A whale sang, in the distance, or it may have been a bird...
-º-
The park seemed to grow more dense as they advanced, lit only by the stallion's paper lamp. By now, Applejack would've been hard pressed to call it anything but a citric forest, which included the normal problems of such a kind of forest. From time to time they'd step over a fallen orange, the poignant smell assaulting them with eye-tearing intensity.
Quibra cursed, pricked by yet another spine. The stallion seemed to be avoiding the spines with an ability a cat would've been jealous of.
-º-
If asked afterward, Applejack couldn't have said how long was the path. There seemed to be bridges long enough for cities to be built in and caves that ended before beginning, and forks with only three paths and a dozen dozen signs pointing to the walkers.
Eventually, however, they did reach an end. The throne seemed to be built from roughly cut trunks piled over one another and kept in a piece by a thick carpet of mush. The stone floor itself was covered in mush, with trunks aligned like seats.
Also, there was a moon in the clearing. It was in the sky, that was sure, but it was also in the clearing. Its light was too intense, a kid's idea of darkness.
All of this went unnoticed in the first moment, however.
No less than a dozen stallions, all identical, walked in the clearing. Each carried a different object-- a piece of chalk here, a bottle of wine, and a cane were the most noticeable ones. Others carried more discreet, or common, objects.
"Come," the lamp stallion gestured for them to keep walking "You want to see the old guy, don't you?"
"Ah" they followed him "How are you called?" they asked in unison.
"Called?" the stallion stopped "What's a called?" he looked at them curiously.
"Your name" insisted Applejack "You have a name, right?"
"Na- Oh, those? The things you awakes use to not mix things?" Applejack and Quibra nodded "I don't have one. I have a lamp" he added, smiling in pride, then kept walking.
The throne seemed to have its own space, for there was a jerking sensation when they neared it.
And there he was, an old stallion whose colors were slightly brighter than the others'. He wore a crown that her eyes couldn't quite focus on-- depending on the angle, it changed between a paper crown and an exquisitely jeweled gold one, as if the later tried desperately to hide the former.
"Who are you?" he asked. Applejack decided to call him Crown.
"Hlaoo sent us" Quibra rushed to say.
"Jimmy?" Crown gave Lamp an annoyed look "Jimmy wasn't supposed to come until next monday. You are dumb"
"He wanted you to know that he can't come next monday" tried Applejack "He has..." Applejack trailed off.
"A date" continued Quibra "He has a date"
"Really?" Crown turned his head like a curious dog "A date? With a girl?" he was smiling faintly to himself, like a kid enjoying his own private joke.
Applejack and Quibra gulped, but nodded.
"Jimmy doesn't like girls" he said, beaming in pride "I found out that one myself. I peeked at his head once" he laughed.
Applejack and Quibra found themselves stepping away.
"And he had a lot of things in his head too!" he kept laughing "Silly dumb things. I took some out and played with others! And he acted funny later!" he smiled widely, and images that Applejack averted her eyes from started appearing around the throne "He acted funny! And then I told he he'd always come back to me, no mater what, because I am bored!" the last word was practically a roar.
A whale sung in the distance, or it may have been a bird.
"And then he was, he was trying to run away! In my own dream!" he pointed at a screen where the king in question ran in tears "I just made him walk into me again and again and again!" he stopped laughing "I told him, "Jimmie, I am bored of being here. So I'll be in the world of the awakes, because I want it""
The whale's song repeated itself, nearing.
"And he was like "But you can'y go there, you are just a pa- a parsi-" I dunno "You can't come into my world!"" he giggled "And then I told him "Well, I want it. So I'll make your world into a dream too, because I want it" I had a friend once! A friend who wanted to do that too!" His face schewed in confusion "When was that? No, that was before-" The whale sung, and he seemed to notice it for the first time "Wazzda-" he was hit by a stream of water, the smell of the sea invading the place instantly.
Lamp looked at Crown, who was getting up with an irritated expression, in surprise and then anger.
"No!" he cried, fire emerging from the lamp and wrapping him "I don't wanna see you!" he charged against the door from which the water had emerged, breathing flame into it.
A figure, which had been clouded by the water before, jumped out of the way, and Lamp ran into the door... and into dark water. He flailed uselessly, bubbles escaping from his mouth, and then went limp. The figure emerged from the door.
An old stallion, his colors brighter even than Crown's, called them in.
"You!" Crown called out at him, the sky darknening and mush dying "I'll fucking kill you!" he ran to him.
It was an instant. Crown found himself running in the opposite direction, and into the sky, and facefirst into the floor.
"Come, fools!" called out Door. An object was approaching to the door, swimming in the water "You won't drown!"
Applejack shared a look and decided to run to it, at the same time as the animal's mouth opened near the door.
As they entered into the whale's mouth, there was a thundering. Door flinched, but stood firm against the electricity that clashed into him. As soon as it was done, he entered to the whale with them, the door closing itself.
"Now, boys," he sat down, his heavy robe smoking "Who are you, and what were you doing in my temple?"