Part 1
Chapter 5 – The Dreaming

“Oh, this is just perfect,” Applejack grumbles. It's not enough to be stuck doing some fancy shmancy froufrou work for a living, but she now has the added burden of caring for and carrying a comatose unicorn to bed and WHERE IS RARITY'S BED IN THIS GOSH-FORSAKEN MAZE!? Twice already she has bumped Twilight's head into a wall or door, and the second time might not have been entirely on accident.

“Where where where—ah! Finally!” She plops Twilight down onto the bed, wraps the blanket around her, and, for lack of a better thing to do, she waits. In her waiting, she manages to rustle up some tea from Rarity’s kitchen for when Twilight awakens, as well as some biscuits and treats. Then it’s back to dress-making, which feels like such a chore today. What did Twilight say? Something about cutie marks and switching jobs? Switching jobs sounds like a horrible idea. If everypony in Ponyville switched their jobs for other ponies’ jobs, the entire world would probably fall into chaos, to say nothing of the town.

Oh, well. Applejack is sure if it’s important, Twilight will tell her again when she wakes up.

More importantly, where in blazes is Applebloom? she wonders as she runs chalk across a silk sheet. That filly better not be hanging out with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in this weather. Speaking of which, what are the weather teams thinking? She can hear the wind knocking against the carousel like a wolf huffing and puffing, when Dash very specifically told her that it would be lots of sunshine today. She was supposed to get in an entire day’s worth of apple-bucking, for cryin’ out loud!

Apple-bucking...

The chalk suddenly drops from her hoof, as do the needles pursed between her lips. Cutie marks, jobs switching, the weather going bonkers, and her not bucking apples – everything quickly clicks.

“Twilight!” She races through the boutique, around turns that would have been nothing to Rarity but which confound her for what she now knows is a good reason, until finally bursting through to Rarity’s bedroom, where Twilight—

“What in tarnation!?” A piercing white light emanates from the bed, so bright that Twilight can no longer be made out at its epicenter. Applejack shields her eyes from it even as she stumbles toward the bed. She has no idea what is happening to Twilight, but she’ll be darned if she lets her friend face it alone.

As she gets closer, she begins to make out Twilight faintly. The light is so bright, even this close to Twilight—but no, it is more than just that. Applejack can see THROUGH Twilight, see the bedding and the pillows beneath her sleeping form. Whatever that light is, it is taking Twilight away. “Like hay you do!” she yells at it, as if that will do any good, and grabs a hold of Twilight’s foreleg. For a moment, she expects her hoof to pass right through Twilight, but the unicorn’s body feels as solid and real as it ever did before.

Applejack has but a moment to appreciate this small comfort before the light explodes into white and sound, and when it disappears from the room, both ponies are gone.

-_-_-_-

“Applejack?” She feels something nudge her shoulder. Her tired, waking eyes make out a purple hoof, attached to a purple leg, to a purple body and purple hair and purple...

“Twilight?” Applejack whispers as she shakes herself awake. “Where are we? Last I remember, we were in Rarity’s shop...”

“You are in the Dreaming,” answers a familiar voice from behind Twilight. A midnight-colored coat and hair twinkling with starlight...“I apologize if the trip startled you, Applejack. I needed to speak with Twilight Sparkle, and this was the only way I could do so. I did not know you would be joining us. Things have been in chaos at Canterlot, as I’m sure they must be in Ponyville.”

“What’s going on, Princess? Are you an’ Princess Celestia alright?”

“We’re fine, Applejack. Thank you. I was just talking to Twilight here about what’s been going on.”

“Do you remember what I told you, AJ? About the cutie marks?”

Applejack concentrates. There’s surely something in her mind about cutie marks, jobs, and... and apple-bucking, of all things. She knows it was important at one time, but like a stick of butter, it keeps slipping out of her grasp. “I reckon you must’ve said sumthin’, Twi, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was.”

“Everypony I ran into this morning said the same thing. Whatever switched our cutie marks around must also be affecting our memories.”

“Switched our cutie marks? Who coulda done such a thing?” Then, a silent spell later, “How come you ain’t affected, Twilight?”

Twilight blinks. “Come again?”

“Seems like only you and the Princesses are having no problem remembering what all our cutie marks should be as opposed to what they are.”

