Pillow Thoughts II

Pillow Thoughts II

Chapter 9
Wings of Trust

"How is the dear Princess? Is she still as beautiful as I remember her to be?" asked Ophil with his gaze lost in memories of old times, better times.

"Woah woah, hang on a minute! What the hay is going on here?!" shouted Rainbow, looking utterly confused. "What are you talking about?? Why am I not talking about what you are talking about?! I don't like being left out of confusing conversations!"

"Easy there, sugarcube," replied Applejack, placing a hoof on her marefriend's shoulder. "Twilight is going to explain everything to us… ain't ya, Twilight?"

The lavender unicorn nodded. "At first, I wasn't sure but, after analyzing the facts, the more I thought about it, the more it became obvious that—"

"Twilight!" shouted the impatient cyan Pegasus as she stomped her hooves. "Could you please skip the part about your family's history?! We get it, you think, that's awesome, but say it already! It's like I've been waiting for MONTHS to finish this neverending quest to find what's-her-name!"

Apparently all the frustration that Rainbow gathered during the last few days found a way out. Somewhere, in the back of her head, she knew that she was only letting out all the accumulated 'steam'.

Ophil chuckled. "Impatient little one, aren't you?"

Twilight tried to ignore her friend's sarcasm as she scratched her head. "I just wanted to say that Princess Celestia never told us that Ophil Gryasa was a mare." The ponies looked at each other, trying to remember the Princess' words. "…I mean, we all just assumed that."

"Of course, assuming things can lead to both positive and negative outcomes," the old guardian shrugged. "Still, one of the worst things we can do is assume what everypony really thinks about us. That only leads to blocking oneself and to overprotection. We live in a dual world. Neither extremity is optimal for us. That is the meaning and scope of harmony."

"Allow me to see if I understood correctly," said Rarity, approaching the old colt while she rearranged her mane in an absent gesture. She pointed to him. "This is Ophil Gryasa, the one we've been searching for?"

"Yes," replied Twilight.

"Well, why didn't he say so in the first place?" asked the white unicorn, not without a bit of anger in her voice. "Does he have any idea what we've been through?"

"Can't an old colt have a little bit of fun?" giggled Ophil.

"You most certainly may NOT!" puffed the mare, arranging her mane again as if it was the only thing that could help her stay focused.

"It wasn't only that," said Twilight, turning towards Ophil. "You knew about the alicorn. You knew we were coming. If I'm correct, then you just wanted to test us, to see if we are worthy of your advice!"

The colt stopped giggling and brought his hoof to his chin, thinking. "Hm, actually no… I just wanted to have a bit of fun!" he replied, throwing a real fit of giggles that echoed through the cave, sending unusual chills up Fluttershy's spine. "Even so," he continued, slightly gasping for air, "you were right about one thing. I did see you coming and I know about your tiny… inconvenience."

"Inconvenience? That alicorn is pure evil," flared Dash, practically jumping in the air and positioning herself, in flight, near the colt.

"No more than you are, Rainbow Dash," he replied, dryly. "We are all alike. Unique!"

"Alright, everypony calm down," said Twilight. "You too, Pinkie!"

The pink earth pony stopped licking the big white extruding rock from the cave wall, despite the fact that she couldn't tell yet if it was made out of salt or sugar. Or both. Then again, sugar was not found in caves…. But maybe this was a special cave.

As Pinkie was left alone, a prey to her own thoughts, the unicorn continued. "Ophil, I don't wish to be rude, but we need you to tell us how to stop the alicorn. You might already know, she is using a truth-spell against us."

"Hold on," Dash interrupted for the nth time. "How does he know all this? What if he's hoof in hoof with the alicorn?"

Silence dropped. Fluttershy could actually hear the faint sound of the wind howling outside the cave's walls.

"Well fine then," the colt said all of a sudden, not without a sly smile creeping up his face. "Test me."

The confused mares looked at each other, not knowing what to do. The colt spoke again: "I asked you questions… it's only fair for you to return the gesture. If one question per pony will suffice, I suggest you choose them quickly. You don't really have much time on your hooves."

"Oh, me! Me! I'll go first!" shouted Pinkie, waving and jumping around.

Rarity cleared her throat and, completely ignoring the agitated furball, she took a few steps towards the colt. "Alright, here's a question that surely will show us if you are an ally or not. What is the alicorn's greatest weakness?"

"I already answered that for you a while ago. Need I repeat myself? Wasted question," he replied instantly, waving a hoof. "Next."

"I beg your pardon?!" the shocked fashionista replied in disbelief.

"He's right," came yet another answer, this time from Twilight. "He did tell us that."

