The Magic of Dreams

by MegaTJ

The Pegasus That Can't...

The Pegasus That Can’t...

Twilight guided Dream Runner away from the busiest part of town to the quieter hills of Ponyville. They soon reached a meadow not far from the town’s southern entrance. It was so quiet that Dream could even hear his heartbeat. He was following closely behind Twilight, taking in the sights around them.

“Rainbow Dash usually practices out here when she’s not on weather patrol”, Twilight explained. “…Or taking a nap.”

“What does she practice?” Dream asked. He sounded more confident and brave now, only because they were out of the streets of town.

Twilight decided not to tell him yet. “Come sit on this hill and you’ll find out.” She smiled back at him as he followed her to the only hill in the meadow.

Dream Runner followed Twilight’s gaze to the sky, expecting to see something. There was nothing to see but a few clouds and a brilliant clear blue sky. Dream kept looking, trying to focus his eyes to the troposphere. When nothing came to be seen, Dream looked at Twilight again. He took in her features in detail for the first time. He noticed how the deep purple and pink stripes in her mane made it stand out. The way her eyes always held curiosity and assurance gave him a small boost of confidence. Her smile was—

He quickly shook his head. I can’t fall in love again. Not after what happened last time… he thought. He had to get his mind off of it. Then he got an idea.

“Twilight”, he said, reaching into his satchel. Another crash made Twilight roll her eyes. He pulled the ruby case that held the little sphere he bought earlier. “You asked about this earlier.”

Twilight watched him as he opened the box and revealed the orb it held. She couldn’t speak due to her captivation by its glowing light.

“This”, Dream began, “is an Emotion Orb. As the name suggests, they hold emotions. In ancient Equestria, legends state that the tenth ruler of the lands created these in order to maintain balance in the world of emotions. The orbs were made to hold the excess amount of each emotion, whether it be happiness, anger, love…etcetera. You see, there was so much of each emotion, that there weren’t enough ponies to hold them. The leftover emotions in turn tried to find a way to present themselves, so they pushed each other in and out of ponies. The ponies only showed whatever feeling had pushed itself into them, and many times it was a negative one.

“The great King Sun Dawn found a way to hold these emotions. He created twenty orbs to hold and prevent them from selfishly taking over ponies. Ever since I heard of the legend, I’ve been searching for the orbs. I currently have eight of them. I have to research into it, but I think this is the Orb of Tranquility.”

“That’s incredible”, Twilight said, “And you’ve been doing this with your…uh, problem?”

“You mean my curse”, he asked. “Don’t worry Twilight, it’s fine. It doesn’t offend me.”

“Well, it’s not that. I don’t particularly believe in curses. I—”

He chuckled softly, “No, no…I know that curses don’t exist. What I meant by curse was ‘extreme burden’. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“It’s fine, Dream”, Twilight replied shyly. His chuckle was adorable!

Neither could say anything more before something tore through the air above them at a supersonic speed. The tailwind nearly tossed them off the hill they sat on. Dream used his wing to hold Twilight in place and held onto the Emotion Orb and his satchel.

The wind stopped, and Twilight recovered first. “There she is!” she shouted. “Dream, look, it’s Rainbow Dash!”

Dream had to force his eyes to open and look up. He scanned the sky and saw something tearing through it. It was doing swirls, loop de loops, corkscrews, and tricks that he couldn’t even name. He found it hard to focus on Rainbow Dash with the way she would go in one direction and then suddenly dart back the other way. She flew around and through clouds, bringing them to a big area with her tailwind. After she had fifteen clouds gathered, she collected them into one giant cloud, and began to fly around it at a blurring speed. The cloud twisted up into a point until it looked like a giant ice-cream cone in the air.

Rainbow Dash spotted her two spectators and flew down to complete her trick. She landed hard and stood up on her back legs. “Mares and gentlecolts, Rainbow Dash’s Sundae Special!” she boasted proudly.

“Wow! I’ve never seen flying come even close to what you just did!” Dream Runner cheered in excitement.

Rainbow Dash’s aerial acrobatics is definitely something to marvel if Dream Runner could be coaxed to shout in amazement, Twilight thought.

“And I’m the only one that can do it”, Rainbow bragged. She gave the new Pegasus a weird look. “Who are you anyway?”

Instantly, he lost his excitement. “Oh…I’m Dream Runner. I’m staying at Twilight’s for a few days”, Dream said more quietly.

“I’m Rainbow Dash. The most fantastic flyer to come out of Coudsdale!” She shook his hoof.

Almost instantly she forgot about him and turned to the third pony on the hill. “Twilight, did the next Daring Do book get back to the library, yet?”

“Not yet, Rainbow Dash.”

