The Mistress of Dreams

The floating cloud of green mystical energy hovered down onto the the town square.  Under the pale moonlight, the cloud transformed into a fair-skinned being with black hair.  The being looked up unto the starry night and gazed upon the artistry of the eventide.

“What a lovely evening.  The moon shines greatly on the earth.  Of course, Isis would have done better.”

Mercutio, the Forgotten God of Mischief, had once again entered the realm of the mortal ponies.  He scanned the architecture of the buildings that surrounded him.  They reminded him of the golden age - the age when his brothers and sisters had dominion over the earth.  The age they ruled over the mortals; a time when the great old gods walked alongside the inhabitants of their former earth.  A time before their world came to an end.

“There is no time to dwell on things that have passed,”  Mercutio sighed.  “It is time to start some late-night fun.”  For someone who has watched the town everyday for two thousand years through a mirror, he had no idea which way to go.  He didn’t know where or what house he was going to.  Pushing those thoughts aside, he transformed back into a swirling cloud of energy and took off into the air.

“I must find the dream-sailor...”

                                                                                                           ***

Twilight and Rarity stood on a balcony outside the restaurant.  The white unicorn levitated a small cup of tea to her mouth.  The two mares looked out to the city glowing with lights under the blackness of the sky.  The spectacular scenery was not enough to distract them from the stallion’s despair.

“Rarity, I know it’s none of my business, but who was that stallion?” Twilight asked.  Rarity took one last sip of her tea, and closed her eyes.

“His name is Cassius.  He and I met after the Dragon Wars.  He was a commander for the Army of Equestrian Unity, and I was but a mare with aspiration of becoming an artist.”

She walked forward to the edge of the balcony, her tone becoming increasingly somber.  So many things she wished she did not have to recount, but her best friend has the right to know about her private life.

“Along time ago... he was a different stallion.  Every weekend, he would visit my workshop bearing gifts of roses, and every night we gazed upon the stars and moon as they smiled at our union.  Our love blossomed over the years, and it seem as though we would never grow apart... no force of nature could come between us.  Not even Princess Celestia herself.”

Twilight heart increased weight hearing Rarity’s tale of lost love.  As much as she did not want to hear anymore, she must know what happened.

“But... you two eventually...”

Rarity opened her eyes, her gaze fixed on the shining city before her.

“It was years ago.  Cassius quite the army, and pursued his dream of owning a restaurant in Fillydelphia.  I was so proud of him.  The restaurant was a success... he purchased a nice house in the wealhiest area of the city.  I moved in with him sometime after that.  I was doing freelance work for various modeling agencies and he continued managing his restaurant.  He had plans of making it a franchise...”

Rarity took a deep breath and continued on.

“And that is where things gone... wrong.  He fell on hard times.  The restaurant was failing - no ponies were coming in anymore.  Each month he was losing money, and did not have enough to pay his debts.  Therefore, he had to shut it down.  He had to sell the house in Fillydelphia.  I moved to back to Ponyville and continued my freelance work.  He moved back with his parents.”

Rarity paused for a moment.  She closed her eyes, seeing images of that terrible day when she broke his heart.  Twilight was silent out of respect.  She waited patiently for Rarity to finish her story.

“... Months later, he moved to Ponyville... determined to restart his life.  He moved in with me this time.  I was happy at first but... he wanted to get his life back together, but he took no initiative to do so.  Every day or so, he would just wander around town - waiting for something to happen.  It was as though he had given up on himself.”

Rarity paused again.  She was trying to keep herself from breaking down in front of Twilight, and the other few ponies in the balcony.  Despite her efforts, small tears were visible from the corner of her eyes.

“It’s okay, Rarity.  You don’t have to continue.  Let’s just go back inside and -”

“No... I insist, Twilight,” Rarity sharply said.  He sniffed her snout and wiped the tear droplets from her eyes.  She closed her eyes and took in a large amount of oxygen.

“For the first time... I was disappointed in him.  I tried to recapture our blossoming love from long ago, but to no avail.  The stallion that held me in his arms, the knight who swept me off my hind legs, was gone.  Then one day...”

She faced the floor, her lips quivering, and tears flowing down cheek.

“... he asked to marry him.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped, while her eyes increased size.  Rarity did a tremendous job of preventing an emotional breakdown, despite letting tears skew her eyeliner.

“I did not know what to do... I had already made plans to move to Canterlot alone, and I wanted to tell him, but...”

