the others. Even after regaining control the dream is still cracking, buckling at the seems of the built up sorrow. Creating inconsistencies, creating noticeable flaws. little inconsistencies that when you notice them you wont be able to get them out of your head. Their fears still eating away at the dream, they cant ignore them anymore can they? But in their stubbornness they try to ignore them anyway, holding the plush tightly refusing to acknowledge anything that is going on around them. Doing their damnedest to ignore it all and wait for the sun rise. But tears start to well up in their eyes, when all of a sudden they hear someone behind them that wasn't there before. "What troubles thee so my little pony?" Moments before. It has been so long since she has patrolled the land of dreams. but weeks after being freed from the clutches of the nightmare, she has been able to get back into the swing of things. step by step, inch by inch, she has grown accustomed to it again. shacking off the 1000 year rust that has grown onto her. The dream realm is luna's responsibility, her domain. The dreams of her subjects can either be pleasant or nightmarish. Nightmares, those are her main focus, those are the ones she is most concerned about. As she trots past one that can be classified as a more private dream she cringes a little and shudders. Many moons ago before her fall, due to her own curiosity she wandered in one and got a rather nasty surprise. Since then she'd avoided them like the plague. such dreams are best to be left alone, privacy is a special commodity. as she looks away from it she notices one that requires her undivided attention. Black tendrils wrapping around it and a black mist starting to seep from it, but just as she was preparing to fly to enter it they vanish when a blast erupts from it leaving slight cracks. Clearly whoever it was has some level of control over their dream but their resolve is starting to crack. Whoever it was they have some underlying fears and problems under the surface, problems that require some comfort from her. She fly's over to enter it, once she does she starts to notice the cracks manifesting in the dream. The moon is slightly crooked, the trees have chips in their bark and are starting to twist and the field of grass has some weeds here and there. With concern visible on her face she says "What troubles thee so my little pony?" Back to now. Stiffening upon hearing her voice i struggle to respond. This wasn't supposed to happen, she wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be helping those that deserve it, i don't deserve her help. "y-you can go. i-im fine" i say while stuttering and wiping away tears i only just noticed where there. This only made her more worried. Sighing she sits beside the foal and holds them close with one of her wings. Awaiting a response from them. Not getting one she breaks the silence by asking "what is troubling thee?" They look towards the hills in the distance they sigh then say "I-ts just i am supposed to be going to school next week but, wouldn't they all still be afraid of me?" looking in her eyes they say "they where all terrified of me! screaming and running around like i was gonna hurt them!" as they break eye contact they say under their breath "I'll never have friends. everypony thinks im a monster." The field starts to fade into the dark, The night sky becoming blocked by a twisted net of trees. Sensing the foal is losing control of the dream luna lights her horn and returns them back to the field. "Thee shall has't friends my little pony, they may beest afraid before, but." Giving her a questioning glance i ask "but?" "how long has't been since thee whither there last?" she asks. answering the question i say "3 months ago?" nodding she says in response "Then they've hadst plenty of time to adjust." Shaking my head i say "But they could still be scared, i am just going to create a mess again! i-" Luna puts a hoof to the foals mouth then says "I believeth thy fears art misplac'd" lowering her hoof she continues "Thee can not assume the worst,'twill only worsen thy fears." she says in finality "thee shall has't friends, thou art not a monster" They then proceed to admire the night sky in silence. Off to the side the moon stares down with a big menacing grin. the next morning Opening their eyes to the sound of the alarm clock they turn it off. Not wanting to get up they roll over and snuggle deep into the bed. sighing happily to the warmth of the blankets they begin to close their eyes. But their eyes shoot back open revealing empty sockets upon hearing a knock at the door. Turning over i see mom opening the door, she walks over and looks down at them with an eyebrow raised and says. "you better not have been thinking of going back to sleep" Still to this day i'll never know how mothers have this sense of their children doing something mischievous. I wouldn't doubt she'd say it is mother's intuition, its what every mother says when their kid asks how did they know. I get out of bed and continue with my routine. But even now the fear of the upcoming day of school is looming over me. how could i not worry about it? What happened before is very likely to happen again. Wasn't like i was good at introducing myself anyway, and being a skeleton doesn't help. Maybe it wont be as bad as i'm thinking. Maybe i will only get odd stares this time and maybe just them whispering to each other? No screaming or running? I can at least hope so. Slowly making the way down stairs suddenly my sense smell somehow returns just to give the bird to reality. I hastily speed up almost tripping down the stairs at the smell of chocolate chip. I dont care how i can smell it i want it right here and right now. Running over i quickly sit down at the table. With a sly grin mom says "looks like somepony is excited for waffles" "You bet i am" i say with a wide grin Chuckling she finishes preparing the waffles for her foal and her to enjoy. Author's Note came back to edit and make luna's dialogue more accurate. regardless of how much time it has been i haven't abandoned this. its just that a different project has taken up most of my time.
