> Chasing Dreams
>  by Final Draft
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One-The Dream Chaser
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Flash Mustang breaks into the lead, being followed closely by Checkered Flag! Fire Bolt and Thunder Hooves are neck and neck—but wait, what’s this?! Out of nowhere, Dream Chaser passes them all! In all the Equestria Games I’ve spectated, I have never seen a comeback like this!”

With the crowd’s cheers drowning out the announcer pony, Dream Chaser barreled past the other four racers. He willed his legs to go faster, aiming not only for the victory, but for a record that no other pony could ever break. His eyes darted to the stands, where he could see Princess Celestia up in the royal seating, smiling down at him. As he rounded the bend, he saw his beloved Dream Catcher, right in the front row where she said she would be. She blew him a kiss as he passed, and his heart, which was already pounding, skipped a beat. When this was over he was going to ask her to marry him.

He turned his full attention back to the race and pumped his legs harder. The finish line was in sight! All he had worked for was finally coming to fruition! The cheering of the crowd, the heat of the sun, the aches and pains in his overworked muscles, even the competition all faded from existence. The only things that mattered now were him, the finish line, and the ground beneath his hooves. 

Suddenly, the competition did matter, and it did exist! One by one, the other racers passed him. He couldn’t believe they had caught up; he had been so sure he’d had the race won. He was already going as fast as he could, and no amount of trying was going to close the widening gap. The finish line was now getting further away…disappearing with the other ponies into the distance. He was still running, but getting nowhere.

The sky turned black; the stands of cheering ponies disappeared. He tried to keep running, but his legs became stones, seemingly weighed down by an invisible force.

“Good luck chasing that dream,” a dark voice echoed all around him. In the space where the sky once was, a face appeared. The eyes glowed red and looked at him with a mixture of disgust and hatred. He tried to turn from the face, but it was behind him as well. The face tilted down, revealing a unicorn horn which began glowing red. A beam of magic shot the ground in front of him, opening a crevasse, which then swallowed him whole. As he spiraled down, the voice echoed all around him. He tried closing his eyes and covering his ears, but to no avail: the voice was inside his head as well. He opened his eyes and saw the bottom of the pit fast approaching. Putting his legs out in at attempt to break the fall, he closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

“Oof!” Dream Chaser grunted as he hit the floor of his apartment. He opened his eyes and waited a moment for them to adjust to the darkness. He’d rolled out of his bed and onto the floor. He sighed and lay there for a moment, debating if he should just lay there forever. His heart beat was pounding in his ears and he rested his head on the cool floorboards. Directly in his line of sight, tucked under the bed, was an unmarked black box.

Opening it usually made him sick to his stomach, and after the recurring nightmare he’d just woken up from, he decided against it. Instead, he rolled over and tried to stand up, which resulted in him falling backwards into his mattress. The blankets had managed to wrap themselves around his legs completely. He pulled at them with his teeth. After untangling himself, he let the blankets fall to the floor. The clock on his bedside table chimed once, indicating one o’clock. He stared at the hands through the darkness, and then looked at the moon outside his window, debating if he should attempt to sleep again.

Pain, awakened by his fight with the blankets, flared up in his rear legs, resulting in his decision that sleep could wait. He clumsily stood up and hobbled across the dark apartment, passing a large mirror that had once been his mother’s. He always made a point not to look at his reflection every time he passed it by, but his eyes wandered this time. He barely recognized the stallion in the reflection as himself. The brilliant red mane he’d once possessed was faded and unkempt; his gold fur stuck up at odd angles. What he found hardest to look at: the remains of his cutie mark, those three silver shooting stars which had appeared on his flanks years ago were now covered by large scars which ran down each leg identically. These were the same three silver shooting stars that he and his parents had been so proud of when they had appeared, but now they meant nothing. He turned away from the mirror and tried not to think about it, continuing to hobble towards the bathroom. When he reached the bathroom, he grabbed at the light switch with his teeth and pulled downward. The bulb lit up, then popped, leaving Dream Chaser in the darkness.

“Perfect,” he muttered, letting the pull string fall from his mouth. Continuing towards the sink, he looked through the darkness and saw several warped reflections of himself staring back. Despite changing the light bulb a dozen times, he could never be bothered to replace the mirror above the sink, which he’d smashed in a stupid fit of rage a few years ago. The reflections all had the same gold eyes as he did, and they scanned the sink top, looking for the prescription bottle. When he found it, he loosened the cap with his hoof and upended the bottle into his mouth. Two large capsules landed on his tongue and he turned on the faucet. It shook before a stream of dingy water poured out. The taste of chlorine and rust hit his taste buds immediately and he drank only enough to get the pills past his tonsils. He shut off the faucet and ran his tongue around his mouth, trying to get rid of the taste of city water. Although it was now empty, Dream Chaser put the cap back on the prescription bottle and placed it back on the sink. He didn’t want to go to the pharmacy for a refill; he didn’t want to go outside for any reason at all. Still, he needed the painkillers.

Dream Chaser hobbled out of the bathroom, hoping the throbbing in his legs would be quelled shortly by the onset of the pain killers. He didn’t want to go back to sleep and looked around the apartment for something to do. It was a quaint little place on the outskirts of Manehatten, being big enough for two to raise a family comfortably. The rent was cheap, the neighbors were quiet, and there were no stairs. Even though he’d been here for ten years, he’d never put a single personal touch into the apartment. No pictures hung on the walls; no knick knacks on any of the shelves; no furniture. Aside from his bed, a kitchen set, and the mirror that had been his mother’s, his place was barren.

He paced around in the darkness for an hour, trying to get the knots out of his legs, fully knowing that it was an impossible task. As the clock chimed two o’clock, the painkillers finally kicked in, and he walked back into his bedroom. He reached down and grabbed the blanket off the floor and tossed it back onto the mattress. Something fell out of the blanket as he did so, hitting the floor with a familiar sound. It rolled across the floor boards, coming to a stop only after hitting something solid under the bed. Dream Chaser immediately recognized the sound and debated if he wanted to retrieve the item. Reluctantly, he got down to the floor and peered under the bed. In spite of the darkness, the gold coin glistened, waiting expectantly for him. He dragged it toward him with his hoof, sat on his haunches, and inspected the coin. It had a dream catcher set into the surface on one side and three shooting stars on the other. Unwelcome memories and feelings stirred inside him and he looked away from the coin.

Yet somehow he wanted to embrace those memories; to remember a time when he was happy and pain free. His mind went back to the box under the bed and he got down to the floor to look at it. It sat hidden in the darkness, calling to him, begging to be opened. Before he realized it, he was dragging the box towards him. It slid heavily through the dust, making its yearly pilgrimage out from under the bed. Repositioning himself, Dream Chaser hoisted the box onto his lap and wiped the dust off the top.

“Do you really want to do this to yourself again?” a voice in his head asked. “Remember what happened last time?” He remembered very well what had happened the last time. He remembered tying that rope, remembered putting it around his neck, remembered…

A cramp suddenly ran through his legs, causing him to bolt upright, sending the box crashing to the floor. He gritted his teeth as his muscles contracted and he struggled not to scream, not to breathe, not to feel. He collapsed on the floor and writhed in pain for what seemed like an eternity. The coin he’d retrieved from under the bed lay on the floor in front of his eyes and he stared at it, trying to concentrate on it instead of the pain. His cutie mark side of the coin had landed up and he focused on the three stars. He stared at it so intensely that when he closed his eyes, a false image remained, as if burned into his retinas.

As the clock chimed three o’clock, the muscles in his legs finally relaxed and he unclenched his teeth. Slowly, slowly… he stood up, testing his legs’ willingness to support him, eventually deciding they would. The stars still obscured his vision, taking him a moment to locate the coin he’d spent the last hour staring at. He picked it up with his teeth and turned next to the box.

After his spasm, the box had landed in the middle of the room, right side up, illuminated by a beam of moonlight shining through the window. Anxiously he approached it, his legs nearly giving out again in his haste. He eased his body into the most comfortable sitting position he could manage and pried the box open.

> Chapter Two-Born To Run
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Every time he’d gone through the box, he’d made sure to put the contents back chronologically. He thought it was best to remember the good before the bad. On top of the stack of photos, letters, and newspaper clippings was a faded photo of an aged stallion and a young mare holding a foal wrapped in cloth. He knew this to be the first Chaser Family photo.

His father, Gold Chaser, stood there tall and proud. His gold mane and coat were given no justice by the faded photo, with his cutie mark of two crossed pick axes nothing more than a smudge.

His mother, Dream Weaver, substantially younger than her husband, had a red mane down to her tail which obscured her astral swirl cutie mark. Inside the cloth bundle she was holding was the foal he recognized as himself. Nothing more than a ball of gold fluff and a tuft of red mane, he was the pride and joy of his parents.

After staring at the picture for a few moments, he placed it upside down next to him, as he did every time he went through the box. He reached back into the box and took out the next picture. He laughed at the sight of himself covered in chocolate cake on his first birthday. He quickly shuffled through the next dozen trying to find one in particular. When he found it, he held it up to the moonlight so he could see every little detail. He was a colt in the picture, and his eyes were lit up with joy at the sight of his cutie mark.

Dream Chaser leaned his head back against the wall and looked at the picture with a feeling of warmth inside him. He closed his eyes and focused on the memory.

His father had been off at work and his mother busy running errands that day. As always, they had left him home alone and told him to be good until they got back. Typically, he could handle the task, but this day was different. It had rained non-stop for a week, and the one day it was nice out, he was told to stay inside.

He’d spent the first half of the day alternating between seeing how fast he could run up and down the staircase, and watching the neighborhood ponies play out in the street. They paid him no mind as he pressed his nose against the glass, watching them enjoy their freedom. He had sighed and gone back to running up and down the staircase.

He counted one hundred repetitions and ran to the large mirror his parents kept in the living room. To his dismay, his flank was still blank! Disappointed, he went back to looking outside. This time, as he pressed his face against the glass, a filly took notice. She was around his age, with white fur and a white mane with a blue ribbon in it.

She tilted her head inquisitively and Dream Chaser ducked from the window. When he thought she was gone, he slowly brought his eyes even with the window pane. She was now in his front yard, walking cautiously to the window. Some of the other ponies in the streets had stopped to watch her; others were looking at him with curiosity.

She walked all the way up to the window and peered in, her emerald eyes meeting with his. He felt some sort of comfort when he looked into her eyes and opened the window.

“What are you doing inside?” she asked. 

“My parents told me to stay inside,” Dream Chaser replied. She looked behind him, scanning the room for something she couldn’t see.

“Are they home? Ask them if you can come out,” she said.

“They aren’t home and I don’t know when they will be,” he said sadly.

“Oh,” she said. They both went quiet and watched as a ladybug crawled along the windowpane before taking flight. “You should come out anyway,” she said with a smile.

He wanted to, very badly, in fact. Since moving to Manehatten, he’d made no friends, and here was a golden opportunity to socialize. Her hooves wrapped around his and she began tugging him gently, trying to coax him out the window. He resisted, but she tried harder. Eventually he gave in and let her pull him through the window. They stood there, smiling at each other as several of the neighborhood ponies gathered around.

“I’m Dream Catcher,” she said, “What’s your name?” He couldn’t process her question because he was still working her name through his head. Dream Catcher.

“My name?” he asked stupidly.

“Yeah? You have one, right?” she asked, walking circles around him. He felt the eyes of the other ponies staring at him.

“I’m Dream Chaser,” he said at last.

“Really? No way!” she said excitedly, finally stopping in front of him. “We could be the Dream Team!” He let her lead him around, introducing the other ponies that made up the crowd. There was Rough Draft, Beach Comber, Afternoon Delight, Grease Monkey and so many more he couldn’t remember. They were earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns of varying age and color.

During the introductions, there was a group of older ponies who had kept their distance from the crowd, watching and whispering to one another.

“Who are they?” he asked after noticing them. The large one in the middle raised his eyebrow at Dream Chaser. He was by far the oldest of the ponies in the crowd and the biggest. He had black fur, a mane that looked like fire, and eyes that burned with the intensity of the sun. Dream Catcher didn’t have to look to know who he was referring to. She began walking, indicating for him to do the same.

“They’re the bullies,” she said, as they walked through the dispersing crowd. Many of the ponies resumed playing; others had taken notice of the bullies and ran back to their houses. “They think because they’re older and have their cutie marks or whatever, that they’re better than us. But I heard they were all last of their classes to get their cutie marks. So, you know, the bullied became the bullies.”

“Where are we going?” he asked suddenly, not realizing they had walked so far from his yard.

“Somewhere safe,” she replied. He turned around to see the bullies had made their way through the crowd and were taking large strides towards them.

“Should we run? I can run fast! I’m pretty sure it’s my special talent,” he said, picking up the pace. She struggled to keep up even with his slowest speed.

“Please slow down; don’t leave me,” she begged, her emerald eyes beginning to water. The bullies were now spread out evenly through the street, blocking their way back and closing the distance the two had put between them. Dream Chaser slowed down and matched his pace with Dream Catcher’s. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

Bullies passed them on either side and came to a stop in front of them, blocking their path. Six in all, they had them surrounded. They had come to a stop in a shady part of town, where the houses all had boarded windows, and horseshoes hung from the power lines.

“It wasn’t very nice of you to leave without introducing us,” said a voice from behind them. They turned to see the large black pony making his way between two of the other ponies, bringing the number of bullies to seven. Now that he was closer, Dream Chaser could see the scars that covered his body.

“Dream Chaser, this-this is Smoke Storm,” Dream Catcher said timidly. Smoke Storm began walking around the circle the other bullies had formed.

“Aren’t you going to introduce my friends?” he asked, stopping in front of a Pegasus pony with only one wing. Dream Catcher just looked around the circle then down at the ground. “Forgotten? Let me remind you. This is Earth Bound,” he said, gesturing to the one winged Pegasus. Earth Bound was green with a black mane, green eyes and a Hindenburg cutie mark.

Next he walked to a purple earth pony with a short yellow tail and mane. It took Dream Chaser a few moments to realize she was a mare. Her cutie mark was a broken heart. “This is Tough Love,” Smoke Storm said, passing by her. She looked at Dream Catcher with her yellow eyes and licked her lips; her tongue ring shining in the sunlight.

“Short Stack,” he said as he passed a short, fat Clydesdale pony with a plate of pancakes for a cutie mark. He continued around the circle till they were all introduced. There was Twenty-Twenty, an orange unicorn a little older than Dream Chaser with purple eyes, neither of which ever looked in the same direction; Trash Picker, a skinny unicorn with dirty blue fur and a brown mane; finally, there was Chewy, a red Pegasus with a blue and white mane. Chewy smiled after his introduction, revealing his three remaining teeth, which were just about the same color of Trash Picker’s mane.

“And what was your name again?” Smoke Storm asked, getting right up into Dream Chaser’s face. His breath was hot and smelled of raw onions, burning Dream Chaser’s eyes.

“Dream Chaser,” he said, not breaking eye contact, “Pleased to meet you.” The other ponies around the circle laughed and Smoke Storm began circling like a shark once again. He looked at Dream Chaser’s flank, which he tried to cover with his tail.

“Haven’t found your special talent yet?” Smoke Storm asked. “You probably don’t have one.”

“Everypony has a special talent,” Dream Catcher piped up. “You should know that.”

“I’d like to show her my special talent,” Tough Love said, taking a step toward the filly. Smoke Storm looked her in the eyes sternly and she slunk back to the outer circle. Dream Chaser had stepped in front of Dream Catcher, attempting to shield her from the bullies. Smoke Storm turned and laughed at seeing his display of bravery.

“Don’t you look tough?” he laughed and took a step closer. The rest of the circle closed in as well, sensing the situation was reaching its climax. “Maybe your special talent is bruising.”

“Or bleeding,” Earth Bound added.

“Or crying,” Trash Picker said.

“Or bleeding,” Twenty-Twenty repeated.

