Catnap! Wake up!

Hmm~ Quake up? What's a quake... OW!

Hoppy! Catnap could've gotten hurt!

Like always, difficulties arose when I tried to wake up, this time my eyelids and suitcases were one in the liking, heavy. However, they still could be opened, and a grunt flew from my mouth echoing through the darkness when they did. I could barely muster enough strength for deep breaths and when I tried to simply move my arm to a better position it gave white noise. But as time passed, my ears did manage to recognize the droplets of water ahead of me, and then came the smell.

By now, the smell of blood was a familiar one, familiar doesn't mean good. When I recovered the ability to feel, I noticed that my lower half felt drenched, and by the position, I'd guess only the upper part of me was out of the water, however my face- half of my head felt warm, where the scent of blood was the strongest. I was bleeding—a lot.

Panic kickstarted adrenaline, and I felt slightly lighter, so first I adjusted my arm that was under me then put a paw on my head, the beans barely grazed right between my brows and it burned- an inferno of pain from head to toe, my whole body twitched just by touching it. My paw went away at light speed, there was no need for sight to guarantee that it was drenched in warm crimson liquid.

Sorry. I'm just a bit excited.

After that experience, came the cold. Frosting through my fur and the water, I did the best with my limbs thinking they were weights, I crawled up until my lower half was out of the water and curled into a ball, I took my sweet time in that position until I went from 'I'm going to die from hypothermia' to 'Butt Naked on a winter storm.' In other words, enough warm to search for a warmer place. I brought myself to sit up then slowly put my feet on solid ground and got up, the world didn't spin, it twisted into a mockery of lights and shapes that stayed there even after I closed my eyes. I took a few safe steps forward with both arms extended as safe poles and hoped there was no hole. The cave floor oddly had no indentation or shifts and neither did the wall when I reached it, both were completely flat therefore not natural, which means there was a way out.

With a wall to hug and my reliable good sense of direction (please be right), I walk to the place where there isn't a hole full of water. Another good thing is that I felt my pendant still there.

Let's go, I can't wait to beat Kickin's butt on soccer!

The plan is to avoid another early morning accident, and not move the head too much while walking, the casual up and down. So my steps were as slow, heck, even slower than a snail's pace. However, it brought good in keeping me somewhat warmer.

But the newfound sensation of blood running down from my forehead to my chin made my fur stand on end, just imagining how I look gives the shivers, I really need to do something about this soon or...

Language, Hoppy!

As I went through the corridor of sorts, the wall felt weird to my beans, with inward indentations that didn't feel natural, sometimes the same indentation repeated. Is it words? I can't distinguish them, it's not from the same alphabet if they are words. It just made me curious and if I was in better circumstances I'd help do a 'spring cleaning' on this place.

These words carved on the wall also meant that something might live here, further confirming a way out. Oh, if only my legs permitted me to do the Red Riding Hood walk.

The few thoughts I had to occupy myself dwindled with each step, my rough breathing through my mouth to avoid that smell and my tail dragging on the ground were the only company. All that I did today, Dogday warning me... I need help and I have a friend who can help me and help me find a way home.

Jet trusts me, I will do the same, I'll talk to her after I get out.

Eventually, my thoughts became silent with the perpetual darkness, time had little meaning when there wasn't a way to measure it, but my legs were about to give out. I would've stopped and taken a short break but I discarded it at the sight of light. Dim enough for a human to miss it, but it was day clarity for me. Or well, close to it.

I took a few quicker steps, a bad choice on my part as I stepped on my tail and nearly fell but I caught myself in a stone table, and by caught I meant to hit my stomach on the table edge while clawing at it to not fall. After that I pushed myself to sit on the table and started looking around, the light that I had noticed came from a dying crystal at the ceiling center of the table, and the walls, ceiling, floor, and even the stone furniture such as the bookshelves with moldy old books were filled with words of an unknown language but that didn't even come close to the skeleton of a pony sitting on a chair at the other end of the table, his hooves held tightly onto a red book with no visible title from my perspective.

But more importantly than that, a black door behind him and the sound of rushing air current coming from it. Oh, 06. Thank you! I don't know how wide I'm smiling but my cheeks hurt.

