//------------------------------// // The Dream // Story: Buck Off // by TheOneBehindYou //------------------------------// Rustling was heard as the bed creaked with each flip of an orange hoof across the covers. Luna's moon emphasizing just what time it was; AJ could only hope that this uncomfortable hotness would soon end. One hoof out of the bed. One hoof in the bed. One hoof out. And you shake it all about! She almost chuckled at that little joke but instead it made a certain face pop up, a very stupid, smart nosed, donkey -or was it pony- face. The scowl stayed in place upon her features. Heck, if she didn't know any better, she'd assume this was a fever, which she prayed to Celestia it wasn't because the last thing she needed was a kick in the rump from good ol' karma. Yet despite her best efforts, there was just no way to get comfortable in this one blanket. So with a huff, she decided it best to get out for a glass of water. Rumble. And maybe get some food too she guessed. Grabbing the covers with her teeth and giving a good ol' yank, she then placed her hind legs down first before placing all four hooves on the hard wood floor, giving a calm pace towards the door. With a quick -but quiet- trudge down the stairs, she soon found the kitchen around the corner. The earthy smell of Granny Smith's special soup still lingering in the air. Heh, she loved that smell, it always brought a smile across her face. It smelled almost as if it was made just a few minutes ago, even though it was hours. "Now that's what I should have, some good ol' soup. That'll have me feelin' better in no time." ...Right? ___ It was quiet as she stared down at the soup she prepared, not even the jingle of silverware against the bowl could stir the young cowgirl awake from her thoughts and worries. Even the taste of the soup seemed bland against her rather dry lips. She just couldn't understand it! Why of all ponies in Equestria, did Discord fancy her? HER? There were plenty of ponies who had other attributes that were better then, well, good ol' farm buckin'. Besides, didn't he fancy magic and stuff? You'd think an Earth pony would be the last choice he'd go for. Heck, even Celestia probably had a thing for him in the pa- "AJ?" HOLY HORSE APPLES! She shouldn't have hid the way she did, cowering under the table as if she was caught doing the naughty. Then again, with how she felt for that -actually didn't feel for that- thing, she might as well have been doing it. ...Why did she feel hot again? Yet in the dark, was only a soft red glow of fur and light orange mane to match. Clearly Big Mac found her and caught her on the scene. Oh thank Celestia, no mismatched red eyes in sight. Heh, if she didn't know any better, she'd say she was plain obsessed with that Draconequus. "Oh, Big Mac, I didn't think you'd be awake." "...Neither did I." A light and awkward giggle reverberated the walls almost eerily as Big Mac began staring at her. She didn't really know what to do as his eyebrow raised the next, curious of what she was doing. He obviously didn't see what was so funny about the situation and it wasn't until it dawned on her, that he meant he didn't expect her up either. So with an awkward swallow of the remaining soup and saliva in her throat, she picked up her still quite full bowl of soup and placed it in the sink. "W-Well I'm stuffed, I best be going to bed." Her brother wasn't believing it, almost as if he silently knew something was up, she hoped he wasn't going to stop her, right? Yet he must have known once AJ had her mind set on something, there was no point in arguing so he just let out a simple: "Eeyup." And allowed her to leave in peace. Hooves charging up the stairs faster then a filly needing the bathroom, she locked the door to her room and immediately crawled back into bed, sighing at another encounter avoided. Sometimes it was good to be stubborn. Although, looking around the room, she sighed. She had gone and trapped herself now, still hungry and thirsty. Well maybe if you'd actually just tell the truth and accept your feelings- No! She was telling the truth! She didn't like that abomination, how could she? He was terrible! How could her friends be ok with him when she knew he had to be up to something!? He wasn't innocent! He was going to strike them when their backs would be turned. They'd see! ... However she knew just thinking about it wouldn't bring any of this to closure. So. Guess it was time to try and go back to sleep again. Yet the time of two-am wasn't exactly sitting well with her. She had a feeling she was going to have to drink some of Granny's secret waking medicine in the morning, ah well, wasn't the first time she drank the stuff. Here was to hoping for a goodnight's rest. Rumble. ____ Somehow sleep did finally pick up to the orange mare and she was soon feeling the bliss of complete relaxation as her dreams took over. She felt like she was floating on air until she literally opened her eyes and found herself doing as such, with a few bubbles floating around her with memories of her past. As odd as it all was, she could only smile as the first time she raced Rainbow Dash passed through her eyes in one bubble or hearing the happy, chirping sound of Pinkie Pie celebrating her birthday the next. It was all serene and quiet but for the happy memories passing idly by. "...Excuse me but I don't think I asked for your opinion. Celestia" Strange. The cowgirl's ear twitched as she furrowed her brows at the familiar voice. Yet it was too far away a bubble for her to completely decipher. There was no need to go closer however as another one came from somewhere she couldn't see until she turned her head. The voice grew louder. "Hello? Is this thing on? Testing, one two three." Ok, now she knew something was off. She tried to move her legs to somehow swim through the invisible matter keeping her floating but she was stuck in place. Uh oh. A dream she couldn't control meant... No, there was a way out of this, she was sure of it. "Oh I've forgotten how grim you can be Celestia, its really quite boring" That sounded way too close for comfort. It almost sounded like he was right there in front of her again, waiting for her to turn her head just to see his maniacal, sadistic grinning- "Yes, I know, I can be rather terrifying..." A purr echoed the room now. Now AJ was getting scared. This was becoming less like a dream and more like a nightmare. Even the kind memories of her friends were becoming slowly red bubbles, popping as if they weren't even important. Yet she was more confused, did that voice somehow- "I'm coming to get you~" Oh Celestia help... She needed to get