08 I Dream Of Maggie
~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~
I have to admit one thing about this new life that I find myself in. One simple truth that is neither profound in nature nor grand in scope... I miss my bed. Silly as it might sound to others but I honestly miss my old bed. Despite how lumpy, hard, and painful the darn thing was it was so much better than sleeping on a stone floor. My blankets and such weren't silk or velvet or fancy, but they were better than my old cape.
I squirmed on the cold stone and huffed as I opened my eyes. I gazed at the far wall, cold stone and utterly uninteresting to look at. The walls in my room, as bland as they were, were somehow better looking than stone walls. Admittedly, while I do miss my bed, and my sheets... and my room... and my games...
Is there a point to all this, or are you just trying to depress yourself?
'I don't know anymore,' I replied with a sigh, 'I think my mind is wandering, cause of everything else that happened today,' I replied. My brain hummed in response while I shifted in my cape and then clenched my eyes shut. 'Go to sleep already!' I thought with a growl.
Yeah like that's really gonna work.
I don't see you coming up with a better idea!' I snapped. My brain snorted in response.
I would, but we're just trying to avoid thinking about the Poison Joke problem, and the fact that a little girl now knows we're hiding out out here.
'...'
You know it isn't good to ignore a problem, right?
'Maybe.'
Well since I am you, you clearly do know it.
'Ugh, whatever... can't you think of something better to do than annoy me?' I mentally grumbled with narrowed eyes.
Like what? I'm a voice in your head that you made up to help deal with all the stress of waking up as a miniature talking unicorn and being isolated from everyone and everything you've ever known or loved... although technically you always talked to yourself so maybe I'm just your normal head-voice or something.
'Oh whatever, you... wait... is that really what you are?' I questioned with a blink of my eyes. However my brain was silent and I huffed and crossed my forelimbs. After a moment I sat up and shrugged my cape to the side. With a sigh I rubbed at my face with my right forelimb and looked around. My eyes soon fell onto my meager food supply, after a moment I approached it and took stock of what I had left.
A frown slowly crossed my lips as I realized I was running a bit low. I could maybe hold out for another day, or bum some food off of Megan, but I'd rather not take any chances. That girl was clearly enamored with me and I didn't like the idea of taking advantage of a little girl like that. So with that in mind I knew what I needed to do.
'I'm going to need to go out and find some more,' I decided with a click of my tongue. That decided I stretched out and yawned softly. I shook my head afterwards and trotted over to my things and looked for what I'd need. As I was slipping on my 'affects' I couldn't help but think over the past week. From turning into a unicorn, living in the woods, meeting Megan, and finding out about the Poison Joke affecting so many people...
If I were honest with myself, I felt like I needed to do something about the latter. Poison Joke was mostly harmless, but there was no telling what'd happen to people who were repeatedly exposed to it. The jokes could get worse and worse till they became dangerous.
Or they might not have any reaction at all.
'Oh so now you'll talk to me,' I grumbled irritably.
Well if you're gonna be all snippy about it...
I ignored my brain as it went silent and instead focused on a few scenarios I had for what I could do to try and help with the Poison Joke. I could reveal myself and explain what was causing the 'disease'. But that would likely end badly for me since I didn't know of any kind of cure, and the people could easily rationalize that my sudden appearance meant that I'd brought the Poison Joke with me or something...
'Which isn't too far off,' I admit to myself. I seemed to have been the first transformation thus far, so if I was the first then it stood to reason that everything else followed after. I don't know what caused the transformations, nor did I have any kind of clues on how to find out. For the moment I had merely conjecture and potential theories to work with. None of which were particularly helpful or likely if I were honest.
I shake my head of such thoughts and give a soft sigh. I rub a hoof against the side of my head and idly tie my olive-drab bandanna around my head. Once it's secure I make sure the rest of what I'll need is secured and head out of my cave. Due to my fitful slumber the sun is still out, so given my nocturnal sleep-cycle, it's most likely fairly late in the afternoon. With that in mind I make a point to keep an eye, and ear, out for anyone that might be out.
Yeah, don't want anymore little girls to find you while you're out here.
I frowned at the somewhat snarky comment from my brain and stomped out of my cave. 'Do you have a problem with me or something?' I inwardly demanded. However much as before it completely ignored me in favor of silence. Thus I found myself even more annoyed than I already was, mostly cause my own brain is being difficult. Though if I thought about it, my brain has kind of been that way for a while now.
I shake my head of that and instead let out a snort. I silently consider the fact that I'm literally having a fight with myself and wonder when I started to lose my grip on reality. 'Probably around the same time I woke up to find I was a tiny horse,' I noted to myself. I sighed and then raised a hoof to rub at my face, only to pause before it could. 'My hooves have been on the ground with all the dirt and grime,' I recalled and then frowned.
'Lord I miss having hands,' I noted with my ears flattened back against my head. I also missed my old life, but now wasn't the time for such depressing thoughts. If I wanted to survive I needed to find some more food. That in mind I should probably focus on the task at hand and head out to grab some more berries from the forest. The journey there is in, relative, silence and as such I only half pay attention to my surroundings.
I keep my eyes open for the marks I'd made on the trees leading to the berries though, mostly so I don't end up getting lost. With how vast the forest is there's no telling where I might end up if I don't. Not to mention I could only imagine the kind of things I could potentially end up meeting if I'm not careful out here. From wild animals to possible hunters, there is certainly cause for caution.
Now if only you thought of that before you started randomly singing out in the open.
'You're never letting me live that down are you?' I grumbled internally. This was, what, the fifth time that my inner voice had brought it up after all.
Eh, it depends on if I get something better to mess with you with later.
'You know, I never realized what a jerk I can be until I was isolated from everyone else,' I note with a huff. My inner voice chuckled at that and a growl reverberated from the back of my throat. 'I'm not bucking joking!' I inwardly growled.
Oh I know, it's just kind of hilarious that you called yourself a jerk.
'Why's that?' I grumbled.
Cause it feels like you're still pony-ifying your words, or you'd have used a much different word for me... or is it you? Us? Well you get the point.
