The Ordinary Ponies

Chapter 13: The Lucid Dream

The Grand Galloping Gala was just a small part of autumn. After Running of The Leaves, the deep autumn of Ponyville officially arrived.

The leaves turned yellow, the autumn wind was bleak, and the weather gradually cooled down, followed by Nightmare Night. Although there were some minor incidents that evening, except for Fluttershy, all the residents in town had a great time, including the "sudden guest" – Princess Luna.

Twilight and Mr. Miracle were the first two ponies who expressed no fear and tried to help her integrate. She knew Twilight, even if she hadn't seen her before, she had heard from her sister Princess Celestia; But Mr. Miracle? she had never heard of this pony that looked completely ordinary except without cutie mark.

This pony demonstrated extraordinary wisdom and ultimately, together with Twilight, lifted everyone's prejudice against her. Now, after a thousand years, she had once again become a princess respected by ponies.

By the way, Mr. Miracle and the three of CMC dressed completely different from the others - more terrifying and eerie, earning more candies than other children; Spike was even more frightened and kept hiccuping repeatedly.

Apple Bloom painted wounds and scars on her body, and added three twisted red tentacles on her back, each with a triangular "bone" at the tip (made of cardboard, of course).

Scootaloo also had the same paint on her body, and then added a huge orange yellow cyst on her back, which looked like it could explode at any moment (inside was actually orange juice).

Sweetie Belle was equally terrifying, with a thick red tail attached to the mane and a "bone" barb at the end (also made of cardboard).

And Mr. Miracle added two forelimbs to his shoulders, just like a mantis, with two large sickles at the ends, still made of paper. These dress-up plans were certainly come up with by him, so ponies had never seen them before.

According to him, these inspirations came from a horror game, and he joked, “Fortunately, there was no pony dressed up as ‘Isaac’ tonight.”

Who was Isaac? Mr. Miracle only explained that Isaac was a very skilled engineer; As for the rest, the three had better not to know.

After the joyful Nightmare Night, Princess Luna finally began to fulfill her "royal duties". Now that the ponies all know and like her, she didn't have to be afraid of entering other ponies' dreams and scaring them.

Her duty was to patrol dreams, just as the name, it was to observe the dreams of the ponies. When she saw a pony suffering from nightmares, she would enter and help him/her untie the knot in his/her heart. This was a very meaningful job, but also easy to get tired. However, she felt fulfilled.

The sun set and the moon rose, and Princess Luna began a new round of patrolling in her room. Under the magic of the moon, she entered a wonderful space where she could not distinguish direction, time, and location. Countless ponies' dreams turned into crystal balls, floating and rising around her.

It seemed that the vast majority of the ponies had good dreams tonight: Twilight dreamed that Princess Celestia gave her an A+, and her parents, brother, and best friends were all congratulating her on the side;

Rarity dreamed that her fashion stores had opened all over Equestria, and she was always on the cover of fashion magazines. Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, Sapphire Shores and she were chatting and laughing happily, and even travel writer Trenderhoof was at her hooves;

Pinkie dreamed...It was hard to describe, or perhaps no pony could describe that scene. Luna felt that a sealed-old draconequus might have a common topic with her...Anyway, she seemed very happy, that was enough.

Applejack dreamed of an unprecedentedly prosperous Sweet Apple Acres, where apple juices, zap apple sauces, normal apples, and other apple products became designated foods and drinks for Grand Galloping Gala. Princess Celestia cut the ribbon for the construction of the barn in person...Applejack's parents were also present at the scene.

Rainbow Dash dreamed that she joined Wonderbolts, and not only that, she could also break through her limits and use the “Triple Sonic Rainboom”. Regardless of whether it could be achieved in reality or not, at least in her dream, it was cool - at least 20% cooler!

Fluttershy dreamed of being surrounded by a group of cute newborn little dragons, looking excited and thrilled. However, because she had not yet witnessed the process of dragon hatching with her own eyes, the scene was somewhat unrealistic.

The dreams of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were relatively vague, representing that they slept very deeply. But the overall content was about acquiring cutie marks that were unknown, and being praised by elders when growing up.

Only the dream of one pony caught her attention, and it was difficult to determine its nature because the dream owner was extremely conscious in the dream, just like being awake; On the other hoof, he might not even realize that was a dream. What interested her the most was the identity of the dream owner, who was one of the first ponies to not be afraid of her, Mr. Miracle.

If it had been a good dream, she wouldn't have casually gone in to watch in detail; But this time it was different. She saw something special in his dream...or rather, the dream was filled with special things. The more she looked at it, the more frightened she became. Her eyes widened, and her chin almost trembled.