Taking their distraction to his advantage, Dream snuck the Emotion Orb into his satchel. He fastened it to himself and turned to hear Rainbow Dash finish talking about how she really wanted to read about Daring’s next adventure.

“Excuse me, Rainbow Dash, but what book are you waiting to read?” Dream asked.

“Only Daring Do’s most awesome adventure yet! Daring Do and the Werewolf’s Ward!” Rainbow Dash performed a backflip in delight.

Dream nodded and reached into his satchel. The two mares watched him as he dug deeper into it and jumped when something crashed loudly. “Oww! …Dumb vase.” Dream reemerged from his satchel with a book in his mouth. He tossed it to Rainbow Dash. “There you go.”

Rainbow Dash caught it and stared at the cover of the book. Then she shot straight up, squealing, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I’ve been waiting for this forever!”

“You’re welcome.” Dream watched as she did tricks in the air as she held the book close to her.

“That was really nice of you, Dream Runner”, Twilight said, “That book is very hard to come by.”

“I’ve read it three times already; besides, Rainbow Dash has been waiting a long time to read it.” He closed his satchel and watched Rainbow Dash still flying and cheerfully celebrating.

She landed, still hugging the book close. She smiled at him. Unable to think of anything else to say, she said the most Rainbow Dash thing she could. “You wanna race?”

Dream jumped, “Uh, n-no thanks…”

“Oh, come on, I’ll go easy on you for giving me the book”, Rainbow Dash persuaded.

“No, I really don’t…”

Twilight decided to try to boost his confidence. “It’s okay, Dream Runner. It’ll only be me watching. I’m sure you can win.”

“No…I really can’t…” It seemed that Dream got quieter and quieter as they kept pushing him.

“What’s wrong? Why don’t you want to race me?” Rainbow Dash flew up to him, somewhat offended.

Twilight started to feel bad for him. “Rainbow Dash, I don’t think Dream Runner really feels comfortable racing.”

“It’s not that, Twilight”, Dream mumbled.

“What is it then? You think you’re so good you don’t have to race me?”

“No, I would like to race, but—”

“But what?”

Twilight was starting to get aggravated. “Rainbow Dash!”

Dream Runner murmured something.

“What”, Rainbow asked.

“I can’t…” Dream whispered.

“What?!”

“Rainbow Dash!!” Twilight exclaimed.

“I can’t fly alright!” Dream cried. He wailed, and then took off, running as fast as he could away from them.

Rainbow Dash stared after him, stunned. What had she done?

Twilight glared at her. “You should be ashamed of yourself.” The unicorn dashed after Dream.

Rainbow Dash looked at the book Dream let her borrow. Then she looked down at the ground, chagrinned. She glanced up to see Twilight disappearing behind the tree line. She knew how to make up for her big mouth; she just hoped that Dream would let her.

______________

“Dream! Wait!” Twilight called. She was barely managing to keep up with the Pegasus. That colt could run. He was gaining ground way faster than she was. When his tail was just disappearing, she focused her magic and used a Teleportation Spell. In an instant, she appeared in front of him.

Having no intention to stop, Dream left the ground. He jumped as high as he could. He sailed over her and landed without even a stumble. Twilight darted after him again, calling his name with no positive results. Then she came up with a plan. She teleported in front of Dream again. This time, when he jumped over her, she used her magic to hold him in place above her. She gently set him down.

He collapsed in a heap when she let him go, still sobbing.

“Dream…” Twilight said softly, “It’s going to be okay…”

Just her voice managed to calm him down. Something about it, something he couldn’t explain made him feel so much better. He stood up and wiped his face. He turned to look at her. His tears had stopped flowing, and what was left of them was starting to crust on his face. “I know everything will be…It’s just that when I think about not flying…I can’t help but feel ashamed of being the only Pegasus with fully developed wings that can’t fly. I usually get over it pretty quickly though…”

Twilight wiped the crusty tears from his face. “I’m sorry about Rainbow Dash…She usually doesn’t behave that way.”

Dream waved his hoof in the air, “She’s a good pony at heart. I can tell. It wasn’t her that made me run. It was past experiences.”

“I’m sorry, regardless. Let’s go. I’m sure some lunch will cheer you up”, Twilight offered.

His answer was only a nod.

The walk back into the heart of Ponyville was silent. Twilight couldn’t think of anything reasonable to say to Dream without running the risk of setting the fragile Pegasus off. Dream was too busy thinking about the Emotion Orb to talk. He may have been completely fine now, but Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still bothering him.

When they past several restaurants, Twilight was reminded of her idea. She finally spoke up.

“Dream, what would you like for lunch?” She watched as he stopped and thought about it.

“Hmm…I wouldn’t mind a juniper salad”, he answered, and then more softly, “…if that’s okay.”