They stopped to look at Twenty-Twenty and just shook their heads. It was the opportunity Dream Chaser had been waiting for. He spun around and bucked Smoke Storm in the snout with his hind legs as hard as he could. It was the stupidest thing he’d ever done, and he hoped it wouldn’t be the last.

“Run!” he shouted to Dream Catcher. She blinked in disbelief, as did the bullies: no one had ever stood up to them. “Run!” he repeated. She nodded and dodged between Trash Picker and Chewy, running back home.

“No!” Smoke Storm shouted and stopped Dream Chaser in his tracks. He faced Dream Chaser, with a stream of blood running down his snout, and ordered, “Kill him.”

Without time to think, Dream Chaser turned and bolted out of the circle, going further into the city. He’d never been this far from home and he had no idea where he was going. He passed by newsstands and confused onlookers as he attempted to put some distance between him and his pursuers. Smoke Storm was leading the pack and gaining ground fast.

“You’re fast, little pony,” Smoke Storm sneered, getting closer. “But my special talent just happens to be running.” Dream Chaser sprinted down a back alley lined with trash cans and garbage, which slowly began coming to life. Trash Picker was using his magic and began launching barrages of garbage into the air. Dream Chaser dodged them easily with his small size, but Smoke Storm was not as coordinated, and caught a bag to the face.

This was Dream Chaser’s chance to put some serious distance between them and himself, so he kicked into his next gear. He was now running faster than he’d ever been able to do inside, and he burst from the alley into an open street. Ponies watched in awe as he sprinted along; his legs nothing more than a blur. After what seemed like miles, he was sure he’d lost them. He began to slow down to a normal pace, looking around, trying to figure out exactly where he was.

Unfortunately for him, Smoke Storm knew exactly where he was. He’d cut through several back alleys and came out in front of Dream Chaser, who had been too busy looking back to notice, until it was too late. He tried to turn around, but five of the other bullies had caught up to him (Short Stack had been left in the dust at the start).

“You aren’t going to get your cutie mark by running away,” Smoke Storm said, spitting blood. They began closing in on him, and frantically, he looked around for a way out. There were brick walls to his left and right, and an alley a little ways up the street, but that would require getting past Smoke Storm.

He lowered his head and scratched the ground with his hoof, getting a chuckle out of Smoke Storm.

“So is that how it’s going to be?” he laughed, lowering his head as well. They charged at each other full speed, staring into the other’s eyes, looking for a sign of weakness. At the last moment, Dream Chaser pumped his legs and jumped over Smoke Storm’s head. As soon as he landed, he ran for the alley. He could hear Smoke Storm’s horseshoes tearing up the pavement as he skidded to a stop and turned to give chase once more.

The alley he’d gone down ended abruptly with a wooden fence, and he knew it was over. He now understood why his parents had told him to stay inside: it was safe there. Now, it was too late. He wouldn’t get to see them to apologize; he wouldn’t get to make any new friends; he wouldn’t get to see Dream Catcher, ever again.

“You lose, little pony,” Smoke Storm said, as he slowly made his way toward Dream Chaser. “No more dream chasing for you.” The other five ponies filed in after him, spreading out side by side. “Trash Picker, move this trash. I’m going to need a lot of room,” he said slowly. The bags of trash lifted into the air and formed a wall behind the bullies, keeping anyone who might be in the street from seeing the beating that was about to occur. Dream Chaser closed his eyes, finally giving up. 

“Wait! Stop!”

He opened his eyes to see Smoke Storm shouting at Trash Picker and pointing at the fence. At the bottom was a very large hole, which had been filled with garbage bags until Trash Picker moved them. Without hesitation, Dream Chaser dove through it, coming out by a railroad bed where dozens of tracks intersected. He sprinted down the dirt hill toward the tracks, followed close behind by his pursuers. He watched a steam locomotive chugging toward him, white smoke billowing from its smokestack.

If he could get on the other side, maybe, just maybe, he could finally get away from them. He rushed at the train, knowing that just one slip up meant he was done for. The conductor of the train began blowing the whistle, trying to warn the six ponies on the tracks of the danger. Four of them heeded the warning and stopped to watch the other two test fate. Dream Chaser bounded over the track with time to spare, with his heart pounding and his legs aching.

Smoke Storm made it over the track by the hair of his tail and rushed to catch up with Dream Chaser, who had continued running. More trains were flowing through the merge bed and the tracks began shifting. Smoke Storm had almost caught up when something caught his horseshoe and he tripped, twisting his ankle.

“Help! Please help me!” he wailed.

Dream Chaser was already to the other side of the train bed when he heard the desperate cries. He saw Smoke Storm in the distance trying to tug his hoof loose from a section of track. Barreling up the same track was a freight train, driven by a conductor who was unaware of the situation. With no time to think, Dream Chaser ran back onto the tracks. 

He’d never run so fast in his life before: never having had the room or the right motivation to do so. Time seemed to slow around him as he ran, with the trains slowing to a crawl, allowing him to pass in front of them. He reached Smoke Storm as the freight train was inches away. Without even thinking, he dove into him.

The force of the impact was enough to rip Smoke Storm’s horseshoe off, and they tumbled to the gravel between another set of tracks. The train went by and sparks flew up from the tracks. For a moment they just sat there between the passing trains, breathing heavily and not talking.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Smoke Storm said after a while. “Thanks.” He held his uninjured hoof out. They hoof-bumped and Dream Chaser went to stand up. “Hey, look,” Smoke Storm said, pointing to Dream Chaser’s flank. His cutie mark, three shooting stars, had finally appeared. “I guess I was wrong about you having no special talent after all. You’re even faster than me.”

All the trains finally passed and the other bullies crossed the tracks toward the two. Smoke Storm waved them off before they could attack and they stared in confusion.

“Yo, Smoke, what did he do to you?” Earth Bound asked, looking at his twisted ankle.

“He saved me is what he did,” Smoke Storm dazedly remarked as Earth Bound hoisted him up. “I owe this pony my life.” The bullies just looked at him, amazed at this turn of events. They then turned to look at Dream Chaser, their eyes zeroing in on his newfound cutie mark.

“But…we were going to hurt you. Why would you do something like that?” Trash Picker asked.

“Ain’t no pony never done nothin’ nice for us before,” Chewy said with a southern accent.

“Most won’t even give us the time of day,” Tough Love said.

“This…Pony…Nice,” Twenty-Twenty said, exerting himself. Dream Chaser didn’t know what to say, but they all looked at him expectantly.

“Th-Thank you,” he stammered. He blushed a bit and looked down at his hooves. He was exhausted both physically and mentally, never having run so far or so fast. He also knew his mother would likely be home soon, but he had no idea how to get back.

“No. Thank you,” Smoke Storm said, limping toward him with the aid of Earth Bound. “If there’s anything you need, anything at all, you let me know,” he said, putting his hoof on Dream Chaser’s shoulder. He smiled, then let the other four ponies lead him away, heading back toward the alley.

“Wait!” Dream Chaser shouted, running after them. They stopped and turned as he approached. “Can you help me get home? I don’t know where it is,” he said, desperately. His legs were shaking and his eyes began watering.  He couldn’t help it: he was tired, sore, and didn’t know where he was. They looked to each other, and then smiled at him. Tough Love stepped forward and hoisted him onto her back. He rested his head against her neck and allowed his legs to rest.

They moved at a slow pace through the city, catching all sorts of weird looks as they walked. Clearly used to it, they kept their heads down and continued walking, but Dream Chaser looked right back. Most looked away and others smiled awkwardly, finding the sight of him riding on what they assumed was his big sister somewhat cute. For most of the ride, they didn’t talk, but when they went down a deserted road or alley, the outcast ponies shared their stories.

Smoke Storm had had abusive parents and Tough Love had never known hers. They were the oldest two of the outcasts. Earth Bound had been born with only one wing. His parents in Cloudsdale, ashamed, left him in an earth pony orphanage. Trash Picker and his family were very poor and jumped from shelter to shelter across the city. Chewy had lost all his friends when his family moved to the city and he found it hard to adapt. Twenty-Twenty’s story was difficult to understand and he broke down crying halfway through. They had to stop, letting him regain his composure before continuing.

As the sun was beginning to sink behind the skyscrapers, they emerged onto the street where their first confrontation had occurred. In the distance, they could see the neighborhood ponies still playing in the street, with some of their parents now supervising. Tough Love let him off her back and he walked toward the crowd. Dream Catcher was the first to meet him, as she’d been scanning the street since he’d run off, hoping he would return.

Smoke Storm and the others kept their distance, with Short Stack rejoining them as if he’d been there the whole time. They watched from afar as the other ponies ran up to greet Dream Chaser and admire his cutie mark. In the commotion, they slipped away unnoticed, going back to wherever they called home.

Cutting through the crowd of ponies now surrounding him, he could see his mother, her eyes worried and darting to and from each of the ponies, eventually landing on him.

“There you are! I told you to stay inside!” she scolded him, though her expression did not stay angry for very long, once he ran up to her and hugged her leg. She smiled and put her other hoof around his back, holding him close to her. 

“Mom, I made some friends- and look!” he exclaimed, showing her his cutie mark. She flushed with pride and hugged him tighter. When she let go, he began introducing her to as many of the ponies as he could, now noticing Smoke Storm and the others had disappeared. He wanted to run after them, knowing he could catch them, but he couldn’t break away from the circle of attention.

After retelling the harrowing events of his day to the crowd, his mother made him say goodbye and led him inside. She grabbed the camera out of the hallway closet and snapped the picture that he was now holding between his hooves. For dinner, she made his favorite dish. When his father got home, Dream Chaser retold the whole story over again for him. His father couldn’t have been more proud as a parent, with a tear even coming to his eye.


That’s where the memory ended and Dream Chaser just sat on the floor, holding onto the old photo.

“Stop now. Just end on a happy memory,” the voice in his head whispered. “Remember last time?”

> Chapter Three-Not Forgotten
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The bedside clock chimed, indicating eight o’clock and Dream Chaser slowly opened his eyes. He’d spent the rest of the night on the floor and not one part of his body appreciated it. As he stood up, his joints and muscles shifted painfully and he limped toward the bathroom. He nearly tripped over his memory box, which still laid out on the floor, the picture of him looking at his cutie mark topping a pile of pictures next to it.

His mother’s mirror was much less forgiving in the light, and as he walked past it, he had to look away from his reflection. The cracked mirror in the bathroom gave him just a glimpse, and that was bad enough. Each of his reflections had bags under their eyes and their manes were a mess, sticking out in odd places. He grabbed the pill container off the sink and shook it, not hearing the clicking noise of the capsules usually inside. He had known they were gone before he even got to the bathroom.

The idea of going into public to get his refill sat uneasily in his empty stomach. He let the empty container fall to the floor and turned on the shower tap. Much like the faucet, it shook before a stream of rusty water dribbled out of the head. It usually took about a minute for the heater to kick in and the water to clear, but Dream Chaser didn’t wait, walking into the cold stream of dirty water and closing his eyes.

It flowed over him uncomfortably and he started shivering, making the pain in his joints worse. He blindly reached for the shower knob and turned it all the way to the right causing the water heater to activate. Slowly the temperature of the water rose and he adjusted it to a bearable setting. The convulsions in his legs stopped and he sat down to groom himself.

While he sat there lathering his coat and getting the knots out of his mane, a stupid little memory forced its way to the front of his mind. They had just gotten the apartment, him and Dream Catcher that is, and she had gone in to take a shower. He was doing push ups in the living room, waiting for his turn, when she poked her head out the bathroom door.

“The stupid shower doesn’t work,” she said, pouting her lips. He stood up and walked into the bathroom past her. The shower head was dribbling blobs of rust colored water and shaking violently. He tried banging on it with his hoof to no avail then tried adjusting the knobs left and right. The water stopped completely and he scratched his head.

“I’ll talk to the landlord about it,” he said without looking up. “Go see if Mrs. Shaker will let you use hers until then.” She sighed, already knowing he wasn’t going to talk to the landlord, already knowing he would try to fix it himself. He had a sort of selfish pride when it came to asking for help. Dream Catcher grabbed a towel off the drying rack, wrapped it around herself and walked out of the bathroom. He heard the apartment door open, then close, and he looked to make sure she was gone before setting to work.

It only took him unscrewing the shower head to find the problem. A dead rat had been forced up against the filter after finding its way into the water line. He shook it out into the trash can, reattached the shower head, and turned the knobs.
Clean water flowed out, sending up steam as it hit the porcelain, and Dream Chaser applauded himself at his handiwork. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he stepped in the shower and began lathering his mane. He closed his eyes and listened to the hissing of the water, not hearing the apartment door open and close.

“The landlord works fast,” Dream Catcher said. She was standing in the doorway of the bathroom looking at him. He rubbed the soap from his eyes and looked at her. She still had the towel wrapped around her and her mane was still a mess. “Mrs. Shaker wasn’t home…but I guess that’s a good thing,” she said, walking slowly towards him, swinging her hips intentionally, letting the towel fall off her as she strode toward him. He found himself staring at her dream catcher cutie mark.

“I’ll be done in a second,” Dream Chaser said, blushing and trying to get the rest of the soap out of his mane. She clearly had no intention of taking turns and crossed the threshold of the shower. He tried to make room for her, but she had no regard for personal space, pushing her figure up against his. She centered herself in the stream of water and it drenched her mane. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him, her emerald eyes saying more than words could, and he at last understood. She wanted to—

The water was now ice cold and Dream Chaser realized the water heater had shut off. He turned the knobs to the left and sat in the shower drip-drying for a few minutes, forcing the memory back into his subconscious. Once it was locked away, he shook himself dry and combed his mane. If nothing else, he looked better.

After a quick breakfast of dry oats, he limped into his room. The box of memories still sat on the floor with the few pictures he’d removed next.  He thought about sealing it and kicking it back under the bed for another year. Instead, he walked around it to his closet. Inside his closet was a long trench coat he wore whenever he went outside, regardless of the season because it covered the scars on his flanks. He threw it on, grabbed his key and coin pouch, gave the box one last look, and left the apartment.

As he locked the front door, he could hear the idle chit-chat of the ponies waiting at the coach stop in front of the apartment complex. He slipped the key into one of his pockets and made his way to the back of the group. They glanced at him as he joined them and he took to staring down at his hooves, avoiding eye contact and conversation.
He listened as they talked about petty things, like the weather and Canterlot politics, not really anything that concerned him until—

“Did you hear? The Equestria Games are going to be held in the Crystal Empire this year,” a yellow unicorn mare commented, causing Dream Chaser to look up from his hooves.

“I thought they weren’t going to hold it there anymore,” a blue unicorn stallion replied. “Not after what happened last time.” The other ponies nodded, remembering what they had heard or seen of Dream Chaser. He shifted uncomfortably, wishing the coach would show up before any of the ponies recognized him.

“They never found out who did it, did they?” an older earth pony mare asked, getting the sad shaking of heads as a response. “I know who did it.”

“We all know who did it,” the blue unicorn stallion snorted. After a brief silence the conversation switched to something about apple prices and Dream Chaser tuned them out. He knew who was responsible too. Or at least he thought he did. He didn’t want to think about it. When the coach showed up being pulled by four large stallions, he gladly boarded and took his usual seat in the back.

He pressed his head against the glass and closed his eyes as the coach was led through the city, making two additional stops before reaching the shopping district. At the second stop, there were several ponies waiting to board the already crowded coach. Dream Chaser listened to the sound of hoof beats and felt the coach sink with the addition of weight. Knowing the seat next to him was empty, it came to no surprise when he felt a tap on his shoulder.  

“Excuse me, sir, but is this seat taken?” 
He opened his eyes to see a young mare standing in the aisle looking at him. He thought it a bit odd a Pegasus was taking public transportation, taking up a seat typically reserved for earth ponies and unicorns.

“No, no,” he replied and slid closer to the window, sending a jolt of pain through his legs. He tried to mask the pain with a smile as she sat next to him and the coach lurched into motion. He went back to staring out the window and he could feel the mare’s eyes on him. When he turned to look, she was in the process of looking away, realizing she was staring. It’s not like he wasn’t used to it.