In a minute or so I'll be on full charge, then the surface awaits! Hopefully, that thing has gone away by now. That could've driven the tourists away, Jet seemed a bit bummed by them also with fewer tourists there will be less of a distraction for the workers, and I should be good enough to help Shadow Sport and the others by now!

...

This critter died alone, with no friends or family to bury him, yet died doing what he liked. At least I presume that or otherwise, it'd just be catastrophic. On that note, a thought mingled into my mind, 'What was he reading?'

For all I knew, it could be a romance, or an, eugh, didactic book.

Catnap.

I- I mean, I don't despise didactic books, I even study- or, used to study with Bubba on particularly slow days, it's just not my idea when it comes to relaxing or having fun- Well I-I mean it's fun, but only when I study with Bubba, he makes things entertaining and- and... I miss him.

Better to leave the thing that the pony loved with him. Welp, that was a good enough rest- 'The book might have a way back.' I stopped, 'To friends and family.' I turned to the skeleton. 'A way back.'

My head flooded with the memories of Dogday and me playing catch, his smile, and my joy. 'Take the book.' Hoppy and Kickin's competitiveness and the time we went to the arcade together, Hoppy hitting the arcade after her ninth consecutive loss, 'You will be happy.' Bobby and Crafty talking about silly things together and the latter accidentally dropping a bucket of blue ink on Bobby... Bubba focused on his project and Piggy butting in with the best PB&J sandwiches ever created. I... Walk around the table and stay eye to socket with the skeleton then look at the book.

This is wrong, it's desecrating a tomb practically! But... I just need to take a peek to be sure. I reach for the book.

Once my paw-beans come as close as to graze the surface of the cover, the light blinks out and I find myself surrounded by light red smoke, weirdly enough, it smelled like that rotten pickle inside a jar left behind in my wardrobe, I was too scared to pick it up. In contrast to the gas, my feet and tail felt moist like a rain puddle was underneath me, and now that I come to look at it, the rain puddle extended to everywhere I could see - diamond-colored water that reflected a world of stars above.

It was all me - From the smoke to the water, even the skies. I knew it was all me and that weirded me out, but then something felt wrong, a twist of an ankle or hearing the wood creaking in cold nights sounding like footsteps, no, it felt closer to losing an arm, "Hello." I turn around to meet a critter- an earth pony completely translucent with no perceivable distinction besides that. "I've got to admit, it's quite a feat that you got there, destroying your subconscious."

"Wha-"

The pony chuckles, "Two days ago, you destroyed it, Catnap. That means everything your body did until now was your doing." What? "Of course, you didn't realize. Who, but an arcanist or the princesses would?" Then, a hoof greets my face, and everything changes as up becomes down and I still find myself standing tall after that strike, the scenery changes I take a step, turning back into the cave I just was in, but not quite. "I've waited so long for this opportunity to have a body again, to become truly immortal in body and soul." I recovered from the recoil and even here, I felt an exciting propulsion igniting my blood with chill excitement, shaking joy. But a pang of fear still made me too uncomfortable to fight back just yet.

He had vanished just now to deliver a sure-hit punch. Teleportation? Is that even possible?

"I'm Oneiroi by the way." He vanished again and this time I quickly turned around only to receive a buck in the stomach. "Previous member of Luna's Arcane Guards," He followed up by disappearing and bucking my back, "Master-level Arcanist, one of the previous six elements of harmony, and, might I add, one of the eight that participated in the sealing of Nightmare Moon. Don't bother introducing yourself, I already know it all." I rolled to the ground gasping for air and nearly choking on my saliva- and coughing bits of blood. This felt horrible yet exciting.

I take in a deep breath. I refuse to give into any of these feelings, I'll win- I have to. I pushed myself upward powering through any pain and disorientation, and turned around the moment he vanished, claws unsheathed I slashed forward to hit nothing, then I was tackled from behind and pain came from my head again, again, and agai-

~Crush~

That was less of a hassle than I originally thought it would be. Lucky me, heavens be blessed. I gave a quick search at the destroyed conscience for a core and the only thing resonating Life to keep this construct together is this pendant. Usually, it's a body part, the fellian certainly does have some emotional attachment to it, hm. I reach for the pendant, however, the 'air' feels startled so I halt and turn around.