Because he in the dream was not a pony.

……

In an apartment with a style and layout that was completely different from Equestria, a young "person" with black hair was sleeping on the table, perhaps thirsty, slowly opening his eyes drowsily. He saw his laptop, desk, photos, pen holder...as well as the poster of My little Pony animated series on the wall.

He took a deep breath, looked around, and saw that the layout of the room was the same as he remembered. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and say, “So it's really a dream...” But then his nose twitched and he took another deep breath, staring blankly at the poster on the wall.

“Is this dream too real?”

He was indeed Mr. Miracle, perhaps one should say 'once was'? He looked very depressed, lost, confused, and sad...Many negative emotions were mixed in his mind at this moment. He stood up and took a sip of water, glanced at the clock on the wall, and it showed to 3:30 in the morning.

“What day is it today? I might have to go to work tomorrow...” He muttered to himself as he picked up his phone next to the computer and opened it. The wallpaper was all ponies, with “Saturday” clearly written on it.

“Awesome!” His negative emotions temporarily subsided. “Should I watch it again tomorrow, or EQG? It's also good to watch Rainbow Rocks again...How many times has I watched? Twelve times maybe.”

The young man paced back and forth in the room, pouncing on the bed to rest - there were no pony dolls on the bed. He was unexpectedly awake, completely without any drowsiness.

“My brain, you're really awesome! I’ll watch it now!” He suddenly got up, opened his computer, and skillfully navigated into familiar websites, seasons, and first episode. A book slowly opened on the screen, and soothing music came through. This was the tenth time he had officially heard this melody.

“Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land…”

“Ah - where the dream begins!” he said satisfactorily.

He made wonderful comments on the content on the screen while watching, as if he were immersed in it.

What he didn't know was that outside the window behind him, on the abnormally large moon, there was a 'visitor from another world' who looked at everything with shock on her face.

The young man was completely unaware of the unusually fast progress of the video - although he had memorized all the episodes, was it a complete replica like a video? And perfectly restored all the content of an episode's duration? This still didn't work, so each episode just played the content he remembered quickly.

“Princess Luna, your performance is too weak!”

“Discord, you old bastard!”

“I'm thinking, what will happen if Lord Tirek is going to absorb the magic of the cutie pox…”

“The royal guards are useless as always, and they still have to rely on Twilight and her friends.”

“Perhaps they should recruit Flim and Flam? These two unscrupulous merchants really have something.”

“The ice-arrow sport in Equestria Games is really powerful, why don't they use it to fight the villains?”

“Great and powerful Trixie! You have a new scar on your face.”

“Princess Celestia lost to Queen Chrysalis…well, what can I say?”

“Shining Armor, are you awake?”

“Star Swirl the Bearded, you old bastard!”

“Is there any bank or economic system in Equestria?”

……

Comments like these were endless, and the one on the moon could hardly understand them. She only knew that everything that had happened so far was replayed on that brick called the “computer”.

When Nightmare Night was replayed, she was surprised to find that there was no Mr. Miracle inside; Not only that, but he was not present in everything that the “computer” played.

Suddenly, the shadow of a unicorn head appeared on the moon, and a tall, deep purple-black unicorn with wings on her back, blue and purple mane, and a tail flowing like a ribbon appeared from it. It was Princess Luna.

Unlike the monkey-shaped creature with two legs and a flat nose, Princess Luna knew clearly that this was his dream. But she also wondered at this moment, was this guy really Mr. Miracle? After all, Mr. Miracle was a pony, and this one...was like the "person" mentioned by her sister.

It wasn't until he said, “Ah, I want to have a cutie mark, I also want to know my life goals,” that she finally confirmed that this was Mr. Miracle indeed. But why did he look like this? Why did “computer” play everything that was about to happen, was happening, or hadn't happened yet?

This guy was full of mysteries, the only solution was to ask.

She flew straight down from the sky and crossed the wall - she was the master of dreams and could naturally change the scenes in them. She stood behind the young man, while he was staring intently at the screen, unaware of the situation behind him.

“Will Discord be free?” asked Princess Luna calmly.

This sentence really scared the young man. He immediately jumped up from his seat, touched the ceiling, and then looked up to see Princess Luna. At that moment, he seemed to understand something and pinched his thigh hard, but there was no pain at all.

“I knew it! I should have pinched it from the beginning!” he muttered to himself, then jumped down from the ceiling. Now his negative emotions naturally disappeared - replaced by tension and fear.

“Wait, are you speaking English or Chinese?” he continued with a sudden question.

“What are ‘English’ and ‘Chinese’?” Princess Luna asked in confusion.

