Chapters She could not see it, but Twilight Sparkle knew that all eyes were on her. She was in a large dark room with ponies of all kinds filling the seats in the balcony. In front of her was her mentor, Princess Celestia. However, she was without her usual warm smile; she looked down at her, with a cold glare. Standing next to Celestia was her parents and her brother, Shining Armor. Not even her own family were pleased with the present situation. Twilight did not know what was going on, but she could not shake the feeling that... somehow, this was all her fault.
“Twilight Sparkle,” the Princess said coldly. “The Royal Canterlot Court has found you guilty for your crimes against Equestria.”
Twilight’s eyes widened at what was just said. What was she talking about? She didn’t do anything. If only someone could explain what is happening.
“You attempted to dethrone the Princesses of the Sun and Moon with the powerful and fatal spell known as Apophis, and rule the Nation of Equestria with an iron hoof.”
Unsettling chills simmered down Twilight’s spine. She could not think anymore. This was not possible. How could she do that to her own mentor? How could do that to her own friend?
“As punishment for your heinous crime, I will not banish you to the moon. Instead, you will be encased in stone for all eternity!” Celestia stamp her hoof on the floor. Twilight felt tears running down her cheeks. It was as if her best friend had just ripped her heart out. Her own family could not bear to look at her; she could do nothing but bow her head in shame. She sobbed to herself in silence.
Princess Celestia’s horn started to glow a white glow. She pointed it to her former apprentice and white rays of light surrounded the purple unicorn. She lost movement of her back and front hooves and felt her skin becoming stone. She wanted to cry out one last word but...
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Twilight woke up screaming as she felt her heart pumping with intense speed. She finally caught up with her breathing and sighed in relief as she realized it was just a horrible dream. She looked out the window and saw the moon was still high above the black sky. She frowned a little, but she was glad to be back in reality. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she felt that something was out of place. For some reason, Twilight felt lighter and softer than her body usually was. Maybe my body is still stressed about that nightmare she thought. She closed her eyes and slowly inhaled and exhaled to ease the stress in her body. It seem to have work and she felt as though she could rest again. Her suddenly shot open when the revelation came that she had no body.
A gasp escaped from her when she saw herself lying on her bed; she was a few inches above her physical body and significantly smaller in size. Questions raced across her mind as she tried to figure out what is going on.
“Oh no! Am I...dead?” asked Twilight. She could not bear the thought of death taking her away at such a young age. Images flashed in her mind; Spike, her friends, her parents, Princess Celestia...and her BBBFF (Big Brother Best Friend Forever). She wept slowly until she saw her horn was surrounded by bluish-purple glow. She was relieved that she was still alive, however, she had no explanation of what was happening. She scratched her head in confusion and was startled by Spike’s snoring in his basket/bed. An annoyed groan was made by Twilight.
“I need to find a spell so I won’t to hear his snoring,” she said. Twilight looked back at herself and began to ponder what happened to her. She knew she is still alive because her horn was still glowing, but why is she in her metaphysical state? This did not make any sense. Her thought process was interrupted once again by Spike. This time, however, Twilight was able to make out some words uttered by the dragon.
“Mmm...Rarity...uuhhn...glad...we’re...together.”
“Of course Spike would be dreaming about Rarity,” Twilight said with a chuckle. Her eyes shifted between herself and Spike and back to her physical self; her eyes began to widen as she continued thinking.
“I wonder...”
She slowly floated close to her personal assistant. Twilight pulled the sheets away from Spike’s head and saw a small smile appeared on his face. She could not help but smile herself; she loved seeing her assistant happy. She slowly extended her hoof over his head to see if her little “experiment” will prove successful. She touched Spike with her hoof and it sunk into his head. Twilight was surprised but relieved that he did not wake up. She pushed her (metaphysical) body inside Spike’s head and entered his subconscious...
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Spike and Rarity were sitting on a blanket on a meadow. They were sitting at the tallest peak of the hill which overlook all of Equestria and her glory. The gentle breeze made the grass dance gracefully, and the sun gave its warm embrace on the two souls in the cloudless, blue sky. Everything was peaceful and it was those days that only came once in a lifetime. Spike and his object of effection, his muse Rarity, held each other and taking in the wonderous scenery before them.
“Oh Spike, I am so happy you suggested that I need a day off from my workshop. This place is so...beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you, my love,” Spike said. Rarity turned to him and giggled. Spike smiled as her blue mane flowed with the warm, gentle breeze. He was the luckiest dragon in Equestria to have a mare like Rarity at his side. Spike was holding something behind his back the entire time he and Rarity were spending the day together. A small black box to be exact; the time was right for Spike to make sure his soulmate will not forget this day. It was as if Celestia herself wanted this day to be perfect for Spike.
“Rarity,” Spike began. “You and I have been together for a long time and the entire world knows that you and I are a perfect match for each other. Ever since the first time I layed eyes on you so many years ago...I never thought you would choose somepony as insignificant as me.” Spike slowly got down on one knee to the white unicorn before him.
“Spike...”
“Rarity, will you do me the honor of--”
“Spike!”
Spike instantly recognize that voice. Of all the days, of all the places, why did she have to be here? He turned around to see his caretaker/mentor, Twilight Sparkle. He was not pleased.
“Twilight, what are you doing here? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something? Very important?”
“Sorry, Spike. I was--” Twilight tried to think of a good excuse as to why she was in his dream. She knew he wouldn’t believe her if she said she could now gain the ability to travel in other pony’s dreams.
“Well, uh, Princess Celestia sent a letter saying that she has sent me here to check on you, and uh, see if you were...alright.”
Twilight gave the best innocent smile she could give. Spike put his arms on his hips and looked at her suspeciously. Twilight gulped inwardly, desparate to change the subject, or to find a way out of the corner she put herself in. She was becoming nervous until she spotted a small black box on his left hand. Curiousity overtaking her as usual, she was quick to point it out.
“Um, Spike, what’s that on your claw?”
Spike looked at his left claw and fearfully hid it from sight behind his back.
“What, uh it’s nothing! Will you please leave? And tell the Princess I’m fine!”
“Spike, were you going to propose to Rar--”
Spike was quick to silence the purple unicorn from finishing her question. He looked back at Rarity, who now had a confused look on her face. He then turned to Twilight with a look of desparation and anxiety.
“Please, Twilight, go away! Yes, I am trying to propose to Rarity, but you’re making this difficult!” Spike whispered, while pleading to her.
“Spike, I highly doubt Rarity will say yes. She is a unicorn, and you are a dragon. She’s a sophisticated fashion artist and... I’m not really sure what you like. Anyway, even if you did manage to marry her in reality, I really don’t think this is going to work out for the both of you.”
“Yeah, but--wait, what do you mean about reality?”
“Spike, maybe she does have a point,” Rarity suddenly commented. Spike slowly turned to her, his face in horror.
“Well, think about it for a moment. We don’t know that much about each other very well enough to pursue marriage. Marriage is a huge step in any romantic relationship, and we’ve only dated for like, what, an hour? It also just occured to me that you’re much too young me and I for one, am too busy with my fashion business to even consider marriage. I’m not even sure how a baby dragon and an adult unicorn can procreate. I’m so terribly sorry, Spike, but... I cannot accept your hand in marriage. But don’t worry, you will also be my wittle Spikey-wikey.”
Rarity gave Spike a small kiss on his cheek and trotted away. He stared at her for a moment and then turned to Twilight, fiery rage boiling inside of him.
“You. Leave. Now.”
Twilight slowly backed away and teleported herself into a different location.
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Twilight pulled herself out of Spike’s head and she found herself floating in her room again. The smile that on his face earlier turned into a frown; she felt terrible of what she had done to him, in his own dream of all places. She was beginning to think that going inside other pony’s (or dragon’s in this case) dreams is not such a great idea after all. She looked out the window and saw the moon was still up high in the sky, the stars accompanying it. She then looked forward and saw her physical body, her horn still glowing that bluish-purple aura.
“Maybe it’s time I should find a way to get back inside my body before sunrise,” Twilight dully said to herself. She slowly floated next to her body and stopped suddenly. She looked out the window and saw all the countless houses across town. Surely one more dream wouldn’t hurt. Other ponies might think it’s coincidence that she appeared in their dreams; after all, someponies appear in other pony’s dreams right? Twilight floated through the window and fly across town. As she flown, she tried to figure which pony’s dream she should enter.
This is fantastic! I might be the first unicorn to be able to enter a pony’s subconscious and wander into their dreams! What a discovery! I can’t write to write to the Princess about this! Twilight excitedly thought to herself. Although what she did to Spike was terrible, he proved to be a success. It was all the matter of who was next on her list of dreams to visit.
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.
Twilight traveled throughout the sleeping town of Ponyville under the twinkling stars. She knew exactly which home of her friends she wanted to go next. Twilight drifted to a road that lead to the outskirts of town. She lit her horn so she could have a better view of where she was going. She levitated herself through the dark passageway until she spotted her destination - a farmhouse. Twilight stopped at the front door and walked through. The inside was pitch black and she lit her horn again so she can see. The lavender unicorn walked into living room, then went upstairs.
