Fluttershy rushed through the streets as fast as she could. As soon as she heard from the police that he was in jail she knew whatever happened was bad. "Oh no, oh no, oh no," she panted as she pushed her wings to carry her to the police station. Everything was a blur, the familiar signs and faces she knew rushed by without her even noticing them all stare back with confusing glances. A few coughed at the dust that rolled up from her speed. In the distance she saw it, the police station.
A gruff looking dark pinto earth stallion stood waiting at the entrance. His much younger, and lighter, unicorn partner stood by him. The young one seemed to be in a state of shock as he kept nervously looking up at his horn as if to make sure it was still there. "He's inside," called out the older one, "he was a little trouble at first, but uh- I think he might 'ave calmed down. By now at least, hopefully." He wasn't so sure about his words.
"Thank you officer," Fluttershy almost forgot to be polite. She was still in such a rush that she was quick to say her thanks and continued through the door.
"Wait!" The officer's voice halted her, his partner still checking his own horn in the background. "You should 'ave seen him. Well, maybe you wouldn't have liked it, but you should have seen it. That p-" he corrected himself, "no, th-that thing, he's quite the fighter." He coughed. A nostalgic but cold chuckle fell from his throat. "Ain't seen anypony fight like that before. Then again, he ain't, well you know..." He stopped, realizing his own ramblings, then he gestured for Fluttershy to move on. His partner still kept checking his own horn, though it was still there.
Fluttershy carefully walked up to the front desk where a hefty unicorn mare in glasses continued to write endlessly and, so it seemed, aimlessly. The pen that was brought to life by the mare's blue aura suddenly died and fell to the paper riddled surface of the desk. "Miss Fluttershy?" The mare stared down at Fluttershy.
Looking up at the mare, Fluttershy fumbled to get her words right, "Um yes, that's me. Do you know where-"
"Down that hall and to the left," cutting off Fluttershy, the mare pointed to her right which was Fluttershy's left. "They've been waiting for you to," she chose her words carefully, "deal with it."
Fluttershy gave the mare a cold stare, "He has a name." Turning down the hallway she tried to forget that little residual anger her mind pushed at the mare at the desk. It wasn't her fault, she remembered, she just doesn't understand what he is. "Or what he's going through," she added in a hushed whisper.
As she continued down the hallway, she noticed a secretary cleaning up a broken picture frame. Fluttershy almost missed the rest of the pictures on the wall. Most were of local officers through the decades. With each step down the hall, the pictures changed from black and white to color while the frames changed from wood to plastic. In the corner of her eye she could have sworn there was blood on the broken glass the secretary was cleaning up. The left turn came.
Fluttershy saw the door to the holding cells, but it was blocked by two figures. An ginger colored officer was preventing the other from passing into the cell room. "I'm sorry but only Miss Fluttershy was authorized to access this area."
"This is outrageous!" This other fellow was a lanky grey pegasus. His lab coat read as scientist while his tightly knotted necktie and crisp shirt spoke wealth. He was an idiot and he was rich. "She's not even a doctor! I'm an actual professional!" He was a rich idiot.
"What seems to be the problem?" Fluttershy asked in a demanding way, she was concerned with getting to where she needed to go. Her assertive side began to come out.
"I'm sorry miss, but this," the officer looked the pegasus up and down, "pencil neck, is trying to gain unauthorized access."
"Excuse me?" The grey pegasus gasped in ridiculous astoundment. "I'm am from Canterlot!" The officer laughed at his statement. "And! I am more qualified to deal with this situation than that veterinarian! I'll have you know, I'm famous for my work."
"Never heard of you," the ginger colored officer let out a very annoyed sigh.
"Well you know," Fluttershy began, "my friend Twilight always says that ponies that boast about their position in life are just compensating for a lack of self esteem. Her assistant on the other hoof, just calls them losers." Fluttershy held a stern face as the pegasus tried to maintain his misguided pride. "Officer, check him."
"Yes ma'am." The officer went to work patting him down.
"What are you doing?" The pegasus squirmed like a pathetic worm under the officer's searching hooves.
"I'm giving you one chance, but if I don't like what your true intentions are, you are going to be in big trouble mister." Fluttershy's threat was done by the time the officer had pulled out some wiring and a gold colored pocket watch. "I'm going to try and pretend that I didn't see those shock therapy wires... What's the pocket watch for?"
"For telling the time!" The pegasus tried to defend himself, but a big hole in his lie was in plain sight.
"You already have a watch on your left leg," the officer pointed out.
"It's my grandfather's," the pegasus tried again.
"No it's not," Fluttershy saw straight through his lie this time, "my friend Pinkie Pie bought the exact same watch at a joke shop when she visited Canterlot. It's for hypnotizing! Take him away from here."
"Gladly. Hey Slim!" The officer's call was met by a husky brown unicorn officer. "Get this jerk out of here." With that the pegasus was carried out, by Slim, as he kicked the air and began yelling something about his college degrees. The ginger colored officer turned back to Fluttershy, "I'm so sorry about that miss." Turning around, he unlocked the door to the cell room. "It was actually your name that got him to calm down. As we mentioned you were coming, he stopped fighting us."
"Thank you officer." Fluttershy walked passed him as he tipped his cap and carefully shut the door behind her as she entered.
The cell room was silent, and most of the holding cells were empty as usual, except one. There he was, curled up into a mess of a body next to cot behind the bars. His hair was tangled, his shoes missing, and his shirt was torn. He kept mumbling the same string of words to himself in a hushed voice, "Never give up, never give up, never give up, never-"
"Luke?" Fluttershy stepped passed the two guards she'd barely noticed when she walked in. Her concentration was elsewhere. "Luke, it's me, Fluttershy." She pressed her head against the cold metal bars of the jail cage. Luke had stopped mumbling to himself, but he seemed to refuse the chance of taking a glance at the mare who had been his counselor for the past couple of months.
"I'm sorry," Luke cried into his knees.
"Sorry? Sorry for what-," Fluttershy stopped talking when she noticed something in Luke's hand. "What is that?" She watched as his hand, which had blood dripping from it, release its deathly grasp. From his hand fell a horn that leaked blood and loose marrow. Fluttershy remembered the young officer outside that kept obsessing over the whereabouts of his own horn. "What happened?"
*****
three months earlier...