“It took my sister and I considerable amounts of magic to overcome the effects of this affliction. Perhaps Twilight did the same?” This Luna says with a questioning glance Twilight’s way.

Twilight shakes her head. “No... No, I woke up this morning and my cutie mark was switched around just like everypony else’s, but...” She takes in a breath and sighs it out. “...but since my special talent IS magic, I guess once my cutie mark disappeared, so did my magic. So even if I knew how, I couldn’t have reversed whatever happened to my cutie mark like you did.”

Applejack notices the way Twilight rubs one hoof with the other, how her voice hitches ever so slightly, and steps closer to place a steadying hoof on her neck. Twilight smiles gratefully.

Luna frowns. “That should not be. Other unicorns can still use magic. Your magic might be weakened, but there’s no reason it should be gone entirely. Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. I couldn’t even brush my mane this morning. At the time I thought I was just tired, but—Actually...”

“Twi?”

“What happened in your dream, Twilight?”

Applejack and Twilight both turn to the princess, the former with curiosity and the latter with shock.

“How did you know I had a—”

“I am princess of the night, and we are in the Dreaming.”

“Oh, right. I... wait... no.” Twilight furrows her brow and taps silently with a back hoof as she thinks. Applejack backs away, trying not to let her growing nerves show; she knows Twilight works best with some space, but the purple unicorn’s habit of thinking to herself for extended periods of time never fails to instill a great deal of anxiety in Applejack.

After what feels like eons, Twilight finally, hesitantly ventures, “I... had a dream about the sky. I was in the town square, watching it change from night to day and back again.” As she speaks, strange forms take shape in the darkness of the Dreaming: looming silhouettes on all sides that coalesce into the buildings of Ponyville. Above them, stars blink into existence, and the sheer black bleeds into shades of purple and blue.

Twilight walks through the sleeping town with her eyes closed in concentration. Applejack and Luna follow. When they reach the town center, they come upon Twilight, sitting and watching the world change from night to day and back again.

“Is this it?” Luna asks. Applejack watches the dream Twilight's shadow as it dances back and forth like something alive.

“Yes—no—Yes. Yes, that's all,” Twilight resolves, the dreamworld around them flickering back and forth between the Ponyville exterior and Golden Oak Library. “I remember because afterward, I woke up and received that book from Princess Celes—no no no. That didn't... Did it?”

The Dreaming spasms: Ponyville homes rise from bookshelves; some windows reveal the swirling sky outside, others peer into the bedrooms of sleeping ponies; a draft bends the candlelight sideways, casting a shadow of the town well against the walls. “Twi? You okay, hun?” Applejack comforts Twilight again, and eases away some of the minute vibrations. (She notices out of the corner of her eye that something is off about Twilight's cutie mark, but dismisses it as quickly as she sees it.)

“Neither my sister nor I sent you any book, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna remarks warily. “What happened next?” When Twilight does not answer, the princess sternly stamps at the ground. “Twilight, look at me.” Twilight does as told, her eyes wide and more frightened than anything Applejack has ever seen. She doesn't seem to notice the Dreaming, even as it shifts so that they now stand on the stairs of Twilight's library. A door knock sounds from downstairs.

“What happened next?” Luna demands.

“The book had instructions in it for a spell, and the letter told me I had to complete it, so I... I...”

Downstairs, Twilight flips randomly through the book. “From one to another, another to one—”

“Stop it!” Twilight screams, finally tearing her eyes from Luna's to rush at the doppleganger down below. The dream world crumbles into dust, leaving her thrashing at a harmless cloud of smoke. When she has finished, she drops to her knees and breaks into sobs.

“You cast the spell,” Luna says.

“It was just a dream!” Twilight responds, as if Luna has accused her of something. She snaps around to confront them, only to immediately shrink away. “It was just a dream,” she repeats insistently. “It was... It was just... It was just a dream.

“This is all my fault.”

“Princess Luna, what's Twilight mean, this is her fault? What happened?”

Luna, her eyes trained on Twilight, mumbles a quiet non-answer: “The Dreaming exists between all things, and all things visit the Dreaming.” Her brow furrows as a distasteful thought presents itself. “A dream inside a dream, and inside that dream a spell. A spell to change the waking world—no. A spell to change Destiny itself. And the walls of the Dreaming are thin; sometimes things bleed through...”