She coughed awkwardly and opened up a newspaper she had been carrying under her wing. Her eyes scanned the newspaper, not really reading anything, just a precaution if he happened to look over at her and catch her staring again. After the second occurrence of eye contact, she blushed and took to actually reading the paper.

It was a slow news day and she skipped over most of the articles. Apple prices had soared, sex scandals in Canterlot, the upcoming Equestria Games… all topics that had been excessively covered the past week by every news purveyor in Equestria. She absentmindedly flipped through the pages until a picture caught her eye. It was of a gold stallion with a red mane smiling as he crossed a finish line. The headline for the article containing the picture read, “Equestria Games’ Darkest Moments.” She lowered the paper so she could see both the picture and Dream Chaser, comparing the similarities and reaching the conclusion she’d hoped for.

“I knew you were Dream Chaser!” the Pegasus mare shouted, startling Dream Chaser, as well as half the ponies on the bus. They turned to look at him, murmuring his name, trying to remember what importance it held. He wanted to run, like he used to be able to, to get away from these ponies and the awkwardness. A strange sensation ran up his leg and he turned to see the mare next to him lifting the flap on his trench coat, exposing the scars he was covering.

“Hey!” he shouted, slapping at her hoof and trying to cover himself back up. She withdrew and looked at him apologetically.

“I’m sorry—it’s just—I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. Dream Chaser could feel the eyes upon him and hear the conversations starting.

“Is that really him?”

“I thought he died.”

“Why did Nova Star do it?”

“Nova Star…” 

The coach came to a stop and Dream Chaser leapt from his seat, crossing in front of the Pegasus and face-planting painfully to the floor. He felt the blood running through his nostrils and he struggled to his hooves. Through the tears in his eyes, he could see the other passengers’ faces. They looked at him with concern and pity; a couple had even rushed forward to help him, but he shrugged them off. Trailing blood and shame, he limped off the coach and into the street, nearly bumping into the many ponies trying to board.

He hobbled up the street, leaving the ponies he passed looking back with concern and confusion. Once his nose stopped bleeding, he slowed to take a rest– his legs very unhappy with what he had just put them through. The supermarket was less than a block away. All he wanted was to just get his medication and go home. He gritted his teeth and walked through the pain, literally dragging his rear left leg after the knee had locked up.

The automatic doors slid open as he stepped on the pressure pad and a strong breeze blew through his mane, generated by the industrial fans above. He stood there for a moment, enjoying the sensation, closing his eyes and imagining he was running.

> Chapter Four-Clean Up At Register Six
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dream Chaser was pulled out of his fantasy by the sound of some pony clearing her throat loudly. He opened his eyes to see a mare looking at him impatiently, and he realized he was still standing in the door way.

“Oops, sorry,” he apologized, limping out of her way. She ignored him, turning her nose up and walking out with her basket of groceries. He must have looked homeless to her, what with the dried blood under his nose and a dirty trench coat that was too large for him. The doors closed behind her and Dream Chaser returned to his mission.

Taking the least-crowded aisles, he made his way to the pharmacy at the back of the store, still dragging his unwilling leg. The pharmacist pony he knew as Cotton Ball looked past her clipboard as he approached and nearly dropped it when she saw him limping.

“Mr. Chaser! Are you alright?” she asked, running from behind the counter to his side, trying to support him. She smelled of rubbing alcohol and latex, reminding him of his extensive stays in hospital wards and operating rooms.

“I’m fine, really,” he said, trying to walk on his own. “I’m just here to pick up my prescriptions.” She insisted on leading him to the counter, and once she was sure he was okay to stand, she darted to the back room of the pharmacy. He expected her to return with his meds, but before he realized it, she was dabbing at his bruised nose with a moist cloth.

“Did you fall again? Why aren’t you using the braces we gave you? You’re so skinny, have you even been eating? Do you need me to throw in some multivitamins?” she continued badgering him, acting like his mother used to. Once she had gotten the dried blood out from under his nose, she stared into his eyes, her light blue eyes full of concern. “And you haven’t been sleeping either…*sigh*…What am I going to do about you?”

She shook her head as she walked back behind the counter and disposed of the cloth. He could hear the sound of pill containers rattling as she rummaged through an unseen basket of prescriptions in the back room. When she returned, she held a large white prescription bag in her mouth and placed it on the counter.

“Let’s see,” she said, looking at the label on the bag. “Your doctor upped the Altrivin dosage at your request. There are refills here for the Dosanel, the Tovale, the Cinelin, the Gazinor, and the Onafloxdant.” He didn’t care about the last five so long as he had his Altrivin, the painkiller.

“Thank you,” he said as she slid the bag towards him. “Oh yes, can I get a basket too? I need to grab some other things while I’m here,” he said, remembering his need for a new bathroom light bulb. She dropped her head below the counter and came back up with a basket in her teeth. As he placed the medicine in the basket, another box fell in: multivitamins, tossed in by Cotton Ball. She smiled at him innocently as he grabbed the basket and limped away.

Keeping his head down, he made his way to the housewares aisle, listening to his uneven hoof beats against the linoleum floor. Where there should have been a fourth beat, there was the sliding noise of his horseshoe. It felt and sounded like he was dragging a ball and chain behind him. He thought about taking a few Altrivin right there, or even try a Cinelin, the muscle relaxant, to help quell the pain and try to get his fourth leg working again. 

Best not to get doped up in public, he decided to himself, as he finally reached the housewares aisle. He scanned the shelves, reading the tags in front of the items, trying to find the one bulb that actually fit the primitive socket in his bathroom. At the end of the bottom shelf, under a layer of dust sat the box he was looking for. He dusted it off the best he could, and after making sure it was the correct bulb, placed it into the basket next to the multivitamins. He looked at them, then to each end of the aisle, making sure no pony was around, before taking the multivitamins out, leaving them on the shelf.

On his way up to the registers, Dream Chaser had to take a detour around two house mares who were taking up the width of an entire aisle, gossiping. He found himself in the produce section and felt his stomach growl. His breakfast of oats could only hold him over for so long and he wandered toward the fruit section. A mechanical display of an orange earth pony bucking an apple tree caught his eye and he walked towards it.

He watched for a few moments as the cardboard pony bucked the fake tree, causing the apples on it to fall a short distance, before being brought back up by the strings connecting them. A single bag of Sweet Apple Acres Apples sat in the bucket below the display. After making sure they weren’t bruised, he threw them in his basket. It had been a while since he’d had apples, and especially after the incident on the coach, he thought he deserved a little treat.

The checkout lanes were crowded and Dream Chaser stood in the one he hoped would move the quickest. Of course, he had chosen the lane with the trainee cashier and the mare redeeming a thousand coupons. He set the basket on the floor as his jaw grew tired and reached into his coat pocket for his coin pouch. The medicine was always forty bits, the bulb was five, and the apples wouldn’t exceed five bits, so he rummaged through the coins until he found a fifty bit piece. If it was less, he wouldn’t worry about the change – he just wanted to get out of there. The line finally began moving, so he sealed his coin pouch and tossed it back into his pocket.

Several ponies from other lines got behind him when they saw his line moving and he glanced back at them. They were typical city ponies, looking impatient and like they had better things to be doing than wait in a line. The stallion behind him made eye contact and cleared his throat loudly. Dream Chaser turned back around: he was finally at the register. A young earth pony with glasses and a face riddled with acne took the items out of his basket and ran it over the scanner. It beeped with each pass of the three items and the pony clumsily bagged them, putting the apples on top of the light bulb.

“Will that be all, sir?” the cashier asked in a nasally voice. Dream Chaser nodded and placed the fifty bit piece on the counter. The cashier hadn’t noticed because he was too busy pushing buttons on his machine. “All right, that will be eighty-four bits.”

Dream Chaser had been in the process of picking up his bag, almost dropping it when he heard his total. The cashier noticed the fifty bit piece on the counter and picked it up, staring at it for a moment, then looking at Dream Chaser.

“That can’t be right,” Dream Chaser protested, looking in his bag at his three items. “How much was my prescription?” The cashier pushed a button and his machine spat out a receipt.

“Forty bits, and uh, five for the bulb, and thirty-nine bits for them apples,” the cashier read from the receipt. It took Dream Chaser a moment to process what he just heard.

“No, that can’t be right,” Dream Chaser repeated, shaking his head. He could feel the ponies behind him glaring.

“I don’t make the prices, sir. I just work here,” the cashier replied as professionally as he could. He tapped on the counter next to the fifty bit piece, silently demanding more money. Dream Chaser thought about putting the apples back, but didn’t want to lose his place in line and have to limp all the way back to produce, so he begrudgingly reached into his coat pocket for his coin pouch. When he had put it back after removing it the first time, it had landed upside-down. This time when he went to take it out, the opening was facing down. As he took it out of his pocket, the pull-string loosened, emptying the contents onto the floor.

The sound of coins bouncing off the linoleum drew the attention of every pony around, and Dream Chaser felt the heat of their eyes on him. He threw himself to the floor, trying to stop the rolling coins, but there were too many. A few ponies that had already checked out walked over and tried to help, but he snapped at them.

“No! I’ve got it! I’m fine!” he shouted at them. They looked at him in shock and backed away. He spent several minutes collecting the coins, swatting at the hooves of any pony who tried to help him. Employees and customers just watched him with pity; a few whispered his name to each other. A cashier who had been on break walked over to the empty register across from Dream Chaser’s lane and turned on the dome light, silently beckoning to the customers who had been behind him.

He listened to the beeps of items being rung up and the quiet whispering of the employee-customer interactions. He watched the customers’ hooves tenderly step around his coin spill as they left the supermarket. Twenty customers had gone around him in the time it had taken to pick up all the coins. When he stood up, a manager had replaced the cashier who had rung him up initially.

“Sir, eighty four bits please,” the stallion said, not breaking eye contact. Dream Chaser slid the thirty-four bits he’d left out of the pouch across the counter. The manager dropped them into the till and closed the drawer. “Have a nice day,” he said slowly, still maintaining eye contact.

“Thank you,” Dream Chaser said quietly, grabbing his purchases and limping toward the automatic door. The pimply cashier, who had initially started his transaction, was now putting out wet floor signs around the pressure pad. Several soaking-wet ponies had entered the store a few moments before and had shaken off under the industrial fan. 

“Watch your step sir,” the cashier said as Dream Chaser approached. He could just picture it: his hooves going out from underneath him, his bag flying into the air, the light bulb shattering on the floor, the apples rolling everywhere, his pill containers spilling their contents… just icing on the cake that had been his day so far. Fortunately, he didn’t slip and he made it to the pressure pad incident-free. As the door slid open, he could see that rain was now falling heavily; another perfect example of how things could always get worse for him.

He trudged through the streets, back towards the coach stop. Even if his knee had loosened up, there was no way he was walking home in this weather. He could see the coach stallions in their bright-yellow rain ponchos, taking a break under an over-hang, while the coach was being boarded; at least he hadn’t missed it.

The line to board moved painstakingly slow, as ponies fought over seating, none of them wanting to walk in the downpour. Outside the coach, he could hear the crying of foals, in addition to the general din of over-crowded public transportation. When he finally got inside, he carefully removed two bits from his pocket, dropped them inside the collection box and turned to look at the sea of ponies.

The maximum capacity for the coach was fifty; however, it was apparent that the actual number of ponies easily exceeded that. Those who could squeeze two to a seat did so, while the remainder of the ponies stood in the aisle, through the whole length of the coach. Dream Chaser thought about getting off and waiting for the next coach, but he’d already paid his fare, and wasn’t about to lose more money.

Even if there was a spot in the back of the coach, he wouldn’t get to it and he didn’t see any openings in the front. More ponies were trying to crowd onto the coach behind him, and he looked around frantically, panicking. To his immediate left was the handicap seat – a seat he’d never considered sitting in before. He never wanted to think of himself as handicapped, but with his leg as it was right now… Clearly, it would work in his favor to do so today. A capable-looking unicorn was sitting in it, trying not to look at Dream Chaser, obviously aware he didn’t belong sitting there.

“Excuse me,” Dream Chaser said, setting his bag down. The unicorn ignored him, pretending he hadn’t heard him. Dream Chaser decided to take a page from everyone else’s book: clearing his throat loudly and glaring at the unicorn, getting his attention. Dream Chaser silently motioned to the handicapped sign above the seat and the unicorn followed his gaze.

“Yeah?” the unicorn said, looking back down at Dream Chaser. “What of it?” Dream Chaser was holding up the line and growing angry at the unicorn’s ignorance, so he grabbed his coat-tail and exposed his mutilated legs. The unicorn saw the scarred cutie mark, and looked at Dream Chaser’s face with sudden realization. “Dream Chaser!” he gasped, his voice barely audible. He stood up as fast as he could and pushed through the ponies in the aisle, trying to get to the back of the bus.

Dream Chaser let his coat tail fall back down, grabbed his bag, and took his seat. The line behind him had cleared¬¬– the ponies behind him had backed out in order to wait for the next coach. The doors closed and the stallions struggled to get the coach moving, as Dream Chaser watched the scenery slowly start rolling by.

Apart from an occasional whisper or the creak of the suspension, the coach was quiet as it was led through the city. Dream Chaser rested his head against the window and tuned out the whispering of the ponies behind him. He breathed out and his breath fogged the window, obscuring his view. As he went to clear it, his hoof hovered for a moment then drew a circle, then a star, then several lines. Then, more circles. It was a pattern he’d traced a hundred times or more, much to Dream Catcher’s amusement. They used to just lie there; not saying anything, just enjoying each other’s company, and 

Dream Chaser would run his hoof up and down her leg, outlining her cutie mark.
When he was finished, his hoof paused for a moment before wiping away the pattern. He watched as ponies scampered through the streets, trying to protect themselves from the rain, with some looking up at the coach in envy as it passed by, full of dry ponies. Yes, they may have been dry ponies, but they were ponies that were growing anxious with every passing moment spent in the confined space of the carriage.

They reached their first stop and more than half the coach emptied, making the suspension creak as it rose back up. Dream Chaser continued staring out the window, looking at the bright displays of the food district. The Alicorn Palace’s gold lettering was shining high above the roofs of the other restaurants; it was a place he had always wanted to take Dream Catcher, but they never had enough money. He sighed heavily and the window fogged up again.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” a voice from behind him said. He turned to see the unicorn he’d taken his seat from standing in the aisle.

“I’m sorry I made you move,” Dream Chaser apologized. “You want your seat back?”

“No, no, no,” he replied, a bit embarrassed. “Can we…just talk?”

“I’m really not in the mood,” Dream Chaser said in all honesty. The unicorn looked hurt at hearing his response and his ears folded back. The seat across the aisle had freed up and the unicorn took his seat there, looking out the window nostalgically, just like Dream Chaser had been doing. The doors closed and the coach lurched forward, leaving the bright lights of the food district behind.

“You know, I was there that day,” the unicorn said, staring out the window. It took Dream Chaser a moment to realize he was talking to him. “It’s not right what happened to you. Nova Star only won because he—”

“Enough!” Dream Chaser interrupted. The unicorn looked over in surprise, but Dream Chaser refused to meet his eyes, and instead, continued staring out the window.

“Sorry,” the unicorn said, looking back out his window. They stayed quiet for the rest of the trip, listening to the falling raindrops on the roof. When the coach reached the next stop, the unicorn got up to leave. He stood in the aisle and looked at Dream Chaser, clearly wanting to say something, but he couldn’t seem to find the right words. Other ponies were trying to get off the coach and they stood behind him impatiently, wondering what the hold up was.

Unable to find the right words, the unicorn just sank his head down and walked out into the rain. He looked up at Dream Chaser, stopping outside his window for a moment, and then disappeared into the crowd of ponies.

