//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: The Dream of Many // by WiseFireCracker //------------------------------// His body felt adrift at sea, rocked to the rhythm of the waves.His lips parted, he felt neither air nor water rush into his lungs, and didn't understand. At first, he thought a tsunami had washed the town clean off the shore and dragged them all into the blackened depths. But his hooves stood on solid ground, and around floated a smell of spice and grilling oil. He blinked. He hadn't... Where was he again? Ponies were talking all over, their words indistinct noises ringing in his ears. The place, candles cast a weak orange light over wooden tables, glistened across the curves of the empty wine glasses. His ears ticking, he snorted and searched for the waiter with a scowl. He must have said it a thousand times already, wine was to be served right after taking the orders! Now, where was his lazy staff? "Small Fry!" shouted a stallion that seemed vaguely familiar. Small Fry blinked again, and the stranger stood straight, ready for action. "I am going to be cooking with you today!" He grinned and tapped his barrel. "I'll be doing everything so right you'll beg me to return!" "We don't need new hired help!" Small Fry snapped. "We have everypony we need, we deal with demands without trou--" He stumbled on his words, his tongue suddenly held against his jaw by weight that hadn't been there before, and he tasted something dry and inky. Sputtering, spitting, Small Fry grabbed onto the strange visitor and coughed up orders after orders. So many of them. How had they gotten so late? "Food! Food! We want food!" cried out the dozens of ponies while banging on their tables. Quickly, the restaurant's reputation was on the line! No, no, he had something to do first. He remembered that much. What had it been? Something... something about Small Pond. Not cooking, he- he wasn't supposed to be cooking. To order... The stranger grinned a bit wider, saying something in a quick, vibrant tone, and made for a spatula laying on the counter. Without a need for word, he slipped into the role of a sous-chef perfectly. A white apron materialized out of thin air to hug the sous-chef's frame. Small Fry looked down on the counter and blinked at the sight of three of his signature dishes waiting to be picked up. Right, they had clients. With great taste, he said to himself as the smell of his personal blend of spices drifted in the air. "Lobster for table two!" Exclaimed his sous-chef, and another dish joined the five on the counter."Pick it up, guys! We've got another table that just arrived, and it's a doozy. Fifteen from Manehattan!" Small Fry's heart nearly seized in his chest at the sound of that. The special guests! How could he have forgotten they were coming today?! Oh Celestia... they had everything in the pantry, right? Yes, they had to! He had checked just yesterday with Small Pond. A trembling hoof on his chest, the stallion took a deep breath, then shook his head. No more time for doubts. This service would break or make their reputation. "Sous-chef, you are going to take care of the Crab and Shrimp Special for table seven while I start up on the appetizers, you hear me?" His sous-chef's eyes gleaned under his brown bangs, as an almost wild grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "Yes, chef! Count on me, chef!" Nodding, he twisted a hoof and gestured toward the prepping table. For a split moment, he felt as if the stallion rushing to begin cooking should be worrying him, but he could not, for the life of him, put a hoof on it. Sharpening his knives, Small Fry let his eyes wander toward the back door, hoping with perhaps too much optimism, that it would creak open any second now. Where was his sister? She should already be here with the shellfish for the lunch hours... ~~ The hooves brushed against my shoulders, gentle. "Prince William, I don't understand. What are you trying to say?" What was I trying to say indeed? That being able to understand one another is crazy, if we are indeed different species meeting in this dream. But, what if, just what if, there was something to skip the language barrier? The words and the gestures not mattering so much as the ideas? Why, then, there wouldn't be a problem if Small Pond understood despite my skipping over syllables and sounds. No, no matter how I tried to look at it, I could only think of this as a dream. But is it my dream? Gulping, showing a calm I did not feel, I quietly stepped closer. "Small Pond, would you be willing to help me with a simple task?" Taken aback, the mare stared just for a second, before she blinked. "O-of course, my prince." She nodded, her face a pleasant shade of red. "You've saved my life so many times, it would be unworthy of me not to return the favor in any way I can." ...My legs shouldn't feel like stone. My lips shouldn't feel glued together. "Anything," Small Pond insisted. A long steadying breath flew past my parted lips. I could do this. I'd put down every doubt I had had to rest, and I could silence the