I pause at that thought and slowly blink. "Oh buck me I really am," I breathed and then brought my hoof to my face with a groan.
And you've just touched your face with your dirty muddy hooves... after you just had a bath the other day too. Not to mention your fur is white so even the smallest amount of dirt tends to show...
"Oh buck you and the sun-forsaken thought you came from!" I snarled and then sucked in a breath. I did it again, more pony lingo instead of me swearing as violently as I possibly can. "Calm down, you're just having a really bad day is all, no need to start swearing up a storm," I assured myself. Though to be honest I wasn't really swearing... and now I'm wondering if it's just a pony thing that we don't swear.
Maybe... I mean you did randomly break into song the other day and almost danced on top of it.
That... was actually a good point. Thanking back to the previous day I can't help but note that I did break into song and I did practically dance. Given that music also played literally out of thin air when I did and being unable to swear feels mundane by comparison. It still kind of annoys me though, seeing as I can't swear even if I might've wanted too. Unless I can somehow trick whatever magic is preventing me from swearing that is.
I idly glance up to see where I am, I notice a few more marks on the trees and continue on into the forest. While I'm sure Moon Dancer, the actual pony, could probably figure this out I can't help but feel I am sorely lacking by comparison. My own knowledge of magic is limited to whatever I know from books, games, movies, and other such media. That in turn meant I might as well be a foal given all I could do with it. No wait, if the Cake twins were anything to go by, then even foal's could do more than I can!
If we even can use magic at all, we've never really tested that before after all
'Point,' I allowed and hummed. My eyes glanced to another mark and I spotted the berry bushes I'd found the other day. 'Finally,' I thought with an internal sigh and trotted over to them. I grabbed a few berries and stowed them away in my butt-pouch without much preamble. I'd been having a pretty lousy day thus far, honestly all I wanted to do was get the berries, get home, and hopefully mope around for the rest of the day. I'd get something productive done tomorrow... if I'm feeling better by then.
I soon finish my gathering with a tired sigh. I take a quick glance up and see that it'll likely be dark fairly soon. With that in mind I get up and start on the long arduous journey back to my humble little cave. Thankfully while it is getting late by normal standards the sun is still just high enough for me to see where I'm going. Not to mention I've always had fairly decent night vision and my transformation hasn't changed that much.
As I'm trotting though I can't help but pause when I hear something snap nearby. 'That wasn't me,' I note with an internal gulp. 'Please don't be a hunter, please don't be a hunter,' I thought in a slow mantra and looked to either side. 'Oh buck me,' I thought when I spotted a large bear. The bear had taken a step towards me and broke a fallen branch beneath its weight. The beast and I silently stared at one another, until it roared and I bolted.
'Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!' I thought as I galloped away from the bear. Why was the bear even out here? Oh wait... forest, duh. So why did it come here? Wait... bears eat berries, I was picking berries, the bear probably noticed me and decided I looked more appetizing than the berries did... that thought only served to spur me onward, galloping like my life depended on it. Which it probably did.
'Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!' I continued to think in a desperate mantra as I galloped.
Less chicken talk and more running!
I ignored my brains commentary and instead focused on galloping away. Unfortunately the bear had decided that it wanted to give chase. Granted I'm a tiny horse so I probably look pretty appetizing to it...
Hey! I'm the one who makes commentary, you focus on running!
For once I decided my brain had a point and turned at a nearby tree. I heard the bear slam into the tree as it tried to turn and mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Now I just needed to get home and...
Be cornered by a hungry bear in a cave...
'Oh buck me,' I thought with a whimper as I heard the bear get back up with a roar. I tried desperately to think of something I could do to get out of this. I can't go to my cave, that was just asking for trouble. I can't go looking for hunters, they might shoot me instead of the bear... or both of us actually. Going near my old home was simply out of the question, I didn't want my family hurt and...
Would you focus!
'Wha...?' I began to question only to shriek when I felt the bear bat me to the side with one of it's claws. I was knocked to the side and slammed bodily into a tree. I fell to the ground with a grunt and looked up to see the bear approaching me. The only thought I had at the moment was, when had that thing caught up with me?
Probably when you started thinking so much that you slowed down!
Oh yeah... that makes sense,' I allowed and groaned in pain. I glance down at myself and notice several gashes in my side from the bear's claws. I quickly turn my eyes back to the bear as it stalks closer to me. 'Got to get up,' I thought to myself and tried to get back to my hooves. However I shrieked and ducked as the bear swiped its claw at me once more. 'N-no,' I think desperately, eyes trained on the huge bear before me as it rose up onto it's hind legs.
'I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!' I think desperately as the bear lunges at me. 'I DON'T WANT TO DIE!' I think and with a spark of crimson energy a lance of light shoots from my horn and straight into the bear. A moment later the creature stumbles back a step, and then falls to the side with a groan. I looked on with shock for a moment, and then tried to desperately control my breathing when I saw the bear shift.
It wasn't dead... just sleeping?
'A... a sleep spell?' I questioned.
Well... wait... what... we can do magic?! Jeez this is great! Now maybe we can actually get something done around here! Like figure out how to levitate things, maybe teleport since that would be bucking useful. Hmmm... now that I think about it we could also do with learning a way to turn invisible actually.
Despite my brains commentary, I just stared at the now sleeping bear with a shocked look on my face. I don't care that I just did magic, I don't care that I can apparently use magic at all, I don't even care that I just sur... okay no I am grateful that I survived, but still. 'I just cast a sleep spell?' I questioned and my eye twitched, 'Why the buck did I cast a sleep spell?! Why not teleport! A bucking laser! Anything but a bucking sleep spell?! That's like the last thing I'd consider useful in my situation!' I internally exclaimed.
Not to say that the spell was totally useless, clearly it was good for putting things to sleep... but really, what else could that be useful for? With a laser I could maybe burn grooves into the walls of my cave and make it look nicer. If I could teleport then I'd never have to worry about walking all over the place. If I could levitate then I could levitate things and never have to complain about hooves again...
Sweet lord I really wanted that last one.
Well Moon Dancer was always kind of known for casting sleep magic in Gen-1, I mean she did put Cotton Candy under a sleep spell once that not even Twilight with her wish granting could break.