Aside from a colt and his marefriend getting a little too intimate in the back of the coach, Dream Chaser was the only pony still riding. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head, finding himself very tired all of a sudden. The handicap seat was a lot more comfortable than the other seats in the coach and he sunk back into the cushioning. His stop, the last stop, was still quiet a distance away and he closed his eyes for a quick nap.

> Chapter Five-20 Mg Of Sadness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Yo, buddy! End of the line!” a gruff voice said. Dream Chaser felt a sharp nudge and opened his eyes to see one of the coach stallions standing over him, dripping wet and a smoldering cigarette hanging out one corner of his mouth. They were in front of his apartment, ready to do their ‘end of the line’ inspection, and he was the only thing holding them up. The other three of the crew walked down the aisle looking on and under the seats for damage or lost possessions.

“Right, thank you,” Dream Chaser said, grabbing his bag and trying to stand up. His rear legs were still fast asleep and he fell back into the cushions. The stallion that had woken him didn’t even notice and took a few steps down the aisle.

“Hey, check the back–— I didn’t like the look of that couple that got off at the last stop,” the coach stallion shouted. The first to reach the back let out a moan of disgust, and the other two laughed.

"Really? REALLY?"

"No way I'm cleaning that up."

"What? What is it...Oh, that's nasty."

Dream Chaser didn't want to know what atrocity they'd found, or what had gone on during his nap. A painful tingling sensation was running through his legs when he finally managed to stand up and leave the coach. The rain had not ceased and he hurried to his front door fast as his legs would take him. He fumbled within his coat pockets, trying to find the key amongst the coins which had spilled out of their pouch. Finally finding it, he gripped it with his teeth, unlocked the door, and flung himself inside. He slammed the door shut and slumped up against it, sitting in the darkness of his apartment.

Once his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he stood up and let his soaking-wet coat fall to the floor. He would pick it up later and maybe sort through the coins to figure out how much money he had left. He knew it couldn’t be much: the only source of income he had were the charities Dream Catcher had set up for him all those years ago.

She had set up coffee cans with his picture taped to them in every corner market. She would run monthly spaghetti dinner benefits. Random donations in the forms of checks or gifts came in the mail daily, which she had always been sure to reply with her thanks.

However, as time passed, ponies moved on, losing interest or forgetting his cause altogether. The cans had been taken down, replaced by ones with a picture of a blind Pegasus filly. The spaghetti dinners, without Dream Catcher running them, had stopped turning profits. The gifts and donations, which had once poured in, now were barely trickling in, and the medical bills began to pile up.

He walked into the kitchen, set his bag on the table, and removed the contents. The light bulb had survived the trip, despite spending most of it under the apples, and he set it aside. The pills rattled in their containers as he ripped open the bag and let them fall onto the table. He picked up each container, squinting at the descriptions on the labels until he found the Altrivin. The capsules were much larger than his previous prescription and he almost choked trying to dry swallow two of them. Coughing and wheezing, he pounded his chest until they cleared his throat.

Before the pain killers kicked in and he became useless, he wanted to replace the bulb in the bathroom; a task he’d done several dozen times before. It wasn’t a simple task for an earth pony. Unable to fly or use magic, he had to climb atop a step ladder, remove the old bulb using his teeth, climb down, grab the new bulb, climb back up, and screw it in. He started by dragging the rickety step ladder out of the hallway closet and setting it up under the socket. Once he was sure it was centered perfectly, he turned to get the light bulb from the kitchen.

His heart stopped and he turned white. Leaning against the bathroom doorway was Dream Catcher, a look of disinterest on her face. Her mane, usually tied up with a blue ribbon, flowed freely down her shoulders.

“You’re going to get hurt,” she said without a hint of concern. Dream Chaser didn’t know what to say, so he just stared at her, but she seemed to look right through him.

“I know what I’m doing,” a voice from behind him said, causing him to jump. He turned to see a younger, more physically-capable version of himself atop the step ladder, getting ready to unscrew the burnt out bulb. The ladder shook as he balanced himself on the top step, gently turning his head with the bulb between his teeth.

Dream Chaser watched as he managed to unscrew the bulb and descend the ladder, tossing the dead bulb into the trash can. His younger self walked over to Dream Catcher and stared into her eyes until she smiled. They kissed and the real Dream Chaser felt a knot in his stomach tighten.

Dream Catcher had been carrying a new bulb in her tail and she offered it to Dream Chaser. He took it with his teeth and climbed back up the ladder which shook with every step. Carefully, he screwed the new bulb in, turning to Dream Catcher when he’d finished. She tugged the pull switch for the light and the bulb lit up brightly before burning out like the one it had replaced.

The real Dream Chaser had closed his eyes due to the sudden burst of light. When he opened them, he was alone once more. The rumble of thunder moments later made him realize the flash had just been lightning, and everything he’d just witnessed was his mind playing tricks on him.

He returned to the kitchen, grabbed the light bulb out of its box, and limped back to the bathroom. His legs were starting to act up again, but he wanted to get the task done so he could relax. With the new bulb securely wrapped in his tail, he climbed the ladder and began unscrewing the burnt out one. Once or twice in the past, he’d broken the bulb with his teeth and reluctantly had to call a handipony to deal with it, while he went to the doctor to get slivers of glass removed from his gums and tongue.

The bulb squeaked as he turned it and he could hear the filament rattling around inside. After several stressful minutes of making sure he didn’t apply too much pressure to the bulb, he finally managed to get it out. It was too much of a hassle to dismount the ladder so he arched his head and flung the bulb into the trash can. To his satisfaction, it landed directly in it and shattered with a pop.

He brought the new bulb to his mouth with his tail and repositioned himself under the socket. His knees began to knock, causing the ladder to shake violently, and he tried to steady himself. When the spasm subsided, he climbed to the top once more. He reached his head up and tried to get the bulb threaded in the socket. It was the hardest part of the task and he missed several times; his neck beginning to cramp up from the odd angle.

Almost, almost, he said in his head each time. He felt the muscles in his legs starting to constrict again and knew he had a matter of seconds to get the bulb threaded. Another spasm, more powerful than the last, ran through his legs and he gasped, releasing the light bulb. He had to lower himself down several steps and wrap his arms around the ladder for support. With his eyes closed, he heard the pop of the light bulb as it shattered on the floor. He wanted to cry and cursed himself for not buying another.

When his legs finally decided to cooperate, he lowered himself to the floor and heard the crunch of glass beneath his hooves. He stood there for a moment before bucking the ladder angrily. It smashed into the wall of the shower, taking the shower curtain and rod down with it. White-hot pain coursed through his joints and his heartbeat pounded in his ears. It took him several minutes of heavy breathing to calm down and he looked at the mess he’d just made.

“You’re useless,” he said to himself, “Can’t even change a light bulb.” He limped into the kitchen, planted himself in a chair, and put his head in his arms. Tears rolled out the corners of his eyes and pooled onto the table. He sniffed and sobbed until the clock in his bedroom chimed four o’clock, at which point he raised his head and looked at the medications spread out on the table. One by one, he stood them up neatly with the labels facing him.

Beneath the kitchen sink was a drawer overflowing with prescription bottles. Whenever he’d gotten his prescriptions filled, he would take the Altrivin out of the bag and toss the rest in the drawer. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t need anti-anxiety medication, or anti-depressants or any of that other stuff.

“Take one daily for depression,” he read off of the first orange bottle. What did he have to lose? He unscrewed the cap and took out a green capsule, which the label said was Tovale, rolling it around in his hoof before swallowing it. “Muscle relaxant?” he read from the Cinelin label. “Probably should have been taking this all along.”

He took all of his medications, except for the sleep aid, and waited for them to kick in. Most of the warning labels said not to take on an empty stomach so he opened the bag of Sweet Apple Acres apples that had cost him almost forty bits and a great deal of public humiliation. After a few bites from the first apple he’d eaten in ages, he decided it was almost worth the trouble he’d gone through. Almost.

The Altrivin kicked in before the other medications and Dream Chaser went to clean up the mess he’d made. He removed the step ladder from the shower and used it to reattach the shower rod. Although it wasn’t broken, the stepladder was certainly less stable than before. Regardless, he put it back in the hallway closet, knowing he’d be taking it back out again soon enough. He grabbed a broom and dust pan and swept up the tiny shards of the light bulb, finishing just as the other medications began working their magic.

The sensation came over him like a wave, a feeling of euphoria, almost but not quite comparable to winning a race. His legs felt like gelatin and he nearly fell into the shower on his way out of the bathroom. He stumbled into his bedroom and fell into his bed where he listened to the rain pound against the window and thunder roll across the sky. Lightning lit up his room, illuminating the box of memories he’d left on the floor, and he could see the coin still sitting on top of the photos.

He wanted to continue his trip down memory lane, but he dared not turn on the apartment lights during the storm. The idea of replacing more light bulbs because of a power surge really didn’t appeal to him. Instead, he lay there staring at the clock, his mind swimming in a sea of unfamiliar chemicals.

Out of the waters of Dopamine and Serotonin swam a faint memory. A gift his father had given him long ago was still sitting in the back of his closet. Clumsily, he rolled off his bed and opened the closet door, staring into the darkness. He pulled out boxes of dusty awards with his name on them and dresses that had been his mother’s, before finding one of the lanterns his father had managed to smuggle out of the mining operation.

He remembered setting it up in their front yard on summer nights and watching the fireflies gather around it. His parents would watch as he and Dream Catcher chased the glowing insects around, although they never actually managed to catch one.

After grabbing matches out of the kitchen along with several more apples, Dream Chaser set the lantern up next to the memory box on the floor. He lit the wick, adjusted the flame, and grabbed the next photo out of the box.

> Chapter Six-The Dream Catcher
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The storm knocked down utility poles as it continued its path across the city, leaving many ponies in the dark. Dream Chaser saw a flash of lightning and heard the click of his refrigerator shutting off as it lost power, which didn’t matter to him because it was empty anyway. He took a bite of an apple and waited for the thunder to finish rolling by before continuing though the box.

His mother had loved to take pictures, filling nearly twenty of her own memory boxes over the years. She had made him his own box when he was born and filled it with every picture she took. When he was old enough to take over the box, he had gone through it and had thrown many of the photos away; there was no need to keep the doubles, the blurry ones, or the pictures of nothing.

Of the hundred pictures that had been taken his first summer in Manehatten, only a hoof-full still remained. His cutie mark picture was the highlight of the summer. After that, there were the pictures from the BBQ his father had organized on one of his few days off. Despite doing their best to avoid the camera, Smoke Storm and the other reformed bullies found themselves in several pictures, one of which showed Dream Chaser and Smoke Storm sitting at the picnic table enjoying veggie kebabs. 

A framed class photo marked the end of the summer memories. “Mrs. Delight’s First Grade Class” was printed on the frame in gold lettering. The class had contained Dream Chaser and fifteen other ponies, one of which was Dream Catcher. They were next to each other in the front row, smiling for the camera.

Of the sixteen ponies, only four had cutie marks: Dream Chaser, two others whom he could no longer remember, and Dream Catcher. While he stood forward, making sure the photo would include his cutie mark, Dream Catcher had put her tail across hers, similar to a few of the blank flanks in the class.

She had gotten her cutie mark a few days before school started. Instead of being proud of it, she seemed…ashamed. No one knew what her special talent was or how she’d found out, not even her best friend Dream Chaser. He had pestered her constantly, but she would always avoid the question. It wasn’t until Nightmare Night that she had finally revealed to him the secret she had been hiding. 

Dream Chaser rummaged through macaroni art and hoof paintings, which were sure-signs that his special talent wasn’t associated with creativity, until he found the photo he was looking for. His mother had snapped it shortly before he and Dream Catcher had left for the haunted house, which her father was running at his work. He was dressed as a vampony and she was Wonder Mare. Both homemade costumes were of acceptable quality, but were lacking compared to store-bought ones.

“Be safe and have a good time,” his mother shouted as they ran out the door. In their haste, they nearly bumped into a group of Trick-or-Treaters making their way up the path. He wanted to go get candy too, but Dream Catcher had insisted they hurry to the haunted house.

“Where does your dad work?” Dream Chaser asked. He’d only met her parents once before and had never thought to ask.

“You’ll see,” Dream Catcher said as they walked into the city. Eventually, they fell into a flow of costumed ponies that seemed to be heading to the same destination. Creepy music, played on a pipe organ, began drowning out the conversations of the crowd, and ghastly screams echoed from the distance.

“Why are we slowing down?” Dream Chaser asked as he almost bumped into the zombie in front of him.

“This must be where the line starts,” Dream Catcher replied. “It attracts more and more ponies every year. Good thing we left early.” Dream Chaser tried to get a glimpse of the haunted house, but couldn’t see over the adults in the crowd. As he was jumping, a group of rowdy ponies lined up behind them. Dream Catcher had glanced back and quickly looked back forward. She tried tugging on his arm, but he didn’t realize it.

“Hey, I thought vamponies could fly,” a smug voice from behind him said. He turned and saw something that had given him nightmares for weeks.

He had been home alone a few months back, before meeting Dream Catcher, and for once he didn’t feel like running. The only other thing he could think to do was watch TV. His parents had forbidden him from watching it without their permission or supervision, and he wondered, what was the worse he could see? He turned the dial and sat in front of the screen. If he saw any kissing, he would close his eyes like his mother had made him do when he watched movies with her and his father. He didn’t know kissing had been the least of his parent’s concerns.

A cereal commercial had just ended and the station returned to the movie it was airing. Two ponies sat by a lake, the water reflecting a full moon. One of them leaned over and whispered something into the other’s ear. There was a pause and they began kissing, at which point Dream Chaser covered his eyes.

“Did you hear that?” the mare asked suddenly. Dream Chaser opened his eyes to see the two looking into the darkness. The camera switched to inside the bushes and shook as it looked at the two ponies.

“It’s nothing…Where were we?” the young stallion asked seductively. He leaned to kiss his marefriend and just as Dream Chaser went to cover his eyes, the camera darted into the darkness. There was heavy breathing and the camera came back up in some bushes behind the ponies. They were kissing, but Dream Chaser couldn’t cover his eyes. The mare disengaged herself from the stallion and looked into the darkness in front of her.

“I heard it again,” she said. The breathing got heavier. She stood up and walked forward, her back to the camera. The stallion just continued sitting on the ground, watching her as she walked.

“Look, if you don’t want to do this, I under—Aaack!” Before he could finish his sentence, the camera sprung from the bushes, and charged at the unsuspecting stallion. The mare turned to see her lover with a horn sticking through his chest. As his body slouched forward and hit the ground, both she and Dream Chaser stared in fear. The attacker was a unicorn; his horn was dripping the blood of his victim. The camera focused on him for a moment, in order for the audience to take in the horrifying details.

The unicorn looked like he’d been stitched together using the parts of several different ponies. The face was the most terrifying. Several lines of stitches ran across the skull and big bloodshot eyes stared from lidless sockets. Hanging from his spiked horse collar were several bladed weapons. He levitated one using his magic, causing the mare to scream, and send her running into the bushes. The unicorn went to give chase, but something caught his leg. The camera panned down to see the stallion was not dead and was trying to save his lover by grabbing hold of the unicorn’s leg. The unicorn had looked down without a word and brought a machete slashing across the screen. The camera showed blood splattering against the trees and ground as the stallion was hacked into pieces.

Dream Chaser had wanted to look away, but was paralyzed in fear. The killer unicorn walked away from a pile of bloody limbs and began pursuing the mare. She ran and ran, but the killer always appeared in front of her. Just when it looked like she was going to make it to a road, she tripped on a root. With her ankle broken, she began crying hysterically. The killer made his way towards her slowly, levitating the machete. She tried crawling towards the road, dragging her injured leg behind her. This time, there was no censorship: Dream Chaser watched as the machete cut through her tendons and bones, sending blood everywhere. She screamed and cried and tried to defend herself, but was completely helpless. The scene went on for what seemed like minutes, ending with the face of the killer right in front of the camera.

