The Mistress of Dreams

Twilight continued to fly across Ponyville under the guidance of the pale moonlight.  She was beginning to understand why this has happened to her. Although she had very limited knowledge about this, she knew that this strange phenomenon was called an “out-of-body experience.” They were very rare, mysterious, and only few cases are known; none of them involving unicorns, ironically.  Before, she would scoff at the idea, dismissing it as an urban legend or superstitious like “Pinkie Sense" (before Pinkie convinced her otherwise).  Twilight additionally discovered that she has the ability to enter other pony's dreams.  So much was happening in one night; she could share her research to the professors of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and maybe be rewarded with Starswirl the Bearded Prize for this.  There were so many possibilities.

"Let’s see; after examining the situation, I am able to conclude that somehow, during my nightmare, my consciousness and my physical body separated.  However, that does not mean that I’m dead; my conscious took the form of my physical self. That might explain why my horn was still glowing when I went into sleep paralysis.”  She also concluded that because of this, she retains the sensation of having a body, but at the same time that sensation is no longer applicable in her physical nervous system.  This was all-too confusing for anypony to understand, even for Twilight.  She reminded herself to do more research on this strange phenomenon in the morning.  Right now, it was time to explore one of the most unexplored places known in the history of science: a pony’s subconscious.

Scanning the town, Twilight looked for possible subjects for her little “experiment.”  She couldn’t decide which pony’s mind to enter; every single one of them here is too eccentric for their own good.  A lightbulb flashed above her head and she produced a large grin.

“I know! I can could enter the subconscious of my friends! Oh, this is so very exciting! But where do I start?” Her train of thought stopped when she found herself closer to the Everfree Forest.  Even at night, the forest was intimidating as ever; the light from the moon refused to shine across the forest, and a chorus of the resident wildlife filling the air.  Twilight shuddered as the memories of her venture into those woods came to her.  She looked down and spotted a small cottage that sat just outside the forest.

“Fluttershy!”  She flew down outside the window to the top floor.  She scanned the room until a yellow pegasus came into view.  Twilight floated through the window and drew herself closer to Fluttershy.  She was so cute when she was asleep; she cuddled with her blankets and her pink mane covered most of her face.  Twilight had to make sure to not do anything that would startle her.  She slowly extended her hoof across the top of Shy’s head.  Once the tip of her hoof touched her head, a swirling vortex of magic silently appeared, signaling Twilight to push herself into the dreamworld of the Element of Kindness.

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Twilight trotted alongside a passageway.  This dream was very similar to Spike’s, as the sun sat high above a blue, cloudless sky (well, there were few cumulus clouds).  She looked to both her sides and the trees all had amazing pink and green leaves, and they were surrounded by the most beautiful flowers she had ever seen.  A cool, gentle breeze collided with her skin as the forest welcomed her presence.  There was still no sign of Fluttershy, however.  As she continued walking, three butterflies appeared in front of her.  They had pink wings with yellow and green circles spread across.  The butterflies flew circles around Twilight to her confusion.  They stopped and formed a straight line to the direction of the forest.

“Are you... taking me...”

The butterflies flew slowly this time; she followed them into the forest.  She traveled into the forest in what felt like hours, with the butterflies guiding her.  As she ventured deeper, it was becoming a little darker, but not as dark as the Everfree Forest, and rays of sunlight could still be seen.  She was getting tired and wanted to stop for a quick rest, until the butterflies stopped in mid-air.

“Huh? Why did you stop--”

The butterflies floated in front of a large oak tree that was an archway.  Nothing else could be seen besides the bright, golden glow the oak was giving.  Twilight trotted slowly and carefully into the oak and the bright light was blinding her eyes.  As soon as she got to the other side, she gazed in awe of the glorious scenery before her.

There were no perfect words to describe such beauty of the wonderous landscape.  The trees surrounded every inch of the land and the rivers flowed smoothly across the plains and hills.  A waterfall was at the distance and a rainbow stood proud on top of it. Animals of every shape and size - cute and ugly, large and small, even ones from ancient mythology - filled the garden and ate from the fruits of its trees.  Birds flied to and fro across the garden and filled the air gleeful chirping.  This was too much for Twilight to take in at once.  She just stood there, staring at the garden with her mouth agape, when the butterflies showed up again.  She snaped out of her trance and followed the butterlies down the hill which lead to a large courtyard.  The courtyard was filled with the usual forest animals - deers, rabbits, squirrels, etc. - and they standing in front of a wooden throne decorated with vines that had contained pink petals.  They stood there - waiting for something to happen.

“What’s going on? Why are the animals just standing there?”

Then the universe gave her an answer, when ten grasshopers appeared from behind two large boulders on the side of the throne.  They took their tiny trumpets and played a powerful fanfare.  The animals - and Twilight - looked up to the sky.  And there she was...

The bearer of the Element of Kindness herself, Fluttershy, descended gracefully from the heavens like a goddess, her pink mane flowing upward in the air.  She appeared to be standing in mid-air on her hind legs with her front ones spread out.  She was accompanied by birds and butterflies.  She wore a grassy green dress that slightly resembled the one she wore at the Grand Galloping Gala a couple a years back. Her crown was made of small daisies.  As she continued her descent, the animals bowed in reverence - Twilight on the hoof, stood there, staring in awe at her best friend’s grand entrance.  Fluttershy finally sat herself on her throne and raised her hoof to command the animals to cease their bowing.  She looked across the courtyard and smiled warmly at her subjects/friends.  She did a double-take when she spotted a familiar lavender unicorn.