The hallway had four closed doors, two on each side of the hall. She used her magic to determine which door belonged to Applejack, just as a door on her right swung open. For a moment, the unicorn was petrified, until she saw the occupant - a small yellow filly with a large, red bow on her red mane. She recognize her as Applebloom, Applejack’s little sister, and she was somewhat relieved. She looked drowsy, her eyes half closed and she gave out a small yawn - she started to walk to Twilight’s direction. She was ready to use her magic to teleport herself, but Applebloom walked past her. The yellow filly opened a door located next to the stairs, and closed it - that must be the bathroom. Twilight let out a relieved sigh, knowing nopony could see her.
The unicorn ignited her horn to summon the x-ray vision spell. The door top the top-left corner was Applejack’s - she walked up to the door and went through. Applejack’s room was little messier compared to Twilight’s, but she manage to keep it clean once in a while. She also took note that she let her blonde mane down when she sleeps, instead of her usual ponytail. On the right side of her bed was her stetson hat, which was hung neatly on the wall. On her left was a nightstand with two group photos: one was the Apple Family reunion and the other was group photo that was taken when the Flim Flam Brothers came to town. Twilight giggle when she noticed that she and Spike where part of the family portrait.
She walked over to Applejack, then stopped when she saw the cowpony making little restless turns in her bed. Twilight was worried for a moment, but then she heard her utter something.
“Imma get ya Dirty Dan... you an yer partner, Pinhead Larry...”
Twilight couldn’t help but laugh; she must be dreaming about western outlaws. Especially ones with silly names like those. She waited until Applejack stopped turning, and then extended her hoof to the orange cowpony’s head. As on cue, a swirling vortex of multi-colored light appeared. Twilight assumed position and dived into the western adventure taking place in Applejack’s mind.
***
Twilight was suddenly walking in the desert. The sky was yellow with the sun high above the plains. Tan and brown moutains and rocky hills stretch throughout the landscape. It was extremely desolate, with temperatures so unbearably hot, no living creature should endure such scorching heat. There was nothing there that could indicate any sign of civilization. She continued walking, but she had no idea of where she was going. Twilight noticed something approaching her from her left with rapid speed. She prepared for horn any danger, then let her guard down when it was just a small tumbleweed.
The tumbleweed ceased its tumble and stood beside Twilight. She payed it no mind and continue to search the desert for any signs of life. After several minutes of walking with no luck, she felt a strange presence behind her; she turned around to only see the tumbleweed from earlier. Surprised, she stared at it, and sensed the plant staring back at her with its invisible eyes. The plant rolled a circle around her - and stopped on her right side. Moments later it bounced like a rabbit into the direction it stopped. Sensing the plant wanted Twilight to follow it, she reluctantly agreed. The walk was long and tiring, with sweating from the fiery climate. The only visual experience she fairly enjoyed was looking at the cacti as they were in a variety of weird shapes and sizes. After what felt like an eternity, Twilight could finally see a small town in the distance. She formed a wide smile while she ran to the desert community.
When she entered the town, the first thing she looked for was a saloon. After reading a considerable amount of her grandfather’s western novels, she knew every small town had a saloon. She couldn’t find it, so she approached a tan stallion with a dark stetson hat over his head. He was sleeping on a wooden building’s porch.
“Excuse me,” Twilight said sweetly. The stallion looked up and noticed the lavender unicorn.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’m really thirsty. Do you happen to know where I could get something to drink?”
The stallion said nothing, but point his hoof above his head. The sign/banner on the wooden building contain the words “SALOON.”
“Oh, uh, thank you sir.”
“Mah pleasure ma’am,” the tan stallion said with deep voice. He smiled and tipped his hat. Twilight giggled and her cheeks turned red. She walked through the doors, and was surrounded by ponies wearing hats, vests, and stetson boots. Some were on tables laughing amongst themselves, others were enjoying a game of poker, and most were sitting on stools drinking cider. In the corner of the salon, a grey stallion with a black mane and mustache wearing a black and white suit played ragtime music on the piano. It was like she was in a real wild west story.
She approached a bar counter and sat on a stool. A yellow stallion with a brown beard came to his latest patron. He was wearing a white shirt with a dark blue apron and was cleaning a glass with a cloth.
“Well howdy there, stranger! I reckon ya’ll must be new here. We don’ normally have unicorns coming ‘round this part of town. Name’s Barkeep. What can I get ya?”
Twilight smiled at the good-natured stallion.
“Give me a glass of your best cider, sir,” Twilight answered, attempting to speak like Applejack. Twilight and Barkeep laughed together, then he went to give her a cider-filled glass.
“There ya go, one glass of cider, on the house!”
Twilight was hypnotized by the cider. She has been craving for something to drink ever since she got here. Her tastebuds could already feel the flavor of the sweet, ferminted, apple juice. She brought the glass closer to her mouth to ingest --
Two dark figures bust through the doors. Everypony in the saloon stopped their activities and looked at them. The two stallions walked slowly inside the saloon, each of them offering their observers an intimidating look. Some ponies began cowering under the tables, others simply looked at them but dared not move a muscle. It was so silent, one could hear a pin drop. The cowponies got out the way when the two stallions made there way to the counter. They approached Barkeep, who shivered where he stood.
“H-howdy, p-partners. W-wha can I do fer you f-fine st-stallions?”
“...”
“Give me a glass of cider,” growled the first stallion. He had a dark-orange coat and dark-brown mane, his attire consisting of a long, black jacket with a gray vest. He had an eyepatch on his left eye and a deep scar on his right cheek. His hat was the same color as his jacket. He was considerably large for his size.
“S-sure! R-right away! Comin’ right up!” Barkeep hastily prepared the orange stallion’s glass. Once it was full, he slid the glass to the stallion without a single word. The orange stallion chuckled deeply as he consumed the contents of the glass. Standing next to him was a smaller stallion with a pale-green coat with a silver mane.
His attire was a brown vest and a hat which was the same color. While the scene was in progress, Twilight sat fearfully on her stool, unable to move. The pale-green stallion finally noticed the bookworm, and made his way over to the unoccupied stool.
“Howdy. What’s your name, young lady,” the green stallion asked with a devilish smile.
“Now you leave her alone! She ain’t got nothin’ ta do you ya!” Barkeep called out.
The orange stallion growled at him and Barkeep silenced himself. The green stallion stared at him for a while and turned his attention back to Twilight. She was hesitant to reveal her name.
“Tw-Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twilight Sparkle, eh? Hm. Never seen a unicorn ‘round these here parts b’fore. ‘Specially not as one as pretty as yourself,” the green stallion cooly said as he ran his hoof through her mane. She was feeling really uncomfortable having a dirty stallion touch her. She wanted to use her magic, but she feared she would start a saloon brawl, like in the wild west stories.
“Yo’ll have ta e’scuse mah big o’l friend over there. He ain’t tha one fer talken.” He stole another pony’s glass and began to drink. After a while, a revelation came to him. “Oh, my, where are my manners? I have not properly introduced mah self.” The green stallion got up, took off his hat, and bowed like a proper gentlecolt. “Mah name... is Dirty Dan.”
“Wait... you’re Dirty Dan?” Twilight asked, much to her surprise. She looked at Dan, then glanced at the large, orange stallion; she then put the two together. “And I suppose he must be--”
“Pinhead Larry. I reckon ya heard of us,” Dan commented. Twilight was extremely uncomfotable now. These were the outlaws Applejack was talking about in her sleep. Dirty Dan brought his face closer to her’s. Barkeep wanted to stop him, but Pinhead Larry spread his hoof across.
“So, Twilight Sparkle, hows about you and I ge--”
Suddenly, Dirty Dan found himself caught in a lasso.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YA TWO-BIT VARMINT!
When Twilight heard that familiar voice, she knew who was coming to her rescue.
Standing proudly in the entrance of the saloon, was Applejack. The first thing she noticed about her farmpony friend was the black domino mask on her face. Applejack’s attire was entirely unusual. She was wearing a white stetson hat, her boots matching the same color. She also had a red scarf across her neck, complete with a blue shirt. The rope she caught Dirty Dan with was on her teeth. With him bound to the lasso, Twilight ran to her savior.
“Aw schucks! It’s the Lone Stranger!” Dirty Dan cursed.
“That’s right, Dirty Dan! Your days are numbered! You and yer partner, Pinhead Larry are goin’ off ta jail for the crimes ya two commited to these good o’l ponyfolk!”
The saloon patrons cheered when Applejack (a.k.a. the Lone Stranger) finished her proclaimation of justice. Dirty Dan, however, had other plans.
“Aw yeah? Well, ya have ta catch us first! Pinhead!”
On cue, Pinhead Larry pulled out a pocket knife and cut the lasso holding his partner-in-crime. Dan broke free and stood next to his giant sidekick.
“Let’s see if you and yer unicorn friend have a hunkerin’ for freshly baked pie!”