Nothing. Being a soul for so long sure did some wee-hoos to my senses. I can't wait to see how the walking world changed.

The moment I turned back the weird purple fellian was gone - in its place, stood a beast twice taller than Celestia its coloration was just like of the fellian and so were the weird eyes, I took a few steps back and began readying my next strike against this sort of defense mechanism. The guardian looked like a malnourished ribcage, the spine, arms to claws were all on display with its fur tightening the bones. It looked ready for the reaper's embrace, yet, nine chains coming from above held by nothing in particular- prisoners in Tartarus had more room to move around than it. More advantageous for me since it looks oh so fragile.

Finally, His voice was everything here, the smoke morphed and the stars above changed into an orphanage, it's just like the trick I did before but this demands the question serving as the subconscious? Why did it wait for me to destroy the conscious part before- I'm his desires. Did- He suppressed me, tried to mold me. But I am the one who molds him if anything. From now and forward I dictate what you will become. Only one chain broke loose, and it had the nerve to chuckle at my face after a threat! I'll tear it apart.

With a thought I molded a sword into existence and- It's useless It disappeared. Another chain broke, since it seems to have Nightmare Moon syndrome, I'll just let it talk and gather some dreams to destroy it. I have seen through his eyes, that many critters let themself go by their desires, and those shape their dreams. Yet he refuses to let me do the same.

But there were no dreams, with the little Life I had I could pull off some auxiliary technique and throw away some memories for extra energy, but that isn't optimal. I should have been in control, of the choice of what mate to choose. What they love. Their dreams. Their attention. Their hobbies and friends. It should've been my choice. Another chain broke, I'll just use my soul as a weapon then, its willpower should be weaker than mine, if it has been suppressed for so long, However much I hate him, he's necessary. And so, I will use you as a nutrient. Your soul is different, better than ours but not more powerful. As he was done, I released a mental wave with the effort to erase the guardian, but it seemed that even hastening my thoughts didn't throw off this mind-reading cheat, and even threw a will-blast stronger than my own, that is much to my surprise since it is just a bandaid to fill in the subconsciousness role. But that still begs the question, how? My soul shatters like a twig and twists into a spiral then compressing me to the size of a honeycomb, to which the creature promptly ate me. Did those thousand years watered down my capacities so much?

What a bummer, I really wanted to see the outside world. Meh, dying isn't quite the thing that will occur to me though. So it's kind of fine too, I guess. Especially since in a way, part of me will see the outside world once again and I will have a successor to my arcane arts without a need to teach them anything.

Actually, hey that isn't so bad. Mighty fine. I wonder if the apples are still around, their cider surely has gotten better over the years.

Maybe my final thoughts can influence them enough to eat an apple pie of their making. That would be nice.

Umgh... Un... Wah-

~Nyaah!~

Ahem, I mean, um. Nice calcium you're packing there, sir. I calmly stand up from the bone pony in the chair and gently knock it into the ground, with the stone chair available I decide to rest there to get my mind out of this frenzy. Strange is that I don't remember falling asleep- not that anypony remembers but I wasn't trying to sleep, sweet Luna, it wasn't even good sleep. I better just-

~Cough- Cough, cough, COUGH!~

~Splat~

My lungs feel violated with each thread of air punctured stronger into a wheeze and a further cough, blood splattering on the table, Life drained with each breath, and my eyes, nose, and even ears began bleeding-

What is wrong with me? Life isn't supposed to be drained this fast- I'm not heavily injured or using any arcane ability- What... What am I saying?

Why can I tell these things- Why do I know what they are?! I didn't- I pushed myself up from the chair and wiped clean the blood from my eyes, Cel- 06, arcanists, war- they're not a part of my memories, they're not!