'Oh great, so not only am I a nocturnal pony but I'm also the bucking nocturnal pony who specializes in bucking sleep magic!? Why couldn't I be Galaxy! Or bucking Twilight! Or tartarus I'd even take bucking Surprise! Why did I have to be the bucking sleep pony!?' with that I stopped and hissed as all my adrenaline finally wore off and my side throbbed painfully. I looked down and noticed the trails of red running down my side with a grimace.
Oh great, and now I'm bleeding on top of every bucking thing else,' I thought as I slowly loped away. I wanted to put as much distance between me and that bucking bear as I possibly could. 'Lord why not a pony with magic that could heal this?' I wondered with a whimper as my side throbbed once more.
If you were, then the bear would still be chasing you.
'Buck you!' I snapped at my brain. I shook my head of that and my head-voice and continued to press onward. However the further I went the more my side throbbed and I started to notice that I was getting more and more tired as I went. I slowly trotted through the forest, my side throbbed in pain and my head swam. 'W'as going on... why... why I feel so tired all of a sudden,' I inwardly slur as I lean against the nearest tree for support.
Oh that's just great, this body is so much smaller than a human that we're bleeding out faster! Quick get your bandages out and...
'Shu... shu' up...' I managed to grit out as I trotted onward. 'No... hands... or levitation...' I reminded the voice in my head. It groaned as a result while I tried to keep my vision from swimming. I slowly made my way from the forest and into one of the fields around the street. I wasn't entirely sure where we were at that point, what with the chase kind of putting me out of sorts. I tried to get my bearings but everything felt kind of hazy... and it was kind of dark...
Oh c'mon! Why does everything have to go wrong today!?
Normally I'd agree with my head-voice, but I was just too exhausted to comment. Instead I took several more steps forward and then all but collapsed. My vision faded in and out as I saw a familiar shape. 'Megan?' I thought with a groan as my eyelids grew heavy. The last sight I saw before blackness took me was Megan gasping at the sight of me. 'If I wake up from this... I hope I'm not in a circus or zoo or something... and that I never see another bear for as long as I live...' I thought as I passed into blissful unconsciousness.
~~*Silly Old Surprise*~~
“Is she really going to be okay?” the little girl asked, “that looks it hurt really bad,” she noted and I gave my most convincing fake smile. Unfortunately it was probably ruined by the fact it didn’t quite reach my eyes.
“Yeah of course!” I declared a bit too loudly and she tilted her head.
“Really? ‘Cause…” she began to question once more, but I cut her off.
“Hey now! Who's the actual pony between us?” I questioned, then paused and glanced at the unconscious mare on the bed. “Err… besides Moon Dancer that is,” I amended and the girl blinked innocently.
“You,” she admitted as she pointed a finger at me.
“Right! And who better to say that she’ll be fine than me!” I replied with a nod.
“Okay, but can’t we get a vetri…” she paused and screwed up her face in a cute pout, “vertra… an animal doctor to help her?” she tried but I swiftly shook my head.
“No no no no no no!” I stated rapidly and shook my head.
“But why not?” she questioned with a confused frown.
“Because that’d be the worst thing you could do!” I declared and hopped from the bed down to her, I then leaned my face into her and placed my hooves on her shoulders. “It’d be like E.T. with the government coming to get her!” I declared and the girl stared at me blankly.
“What’s an E.T.?” she questioned. I blinked and then face hooved.
“Oh right… you’re a little girl you probably haven’t seen that,” she admitted to herself and then frowned in thought. “Um, how ‘bout Lilo and Stitch?” she questioned and the little girl continued to stare at her blankly. She also frowned and glared to the side as a cricket chirped softly. “Now’s not the time!” she shouted at the cricket and it looked at her for a moment then hopped off, causing the little girl to giggle in amusement.
Once the rude cricket had vacated Surprise rubbed her temples with a sigh. “I swear, why doesn’t anyone watch the classics anymore?” she grumbled to herself then looked back to the little girl. “Anyways the point is if people find out about her they might try to take her away and hurt her,” I tried to explain as best I could.
“But why? She’s just a little pony!” the little girl reminded me and I chuckled softly.
“Yeah, well we aren’t exactly normal,” I remarked and then shook my head, “people would think we’re aliens or mutants and react badly,” I again tried to explain but the girl still seemed confused. Given her age though it made sense she didn’t exactly understand, she was a little girl who liked ponies, she’d never hurt one so she didn’t understand why someone else would.
Thankfully she didn’t question me further and just looked at Moony worriedly.
I pause that train of thought and instead glance at the unconscious unicorn again. Thankfully it seemed that her wounds weren’t actually all that deep or else I would have risked the vet. I’d cleaned and dressed the wounds with some help from the girl; I didn’t have thumbs and really didn’t want alcohol in my mouth after all. It was just a good thing I’d taken a first aid course a few years ago or, again, I’d have had to risk the vet.
‘I’ve been way too careless,’ I decided as I looked at the unconscious mare. ‘Of all of us I should’ve really paid more attention to the pony living in the bucking woods,’ I thought with narrowed eyes. Even if looking out for everyone was no easy task, the majority of us only had to keep out of sight of people; Moony also had the wild to deal with. ‘Which includes wild animals,’ I noted and rubbed my temples again.
Even with my particular special talent, it takes a lot of to actually look after everyone.
Oh don’t get me wrong I’ve still been helping everypony as best I can, like ensuring Firefly and Posey wound up meeting, or talking to Twilight when the guilt got to her, keeping the pound from catching Applejack with a few distractions, and… well Sparkler hasn’t had any problems yet. However even with all of the things I’ve accomplished there are still limits to what I can do.
Maybe I should be ‘Surprise the Helpful Pony’,’ I thought with a giggle. I then shook my head and trotted over to Moony with a frown. She was unconscious, and not just from blood loss. As it turns out our bodies need magic to function properly, and unfortunately there really isn’t too much to go around right now. Moony was likely the only pony who had active access to her magic now, but that was still worrying.