Pinhead Larry opened his long, black jacket to reveal baked pies used for ammunition. He grabbed as many as he could and threw them at Twilight and the Lone Stranger with rapid speed. Twilight used her magic to deflect the incoming pies while the Lone Stranger kick them out her way with her hindlegs. Once the pies were gone, Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry were nowhere to be seen.
“Consarnit! They don escaped! Again!”
“Don’t you worry, Lone Stranger, yo’ll get ‘em next time ‘round,” Barkeep reassured her. Lone Stranger looked around the saloon to see if the patrons were okay. So far, none of them were hit with pies, thanks to them ducking under tables when the fight ensued. She came to a late realization when she saw Twilight next to her.
“Twilight? What are you doin’ here?”
“Wait a sec, you two know each other?” Barkeep asked.
“Well, yeah. She’s been mah best friend for as long I can remember, but I wasn’t expectin’ her to be here.”
Twilight thought about an excuse she could use. She can’t reveal to Applejack that she’s in a dream. That would really upset her. She had to make sure not give herself away.
“Well, Lone Stranger, the reason why I am here is that Princess Celestia has asked me to come assist you on your ongoing pursuit and apprehension of the outlaws known as Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry. She believes that I will be vital in helping you capture the bandits.”
“Wow! You know the princess too?” Barkeep asked with amazement in his voice.
“Of course. I am her apprentice,” Twilight answered.
Applejack/Lone Stranger comfirmed it and the patrons cheered louder than before. With a unicorn who had close ties with the Princess of the Sun, and is best friends with their resident avenger, Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry wouldn’t stand a chance against them. Lone Stranger smiled at Twilight and turned to the patrons with one last speech.
“Don’t ya worry ‘bout anythin’ folks! Me an Twilight Sparkle here are gonna get those two good for nothing varmints ifen it’s the last we do! Ya can sleep peacefully tonight as the Lone Stranger rides throughout west fer truth and justice!”
The townsponies cheered for their heroine and Twilight and Applejack made their way out of the saloon and into the desert.
***
The Lone Stranger and Twilight made it to her secret hideout and rested for the night. Lone Stranger removed her white stetson and domino mask, revealing the farmpony we all know and love. She walked up to Twilight and gave her a serious look, her emerald irises staring her down.
“Alright, out with it, sugarcube. Tell me the truth. How exactly did you get here? And how did the Princess know about them bandits?”
This was going to be a tough one to sell. She didn’t know what could happen if she revealed that this was all a dream. Will she have a panic attack? Would the dreamworld crumble around them? She could not risk it, she had to stick to the story she made up.
“Applejack, Princess Celestia wanted me to come here. She knew the only way you could stop the bandits was that I came to help you. She saw that you couldn’t do it by yourself and maybe with a friend, you might have a chance at apprehending them.” Twilight hoped her explaination was enough to convince Applejack that she wasn’t invading her dream. The farmpony/vigilante thought about it for a moment. She was having a difficult time catching Dirty Dan; he always leave the scene of the crime without a trace everytime she came too close. Pinhead Larry was even worse; he was Dan’s second-in-command. Not to mention he was twice the size as her elder brother Big Macintosh. He also had bones made of steel. One time, Applejack kicked him in his chest with all of her might and strength - he would not budge. She had to consider the circumstances.
“Well, alright then. Ya can help.”
Twilight gave Applejack a big hug. She would do anything to help her friends. Even if it involved imaginary villains. Applejack hugged her back and the two smiled at each other. Now it was time to get into business.
“Ya do know we don’t have a plan, Twilight. How do you ‘spose we get to them bandits?”
“Well, to be honest, I don’t have a plan either. I was hoping the bandits would come to town in the morning and maybe we could have a little showdown, like in the old wild west stories.”
“How’d ‘spose we do that?” Asked Applejack.
How would they do that indeed. Twilight thought for a moment until a lightbulb flashed above head.
“Maybe when they let their guard down, I can enchant your lasso with a spell that will make it impenatrable. That way they’ll have a hard time escaping.”
“That’s great an all, but what about Pinhead Larry? Did you even seen the way he threw them pies? Maybe Pinkie Pie can take some lessons from him,” Applejack joked.
Twilight thought some more. Pinhead has an incredible talent of throwing objects at non-stop speed. He seemed to have an unlimited supply of pies She could use a spell to deflect them, but again, they would escape without trace like last time. She didn’t what she could do with the giant stallion.
“I’m not sure, but we have to find a way to slow him down,” Twilight answered. Applejack was confused; slow him down? How on earth will they do that?
“We already know he’s really fast. I can use a spell that will slow down his rate for at least three minutes. That way, you and I can actually defeat the bandits and save the town.”
Applejack was impressed with the plan, but three minutes? That’s not nearly enough time to catch the bandits. Applejack had to consider this a little more. Unfortunately, they had no other options, so Applejack sighed in agreement.
“Alright, sugarcube. We’ll do it your way,” said Applejack. She smiled warmly at Twilight. She always knew her unicorn friend was very brave; even brave enough to help take down the most ruthless outlaws in Equestria. The farmpony immediately thought of something important.
“One thing, Twilight, if you want ta be a wild west hero, ya gotta dress like one!”
Applejack took out a saddlebag and gave it to Twilight. She opened it with her magic, and pulled out a brown pancho, a red scarf, and a small black stetson hat. She gave Applejack a approving smile and they both laughed into the night, as best friends would.
***
The sun rose over the horizon. Crows sang their harsh morning songs. Everypony hid inside their houses. The time has come for the final showdown between The Lone Stranger and the bandits. The Lone Stranger stood at the center of town all morning, waiting for their arrival. She didn’t know how this was going to end, all she knew was that if this can’t stop them, nothing will. Two stallions approached the silent town. They stopped when they saw the masked vigilante was only twenty feet away from them. Dirty Dan laughed at her mockingly. Did she really think she could defeat them?
“Well, well, well... I didn’t think ya had the guts come to out,” Dirty Dan taunted. Pinhead Larry just growled at her like a rabid dog. Stranger was nervous, but she stood her ground.
“Dirty Dan, this is your final warning! You and yer pard’ner best better be surrendin’ now and turn yerselves in! If ya don’t, ya two are gonna have ta face the consequences!”
“Oh really? So where’s yer little unicorn friend? Was the wild west too much fer her? Did she get scared and ran back cryin’ to the princess?”
“Nope, she’s right here!
Dan and Larry looked around and saw the lavender unicorn. Twilight was wearing the clothes Lone Stranger gave to her the other night. The small black stetson hat, the brown pancho, and the red scarf. She put on her best poker face and attempted her best wild west accent.
“And fer yer infermation, I don’t cry to the princess. I write her a letter of complaint,” Twilight explained. Lone Stranger giggled under her breath. Silence filled the intense air. Stranger was facing Dan, while Larry targeted Twilight. Nopony dared make the first move. A bead of sweat trickled down Stranger’s head. Dan was ready to headbuck Stranger. Larry stretched his throwing hooves. Twilight ignited her horn. Time seemed to have paused for a moment. Dan charged at his target with increasing speed. Stranger twirled her lasso and tossed it at her target; Dan jumped to the other side and continued to charge. Stranger turned herself around at the right moment and kicked Dan square in the face with her hindlegs. He was sent flying to the ground but landed on legs. Larry began throwing pies at his target with remarkable speed. Twilight dodged every one that was thrown at her. Twilight’s horn glowed and the pies flying to her direction turned around and were flying at Larry. He deflected the incoming pies by throwing other pies at it.
Dan and Stranger headbucked each other several times. She lift her left hoof and punched Dan directly in the chest breaking one of his ribs. Dan stumbled, feeling the searing pain in his abdomen and Stranger kick him in the face once more and he dropped to the ground.
Twilight couldn’t dodge the pies forever, so the time has come to set her plan into action. She hid behind a water barrel and peeked behind it. Larry was still throwing pies, not even noticing the unicorn disappeared. Twilight aimed her horn at him, and a purple aura surrounded it. A beam of purple light striked Larry and he fell to the ground. Twilight jumped into his view and approached him. Larry got back and resumed his pie throwing... only to find out his speed was decreasing. The pies dropped to the ground everytime he threw them, much to his chargin.
“Now, Stranger!
Stranger landed on top of his head. He was struggling to get her off his back, while she acted as though she was in a rodeo. Stranger grabbed her lasso and tied it to his neck; Larry choked and tried to grabbed the farmpony, but to no avail.
“Do it, Twilight!
Twilight aimed her horn at the lasso and a blue aura surrounded it. Stranger jumped to the ground and pulled the lasso, sending Larry down to the ground. She tied the lasso around his body, constricting him. Despite his size and strength, he could not move; not even his pocket *knife could cut it. Stranger dragged an unconscious Dan next to him and tied him up as well.*
“Now that’s what I call gettin’ it done!” Stranger exclaimed. It was finally over. Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry’s reign of terror finally ended. The townsponies congratulated the two heroines as the local sheriff arrested the bandits, locking them away for a long time. Lone Stranger and Twilight Sparkle gave each other big hugs amd cheered along with the grateful townsponies. A mariachi band came out of nowhere and sang a ballad detailing the heroic deeds the Lone Stranger and Twilight Sparkle.