"Girls, today we make history!" Twilight smiled, mad with glee, as she snapped on a pair of goggles.
Applejack stood back. "Are you sure about this? I usually ain't one to criticize your," a spark in Twilight's contraption startled her, "methods, but this does seem a bit risky."
"Yeah, you don't even know if this thing will work." A loud bang caused Rainbow dash to nearly jump out of her skin.
"It will work! The other Twilight and I have figured it all out. The mirror transforms its travelers on a biological and molecular level to compensate for the magical factor. If anything were to cross over without the change, there could be a temporal disturbance that would have a lasting impact on either worlds' dimensional planes of existence." The machine that Twilight has hooked up to the mirror was larger than the last time. It began grow even louder than before.
"That sounds dangerous!" Rarity was forced to yell over the machine. As the mirror began to spark with magical energy, Fluttershy hid behind Rarity. Pinkie Pie was awestruck by the light show that emanated from the mirror.
"Don't worry! The other Twilight and I figured out how to isolate the magical factor and rebalance the biological and molecular changes so that our traveler can maintain his original biological image." Twilight heard a loud pop, and instinctively replaced a fuse that had blown. "Hopefully!"
The mirror began to swirl with energy, bursts of lightning beams shot out like confetti and made contact with the walls, arching. A white light began to grow as a high pitched tone shook the room and its occupants. The light flooded the whole room until there was nothing to see. There was no other colors but white.
Slowly, the light subsided. The high pitched tone still ringing in their ears, the six friends could barely focus on the body that was collapsed on the floor. Slowly, the stinging tone died down.
"Wow! It actually worked!" Twilight began to jump in place and cheer blindly to herself.
"What is it?" Fluttershy asked stepping a bit closer to the figure.
The body appeared to be dressed in a plastic set of clothes along with a white mask attached by a tube that covered what appeared to be its head. "Is it safe to breathe?" It mumbled through the mask. The six friends jumped back in surprise as it began to stand up.
"The air should be fine," Twilight walked up to the figure and helped it take off the mask, "the balance should have altered your lungs and immune system enough to be compatible with our atmosphere."
The mask popped off with a hiss. The face behind it gasped for air. "Wow, that feels better. The air in that suit was already stale." Smiling, a laugh escaped its lips. "You wouldn't happen to have a tailor on site, would you? I don't really have any other clothes than this hazmat suit."
Twilight looked over to Rarity. "You can make him some clothes can't you?"
"Well of course," Rarity gave a faulty smile, "but, what is it?"
Twilight laughed a bit as she looked at the name tag on the stranger's apparel. "His name is Luke, and he is a human."
"Hi," Luke chuckled nervously.
*****
present time...
Fluttershy was pacing outside in front of the police station. "Fluttershy!" Fluttershy stopped her pacing when she saw Rarity running up to the police station. "I have a new set of clothes for Luke. I hope he's okay with flannel."
"Thank you Rarity. I'm sure he'll be glad to have these." Fluttershy said taking the clothes. Rarity followed her as she headed inside the station.
"So, what happened?" Rarity asked.
"He got into a fight." Fluttershy's words were shaky. "He broke off a unicorn's horn. I don't know much more than that." Neither wanted to speak, but they continued anyway. "I don't understand why it's escalated so badly. He was doing fine."
Rarity shook her head. "Didn't you say yourself that he was getting over his depression?"
"He was, but something else is wrong, I know it. He's worse than before. I'm worried he may never be alright." Fluttershy wiped away the accumulating tears in her eyes. "I haven't lost a friend yet. I'm not sure if I could handle losing-"
"Hey," Rarity put her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine."
*****
the castle of friendship...
"Luna, Discord, thank you for coming to help." Twilight bowed as she greeted the two guests.
"We are happy to help you, but, may I ask what it is that you want our help with," Luna asked. Neither she nor Discord had been informed of what was going on.
Twilight let out a sigh. The air around her felt thick and dry. It was like breathing salt. "Luke is in a bit of trouble."
"The human?" Luna raised her brow asking for confirmation, to which Twilight nodded yes.
Discord's interest had been peaked. "Fluttershy talks volumes about him. I understand she's been playing shrink. Has he gotten any better?" Both Luna and Twilight were somewhat surprised to actually detect a sense of concern in his voice.
"He's struggling right now. He's being held in Ponyville's police station, but I've sent a messenger to have him delivered here." Twilight felt there was more to Discord's concern than the simple involvement of his dear friend Fluttershy. "Why the sudden interest?"
Discord looked back and forth between Twilight and Luna. "Let's just say that I can relate to his, mental struggles. I want to help."
"You're crazy Discord," Luna interjected.
"Not as much as I once was. I'm reformed, remember?" Discord mocked Luna with a twisted smile.
Luna let out a huff. "You're still damaged."
"That maybe so, but sometimes it's the damaged ones that are the wisest," Discord rebuked.
"Says who?" Luna raised a brow.
"I'm not really sure. I heard it somewhere." He tried to remember where he heard that exactly, but he gave up when he decided to figure that out later. There was more important business to deal with now, apparently. "So, miss sparkle butt, how may we be of assistance?"
Twilight smiled, albeit annoyed with Discord's antics, she was glad to see him ready to help. "I need you and Luna to navigate his dreams. Maybe you can find something that might give us a better understanding of what he's going through. Maybe more that he hasn't told us yet."
"You think he's hiding something," Luna asked, "wouldn't he have already spoken all his troubles with Fluttershy?"
"Maybe something he's forgotten," Discord suggested, "or someone."
Just then Applejack rushed in through the doors up to Twilight, Luna, and Discord. She breathed heavily and took in just enough air to say, "Sorry for interrupting."
"Applejack? What is it?" Twilight rushed to her side and helped her stay up so she didn't fall over from a lack of oxygen.
Applejack took a deep breath to allow herself to speak, "my brother, Big Mac, he along with six others saw what happened. It was a changeling!"
"Was he attacked by it," Discord inquired.
"No!" Applejack yelled out as she panted, trying to catch her breath. "It wasn't like that." The three looked at her as if she had lost her mind or something. "Luke was talking to the changeling when a bunch of hooligans came and started harassing them both. Big Mac said they especially were picking on the changeling. Apparently things got physical when they started beating the changeling and then..." Applejack bit her lip.
"What happened?" They all enquired.