Dream Chaser had shut the television off and had run to his room, diving into his bed. When his mother came home, she had found him still in his bed, and asked what was wrong. He explained that he disobeyed her and described the movie he’d seen. She consoled him and told him it wasn’t real, that no such pony existed. Her words had comforted him briefly, but as soon as he was alone again, fear continued its grip on him.

Now, that same unicorn stood before him. It’s just a costume, it’s just a costume, it’s just a costume, Dream Chaser repeated in his head. The unicorn stared and blinked–something the real killer unicorn couldn’t have done. He was also shorter, his horn wasn’t as pointy, and the weapons on his horse collar were made of plastic.

“It’s just a costume,” Dream Chaser said, referring to both costumes. “I’m not a real vampony…and you aren’t the real Triskaideka.” (He had learned the name of the movie so he never accidentally watched it again.)

“I know it’s just a costume,” the Triskaideka imitator scoffed. “It’s so obvious. Did your mommy help you make it?” Two of the fillies that were with him laughed. One was dressed as an Alicorn princess and the other was wearing a store quality Wonder Mare costume. Dream Chaser was about to inform him he’d made his costume all by himself when a voice boomed over the crowd.

“Mares and Gentlecolts, Nightmare Night is upon us! Are you ready to be scared? Are you ready to be terrified? Then enter the house if you dare!” A cheer went through the crowd and they began moving forward.

Rrrrrrip!

Dream Chaser turned to see Dream Catcher’s cape torn in half. The filly dressed as Wonder Mare had her hoof planted on one end of it.

“Whoops,” she said, smiling and rolling her eyes. Dream Catcher looked like she wanted to cry. She had put so much work into her costume. Dream Chaser didn’t know the definition of chivalry, but stepped forward anyway to confront the filly.

“Look out! I think her coltfriend is going to beat you up,” the Alicorn princess laughed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“He’s not my coltfriend!” Dream Catcher shouted. She stepped forward and grabbed the remnants of her cape off the ground. Before Dream Chaser realized it, she had run off towards the haunted house, leaving him there to mull over her words.

“Hear that, buddy? Friend zoned,” the Triskaideka whispered. He and his associates walked past Dream Chaser towards the haunted house, giving him smug looks as they passed. He was too young to fully understand what he was feeling. Having a special somepony was grounds for teasing in the first grade; he was glad he and Dream Catcher were just friends. Yet, he felt something else when he was with her: happiness like no other. Did she feel it too? Why had her words hurt so? What was the friend zone?

He gritted his teeth and scratched the ground with his hoof. With all the force he could muster, he kicked off and sprinted towards the haunted house. Within seconds, he reached the ponies that had upset Dream Catcher and ran through them. He was going so fast they didn’t see him, but they certainly felt the wind he generated. Their costumes flapped wildly and he focused on the Wonder Mare. With speed and precision, he managed to grab her cape with his teeth and pulled it up over her head.

The ponies shrieked and closed their eyes as clouds of dust flew up around them. They never even saw Dream Chaser leaving with the cape in his mouth. It took him several minutes of pushing and shoving, but he finally found Dream Catcher. She was being comforted by a mad scientist pony he barely recognized as her father. His mane had been dyed white and stood up wildly, his eyes were obscured by goggles, and a blood-stained lab coat covered his body.

“Dream Catcher!” he shouted through the folds of the cape in his mouth. Her father looked over at him and nudged her gently. She had been holding onto his leg and had buried her face in his chest. Dream Chaser walked over and her father nudged her again. This time she looked up and saw Dream Chaser and the gift he had brought.

“Wh-Where did you get that?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. Dream Chaser said nothing as he draped the cape over her shoulders and secured the clasp. It was much nicer than the one she’d had before, and complemented the rest of the costume well.

“We’re just borrowing it. I’m sure she’s going to want it back,” Dream Chaser said with a smile. She smiled in return and hugged him. There was that feeling again. His legs felt weak and his heart pounded in his chest. She let go of him and he saw she was blushing.

“Are you two ready to go into the haunted house?” her father asked. They nodded excitedly. “Alright, you can join this group here.” He let them cut in front of some younger ponies being escorted by their parents. The adults were having a good time and were even laughing while the fillies and colts shook in fear. A zombie pony with a slight limp trudged out of the bushes and began moving towards the group. Dream Chaser recognized the zombie as Smoke Storm; he and the other reformed bullies had volunteered to help with the haunted house.

“Braaaaaains,” he moaned as he approached. His nearly-healed sprained ankle gave him a very convincing zombie walk. He got right up to the group before any of the young ones realized. “BRAINS!” he shouted. The fillies and colts jumped, letting out high pitched screams of fear. Smoke Storm lunged at a filly dressed as a bee and she ran off, screaming at the top of her lungs. The others ran off into different directions and their parents had to go chasing after them. To the parents, it was hilarious, but their children would likely be scarred for life.

“Try to be considerate of the little ones,” Dream Catcher’s father said to Smoke Storm. He nodded and continued his zombie walk down the line of ponies, lunging at a colt dressed as a pirate, who dropped his sword and ran off crying. The large wood doors of the haunted house opened and closed as a short scientist pony scurried out. It was Short Stack and he was playing as Dream Catcher’s father’s assistant.

“Uh, Dr. Ash, we’re ready for the next group,” Short Stack said. Dream Chaser couldn’t tell if that was Dream Catcher’s father’s real name or his costume name.

“One moment, we seem to have lost some patrons,” Dr. Ash whispered. “If you have a group of six, please come forward!” he shouted over the sound reel. The ponies in the line whispered to each other before a group finally stepped forward. Much to Dream Chaser’s dismay, he saw the Triskaideka walking forward with his companions. Ponies stepped aside as he walked past them in his terrifying costume, levitating one of his fake machetes in front of him.

There were four ponies who hadn’t been scared off and they separated Dream Catcher’s group from the Triskaideka’s group. Dr. Ash counted again to make sure there were twelve ponies and gave a nod to Short Stack.

“Here are the rules,” Short Stack began, addressing the group, “Our actors can’t touch you so don’t touch them; please stay with the group at all times; do not go outside the designated path; no running; most importantly, no roughhousing.” There was a burst of laughter from the back of the group, an indication they hadn’t cared to listen to the rules. “It’s gonna be a long night,” Short Stack sighed. He turned and opened the sinister-looking doors of the haunted house and led the group inside.

Behind the doors was a plywood hallway that linked the front display to the actual building. “City Morgue” was etched into a gold plaque on the outside of the real building. Dream Chaser read the plaque and searched his brain for the definition of a morgue. After a few moments, he came up short, and decided he’d ask Dream Catcher later.

“Alright! Follow the arrows, remember the rules, and get scared,” Short Stack shouted over the pre-recorded screams and howls. He disappeared behind a curtain and the doors closed behind them. Fog filled the hallway and the lights dimmed. Dream Chaser felt Dream Catcher get a just a little closer to him. A door at the end of the hallway opened up and fog poured out of it, a strobe light flashing from the room beyond.

“Come on! Move!” a voice from the back of the group shouted. Dream Chaser felt a push and began walking towards the door, keeping Dream Catcher close. The hallway was lined with shelves containing skulls and pickled brains and other assorted horrors. As he walked past the last one, it creaked and tipped towards him. He jumped out of the way, but the shelf stopped and retracted backwards, the brains sloshing in their preserving fluids.

“Scared yet?” Dream Catcher teased. Dream Chaser scoffed; he regained his composure and walked through the doorway. They were now in what appeared to be an operating room. Strange devices hung from the ceiling over an operating table, on which was a mare in a blood-stained dress. The front of the dress, as well as most of her stomach, had been torn open. Realistic tentacles hung out over her sides, wiggling slightly. The rest of the ponies filed into the room and circled around the operating table. One of Triskaideka’s crew got right up to her face.

“This is so fake,” the pony said, looking away for a second. The mare’s eyes flung open and she began crying. The pony next to her jumped back in shock, flipping a tray of surgical tools.

“What’s going on? Where am I? Wh-What is this?” she asked in a frightened voice. Dream Chaser realized it was Tough Love and was impressed, and a little scared at her acting. She looked down at her stomach and began screaming, tugging at the shackles that bound her to the table. “Help me!” she screamed over and over. There was a set of double doors at the back of the room and the windows lit up. A silhouette of a pony putting on surgical gloves appeared in the window. “Run!” Tough Love shouted to them. “Run or he’ll get you too!”

The silhouette approached the doors and Dream Chaser looked for another way out of the room. There was a red flare across from where they’d entered and he pulled Dream Catcher with him. The rest followed his lead and together they escaped into another hallway. At the other end was another flare, but in-between were half a dozen “corpses”.

Dream Chaser walked past the first one cautiously, waiting to see if it would get up. When it didn’t, he treaded past the others, and the group followed his lead. As the last of Triskaideka’s crew passed the first zombie, it let out a moan and began crawling to its hooves. That was apparently the signal the others had been waiting for, and the six zombies rose up. 

The one closest to Triskaideka stumbled towards him, moaning and clawing at the air. Triskaideka levitated his fake machete and swung it at the zombie’s head.

“Ow!” the zombie shouted, sitting down and rubbing the spot where the machete had made contact. Triskaideka looked around nervously to see if anypony had witnessed his crime. They were all too busy fending off their own zombies to notice. He grabbed the cape-less Wonder Mare he had been with and forced her to follow him. They ran past Dream Chaser and through the next door, abandoning the group.

The zombies let the rest of them pass so they could tend to their wounded; the pony Triskaideka had struck was bleeding from a gash on his forehead. Dream Chaser cautiously walked through spider web-filled corridors, trying to find Triskaideka. The ponies that hadn’t strayed stayed close behind, and Dream Catcher stayed right at his side. The hallway held all manner of evil things, and Dream Chaser tried to keep his head down as skeletons and ghosts lunged from behind curtains.

A big wooden sign had been nailed above the next doorway and painted in red letters was, “TORTURE CHAMBER”. Triskaideka and Wonder Mare stood with their backs turned, staring into the room. Dream Chaser led the group in behind them and watched as Earth Bound and Twenty-Twenty were about to perform their act.

The room was filled with all sorts of torture devices, such as iron maidens, stretching racks, and stocks. Earth Bound was shackled to a stretching rack in the center of the room, as Twenty-Twenty (dressed as a torture master) turned the tension wheel. The rack was designed for pegasi and instead of pulling at the legs, it was pulling his wings. Dream Chaser knew one of the wings was a fake, secured on with some sort of adhesive and probably filled with fake blood.

“Please! Please let me go!” Earth Bound begged as Twenty-Twenty turned the tension wheel slowly. His wings got further apart with every turn of the wheel and the crowd wondered which one would break first. Dream Chaser was so engrossed in the performance; he almost didn’t notice Triskaideka and Wonder Mare sneaking out the next door. He discretely separated himself from the group and went to investigate.

Dream Chaser was halfway down the hallway when he heard the scream of Earth Bound and the collective screams of the ponies as they were spattered with fake blood. A tap on his shoulder startled him, and he turned to see Dream Catcher had followed him.

“You weren’t supposed to leave the group,” she whispered, though he could barely hear her over the house’s sound effects.

“Neither were they,” he replied, pointing to Triskaideka and Wonder Mare. They were disappearing through the next doorway and he hurried after them. As he rounded the corner, he saw Wonder Mare’s tail disappear through the curtains lining the hall. He and Dream Catcher cautiously pushed through the curtain, coming out in an undecorated part of the building. The only light came from a pair of flood lights above an exit door.

“Masher? Masher! Where are you? This isn’t funny!” The cries of an upset filly were coming from beyond a pile of unused props. Dream Chaser used the props as cover and looked over them. He could see the Wonder Mare walking cautiously towards an open door. “You better not be down there!” She shouted down into the darkness.

“Don’t go down there!” Dream Catcher shouted, stepping out from behind the props. The Wonder Mare turned to see Dream Catcher approaching her and recognized her cape.

“Hey! That’s my cape!” she shouted angrily. Dream Chaser stepped out from his cover and her eyes darted to him. A sly smile ran across her face. “Oh, you and your coltfriend come back here for some “alone time”, some kissy-kissy?” She laughed at her own joke and Dream Catcher’s face turned bright red.

“He’s not my—!” Dream Catcher started to say the phrase that Dream Chaser found emotionally painful, but Wonder Mare let out a scream. Dream Chaser was charging at her with the full intent of teaching her a lesson, and she braced for impact. From the shadows burst Masher, a.k.a. Triskaideka, and he slammed into Dream Chaser, throwing him off balance. He fell through the open door and into the darkness, as if in slow motion.

He was falling, staring up at Dream Catcher, her face ridden with shock and concern. Hidden behind the mask, Masher’s expression was likely one of sick pleasure. Wonder Mare slowly opened her eyes and realized what was happening, a broad grin making its way across her face. She turned to Dream Catcher and pushed her through the doorway as well, grabbing onto her cape with her teeth. The clasp came undone and Dream Catcher tumbled into the darkness.

Time resumed its normal pace and Dream Chaser closed his eyes. He bounced painfully off several steps before finally landing on his back at the bottom of the stairs. The cold, concrete floor did nothing to soften his landing and pain ran through his spine. Before he could get his bearings, Dream Catcher landed on top of him. The wind was knocked out of his lungs and he gasped for air.

“Don’t have too much fun!” Wonder Mare shouted down to them. She reattached her cape and gave Masher a nod. He used his magic to close the door slowly so he could stare down at his victims. The ray of light shrunk until there was nothing but a sliver remaining, with Masher’s face in the middle. He stared an extra moment before closing the door completely. There was a loud click, and the sliver of light disappeared.

The two ponies lay in the dark, breathing heavily in a much more innocent way than would happen several years later. Though he couldn’t see her, Dream Chaser knew Dream Catcher’s face was right in front of his. He could feel her breath, smell her scent, and sense her eyes looking into the darkness for his.

“Are you okay?” she asked at last. Her breathing had slowed, but his remained fast, and his heart was pounding.

“I think so,” he replied, though his ribs hurt from her landing on him. “What about you?

“I’m, uh, I’m fine,” she said with uncertainty. Her arms were still wrapped around him tightly, and he could tell something was wrong. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he saw she was looking around nervously.

“Are you sure?” he asked with concern. She realized she was still on top of him and jumped to her hooves.

“Yeah, let’s…let’s just get out of here,” she said, helping him up. Pain ran through his back and neck, but he didn’t feel anything was broken.

“Where are we?” he asked looking around. There was a row of stainless steel refrigerator doors built into the far wall. Big metal carts had been set up in front of them with trays of surgical tools close by. On one of the carts he could see the outline of something covered by a sheet. “Dream Catcher?” he asked when she didn’t reply. He turned to see her with her head down and covering her ears with her hooves.

“I can hear him,” she whispered, not opening her eyes. Dream Chaser strained his ears. but could only faintly hear the sounds of the haunted house carrying on up above.

“Who?” Dream Chaser asked. “Your father?” She shook her head and pointed her hoof into the distance.

“Him,” she said. He followed the direction of her hoof and saw she was pointing at the sheet covered object in the distance.

Was that a pony? Dream Chaser wondered. He walked across the room, his hoof steps echoing in the silence. I don’t hear any pony. Maybe she’s playing a trick on me. As he got closer, he saw something sticking out from under the sheets, a small card hanging from a string around it. Is that a hoof? He was inches from the cart now and could clearly make out the details of a pony beneath the sheet. Is this part of the haunted house? Is this a real dead pony? Is Dream Catcher’s father a killer? Am I next?

His head was running with too many thoughts at once; he nearly jumped out of his skin when Dream Catcher put her hoof on his shoulder. He looked at her in fear, then to the body, then back to her again.

“Dream Catcher! This isn’t funny!” he shouted at her, but he could tell by her expression it wasn’t a joke. She looked like she wanted to cry and he relaxed, taking a deep breath. “Why is there a dead pony here?”

“It’s my dad’s job,” she replied.

“Your dad gets paid to kill?!” Dream Chaser asked, assuming the worst.