voice in the back of my head crying about a river in Egypt. "Small Pond, please, think of something that only a pony would experience." Her ears drooped as her whole expression dimmed in confusion. "I... what?" "Just think!" I cried out, my voice booming into shockwaves. "Can't you do that?!" And immediately afterward, I froze, the outburst shocking even me. Why? It... that was loud enough to break pieces of the cap in the distance. My face burned. In the ensuing silence, I could see Small Pond's eyes glisten and her chin lower. Why am I so stupid?! "I'm sorry, Small Pond. Please, don't... I just really need your help. It can be anything at all. Just... " "It... is fine," she said slowly, a hoof hovering over her chest. "It's my fault. Just tell me what you expect of me." O-okay... let's work with this. "Imagine," I leaned closer, my mouth inches from her ear. "You are the only pony in a crowd. Griffons walk in the street around you, their claws slinking against the dirt path, lifting dust off the ground." Small Pond shivered, and in the air, I caught a faint noise like a bird squawk. Deep breath. "Not so far away, loud confident voices claim the perfection of their products. You turn your head just enough to see the horns peak out over the crowd and recognize minotaurs." A shiver ran down my spine as a faint presence brushed againtst my leg. Words, whispers, seemed to spring out of the water splashing on the beach. Strangers surrounded us. "The sky darkens, Small Pond. Yet, there are no clouds, no pegasi to change the weather. But do you feel it, this newfound warmth in the air?" Small Pond's breath itched, her legs tensed like strings. "This shadow in the sky, flying so high above, speaks of an immense creature of fire and greed. It is a dragon, eclipsing the sun and every other in the plaza. And you think, in awe or fear, that no pony could ever match its majesty." She whimpered, and so engrossed by my own story, I nearly missed it. But her head tilted, leaned against my shoulder for support, and, truly, I felt ashamed. Tone it down a bit, William. "Err... sorry," I whispered into her mane, my wing stroking her back. "I only meant to make it a vivid experience." Small Pond chuckled, her breath tickling my fur. Then the warmth I had spoken in story became rather real to me. Focus, William. Don't get distracted. "The point I was trying to make is... well, all of them are so different from you, yet you all live in this world, breath the same air, walk the same roads. So, what is it that ponies experience that griffons don't? What do you do that their bodies cannot? Can you think of anything a griffon would never be able to experience?" My words hung in the air heavily, weighting upon the wind, the water and the sand. And from those echoes came one voice that reminded me of Small Pond's, her words childish and light, "I'll go to Canterlot and see the Princess someday!" My companion remained immobile, her eyes closed,a pause between every breath, and every time, the air shimmered in anticipation. I could feel it, the same power around us, the images and the sensations turning to whisp of smoke under her grasp, and her focus, growing. Another breath... Then, quite suddenly, there was a weight against my legs. The spell broke pretty damn hard there. No mystics, just two idiots on a beach with a reputation for sea monsters. We both looked down at the bowls of.. .straw, perhaps, before our hooves, Small Pond's eyes shining with a few more embarrassed tears. She shrunk on herself, groaning. "It's silly, I know. Food. I couldn't think of anything else." And how didn't I think of that before? "No," I cut her off with a wave of my hoof, "this is a good idea. Taste." "Really?" she asked, undisguised hope in her voice. "B-but what did you need them for?" The bowls slid in the sand, pushed by a crimson glow. Grinning, I trotted up the small hill and looked back to her. "I would like it if we shared. Wouldn't that be interesting?" Small Pond's eyes briefly went wide through shock. Had she...? But as soon as that thought formed, she was back to normal, an easy smile on her lips, hints of admiration in her looks to me. We took place in the grass, because stability and because nopony wanted sand on their tail or butt. As anything, the second I remembered, the dreamworld would make a point of being as unpleasant as possible. So... Us... Standing on all four, bowls of hay -- Small Pond said when I hesitated -- before us. My heart currently could compete with Fillysecond in terms of speed. And possibly Radiance, from the way it seemed to materialize up my throat. For a second, I glanced to my left, where Small Pond had already begun eating the hay she had remembered. I gave myself a mental kick to the head. I couldn't balk now after all this fuss. Slowly, I lowered my head closer to the bowl, my muzzle inches away from the meal and the smell caught me off guard. If this were real, it looked as if this would have made my mouth water. Come on! I took a bite, burrowing my mouth into the straw-like stuff and chewed and... swallowed. And, the