When the celebrations ended, Applejack and Twilight walked into desert together, smiling. They stopped to look at each other, knowing this is where they part ways.
“Twilight, I just wanted to thank you fer helping me back there. Celestia knows I couldn’t have done it with ya.”
“No problem Applejack, it’s what friends are for.”
They smiled and looked at the setting sun. The desert sky was red with the sun looming over the horizon.
“So, where will go now?” Twilight asked.
“Where anypony needs me,” Applejack answered.
Applejack began to run toward the sunset. Twilight nodded her head as Applejack became smaller as she increased speed.
“Happy trails, partner.”
YEEEEEEEEE-HAWWWWWWWW!
Applejack’s yell could be heard throughout Equestria. And with that, Twilight Sparkle teleported herself back into the real world.
Twilight was back in Applejack’s room. She looked out her window and saw the stars were fading and the sun was breaking out from behind the mountains. She furrowed her brow in disappointment. The lavender unicorn walked toward the window, but stopped and took glanced back at the sleeping farmpony.
“That was great dream, Applejack,” She whispered. “See you in the morning.” With that, she flew out of the window, her final destination being the library.
“This has been a terrific night!” she said to herself. “I discovered a way to travel into pony’s dreams, and spent time with two of my best friends!” She gasped as she stumbled upon a late realization. “Oh my gosh, I completely forgot! I’ve got to find a way to get back inside my body!” She levitated as fast as she could to the library in just enough time before dawn.
Twilight floated through the upstairs window into her room. Spike was still asleep in his basket/bed and her body was still in the state she left it.
“I wish I had enough time to figure this out,” she lamented. She floated closer to her body and inspected it. Her horn was glowing throughout the night. Thank goodness it didn’t wake Spike up. The sun was peeking over the horizon, its rays stretching in the darkness. She didn’t know what to do nor what she was doing. With no other options, she looked at her horn and prepared for the worse.
Twilight reached her head over and her spiritual horn connected with her physical horn. A purple magic aura engulfed her, and the lavender unicorn felt her conscious reuniting with her shell; her mind and body finally becoming one. Her horn stopped glowing and continued what she had left of her peaceful sleep.
The stars disappeared completely from the sky. The bright, yellow sun rose gloriously as the new day began. The rays from the sun reached over to the bedroom occupied by a unicorn and her baby e. She sat up, stretched her legs and released a yawn. She looked out the window and saw the sun rising just inches above the hills and mountains, the morning sky replacing the midnight darkness. She walked over to Spike and gently nudged him with her snout.
“Spike, it’s morning. It’s time to wake up,” She whispered. She heard moans and groans before the baby dragon slowly rose from his slumber.
“Twilight?”
“Hey, Spike. Did you sleep well?”
“Uh... uhn... wha...”
Twilight giggled at the little dragon. “That’s nice. I’ll be downstairs making our breakfast. I’ll call you when its ready.” She headed downstairs into the kitchen. Spike usually made breakfast, but she wanted to make amends for that little mishap in his dream. And also due to the fact that Spike nearly stayed up half the night rearranging all the misplaced books on the shelves. The lavender unicorn levitated flour, milk, eggs, fruits, and all other essentials needed to make a complete, balanced breakfast. It was a half-hour later when the aroma of sweet, fluffy pancakes with maple syrup traveled upstairs and filled Spike’s nostrils. The dragon walked downstairs, astonished to find Twilight had already completed making breakfast.
“Whoa. Twilight Sparkle? Making pancakes?”
“Sure thing, Spike,” Twilight happily answered. Spike was confused beyond belief. Since when did know how to make pancakes? Really... really delicious looking ones for that matter.
“Anything wrong, Spike?”
“Who are you, and what have you done to Twilight?”
Twilight laughed at Spike’s interrogation method. “Spike, it’s me. I just thought I should make breakfast this time, since you helped me organized those books last night. It wouldn’t be fair to you, so this just my way of saying thank you.” Spike instantly remembered the night before. All. Those. Books. So many of them in one place; fiction, non-fiction, biographies, picture books, encyclopedias. All night, he had to arrange them. Alphabetically. By hand. Well, at least she made breakfast; that made him a little better. He sat on his highchair and saw small crystals placed inside the pancakes; now he knew he couldn’t resist. He consumed with his heart’s content the golden pancakes that laid in front of him. This must be what heaven taste like if heaven had a taste at all. Twilight smiled brightly at his young assistant.
“So, did you have a good night’s rest,” Twilight asked.
“I had an okay sleep. But the highlight of it was the dream I had.” Twilight stopped eating and looked at Spike.
“Oh, really? What was the dream about,” she asked innocently.
“Nah, you wouldn’t be interested. It’s kinda silly,” Spike sighed.
“Spike, you can tell me - we all have silly dreams from time to time.”
Spike was still unsure. He has been having multiple dreams about Rarity lately (not that he was bothered by it, mind you), but he didn’t want to reveal that to Twilight. When it comes to his crush on Rarity, Twilight never took it seriously.
“Come on, Spike. How about this, I’ll tell about the dream I had last night,” Twilight said. Spike looked surprised; she was incredibly nice this morning. We’ll see how long this last.
“Okay, sure. Go ahead,” Spike answered. He was all ears.
“Okay - I was in the center of the Royal Canterlot Court. Princess Celestia accused me of dethroning her and Princess Luna, and she said I was about to control Equestria with an iron hoof. The entire family was there to witness the sentencing and I... well, I didn’t know what to say. My parents were ashamed to look at me, and Shining Armor... he... he had his back turned to me. I cried and cried, until Celestia turned me into stone. As my punishment.”
Spikes eyes were wider than dinner saucers.
“Wow, that’s harsh. But I know you wouldn’t do that to the princess. Not in a million years!” Spike reassured her.
“Thanks, Spike.”
“Well, I suppose since you told you dream, it’s my turn,” Spike said. He swallowed the crystal-covered pancakes, and cleared his throat for his so Twilight could hear.
“So, um... It’s about me and Rarity.” Twilight giggled. She already knew what was going to happen, but she gave him her full attention anyway. “Okay, so... in my dream, I convinced Rarity to take a break from her workshop and spend the day with me. Then we climbed on this hill, right? When we got to the top, it was amazing! You could see all of Equestria from up there! We were like laying down on the grass, enjoying the scenery. And I got down on one knee and was about to pop the question.”
Here it comes.
“Then... you appeared all of a sudden. You said that I will never have a chance with Rarity, and... she agreed. And left.”
Twilight still felt bad, and wished she had not done what she did.
“Oh. I ruined your engagement to Rarity?”
“Yeah, thanks a lot, Twilight.”
Twilight raised her right hoof up and exclaimed: “On behalf of your mental projection of myself, I hereby apologize for any wrongdoing and shenanigans.” Twilight and Spike laughed at the declaration. The light-hearted conversation made Spike forget about the awful night from before.
“So Twilight, what’s the plan for today,” Spike asked his mentor.
“I don’t have anything in particular scheduled; maybe this afternoon, I can get the girls together, and we can all meet at Sugarcube Corner - if they’re not busy. Sound good?” Spike was quick to agree. If it meant being close to Rarity, he had all the time in the world. “So I guess you have the morning off,” Twilight continued.
“Alright!”, exclaimed Spike. This was best news he heard all week. If things get any better today, he’ll have next weekend off. The two roommates finished their breakfast. Spike washed the dishes while Twilight cleaned the mess made from baking the pancakes. When the kitchen was clean, Spike grabbed his saddlebag and headed out the door.
“I got some business to take care of this morning. I promised the Cutie Mark Crusaders to help figure out what their special talents are - not that it would help. Thanks for the morning off, Twi!”
“You are most certainly welcome, Spike,” she said happily. “See you this afternoon!” Spike waved goodbye and headed into town to meet his young acquaintances. Twilight walked back upstairs and sat at her desk, pondering about the events that transpired last night.
“It’s so strange. So surreal. How can a dream lead to an out-of-body experience? And how did I gain the ability to enter the subconscious of other ponies? And most importantly... why has this happened... to me?” Her troubled mind was filled with questions that desperately needed answers. She sat at her desk for a while before she decided to do something about it. She got up and scanned her bookshelf with her magic. Surely, there are books about dreams, reality, consciousness... anything. Nothing. She couldn’t find anything. Twilight slumped to the ground, a sigh escaping her mouth. “This is impossible,” She said to herself.
A knock echoed throughout the library, snapping her back to reality. The unicorn mare approached the door, with her magic engulfing and twisting the knob.
To her surprise, it was Fluttershy.
“Fluttershy? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Twilight. Um, I came by early to return the book you loan to me. If.. you don’t mind,” Fluttershy said, timidly.
“Oh, no, not at all. I’m Sorry, it’s just that... I had a strange night is all,” Twilight explained.