“What? No!” she shouted, and he felt relieved, if not a little stupid. “The ponies are brought here and he finds out how they died. Then he cleans them up before they’re buried.” The idea seemed pointless to Dream Chaser. Why bother when they’re just going into the ground? Then he remembered his grandma’s funeral from the spring. He remembered looking into her casket after the sermon had finished, when he and his parents had gone up to pay their final respects. She had looked like she was sleeping, as if at any moment, she would get up and say how much he’d grown since she’d last seen him.

“Okay, but what did you mean when you said you could hear him?” Dream Chaser asked. She looked at him with sad eyes then turned to her cutie mark.

“It’s my special talent,” she said quietly. He just looked at her, not quite understanding what she meant. “Please don’t think I’m weird!” she begged.

“Wait, I don’t get it. What’s your special talent?” he asked. She hesitated for a moment, debating how or if she wanted to explain. Eventually, she walked to the head of the covered pony and lifted the sheet. Beneath was a stallion that had fallen to his death the previous week. The cause of death was a broken neck, and his vertebrae still stuck out at odd angles.

“I can hear their dreams: everything they’d ever wanted or hoped to be,” she said, putting her hoof over the stallion’s eyes. Dream Chaser felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and chills ran down his spine. “They speak to me and get mad when I don’t listen.”

“What…what is this one saying?” Dream Chaser asked hesitantly, moving up so he could see the stallion’s face. Dream Catcher closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few moments, she began relaying the messages of the deceased.

“He wanted a mare he couldn’t have. He dreamed of being happy with her and raising a family, moving to the country and getting away from the city.” Her brow furrowed and she began to look as if she tasted something unpleasant. “He wanted to kill the mare’s lover.” She began shaking, keeping to herself the horrible things the stallion had wanted to do to the pony, who he felt didn’t deserve the one he loved. She went quiet and Dream Chaser walked over to comfort her.

“How did you find out it was your special talent? How is this even possible?” he asked, unsure what to think of the odd situation.

“I came to work with my dad a few months ago and he brought me down here. He opened one of those lockers,” she pointed to one of the things Dream Chaser thought were refrigerators, “and I heard a voice coming from inside. I listened as it told me its dreams. My father thought I was pretending until my cutie mark appeared.”

For the first time, she actually let him look at her cutie mark: a dream catcher with a star in the middle and three stars hanging from it. Later on, it would become something he could draw with his eyes closed.

“But how? And why?” Dream Chaser asked. He had little knowledge of the spiritual and supernatural; after all, he was just an earth pony.

“The only way my father could explain it was his great, great gram was a unicorn, and I got some magic genes…or something…I don’t know,” she said looking down at her hooves. “I’m just a freak.”

Dream Chaser’s gut instinct told him she needed a hug and he embraced her. They stayed like that in the darkness for some time. He listened to the distant sounds of the haunted house and she listened to the now quieting dreams of the deceased.

> Chapter Seven-Doctor's Orders
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dream Chaser had taken a sleeping pill before going to bed the night before and woke up late the next morning. He blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the light shining in from the window. It felt like only moments prior to waking up, he’d closed his eyes to go to sleep, yet twelve hours had passed. Sleep had done nothing for him and left him more tired than before. He let his head sink back into the pillow and tried to recall any dreams he’d had over the night.

“Morning babe,” a voice next to him said. He rolled over to see Dream Catcher lying in bed with him. He could smell her lilac scent and feel her warmth as she cuddled up close to him. Instinctively, he put his arm around her and kissed her forehead, causing her to release a little sigh of pleasure.

“How’d you sleep last night?” she asked, nuzzling his chest slowly. He waited for her to stop and look up at him. Her eyes were sparkling, green pools of comfort and he stared into them before answering.

“I won’t know until I wake up,” he replied. She smiled and put her head back into his chest, breathing softly.

“You’re going to have to let go eventually,” she whispered. He squeezed her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

“I know,” he said, breathing in the smell of her mane, “I know.”


Dream Chaser opened his eyes, wanting to stay in his euphoric state. Realizing his face was wet, probably from drool, he looked down at the pillow that had replaced Dream Catcher in his arms. The white pillow case was covered in something more than just saliva! It was soaked through and cover with blood! He immediately released the pillow from his loving embrace and tried to stand up. For once, his legs were ready to support him, but he felt dizzy and disoriented. The room began spinning and he fell to the floor. His ears were ringing and his heart pounded painfully against his chest. A metallic taste he recognized as blood filled his mouth as a stream of it ran down his nasal cavity.

He pinched his nose with his hooves and closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the room to stop spinning. His stomach upturned and he felt the dozen apples he ate the night before traveling back up his esophagus. His mouth filled with saliva and he swallowed rapidly, trying to keep from throwing up.

Through the ringing in his ears, he distantly heard his apartment door open and some pony walk right in. The floor creaked as whoever it was slowly made their way towards his bedroom.

“Mr. Chaser? Are you alright?” a tender, female voice called out. “I thought I heard something fall.” There was silence as she listened for a reply; a reply he was incapable of giving. He opened his mouth to say he was fine, but a stream of rose colored vomit came out instead. As he laid coughing and gagging, the pony ran into the room and he saw it was his landlord, Mrs. Prism.

She looked in horror at Dream Chaser, who was quivering in a puddle of blood and vomit, and she put her hoof over her mouth. He didn’t want her to see him like this, and he tried to assure her he was okay. Instead of words, another burst of sick came out of his mouth, this time more crimson than rose. He curled up into the fetal position and began crying, not knowing why he was in so much pain. 

Mrs. Prism ran from the room and out into the street to get some help. Dream Chaser couldn’t help, but be impressed at how fast she ran for such an old mare. An off-duty EMT Pony happened to be waiting at the coach stop outside the apartment, and he ran inside with her. He gave her directions to keep Dream Chaser on his side, and then ran off to call for an ambulance.

He felt his head being lifted and opened his eyes. Mrs. Prism was gently rolling him onto his side and he could see his reflection in her big glasses. Blood was still trailing down his nose; his eyes were puffy and red. The new position he was in made his head throb and he closed his eyes. He tried to think of something, anything, to get his mind off the pain.

Two paramedic ponies burst into the locker room and Dream Chaser felt himself being lifted up onto a stretcher. Wait, he wasn’t in a locker room, he was at home. They rushed him as fast as they could to the waiting ambulance and departed for the nearest medical center. Everything hurt, especially his legs. No, no his legs were just fine. It was his head that hurt. The mare that had accompanied him looked down as the paramedics did everything in their power to keep him alive. Actually these paramedics had just loaded him into the back of the ambulance, and then saddled up to pull it. 

“What happened to you?” Dream Catcher asked. Hold on. Dream Catcher was white with a white mane. This mare was turquoise with a gray mane. And she was much older.

Dream Chaser struggled back and forth between memory and reality until he finally passed out. When he awoke, he was in a hospital bed, an IV running from his arm to a bag of liquid. He heard the rattling of pills in a container and looked over to see his doctor, Dr. Pulse, sitting cross-legged on his wheelie chair. In his hoof was one of Dream Chaser’s prescription bottles.

“How are you feeling, my boy?” the doctor asked. He continued rolling the pills around in their container. Dream Chaser mulled over the question and debated how to answer. His legs hurt, but that was normal pain, associated with his painkillers wearing off. His stomach had settled, but growled to remind him that it was empty again. Although his nose had stopped bleeding, he still had the aftertaste of blood in his mouth. His tongue dragged through his mouth like sandpaper as he struggled to swallow.

“Thirsty,” Dream Chaser croaked. The wheelie chair let out a creak of relief as the large pony stood up.

“You’re really quite lucky your landlord found you when she did,” the doctor said as he poured a cup of water from the sink. “I shudder to think what could have happened had she not.” He held out the cup with his teeth and Dream Chaser took it in his hooves. His pores expanded in shock as he drank, causing him to cough, dribbling most of the water down the front of his hospital gown. Dr. Pulse sat back down on his wheelie chair and it groaned in agony. 

He waited for Dream Chaser to recover before addressing the issue they had talked about numerous times. “You haven’t been taking them, have you?” the doctor asked, fiddling with the pill container again.

Dream Chaser shook his head guiltily and tried to coax a few more water droplets out of the cup. He was able to choke out, “Took them last night though.” He held out the empty cup and the doctor reluctantly stood up to get him a refill. While the doctor made his way to the sink, Dream Chaser looked at the IV sticking out of his arm. It was an all too familiar sight.

Dr. Pulse handed him the full cup and returned to his seat. He picked up a pen in his teeth and began scribbling notes on a clipboard. As Dream Chaser drank, he listened to the rapid scratches of the pen against the paper.

When he’d finished writing, he spun in the chair to look at Dream Chaser. “I’m lowering the dosage on all your prescriptions,” he said, looking through glasses that were too small for his head. “With the exception of the Altrivin because it seems to be the only one you take regularly.”

A knock came at the door and a pretty, young nurse walked in. She was an orange earth pony with a pink mane that flowed out from beneath a nurse’s cap. Dream Chaser recognized her as the same nurse that always tended to him on his visits. 

The doctor tore off the paper he’d scribbled on and gave it to her. “Drop that off at the pharmacy desk and get Mr. Chaser one of those weekly pill organizers,” Dr. Pulse said. The nurse nodded and walked back out of the room with the paper in her mouth. He then turned to address Dream Chaser once more.

“Still thirsty,” Dream Chaser said, holding out the empty cup.

The doctor looked at it without interest and walked right up to his face. His multiple chins quivered as he spoke, and the smell of pastries wafted from his mouth. “This isn’t a game, Mr. Chaser. These medications should be taken as directed. You can’t just pop them all down your throat at once after not taking them for several months. You could have died!

“You lied to me our last visit. You had me under the impression you were obeying my orders so I upped your dosage. Not just the Altrivin, oh no, every one of them. See what happens when you lie to your doctor?” He put his face right up to Dream Chaser’s, and spoke in a quiet tone: “You’re lucky. Don’t forget that.”

He grabbed the cup from Dream Chaser and tossed it into the trash without a word. Sweat was beading on his forehead as he looked at Dream Chaser for a response. The crippled stallion had nothing to say and looked away from the doctor’s glare. Had it not been for better judgment, the doctor likely would have brought up Dream Catcher. Instead, he cleared his throat and left the room quietly.

Tick. Tick. Drip. Tick. Drip. Tick. Drip. Tick. Tick. Drip. Dream Chaser lay in silence listening to the clock and his IV drip fall out of synchronization. “I’m lucky,” Dream Chaser said to himself. He laughed. “Plenty of luck. Too bad it’s all bad.”

Through the noise of the IV and the clock, he could hear whispering coming from just beyond his door. Probably those gossiping nurses…or reporters looking for an easy scoop. The whispering ceased; there came a knock at the door. Just come in. It’s not like I can stop you. After a pause, the door opened and his nurse slipped in looking rather flustered.

She immediately grabbed a cup and walked to the sink. “The doctor apologizes,” she said as the cup filled. “He’s just concerned for you is all.” Dream Chaser took the cup and drank slowly, unsure if he’d be able to get another refill. The nurse had looked away as he drank, staring out the window at something he couldn’t see or perhaps nothing at all. She had always seemed to have as much on her mind as he did.

“Thank you,” Dream Chaser said, holding out the empty cup. She took it from him and absentmindedly tossed it in the trash.

“You should be all set to leave once your prescriptions are filled. Would you like me to arrange a coach ride home?” she asked as she pulled the IV out of his arm. She quickly taped a cotton ball over the vein before any blood could squirt out.

“How’s the weather outside?” Dream Chaser asked, unable to look out the window from his position in the bed.

“Oh, it’s beautiful out,” she replied without hesitation. She helped Dream Chaser out of the bed and he stretched his legs.

“I think I’ll walk,” he replied. She nodded and left the room so she could get his prescriptions, and he could get out of the hospital gown. He slid out of the gown and waited for her to return, walking slow laps around the room.

She returned minutes later with a prescription bag in her mouth. Inside the bag were several orange bottles, a pill organizer, and a detailed list of instructions of when to take which pills. His nurse went over the list with him and highlighted medication names and times in hopes he would keep to a routine. She even filled the organizer with his first week of pills. He took the two capsules out of the “noon” slot and popped them into his mouth. His nurse had already filled him a cup of water and he swallowed the pills down. Once again, the nurse looked away as he drank, this time staring at the clock and letting out a small sigh.

“Long day?” he asked. It was one of very few questions either of them had asked that wasn’t written on a clipboard. She looked away from the clock and gave him a small smile.

“Long week,” she replied. He returned her smile and took another sip of his water. Her blue eyes wandered back to the clock and an expression Dream Chaser recognized all too well covered her face. It was worry – with a slight mix of pain and sorrow. He’d seen that look on Dream Catcher when she wasn’t wearing a smile to cover it up.

“Something wrong?” he asked. Her predetermined answer didn’t surprise him in the least. In fact, it made him wonder why he’d bothered to ask in the first place.

“No, everything’s fine,” she said, quickly looking away from the clock. “Do you need another refill?” 
Before he could answer, she had grabbed the cup away from him and gone to the sink. In her haste, she nearly sent a glass jar of cotton balls tumbling to the floor, only barely managing to catch it in time. Dream Chaser looked away, pretending he’d seen nothing. She glanced over at him to make sure he hadn’t witnessed her near-blunder and set the cotton balls back on the sink. She shakily filled the cup and returned to him.

Over the years, Dream Chaser had been through a lot of nurses. He had been a little difficult to deal with; some couldn’t handle him. Then there were the ones he couldn’t handle. She asks too many questions, she’s an incompetent dolt, her hooves are always cold: it was always something. It got to be a joke between the hospital staff and they would place bets on the tenure of each new nurse.

They’d only given his current nurse one week. Dream Chaser had almost broken her on the first day. But here she was, years later, the only nurse that was allowed near him. She had been the only one to legitimately care about his well being. He wasn’t “The Great Tragedy of the Equestria Games” to her; he was just a hurt pony whose privacy should be respected. Something else drove her as well, but Dream Chaser hadn’t figured it out.

He bit the lip of the cup to take it from her and his nose bumped hers (passing drinks is such an awkward task for earth ponies). She pretended not to notice and released her grip when she was sure he had it. He emptied the cup in three large gulps and as the last drop hit his tongue, he was thirsty again. The nurse watched as he continued tilting his head upward trying to get just one more drop out.

“Still thirsty?”

“I think I’ll manage.” He let the cup fall into the trash and looked around the room. “Did my landlord by chance bring my coat?”

The nurse thought for a moment, then shook her head. “You shouldn’t need it– it isn’t going to rain till much later.”
“It’s not that,” Dream Chaser began, quickly making up an excuse, “It’s that my keys are in that coat. How am I going to get inside my apartment?” He was actually more worried about walking several miles with his scars exposed for all to see, and he’d already turned down the offer for a coach ride home.

“Oh, your landlord said she’d leave you a spare key in the flower pot outside.” She smiled and turned to open the door for him, but had never shut it fully when she entered. Through the crack, she could see the prying eyes of several of her colleagues. They dispersed as she approached and were nowhere to be seen when she opened the door.

Dream Chaser limped through the hallways escorted by his nurse. Once or twice, his knees buckled, and he had to stop. His nurse knew better than to help him. She stayed back and allowed the stallion to get himself up. Watching him struggle was painful for her, but she could only imagine how he felt.

“Sunny,” a green Pegasus nurse said mockingly, “I think your patient needs help.”

“You’re not going to get employee of the month that way,” another nurse commented. Dream Chaser was really struggling to get back up and the orange mare didn’t know what to do. She cautiously walked to his side and put her hoof on his shoulder.

“Just ignore them,” Dream Chaser whispered. “I’m fine.” With extreme effort, he hoisted himself up and continued following her. He hoped one of the two pills he’d taken had been an Altrivin, or he didn’t know how he was going to get home.

At long last, they reached the main lobby of the hospital. It was where he and his nurse usually parted ways, but this time, she continued to lead him on past the automatic doors. He followed her out to the street until she stopped and turned to him.