There's a reason Applejack was born an earth pony and not a unicorn; all this talk of dreaming and spells and destiny may as well be gibberish for all she can wrap her brain around it. It's never simple with these magical types, is it? Always incantation this or ancient prophecy that. Or maybe Luna and Twilight are just two peas in a pod.

She listens without listening for a bit longer, until a sound in the emptiness other than their combined breathing catches her ear. It almost sounds like... whispering?

“Twilight?” she says to the unicorn curled into a ball at her hooves.

“It smells,” Twilight says again, more loudly this time. “It didn't smell just a moment ago. Did it?”

Luna takes a sniff of the dream air and frowns. “No, it did not,” she confirms. Something in her voice causes Applejack's ears to snap forward. She sucks in a deep breath as well, but to her the air is as lifeless as when they arrived. Still, she knows better than to doubt her two magically-attuned ponies. Incantations and ancient prophecies and all.

Luna glances around agitatedly. Her horn brims with magic. “Stand up, Twilight Sparkle.” Her voice is strong, commanding, and laced with fear. “The walls of the Dreaming are thin...”

“...and sometimes things bleed through,” Twilight finishes as she stands with assistance from Applejack. “What is it, Princess Luna?”

“I don't know. But bringing you here was a mistake. Come, let us—”

Ponyville bursts into existence once again and makes them all jump. Twilight leans more heavily on Applejack, who holds her more tightly in return. The moon takes shape in the sky to their right, then the sun to their left. Something sounds in the distance, at the edge of hearing.

“Are you doing this, Twilight?” Luna asks.

“This is my dream again,” Twilight says, “but I didn't do this. Or at least I don't think—Do you hear that? It sounds like laughter.”

“I do.”

“Yeah, me too. I really wish I couldn't.”

Just then, a burst of light signals another pony's entrance to the Dreaming. Applejack and Luna immediately take positions to shield Twilight, but they soon lower their guard.

“I'm glad I made it in time,” Princess Celestia exclaims as she trots to them. “Are you all alright?”

“We're fine, sister. What are you doing here? How go things at Canterlot?”

Celestia shakes her head to the questions. “Luna, you must take Twilight and Applejack away from here. They are in grave danger.”

Twilight steps forward. “Princess Celestia, about the cutie marks... Last night, I—”

“I know, Twilight.”

Twilight blinks. Luna has a similar look of surprise. Applejack has been confused for a while now. “You do?” Twilight asks.

“Yes. And I'm afraid the fault is all mine.”

“Sister?”

Celestia takes a moment to think. Applejack sees the impossible speed with which thoughts streak through her eyes; a thousand thousand thoughts in an instant, like seeing eternity in every blink.

“Take this.” She pulls a rough, stony black key seemingly from the very fabric of the Dreaming and hands it to Twilight, who takes it hesitantly. “Do you remember the palace's northernmost garden?”

Twilight nods.

“At the base of the old poplar tree is a locked door. Open it with this key, and read everything inside. Can I trust you to do this?”

Twilight nods.

“Good. Now go.” With a flick of her head, the princess wills three portals into existence, then ushers her ponies to them.

Applejack is more than ready to leave. She is an earth pony, and she needs to feel the grass beneath her feet. This world of spooky shadows and tasteless air was never designed for ponies such as her.

Her fur coat bristles at the constant, drumming undertone of manic laughter. She can hear it everywhere, can feel it deep in her bones like a parasite writhing through the core of an apple. When she was younger, she took care of one of Winona's siblings, a beautiful but premature pup named Brandy, as it slowly withered away. Despite her and Big Mac's attentive care, Brandy died two nights after being born. She remembers the desperation that gripped her as Brandy went colder and colder to the touch. She remembers the inevitability.

That's what she feels right now, pressing in on her as she waits anxiously for the three most powerful ponies in all of Equestria.

Inevitability.

-_-_-_-

“Won't you at least tell us who or what is behind all this?” Twilight demands as she steps gingerly toward the portal, dark key in hoof. She clenches her nostrils against the increasing stench in the air. The laughter has grown louder, too; she remembers now how in her dream it seemed to rise up from everywhere at once. Old, and powerful, and wild. She tries not to think about what happened after that, or what will happen now.

“Someone old, very old,” Princess Celestia explains quickly as she rushes them to the portal. “A nemesis of ours from when I was still a unicorn.”