Fluttershy, the most caring, and motherly of the unicorn’s friends, was understandably worried. “Oh, my. What happened? Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy, it’s nothing serious,” Twilight reassured to the yellow pegasus. “I just had a silly dream that kept me up for a while, but I’m okay now.” She created a wide grin on her face, so Fluttershy wouldn’t be concerned.
“Oh, okay then. But if you want to talk about anything, I’m here for you,” Fluttershy said in a motherly tone.
“Thanks, Fluttershy. So how was Creating a Healthy Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner for Your Furry Friend
“Oh, it was wonderful!” Fluttershy proclaimed. “I learned all sorts of new recipes for all the animals, and Angel Bunny really likes the carrot and potato soup.”
“That’s great,” Twilight said. “You know Fluttershy, you don’t have to return it. You can renew it if you want to learn more recipes.”
“Oh, thank you Twilight, but I can’t. I don’t want to keep it for a long time when there might be somepony else who need it. Besides, I have every single recipe memorized.” Twilight smiled at the timid pegasus. She always puts other ponies best interests before hers.
“Well, if you want to check it out again, it will be right here waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Twilight. I have to go now, I have to buy some asparagus from the marketplace.” Fluttershy walked the other direction, and then swiftly turned to Twilight. “Oh, I almost forgot - I had a dream about you last night.”
Twilight’s eyes widen. “You have? What was it about?”
“I don’t have time to tell you about it, now. How about you come to my home for afternoon tea? Um, if that’s okay with you.”
“Oh sure, I would love to come. I just have to finish rearranging some things. See you this afternoon.” With that, Fluttershy walked down the marketplace. Twilight closed the door and stared into space. She rushed up to her study room, spread out a parchment and began writing to the Princess.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I need your assistance right away...
***
Ditzy Doo made her usual rounds across Ponyville. Sure, she misplaced somepony’s mail with another, and maybe she may have caused a heavy object to fall from the loading cart in the sky, and it was possible she didn’t know what went wrong, but she was a mailpony, and it was her sworn duty to deliver the mail to her fellow citizens of her hometown. Neither rain, sleet, hail, snow, or gloom of night shall stop the courier from swiftly completing her appointed rounds. It was the code each member of the Postal Service of Equestria abide to.
“Ditzy!” The grey, crossed-eye pegasus heard her being called, but she couldn’t tell where the voice came from.
“Ditzy, down here!”
“Oh hi, Twilight! I didn’t see you down there!” Ditzy was always happy to see any of her friends. It made her job worthwhile. She clumsily flew down to the lavender unicorn and was about to go for a crash-landing. She was saved when Twilight encased her in a purple bubble.
“Thanks, Twilight!” Ditzy showed her appreciation by giving Twilight a great, big hug. Twilight, however, was losing oxygen. Twilight’s pleas reached the grey pegasus’ ears and she let go. Twilight caught up with her breath and continued on why she wanted Ditzy.
“Ditzy, I need you to do me a huge favor.”
“What is it?”
“I need you to find Spike, and have him send this letter to Celestia. It’s very imperative that it reaches her right away.”
“Impear-impui-?”
Twilight cast out an annoyed grunt. “Important! important that letter reaches Celestia immediately!”
“How important? What’s happening? Is it the end of the world?” Ditzy asked worriedly.
“No, Ditzy, it’s for my studies. I just want to know if she has any of the books I listed in the Royal Canterlot Library.”
“Oh, okay!” Ditzy said, happy that it the world wasn’t coming to an end. With that she flew off, not after bumping into another pegasus, much to his annoyance. She made her epic journey to find Spike the Dragon.
***
“Guys, I seriously don’t think this is going to work,” Spike tried to reasoned. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were about to do the most daring, extraordinary, spectacular stunt yet, that they have to get their cutie marks after this.
“Don’t be such as worry-wuss, Spike,” Scootaloo retorted. “This is going to rock! After this, I’m gonna to get a cutie mark that looks just like Rainbow Dash’s!” The orange pegasus filly strapped a helmet on her head, and pushed herself inside a cannon.
“We’re rootin’ for ya, Scootaloo!” Applebloom called out.
“Be careful,” said Sweetie-Belle. The white unicorn filly was never comfortable when any of her two friends perform these dangerous stunts.
“Alright guys! I’m in! Applebloom, prepare the cannon!” Applebloom ran behind the cannon and pointed upwards towards the sky.
Rainbow Dash will be so proud! Scootaloo thought to herself. Finally, she will be worthy of her idol’s acceptance and love. Scootaloo called out to Spike to light the match. He wondered out loud how he agreed to do this. Before he lit the match with his fire-breath, he prayed to Celestia that she would not get hurt. He held his breath, and let out a small flame, igniting the cannon.
“SPIKE!”
A voice called out from the distance, and Spike was distracted for a moment. He looked over and saw Ditzy Doo flying his way.
“Oh, it’s just Ditzy. Oh no, it’s Ditzy. ”
“What wrong, Spike?” Sweetie-Belle asked.
“Girls, get out of the way, NOW! ” Spike grabbed Applebloom and Sweetie Belle and jumped to the nearest safe spot and Ditzy crashed into the cannon. The force of her landing made the cannon flip over and aiming it toward the forest.
“Hey, what’s goin’ on?! ” Scootaloo called out from inside. Ditzy got up and dusted herself off.
“I’m okay!”
Spike sighed and walked over to gray mailpony. “Ditzy, what’s wrong with you? You almost got yourself killed. Wait, nevermind, don’t answer that.”
“Aw, gee, Sorry Spike. I swear - “
“You don’t know what went wrong ,” They all said in unison. Ditzy blushed with embarrassment. That line of hers was starting to become her signature catchphrase.
“Anyway, why were flying so fast like that?”
“Oh, Twilight wanted me to give you this letter, so you can send it to the Princess!” Ditzy handed Spike the sealed parchment, in which he looked at it confusingly.
“Really? What does it say?”
“Oh, um, Twilight said she needed books for her studying,” Ditzy answered. This still confused Spike, but he shrugged it off, and blew that green flame on the parchment, then it magically disappeared.
“Hey! Is anypony out there! ” Scootaloo was not amused of her present predicament.
“Well, thanks, Ditzy. Sorry for being upset with you. I just don’t like seeing you get hurt or injured.”
“Aw, that’s okay, Spike! It’s what I have to go through so I can deliver all this mail! Like the code of the Postal Service of Equestria say: Neither, rain, sleet, snow, or --”
*BOOM!*
The cannon spat out Scootaloo, the force of her momentum taking Ditzy along with her for the ride. The two remaining Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike watched in shock/horror as extreme kinetic energy carried Ditzy and Scootaloo across the forest. Everyone was silent at that point.
“Applebloom. I think she’s going to be really upset when she come back,” Sweetie-Belle spoke out.
“Upset being an understatement,” Applebloom continued.
“Remind me again why I agreed to do this,” Spike said, still in shock.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“I’m okay!”
Outside of reality, there is an extra-dimensional realm that not even the most powerful of unicorns could detect with their magic. The realm was isolated from the natural world, and was only inhabited by beings who referred to themselves as gods. Since they were separated from the physical realm, they could do nothing but observe the daily lives of the mortals and their princesses they adore through a mirror. They lived in an enormous castle, with great halls extending from every angle. The castle itself had no exit point nor entry point - everything contained within the castle was itself part of virtual reality - a dream.
“Nothing has happened ever since the Captain of the Royal Guard and his wife defeated the Changeling Queen. Things have been considerably boring again,” one the gods commented. His brethren agreed with him.
“Honestly, you all treat this like some epic tale of good and evil. These are ponies’ lives happening before our eyes,” a goddess called out. The goddess never enjoyed watching the citizens of Equestria go about their lives, but there was nothing else to do. Just then, another god - a tall figure, with dark hair - appeared before the inactive pantheon.
“Gods and Goddesses, I have an announcement to make!” The other gods ceased looking at the mirror and turned to their brother. “It seems as though the unicorn referred to as Twilight Sparkle, can travel across the dreamrealm of the ponies. She is taking this really well I might add. Oh, that Twilight... she never ceases to amaze me.”
The gods and goddesses didn’t seemed too surprised, but what caught them off guard was that their younger brother already knew about it. Aurelia, the elder sky goddess, went up to her young sibling.
“How did you know about this? The ponies never seem to do much of anything when they are sleeping, let alone sleepwalking on a few occasions.”
“Easy - I enchanted her.” All the gods gave a long look at their brother. Not once, since the two thousand years of their “boredom”, they have been able to do any activity outside of the castle. Mercutio, the god in question, somehow found a way.
Constantine, an old fire god, walked up to his little brother and give him skeptical eyes. Mercutio was has always been a trickster, but this was a serious matter.
“I’m confused - how were you able to... enchant the unicorn?”
“Well, while all of you were asleep, I was up all night trying to figure out a way how to make things here a little more fun.” The other gods rolled their collective eyes at the statement. “The library, which we sadly never go to anymore, have all sorts of spell books and were really quite interesting.”