Rainbow felt like she would soon lose her hair out of frustration, if her hooves would only allow her to grab it tighter. "What?! When?!"

"That's two questions, Rainbow Dash. I'll answer the latter. I told you that when I revealed my identity with the help of your friend here," he replied, pointing at Twilight.

"Now hold on just a cotton-pickin' minute," Applejack intervened, stomping her hoof. If she started to get angry, there's no telling how the situation might've ended. "Rainbow didn't ask ya a question. Ya ain't playin' fair!"

"I'm quite sure that I am playing fair."

"Says who?" the mare replied, only to cover her mouth quickly once she realized she just wasted her question too.

"Says Celestia herself as this is one of the games she enjoyed playing the most."

At that moment, all the eyes turned to the lavender mare as if looking for a confirmation of the colt's words. "I… I don't know. I never asked her what her favorite games are! She's a princess!"

Ophil shook his head, bitterly. "Twilight Sparkle, labels belong in a library, not in friendships. Princess, mentor, friend; Whichever you choose, you seem to know and care more about the label than the actual pony. This can become your downfall. The alicorn knows this." He closed his eyes and sighed. "You are all so eager to label me as well that you almost forgot what you came here for."

"We came here to find a way to defeat the alicorn!" replied the mare, trying to focus on the task at hoof. How could he know anyway about the special teacher-student relationship that she shared with the Princess? He didn't know a thing.

"Is that so? …funny, I always had the impression that you came here to find a way to protect your loved ones and your homes." He got off his large chair and took a few steps towards the mare who was already eyeing him suspiciously. "Ask your question, Twilight Sparkle."

What if he's trying to confuse everypony? What if this is all just a trick?

She felt angry. So angry.

She glanced towards the cave's floor, trying to think of the perfect question that would clearly show, once and for all, where the old guard stood in this overgrowing conflict. The alicorn wasn't even there and she could already feel its threat hovering above them.
"Answer me this: Who is the alicorn?" she asked all of a sudden. This would surely help them figure out if he was on their side or not.

"You already know that," the colt's reply came faster than expected. "Wasted question."

The lavender unicorn seriously considered the option of lifting Ophil with her magic and shaking the answers out of him, one by one. She tried to get a grip on herself and noticed that her friends were not far behind. Rarity was furious, Applejack as well, not to mention the state of mind Rainbow was in. Fluttershy on the other hoof couldn't really think of a question so she was just sitting quietly a bit further away from the group.
The only mare that was still cheerful was Pinkie, who kept waving her hooves in the air. "Is it my turn yet?"

Ophil blinked and turned to her. Despite her frantic gestures, he almost forgot she was there.

"Of course, Pinkie Pie. Ask away. What kind of question, along with its answer, would not make me an enemy in your eyes?"

"Do you have some anti-bedbugs potion?"

Twilight facehoofed. The others would have done the same, but they saw the colt's face suddenly transforming. He relaxed his worried frown and he smiled warmly to the pink mare. "Why is that, my dear?"

"Well, I noticed that everypony is a bit upset again and that reminded me of the time Applejack and Rainbow were upset. They had some nasty trouble with bedbugs, but it was okay for a while. Then, much later, they started getting upset again and I thought the bedbugs returned. They wouldn't say anything about it but they acted really weird, and now everypony is acting weird. I think if we manage to get rid of bedbugs forever, everypony will be happy forever!"

For the first time since she met him, Twilight could see admiration and warmth in Ophil's old eyes.

"As a matter of fact, Pinkie," he said, "I think I do. You see, love is a very weird thing. In itself, it is something that cannot be quantified or explained. It just is. But the way we perceive and receive it… that can make us incredibly happy or extremely miserable."

"It can make us move mountains or make us immovable. It can be both a blessing and a curse. One thing you must remember… For every force, there is an anti-force. One cannot live without the other, it cannot manifest itself. For up, there is down. For light, there is dark. For love… there are bedbugs."

He chuckled. "Well, it may not be known only by this name, but names are just, you know… labels." He quickly glanced towards Twilight and smiled at her. "One just has to learn to see past them sometimes. It's all one big game with interchangeable pieces, after all."

He turned back to Pinkie and continued: "Bedbugs appear when you become scared of yourself. Of what others might think of you. Of what you might think of yourself. It's the reaction towards the unknown. The uncertain."

Ophil turned towards Applejack and Rainbow, as they could hear playfulness in his voice. "I showed affection to somepony I liked? Oh no, what if that pony rejects me? I'd better blame it on the bedbugs." He pointed a hoof as if scolding them. "The same bedbugs kept you in place, Rainbow Dash, when your marefriend needed you."