"Big Mac said he just snapped. Like an animal he said." Applejack shook her head. "Can you believe it? I mean it was Luke he was talking about! Big Mac even compared him to a timberwolf. He said he beat the pulp out of the earth pony and even broke off the unicorn's horn." A contagious sickness of mixed emotions filled the room and polluted the air. "Even if it was self defense, it comes no short of extreme."
"Hmmm," Discord hummed as he rubbed his chin with his paw. Deep in thought he had a suspicion that ran deeper than his own mischief. "Twilight, while Luna and I search through Luke's dreams, I want you to see if you can locate that changeling Applejack mentioned."
Twilight glanced between Applejack and discord. "You think it can help us?"
"I believe so yes..." Discord said in his usual mischievous manner.
*****
"Geese! Could your legs be any longer?" Discord couldn't stop pointing out the obvious facts about Luna's human disguise for walking through Luke's dreams.
"Excuse me?" Luna looked Discord's disguise up and down. "Why do you look like a balding middle aged man with a goatee?"
"Nevermind that now! We're here to observe aren't we? So... Let's go take notes." Discord took off with Luna chasing after him to make sure he didn't tamper with anything in Luke's mind.
The local school bell rang, releasing the floodgates as students rushed out. The different social groups and various ethnicities flocked together within their singled out tribes of self acceptance. Each had their own rituals whether it be studying, showing off to the opposite gender, or just causing trouble. Out of the whole ecosystem of kids, there was one in particular that was different.
The short little boy walked carefully down the steps of the school. His black sneakers and white socks didn't match the sandy cargo shorts or the green polo shirt he wore. With his nose in a book, he continued to walk. Occasionally pushing his long hair out of his face, not much deterred him from reading.
WHACK
The poor boy was too late to notice the book that was flying straight at his head. By the time he even realized that he had been hit, his face had already made contact with the ground. Off to the side, a bunch of boys were laughing their heads off. "What's the matter Luke? I thought you liked books!" The boys laughed, pointed, and jested about little Luke's misery.
Discord and Luna stood behind a car as they observed the whole incident. "Wow! Not even I'm that cruel." Discord looked at Luna. "Too bad this is a dream, otherwise I would have annihilated those bullies with extreme prejudice."
Luna suddenly covered Discord's mouth. "Look!"
As the boy tried to ignore the pain in his face he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw a pretty little girl about his age holding his book and the book that was thrown at him. "Look on the bright side Luke. It is a new book."
Taking both of the books from her hands, Luke smiled. "You're right. I haven't read this one yet. Thanks." Both Luke and the girl giggled together as they held hands and walked down the sidewalk, away from the school.
"She isn't real." Luna blinked, amazed by what she saw.
"Well duh, we're in Luke's dreams." Discord laughed to himself.
"No, you don't understand!" Luna reprimanded him. "Those bullies for instance, are shadows of real people, but that girl is not. However, I almost could have mistaken her as a real person."
Discord looked out at the two children walking happily into nothing. "Is she a dead friend perhaps?"
"No, she's not even that. She is a dream by herself, but the detail in her character," Luna smiled, "she's like perfection in terms of dreams."
"Oh, I see." Discord knew instantly what she was. "It's his imaginary friend." A nostalgic flood of emotions took a hold of Discord as he compared the scenario to that of his own experience. "I think I know what happens next in this dream."
The world around Luna and Discord suddenly went black.
*****
Fluttershy pulled a blanket over Discord's sleeping body. Smiling at the draconequus, she gave him a peck on the the cheek and headed out the door. To her surprise, Rarity was waiting in the hall for her, grinning. "What?" Fluttershy whispered as she shut the door.
"Does he know?" Rarity continued to grin at her friend.
"No, but I'm fine with that." Fluttershy gave a half hearted laugh. "Besides, I'm too young for him." Both friends began to laugh in familiar comfort that was usually confined to their spa days. "So, has Twilight looked over Luke yet? I didn't get a chance to tend to any injuries he might have had. The guards refused to open his cell and let me treat him."
Rarity sighed. "Twilight says that Luke is fine, and the only injuries were some bruises and some minor cuts on one of his hands. She said it looked like broken glass had sliced it. Know anything about that?"
Fluttershy remembered the fallen picture frame at the police station. "He knocked down a picture frame in the police station. I saw a secretary cleaning it up. But," Fluttershy stared down at the floor, a sad story floated in her mind, "I'm not worried about any physical injuries he sustained. I'm more worried for his mental health. Scars to the mind are never superficial. I remember when he first came to me for help, he was just feeling a bit under the weather since couldn't find a job, and once he did, he got worse. He said he felt like he didn't belong. When I asked the manager at his work, the manager said he was a wonderful hard worker who always smiled. I asked some of the regular customers, and they go on about how wonderful he is to have around helping."
"I don't understand." Rarity was baffled by this. "He doesn't see his own self worth? But, you said those around him find him charming as a person. He must receive compliments."
"The other employees even put on a birthday party for him!" Fluttershy felt the frustration kicking migraines into her temples. "I wish there was an easy answer to all of this, but there isn't."
*****
"Discord what is all this?" Luna flew close to him as they zoomed through a torrent of off and grungy colors that vibrated and fluxed with pulses of electricity. "I've never seen anything like this."
Discord yanked Luna out of the way of a dark cloud that burst from the pulsating colors around them. "Turbulence!" Discord had to shout over the growing noise. "It's dream turbulence! It's kinda new for either of us! You have to remember that he's human. Humans dream differently than ponies. Their minds sometimes tend to reflect an emotional or physical state of being. Right now his mind and body seem to be in chaos!" Discord smiled. "My specialty!"
"Wait did you say his mind and his body?" Luna said as she dodged what looked like a burning carriage made of metal with rubber wheels. "What does that mean?"
"It means, that there's a lot more than just mental health issues at work!" Discord looked between the burning carriage, a leather belt, a blue baseball cap, a shredded painting, a cross, and all the other memories that shot around violently.
"What are you looking for?" Luna gasped as she dodged a rusty pocket knife.
"Help me! I'm looking for a specific emotional attachment!" Discord continued his frantic search.
"What kind of attachment?" Luna flew up to Discord's side looking at books that flew by, tearing themselves apart.
"Guilt! Anger! Confusion! And loss!" Discord nose dived as a brick wall covered in graffiti flew towards him.