“One thing you missed, Mercutio-” Galen, an agricultural god, added “ -not one of the spells in those books work anymore.”
“On the contrary, my dear brother - they work just fine. ”
Eyes widened across the room. Mercutio found a spell that actually worked? Finally, have their youngest brother done something useful in his immortal life instead of playing tricks on innocent mortals?
“Yes, we are separated from the natural realm. However, that does not mean we still can’t influence what goes on. This spell, called Arguo Solvo , can let me become unbound by the supernatural presence that binds us here in this castle for a limited amount of time. After that, I enchanted the unicorn named Twilight - and the rest soon followed.”
No words could describe what the gods in the room were feeling right now. Their youngest sibling, a trickster god, somehow found a way to enter the physical realm, undetected by the magic of the unicorns, and do his trickster god shenanigans. This was a truly magnificent development.
“Mercutio, this... this is astounding! This is unbelievable!” Leander, a warrior god, was not very close to his brother than the other gods, but this truly made him proud. The warrior god gave his trickster brother a great hug. When he let him go, Constantine gave him a handshake of approval. His sister, Aurelia, gave a simple nod. Galen was still skeptical of the whole ordeal.
“But the spell only unbounds us for a limited time. We are still trapped here, either way.”
“That may be so. But I bet I can corrupt the spell just a teeny-tiny bit so we can leave the castle for a longer time,” Mercutio answered to Galen.
“How long were you unbound for?” asked the agriculture god.
“I say about... ten to fifteen minutes at least.”
Fifteen minutes? Outside of the castle? If the odds favored them, they could finally be released from their imprisonment.
“Like I said, I will see if I can corrupt the spell just a little bit. And to think you all said I will never contribute anything to the pantheon.”
He was right. A trickster god was always a negative to any pantheon. They could still remember the time Loki almost caused Ragnarok by initiating a fight between Thor and Beowulf - for his own amusement. Well, at least their trickster god only performed harmless pranks. He would never go that far... or would he?
“So, Twilight Sparkle the Unicorn is a dream sailor?” asked Isis. She was a moon goddess, who was often jealous of the love and affection her alicorn counterpart was receiving.
“Yes she is, but it is only temporary. It is not known when this new power will disappear, so she better enjoy it while it lasts.” Mercutio mentally pat himself on his back for his new discovery. It would soon be very likely and a real possibility that the Forgotten Gods would once again return to earth.
***
“Come on - Spike should be here soon. Where is he?” Twilight Sparkle paced around the living room. It has been a few hours since she sent her letter to Princess Celestia. “I hope Ditzy didn’t mix up the mail like last time.”
The front door opened to reveal Spike. He did not look happy at today’s unfortunate developments.
“Hey, Twilight,” Spike said somberly.
“Spike! Where were you?”
“Well, me and the Crusaders met up with Ditzy. She gave me the letter you wanted to give to Celestia, and well... one thing led to another and she had a little accident. With Scootaloo.”
“Oh dear. What happened to them?”
Spike wanted to tell what happened, but he did not want to into detail. He was about to recount the day’s events when he felt a rumble inside his stomach. He knew what that meant.
“Uh, Twilight? I think thi--”
He let out a belch of green fire, and a parchment letter appeared in thin air. Twilight immediately grabbed the letter with her magic and began reading its contents.
“You must be really excited about that letter, huh?”
“Yes, Spike! I was waiting for the Princess to send me a response all day! I wonder what she said.”
***
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I have received your letter from this morning. I must agree that this is very strange. I have never known anypony who can enter the subconscious of others. Unfortunately, not much is known about this phenomenon - I have checked the library in the Starswirl the Bearded Wing, but I could not find anything on the matter. However, I have found one book written by a pegasus who have claimed to experience this phenomenon herself. It looks insightful and I hope this book will help you find the answers you need. I wish you the best of luck.
Your mentor,
Princess Celestia
***
“A book? What book? I don’t see a book? Spike, do you see a book?”
Spike raised his finger, but felt another rumble inside his stomach. He released another belch a green fire, which revealed the book Princess Celestia was writing about. Twilight levitated the book to get a closer look.
“Dream Crossroads: A Journey Inside the Mind and Conscious by Rain Dancer . I can’t believe this is the only book available.”
“What are you talking about, Twi?” Spiked asked, confusingly. She wasn’t acting strange this morning, but she seem really jittery now. What happened?
“Oh, nothing, Spike. It’s just for my studies, that’s all. I doing a report on... the wind cycle.”
“Really?” Spike asked sarcastically.
“Of course! You know me - I love learning about new things - like wind cycles!” She pulled her best I-really-hope-Spike-buys-this-stupid-lie smile she could. Spike shrugged and went on to his business.
“You know, if you wanted to learn about the wind cycle, why didn’t you just ask Rainbow Dash?”
“Don’t be silly, Spike - Rainbow Dash is sleeping.” Twilight ran upstairs to the bedroom, with her book engulfed with magic. Spike... had other business to attend to.
***
Twilight lay the book on her desk. She skimmed through the book - the author really put so much effort to it.
“Okay. Let’s read this.”
The first words didn’t come out of her mouth when she looked at the clock behind her - it was one o’clock.
“Oh my gosh! I promised Fluttershy I had tea with her. I can’t upset her again.” She walked out her door, then stopped herself upon realization.
“Wait - what do I mean ‘again’? Last time was just a dream. I am so confused.” She walked downstairs and to the front door. She saw her assistant slouching on the couch in the living room.
“Spike, I’m going to Fluttershy’s to have tea. You can come if you want.”
“No, thanks. I’m trying to forget about what happened today. Tell ‘Shy I said hi.”
Twilight smiled and walked out the door and onwards toward the home of the yellow pegasus.
***
“I’m so glad you could make it, Twilight. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come”, Fluttershy happily said.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Fluttershy.” The two sip their tea cups and continued to talk about the days events. Fluttershy had tremendous success with the potato-carrot stew, the likes of which Angel Bunny enjoyed very much (though he wouldn’t admit it).
“So Fluttershy, you were going to tell me about the dream you had last night?”
“Oh yes! It was wonderful! You and me were just enjoying ourselves on my island paradise. We were listening to the birds singing, looking at all the amazing animals. It was actually a dream I had for a while now, but seeing you there made it more special.”
Twilight giggled at Fluttershy. If only she knew that was actually her.
“I’m glad you had a great dream. It’s so nice to see you smiling again. Recently, you’ve be so... down. Anything wrong?”
“Oh... I... I never been really been happy since the “New Fluttershy” thing. I didn’t realized I’ve hurt so many ponies. The mailpony, the tourist... Rarity and Pinkie...”
Fluttershy’s eyes started to become watery. Those horrible memories came flooding back to her. Iron Will was a terrible person for spreading such lies, but Fluttershy was even more terrible for believing them and taking those lies to heart. At least that what she thinks.
“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m sure everypony forgot about that day. There’s no need to feel terrible about yourself. Besides, Rarity and Pinkie Pie know you didn’t mean what you said,” Twilight reassured her friend. Fluttershy felt a little better. Not a lot of ponies are as forgiving as the lavender unicorn.
“Thanks, Twilight.”
The two finished their tea and talked about their plans for tomorrow. Hours past and Twilight said goodbye to the timid pegasus. She walked down the road straight to the library. While she walked, she took a glance at the market square, and saw her cowpony friend.
“Hey Applejack. I didn’t know you were still here.”
“Howdy there, Twilight. Yeah, just doin’ some late customer service and all. Care for some apples?”
Twilight took out some bits and put five apples in her saddlebag. She could never say no to Sweet Apple Acres brand apples.
“Thanks for the apples. I have to get back to the library - how about we catch up tomorrow?”
“Sure thing, Twilight. Oh - that reminds me - I had a dream about you last night! I ain’t got time to tell ya the whole details, but I can say that you and me had quite an adventure!”
Twilight didn’t know what to say. This was surely the greatest event in Equestrian history. She said goodbye to Applejack and went to the library, when Spike began cooking dinner.
“Twilight, dinner will be ready in twenty minutes!”
“Thanks, Spike. I’ll be in the bedroom catching up on some studying.”
Twilight traveled up the stairs and into the bedroom. She walked up to her desk and saw the book was still at the first page. She took a deep breath and took another look at the book.
“Alright, Twilight. Start reading.”
She read the first words of Chapter One.
“Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you...”
Author’s note: I know this chapter seems shorter for some reason. I honestly have no idea where I’m going with this story. Stay tuned for Chapter Six - it will be longer this time!
The sun set on the horizon hours later. Twilight was so deep into the book that she had not notice it was already evening. She took a break from reading to look over her notes.
“Okay. An out-of-body experience are personal experiences in which a pony is perceiving the physical world from a location outside of their body. I already figured that part out. The consciousness of a pony is separated from the body and travels in a discorporate form in the natural world. But what I don’t understand is how I can enter dreams .”
She continued to read the chapter she left off on. She reached a paragraph that had captured her interest; she levitated her notepad and quill close to her. Her eyes widened as she read the sentences to herself.