“Are you sure you don’t want me get you a coach? I’ll pay the fare. It’s no problem,” she insisted. Dream Chaser just shook his head, the pills rattling inside the bag he held in his mouth. “Okay then. Be careful.”

And with that, she disappeared back into the hospital. Dream Chaser looked around at the street signs and calculated his route home. 

> Chapter Eight-Where The Streams Meet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“I think I’ve still got a few more in me,” the white unicorn stallion replied. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll get the title of oldest champion as well.”

“Now THAT would be impressive,” the host commented. He then flipped through the notes on his desk and turned back to his guest. “Mr. Star, thank you again for coming on our show tonight.”

The unicorn flipped a lock of his blonde mane back into place and smiled at the camera. “It’s been my pleasure.”

“Before we cut to commercials, would you mind if a few members of the audience asked you some questions?”

“Not at all,” he replied confidently.

The camera panned over to the audience and hooves shot into the air. “Late Nights with Ruby Ringer” appeared in the left corner of the screen. After a moment, the host walked down a row of seats, levitating a microphone with him. He looked around at the sea of excited ponies and stopped in front of an exceptionally excited blue mare.

“Hello honey, what would you like to ask Mr. Star?”

“I love you Nova Star!” she shouted into the microphone. The white unicorn simply looked at her and gave a wink and a wave. The camera focused back on the mare as she fell backwards in ecstasy.

“That wasn’t a question, but alright!” the host said into the microphone. He continued along the aisle until he reached an unenthused Pegasus mare with her hoof raised in the air. “Ma’am, you appear to have something on your mind, would you care to share?”

“I would, Ruby,” she said, taking the microphone with her wing. She turned to glare at Nova Star. “How do you sleep at night?”

The audience looked taken aback and the camera panned to Nova Star. He was unfazed and brought his hoof up to examine it casually. “I sleep just fine, thank you.”

“How?” the Pegasus asked in disbelief. “After what you did to Dream Chaser?”

“Excuse me who?”

“Dream. Chaser.”

“Oh! That poor stallion from Manehatten? If you recall, I was acquitted and even put a large sum of bits to aid law enforcement in finding the real—”

“You rigged that trial! We all know it!”

“And that’s all the time we have!” Ruby shouted as he levitated the microphone away from the Pegasus. “Mares and Gentlecolts, thanks for join—”

The livid mare pushed Ruby out of the way and grabbed the microphone again. “You knew you couldn’t beat him! He was better than you! He would have won, had he competed!”

She threw the microphone at Nova Star, hitting him squarely in the head, and then proceeded to rush the stage. Security guards tackled her to the ground, just short of the shocked stallion as the audience hooted and hollered. The camera panned around until it stopped on Ruby, who was signaling the camera pony to cut the feed. The screen went black, and then cut to a newsroom where a mare and a stallion were sitting at a desk.

“Nova Star was treated at Coltafornia Medical for a minor contusion and released this morning,” the mare said, looking at the camera. “The racing legend has stated he will not be pressing charges.”

A short musical interlude played and the camera focused on the stallion. “When we return, we’ll look at the events that shocked the world ten years ago at what will be remembered as “The Equestria Games Tragedy”.

The camera panned back to the mare and a picture of a purple Alicorn appeared in the corner of the screen. “Also coming up, Princess Twilight Sparkle breaks the silence about her alleged sexual involvement—”

All the TV’s in the electronic shop’s display window went blue and a high pitched alert sounded. The alert shook Dream Chaser from his trance and he wondered how long he’d wasted watching TV. Seeing Nova Star across several screens had distracted him from his journey, so he had wedged aside a few other window shoppers to watch the broadcast.

A pre-recorded voice spoke monotonously after the tone: “This is the Equestria Emergency Broadcast System with a storm warning in effect for this evening in the following areas: Broncolyn, Manehatten, Kings, and Trotshire County. Expect high winds and torrential downpours. Power outages are likely and you are advised to stay inside.”

The monotone voice repeated the warning and three beeps signaled the end of the EEBS. The cable feed resumed, showing the end of a fashion boutique’s commercial. 

Dream Chaser separated himself from the shoppers and continued down Mane Street. He had two possible routes home and neither had very much appealed to him. One would take him past his old house; the other would take him past his old school. The latter had fewer memories associated with it…and at least, the school was still standing.

He limped through the shopping district relatively unnoticed in the mass of ponies who had gathered for their Friday afternoon activities. For the time being, the sky was still clear and a gentle breeze blew through the city streets. Hard to imagine another storm was on its way.

Dream Chaser’s mystery medications had begun to take effect and he easily identified the Altrivin’s numbing sensation. The other one remained a mystery, but he certainly felt more relaxed. The crowded sidewalk didn’t seem to bother him. The occasional double-takes and stares actually made him feel a bit of pride that ponies still knew who he was. 

He wasn’t half the stallion he used to be, sure, but he had been well-known even before the tragedy.
His mind went back to the Ruby Ringer clip that had been on the news. Nova Star was still in peak health and still as pretentious as ever. The mare had been right though. Had it not been for Dream Chaser’s inability to compete, HE would have been the champion, not Nova Star.

“Excuse me who?” Nova Star’s words echoed in Dream Chaser’s head. How could he feign ignorance at the name that had become synonymous with his? Had he truly forgotten the trial? The tabloids? The blood?

Dream Chaser wanted to run from the thoughts and broke free of the lazy flow of shoppers. He clenched his teeth around his prescription bag as he ran for the first time in nearly ten years. The adrenaline, the excitement; it all seemed so wonderful. Pedestrians stepped aside as the stallion careened up the sidewalk. Tears rolled from his eyes as the wind whipped across his face. Through the tears, he saw a white mare that stood out from the crowd. She looked at him with dazzling, green eyes and his heart stopped.

Dream Catcher?

It was like déjà vu: he was staring at the love of his life when he should have been concerned with what was immediately in front of him. His hoof caught on some unseen obstruction and the sky switched places with the ground. He landed hard and no amount of Altrivin could mask the pain he now felt. The muscles, the tendons, the ligaments; they all screamed out in agony.

“Sir, are you alright?” a blue unicorn stallion asked, hoisting him up before he could refuse the help. “Is there some pony following you? I can’t see any other reason why you would be running so fast.”

Dream Chaser shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked around at the ponies that had stopped to assist him, but didn’t see the mare he was looking for. Just my imagination again.

Dream Chaser picked up his prescription bag which had landed a short distance away. He turned to the unicorn and nodded in thanks before limping into the crowd of confused on-lookers. They stepped aside as they recognized the scars and began whispering his name.


“That was dumb.”

I know.

“No, that was really dumb.”

I know.

“What did the doctors say?”

…

“Well?”

You’ll never run again.

Dream Chaser bickered back and forth with himself as he walked along the deserted sidewalk. The shopping district with its patrons was now behind him and he knew he was almost home.

Weather Control pegasi were making their way across the skies, bringing with them dark storm clouds. A drop fell out of the passing clouds every now and then, so Dream Chaser tried to quicken his pace. Something in his legs kept popping and causing jolts of pain. He would jog in bursts for as long as he could bear it before slowing to his usual limp.

The Manehatten Public School loomed in the distance and the sounds of ponies at play echoed out into the streets. School had been let out for the week, yet many of the students stayed to play on the expansive playground. Dream Chaser walked along the chain link fence and stopped to catch his breath. The building he’d attended for three years stared back like a stranger. It had been repainted, renovated, and expanded over the years to resemble every other school in the district.

“Hey mister, what’s in the bag?”

Dream Chaser turned to see a group of school ponies staring at him through the fence. They snickered and imitated his limp and he knew their intentions were malicious. What is it about this city that breeds bad ponies? He pretended not to notice them and continued walking.

“Hey I’m talking to you, cripp,” a gray colt said, smacking the fence with his hoof. He became irritated when Dream Chaser continued to ignore him even after being called a cripp. “Fine, buck you too.”

“Loser!”

“Weirdo!”

They continued to call him all the insults third graders were capable of as he limped off. He found it funny how little had changed since he was in school and let out a laugh.

Something hard made contact with the back of Dream Chaser’s head and he fell to his knees in surprise. The ponies in the school yard roared with laughter. Dream Chaser looked down and saw the large rock that had been bucked at him by the school ponies. He put his hoof to the back of his head at the point of impact and pulled away when he felt blood trailing down his mane.

“Look! I think he’s gonna cry!” the gray colt shouted. Tears had indeed welled up in Dream Chaser’s eyes, but he held them back. Without looking at the ponies, he continued along the sidewalk.

Dream Chaser’s non-responsiveness eventually bored the ponies, and they went elsewhere to antagonize some of their classmates. A silver colt who had been watching from afar approached the fence. He said nothing as he kept pace with Dream Chaser, who was barely aware of his presence.

The pony picked up a stick and began running it along the chain link fence, ultimately getting Dream Chaser’s attention. They both stopped in unison to look at each other. The younger of the two struggled to maintain eye contact; his blue eyes darting from his hooves, to Dream Chaser’s face and back.

“Hello,” the silver pony said timidly while struggling to look into the stallion’s judging eyes. “I was wondering…if…you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” Dream Chaser said through the bag he held in his teeth; his quick response sounding harsher than he’d intended. The colt folded his ears back and his eyes shot to the ground. He whispered something Dream Chaser couldn’t hear, and then ran back towards the school building.

Dream Chaser’s inner voice (which sounded a lot like Dream Catcher) began scolding him as he limped away. That was mean. He was just concerned for you. You hurt his feelings.

A sudden burst of laughter made Dream Chaser look back at the school yard and he saw the silver pony struggling to his hooves. The group of troublemakers gathered around him, pointing and laughing at his blunder.

“Smooth moves, Slip Up!” one of them shouted.

The silver pony’s face turned red beneath his wind-strewn sky blue mane. “My name is Slip Stream,” he replied, looking the other pony dead in the eyes.

Dream Chaser watched through the fence as the colt stood his ground, the other ponies pressing in. Just run, kid, he tried to communicate telepathically. 

The scene played out similar to Dream Chaser’s first encounter with Smoke Storm. The group walked circles around the silver pony, taking turns to insult him. The leader pressed through the circle to confront the pony face to face.

“Go on, why don’t you use that special talent of yours?” the older of the ponies asked. He pressed in closer, but Slip Stream stood resolute.

“No,” Slip Stream replied.

The other pony turned to his peers with an ear-to-ear grin on his face. When he turned back to face Slip Stream, he was greeted by a hoof to the nose. He yelped and fell to the ground, blood trailing from his nostrils. Only fazed for a moment, he jumped on the younger pony and retaliated with punches of his own.

The school ground ponies cheered and hollered at the brawlers as they tumbled around on the ground. Dream Chaser, being the only adult present, felt he had to do something. He hobbled towards the gate to the school yard and approached the gathering of youth.

“That’s enough!” he shouted. He pushed through to the center and saw Slip Stream pinned beneath the older colt. Using his muzzle, Dream Chaser got beneath the pony and flung him several feet. “Enough!” Dream Chaser shouted once more. The crowd dispersed and he was left to deal with the two bruised ponies.

Slip Stream had a black eye and blood coming out the side of his mouth while the other pony got away with nothing more than a bloody nose. They both looked at Dream Chaser, and then to each other, exchanging angry glares.

Eventually, the older pony blew a raspberry and ran off to join his friends who had been watching from afar. Slip Stream went to chase after him, but Dream Chaser held out his foreleg and said, “Leave it.”

Slip Stream looked up at the stallion and sighed, folding his ears back and letting his tail droop. He wiped the blood from his mouth and rubbed at his black eye.

“Now it’s my turn to ask: are you okay?” Dream Chaser asked. After a moment’s hesitation, the young pony nodded and ran his hoof along the ground. “Would you like me to walk you home?”

“W-will you?” Slip Stream asked.

A knot formed in Dream Chaser’s stomach. He had been hoping for a “no” so he could get back to his own abode. The sky was growing ever darker and his legs ached, sensing the storm was going to begin shortly.

“Absolutely,” he said with a genuine smile. “I’m sure your parents are getting worried.”

Once again, the young pony put his ears back and looked at the ground. “My mom isn’t even home yet.”

“And what about your father?” Dream Chaser asked. 

Slip Stream remained silent. It had never occurred to Dream Chaser how lucky he had been to have both his parents growing up, and that many ponies, especially native-born city ponies, were considered lucky to have even one parent.

“Ah, well,” Dream Chaser began awkwardly, “we should get you home before the storm starts.” As he finished the phrase, a raindrop landed on his head, followed by the crash of thunder. So much for getting me home before the storm starts.


He let Slip Stream lead him out of the school yard. To his dismay, they began walking the opposite direction of Dream Chaser’s apartment. His legs ached as he struggled to keep up with the young pony, who had failed to take into consideration Dream Chaser’s disability.

“Hey, kid, wait up,” Dream Chaser panted. He sat down and Slip walked over to him, concern across his face.

“What happened to your legs?” Slip asked, looking over the scars. He was too young to have known about the Equestria Games that robbed the stallion of his livelihood.

“I…really don’t want to talk about it…Are we almost there?” Dream Chaser asked, changing the topic.

“Oh, um, we’re close,” Slip replied, taking a few steps before looking back and saying, “I’m Slip Stream, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Dream Chaser,” the stallion replied, getting back to his hooves and catching up to the pony. The name meant nothing to Slip Stream.

“Thank you, Dream Chaser…for…helping me,” He smiled and looked up at the stallion.

“Why didn’t you run from those bullies?” Dream Chaser asked. They took a turn down an alleyway, passing a couple homeless ponies waving tin cans that rattled with the sound of bits.

“My mom told me to face my problems, not run from them,” Slip replied. The alley let out to the slums of Manehatten, and they approached a rundown apartment building with boarded up windows. “Even if my special talent is running.”

Dream Chaser glanced down at the colt’s cutie mark as they entered the apartment complex. It was barely noticeable against his silver fur; three gray swooshing lines (that Dream Chaser could only imagine represented wind) adorned the young pony’s flank.

A big “Out of order” sign was slapped across the elevator’s metal doors and Dream Chaser’s heart sank. “What floor do you live on?”

“The 22nd,” Slip Stream said, leading him over to a door with the stairs icon above it. He opened the door and a horrible smell of burning herbs wafted out of the stairwell. Three rather ragged ponies were sitting on the stairs, passing around a burning tube of nature, coughing and laughing stupidly. Slip Stream looked up at Dream Chaser and said, “I should be fine from here.”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll go with you,” Dream Chaser said, walking in front of the youth. No matter how much he wanted to get home before the storm, he was not going to leave until he was sure this pony was home safe. “Excuse us,” he said, trying to push past the stair-dwellers.

“Yo, what’s in the bag?” one of them asked, bringing the burning coil of leaves to his lips. Dream Chaser didn’t reply as he managed to wedge himself and Slip Stream up the first flight of steps. He could hear the stair-dwellers laughing and coughing below them as they ascended.

“Thank you,” Slip Stream said, keeping close to Dream Chaser. “You’re really nice.”

Dream Chaser felt his face flush a bit, but wasn’t sure if it was from the compliment, or the extra effort it was taking to climb the stairs. The lights flickered and the stairs creaked as they climbed further into the complex. Arguments could be heard through the paper thin walls along with…other…things. Hopefully, Slip was still young enough to be naïve of the going-ons of the building.

“So what’s your special talent?” Slip asked as they were passing the tenth floor. He had been staring at the scars on Dream Chaser’s legs, trying to make out the cutie mark that lay beneath.

“It was running,” Dream Chaser replied sadly. “I was fast, possibly the fastest in Equestria.” An uneven spot in the stairs caused Dream Chaser’s hoof to twist out from under him and he landed on his chest. “But not anymore,” he sighed, struggling back up as if nothing had happened.