A pony’s special talent did more than just decide their ‘destiny’; it was really more like a safety net. A pony with a certain special talent had a much easier and safer time using magic derived from it, IE, Moony’s special talent is using sleep magic, my special talent is surprising ponies, etcetera etcetera. We can use magic related to those things easier than we could anything else.
Thus I can’t really mess with the weather right now and Moony can’t teleport. Just… just trust me on that, I tried, and yes I can fly… sort of, but only for short bursts. It turns out that Pegasus wings really are too small to lift our bodies and so we need a bit of magic just to get off the ground. Gliding is fine, but weather control? Ha! I got a little ‘thunderstruck’ when I tried to do that…
Yeah that was bad, sorry, I’m just really worried that one of my friends almost died.
I mean a bear almost got her! Wait… why didn’t she play dead? Aren’t bears lazy? She’d have been fine if she’d dumped the berries from her bag, although wouldn’t a pony be way more appetizing than the berries? Especially given the size of that thing. Also is that trick with playing dead really real or just a myth? Moony would probably know given that she lives near bears in the first place.
Wait, the girl lives around bears too…
“Hey sweetie,” I began and looked to the girl, who blinked at me.
“Yes miss Surprise?” she questioned.
“Has your mommy ever mentioned bears?” I asked and she nodded.
“Yeah! She told me a lot after we moved here,” she replied with a bright smile.
“Oh good,” I whispered quietly, “So do they really leave you alone if you play dead?” I questioned and she frowned.
“Umm,” she murmured with a scratch of her head. “Oh right, she said to only do that if it’s a mother defending her cubs,” she replied and I grimaced.
“And… if not?” I questioned.
“Fight back or run,” the girl replied. I grimaced in response, my ears flattened against my head and I made a note of that for the future. ‘Well, apparently Moony, the pony who’s lived near bears all her life, really did know what to do,’ I realized with a gulp. In hindsight that made a lot more sense than I cared to admit.
Wait… where was I again? Oh right! Taking care of six ponies really isn’t easy, this is especially when you’re also trying to deal with the poison joke. With Posey… like she is… we can’t really have her do anything, thus my best bet to fix things might just be getting a wish from Twilight. That is assuming the wish works right and doesn’t come back to bite me in the flank latter.
It wouldn’t be a selfish wish after all…
“Sweetie, your name is Megan right?” I asked the girl and she nodded.
“Yep,” she replied then grinned widely, bright eyes shining, “hey wait! You have the same cutie-mark as Pinkie Pie!” she noted and I glanced at the three burgundy balloons on my flank and smirked.
“Yeah I guess we kind of do, but I’m actually with the wonderbolts,” I replied. Sure that was actually a fanon guess, and I think the actual pony in the wonderbolts who had blond hair and a white coat was somepony else… but whatever, I’m so not explaining G1 to her!
“Really?” she questioned and then looked around, “wait is Firefly here?” she asked and I stared at her strangely. ‘Why did she ask about Firefly… no wait how does she know who Firefly is?’ I wondered to myself, then shook the thought off. Worry about that later, focus on your friend now!
“No, sorry,” I replied and then had a thought, “Hey sweetie, how do you feel about baking?” I questioned and she blinked, “If you help a little we can make some cookies, I’m sure Moony will be starving when she wakes up,” I remarked.
Not to mention I was pretty hungry myself. I mean don’t get me wrong, I liked sweets as a human but as a pony? Ha! It was like my sweet tooth had gone and conquered my entire mouth!
And besides you can't give away surprise congratulations cookies for surviving a bear attack without the cookies! That's just common sense.
~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~
'Ow,' was my first 'conscious' thought. I slowly opened my eyes and then hissed in pain as a bright light blinded me. I slowly raised a forelimb and brought up a fore-hoof to cover my eyes. 'Bad idea,' I internally moaned as my ears splayed backwards along my head. The bright blinding light that surrounded my left me more than a little disorientated. I briefly tried to think of where I could be.
I could recall the bear, being chased, putting it to sleep, then slowly passing out in the middle of the…
"Wait, why am I not in the forest?" I briefly recalled and then all but shot up to my hooves. However I then widened my eyes and felt my jaw go slack as I found myself in a wide-open space. It was dark, dark as the night sky with millions of tiny little lights in the distance like twinkling stars. I craned my neck back and observed the lofty heavens above and found a solitary moon was shining its light down on me.
"What the buck," I mumbled to myself and then shook my head. I briefly approached the side of my solitary platform of earth and looked down instead. What I saw filled me with dread, a deep dark abyss was all that awaited down below. My solitary plot of earth was all that kept me from falling into the darkness of the void. With a whimper I backed up, only to yelp as one of my hooves nearly fell off. I hopped forward and then gulped in the dead center of the plot of earth.
"Okay this is new," I mumbled and slowly made my way around the solitary plot of earth. I eventually noticed that it was only just big enough to stand on and sat back with a frown. "This is certainly not what I wanted to find when I woke up," I muttered and snorted out a breath. I then paused when I realized it was too quiet and looked up with a frown. "Yo, you awake up there Brain?" I questioned and then frowned when I received no answer.
"So what is going on then?" I wondered as I rubbed my chin with a hoof. After a moment I shook my head and made my way to the edge of the plot of land and looked down, only to yelp and step back as another plot of earth rose from the abyss to attach to it. I blinked in surprise as it did and then narrowed my eyes and trotted forward. I lightly stepped out onto the new plot of earth, and was surprised when I found my hooves against solid earth.
"This feels oddly familiar," I admitted as I trotted forward. More plots of earth rose upward to join with the rest, soon forming into a path into the distance. I couldn't help but wonder where they were taking me, before I noticed something else in the otherwise empty star-scape that surrounded me. There, hovering a distance away, was what looked like a tower hovering on a massive raised plot of earth…
The strange part was that the tower was vast and imposing, rising high into the air while being made of the strangest combination of materials I'd ever seen. Obsidian, Marble, and what looked like dark-oak and a blue-purple colored stone. The tower was tall, sure, but stranger still were what looked to be two hanging rooms built on its sides that stood out from the rest of the main body of the tower.