“In some cases - rare as it may seem - the pony’s consciousness can willingly enter the subconscious of another pony - they can enter their dreams. ” Twilight began writing on her notepad - but stopped mid-sentence. She levitated the book closer to her.
“Lucid dreaming is a dream in which * you know you are dreaming*** -” her eyes widened at the sentence “- this happens when the dreamer experiences something strange, stops to question reality, and realize they are dreaming .” The book was right about one thing - she did experience something strange. Something... supernatural of the sort.
“Continuing on the subject of the subconsciousness mind being infiltrated by an outside source, Shared dreaming, or mutual dreaming, is the name given to the ability to link one’s dream with another pony inside his or her dream .” Her eyes widened at the revelation. She paraphrased the sentence on her notepad and continued.
“Just as with lucid dreaming, shared dreaming can occur spontaneously. There are no records of these extraordinary phenomena, but one pony experienced all of it - * me***.”
Twilight put the book down and let her brain process what she had learned. This Rain Dancer seem to know her facts, but she was still uncertain.
“This is eerie. What if this happens again tonight? I would like to visit more of my friend’s dreams, but... I don’t know. Rain Dancer and I seem to be the only ones with this... power I guess. I wonder if I should sleep tonight.”
Knocks echoed across the bedroom; her thought process was cut-short. She opened the door to reveal Spike.
“Um, Twilight? Is everything okay?” he asked worriedly. “You haven’t been down for dinner and I thought something bad happened.”
“Don’t worry Spike, I’m fine. I’m just really engrossed in this book. There are so many things I haven’t learned about dre- I’m mean, wind cycles!”
Spike raised an eyebrow at the unicorn. Wind cycles? Why would she want to study something boring as that? Wasn’t that something more on Rainbow Dash’s field?
“Well, there is still some food left on the table. Imma go hit the hay - later, Twi.” Spike closed the door and proceeded to the washroom. Thoughts of uncertainty and speculation poured into Twilight’s mind. Indeed she was afraid to go to sleep tonight, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.
“I’ll see how this plays out. Last night might have been a fluke, or maybe not. I’m not sure if this happened by accident... or if this is something else entirely.” She looked at her clock - it was getting late. She wasn’t sure if this would happen again, but in a few hours, the moment of truth will arrive. And she will be ready.
***
Blackness. That was all that could be seen. The blackness was accompanied by the sound of snoring. Twilight opened her eyes and found that the snores were coming from her baby dragon. At this rate, she would not be able to sleep in peace. She made a mental note to find a spell that would silence his snores. The unicorn stare upon the ceiling, and turned her head to face the moon. This all happened at midnight. For some reason, this happened to her; but why? Twilight stare at the moon some more until her eyes felt heavy. She slowly felt herself drifting away to slumberland. She could see complete, utter blackness again. Spike’s snores decreased in volume, until silence overtook the annoying sounds. All is dark, all is calm.
Then her horn glowed.
Twilight slowly opened her eyes. She was floating just a couple a feet into the air. She looked down and saw herself - eyes closed, horn glowing the same colors from last night.
It happened again .
She stare at her physical body for what could have been five minutes.
“Okay. What now?”
She floated through the window and she was outside the library. The moon brightly sat on the sky, shining its rays across the black dome, painted with stars. The streets were empty, not a soul was awake. Twilight began her flight across Ponyville.
“Alright, Twilight. Just like last night. I think I have an idea of whose dream I would like to go to .”
She flew to the southeast direction of the village. Sometime later, she stopped at her destination. Carousel Boutique. She step down onto the surface, and walked through the door. Twilight was now inside the clothing workshop of Rarity, her fashionista unicorn friend. Ponnequins were spread across the shopping area. Some had clothes, others were naked. Everywhere she looked, the rooms were decorated with paintings by famous stallions of the renaissance era. She spotted a huge staircase that lead upstairs.
Twilight finally entered the hallway, which was even bigger than the entrance and room area. The hallway contained five doors; she summoned her x-ray vision spell to find out which room belonged to Rarity. She saw a white figure with a pink robe on the second door to the right. Smiling lightly, she walked through the door and entered Rarity’s bedroom.
The room was sight. Notes, sketches, accessories, everything clothing related created a chaotic feeling in the blackness of night. Twilight never knew Rarity could be so... unorganized. She shrugged those feelings off - she is a fashion artist after all. She walked over to the bed - only to find another white figure lying next her. A little white filly with a pink mane. Her little sister, Sweetie-Belle, was sleeping next to her.
“Aww. This is just too cute ,” Twilight quietly said. She took a closer look a Sweetie, and saw she was clutching a stuffed-bunny close to her.
“I would love to see what Sweetie’s dreams are like. Awww. Maybe some other time I hope .”
She walked over to the other side of the bed and faced Rarity. She was wearing that sleeping mask she always had. Twilight stretched her hoof - then stopped. She looked up at her purple horn and thought.
“Maybe there is another way to enter a dream. Let me see... ” Twilight brought her horn closer to Rarity’s. Hopefully, this won’t wake her up she thought to herself. Her horn touched the fashionista’s horn and a little spark ignited the magic. Twilight disappeared into Rarity’s mind.
Meanwhile, a few miles away, a mystical presence also traveled around Ponyville in the dead of night. The strange force found its way to the library. A dark-green cloud formulated outside of the upstairs window. Twilight’s body could be seen, horn glowing that mysterious glow. The green cloud of magic chuckled to itself.
“So, the power has not pass from her. Good. I wonder where she head off to... ”
***
Twilight appeared before a great hall. It was empty and quiet, but it was a magnificent sight to behold. Marble pillars stood bold from each side of the hall. The ceiling was decorated with abstract art and colors that blended well together. Lanterns brighten the hall, which hung safely from the marble pillars. She continued to walk until she reached the end of the hall; there was a white stallion unicorn wearing a black tuxedo standing in front of a door, with a large book on a podium.
“Good evening, madame. Welcome zo Frou Frou Petite. Are you on ze guest list?” the stallion asked with a fancy accent.
“Oh... Of course. Well, not quite, exactly. I was actually looking for a friend of mine. Her name is Rarity and --”
“Wait za minute... you look familiarr. Are you ze Twilight Sparkell?”
“Of course. Twilight Sparkle, the personal protege of Princess Celestia of Equestria,” she answer confidently. The fancy unicorn stallion let out a gasp, and then a high pitch squeal that could pierce the ears of those around him in a 15 yards from where he was standing.
“Zis is wonderfull! Monsieur Fancypants haz talked zo much about you! I never thought I would actually meet you!” Twilight blushed at the fancy stallion’s comment. His accent was so cute.
“Please, Miss Sparkell, right zis way! Monsieur Fancypants should be here zis moment!”
The fancy unicorn stallion opened the door, and led Twilight into the restaurant. The restaurant was even glorious than the hallway. Giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling, giving beautiful yellow light to its patrons. There was a brown stallion earth pony on stage with a white tuxedo playing smooth jazz tunes on the piano. The ponies in the restaurant were having quiet conversations among themselves. Most were seated in groups, giving toasts to each other for no particular reason. Twilight never really enjoyed being around uber-fancy ponies as these, but she could manage.
“ * I do say, Miss Sparkle, is that you I see?*” a familiar voice called out. She only heard that voice once before, but she instantly knew who it was. She turned around and saw a white unicorn stallion with a monocle and a light-blue mane and mustache. He was seated with a rather slender, white unicorn mare with a pink mane. He motioned her to come join him.
“Fancypants? He wants me to... sit with him?” Twilight asked herself. The fancy stallion led her to Fancypant’s table. She took an open seat and nervously smiled at the group of elitists before her.
“Ah, Miss Sparkle, it is so wonderful to see you again. How long has it been?”
“I say at least several months since my birthday party intercept with your fancy party,” Twilight said carefully. She was caught off-guard when Fancypants let out a light-hearted laugh. She gave out sigh of relief, knowing the stallion was surprising good natured.
“Oh yes, I remember that day all too-well. I say, you looked quite adorable with that plain yellow dress. And that dance,” Fancypants laughed at the memory. Twilight blushed at the comment about her dress.
“I have a niece who acts just like you. I truly believe you and her would have quite a friendship.”
The fancy stallion from before came again with glasses for the occupants of the table. He then poured into the glasses cider. Twilight looked around the large room - there was still no sign of Rarity.
“Oh, excuse me, I forgot something--” Fancypants declared. He cleared his throat and introduced his marefriend. “Miss Sparkle, this is my companion, Fleur de Lis. Fleur de Lis, this is Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn I told you about.”
“Charmed,” de Lis said. She held out her limp hoof and Twilight shook it lightly with her own. This was how most high-class mares in Canterlot held their hooves when introductions are made. (Not that Twilight consider herself high-class or anything like that)
“Yes, Lis is quite is the charmer, is she not? And beautiful as well. If you ask me, all the mares in Equestria would sell their very souls to Discord to attain beauty such as hers.”
“Oh... yes she is. Miss de Lis is very remarkable. How did you two became a couple?” Twilight asked with a mixture of nervousness.