I didn't kill anypon- anyone! Whose memories are those, I would never kill anypony! I would never do any of that- I-I would never..! My paws don't feel like my own and I can't stop this bleeding- this-

This isn't me! The Life draining isn't helping- And I do not have an established circuit yet to afford to lose so much- I felt another mouthful of blood coming up my throat and as I coughed, I realized what was the problem, the soul was too big for the body, therefore the soul is trying to change the body to fit itself without leaking but is destroying it instead- I need to do what then?! I can't just take out my soul and be done with it, I-

A memory from green grasslands, an arcane technique taught by Luna to earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. Arcane arts, and arcanists each with their views and unique specialty fighting in an unnecessary war to reach immortality- new ones constantly being born but never compared to those who had been practiced and honed to perfection by multiple generations, Lunaris Dreamer.

Arcanists are murderers- I can't become one of them! There should be another way, there always is! My eyeballs felt like they were being pushed by the amount of blood coming from my eyes but the sight wasn't the only thing impaired, my ears were flooded and most importantly, my nose and mouth. It was difficult to draw even the smallest strand of air as my own blood tried to choke me.

E-even if I want to become an arcanist, I'd have to change everything to fit my body, the circuit might still work if a critter's brain is the same as a pony... I have to do it, there's no way I could find a way to rip my soul out of my body in less than a minute.

Alright. To kickstart, I need to control Life and then begin the circuit, Life can be controlled through a trigger of defiance to something, and said trigger will become permanent for future arcane abilities. I- I can use death. Easy enough, I don't want to die, now do something!

And it actually does something! Shivers on the back count, right? Well, it's good that these memories help me recognize Life, practically skipping a few years of training- but now comes the hard part: The circuit.

Lunaris Dreamer is mainly a first-layer technique but has secondary third-layer effects, so the circuit needs to be created in a place to satisfy both requirements, and to satisfy both requirements I need to place it in the brain, what part? Near the part that is responsible for dreams and near the foundation of the body but where is it? Can't you be a tad bit more specific?!

~Cough- COUGH!~

My legs slowly give out, but before falling I sit down on the chair, again. I'll have to take a guess, Bubba and I never really looked too deep into anatomy, but I have a good chance if I die, I will blame whoever gave me these memories in the afterlife! Alright, the circuit needs to be built in the shape to resemble the first and third layers as well as have a meaning for the first arcane ability, the moon serves enough of a symbol.

And to finally build the circuit is to consciously run Life in the shape I have in mind using- using emotions?! How the hell do emotions translate to orders of command?! That makes no sense- these memories make no sense at all!

I need to do this right though, but how? Do I need to think of the emotions or feel them? Remember of times when I felt or what?! Don't just say 'use emotions,' that's too much fucking ample.

Think! The solution should be simple and easy, think simple and easy idiot! I'm trying to build a circuit for an arcane technique related to dreams, and dreams feel happy, peaceful, and careless. It's one in four, and purple cats are lucky, right? Eeny meeny miny moe... You!

There was a time when we went on a camping trip on the outskirts of the city, Dogday's legs were a tad bit better to not need a wheelchair but still needed crutches to walk around, besides the usual friends Catbee and Pugapillar pulled along too to have an easier time around Dogday. We had walked alongside a flowing river until there was a nice spot with a tree near it where we sat and unpacked, there Hoppy had put a rubber spider inside Kickin's lunch bag, and oh boy was it fun hearing a girly scream out of him.

Celestia above, what I wouldn't do to be there again. I let Life flow, my body aches and my skin breaks apart like glass, and blood flows like a river but the circuit is there, I did it. Now I have to deal with the charge of Life that is beating the shit out of me- Circuits work for efficiency of Life, so from using ninety-nine percent, it is now a solid eighty - but that was too fast, there's too little time to prepare.

Bones creak and break, more blood but I am still awake. The use for that remaining is the next problem since it is used to overcharge all the muscles, fiber, tissues, and bones into overcoming the apex of the body. Pony body. Of course, said overcharge is temporary, but when it ends the muscles have suffered enough to be at the theoretical apex. Again, of pony body, and unless I suddenly become equine, I need to find a way to do the same with my smaller body and naturally fewer muscles. This means leftover Life that I do not know where to put into since overcharging has a limit before I blow up.

No time to think, overcharge before bleed-out! Life overflows through every single cell of me, destroying old ones and immediately creating new ones only to destroy them again and make even better ones. Muscles were being damaged and healed at an incredible rate, if I were to guess even nerves were suffering the same process, as it wasn't painful as it was uncomfortable.