They continued through the maze and mystery of the winding colors and stray objects. Each one significant in its own right, was unfathomable to either Discord or Luna. At one point, a ringing sound shattered and defaced dozens of clocks that tumbled to and from random points, without the consistency of any physics at all. The colors began to change. They suddenly became darker, and red dominated the eyesight of Luna and Discord.
"There! I see it!" Luna pointed to a fishing pole that frantically unwound and rewound its fishing line.
"There you are!" Discord smiled with glee.
Luna became frightful as a dark shadow passed by. It vaguely reminded her of the nightmare spirit. "Now what? Can we get out of here?" Luna yelped as something had hooked onto her back.
Discord had hooked her with the fishing pole they apparently had been looking for. "Hold on to your flank! We're going in!"
A white flash sucked the two of them out of the hellish vortex. As the light faded into nothing, something else appeared. There was a grassy meadow. Across it lay a few fallen trees and rocks, but the focus of all attention went to the river that spanned nearly a hundred feet wide with fish all fighting its current to stay close to their momentary homes of comfort. Next to the river, there sat a sort of lawn chair that was a crusty faded green plastic. Leaning against it was a fishing pole. An open tackle box and pair of sneakers sat adjacent to the chair.
"Where's Luke?" Luna looked at herself, she was in her human form. Discord was back in his human form as well, wearing fishing attire.
"He's over there, just watch." Discord let out a single solitary chuckle that was inappropriate, given the circumstances, but he was forcing himself to hide an old familiar emotion as he and Luna watched Luke.
Luke stood by the side of the river. He was different, he had grown and changed. He was older. He looked tired. But, what really stood out was the festering anger that bled through his face.
"Is that a mane he has?" Luna tilted her head as she noticed that Luke's hair was shaved.
"I believe it's called a mohawk... Named after the Mohican tribes of Northern America, who were known for their warriors' hairstyles. It was during World War 2 that the hairstyle became popular among paratroopers and other soldiers. Then through courses of pop culture, it became popular with the genre of punk and rebellious children." Discord looked at Luna who was baffled.
"Wait, what?" Luna blinked in dazed confusion.
"I have no idea..." Discord admitted. "I'm not even sure if all that was accurate. A word keeps floating around, wikipedia, or something like that. Nevermind, not important. Anyway!" Discord pulled out his own fishing pole and tackle box from out of seemingly nowhere. "I'm going to have a little talk with Luke."
"Wait!" Luna tried to grab Discord's arm, but it just passed straight through her grasp. "You can't just tamper with his dreams!"
Discord raised his eyebrow as he glanced at Luna. "Hypocrite," he muttered. "Besides. This is important. Aside from trying to stabilize his emotions, I'm doing him a favor that I never had the privilege of having."
As Discord took off towards the boy, Luna stood back a short distance away and listened closely.
Luke looked over the object in his hand. The little silver cross and chain shined in the sunshine, reflecting the light in and out of his eyes. "Thanks for nothing." He swung his arm around and chucked the contents of his hand down stream and into the river. Muttering something incoherent, he sat down in his chair.
"Catch anything good, sport?" Discord's sudden presence startled Luke. "Any salmon maybe?"
Luke stared at the man who had mysteriously appeared. "No, there's no salmon here. There's only trout."
"Well that's a shame!" Discord heartily laughed. "Who knows, maybe one of us will get lucky."
Luke hooked his bait on his hook and cast it into the river. "Sure. Whatever." He stared into the water, blankness held his emotions. Occasionally he looked up every now and then across the river, but that was the most his vision ever turned.
"Something bothering you, sport?" Discord looked at Luke with an expectant smile. "Sometimes the best way to deal with problems is to talk about them."
"My parents are dead. That's all, there's nothing to talk about." Luke ran his hand through his hair, brushing off some dust.
"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" Discord readied his rod and reel and cast it into the river.
Luke tugged on his line to see if he had a bite, nothing. "I don't care. That's the problem." For the first time Luke talked directly at Discord. "I don't care that my parents died. That's what disturbs me. They were burned alive, and I don't care."
"I'll wager this was a while ago, that your parents died, yes?" Discord raised his brow.
"Yes." Luke was blunt and cold.
"Then that's not the real reason you're upset, is it?" Discord looked across the river. Behind one of the trees in the tree line, a familiar girl appeared. She looked older, but it was the same girl that helped Luke with his books, long ago. "What do you care about?"
Luke coughed up a small chuckle. "You wouldn't understand. I'm the survivor of a very odd childhood."
"Ditto." Discord smiled as he began to reel in the line on his fishing pole. "You get bullied too?" Discord unhooked the trout he had caught and tossed it back in.
"Yeah." Luke laughed. "It's only funny because all those kids dropped out of school later on."
"I'll let you in on a secret. As a kid, I didn't have the best teeth. One in particular stuck far out." Discord chuckled. "This one colt- I mean boy," Discord corrected himself, "he called me a buck toothed beaver." A nostalgic smile came over him. "I punched him in the face." With that he cast his line back into the river.
"Really?" Luke couldn't help but laugh.
"Yep!" Discord reeled in another trout only to toss it back. "After that, the other boys that made fun of me, stopped. It only takes one great action to show others you're not worthless. Though, you really shouldn't punch people. Times have changed. All you need now is a good chaotic prank."
"Duly noted." Luke tugged at his line, nothing. He looked up across the river. "I don't worry too much about that now. Thanks."
"Something else is bothering you, still?" Discord pulled in another trout and tossed it back. He noted that the girl across the river behind the tree line had moved closer. "A girl? Is she pretty?"
"In her own ways." Luke kept staring across the river. "But, I should stop believing in fairy tales. And dreams."
Discord let loose another trout. "Let me tell you something. Dreams are sometimes the most real thing in the world. They help us fight fear. If you let fear control your life, you'll never get out of it alive. But, if you take life too seriously, you still won't get out of it alive either."
Luke thought he felt a small tug on his line, but he dismissed it. "I wish my dream could help me out of the hole I'm in."
"Dreams can do that," Discord pulled in another trout. "But, you have to remember that dreams look different in the real world."
Luke looked across the river. The girl that had been standing behind the trees was now standing at the bank of the river. "I think I've known that for a while, but it's hard to trust the outcome the real world is ready to throw at you."