The tension was building between them.  Her emotions was keeping the words from getting out.

“... I said no.”

“... Rarity...”

“After that, the next day, I left.  I left for Canterlot to begin my fashion career.  We never saw each other for the next four years.”

Recalling those memories took an emotional toll on the white unicorn.  Tears freely rolled down her face as those repressed thoughts egged her mind.  She lowered her head, while thoughts shame, guilt, and betrayal invaded her mind.  After hearing the heart wrenching tale, Twilight considered evicting herself from Rarity’s dream.  Her heart told her otherwise.

“Rarity, I know it’s not in my place to be involved in other ponies’ relationships, but after what I heard, you have an important decision to make.”

“What can that possibly mean, Twilight?” Rarity asked with a remorseful voice.  “I have already made a decision; and I regretted it ever since.”

“Well, if you regret leaving Cassius, then why did you come back into his life?”

Rarity lift her head and her eyes met Twilight’s.  Why did she come back?  Surely there must have been a reason for all this.

“I... I don’t know.  I was not expecting Cassius to be at the restaurant.  I was not expecting to see him at all.”

Twilight thought for a moment.  She smiled lightly when the perfect words finally came to her.

“Maybe you may not have been expecting to see him - but what if all of this did not happen by chance?  What if you two were meant to cross paths with each other tonight?”

The question struck Rarity’s conscious.  It has been four, long years without her special somepony.  Now, out of all nights, she and Cassius were reunited.  Granted, the reunion did not play out like it did in her imagination; but nevertheless, they were together again, under the same roof.

“Are you saying... I should take Cassius back?”

“It is entirely up to you, Rarity...”

“I don’t know, Twilight.  After everything I have done to him.  Do you really think...”

“When Cassius saw your face for the first time in years, I saw it in his eyes.  I truly believe he is still in love with you, Rarity,” Twilight said reassuredly.  Rarity was still skeptical, but fate works in mysterious ways.  The two friends smiled at each other, and walked back into the restaurant.  It was time to give a certain stallion new life.

                                                                                                               ***

Cassius sat on the park bench, cold and miserable.  His only companion was a bottle of sweet strawberry cider.  The night was cruel to him, the stars mocking his very presence.  He took a glance at his surroundings and saw a couple - a stallion and a mare, both unicorns - walked past him, the mare laughing at something the stallion said.  Is this what life has for him?  Does love mean anything to her anymore?

“I guess... she had a good reason to leave me,” Cassius solemnly whispered to himself.  He took another drink of his strawberry cider.  He tried to repel the bitter thoughts from his head, but to no avail.

“Maybe tonight, the buck finally stops here...”

“He’s over there, on the bench.”

Cassius’ ears perked.  The voices were calling his name.  They were coming from his back.  He turned around and saw two familiar faces - Kid the Bartender and Keynote the Pianist.

“Hey, Cassius.  We were lookin’ everywhere for you,” Keynote said.

“We saw what happened back there.  Needless to say, that wasn’t a pretty sight,” Kid added.

“You think?  I can’t believe her - she left me without warning, refused my proposal, and after all these years, she has the audacity to insult me!”

“... I don’t think she was insultin’ you, Cassius.  Maybe she was tellin’ the truth,” Keynote commented.

Cassius glared at the pianist.  His own friend, was siding with the mare who broke his heart.  He got off the bench and brought his face closer to Keynote’s.

“What are you trying to say?  I was out of her league?  I wasn’t good enough for her? *That I wasn’t stuck-up, pompous, arrogant, and rich enough like the stallions she dates now?!”***

“No, Cassius... you had no direction in your life...”

Cassius cooled down for a moment to take in Keynote’s answer.  No direction?  What did he mean by that?

“Look, Cass, we all heard her.  She said she still loved you, even when you guys were apart.  She left you because you had no serious desires in your life,” Kid stated.

“My desire was for Rarity to always be with me until the end.  Was that not enough for her?”

“No Cass, that wasn’t enough.  When you and Miss Rarity were living together in Ponyville, you were on the verge of homelessness.  You felt like the world and everypony on it turned its back on you.  Miss Rarity was the only one by your side, and was trying to help you get back on your hooves, but you wouldn’t let her.”

Kid struck a cord on Cassius’ feelings.  He scratched the back of his head, and let out a deep sigh.

“If she wanted me to get back on my hooves, why did she leave me?”

“Because there was nothing else she could possibly do...”