“I know just the place!” She grabbed his hoof and pulled him back down the street. She stopped in front of a decent-looking diner.

Since it was the slow period just before everypony braked for lunch, they managed to get a table outside relatively quick. Their server gave them the menus, but they already had what they wanted picked out.

“Menus won’t be necessary. I’ll have a tulip and daffodil sandwich”, Twilight said.

“I’d like a juniper salad, please”, Dream said shyly.

The waitress wrote down their orders. “Okay, what would you like to drink while you wait?”

“Apple juice please.” Twilight looked at Dream.

“Water”, Dream said distantly.

Their server nodded and walked back inside.

Twilight noticed how Dream seemed to be in the clouds. “Hey, Dream Runner, is something on your mind?”

“Not really, I was just thinking about the Emotion Orb.”

Twilight looked at him, she wanted to talk about his inability to fly, but she didn’t want to bring it up again.

Dream, seeing her troubled expression, knew what she was thinking, and said, “Twilight, if you’re wondering why I can’t fly, I’ll tell you. I have no problem with it…”

“If it brings up bad memories—” Twilight started.

“Twilight”, Dream interrupted, “What’s in the past is in the past. I’m not a pony to dwell on it. I only cry about it once. After that, I only look at the positive things that have come from it.”

“Positive things?”

“Uh-huh, I think of all the things I can do with my wings instead of fly.” He smiled, flexing his wings.

Twilight got curious. “Such as?”

“Well, I can hold my satchel in place, use them to hold things. I’ve climbed trees with them, and used them to run faster. Heheh, I’ve even used them to swim. One time they helped me feel my way through a cave.” Dream thought back, trying to find anything else his feathered appendages had helped him do.

“Wow, that’s amazing”, Twilight said, “Wings with many talents.”

“Except flight”, Dream snickered.

Twilight giggled slightly.

An awkward silence grew between them. They both looked away from the other, trying to find something to say.

“What’s your favorite color?” Dream blurted. He blushed at the silly question.

“It’s dark violet. You know, like the sky just after the sun sets?”

He nodded.

“What’s yours?”

“Rose pink.” Dream immediately hated himself for that. Why in Equestria would he just announce that to the whole diner?

If Twilight was stifling a giggle, he couldn’t tell. She only smiled at him. “That’s nice. Any particular reason why?”

“Umm…” Dream said nervously. His blush was starting to burn. “I-it reminds me of my favorite Emotion Orb.”

“What would that be?” Twilight examined him to make sure he wasn’t getting too nervous. She was just about to take back her question when Dream replied.

“Love…” Dream said so quietly that Fluttershy might have been impressed. “It was something that I never knew before.”

“Was?” Twilight was extremely interested now. Had somepony helped him along with this? Who was it?

“Here you go!” There server had returned with their drinks. She levitated the two glasses and set them in front of the ponies.

Dream immediately began to sip his water.

“I just checked with the kitchen and your food is almost ready”, the waitress said.

“Okay, thank you”, Twilight replied.

The server nodded again.

Twilight turned back to Dream. He was still sipping his water. “Hey, save some for lunch.”

“Sorry, it’s just my mouth’s extremely dry”, Dream muttered.

“Twilight?”

They turned to see Rarity and Sweetie Belle walking out of the diner.

“Oh, hey Rarity.”

“Hello again Rarity…”

“Fancy seeing the two of you here”, Rarity said.

The sisters sat at a table next to Twilight and Dream’s. Sweetie Belle eyed Dream intensely.

“Oh, where are my manners? Sweetie, this is Dream Runner. Dream Runner, this is my sister Sweetie Belle.”

“Hello Sweetie Belle. It’s nice to meet you”, Dream said barely above a whisper.

“Same here.”

Rarity quickly busied herself with the menu, which left Sweetie Belle to talk with Dream Runner. After a few minutes, his and Twilight’s food had arrived.

“I haven’t had a juniper in a long time”, Dream commented before taking a bite out of his lunch.

“Are they your favorite?” Twilight asked.

He nodded. “In taste, color, and smell.”

As Twilight ate her sandwich, she watched how Dream would take a big bite of his salad and somehow manage to savor it as he gulped it down. She was so absorbed in watching him, that she hadn’t even notice that her plate was clean when she looked down to see how much she had eaten. Dream was just finishing up, and apparently Sweetie Belle scarfed down her lunch before Rarity.

The little filly watched how Twilight dreamily watched Dream Runner. She got curious and decided to ask a simple, innocent question. “Are you two colt and fillyfriend?”

The ponies in question froze and blushed hard. They both tried to stammer something out, but neither could, and they nearly started to babble incoherently if it wasn’t for Rarity.