Discord let out a sigh. "I know all too well about that." Discord caught another trout...
"Was it hard, facing the real world?" Luke felt another tug at his fishing pole.
"It was at first, but as I said before, times have changed." Discord looked at the girl across the river. It was odd, she was flickering. "Reality is better."
Luke curiously tugged back on his fishing pole. It was probably just a rock. "Reality is for suckers," he huffed, "but I suppose it is something we can rely on to be there when we need it."
Discord watched as the girl across the river was noticeably flickering, this time with sparks of green. "You know how dreams seem to be perfect. That's where they are flawed. In reality it is different. It's beautiful imperfections that make it wonderful in the real world." Discord tossed another trout back into the water.
"I don't want to be alone." Luke sputtered these words out as uncomfortably as possible. It was something he felt he should get out.
"That's understandable." Discord noticed that Luke's fishing line began to bounce.
"Something I once believed in, an old dream, it challenged my hopes for another dream." Luke felt that his line had stopped bobbing, whatever it was got away. "The world is against me." That was rather random, but necessary to him. The fact that he had too much to say was enduring. Too much came in and out at once.
"The world is for suckers." Discord smiled with a thousand years of thought. "Don't listen to the world. It'll give you a lot of white noise," Discord got down and put his ear to the ground as an example, "but in the end, you still have to pick the dirt out of your ears." He stood up. "Instead listen to the sky. Listen to potential. Hear the birds singing! Also see! See how much better than the world the sky is." Discord patted Luke on the back. "What do you say, sport?"
Luke looked up to the skies and listened. A bird, no an eagle, beat its heavy wings loud and clear. It's white face and golden feathers completed the image with the great call of its voice. Luke brushed his fingers across his hair. More dust flew off and about. The mohawk seemed to vanish under a clean cut and full head of hair.
"Dreams can often disappear when they are no longer needed." Discord turned around and saw a part of his consciousness leak into existence. The pink maned, white faced, beauty disappeared. The ghost of her horn and wings flickered back into nothing. An old dream that was no longer needed.
"You have experience with," Luke was about to ask, but he stopped when he saw the girl now standing in the middle of the river. Her feet standing on the surface of the water. "No, not yet, please." The girl stretched forth her hand as she began to descend into the water. "Please, stay!"
"You have to be brave." Discord took his hat off and held it over his heart. "You have to be brave enough to let the dream go, from this place, or it can never be found in the real world."
Luke fell to his knees. A symphony of dust flew from his body. He stared, and he watched as the girl sank slowly away, waving goodbye. "Good bye." Luke closed his eyes and bowed with defeat. She was gone from his mind. He could never see the dream the same way it was. He felt a tapping on his knee.
"Sport! Your fishing pole!" Discord pointed frantically at the pole that was slowly getting dragged away.
Realization took hold of Luke. "No you don't!" He dived to the ground and grabbed the pole before it got dragged into the water. A strange feeling swept over him. A green light shone in the water. He stood up and worked to pull it out of the water. "It's a big one!" The chase was on! He quickly began the meticulous process of reeling in and out. The process of fighting and releasing, worked to tire out the catch.
"You can do it!" Discord shouted out with joy. "You almost have it!"
Luke was closing in on the catch. It tipped the surface, it's scales just barely visible. A splash! The catch flipped out of water and danced through the air as Luke reeled it in the rest of the way. "Gotcha!"
Discord smiled and laughed, "Well, would you look at that."
"I don't believe it." Luke looked at the emerald beauty. A long salmon, easily more than two feet, hung in his grasp. Then, in twisted in his hand, a hacking sound erupted from its throat. "What's it doing?"
"I believe it's coughing," Discord said matter-of-factly.
"Fish cough?" Luke raised his brow as the fish let out a final heave. From its mouth, the silver cross fell back into Luke's hand. He couldn't believe it.
"Perhaps the worst mistake you can make, is giving up on your strongest dream." Discord put his hand on Luke's shoulder. "There is a difference between giving up and letting go. It seems this miracle fish decided this is a dream that should not be let go of, or given up on. Perhaps it may prove useful to you." Thinking for an odd moment, Discord smiled wiser than ever before. "Even when you get knocked down, it's how you come back up that decides the difference in your life."
"Weak things can become strong." Luke released the fish, but before it hit the water, it flew up. Time slowed down, the river slowed, and Luke froze in surprise as the fish turned around and swam through the air to face him. Its eyes glowed green as it evaporated into a grey smoke. The smoke took on the shape of a person. The eyes still glowing, a warm comforting smile appeared on the smoky face.
"That's new..." Discord blinked to make sure he saw what he just saw. The figure was feminine for sure, but it was the sparks of green that piqued interest. They were familiar, a feature that belonged to a creature from Equestria.
*****
"LUNA!" Discord bolted straight up as he woke up from Luke's dream. "Luna?"
"Did you see it?" Luna sat by Discord. "That sparking smoke creature, did you see it, Discord?"
"Yes, I did." Discord still breathed heavily from shock of being torn from a dream. "He forced us out! I couldn't even do that to you if I tried. How is that possible?"
"That's not important right now." Luna sighed.
"Not important?!" Discord gasped incredulously.
Luna stared back at Discord. "That smoke was a piece of something real! It's merging into reality! It was a mix between the girl in the dream and something else. It's manifested itself into reality somehow. We have to find out what we're dealing with."
Both of them stopped and froze as they heard Luke screaming through the halls of Twilight's castle.
*****
"We got it!" Rainbow Dash yelled out as she and Applejack drug the net through the door of the throne room. "It really put up quite a fight, but nothing I couldn't handle."
"You? Don't you mean we?" Applejack barked at Rainbow Dash. "I was the one that got him in the net!"
"Him? Who says it's a guy? I think it's a girl." Rainbow Dash looked to Twilight who was setting up a cage of energy. "What do you think Twilight?"
"First let's get the changeling secured, then we'll ask questions." Twilight finished setting up the cage. After stepping aside, she let Applejack and Rainbow Dash slide the net and its contents into the cage. The cage closed, sealing the changeling inside.
"It can't escape, can it?" Applejack looked to Twilight for confirmation.
"Don't worry, I put up a force field that only air and sound can penetrate." Twilight turned to the cage. "Did it speak when you confronted it?"