Stranger still I noticed a clock face near the top of the tower…
"What's something like this doing out in the middle of nowhere?" I wondered to myself. I then continued down the ever-rising path to the land beneath the tower. I hesitantly placed a hoof onto the earth, and then breathed a sigh of relief when my weight didn't cause it to fall. "Duh, if that tower doesn't cause it to fall," I muttered to myself and then approached the tower. Overgrown bushes and an old cobblestone path marked the short path.
"This place sure is overgrown," I noted to myself. Aside from the bushes I could also see a number of tall unruly trees and vines growing over half the tower. Further, I noticed an old broken down fountain off the side of the path that no longer functioned properly. Instead it held a pool of green slimy water that had likely once been clear. Beyond the fountain was an old beaten path, which lead to behind the tower, but I ignored it entirely.
I wasn't too curious what was behind the tower when I could explore the tower itself instead…
I continued on my way silently, though I briefly looked here or there as I went, then walked up a small set of stairs to reach the entrance, but paused at the door itself. "Isn't that my cutie-mark?" I murmured with a glance at my flank. "Huh... well that's a bit odd," I noted to myself. The door was otherwise normal, made from dark oak with a handle made of iron. The handle was actually a ring, and I hummed as I observed it carefully.
"It looks almost big enough," I murmured then raised my hoof then slipped it into the ring and grinned triumphantly. "Ha! Finally a handle I can actually use!" I happily crowed as I then stepped back and pulled the door open. I grunted in effort as the door, ancient and unused, slowly opened itself to my efforts. Soon enough there was enough room in the doorway for me to enter, and I released the handle and then slipped inside.
I made my way inside with a smile, only to slow and allow my jaw to slacken at what I found within the tower. It was, oddly enough, an enormous library inside, with books literally flying off of the shelves. "The buck," I murmured and then walked forward. The books moved from one side to the other, seemingly reorganizing themselves however they saw fit and causing me to smirk.
“Twilight would either love or hate that,” I muttered to myself. I personally leaned more to hate as her OCD would probably make the way they worked drive her crazy. As I made my way through I couldn’t hel but notice that the library was especially odd. Even without the books moving there were no visible stairs to get further up the tower. "So how do I," I began to question only to pause.
Several of the flying books soon flew down and formed into a set of floating stairs for me, which rounded around the room and lead up. "Oh... well that's new," I mumbled with wide eyes before I made my way to the first book. I tentatively place a hoof on it, then frowned as it somehow supported my weight. I then moved to the next, then the next, and so on and so on and before I knew it I was to the second floor.
"Huh, neat," I admitted mostly to myself and then continued on my way. The second floor of the tower was simply an observatory of some kind, with what could only be a star-chart built into the walls and a single window with an old telescope looking out at the back end. I approached the telescope, an old brass and wood number, and frowned at its size. It was roughly my size, meaning it was built for a pony…
Actually... the whole place seemed small enough for a pony…
"Weird," I admitted to myself and then spotted a near hidden alcove with a set of stairs leading upwards. "Onwards and upwards," I mumbled to myself as I approached the stairs and made my way further up into the tower. I paused on my way as I came to a door to the side. I opened it briefly and looked out across a bridge that lead to one of the many hanging rooms I'd noticed earlier.
I guess I might as well explore everything,' I decided as I opened the door, only to pause as I found a sort of sitting room within. It had a fireplace and soft cushions on the floor, not to mention an old comfortable looking rug and a number of bookcases along the walls. I idly made my way around the room for only a little while, before I turned and continued my ascent through the tower.
I soon came to the second room and looked inside, only to raise a brow as I found a simple looking kitchen of sorts, with all the amenities one would expect... if they were living in medieval times that is. 'Okay I'm starting to get the idea,' I noted to myself and hurried back out of the room and continued up the stairs. Finally I came to the next floor of the tower and walked out into a strange room that caused me to raise a brow.
Aside from the mural of my cutie-mark that was dead center on the floor there were a number of doors in all directions on the walls. However oddly enough each door seemed to be made out of different type of wood and in a different style. Some were medieval while others were much more modern. Curious, I made my way onto the floor and heard my hoof steps echo behind me as I approached one of the doors.
I approached a modern one first and idly used my mouth to open it, only to feel my eyebrows shoot up at what I found beyond it. Within the... well... 'World’ beyond the door I saw a parade of humans hefting someone up on a palanquin. The humans didn't seem to notice me while I stared, slack jawed, as they continued on with their... parade? I didn't know what they were doing and instead closed the door without comment.
"The buck was that?" I wondered and then moved to another door. This one opened up into a hallway and I frowned as I walked into it. Within the hallway were even more doors, each one more different than the last. I slowly approached one door, which was made of old rotted wood and bound by iron, and pulled it open. Within I saw a human girl scream as she ran from what looked like Jason Vorheez... who had a chainsaw.
I then noticed the hockey-masked killer spot me and felt my eyes widen.
'Close it! Close it!! CLOSE IT!!!' I thought then slammed the door shut. I took a moment to look around and then grabbed a chain from beside the door and pulled it over it tightly. I then secured the door and allowed a shudder to pass down my spine. "Okay, so this is... I don't know what the buck any of this is," I murmured with a look around. I approached another door and pulled it open, only to see a baby playing with a... I don't really know…
"Okay I'm starting to see what's going on," I decided as I backed up and closed the door. I then rubbed my chin and brought my hoof against my forehead as I realized what was going on. "Oh I'm dreaming," I realized and then shook my head. However I paused and looked at the multitude of doors as something occurred to me. "Wait a tic, I'm a pony with sleep magic," I remarked and then felt a pit form in my stomach as the doors suddenly made sense.
"So then these are all probably other people's dreams," I reasoned and slowly backed out of the hallway with wide eyes. I then closed the door as I reentered the room with my cutie-mark and sat down with a groan. "Great, now I won't even be able to sleep without something crazy happening!" I complained loudly and leaned my head back against the door with a tired sigh. After a moment I looked around with a frown.