Cassius covered his face with his hoof.  This was the highlight of his night - being lectured on lovey-dovey feelings from a unicorn twice as young.  Why did the universe hate him so much?

“Of all the cider joints, in all the towns, in all of Equestria, why did she come to mine?”

The three stallions were silent for a few moments.  Cassius drank the last of the strawberry cider and throw the bottle into a recycling bin.  Keynote patted Cassius on his back, and Kid levitated an extra jacket to him.

“Take this.  You ran off without protection.  It’s pretty cold, and I don’t want you to get sick.”

Cassius nodded and inserted his hooves into the sleeves.  The stallions walked through the park to help Cassius clear his mind of Rarity.

“Don’t worry about it, Cass,” Keynote said, breaking the silence.  “Think of it this way - this is a good chance for you to start over.”

                                                                                                                   ***

Spike suddenly woke up from his deep slumber.  His sight was blurry, but it cleared seconds later.  He looked at the clock next to him - it was only two o’clock in the morning.  He saw something glowing in the distance.  He got closer and saw it was Twilight’s horn that was glowing.

“Twilight, you think you can turn off your horn?” Spike said while yawning.  She gave no response.

“Twilight?”

The lavender unicorn was silent.

“... Twilight, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Spike closely inspected his mentor - her eyes were closed, her horn was glowing.  He tapped her face gently.  Her eyes did not twitch.  He gently took her by the shoulders and shook her.  She did not budge.  Worriedly, he violently shook her body.

“Twilight, wake up!”

Nothing.

Spike began to hyperventilate.  Twilight Sparkle, his mother/sister/teacher, was in a comatose state.  He had no idea what to do.

“Alright, alright, think, Spike, think!”

He grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill pen and began to write franticly.  When he finished, he blew fire to the letter, and it disappeared.  When all was done, Spike silently prayed for Twilight’s safety.

                                                                                                          ***

Mercutio has been in Ponyville for at least ten minutes.  He was trying to find the find the unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, but he no idea what he would do or say when he does find her.  He carried on with his flight when he felt a spiritual disturbance.  He traced where the disturbance was coming from, much to his delight.

He reached his destination and morphed back into a bipedal being.  He was currently on the roof of Carousel Boutique, home of Ponyville’s famous fashion artist.  He phased through the roof and entered the bedroom of Rarity Belle.  He could already feel Twilight’s presence inside the mind of the sleeping white unicorn.

“Well, let us see if the dream-sailor managed to cause any damage,” the God of Mischief chuckled.  He focused closely on Rarity’s mind and transported into her dream.

***

Mercutio found himself in a great hallway with enormous white pillars on the side.  He was admiring the architecture of whatever building he was in, until he realized he was in the company of ponies.  He didn’t want to frighten the inhabitants of the world... yet.  He used his magic to morph into a more appropriate disguise - a unicorn.  His unicorn avatar had a long, black mane, its coat a shade of purple.  All seem well.

“Oh, and what is this?”

He looked at his backside and saw a tattoo.  The tattoo was a design of a golden snake swallowing itself - while forming the infinity symbol.  He laughed quietly at the strange design.

“This must be what these creatures call a... ‘cutie-mark.’  A snake devouring its own tail.  I wouldn’t necessarily call that a symbol of mischief or chaos, but it will have to do.”

Mercutio, now in his unicorn body, proceed to walk down the hall which look like it could  expand for miles.  The lanterns attached to the pillars lighten the pathway, so the hall was not completely dark.  He reached the end, where the fancy unicorn stallion was standing.

“Hello, monsieur, welcome zo Frou Frou Petite.  Are you on ze guest list?”

“No.  My name is not on the guest list,” Mercutio said casually.

“I am sorry, monsieur, but I can not letzo in if you arre not on ze guest list.”

“Oh that’s fine - I’m coming in anyway.”

Mercutio walked toward the door, but the fancy stallion blocked his way.

“Monsieur, I can not let you in.  I will be obligated to call--”

The Mischief God ignited the magic from his horn.  The fancy stallion felt his entire body frozen from the magic.  He tried to call for help, but he could not speak.  He lost complete control of his limbs.  Soon enough, his entire being was petrified.

“Don’t worry about thing, young lad.  After all, you’re just a figment of someone’s imagination.”

He smirked and led himself into the restaurant.

                                                                                                        ***

“Twilight, I’m really not sure about this.  What if he... what if he does not...”