"I'm not an it!" They all looked at the changeling in the glowing cage. It had crawled out of the net.
"Of course," Twilight pointed out, "but we don't know how to refer to you. Are you male, female, and do you have a name?"
"I'm a she." She stated, mixed emotions of fear and frustration poured into her white face and green eyes.
"You're white?" Twilight looked her over and realized that she had never seen a white changeling before, and she never will. Upon further investigation, Twilight saw that around rough edges, here and there, there were scattered spots where the paint had worn off. "Judging by the slight graininess of texture, I'd say that's a sort of old tribal paint. Am I correct?"
"Yes." The changeling squirmed where she sat. "I got it from Zecora. I trade herbs and other ingredients for it."
"You know Zecora?" Applejack looked astonished.
"This surprises you?" The changeling forced a laugh. "You're either surprised that I know her, or more likely surprised because I didn't manipulate Zecora. You shouldn't judge all changelings the same."
Applejack was taken aback, but could somehow read the changeling as well as she read her. "You're trying not to be afraid right now aren't you? You're trying to hide it, but I can see how afraid you are. You can't fool us!"
They all watched as the changeling lost her composure. All the ploy and masquerade had vanished in a moment as a watery world fell from the corner of the changeling's eye, cleaning a path through the paint and stung her cheek in even more fear. It was Twilight's presence, a princess, that she was most afraid of. "Please, please don't kill me." She fell to the floor within her little prison with a pathetic attempt to hide her face with the cover of the spare limbs that could reach. "I didn't do anything wrong! I swear!"
"What did you do?" Twilight asked when suddenly, Luke's screaming had reached their ears.
"Oh no," the changeling's ears splayed back, "Luke..."
Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash all stared at the changeling. She knew Luke's name.
*****
Twilight's Notes:
Luke has been going in and out of multiple dream fits. Neither Luna nor Discord can access his dreams anymore, since it was deemed unsafe and unpredictable. Luke has the ability to force them out of his dreams. Any effects or possible harm from this is unknown and not worth the risk of finding out.
Physically, Fluttershy found some strange spiny growths on Luke's back along his spine. She refrained from removing the growths since they appeared to be rooted deep beneath his skin. She was able to trim off a sample for me though. Upon further examination, I found that the brown growths are made up of a very dense but flexible form of keratin. What's even stranger is that the growths align perfectly along his spine. They are also fireproof.
After talking more with the changling, we found out that her name is Cora. She is friendly. She is not from the same hive as Chrysalis. Her hive apparently scattered after their queen died. Most of us trust her enough to walk around the castle now, but she only ever moves between her room and Luke's (under our close watch). She doesn't change form, at least not in front of us. And, the more the paint she was wearing rubs off, the more uncomfortable she seems to behave.
*****
Luke's eyes jumped rapidly back and forth underneath his eyelids as his head shook a bit. He was pale and looked cold, even with the blankets all the way up to his neck. Standing by the bed sat Fluttershy and Cora. Fluttershy stared nervously at Cora who was fiddling with the little purple pansy flower she had brought for Luke.
"That's a nice flower." Fluttershy smiled sheepishly trying to start up a conversation.
"They're his favorite." Cora set the flower on the side table.
"Really? I didn't know that." Fluttershy admitted.
"There's a lot you don't know about Luke." Cora sat rather coldly at that remark. "There needs to be another pillow," Cora grabbed another pillow and gently tucked it under Luke's head, "there." Luke's fidgety sleep eased up. His breath was less erratic. He calmed down and let his whole body relax.
"You seem to know a lot about Luke. How long have you know him?" Fluttershy smiled at Cora.
"Well, he told me he had been in Equestria for a few weeks when we first met. He was walking by the Everfree Forest when I saw him. I was afraid to say hello at first, because, well, I'm not exactly what most of Equestria sees as friendly. But, I got the courage to say hi to him. I refused to let him see me for a long time. I didn't want to scare him, but to my relief, when I did show myself, he wasn't even shocked by my appearance." Cora rubbed her eyes. "I liked talking to him. Sometimes for hours. Every Thursday. I was glad to have a friend to talk to, maybe not really close, but one that cared to talk with me."
Fluttershy saw something in Cora, something she had seen before. "Do you admire him?"
Cora looked confused. "What do you mean, admire?"
Fluttershy was not usually one for subtleties. "Do you ever think of being more than a friend to him?"
Cora blinked. "Oh." She looked sad before, but now, even sadder. "I try not to. But, sometimes my imagination gets the better of me. I try to keep my admiration, as you say, at a minimum. And at a distance. It's just better that way."
Fluttershy understood now why this all sounded familiar. She thought of Discord. "Yeah, I know what that's like."
"Sometimes it's hard. I get confused, especially with his occasional request." Cora rubbed at her eyes again.
"Request?" Fluttershy asked. "What request?"
Cora bit her lower lip as she cursed to herself. "I shouldn't talk about it. I promised Luke that I wouldn't tell."
"It's okay, no need to worry. I can keep it secret." Fluttershy bravely wrapped a foreleg around Cora's shoulder. "You can trust me."
Cora looked uneasily between Fluttershy and Luke. "Okay, but please don't tell Luke I showed you."
"I promise, and Luke is fast asleep right now from his medication. It's all right." Fluttershy gave Cora a small hug and a light pat on the back.
"Okay." Cora stood back a little. She directed her horn at Luke and concentrated her magic to focus on a specific memory from Luke's mind. She stood up on her hind legs as her magic engulfed the rest of her body. Green sparks surrounded her and completed the transformation.
"Oh." Fluttershy looked over Cora's new form. She looked like another one of Luke's kind. She looked like a human. Judging by the physique and general look, she appeared as a young woman.
"Luke always liked this face," Cora smiled the face that wasn't hers, "and so do I. He told me stories about her, how she was there for him. A dream he calls her, but I don't believe him. She sounds too real." She sat down by Luke's side. Carefully she brought the hand that wasn't her's up to brush his cheek with a thumb. "It's hard to be a friend. You know that? You can mistake simple affection with what seems like romance. He told me the word romance is flawed in how people use it. It is not love, it's a type of love. I'm not romantic, but I can taste love like all changelings. I don't forcefully consume any of it, of course, but I can feel it, as you would say. I just like his love. It's pure, and not tainted by desires. This face, he loves it so purely. He's told me how just by thinking of this face, he overcame fear. I wish this were my face." Cora looked back at Fluttershy. "That's why I wear the paint. I don't want to look the way I really look. I wanted a friend, a real friend. He is the closest I could find," she began to cry, "and I don't want to lose him. I don't want to be alone. I just want to be there for him, like she was. I want to be like her."