"So wait... if this is all a dream, then this tower..." I murmured and hummed in thought. "It might be a sort of... sanctuary for me?" I considered to myself. I did kind of like the idea of having my own tower. Never liked castles personally, they were all too big and hard to take care of. Towers had always appealed to me, even the one in Fantasia that Mickey flooded had appealed to me as a kid... so did that mean I built this tower to be a sort of safe haven?
"I guess it'd be possible," I remarked and then got back up. "But if that door was a hall, what's the difference with all these doors?" I wondered to myself. The main room did have a few more doors like the one with the hall. I briefly walked over to one and found even more hallways with even more doors beyond them. "Okay so those doors," I remarked with a glance at the medieval style doorways, "lead to more halls with more doors," I noted.
I then looked to the other doors, which were more modern and frowned.
"So what about all these?" I wondered as I approached one door. It had a symbol / Cutie-Mark on it that looked vaguely familiar. I idly opened the door and then gasped as I fell into an open sky. I flailed my limbs and screamed as I fell and fell and… what the. "Oof!" I grunted as a magenta colored bullet bowled into me.
“Hey! Watch it!” I heard a voice call and glanced down to see a magenta Pegasus had literally slammed into me. ‘She looks,’ I began to think then glanced at her flank, only to pause and shudder violently. ‘High high high high high!’ I thought fearfully as I saw just how far off the ground we were. With a sudden shriek I grasped the Pegasus face with my legs and she grunted and we started to fall.
“Pull up! Pull up!! Pull up!!!” I demanded wildly.
“What’re you,” she questioned as she moved me to get a look around, only to shriek and grasp me with her own legs. This caused both of us to shriek as we started to fall the insane amount of height down towards the ground below.
“Why are you screaming?!” I demanded with wide eyes.
“I’m afraid of heights!” she shot back and I felt my eyebrow twitch.
“How are you afraid of heights?! You’re a bucking Pegasus!” I shouted and she glared.
“Shut up!” she shouted back and we both looked down and screamed again. We held one another as we fell and I spotted the clouds below, after taking a moment to whimper in fear I then looked to the magenta Pegasus.
“Oh consarn ‘it! Y-Y-Y’all a Pegasus!” I shouted, and briefly slipped into my accent, only for her to look at me strangely.
“S-S-So?!” she demanded and I growled.
“It means ter aim for the bucking cloud dingbat!” I snarled and she blinked.
“Oh right,” she murmured and then looked down with a gulp. “H-Here we go,” she murmured softly as she opened her wings and maneuvered us towards the nearest, and largest, cloudbank she could find. We slammed into it suddenly, however the magenta mare bounced and, thanks to hanging on as tight as possible, I bounced with her. For a moment we remained like that, before the magenta pony nearly collapsed in relief.
“Oh thank Celestia that worked,” she muttered as she wiped at her brow. She then looked at me as I fearfully clung to her and she frowned. “Um, you can let go whenever,” she grumbled and I glared at her.
“Oh a unicorn,” she murmured then scratched at her head. “Wait, what’re you doing in the air?” she questioned then shuddered, “For that matter, what am I doing in the air?!” she all but demanded and I glared at her.
“P-Pr-Probably a flying dream,” I responded with a whimper as I glanced down.
“Weird,” the pony responded and then frowned, “wait if this is a dream, then what are you doing here?” she questioned and I glared at her.
“D-D-Does it matter?!” I questioned and she gave me a look.
“Well kinda,” she admitted then frowned, “I mean ponies don’t normally just pop into the sky,” she remarked. She then tilted her head as an idea came to mind, “unless you teleported up here or something,” she mused aloud. I rolled my eyes and then glanced up to see the door back to my… sanctuary? Yeah I’m going to go with that.
“N-N-Nice, look can you get me up there?” I questioned and pointed a shaky hoof up to the door well above us. However she merely looked at me like I was crazy.
“Are you kidding! I can’t fly!” she shouted and caused me to gape.
“You were flying not two minute ago!” I shouted at her and she frowned.
“Well yeah but I don’t know how or why!" she responded and I growled.
“Ugh, lord tell me why?!” I demanded, slipping back into my accent as I looked to the sky, “Why in tartarus did I have ta find the one Pegasus that can’t bucking fly?!” I demanded of the sky. No answer came but the Pegasus started to snicker and I growled at her angrily. “You hear somethin’ funny?” I growled and she smirked.
“You sound like Applejack!” she declared and I rolled my eyes.
“Not really, I’m not from Texas,” I responded then clicked my tongue, “Truth be told Tennessee has a different accent same with Cajun’s and the like,” I noted with a roll of my hoof and got a blank stare from the pony. With a groan I summarized it, “Basically there are a couple of southern accents, an’ mine ain’t the same as ol AJ’s,” I replied then smirked, “Kinda like how all Pegasus parrently don’ fly.”
“Hey! Cheap shot!” she exclaimed and I smirked.
“Too bad, so sad, Maggie,” I replied. She blinked.
“Maggie?” she questioned and I nodded my head.
“Your magenta, so Maggie,” I responded and she frowned.
“No, I’m pretty sure I’m pink,” she noted bluntly and my left eye twitched.
“Nah, you’re magenta,” I stated with narrowed eyes.
“Listen here, I think I know what color my coat is,” she stated and I snorted.
“Sure, I’mma listen to tha Pegasus who don’ know how ta fly,” I quipped and she growled.
“That’s so not the same thing!” she shouted at me, “and I’m pink! Pink! Not magenta so stop calling me Maggie!” she snarled at me. I mutely frowned and narrowed my eyes.
“Please, I know magenta when I see it, you’re a bit too reddish-purple tah be pink,” I noted and saw her eye twitch.
“Oh and what makes you such an expert? Huh?”
“Well I…”
“Huh?!”
“If ya would just…”
“HUH!?!”
“Shut up ya dang feather head!” I snarled at the mare, then held a hoof to the side and, somehow, summoned a familiar dog. “See here! Y’all are the same shade as Courage!” I snapped at her as I held the dog towards her. She gaped as the said dog gave a small whine and I blinked as my anger slowly started to subside. “Huh… I didn’t know I could do that,” I admitted to myself.