“You know, come to think about it - I hardly remember when and how I met her. The story I often tell to other ponies is that I was enjoying a nice walk on the beach until I uncovered a magic lamp. Thinking a genie would appear, I rubbed the lamp, and Fleur de Lis appeared and granted my wishes. She has been following me ever since.”
Twilight was stunned/confused/shock from the explanation as to why de Lis is always seen with him a lot. She shifted her eyes to the slender, white unicorn and she was too busy doing sexy poses for an imaginary paparazzi.
“Rarity, please come soon.”
***
At the other end of the restaurant, a bar to be exact, a grey earth pony stallion with a straight black mane, sporting a white tuxedo, drank slowly from his glass of cider. He stare into his glass when the contents were gone.
“Another glass, sir,” a bartender asked him. The grey stallion snapped out of his trance and looked at who was speaking to him.
“Sure.”
More cider appeared, and the grey stallion drunk and his taste buds embraced the flavor.
“Cassius, you have to stop thinking about her. She’s driving you crazy,” the bartender said.
“Kid, you don’t understand. That mare was everything to me. We cherished every second, every minute, every hour we spent together. When I first met her... when I first laid upon those beautiful, blue irises, I thought she would never leave me. Now... that’s all I can ever think about. What could have been.”
Kid the bartender silently groaned at his friend’s sob story. He took a glance at the sad slop of a friend and couldn’t take it anymore. He had to add his two cents to the matter.
“Cassius, that was four years ago. You have to let the past go. I don’t what the whole story of what happened between you and Miss Belle, but from what I can tell, you two wanted different things from life. She left because...”
“... I wasn’t good enough for her,” Cassius retorted.
“...You were too comfortable where you were,” Kid answered. The orange bartender stallion trotted to another customer. The vague answered stayed with him as was left alone with his thoughts.
“What could have been...”
***
A dark figure trotted into the restaurant. Her black, silk coat concealed her identity, save for the small, blue strands of her mane covering a quarter of her face from her black beret. She scanned the room, looking for nopony in particular. She trotted up to the stallion playing the jazz tunes on the piano.
“It’s been awhile since I heard you play those notes,” the low feminine voice said to the brown piano stallion. He turned around and smile warmly at the stranger.
“Miss Rarity. I never thought I see you again. How long has it been?”
“Quite too long. Keynote - please play that song for me. Like the old days.”
Keynote was taken aback by the request. It’s been a long time since he played that song. He was hesitant to move forward with her request.
“I don’t know, Miss Rarity. Ever since you... well, I’m not allow to play that song. He... never wants to hear it again.”
“Please... just this once. For me, darling.”
Keynote could not bring himself to play the song, but the pleading eyes Rarity gave him convinced him otherwise. He reluctantly maneuver his hooves to the keys on the piano, and music began to fill the room. The song that reminded both of them of the good times when she and Cassius were together. The song the reminded Rarity of why she left him... and reminded of why she was still in love with him.
***
While Fancypants was continuing recounting the events of how he acquired fourteen billion bits from his self-owned publishing company, Twilight’s ears perked at most beautiful song she ever heard. She turned her head, and saw the brown stallion singing that familiar tune she heard when she was young. Afterward, her gaze was fixed upon the dark figure standing next the singing stallion.
Fancypants ceased his story and listened to the stallion playing the memorable tune. Fleur de Lis couldn’t help but admire the music as well, the only thing stopping her from doing sexy poses.
“I say... I have not heard that song in quite a long time. I remember it from my youth.” His eyes were getting watery from the enchanting melody of the song. He grabbed a nearby napkin and dried his eyes. Twilight felt a tingling feeling in her eyes also. A few droplets trickled down her cheek. She forgot about searching for Rarity and let the music bring her into bliss. Fancypants levitated a tissue to Twilight’s eyes and dried them.
“Oh how time goes by...”
***
Cassius sat alone with his thoughts about the mare he loved. He was contemplating leaving early... then he heard that song. The song that reminded him of the golden age. That reminded him of heartbreak. The song he never wanted to hear again. Instead of the blissful feeling the patrons were enjoying, anger overtook his heart. Who dares plays that song when he was around?
“Cassius, everything alright?” Kid asked. Cassius ignored his question and trotted to whole was playing that forbidden song.
Keynote immersed himself into the music, that the worries of Cassius finding out passed away from his thoughts. He was about to bring the song home...
“Keynote! ”
Keynote was snapped back to reality as Cassius trotted to him. He could see the bitterness in his face and prepared himself for a demeaning lecture.
“Keynote, what did I tell about that song? I thought I told you to never, ever play that damn song around me! If I ever catch you-- ”
“It wasn’t his fault. I asked him to play it. If there is anypony to blame, it’s me,” the dark figure firmly said to Cassius.
“Maybe Keynote here should have had the brains to tell you that the song is banned!” Cassius retorted.
“He did. I insist he played it anyway.”
“Who in tartarus do you think you are, lady,” Cassius asked coldly.
The dark figure removed her beret, revealing a long, blue, well-groomed mane. She pushed the part of her mane that covered her left eye, so she could see clearly. Her blue irises stared deeply into Cassius’ eyes.
“Just somepony whom you used to know.”
***
Twilight, Fancypants, Fleur de Lis were caught in a moment of rapture at Keynote’s music. Fancypants remained unusually silent throughout the duration of the song. Twilight took a small glance at the stallion when the music reached its climax - his lips began to quiver.
The rapturous moment came to an abrupt end when a grey stallion chastised the piano player.
“Oh my, there seems to be some indifference,” Fancypants commented.
“Indeed,” de Lis lated added.
Twilight was disturbed by the ordeal. The grey stallion was making a scene for no apparent reason other than to show his distaste for a wonderful song. The black coated figured tried his/her best to defend the piano player, but to no avail.
“I’m sorry, Fancypants, but I need to cut our little meeting short. I have to prevent a fight from ensuing,” Twilight firmly said.
“How in the name of Celestia would you do that,” Fancypants asked.
“By what I do best - lecture him ,” Twilight stated with confidence. She trotted her way to the stage to give the trouble-making stallion a good, old-fashioned lecture. She slowed down when the black coated pony removed her hat.
“Oh my gosh... is that... Rarity?”
Twilight looked at her white unicorn friend with pure confusion. Fluttershy and Applejack had grand appearances in their dreams. Somehow, Rarity seem kind of lackluster. She expected to see strong stallions to carry Rarity while she sitting on a golden throne.
She listened to the conclusion of the argument without further interruption.
***
Cassius was stunned by the sight before him. It was as if he had seen a ghost. His heart felt it was about to give out at any minute. Four years. Four, long, miserable years. There were no words in the Equestrian dictionary to describe a shocking moment as this. The lump on his throat made it hard for him to create words.
“Rarity... you came ba... why? Why?”
“I wanted to see you again, Cassius. I wanted to see what you have done with yourself,” Rarity calmly said.
“Rarity... you broke my heart.”
“I know.”
“You said... we will always be together.”
“I know.”
“Then... you left. Why did you lie to me?”
His voice started to crack. His eyes became moist, and raised his hoof to quickly wiped them dry, so he wouldn’t appear to be weak.
“I never lied to you, Cassius. I left you because you were content with your mundane life. I left you because I wanted to pursue my dreams. To be honest, I left you because you were holding me back. But in all those years we were apart - I always thought about you. Every city I have gone to I saw your face. You were always in my thoughts, my mind... and my heart.”
Cassius couldn’t believe his ears. A mental breakdown was imminent. He wanted to tell her off, but he was too heartbroken to do so. Tears flowed slowly down his cheeks as his emotions ran off course. He looked back at the audience who had watched the tearjerking scene unfold. He slowly walked off the stage disappeared from view.
Twilight senses were offended from what had transpired. She walked up the stage where Rarity stood, eyes widen, almost in tears.
“Rarity...”
“Hello, Twilight...”
The greeting was calm, unlike the feelings of surprise Fluttershy and Applejack had.
“Rarity... why would do such a horrible thing like that? To the pony that loved you?”
“... Because love was not enough.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
Rarity sighed. If there were any of her friends who wanted to know about her love life, it was Twilight. She saw this coming two thousand miles away.
“Come outside with me, Twilight. I’ll tell everything that has happened between me and him. What has never happened.”
End of Part I
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
Dear Readers,
It has come to my attention that this story hasn't been updated in a long time, three years in fact. Fortunately, that is about to change immediately. A newly rewritten version of The Mistress of Dream will be published in 2016. Since season five is almost approaching its conclusion, and many important events happened during the course of the entire series, I thought it will be a good idea to revisit this story. I came to the realization that the original plot I had planned for this story was not going to work. However, I am thrilled to be starting this amazing story from scratch once more. It's was the first story I have published, and I can't wait to bring it back to the public's eye. I'd like to thank and apologize to everyone who has been following this story since its publication. I'm sorry I hadn't continued it, but I will try to make it up to all of you.
Thank you, and I'll see you in 2016.
Peace.