“You were once a unicorn?” Twilight asks, a million other questions forming in her head before the words leave her lips.

Princess Celestia smiles a small smile.

“Were you a unicorn once, too, Luna?”

Luna does not smile. She only peers at her sister with questioning eyes.

“Now, Twilight.” Something in the princess's voice makes her instantly jump to attention. Not that she isn't normally attentive, but her attention this time has nothing to do with learning more about magic. There is love in that voice, but also something more, something that makes her heart seize with panic and sorrow.

“You know what happens at the end of this dream. You've seen it before. You know how powerful she is.” (And how old, and how wild.) “And you know that she wants you, and only you. You know you have to leave.”

And as each sentence leaves her mouth, they become true. Twilight makes a half-hearted protest, because she also knows what else is in Celestia's voice now, but the princess shoos her into the portal with a kind smile upon her face, and Applejack pushes her through, and the white overtakes her, and she wakes up.

-_-_-_-

In the dark, Luna looks upon Celestia and sees the machinations of a cruel and unfair world. Far off in the distance, where the Dreaming ends and a darker, emptier world begins, she can see a star flickering dimly. The stench wafting from that border brings with it the memory of a thousand years of isolation and resentment, all unleashed in one terrific night of vengeance. The starlight in the distance calls to her, beckons for her return.

“So many things to say, so little time,” Celestia whispers, touching her forehead to Luna's the way she did so many eons ago, when they were younger and more naïve. They are older now, and not so naïve, and the heaviness of an inexorable fate weighs heavily on their shoulders. She says nothing, just memorizes the look and feel of her older sister's face.

Celestia's horn glows palely, drawing Luna's own power to the surface against her will. “Sister, what are you—”

The magic washes over her like silk being dragged across her soul; she feels a snap as something unlocks deep inside. Then another, and another, and suddenly the ghost of an image flickers behind her eye:

She and Celestia sit with four others in a loose circle, a small smile on her face and open laughter on her sister's. She toys idly at the Element of Harmony on her neck; it feels new and awkward.

Then another:

She watches from a cloud as Chrysalis tries to teach Celestia how to fly. Her sister follows the changeling into an updraft, and as the two trace an arc across the face of the sun, she marvels at how gossamer fairy wings can scatter the sunlight into so many colors.

And another:

She stares up into her sister's sad eyes, and at the night sky above her. Celestia looks so beautiful with the crown on her head; it turns the light just so. Something churns inside her like a writhing pestilence, and when she breathes she smells something sour and tangy. She must endure it; she must be brave. It is only a thousand years, she tells herself, and nods. She's ready.

Luna nearly stumbles as the visions flicker about, but her sister catches her and holds on tightly as thousands of years of a forgotten life settles into her mind.

“You're alright, Luna,” Celestia says before letting go. “I imagine the next few days will be very trying for you, Twilight, and all of Equestria. You'll all turn out fine, though. You are all far more resilient than you can possibly imagine.”

Luna wants to tell her differently, that they won't be able to survive the change to come without her, but the jumble of images in her head tell her Celestia is right, even if she can't work out why just yet.

She leaves her sister's side for the final time and steps into the portal. The warm light of the sun pools around her, and then the Dreaming gives way to white.

-_-_-_-

When she steps out into the Ponyville evening, Luna has tears in her eyes. She should have said something, there at the end. So many things to say, indeed. One would think that she of all ponies could fully appreciate the pain of losing words to time and no longer let them go unspoken.

No lingering, she tells herself as she sucks in a breath of cold, frosty Ponyville air. What's past is past. Now. Come back to now.

The weather has shifted to winter in this part of town: the streets are deserted, and many of the houses seem to have been abandoned for warmer neighborhoods. In the snow, not far away, two fresh sets of hoof prints lead to Rarity's boutique across the way.

She breathes another lungful of air, deeper and more calmly this time, until Ponyville and reality fills her entire body, then breathes out, and all her unspoken words echo out into the world. The staleness of the Dreaming, the laughter, and her sister's final farewell, all of it gets flushed away.

Luna follows the hoof prints through the snow.

-_-_-_-

Part 1, Chapter 5 END

Author's Note

Well, Season 4 came and passed. What a spectacularly dull ending for that one, too. Seems I'll have to pick up the pace if I'm to catch up. Here's hoping. And as always, thanks very much for any comments and criticism!