Fluttershy embraced Cora who had sparked back to her changeling form. "You are, aren't you? You're here now. You said you wanted a real friend. He is real, but she, this face he asks you to put on, she isn't real. He needs a real friend. You can be that real friend he needs." Fluttershy did her best to wipe away Cora's tears. "Do you want to leave?"
"No." Cora broke away from Fluttershy's embrace and rushed over to Luke's side again. She displaced the sheets partially and wriggled her head under his arm. Emotionally shaken, she fell asleep.
Fluttershy looked at the sight. It was tugging back and forth on her heart strings between warmth and ache.
She was about to leave the room when she noticed something on Luke's arm. More growths had begun to grow from his skin.
*****
"They're scales!" Twilight proclaimed.
"But how can that be?" Luna asked. "There is no logical explanation for the appearance of these scales, is there?"
Twilight smiled nervously. "Actually..."
"Actually," Discord interrupted, "Twily here is afraid to admit that she made a mistake."
"What?" Luna was lost.
"I may have, possibly, made a slight miscalculation." Twilight shot an angry look at Discord.
"Stop pulling Luna's leg! Face it Sparkle Butt, you screwed up." A mischievous grin spread across Discord's face. "Oh, I just can't wait to tell Celestia about your latest blunder!"
*****
Twilight's Notes:
Discord is still obnoxious, but he is right. After examining Luke further and going over my notes, I discovered the fault, which was my own. My attempts to stop the biological change in Luke was not stopped, but merely delayed. The biological factor has caught up and is now slowly turning Luke into a dragon. Under normal conditions, passing through the mirror would have made the transformation quick and painless. But now, other side effects have come up...
>heightened emotional sensitivity
>anxiety attacks
>insomnia (being treated with medication)
>achluophobia (fear of darkness)
>most predominantly autophobia (fear of solitude - we do our best to help with this)
*****
a month and a half later...
"Alright Luke. That's good. Now, carefully stretch out your right wing." Luke obeyed Applejack's command. "Good now fold it back up and do the same with your other wing."
Luke struggled a bit more with his left wing. "I think I'm getting the hang of it." He now stood nearly twice the height of Applejack and the others. His golden tan scales contrasted his brown spines and underbelly. He wore a bedsheet as a covering since he still was used to wearing clothes. His eyes, now reptilian, looked at his hands that had become sets of claws. The sight caused him some discomfort. "How long do you think I'm gonna be like this?"
"I don't know sugar cube. Twilight said if she can't find a way to put you back to the way you were, this may be permanent." Applejack was reluctant in sharing this information. "Besides, you don't look that bad, for a dragon that is."
Luke smiled. "Really?"
"I'm a bad liar, Luke." Applejack smirked.
"You're as bad a liar as Twilight is at keeping a secret." Luke began to laugh. "Speaking of dragons you think are good looking..."
"No! NO! NO! Don't you dare! I wasn't serious about that!" Applejack turned beet red with embarrassment.
"Wasn't serious about what?" Pinkie Pie came bouncing around the corner.
"Come on Applejack!" Luke got louder trying to clue in Pinkie Pie. "I thought you had a chance with him!"
"Really?" Applejack got excited for a second, but quickly realized her mistake. "Wait! No! Stop that!"
Pinkie Pie gasped as her eyes went as wide as saucers. "Oh my gosh! Applejack has a crush? Who is it?"
Luke smiled deviously. "Then again, I kinda see that possibility as more like his crush on Rarity. It's cute to think about, but it's never gonna happen." Applejack was now covering her face with her hat. Luke laughed as she proceeded to scream into it.
Coming from behind her hat, Applejack furrowed her brow. "Nice skirt." She teased him, pointing at the bedsheet.
"Kilt!" Luke snapped.
"Come on guys! Don't leave me out!" Pinkie Pie still continued to beg.
Applejack muttered to herself. "Knows the secrets of the universe, but has terrible deduction skills. Thank goodness."
Pinkie Pie, at this point, started talking to the ceiling. "Come on Mr. Writer guy! Tell me who he his!" She perked her ears trying to listen better. "A dragon that we know? That isn't Smaug? What kind of answer is that?!"
"What's she going on about?" Applejack whispered to Luke.
Luke shook his head. "No idea." A small warmth started to fill him inside, but not all the way. He smiled a bit. However, something was missing. He was among friends, but they were still distant. He had control over his emotions and senses now, but he chose to not let it be enough. Something else, no, someone was on his mind.
*****
"I'm surprised you still want clothes." Rarity smiled as she began her process of measuring Luke. "Not that I'm complaining. It is business, but could you pick out clothing designs that are a bit more, how do I say this, stylish."
"I'm fine with simple, modest clothes Miss Rarity." Luke gave a light laugh.
Rarity returned the laugh. "You seem to be feeling a bit better, wouldn't you say?"
The smile that Luke tried on, didn't fit quite right. "Not completely."
"Come now, no one likes a sour puss." Rarity tapped her hoof until Luke caved and smiled once more. "There, that's better. Now tell me what it is that's still got you down."
Luke scratched the back of his neck carefully with his claws. "I think I found something I've been looking for, for a long time. But I'm afraid I might lose it."
"It?" Rarity asked?
"Well, someone not something." He admitted.
Rarity finally put down her measuring tape and sat down in front of Luke. "So this someone is the one thing that can complete your happiness." She smiled. "You know what they say. If it's good, pursue it."
"You make it sound so easy." Luke let out a chuckle.
"Most good things are." Rarity pushed her glasses back up onto her muzzle. "Now, will it be the red plaid or the blue plaid for the shirt?" Luke pointed to the blue plaid fabric. "Good, it brings out your eyes."
*****
Discord's bewilderment grew as Fluttershy helped him connect the dots. "These actually make pictures? I thought they were just a bunch of random dots!"
Fluttershy giggled as she finished connecting the dots to reveal the picture of a light house. She handed Discord the coloring book. "I'm glad you like them a lot more now."