“I understood, you should be speaking English, after all, I have been communicating with you all in English since I was in Ponyville...And this is a dream, where we communicate directly through consciousness, so it doesn't matter what language we use, because in dreams, communication doesn't require language as a 'carrier'...It's just our brains creating a 'speaking' context to rationalize this process and facilitate understanding...” he continued to mutter to himself.

“Well, um...aside from the parts I don't understand, you're right.” Princess Luna nodded. “But you still haven't explained what 'English' and 'Chinese' are.”

“These are the language I use, and I also have some basic knowledge of Spanish...In short, the language used by the ponies is English, but you may call it 'Pony Language' or 'Common Language'.”

“I think I have too many questions to ask you,” said Princess Luna, looking at the stranger in a somewhat flustered manner.

The young man, Mr. Miracle, let out a long sigh and sat down, saying, “I knew my secret would eventually be revealed, but I didn't expect it to be so soon, and in my dream.”

“So…Who are you?”

“Me? I...if you want, you can still consider me as 'Mr. Miracle',” he said, suddenly realizing that it was his dream. So the scene suddenly changed, the entire building twisted, deformed, and discolored, until it turned into the outskirts of Ponyville, and he transformed back into the familiar Mr. Miracle. “This’s much better.”

“It seems that you didn't originally belong to Equestria.”

“Indeed,” Mr. Miracle was quite candid. “I'm not even a pony, but I really enjoy being a pony - aside from the torment of the initial adaptation stage.”

“I know there is a mirror in Canterlot that opens every thirty 'moons' and leads to another world, but I have never been inside...Did you come from there?”

“Um...yes or no. Anyway, you can think so for now.”

“This is troublesome. As far as I know, there is a parallel world outside the magic mirror...If you come to Equestria, you may break that balance –”

“Relax,” Mr. Miracle appeared very calm. “In fact, I may know more about that mirror than you do - no offense! But as far as I know, many shuttles have no consequences, basically just go whenever you want.”

“Have you used it to shuttle through many times?”

“No, I don’t mean that.” Mr. Miracle raised his front hoof, trying to calm her down. “I have only traveled once, so now I am sleeping and dreaming in Ponyville, and you’re talking to me in my dreams, that's all.”

It seemed that this issue was far more complex than imagined, so Princess Luna had to change the topic.

“What's going on in that 'computer'? Why are all our things inside?”

At this moment, he wanted to lie to her; But if he had learned anything from watching My Little Pony more than ten times, it must be honesty.

Always be honest with friends and around you, even if honesty doesn’t necessarily mean the best outcome, it will definitely not be the worst. The potentially cruel truth spoken now is far more valuable than fabricating even more cruel lies in the future.

“I will tell you everything in detail, but next, please listen carefully and don't rush to ask questions. Wait until I finish speaking, okay?”

Princess Luna nodded hesitantly.

So he tried his best to explain everything in a way that the pony could understand - almost everything, some small things didn't need to be explained. In short, everything that happened Equestria was recorded in a storybook, which was played in the form of "animation" - similar to drama.

He and his kind refer to the plot of this storybook as My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

That's also why he wasn't afraid to see Princess Luna on Nightmare Night. He knew she had completely changed; Similarly, all of his previous “foreseeing the future” actions were also attributed to this “animation”.

“So, our world is all fake? Just a plot from a storybook?”

“It depends on how you recognize it,” Mr. Miracle said frankly - he did indeed think the world was true, not just to appease Princess Luna. “For you and me, Equestria is real, you are real, I’m real, you are real in my dreams, I’m real in my dreams...It is real that I’m sleeping in Ponyville, and it is real that I’m joining CMC - everything is real.

“To some extent, the life I used to lead was unreal - aimless, just living by without purpose, living in exhaustion and pressure...Do you know the story of 'Chuang Tuz Dreaming of Butterflies'? I think my situation is similar - I don't know if I was a human, then dreaming I became a pony; or if I was originally a pony, dreaming I became a human, then dreaming I became a pony, and then dreaming I became the way I am now.”

Princess Luna didn't know how to answer the call at all, there was too much information.

“Nothing to say? Well, I'm afraid these are 'too much' for you.” He paced back and forth, pondering a more convenient narrative. Finally, he said, “You can understand it this way: In fact, all the stories of Equestria have already happened and been recorded in a book. I’m looking back at this storybook as later generations, and in fact, they have all passed. And I am sleeping in Ponyville now because I have come before the storybook is written. So, can you understand?”

Princess Luna nodded slowly, then then shook her head.

Mr. Miracle raised his hooves helplessly and covered his face. “Anyway, you don't need to worry about the reality of Equestria, because I'm sleeping in Ponyville right now and you're still in my dream, so all of this is happening, of course it's real.”