away! She neede- Yet before she could even turn around in the jelly matter that kept her imprisoned in her once nostalgic land, she was now facing the scariest face in all of Equestria. A cruel, maniacal Discord, grinning and ready to devour her. "AJ~" It sang a horrible tune, mimicking her, she tried to respond justly with a strong and prideful face but she knew it was pointless, she was too deep in shock. Was this really how she was going to die? In shock from a dream? No, that's silly, you can't die in dreams. But if this was a dream, why didn't she wake up yet? "When all the truth does is make your heart ache..." "No please... s-stop." She found her voice finally, croaking it out but it did no good. "Sometimes a l-" WHAM With a loud pop, the cruel Discord of nightmares was gone to soon replace it with... . . . Wait, what, just happened? Suddenly, she was encased in some kind of smoke and as she was choking it out of her lungs. A distant figure off in the distance was on a -somehow- invisible road and pulled off a helmet from his head as he got off a... Whatever that three wheeled contraption was. Wait, wasn't that? "Woo! Boy let me tell you, you are one hard head to cut through!" Discord stated matter-factly, cleaning his ear with a talon as he approached her in a flash. She couldn't tell if she was happy or angry to see him. Considering what she just faced, she was aiming for pissed. "W-What in tarna- Discord!? What are you doing in my dream!?" She demanded. Giving a blank stare however, the mischievous spirit just waved it off with a response of: "Oh well, you know, just being a crazy lovable fanboy obsessing over his prey while taking pictures of you asleep at night while I make a cult about your hobbies and how amazing you are." ". . ." She was speechless. Yet Discord could only keep up the facade so long until crying of laughter, making the orange mare more then flustered. She was about to kick his teeth in. Seeing as her face stayed sour, Discord's laughter soon caught note and stopped the act, returning back to normal as if nothing happened. "Actually to be truthful, you have chaos demons." Wait, what? Chaos demons? Now she knew he was playing with her. Yet the discerning look was pushed away as he uttered. "No no no! I mean it! Honest! You see." Suddenly a desk appeared underneath AJ, causing her to scream as she was stuck in place by the troubling cell of education. A college professor outfit soon befitting Discord as he plopped a giant board of confusing diagrams that didn't make a lick of sense. Yet he continued anyways; slamming some sort of stick at the board like it would make her pay attention more. "This small horse, er, pony is your brain and this handsome, delicious guy right here is the all-powerful-amazingly-perfect-more-then-sunbutt Discord. When I make a pony the opposite of themselves, they become slightly traumatized." Another diagram or two picked up speed and AJ's mind was more then just getting a headache. "So sometimes when ponies get changed to normal~. They either suffer from three different outcomes. One, they go in denial for a few weeks that happened and pass it off as completely not true, returning to their boring peaceful lives with small hiccups here and there. Or they actually move on, which is very very rare. Two, They cry endlessly to their mommies about how mean I am and stay that way for eternity, never actually returning to normal OR... My personal favorite, Number three, you become completely infatuated by me because of a terrible plot twist by a terrible fanfiction author. "What..." How. What. Who? "What?" He smiled. "Oh sorry~ My mistake~" He then threw the board like a piece of paper and placed the real diagram down. "Or Number three, your mind becomes quarreled by both one and two, so I guess you could say, you're both cured and completely broken." "W-Wait, so you're saying I'm still under your spell?" She swore a migraine was coming on. "Hmm, in a small matter of terms. Yes." He then transformed into a Jedi and gave the most serious face he could muster. "You have learned well young skywalker." "..." The face the cowgirl mare was making, must have been rather hilarious. Either that or he was laughing at himself again. She didn't have time for this, she didn't need any of it. She was completely fine and was not under his ridiculous spell. "Sure you're not." Her hooves landed on the floor as she stopped dumbstruck by his response. Did he ju- "Read your mind? Trust me, that's not all I can do schmoopy doopy bear~" He teased now, scratching underneath her chin with a clearly distended lion claw. Applejack was more then just a little disgusted and pulled away with a growl. "Well you can fix it right!?" If she ignored his antics, maybe he'd work faster after all. "Hmmm. Now why should I do that~?" His tone mocking, playful. Ugh, she didn't have time for this. Why couldn't she just wake up in her nice warm bed and get ready for work like she did every morn- "Except when you played hooky." Discord butted in yet again, causing the orange mare to literally groan out loud in aggravation, hooves covering her head in defeat or just trying to poorly drown out his voice. "Ah yes, denial, a sure sign you're still under my spell~ By the way, are those red bubbles of me whispering the best you can do? I've seen scarier dreams in a gardener's head." "WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!" The yell quaked the very dream itself and that got the abomination's attention real quick. She swore he even looked a bit serious for just a split second but then soon recovered with an ever witty response. "Because this is my job 'dear'." He sneered as he floated above her, twirling a piece of her blonde hair in his talons, looking deep in thought. She was pretty sure she froze once he touched it -let alone her for that matter- and the blush was becoming more and more present by the minute. "This is what Celestia hired me to do first before anything else. To basically 'fix up' the mess I made." He landed next to her, using her rump as a way to lean himself, not even minding the rude intrusion. "Honestly I feel like you all deserve this" She knew it. Her eyes hardened up at him with a cold glare now. "...But because I enjoy my new stature and fun little companions to keep-" She blinked. "...I guess I have no real choice~" He now did a head-stand and just smiled. "So, to start the recovery, we shall begin with the first stage: Denial." "Denial?" She repeated, yet the creature of mis-matched animal parts just grinned all the wider at her. Seeing that smile, she couldn't help but feel like she just got stuck in a mouse trap.