“Courage? You mean from Courage the cowardly dog?” the mare muttered then grinned as she grabbed the dog with her hooves and held him up, “Oh cool! I loved that show!” she declared. She then paused and glared at me as she did. “Oh whatever, fine, I’m magenta, happy now?” she questioned with a glare and I snorted.
“I would’a been a lot happier if we didn’t have to argue ‘bout it!” I responded.
“Yeah yeah,” the mare replied then looked at the cowardly dog in her hooves. “Wait, how did you summon Courage here?” she questioned.
“We’re in a dream, ‘course I can do ‘at kind of stuff,” I responded with a roll of my eyes.
“Ohhh so that’s what’s going on,” she responded.
“Yeah I said it earlier!” I reminded her with a growl.
“Well… whatever!” she cried out and held Courage close, “so now what?” she questioned and I rolled my eyes.
“Get me up there!” I stated and pointed a hoof up. The mare blinked and then glanced up and Courage whimpered in her hooves with a quiet familiar whine. “And could ya please get rid of ‘at dog?” I pleaded and she narrowed her eyes.
“I can maybe figure out a way to get us to there,” she noted and then frowned, “But as for getting rid of Courage, no!” she responded. With a groan I placed my hoof to my face, inhaled a breath through my nose, then focused on her once more.
“So ‘bout gettin’ me up there,” I noted and she chuckled softly.
“Yeah… see the problem is I’m kind of scared of heights,” she noted and I frowned.
“You’re a Pegasus,” I responded and she twitched.
“Yeah I know it doesn’t make sense, but just trust me on this,” she grumbled. She then glanced around shiftily and grabbed me. “Just… just don’t tell anyone else, please?” she pleaded and I rolled my eyes.
“Righ’ I’m really ‘bout ta tell someone ‘at a Pegasus I meet in the dream-scape is ‘fraid a heights,” I noted sarcastically.
“Well when you put it that way,” the mare muttered and then cleared her throat. “I should probably introduce myself, it’s Firefly,” she noted and I blinked. I then glanced at her flank and scratched my head.
“Huh… weird… Moon Dancer,” I responded and she glanced to my flank and raised a brow.
“Your more white than yellow… and you don’t look anything like Twilight,” she noted suspiciously.
“What?” I questioned and she sighed.
“No never mind,” she stated with a shake of her head. She then looked up and then closed her eyes. “Dream, this is a dream,” she muttered and the cloudbank we were on started to rise up into the sky. After a few moments we were high enough that I could see the door and released a breath I hadn’t been aware I’d been holding in.
“Oh thank heaven,” I muttered and Firefly frowned.
“So… you mentioned a dream-scape,” she noted and I nodded my head, “what’s that like?” she questioned.
“Basically a sanctuary for me that leads ta a bunch of hallways leading ta the dreams of anyone sleeping,” I remarked with a shrug. Firefly tilted her head in response and then hummed softly.
“So wait… are you a real pony then?” she questioned and I shot her a look.
“As opposed to what?” I questioned and shook her head.
“No no! I mean are you like an actual unicorn pony living in the real world?” she questioned and I rolled my eyes.
“Eeyep,” I responded and she snorted.
“Don’t do that!” she shouted and I smirked.
“Nope,” I responded and she continued to snicker.
“Stop that!” she shouted and then exhaled a breath. “Anyways I’m in the real world too!” she declared and I raised a brow.
“Sure you are,” I mumbled sarcastically.
“Yeah! So how’ve things been for you?” she asked a bit too eagerly.
“A bear nearly mauled me,” I remarked bluntly and she winced.
“Oh… ouch, is that why,” she began and I silently nodded my head, “Oh… heh, the worst thing to happen to me was making Posey cry,” she admitted and I blinked.
“Posey?” I questioned and she nodded.
“Yeah her sister kind of brought her over,” she responded and I raised a brow.
“Didn’t know Posey had a sister,” I admitted.
“She’s human,” Firefly explained and I made an oh with my mouth, then paused. I hadn’t mentioned being changed into a pony… well… shoot…
“Right,” I mumbled softly and then narrowed my eyes. “So, seen anyone else?” I questioned and she shook her head.
“Nah, aside from a few mentions of a white Pegasus online I haven’t really seen anything. Well there was that kids show that was saying to avoid blue flowers,” she admitted and I hummed. That first bit sounded suspiciously like Surprise…
“Right… well I best be headin’ off now,” I noted and then looked over to the door out of Firefly’s dream. I took a quick breath before I leaped off of her and then clambered into the doorway to release a shuddering breath.
“You okay?” Firefly questioned. She was seated on her cloud, Courage desperately hanging onto her for dear life. Not that I imagined the cowardly mutt would do anything else, he was kind of known for freaking out over the slightest provocation after all.
“Fine,” I responded with an exhale then turned to face her.
”So…” Firefly began and then looked at me curiously. “Any idea on how the pony thing happened?” she questioned. “I mean it was kind of cool for a while but it’s getting really dangerous for everyone with all the poison joke,” she noted and then her eyes widened, “You don’t think Earth is turning into Equestria or… Ponyland… or whatever it’s called do you?!” she questioned worriedly.
However I shrugged my ‘arms’ helplessly.
“Truth be told I’m probably ‘bout as lost as you are,” I admitted. She groaned in response and I sighed tiredly. “Look I’m probably being a bit of a jerk, but I really should get out of here,” I noted with a nudge into my sanctuary. Firefly shot a look at me, then glanced inside with a curious expression.
“Whoa, that looks so cool,” she admitted and I rolled my eyes.
“Sure whatever, now I really don’t think I should stick around,” I noted by Firefly shot another look at me.
“You’re not the nicest pony you know,” she remarked and I rolled my eyes.
“Look up Gen 1 Moon Dancer sometime,” I commented and then smirked,
“Apparently I put a sleep curse on Cotton Candy for eating my sweet grass and threatened to keep her that way till Christmas,” I noted and Firefly’s eyes bolted open.
“Whoa… I… I didn’t know that,” she admitted and looked at me warily. “Wait, what were you before you were a pony?” she questioned and I frowned.
“A guy,” I responded and she frowned.
“Uh… how does a guy know that about,” she began and I sighed.