Once more, the lack of a watch prevented me from knowing how much time passed beside the vague definition of 'a while,' but everything was overcharged to the limit and yet five percent were still left and that is a problem. I can't have any leftover Life before my body adapts to the new efficiency the circuit provides, until then, Life is volatile and dangerous. My memories should have something for me.

And digging into them did bring up some things, auxiliary techniques that don't need circuits but aren't effectively 'strong' and purely situational or convenient. I begin to filter through some of them, Bane of Memories which I take a fancy since it could solve my problems, it sacrifices memories to the heavens in exchange for a temporary boost or recovery in Life. Wait- is that an auxiliary ability about cleanin?! Who would throw away Life just to be clean when you have... Showers... I'll file that one for later. Mending- Finally! This one mends and fixes flesh for a heavy cost of Life, too wasteful to be used in combat yet, perfect for me!

The idea behind this auxiliary technique is to- uh what? Oh okay. I have to use my trigger, an emotion akin to amazement and disgust, and think about glue. Trigger, easy. I don't want to die. Amazement and disgust, uhm...

Picky and Dogday jumping on mud puddles on rainy days. The little splashes staining each strand of fur and staining skin, just thinking it makes me... Shiver.

And glue. Now just spread the amount necessary - more than necessary since I have that luxury - of Life throughout damaged tissues or bones. Just like glue, huh? Flesh mends- and it felt as if a car, a plane, and a cyclist had hit me at the same time while some random jackass kicked me in the balls in superspeed, in other words, hell.

So much of hell that when I opened my eyes, I laid flat on the scribbled stone floor - I can read it now, neat - without an idea what happened. But there was no pain at least. Maybe that's why the memories had a horrible experience supercharging it. Who would've known it was because of that?

Anyway, I patted my legs, shoulder, ears, about a few hundred of ponies and three fellians dreams, and nose, everything is there.

Huh?

I dig into my thoughts to find an answer to this new odd sense, the name is... Oh, I remember, it is the Dream Module. An arcane ability that allows me to control dreams, their shape and meaning, and the ponies who sleep. I- this is quite macabre. That aside, the circuit does feel complete and most arcanists who complete their circuit have a new reserve of Life in their body, which in turn makes the body 'bigger' without increasing in size, that should fix my issue.

Now, how in Luna's holy moon and 06 divine grace will I explain any of this to Jet now?

Author's Note

I never really got FIM magic system quite right, here it is usual talking of magic matrixes and whatever else but I don't really recall any of it on the show, besides it being more or less a science rather than D&D magic. Actually screw that, I know nothing of D&D magic system either.

So uh, I came up with one of my own that I can actually understand. Actually I came up with three and put it in a blender! Lets see how this fares out. Also, yeah. I call it Life. No acronym there. Just Life. Plus I only got the FUNKY MAGIC TRINKETS part of Life truly figured out, so, sorry if this introduction is a bit information heavy too, I didn't try to figure it out a nice way to expose, and I feel a bit clanky with it too, also I'm just SO excited to get this out and finally put an ending to the arc. If you hadn't guessed by how much more frequently I updated.

Other than that, I ran out of my outlines. This was supposed to happen on Day 7 but Day 3 did frick ton of stubs. So I'll be working on that, besides a way to not make Catnap a mary sue (What's the male term of that, anyway?) And refresh my memory watching some MLP FIM eps, since the introduction is done the fun stuff needs to come afterwards! So, I'll increase the timebomb inside Catnap for a little while longer for more fun chapters. This also means, I'm back to the notepad stage, it'll be a while to figure out some funky new idea
or whimsical magic stuff, I don't know if this counts as hiatus or not, but I'll try to figure it all out in a week, university still has no real tests or work to deliver until next month, so we safe till then.

Once again, sorry if the chapter is a bit clanky but I am on the feeling if I keep holding it to re-read and edit it all over again, I'll be stuck in a loop, so...

As always, tell me what you enjoyed, what you didn't and how you think this chapter could've been better. Don't be afraid to point out grammar mistakes or to leave some constructive criticism, you'll be helping out!

Cya next chap, chums!