reflex threw me off, the sensation of my head almost upside down, swallowing up the neck still attached to the rest of my body, like a horse. Food moving as it should, no, not, food moving upward toward my stomach, that shouldn't...! It wasn't an effort, it was natural, oh God, that wasn't right. I didn't know how that was supposed to be like! And the... the flavor was... It wasn't oat or grain, not vaguely like bland cereal and milk. Not whole grain bread or whatever healthy choice there was. It was none of these. Sparks jolted through my mouth and went straight to my brain, and the first impression it gave was one vivid word: new. I spat out what little remained. I fell back on my ass. "So that's what hay tastes like..." ~~ In her bed, patient zero trashed violently. ~~ The words kept coming, unbridled, unbidden. "That was new. I never tasted, never even tried something like that. For God's sake, it tasted good, I almost want more and I'm not even hungry." I stared blankly into the moonset and its icy glow across the ocean. The spears of white streaking through the waves deserved to be called 'beautiful', by someone who wasn't feeling like the world had crashed down on them. “Obviously, things aren’t what I thought them to be.” An empty laugh bubbled in my chest. “This is insane. What is going on? What happened?” "Prince William?" timidly called Small Pond. "Don't." If this wasn't my dream, if I was somehow trapped somewhere else, what did that make of ponies like her? "Can I...?" she asked, a glimpse of her fur coming into view. And, I couldn't explain it, but the sheer idea of her, of them all, made my chest burn and my mind go red. My hooves shook onto the ground, my fucking hooves, and they itched badly with the desire to pummel something. "No," I grunted in a clipped tone. "Leave." "But--" "I want to be left alone, Small Pond." The air rippled-- She was gone. Where, I couldn't be sure, but it would be far away from me. I was alone. No pony, no monster, just one thoroughly confused human. Dreams expressed your subconscious. They unloaded information at random during the night to better classify what was learned through the day. It was nothing new, even if they were confusing and illogical at best. Imagination alone could limit them. I could feel a dream headache waiting to pounce on my unsuspecting body. "...How could I discover the taste of something in a dream? What's with the discrepancies, the stuff that never happened in my other dreams, like the layers of deceptions?" With a muffled cry of rage, I buried my face in my hooves. Alright, alright, there had to be a better explanation, one that was a great deal more intelligent than me deciding I was not dreaming after all. Was that an antelope chasing after a giant flying letter "A" while singing opera? Yes, yes it was. Thus, this was a fucking dream, case solved! "Your face looks... fake." Snarling, I threw streams of fire and lightning into the ocean, bellowed rage and despair in hazy darkness, flipped the earth upside-down, and... And I collapsed in the sand, in the mist of vapor, under the uncaring eye of the moon. The throes of anger still strangled me, every word I said, choked out. "What kind of bullshit is this?! Stop. Just fucking stop, William. Wake up, this isn't fun anymore!" The waves still clawed at the shore and the sea breeze still brushed my fur. And nothing, nothing of this changed. I was not lying in my bed, I was on a beach in a mad world, a parody of a stallion. I swallowed and smacked my lips, but the taste of hay still lingered. The bowls of hay rested just uphill of here... "I need a change of scenery." Horseshoe Bay appeared before me. I was no longer lying down, but standing, and I pushed forward, too fast, too frantic for a goal. The streets slid past me, each one house exactly like the previous one. Ponies trotted and went to their tasks here and there, none seeing me, their silhouettes at most ghosts. To her, I look like I'm missing something, even if we look pretty similar side-by-side... What does that even mean? I was pondering a trip to see where little Sea Salt had gone when the base of my horn tingled. My legs locked into place, my hooves almost sliding on the ground. Seconds later, a torrent of light crashed straight where I was headed with enough strength to push me back three ponies length. The blue bolt of magic fizzled into the sand, and a familiar sense of dread built at the back of my head. Wincing, I risked a look behind me, aaaaand yeah, alicorn of the night, floating in the air and looking ready to blast me to kingdom come. "Oh, you have got to be kidding m--" Wait... the thought struck me, does that mean this is the real Luna?! I didn't have the time to decide, as with one mighty flap of her wings, she rose higher into the sky, turning it black and twisting the air around her. The sand shaking beneath me, I saw her eyes turn pure white. "This will be your last and only warning, dreamon!" she bellowed, her voice reverberating. "Release your hold on my subjects or face your destruction!" Dreamon, again