“Only this can I understand, but the previous? No way!”

“Speaking of which, I thought you would only enter the nightmares.”

“Usually, but your dream is just too...'special'.”

“I see…so, do you have any more questions to ask?”

Princess Luna really wanted to say there were a million questions, but time was limited. All she needed to know was that Mr. Miracle was a good pony that had helped her and other ponies, and that was enough.

However, regarding predicting the future...perhaps she should ask those “villains” questions.

“Is it true that Discord is about to be free?”

“It's true. But don't worry, Twilight and her friends will defeat him; and later Discord will also change...but he’s still uncontrolled.”

“Is it true that Tirek is about to leave Tartarus?”

“It's true. But don't worry, Twilight and her friends will solve it. After that he will escape second time, but Twilight and her friends can still solve it.”

“Is it true that King Sombra will come back?”

“It's true. But don't worry, Twilight and her friends will solve it. Later on, he had some scenes, but in the end, he wasn't a match for Twilight.”

“Is it true that Queen Chrysalis will invade on the day of the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor?”

“It's true. But don't worry, Twilight and her friends will solve it.”

“Is it true that there is a pony called Starlight Glimmer that plans to eliminate all ponies’ cutie marks?”

“It's true. But don't worry, Twilight and her friends will solve it. Even if Starlight Glimmer intends to change the past and destroy the world, Twilight can persuade her to give up.”

A moment of awkward silence, Princess Luna didn't know what to say - was there any crisis that wasn't resolved by Twilight and her friends? She thought about it and asked.

“Oh, there is still one. It's the second official invasion of Queen Chrysalis, which will be resolved by Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Discord, and Thorax together.”

“Is there any crisis that my sister and I have resolved?”

“Let me think - nope. At least there were no major events but minor events. For example, when the vines of Everfree Forest invaded Ponyville, you and Princess Celestia cut the vines, buying time for Twilight to solve the problem; and another time when the vines of Everfree Forest invaded, you, Princess Celestia, and Star Swirl cut the vines together, buying time for Twilight.”

“Can Star Swirl come back in the future?”

“That's right. But the main credit for his return is still Twilight.”

Princess Luna was completely speechless. Was her sister's student that impressive? It didn't seem unbelievable that he said Twilight will become a princess in the future.

Then she asked many more questions, and the result was that even the young six of Friendship School in the future had solved a crisis, but she, and her sister, and many royal guards had achieved nothing.

Regarding the incident where Princess Celestia lost to Queen Chrysalis in a solo battle at the imperial wedding, he laughed as he spoke, and the corners of his mouth never came down.

“What are you laughing at.”

“I remembered something happy.”

Princess Luna rolled her eyes, it seemed that after a thousand years, these "antiques" should indeed keep up with the times. She needed to think carefully about how to upgrade the defense system.

At that moment, she realized that the pony in front of her was the best choice for a royal advisor.

“I have countless questions to ask, would you be willing to come to Canterlot and serve as a royal advisor?”

“Wow, I'm so flattered!” Mr. Miracle smiled, but he looked at his empty flank and politely declined, “But now I'm a member of CMC, and I still have to work hard to make my mark.”

“Okay, but if a disaster really happens, can my sister and I ask for your opinion?”

“Always willing, but it's best to ask me before the disaster. Otherwise, after the disaster breaks out, usually you and Princess Celestia are the first to lose combat effectiveness; and it's also difficult to say, because of the chaos calendar of Equestria, sometimes I can't determine what the time of the disasters are.”

“Is the calendar chaotic?”

“Such as Sunset Shimmer and the magic mirror that only opens every thirty ‘moons’...Well, you probably don't know Sunset Shimmer. Maybe I can explain it to you when it is happening.”

Princess Luna sighed, speechless.

“Are the royal guards really that...'weak'?”

“Really. Can you believe they can't even catch a thief? After Twilight become a princess, her crown will be stolen and the royal guards of the entire castle don’t even notice.”

Princess Luna sighed again, speechless. She looked at the moon in the sky, realizing that it was getting late, so she bid farewell to this truly miraculous pony.

She still had a million questions, but she could ask him in the future.

“Also, please remember to keep this secret. I will tell them myself when the time is right.”

Princess Luna nodded in agreement, then turned around and left.

Mr. Miracle waved his hooves behind her to say goodbye, and finally reminded her, “You should pay attention to Tantabus, it feeds on your guilt. I hope you understand that you have done enough and there is no need to feel so guilty.”

Upon hearing this, Princess Luna was taken aback in the air, then continued flapping her wings and soaring towards the sky.

This peculiar night came to an end.