The pegasus' ears dropped. How the hay did he know about that and why did he have to bring that up?

"We sorted things out in the end, sir," the orange pony said, gently taking Rainbow's hoof into her own.

"I'm glad you did, Applejack, but those very same bedbugs kept you from sorting them out earlier. You were equally responsible for keeping Rainbow Dash in that horrid state of mind during your trip here."

Applejack winced, she didn't think of it that way. Rainbow just lowered her eyes to the ground. Indeed, she did need her marefriend's help solving that issue back then. Her guilt and the earthpony's stubbornness just made things worse.

"There are the bedbugs that we all face one way or another," the old guardian continued, softly. "Most of us manage to overcome them, at one point. We live and we learn. Yet sometimes, these bedbugs can lead to less than nice thoughts. Especially when we are alone. 'Pillow thoughts' as a friend of mine used to call them."

"What if the bedbugs don't go away? What happens then?" asked Pinkie, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer. Even so, they all guessed it too well.

Ophil nodded and simply replied: "An alicorn is born."

"Surely," he continued, "you understand that this is metaphorical. The so-called 'alicorn' can take many forms, but it always manifests itself the same… with hatred. It is not as enduring as love, but it can become equally powerful."

"What can we do?" asked Rarity, approaching the colt along with her friends.

This time, Twilight was sure of the answer. Ophil was right, she knew the answer all along. "We live in a dual world," she explained, using the colt's own words. "For hatred, we must answer with love, and we must find out what made the alicorn turn away from it."

"Who would turn away from love?" a whisper could be heard as everypony noticed the presence of Fluttershy among them.

"Somepony who felt that he or she was betrayed by it," concluded the lavender mare under the approving gaze of Celestia's oldest student. "The answer lies in how you perceive it."
Indeed, this was the answer they were looking for.

Feeling something brush against her coat, Rarity moved aside to make way for Fluttershy who approached the old guardian. Sheepishly, she glanced into his eyes. What she saw in there, she wouldn't share with anypony else for a long time but, with a simple gesture of approval, she turned towards her friends and said, smiling: "I like him." If that wasn't an official 'Seal of Trust', nothing was.

Rainbow scratched the back of her head. "I'm… not sure I got all that."

"I did," replied Twilight who was already starting to trot towards the cave exit. "Ophil, thank you for everything. I—" She turned to face him once more. It hurt her pride to do this but it was the right thing to do. "I'm sorry we doubted you. …and I'll make sure to talk to the Princess about our encounter. Well, amongst other things too. Not just… magic and studies."

"We're all ponies, Twilight Sparkle. Even the good alicorns. They just have an extra pair of wings that come with a lot of labels," he waved his hoof, smiling. "Have a safe journey home… oh and please, when you meet Celestia again—"

"Yes?" asked the mare, expecting to receive a message that needed to be delivered.
The old colt started laughing again as if he just remembered a very good joke, to the general confusion of the ponies around him. When he barely managed to get a grip on himself, he just splurted: "Pull the crown over her eyes and tell her 'took you long enough!'"

With that, he just fell to the ground, a victim of his own funny thoughts.

He may be old and wise… but he's equally insane, concluded the librarian, exiting the cave both grateful and a bit creeped out.

***

"We're leaving already?" asked Mr. Timber, not without a slight hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Not just yet," replied Twilight who was already starting to look around and note things down on a magical parchment that, apparently, appeared out of thin air.

"What exactly are you doooing?" asked Rainbow, expecting a very Twilight-y answer.

The lavender unicorn did not disappoint: "I'm checking our list of supplies just to make sure we don't forget anything important. Oh, I must note down that Rarity's luggage will be lighter since she lost her sun lotion. Also, I can see that Pinkie grabbed a few coconuts on the way out—Pinkie! Don't stuff those in my bags!"

"Well mine are clearly too full," replied the earth pony. "Maybe I'll just tie them with strings."

Applejack watched the entire scene from afar, smiling. Her eyes drifted towards her marefriend who, as if sensing, instantly returned the gaze. The Pegasus flapper her wings a few times and approached the mare, landing right next to her.

"Everything okay, AJ?"

"Ah think so. Ah keep remembering bits and parts of our little journey, not sure if Ah wanna think about them or just forget them altogether. Heh."

"Well, it sure beats being stuck in a cold cave, underground."

"That it does… but Ah was mighty impressed with how ol' Ophil there knew so much about our adventure, our lives." She turned towards Rainbow. "About us."