She saw how nervous Dream and Twilight were becoming and quickly acted. “Sweetie Belle!” Rarity scolded, “You can’t simply ask somepony a private question like that. It’s an incursion of—”

The younger sister rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry.” Sweetie apologized before Rarity could finish her explanation. Immediately the filly forgot what had just happened when she saw an advertisement on the diner’s window. She looked back to her sister and excitedly asked, “Hey, Sis, can we have chocolate cake for desert?!”

Rarity seized the distraction. “Of course you can, Sweetie.”

All three of the older ponies sighed in relief for their own reasons. Twilight, however, wasn’t exactly relieved. Rarity was giving her the same knowing—this time gentler—smile that Applejack had given her. Now two of her friends knew.

“I’m finished Twilight.” Dream pushed his plate away from him and stood up. “I’ll go pay.”

“I don’t think they take chunks of gold here”, Twilight objected with a small laugh, “I’ll pay.”

Dream didn’t want to argue, so he only nodded. “See you later, Rarity. It was nice meeting you Sweetie Belle.”

“Goodbye Rarity.”

Rarity waved goodbye. Sweetie Belle was too busy thinking about her cake to notice Twilight and Dream leaving.

____________

“Okay, Dream, you ready to get back to the library?” Twilight asked when she walked out of the diner.

He nodded. “Yep. I was hoping to finish a book I started anyways.”

“Which book?”

“‘The Dreamer’s Guide to Interpretation’.”

Twilight nodded. “Is it very good?”

“I can’t tell just yet, but I think it will be, yes.”

They trotted off, headed for the library. Twilight wanted to get back quickly. The sun was starting to set and something told her that Pinkie Pie had a surprise set up at the library. It was just a small hunch, though. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, she notice how troubled Dream was becoming.

When The library came into sight, Dream stopped. He looked down. He couldn’t keep it in any longer.

Twilight immediately took notice. “Dream, what’s wrong?”

He sighed. “Twilight. Please sit down…”

“Dream, is something bothering you?” Twilight was beginning to worry.

“I’m going to tell you why I can’t fly”, he stated.

“Dream, you don’t—”

He held up a hoof to silence her. “I know you’re still curious. Besides, you have a right to know…It’s simple and it doesn’t hurt to tell. I promise it doesn’t.”

Twilight only nodded. He was obviously going to tell her whether she wanted to know or not. Maybe it was a good thing she still wanted to know.

He took a deep breath. “This story goes back to my very first memory. Do you remember when I told you how I’ve always traveled alone, no friends, no family?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, that’s the worst part of being a Dream Chaser. When a pony becomes one, he or she is stripped of all memory of the life before. It’s almost as if you’re being born again with the exception of the basics. Dream Chasers are blank slates ready to start another life. They…We, have no pasts. I don’t know how it is for other Dream Chasers, but my first moments of becoming a Chaser was waking up in a meadow somewhere. I didn’t so much as even know my name. I am a very lucky Pegasus, though. You see, I had this with me.”

He pulled off his satchel and placed it in front of him. “My satchel has been with me since my first moments in the new life. When I opened it for the first time, I found an information tag. It had my name, birth date, and age on it, nothing else.”

“Dream…”

He continued. “Even my flank was blank. I didn’t even have my old Cutie Mark anymore, if I even had one at all. The only thing that was there was this.”

He turned and showed Twilight his Cutie Mark. He pointed to the dream cloud. “This dream cloud is not a part of my Cutie Mark. It’s a Dream Chaser’s Mark. All Dream Chasers have one that surrounds the actual Cutie Mark. I earned my actual Cutie Mark a few months after I woke up” He paused, and then he chuckled. “Look at me. Here I am, beating around the bush. Anyway, aside from what I had just explained, I can’t fly simply because I never learned. No pony was ever there to teach me how and I couldn’t do it on my own. I just can’t because I can’t learn by myself. I’ve tried believe me, but with no success.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Dream…”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”

Twilight couldn’t think of anything else to say, so she did what she thought was necessary. She hugged him…again. Dream froze, but only for a short moment. He surprised Twilight when he put his foreleg around her and hugged her back.

“Thanks for caring about me so much…” He whispered after they parted.

“No problem”, she replied with a smile.

The two continued to the library, blushing the whole time.

Pinkie Pie watched them from one of the windows.

“Shhh! They’re coming!” She squealed.

It was almost time.

Author's Note:

Well, that's it for my trial run, but don't worry, there's more to come after the uploading of my other stories. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far.

Please leave a comment. I love hearing feedback from my readers.

Comments

[Fiend from the Darkness]

Trial run. TRIAL RUN! I WANT MORE!
I mean... if that's okay. Please?