“Don’t worry, Rarity.  I’m sure Cassius would want you to be his special somepony again.”

Twilight and Rarity were back inside the restaurant, contemplating on what to do next.  The both sat on the table containing Fancypants and Fleur de Lis.

“Oh, Rarity, it is good to see you again.  I’m terribly sorry about tonight’s ordeal,” he said.

“That’s fine, Fancy.  Twilight you’ve met Fancypants, have you?”

“Yes.  He and his marefriend are... quite the couple.”

Fancypants was looking off into space while de Lis continued doing sexy poses for her imaginary fans.  After meeting them, she was glad she was glad her family was not rich.  The two kept a lookout for Cassius if he ever came back.

“Oh, look at the time.  It is rather late, and I am supposed to be bright and early tomorrow to present the new airship.  Goodnight Miss Rarity, Miss Sparkle.  Come along, de Lis.”

Fleur finally came out of her fantasyland and followed Fancy home.  Only Princess Luna knows how they spend the rest of the night together.

“Do they always act like that?” Twilight asked.

“They are wealthy Canterlot elite.  They are all, for lack of a better word, eccentric, darling.”

“When you become famous, please promise you’ll never act like that,” Twilight pleaded to Rarity.

“I Pinkie Swear it,” giggled Rarity.  It may be possible that Cassius might not come back to the restaurant anytime soon, so the unicorns decided to entertain themselves with stories until it was time to leave.

                                                                                                                          ***

Mercutio took an empty table and familiarize himself with the environment.  He scanned the area for a lavender unicorn.  He levitated his stopwatch to see how much time he had left in the outside world.

“Hmm, I have twenty-five minutes left here.  I hope that gives me enough time to find Twilight.  I’m not sure what to say or do if I actually succeed in finding her.  I... should have thought this through.  Being a trickster god can be quite excruciating.”

“Okay, Twilight, lets go find him.”

Mercutio senses picked up and saw two unicorns leave the restaurant.  One was the white, and the other was... yes, she was the one he was looking for.  Twilight Sparkle, the Dream-Sailor.

No, he can’t rush into things.  He had to be inconspicuous.  He had to get Twilight away from her companion.  And he has twenty-five minutes to do so.

                                                                                                                      ***

Rarity led Twilight out of the restaurant and into the lobby.  The lobby was as lovely as the dining room.  The chandelier was significantly smaller than the one they saw earlier, but a red silk couch sat near the revolving door.  The entire room was lit with a golden light.

“Do you mind if you wait a while, Twilight?  I have to go the washroom.  I have to look perfect for... you know.”

Twilight smiled and nodded at Rarity.  “Take all the time you need.”  The fashionista went inside the washroom.  Knowing her, she will be a while.  Twilight grabbed the nearest magazine and invested her remaining time reading the articles.

“... Are we having fun?”

“Who said that?” Twilight dropped the magazine and searched for the source of the mysterious voice.

“Who’s there?”

“...Me.”

He spontaneously appeared before Twilight.  A purple unicorn with a long, black mane.  His cutie-mark was strange design, a golden snake swallowing itself while forming the symbol for infinity.  She could sense dark magic illuminating from inside the unicorn.  Dark magic and... something else entirely.

“Twilight Sparkle.  The Element of Magic herself.  I have always wanted to meet you.”  The purple unicorn edged eerily closer to Twilight.  She readied her horn for self-defense.  “I have been following your adventures for some time now.  You and your friends defeated quite a charming rogues gallery of villains.  Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis... you are indeed a unicorn of tremendous power.”

While the unicorn was giving compliments to Twilight, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.  What did he want from her?  Or worse... what would he plan to do to her?

“Sir, how do you know who I was?”  Twilight asked timidly.

“Now, what kind of question is that?  All of Equestria knows your name.”  She had to admit it, it was a ridiculous question.  But that did not make her feel any better about this stallion.  She remained cautious.

“Please sir, you’re really kind.  But I’m waiting for my friend.  We are supposed to meet her ex-somepony and help her make amends for--”

“Twilight, why would you do something like that?  For the sake of the gods, you are in a dream, *go crazy!*”

“Well, yeah but--”

Wait, what did he say?  How could he possibly know?  This is impossible.  How?

“Sir... h-how did you know?”

“Well, I know because..”

He created a cup of tea with his magic and took a sip.  He then gave Twilight a wicked smile.

“... I was the one who gave you that power.”

End of Part II