"So, how's Luke doing? Is he adapting well to his new body?" Discord started on another connect-the-dots section in the coloring book.
"He's getting along nicely. He's got a new job with the blacksmith, forging armor for Twilight's guard. He's got a little cottage near the Everfree." Fluttershy's eyes followed Discord's crayon as it slowly connected the new set of dots. "You seemed to connect with him well."
Discord forced a long sigh. "I wasn't exactly a human being transformed into a dragon, but in his mental state during that transition, I could relate to him. I saw a shadow of my younger self. I did my best to give him advice that I never had the privilege of receiving. I knew it would make a difference."
"Playing father?" Fluttershy teased.
"That, and someone needed to tell him how terrible that mohawk looked on him." Discord said matter-of-factly.
"You didn't dare." Fluttershy gave Discord a light playful shove.
"Correct, I didn't. Inside the dreams of an emotionally unstable being? That could have been a death trap." Discord hummed a laugh. "Father you say? If only I was...a father..." He trailed off pondering just how profound that idea was.
"I bet you'd be a great one." Fluttershy continued to look at the coloring book, trying to figure out what the dots were forming.
Discord looked at Fluttershy, a twinkle of hope in his eyes. "You think so? I don't know really, but maybe, then again..." He had to stop himself from rambling. "I'm probably am too damaged, like Luna said."
"It's the most damaged people who are the wisest." Fluttershy beamed.
"So that's where I heard that from." Discord smiled.
"It's true. They're the most experienced." Fluttershy realized that Discord was connecting the dots upside down, and that's why she couldn't tell exactly what the picture was.
Continuing to connect the dots, Discord thought out loud, "I'd be happy to have a son like Luke to help along in life."
Fluttershy rubbed her eyes as she got sleepy. "Luke would have loved to have you as a father." With that she dozed off to sleep next to Discord.
Discord smiled as he used his tail to pull a blanket to cover her. "That's a nice idea." He finished connecting the dots and flipped the image over. It was two hearts tied together with a ribbon. "You would be an even greater mother. I think so, yes." Discord kept quiet after that.
*****
Luke looked up at the skies. Depression, anxiety, stress, it all faded into myth as he laid on his back and relaxed. He was glad in the end, that his experiences were all part of a phase of literal transformation. Maybe that's what mental illness is for, he thought, to help us grow and build immunity to sadness so we can be happier. The sun was almost close to settling down for the night.
The purple and red streaks that waved through the sky loomed over the distant horizon. The light brushed with Luke's scales to the point where he could see them shine for a bit. He wondered, where did Cora go? He remembered hearing her voice in Twilight's castle, but when he asked, everyone said that she left without a word.
Again he tried to delve deeper into the beauty of dusk. Closing his eyes, he could hear the crickets creeping out early. Much too early. Then without warning, the chirping of cricket leg violinists stopped. Luke opened his eyes and standing there before him was Cora. "Hello." She nervously stepped closer.
"Hello stranger." Luke smiled as he stood up."That's a nice dress."
"Zecora gave it to me. She says it matches my eyes." Cora shook her head looking at the green dress. It was simple, but elegant all the same.
"I think it suits you." Aside from noticing that Cora's white makeup was gone, Luke just stared. Not because of the dress, but because of a realization. It had been so long. "I've been waiting to talk for a while."
"You have?" Cora said eagerly. "I'm sorry for avoiding you this long while. I've just been a bit on edge, lately."
"I know the feeling." Luke felt a twinge of guilt on behalf of the both of them. "You were afraid I had changed all together. But, I'm still me. I just had a very long wake up call." He laughed at the fading pains of his transformation. A moment of silence passed as the summer breeze picked up. Birds began their routes back to their homes. Though the sun had not yet even begun to set, the moon and a few stars broke through the blue barrier that clashed with the purple fires of the lowering sun.
"I'd like to change into her now, if that's okay with you." Cora began to fidget. She was desperate to become that other face she believed to be much better than her own.
"She looks a bit different now, but that's okay. Go on." Luke watched as Cora focused her horn towards Luke. Her magic began to spark as the image from Luke's mind manifested itself. The sparks engulfed her and she completed the transformation.
"What?" Cora looked at her self. "I don't understand. Where is she?" She looked and looked, but all she could see was herself.
"You're here." Luke's voice quivered a little. "You are her. My friend, I found you."
Cora looked at herself and cried. "But I'm not pretty. How can I be your friend when I'm this?"
Luke was afraid to speak, but pure will and dedication to good took control of his voice. "Aren't you my friend?"
"Yes," Cora broke through her tears, "I mean, I want to be. I don't want you to be alone."
"You are my friend. You care. That's all I ever wanted, that's enough. Someone that cares. You're my friend. And, I don't care if you're not pretty, because you are beautiful." Luke let it out. "I love you. I'm not gonna try and be romantic about it. I don't know how to be. I just know that love is a part of life. That face I showed you was just a dream. It wasn't real. It was just an image I made up to understand a hope. But, I don't need that face anymore. I found the hope I was looking for. I found you. You're my friend. And, I love you for you."
"You don't mind me being a changeling?" Cora asked.
Luke laughed a bit inside. "Not if you don't mind me being a dragon."
Cora looked up at Luke. She saw through his eyes to see the pure intent of a familiar affection. She recognized the look on his face and in his eyes. That's how he looked at that face she used to dawn for him. That's how he was looking at her now, but it was different somehow. Aside from the fact that he was now a dragon, it was real. She trusted him. "I don't mind you being a dragon. I just wanted to know that it was really you." Her tears turned from hot to warm.
She ran up to him and wrapped her forelegs around him. Returning the gesture, he felt something click inside. A puzzle of confusion, solitude, and doubt had been solved. A life that seemed like an ugly picture suddenly became a masterpiece. He was not alone. That meant the world to him. He was happy. Life was complete. It was wonderful. It was worthwhile. As Cora nuzzled her face into his neck, he rocked gently, almost floating with his friend.
Rolling along the road near the cottage, a colt helped his mother pull a cart. Noticing the moment at the cottage, he whispered to his mother, "Look at that, mom. It's a dragon hugging a changeling."
"Huh," the mother smiled, "what do you think the story is there?"
The colt looked down the road where the sun was now beginning to set. "I don't know," he smiled at his mother, "but it must be a good one."