“Twilight?”

On instinct, her subjects turned around stared at Twilight.  She heard her name, and was instantly brought back to reality (or...Fluttershy’s version of reality?) and was intimidated by the animals.  She looked back at Fluttershy, who was confused.

“Uh...hi Fluttershy.  I see you have all your animal friends with you.” She ended her comment with a light chuckle.  Fluttershy didn’t understand how Twilight got here, but she was nonetheless happy to see one her best friends.

“Oh, of course.  It’s actually quite nice to spend time with them.  We walk around the garden, have tea parties, and I make sure they all play nice,” Fluttershy happily exclaimed.  She pointed to out a lion cub playing with a litter small kittens.  The scene made Twilight’s heart melt; Fluttershy does have a way with animals.

“So... what is this place?” Twilight asked.  She never seen anyplace like this before (of course, until she realized she was in a dream).

“Well, this is my personal garden I like to call Fluttertopia.”

“It’s really amazing! You have everything you could ever want here!”

“Oh, yes.  Here in Fluttertopia, all the animals - big and small, scary and nice - live together in harmony, and I am their goddess.  There’s enough food and water here for every creature and there’s always something to do.”

“That’s really impressive, Fluttershy!  You must really like it here.”

“Yeah...” Fluttershy said dimly.  She walked over to the balcony which overlooked much of the garden.

“But, it does get kind of lonely sometimes.  Without my friends.”  She  looked out into the landscape from her balcony.  The garden was so incredible, even Princess Celestia herself would be envious.  The trees stood across the garden and had every fruit and vegetable growing from its branches.  At the bottom of the waterfall, there was a pool fill with crystal clear water.  Everything seemed so perfect.  But Fluttershy had none of her ponyfriends to share it with.  Her frown turned back into a smile and she faced Twilight.

“Would you like to spend the day with me? I mean... that is... if you want to.”

Twilight thought about it for a moment.  She did say she gets lonely in her own dreamworld; loneliness was the feeling Twilight was not fond of. Also, she has not be so happy recently, mostly because of the whole Iron Will fiasco.   Besides, they’re both in a dream, and they can do anything they want.

“I would love to spend the day with you, Fluttershy,” Twilight said.  She smiled at the yellow pegasus, who in return, made a large teethy grin.

“So what should we do--” Twilight was suddenly cut off when Fluttershy pulled her hoof and they both ran off unto some unknown location.

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Twilight and Fluttershy frolicked everywhere in the garden, enjoying each other’s company.  Fluttershy showed her unicorn friend some of the amazing creatures that inhabited the garden.  Twilight saw the manticore that Fluttershy tamed on their first adventure.  It was head-budding a pomegrante tree so the small forest residents can grab the fruits when they fall.  Twilight levitate two of them with her magic and gave one to Fluttershy.  Along the way, a tall, green flamigo/peacock hybrid looked down at Twilight with curiosity.  She was startled for a moment, and the yellow pegasus gave a light-hearted giggle.  A chameleon climbed on Twilight and vanished from sight, only to appear on Fluttershy.  And they both shared a laugh as a bouncing jackalope crossed their paths.

Sometime later, they enjoyed a spectacular performance from the cardinals and blue jays musical troupe.  They did everything from witnessing dove eggs hatching, watching puppies and kittens play together, to observing a doe teaching its fawn how to walk.  Later, they found themselves swimming in the pool supported by the waterfall.

“Oh, Twilight, this has been a great day.  I’m really glad that you came here unexpectedly and see the garden,” Fluttershy said.  Twilight was happy she came to, but she couldn’t tell her that this is a dream - it would break her heart.

“Me too, Fluttershy. This place is so amazing, and all the exotic things here are incredible!”

They got out of the pool and Twilight used her magic to dry themselves.  Her smile slowly turned to a frown; as much as she wanted to stay in Fluttershy’s dream a little while longer, she had to visit her other friend’s dreams too.

“Um, Fluttershy? I’m sorry to do this, but... I really have to go.  It’s just that, well... something important that I forgot about came up.  It’s for the Princess,” Twilight said sadly.

Fluttershy closed her eyes in disappointment.  Twilight Sparkle was the first of her friends to visit her garden, and she had to leave so soon.  And they were having so much fun.

“It’s okay, Twilight. I understand,” she said with a sad smile.  They both gave each other hug as Twilight began her exit stragety.

“Don’t worry, I promise I’ll visit again in your garden,” Twilight reassured her pegasus friend.  Fluttershy felt a little better - she knew she can count on Twilight to keep her promises.

“Good-bye, Twilight.”

“Good-bye, Fluttershy.”

With that, Twilight Sparkle teleported her way out of Fluttershy’s garden, and out of her dream.

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Twilight pulled herself out of Fluttershy’s subconscious.  She was very sorry to leave her on such short notice, but more dreams were waiting.  She floated to the window, but stopped and looked back at the yellow pegasus.  Fluttershy had a small smile on her face and she began to utter words under her breath:

Twilight... thank... you.

Twilight smiled at her sleeping friend.  She made a promise to herself to visit Fluttershy’s garden very soon. And she intend to keep that promise.  She flew out the window and into the night, ready to visit the dreams of the other Elements of Harmony.

Author’s Note: Sorry if this chapter was boring and cheesy.  I like Fluttershy, but I find her to be the least interesting character in the series.  I promise future chapters will be entertaining.