Friends

Friends

I see friendship all around me, and now I'm a part of it.

My dreams have been changing for the better, the past few weeks. No longer am I the unloved party pony of Ponyville. No longer am I disregarded as the inexplicably strange pony who smiles too much. No longer am I alone in the world.

The purple unicorn, Twilight, is exactly why I'm no longer friend-less. Now I'm surrounded by plenty of friends, by ponies who are just as happy seeing me happy as I am seeing them happy. When ponies smile as they walk by, they're actually happy to see me, not just acknowledging my presence. When I come up to them at parties to make sure they're okay, they'll draw me into their conversations without a thought. Rarity no longer waits for me to make a mess of myself before she wants to hang out, and Fluttershy can actually talk to me without fleeing in terror. Rainbow actually lets me tell stories to her fans when they're smothering her, too. My dreams are so strange now, I can't help but feel like they're how life should be.

They are also more erratic nowadays, with new areas even outside of Ponyville for me to explore. One night, I'm vanquishing evil deep in the Everfree Forest. The next, I'm relaxing at the spa with my friends, getting a hooficure and laughing at Rainbow's nervousness. They always seem to be following a nice timeline, never straying. Most of the time, when I sleep in my dreams, I wake in reality. When I sleep in reality, I wake in my dreams.

The days of my rock farming no longer seem drag on and on anymore. My mind helps to flush out the tedious task of breaking and rolling so I can visit my dreams more often, and remember more from them when I wake.

During one of my more recent dreams, I told three little fillies the story of how I got my cutie mark. My five best friends did, too, and it turns out we're all linked by the rainbow I saw. I'm not sure if that last part was entirely true or not, but I certainly hope so. Maybe somewhere out there, my five dream friends are sleeping under the same night sky as I am. Maybe these dreams are my future, and maybe I'll eventually see them through.

I find myself thinking, hoping, and wishing a lot more than before. As I lie down in my bed, staring at my almost constantly fluffy, poofy mane, I can't help but think of leaving the farm in search of a place that might not even exist. Of course, I've been secretly stashing supplies under my bed in case I decide to leave, but I don't think that'll be happening any time soon.

So I drift off into dreamland, not knowing that day will come sooner than I thought.

It's the day after Gummy's party, I think. Twilight wants me to throw a party soon, so why not today? But something's different about my room now. I just can't seem to figure it out. It's probably nothing; my room's always changing, anyways. I peek under my bed and focus on one of the packs of confetti. It's just a little too far away for me to reach, so I stretch my hoof out a little more and grab it. Just as I move it, though, I see something shiny from behind where it was. They say curiosity gave the cat superpowers, so I just grab up the shiny thingy and look at it.

It's a really shiny rock, something that could pass for a mirror if you didn't have one. I look at my reflection in it, and notice the fluffy fluffiness of my mane. Is it always so fluffy? It looks fluffier than normal, in this rock. Maybe I should straighten it out a bit; it's pretty distracting.

So I grab my brush in my hooves, but they seem just a bit larger than normal. Actually, all of me seems larger than normal, but it doesn't take long to get used to it. I start to straighten out my mane just a little bit, but it doesn't seem to want to de-poof. Just a little more forceful this time, and... Well, that didn't work. Did I pull my mane off? No, the brush is mane-less. I can't feel my mane up there any more... Oh, well. Guess I'll check the mirror. Not the rock mirror, the mirror mirror.

Weird. My mane's completely flat and straight now, and it hasn't been like that since I was a filly. Come to think of it, I remember life on the farm as if it were yesterday. Or earlier today. Or something, I dunno. Anyways, I think I'm a lot bigger than I usually am, but surely I didn't grow much after just one night. I should be a little shorter, and thinner, and stuff. No point in thinking about that, though, so I quit looking at my mirror mirror and place the rock mirror under my bed.

Something's still not quite right, though. The streamers seem odd now, and everything about everything just seems off, as if I'm in a dream... Which means I am in a dream, duh! Silly Pinkie, not knowing you're in a dream. I'm asleep in my bed at the rock farm, having a nice little dream right now. A... lucid dream, I think it's called. Which means I can make anything I want, go anywhere I want, do anything I want. And right now, I want a party.

Gummy's after-birthday-party, why didn't I think of it sooner? The invitations are ready, my party invitation hat-basket is ready, and I'm ready. And Twilight's ready, too, considering she said we need a party soon. And it's soon.

I really feel like going through the singing invitations again, but that didn't go so well yesterday. Of course, now I'm lucip or whatever and it shouldn't be a problem, but... Better safe than sorry, right? Right. I'm always usually right in dreamland, but I shouldn't make myself always always right or mess with anything. I don't want to mess up my dreams when they just keep getting better and better without my interference.

I hope Gummy's ready for another party, though. He just seemed so tired after yesterday's. He's probably ready, though. And if he's not, I can make him ready with just a little bit o' lucib dreamy magic-ness. Just a little change probably won't ruin my future dreams. I think. I dunno how dreams work, they're all weird and dreamy-like.

Hmmm, maybe the Cakes won't be too happy that I'll be gone all day... Oh well, I don't plan on working during a lucit dream. Those busy day working dreams are sooooo boring.

Looking at the clock, I notice it's just about time for me to head off and deliver the invitations. This'll be the first time I talk to my friends as myself and not dream me, so I hope I don't mess anything up. Shouldn't be too hard, though. Gummy's staring at me now, and he seems to be looking at the mirror, too. I give his head a little rubbin' and half trot, half hop out of my room, course set for the library.