"He knew our names as if he'd always known. Well," she said, puffing her chest, "not that I'm not famous enough or anything… but, he's all alone on this island. How could he know that?"

Applejack gently placed her head on Rainbow's chest, nuzzling her. "Ah don't know, sugarcube, but he was right. Ah should've known better than to keep mah mouth shut. Ah'm sorry."

"Hey," replied the Pegasus, slowly lifting her marefriend's chin with one of her hooves and planting a kiss on her lips. "No more apologizing, alright? From now on we'll just be more careful. No more 'bedbugs' and no more hidden thoughts.. deal?"

The earth pony smiled. "Deal."

"—and that should be all," Twilight's voice could be heard, approaching the couple. "Oh, just so you know, I took the liberty of arranging our bags in alphabetical order. That way, we'll be more efficient should we need anything on our way back. The carriage and the guards are waiting for us… hopefully the return trip to Ponyville will—"

"Hang on there! Did you just say you ordered our bags alphabetically?!" asked Dash.

"Uh-huh," replied the happy mare, checking something off her list. "That way I can double-check the backup list to make sure we're not leaving anything behind."

"But we barely unpacked!"

"Ah have to agree, this does seem a bit useless."

"Oh you two… you just don't fully understand the potential and importance of a well made list!"

TWILIGHT:
A list for me
A list for you
Let's double-check everything together
Checked it here,
You checked it too
On any day, through any weather

AJ + RD:
Preparations
and frustrations
All this triple checking is putting our minds in a twist.

TWILIGHT:
Preparations (RD: Preparations?!)
Expectations (AJ: Oh, horseapples)
Everything you'll ever need is
TWI+RD+AJ:
listed on the list.

RD:
Splitting hairs
AJ:
and counting
RD:
Paired in pairs
AJ:
it's daunting
RD:
It must be
AJ:
a rare form
RD+AJ:
of obsession.
AJ:
Checked and checked
RD:
and checking
AJ:
Sanity
RD:
is breaking
AJ:
Probably
RD+AJ:
a rare form
of regression!

TWILIGHT:
Keeping my
life organised
Papers and books, places, locations
Roll your eyes
But be advised
A list has many applications

Be prepared
That's my advice
Half the battle is won by knowing
what you have
and check it twice
RD+AJ:
Like Santa Hooves, she keeps on going

TWILIGHT:
Constellations
Correlations
Everything you'll ever need is listed on the list.
Informations
RD:
Medications
TWI: Hey!

RD+AJ:
Everything you'll NEVER need is listed on the list!

***

The return home was, indeed, without any trouble. The events that took place in Horngreen did leave the town in a bad shape so the royal guards figured it would be wiser to avoid that place for a while. Despite the slight detours, the atmosphere between the old friends was sweet and joyful. Rainbow and Applejack took the time to explain everything, from the moment they started acting weird towards each other, till their first kiss and beyond.

They did keep certain intimate details to themselves, of course, although the slight blush on their cheeks hinted at some scenes that one would find, perhaps, in Rarity's romance novels. The relief of the fact that their friends accepted them, along with their relationship, was almost incredible, compared to the fears they lived and hid along the way. In any case, it has proven a good starting point for Rainbow.

Applejack knew that her marefriend will struggle more than just a bit with the idea of other ponies knowing about them. Sure, it wasn't easy for the earth pony either, but when she did feel scared or uncertain, she would turn her attention towards Rainbow, looking for comfort and reassurance. Most of the time, she would find those feelings in her eyes, but not always. After all, no relationship can be perfect.

As they were passing by Canterlot, the ponies went silent along with the night that surrounded them. Twilight's thoughts were with her mentor, hoping that she had managed to find a healing spell of some sort. She wanted to help, but the mare thought that she would be more useful to Celestia if she would keep Ponyville safe. Or, at least, try to.

"Are you girls scared too?" Fluttershy whispered.

The ponies looked at each other. "Well, Ah know Ah am, ain't no point in hidin' it."

"The alicorn is powerful, but we shouldn't be afraid of it," said Rarity. "To borrow a phrase from Applejack, we are not half bad ourselves."

"I think this big ol' meanie won't know what hit it!" added Pinkie. "Right, Twilight?"
The unicorn remained silent.

"Twi," said Rainbow, lightly touching the mare, interrupting her thoughts, "Ophil said that you knew who the alicorn is."

The unicorn shook her head slowly. "I do suspect somepony, but that would be impossible… unless she used a variation on a spell that I once casted too."

The ponies perked their ears and turned towards Twilight.

"You mean you did know all along?" asked Rarity.