with that word. But if she's real, then she's probably right. If she's real, she might be able to help. I'm not holding anyone hostage, but… "Wait, please! I think this is a misunderstanding!" The foals. In free-fall, calling for their parents and crying. I felt the ground open up under me. I brought them here! "There is nothing to discuss, monster! Release them now!" Lightning struck just next to me, lifting enough dust to cause me a coughing fit. "L-listen! I'm..." The dust racked up my throat. "I'm not..." "Enough lies!" Luna yelled. And, my doubts pulling me apart, I could think of nothing as my doom stared at me from above. Then a cupcake hit her between the eyes. It... it stayed there a few seconds at most, then slowly slid off, and dropped onto the sand, leaving a trail of neon pink frosting over Luna's face. "Hey!" called out a juvenile voice I recognized. "Are you bullying Mister William?!" Four foals, three fillies and a colt, came running in the streets and stopped right between Luna and me. "I..." Luna stuttered, landing on her hooves without grace. "This is..." Another small figure galloped from under a bush, their face an adorable little orange scowl. "Leave him alone!" To describe the silence that followed that liner as 'being able to hear a pin drop' would be an insult to its sheer quality. Libel, slander. For the world of dreams obeyed to the will of those that knew of it, and Luna's widening eyes showed a shock so great the clouds in the sky trembled. So gobsmacked she was that a fly lazily flew to her mouth and gazed into the abyss. For a couple of seconds, before an exhalation of searing hot air pulverized it. A look of terrible rage flashed upon Luna's face, whose thunderous gaze conveyed every ounce of her anger toward me. How dare you?! it said. Even the most innocents?! My tail curled between my legs. Oh fuck. I was most likely very screwed. Already, lightning crackled at the tip of her horn, ready to fry me to a crisp. But that was forgetting the very important little details here. Namely, the foals themselves. "If you're not gonna be nice, go away!" the little filly screamed as she cupped a bit of mud and threw it at Luna. If she had been even half as surprised as me, it would have hit her square in the face. “Nay, children!" She pleaded, a hoof forward, her magic extinguished. "His siren song must not be listened to! He seeks to enthrall you to eat you. As we speak, he drains vital energy from your dreams and increases his power!” I flinched. Memories of those kids, playing, hugging me, returned and something tightened my throat. They did not deserve any of this. They did not deserved to be... trapped. I shot a frantic look at the skies, wondering if the void would show up simply if I thought of it. Would it take the foals back, if I tried to force it open again? "That's all made-up stuff! He's super nice and he gave us wings to play in the clouds!" The littlest filly, hanging to her brother, screeched at Luna. The poor princess really looked like the world had turned upside-down, and her frazzled expression tugged at something in my chest. “He brought you here!"she rasped, her voice breaking. "It is his fault that you were taken from your parents! He needs you to stay asleep to steal your lives! He would starve otherwise!” "Nu-uh!"shouted the foals. Luna's words didn't faze them. Immediate kindness won over their doubts so easily. But that... that was was hard to stomach. I didn't really deserve their protection. I had brought them here! And in return, they shielded me from a princess' wrath. Except one little colt. The pegasus, the very same that had dove down to try and save his little sister, slowly turned his head toward me. "Is it true?" I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I didn’t have it in me to lie to these foals. And the thought hit me, making me want to just shake my head and scream. It... it wasn't... real. Why then? Why do I keep trying to justify myself to those dream NPCs if I really think they are nothing but figments of my imagination? And the answer that should have come easily faded away. "I... I don't know." This was so surreal. I didn't know what was going on! I could have been hallucinating in a coma for all I knew. Maybe not, last experiment oblige, but the tangible truth was that I had no clue whether or not Luna's ranting was accurate. Ashes' brows furrowed, his muzzle scrunched up as he saw my turmoil and my hesitation. Without a word, he pushed his sister forward, away from me. The two cut straight into the line of foals, and surprise struck them silent. Luna, sensing a change of heart, dared not speak a word. We all stared. The duo trotted slowly, the colt forcing his little sister toward their princess despite her protests that I was kinder. Every one of their steps echoed by a beat of my heart, every one an explosion in the silence. When they arrived by Luna, I could not look away if I had wanted. "Can you wake us up?" Ashes asked quietly. Luna smiled in pure relief. I felt it. In the span of an instant, I felt the very