“I looked it up out of curiosity once,” I replied with a sigh.
“Right,” she replied then glanced at me strangely.
“What?” I grumbled and she hopped over to give me a hug. “What are you doing?” I questioned with a raised brow. She mutely continued the hug, nuzzled my neck for a moment, and then just as quickly turned and hopped back out to her cloud with a sheepish expression.
“You… you kind of looked like you really needed that,” she admitted. "So… uh... if it's a dream it doesn't count, right?"
"Only if we remember it after we wake up. Given you're a normal pony or human then I'd assume that you'll forget this meeting unless my magic messes with it or something. And given I'm apparently a dream walker or something then... yeah I'm gonna remember this no matter how much I try to forget it happened,” I noted with a soft sigh.
"Heh, well sorry. It’s just… I was already a girl and it was already hard to get used to, so I can’t imagine how bad it was for you,” she admitted. I mutely raised a brow and she coughed into her hoof. “Oh look at the time, I should really go before things get anymore awkward, it was nice meeting you, bye!” she stated and both the pony and her cloud vanished and the door suddenly slammed shut in my face.
I blinked and silently stared at the closed door for a moment. Only now I could see that the 'cutie-mark' upon its surface had also faded in color. "Well... that was certainly an experience," I murmured softly to myself. And really, how else was I supposed to react? I'd just walked into another pony's dream... "Is this what Luna feels like every night?" I wondered to myself.
"Well it isn’t as if I'm really walking through another person's dream," I admitted to myself and then sat back with a frown. "But then again how would I be able to tell if this were a dream, I mean if it weren't I'd still believe it was, and if it was then how could I tell it was since it won't matter when I wake up," I began to murmur, only to groan as I began to feel a migraine. "No, not going to think too hard on this one," I decided as I got back to my hooves.
I then shook my head and turned away from that door and all the others. I was in no mood for more hijinks in any other 'dreams' for the rest of the night. Instead I made my way back to the stairs of the tower and continued further upwards. I wandered up until I came out into a clockwork area. I figured I was in the space behind the clock face on the front of the tower, and really who'd ever wanted to live in a Clocktower!
"Oh wait, me," I recalled. With a slight blush I coughed into one hoof and then started to canter around. The clockwork gears and cogs and other such brick-a-brack turned and churned mechanically. The precise movements were lost on me, but the ever present noise of clockwork motion was not. My ears flicked here and there as they sought out this sound or that without fail.
I frowned as I wandered through the clockwork gears and mechanical things I had no real name for. Part of me wanted to find a book in the library and figure out how the clock work on the off chance I needed to know in the future. But the more sensible part of me then recalled that this was a dream and that there was little to no way that I'd ever need to know how such a massive clock functioned.
"Well I'm here..." I murmured and then frowned, "so now what?" I wondered to myself. I briefly examined my surroundings for anything of note or merit, whether it be big or small, anything at all that might be a clue or a way out of this crazy dream. Eventually I spotted a low glow from a small doorway near the back of the clockwork area. I made my way there swiftly, but carefully and pushed the door open with my hoof.
Within this new room I found an odd sight, a glowing sphere with a number of tiny white threads reaching off of what looked like a spiral fluted horn. "Well if that doesn't just scream 'dream spell' I don't know what does," I mumbled quietly as I approached the odd sphere. I looked around it for a moment, idly wondered how I turned it off, then sighed. "Well, as the Doctor would say, Allonz-y!" I declared and swiped a hoof through the sphere…
There was a sudden, well... I can't really describe the sensation exactly. It was almost like everything turned funny, not ha ha funny, but 'The heck?' kind of funny, for the smallest of moments, only to swiftly change back to normal... if that makes any kind of sense. The next thing I knew I was laying on something uncomfortable, and I felt like utter shite... and then I noticed the elephant in the room.
"Surprise!"
"GAH!"
Or rather I noticed the pegasus pony who just had to shout that just as soon as she jumped into view. Unfortunately that also made me jump back, which caused me to hit the wall and nearly knocked me back into unconsciousness. Okay so technically I only managed to 'skid' back really, but the effect was almost the same. And all that said, oh dear sweet Cele... you know what, no... Dear Sweet baby Luna, today is just not my day!
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.. oh my.. , have to re-read all story ...
8146397
Feel free to point any mistakes while you do so, still no beta reader for this - -.
8146588
uhm... I will disappoint you.., because English is not my first language..
And I hard to read smoothly .. not to mention to point any mistakes ..
8146588 In chapter 2, Firefly was a boy transformed in a mare.
In this chapter, she was a girl before her transformation.
I strongly recommand changing one of the above
Interesting, so Moondancer found a pre-existing dream... spell? I thought they all just turned into ponies because of Twilight's wish, and there wasn't anything pre-existing. I still say Moondancer having a conversation with her brain is kind of lame, certainly wouldn't be something I'd use very often. She's basically talking with a snarky genre savvy author avatar disguised as a brain, and we readers wouldn't find that nearly as witty and clever as the author thinks it is. Not sure I like this "mastermind" type Surprise, who's been trying to secretly coordinate the others, but now she's actually got direct interaction, so maybe it'll work out?
Still no word from Twilight herself. I wonder how she's doing. But I also realize it's a bad idea to focus the story on her, since she's pretty much an omnipotent god who can wish anything into or out of existence, including existence itself.
8147814
Done.
8147825
We last saw Twilight just two chapters ago:
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/202288/6/unlucky-seven/06-silly
Surprise is not exactly sane, and she admits that herself. The reason why she acted the way she did will be probably explained in the next chapter.
Twilight wish granting is a double edged sword.
I think you should read the fic since chapter 01 to understand it better.
8149128
You may want to change that passage.
And change boy with girl of course.
Glad Moondacer is alright.
8156650
Okay.
8156300
Twilight: Was a 16 year old girl that was a paralytic.
Surprise: ?
Posey: Was a bully girl in high school.
Firefly: Was a punk girl, same age as Twi.
Sparkler: Alpha Bitch/Queen Bee cheerleader girl
Applejack: A football team jock turn to mare.
Moon Dancer: Former man.