"No… I only began suspecting it when Ophil threw those riddles at us. It suddenly made sense. It was like he was answering questions that I never asked out loud."

"And? Who is it?"

"Well, you might think I'm nuts for saying this but I think that the alicorn is actually—"
SWOOSH! The carriage was lifted high into the air all of a sudden. The ponies screamed as they heard the guards shouting as well. The world started spinning around them, they lost their sense of direction as they kept rolling into a mess of hooves and yells. Then everything stopped.

Looking outside the window, Twilight could see that they were engulfed in a light-violet magical aura and hanging several tens of hooves above the ground. A familiar ambiguous voice could be heard, echoing through the night.

"What do we have here? Twilight Sparkle and her friends?" the alicorn asked, flapping its wings. The mask it was wearing gave out an eerie look that made it look even scarier than before. "How nice of you to come back from your little trip. Heading to Ponyville, are we? Well... allow me to give you a LIFT!" it shouted, as it threw the carriage with all its might towards the town.

Twilight felt her heart jump in her throat as the carriage spun out of control in midair. The mares were screaming. She didn't dare open her eyes, but she took a deep breath and shouted as best as she could: "Rarity!! Focus on the carriage!! Levitation, NOW!!!"

The white unicorn heard her and, more out of pure instinct than comprehension, she engulfed the carriage in her blue magic. To her surprise, they actually started hovering. Picking herself up, she looked towards her friends and noticed their terrified faces, all of them were scared including Twilight, who was also doing her best to support the carriage's weight, her horn glowing bright enough to make the unicorn avert her eyes.

"Rarity," the mare yelled, choking. Were those tears? "Rarity, we need to open the doors, to see where we are guiding the carriage!"

With a nod, the other unicorn did so. As she opened the door on her side, she could clearly see that they were close to the town's center, merely inches away from a house. She looked at the guards who were panting and gasping out of pure fear, despite the fact that they were now safe under the unicorns' magic.

Rarity could hear Twilight opening her own door and, gently, the two of them managed to place the carriage on the ground. They all exited as the guards got out of their harnesses and moved away from the vehicle as if it was possessed.

"Are you alright, sugarcube?"

"Y-yes" replied Dash, visibly shaking. The others were too. "Are you?"

"Ah'm fine," said Applejack, unknowingly squeezing painfully hard her marefriend's hoof in her own.

Fluttershy had tears running down her face yet she was probably still in shock, despite Pinkie's efforts to comfort her. Before anypony could say anything, THUD! the alicorn landed close to the group, making them jump. It was wearing a full body, dark indigo costume. Nopony could make out the color of its coat or its mane.

"Oops, clumsy me," it said, with a cold voice.

"Get ready, girls," said Twilight, rubbing the tears out of her eyes, "this is it."

Out of nowhere, she found herself engulfed in the alicorn's magic. "Oh, no no no, Twilight Sparkle. I couldn't let you fight me like that. You'll just have to step aside and watch me as I break your friends one by one… and I don't mean that in a physical sense." It floated Twilight somewhere to its right and started closing in on the rest of the group.

For a moment, the lavender mare could not ignore the looks of determination that her friends had on their faces. Even Fluttershy tried to hide the fact that she was crying and took a standing pose, being ready to do anything that she could to defend her friends.

I have to distract the alicorn! I have to do something, thought Twilight. As if triggered by a lost memory, she remembered Ophil's words. She remembered about the fears that everypony had and that she shouldn't label ponies. They were all alike, unique, just like this alicorn. This alicorn was a pony too, with fears… and a mask. It hid behind a mask. It placed a mask between it and the world.

It fears itself.

She had one shot at this. If she was wrong, the alicorn would just laugh at her stupidity and attack her friends instantly. She couldn't afford giving it a second thought.

"Nice wings! Too bad they're FAKE!" she shouted.

The alicorn froze. It turned its head towards Celestia's student but didn't say a word.

"I made a similar spell once, not a-as powerful as yours though," the unicorn continued, her voice trembling and her hooves shaking. "Th-then again, I did that to help m-my friends, not to scare ponies away… or to impress them with a mask."

The alicorn stood still, listening.

"You never really gave up on that mask, did you? You just changed it to something physical, an actual mask. How ironic, since I actually once thought you were more than that… but now you've proven me wrong."

She closed her eyes, trying to focus and hoping that she was right. She could hear the alicorn's hoofsteps and knew it was approaching her. With one last breath, she opened her eyes and said without hesitating for a second more:

"Looking at you like this, I can finally see your way of seeing things. I understand. That mask that you are wearing…

…it couldn't suit you more, Trixie."

-End of Chapter 9-