moment Ashes and his sisters were gone from the dream. And in my chest, there was suddenly a hole. My mouth turned dry, as if I had not drunk anything for days. A loud, rumbling sound shook my belly, and the pang of hunger stabbed through my abdomen so hard I folded in half. I crumbled to the ground, my head heavy, my thoughts in shamble. He would starve, she said. "Prince Mac Doom!" The world blurred. The air felt heavy, each breath like drinking water, each harder, shallower. All I could see were the foals, crying around me, their little hooves pressing against my sides, and Luna growing closer, clad in darkness and storms. And at the front of my mind was birthed a burning fury. "DISAPPEAR!" Horseshoe Bay's streets were empty. But there was no relief to be had, for my insides writhed in shards of ice and fire. It’s a dream! I can’t feel hunger! I’m not… The rumble echoed again. My guts were twisting and turning and churning, God. GOD! I’m so fucking hungry. Why is this happening?! It’s a dream. IT’S A DREAM! "Is it?" I heard myself mutter. How did I know?! I'd never felt hungry here before, true... Not a lot of living things could go on without eating for days, so dream? Maybe? But now there was a hole inside my chest, howling to be filled. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Nopony answered. Nopony noticed a stallion in agony. The thought faded. Who cares? my own voice growled. It mattered not. There were whispers in my ears, the same word, repeating. Eat. You're hungry. Eat. It's unbearable. Eat. I would go insane if it went on. My sight blurred, I stumbled through the town in search of something, anything to keep the monstrous, all-compassing need at bay. Right now, I could eat absolutely, truly anything if it meant this horrifying hole in my stomach went away. Anything! Some small, colorful things moved in the corner of my eye. Anypony… My mouth watered at the thought of the foals still around. ~~ The heavy drawer crashed into the wall, shattering on impact and spilling its contents like blood and organs from a wound. And still the broken pieces, shining in blue light, gathered and held together, until they cracked and splintered smaller still. "HOW MANY TIMES WILL YOU OVERTHROW ME, DREAMON?!" The roar shook the entire room, and its shivers spread through the entire room. "I ALMOST HAD THEM!" Gilded hooves struck at the wall, strong at first, then weak, rasping as a sob cut short the next raging cry. Princess Luna's body slid down the wall, her face a mask of grief and anger, her mane disheveled and unmoving. The taste of victory had turned into a bitter paste, an horrid mixture from the ashes of her hubris. He had been thrown off by the sudden loss of his victims, had felt the horrible tearing of an innocent from its clutches. The dreamon had been lying on the ground. And if she had not celebrated so quickly, if thoughts of vengeance had not filled her head instead of concerns for those still in his thralls... her subjects deserved a better princess. When one orderly rushed inside the bedchambers with a grin of incredible joy, she felt as if her soul would break. "The foals!" he shouted, blind to the weakness that strangled her. "Princess, half the foals woke up! You saved them!" How many more did she still have to rescue? "The parents have already been informed. They're crying and thanking you from the bottom of their hearts." Luna almost managed a smile. "Order them to leave the town till the crisis has passed," she said, her voice distant to her own ears. "Their foals are still vulnerable if they fall asleep in the monster's reach. Spare no expense, the Crown will shoulder all costs so their families are safe." "Of course," the young stallion nodded, scribbling everything down on a medical report. "I will make preparations to tell the rest of the families to prepare as well." In her mind, something creaked and cracked. "At this rhythm, two more spells should awaken every last patient." Twice more? Her body felt as if weighing a block of stone. The dreamon had either evaded or subverted her agent within the dream. If this failed next time as well... "No..." she whispered, trembling and cursing the tears that gathered in her eyes. "This cannot go on." The orderly stopped cold in his track. “Princess?” Gone was the cheerful optimism. In its place, caution and worry stared her down. "Send... Send for my sister, ask for her assistance and that of her prized student." He stared, incomprehending. "Go!" She stomped a hoof into the floor, and cracked it. The poor stallion scampered, crying out for an emergency messenger. The door wavered on its hinges, before slowly closing in and sealing the chamber from the rest of the hospital. The Princess of the Night, left alone with the sleeping mare and the constant beeping of machines, frowned, deep in thoughts. The foals had been freed, but... their words... It could not be possible… tricks, likely. Mere lies and conjurances designed to lowered a prey's guards. Scowling, she shook her head and sat down. There were no such things as kind dreamons.