They continued up the stairs in silence until they were at the 22nd floor. The door was rotted away and sat loosely on a single hinge. Slip Stream pushed through it casually and they walked down the smoky hallway. How could anypony live in these conditions? The wallpaper was peeling away, the carpet was thread bare, and the whole place smelled of burnt rubber. Worst of all was the noise. TV sets blasted infomercials at full volume, foals were crying, couples were arguing or procreating—surely this is where bad ponies come from.

Dream Chaser cautiously followed Slip Stream through the hallway. At the very end was Slip Stream’s apartment and he produced a key from his school bag, letting the two in. The atmosphere was much more pleasant in the apartment than the rest of the building. The walls were painted in a hue of blue, and the carpet actually had some fabric to it. It was also quieter inside these walls than the hallway, and the smell of vanilla encompassed the entirety of the space. A lone window let in the remnants of sunlight and Dream Chaser walked over to it.

The rain had begun to fall in sheets and he knew it was going to be a miserable walk back home. “So how soon till your mother gets here?” he asked, turning to Slip Stream.

“Soon,” he said. “She works late on Fridays.”

Streetwalker was the first thing to come to Dream Chaser’s mind, but he didn’t want to assume the worst. Whoever this mare was, she had raised a good colt, and managed to do so alone.

“Will you stay until she gets home?”

Dream Chaser wanted to leave, feeling he’d completed his voluntary duty, but a loud noise outside the apartment followed by shouting and banging changed his mind. “I’ll stay a little while,” he replied when the noise had ceased. He walked to the door and slid the bolt lock into place.

They passed the time talking about Slip Stream: his school, his classes, his classmates. Whenever the topic changed to Dream Chaser, he was sure to push it back to the younger pony’s interests and hobbies. He was very much like a younger version of Dream Chaser: strong, morally upstanding, and fast. Small as the apartment was, Slip Stream demonstrated his running abilities for the crippled stallion.

“You really could make it in racing,” Dream Chaser said as he watched the pony weave and maneuver around the few pieces of furniture in the apartment.

Slip stopped and looked at the floor sadly. “My mom won’t let me.”

“What? Why not?” Dream Chaser asked, baffled.

“She told me I could get hurt--told me about a pony who got hurt really badly because he was good at running.”

Dream Chaser knew it was him his mother had told him about. “You…you just have to be careful. You should always chase your dreams, no matter the risks.”

A knock came at the door and Slip Stream didn’t rush to answer it; he was still pondering the stallion’s words. Dream Chaser stood up when another knock came at the door, this time more panicked.

“Honey? It’s Mommy…Open up please,” a familiar voice said from beyond the door. “Slip, please, let me in.”

Dream Chaser furrowed his brow, trying to figure out why the voice sounded familiar. He undid the bolt lock and the door opened quickly. A mare dripping from head to hoof bumped into him and she stepped back in surprise as did he.

“Mr. Chaser?”

“H-hello, Nurse Sun Stream.”

> Chapter Nine-Restless Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dream Chaser sat with the ice pack pressed firmly against the back of his head, with Slip Stream sitting across from him, his own ice pack against his eye. The sound of boiling water was only barely audible over the torrential downpour outside the cozy apartment. Dream Chaser drew a heavy sigh. It would have been rude to refuse the offer of dinner, especially considering if he went home, there was nothing to eat and he would have gone to bed hungry. However, the hour was growing late, and the storm was only beginning to get bad.

Sunny—Nurse Sun Stream—dropped the carrots she’d peeled into the boiling water and turned to the two bruised ponies. She looked exhausted, but managed to put on a smile regardless. “Thank you, Mr. Chaser, for helping Slip home, and thank you for having dinner with us.”

“Thank you for having me,” he replied, lowering the ice pack. After sampling her cooking, he had been fully intending to make a mad dash for home. He had been thinking of flagging down a coach, convincing them to let him pay another time, but Sunny had no intentions of letting him leave.

She saw him eyeing the window anxiously and stepped in front of his gaze. “The sofa folds out into a guest bed,” she said. “You’re more than welcome to stay the night.”

“I should really—”

“I insist.”

She spoke to him like she would to her own son; an adult who knew what was best, even if the colt thought otherwise. Dream Chaser looked at her firm expression and realized she would not yield. “Thank you.”

The mare smiled and went back into the kitchen, which was only about two steps, considering the small size of the apartment. She went back to stirring the vegetables absent-mindedly. Slip Stream, who had been relatively quiet since his mother’s arrival, squirmed in his seat.

“So, Slip, how old are you?” Dream Chaser asked, trying to break the silence.

“I’ll be eight in a couple of weeks,” Slip replied.

Dream Chaser glanced over at his nurse and caught her staring. She had been his nurse for almost eight years and he’d never known her to have a child. “Eight, huh? That’s a great age. Have you been living here with your mother this whole time?”

“Yeah, but she’s always at work taking care of sick ponies,” Slip said. “Is that how you know her? Are you sick?”

“No, no, I’m not sick,” Dream Chaser replied. “I just had…an accident.”

“Was it something to do with racing? ‘Cause my mom told me about this one pony who—”

“Slip,” Sunny interrupted, “Can you go get Mommy the mail? I forgot to grab it on the way up.” She took a key from her purse, which her son eagerly grabbed.

“Make sure you time me!” Slip shouted. He opened the door, put his head down, and scratched at the carpet in front of him. An imaginary whistle went off, and he galloped down the hallway, leaving Dream Chaser and Sun Stream alone in the apartment.

“I’m sorry about my son, he’s just—”

“Energetic,” Dream Chaser finished for her.

“Yes,” she exhaled. “I hope he isn’t a bother.”

“He’s fine. He kinda reminds me of myself back when I was starting out racing.” The mare smiled awkwardly, but said nothing. Dream Chaser set his icepack down on the table and asked, “Why don’t you want him racing?”

“He told you that?” Sun Stream asked.

“He did…Is it because of what happened to me?”

She looked at her hooves with guilt in her eyes. Dream Chaser slid out of his chair and walked over to his nurse.

“What happened to me was circumstantial, “he said. “You shouldn’t deny your son his dreams because of something that happened to a foolish stallion.”

Slip Stream burst back into the apartment, letting a bundle of mail scatter across the floor, as he opened his mouth to shout, “TIME?!”

Dream Chaser looked up at the clock in the kitchen, pretending he’d actually kept track. “Forty-two seconds,” he said, making his best guess.

“A new record! The crowd goes wild!” Slip Stream then began imitating the cheer of his imaginary spectators and posing for photographers.

“Slip, pick up that mess, and get ready for dinner,” Sun Stream said, returning to the boiling pot. Slip quickly gathered the bills and letters into a messy pile and sat in his seat. Out in the hallway was a piece of mail that Slip appeared to have missed, so Dream Chaser stepped out to get it.

Looking up from a mass-produced flier was Nova Star, advertising the date and location of the Equestria Games. Dream Chaser looked around and saw a trail of mail leading from the stairs that had been left in Slip Stream’s wake.

He sighed and reluctantly walked the hallway, gathering the envelopes up with his teeth. Bill, bill, junk, junk, he thought to himself as he quickly scanned the writings of the envelopes. It seemed Slip Stream had been more concerned with racing than actually retrieving the mail. Dream Chaser was surprised that any of the mail actually made it into the apartment in the first place. He turned to go back to the apartment with his bundle, and it was then that Dream Chaser spied a letter he’d somehow missed the first time, sitting in the middle of the hallway. As with the rest, he read the writing of the envelope before snatching it up. “Child support,” was sloppily written across the envelope with no return address. 

So the boy’s father is alive. Dream Chaser tucked the envelope in the center of others and returned to the apartment. He shut the door behind him and set the mail on the table next to Sun Stream.

“Whoops,” Slip said as his mother glared at him. He looked at the pile and slid the Equestria Games flier out towards him. “Aw yeah, Nova Star is so cool!”

Dream Chaser took his seat and looked at the plate of vegetables in front of him, sampling a boiled carrot. Sun Stream shuffled through the letters until she came to the child support. Her eyes quickly darted to Dream Chaser, but he was busy emptying his plate.

“Thank you for grabbing these, Mr. Chaser,” the mare said with sincerity. She slid the envelope into her purse under the table.

“Not a problem. Thank you for the meal,” Dream Chaser replied, licking the juices from his plate. The lights in the apartment flickered as a massive thunder crash shook the building. “And thank you for letting me stay the night,” he added.

“Mom! Mom! Look!” Slip Stream shouted, poking his hoof at something written on the flier. “The Games are on my birthday! Can we go? Pleeeeeeease?”

His mother leaned over and scanned the flier until she found the price of admissions. “Honey, I can’t afford that,” she said, much to her son’s disappointment.

Dream Chaser looked over at the flier as well. Fifty bits was a reasonable admission fee, considering the significance of the Games and where they were being held, but train fare to the Crystal Empire would be more than triple that.

“If I was in the Games, I wouldn’t have to pay,” Slip Stream sulked, crossing his forearms and pouting his lips.

“Nova Star was ten when he won his first Equestria Games title,” Dream Chaser said. “He still holds the record for youngest ever to compete.”

“I bet I could compete,” Slip said. He looked over at his mother with childish anger. She sighed and went back to sorting through the mail. When Slip realized she wasn’t going to pay attention to him, he began poking at the food on his plate.

Dream Chaser grabbed his empty plate and brought it into the kitchen for a refill. The pot on the stove was empty aside from a single floating chunk of potato. Disappointed, the hungry stallion placed his plate in the sink and rinsed it off.

“You’re not going to bed until you empty your plate.”

“But it’s gross!”

“You need to eat.”

Dream Chaser returned to the table and sat back down next to Slip Stream. The colt’s plate was still full and had been pushed towards the center of the table. Using his hoof, Dream Chaser dragged the plate back in front of Slip. “I beat you,” Dream Chaser whispered.

“Huh?” Slip Stream asked, perplexed.

“I finished mine first, but you can still beat your mom.” Dream Chaser pointed to Sun Stream’s still half-full plate. The mare raised her eyebrow, and then looked down at her meal. “She’s got a head start, but I think you can still win.”

Sun Stream realized the game Dream Chaser was trying to play and slowly brought her head down for a bite of her meal. Slip Stream looked at his mother, and then to his own food. He wrinkled his nose but took a bite, then another, and another. Sun Stream picked up the pace and Slip began gobbling his food. Both plates were emptied within seconds of each other, but Slip held his hooves up victoriously, mashed potato dribbling out the side of his mouth.

“And the winner is…Slip Stream!” Dream Chaser announced. Slip took a big gulp and wiped his mouth. He smiled at the stallion and stuck his tongue out at his mother. “Hey,” Dream Chaser said, “Be a humble winner.”

“So what’s my prize?” Slip asked, looking at his mother.

She thought for a moment before saying, “A half hour of TV before bed.” Slip jumped out of his chair excitedly and ran to the old television set in front of the couch. He flipped the power switch and turned the dial until a black and white cartoon pony came into focus. As he sat on the floor to watch the show, Dream Chaser helped Sun Stream with the dishes.

Was this what it was like to have a family? Dream Chaser wondered as he wiped out the inside of the pot. Dream Catcher had always wanted to start a family.

The half hour passed and Slip Stream begged his mother for “just five more minutes” of TV time. Had the power not gone out at that second, she likely would have said yes. She lit a candle and set it on the table as she folded the bed out of the old couch. It reeked of mothballs and mildew, and several small toys that had been lost in the cushions over the years tumbled out of the folds.

“Slip, get Mr. Chaser some blankets and pillows. I have to get him his medicine,” the mare instructed as she went to the kitchen. Slip ran off into the darkness and Dream Chaser followed Sun Stream to the kitchen. She popped open his pill organizer and emptied two pills into his hoof. With no power, there was no water so Dream Chaser simply dry swallowed the capsules.

“Thank you, again,” Dream Chaser said. The flickering of the candle reflected in the mare’s eyes as she blinked.

“If you need anything else, I’m in the other room,” Sun Stream said.

“I should be fine, and don’t worry if I’m gone in the morning. As soon as the storm lets up, I’ll be heading home.”

Slip emerged from the darkness and draped the spare bedding over the couch-bed before running into the kitchen. “All set, Mr. Chaser.”

“Thank you, Slip,” Sun Stream said, grabbing her son and embracing him. He nuzzled up to her and smiled. “Now, go get some sleep. Mommy has tomorrow off and she wants to spend all of it with you.”

“Promise you won’t go into work?” Slip asked with big sad eyes.

“Promise,” she said, squeezing her son once more.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too.”

Dream Chaser watched as Slip ran off to his room and shut the door. Sun Stream grabbed the candle off the table and walked to the couch. She made sure Dream Chaser was settled before making her way into her own room.

The light from the candle vanished and Dream Chaser stared at the ceiling, listening to the wind howl. He tossed and turned for the first hour, unable to find a position in which he wasn’t putting pressure on either his bruised head or his bad hip. Eventually, whatever medicine he’d taken began to sedate him into a peaceful sleep.

He was awoken by a blinding flash of light and the crash of thunder. He put his face against the pillow and watched the stars dance against his eyes. Once the stars had faded, he looked around the dark apartment. The clock in the kitchen and the weather outside were the only sounds at all. He stared at the window until another flash of lightning blinded him. He sat there blinking, but couldn’t clear a large dark spot from his vision.

The blotch turned and he realized it was the outline of a pony. “Hello?” he asked. Perhaps it was Sun Stream, coming to check on him.

“I thought I’d find you here.” Her voice was cold and he knew it wasn’t Sun Stream. The mare turned and another flash of lightning illuminated her features. White fur, white mane, jade eyes—it couldn’t be…

“Dream Catcher? Wh-what are you doing here?” he asked, his voice quivering.

“I could ask you the same,” she said, taking a step towards the couch-bed. “I always knew that there was something between you two…you and that slut.”

“No, you don’t understand—”

“Quiet!”

“Please! Dream Catcher!”

“I said quiet!” She lunged at him and pressed her hooves firmly down on his throat. He couldn’t breathe and it was futile trying to break from her grip. She stared down at him as she pressed even harder. “I loved you! I took care of you! You didn’t appreciate ANY of it!”

He wanted to object to her accusations but she continued on.

“You’re useless! I would have been happier had you died!”

Dream Chaser coughed and gasped for air, pawing at her hooves helplessly. He tried to scream, but nothing more than a sick gurgle escaped his mouth.

“Mr. Chaser?” a small voice asked. Slip Stream was standing outside his bedroom door and looked at the stallion in confusion. “Mr. Chaser? Are you alright?”

Dream Catcher looked from Dream Chaser to Slip Stream and back, before giving another forceful push onto the stallion’s windpipe.

“Mommy!” Slip shouted. Almost immediately, Sun Stream ran from her room. She looked at her frightened son, then to Dream Chaser.

“Go to your room, Slip,” she said with panic in her voice.

“But—”

“Now!”

Slip obeyed his mother and ran to his room, yet kept the door open a crack. He watched as his mother ran to Dream Chaser and tried to grab his hooves away from his throat.

“You’re having a panic attack. Just breathe,” she said as calmly as she could manage. Dream Chaser could withstand Dream Catcher’s force no longer and went limp. His eyes rolled into his head and a warm darkness overtook him.

From within the darkness, he could feel something, something he’d not felt in some time: the warmth of touch, the feel of another pony, the feel of their lips on his. Life was being forced back into him and he struggled through the darkness. Every time the lips of the pony left, he slipped further back into the darkness, only to be yanked forward once again as the lips returned.

There was a light, and he could see it, and feel it, but it was just out of reach. The breaths brought him closer and closer, but just as he was about to grab hold of it, the breaths ceased, and the darkness pulled him back.

Sun Stream was in tears as she held Dream Chaser’s lifeless body in her forearms. She knew after five minutes of unsuccessful resuscitation that it was time to give up. She gave one last breath of hope into his lungs and felt him react. 

Dream Chaser coughed and sputtered as their lips separated and he struggled to breathe on his own.
Sun Stream held him close to her, feeling the rise and fall of his chest and his rapid heartbeat. She rubbed her hoof along his back whispering, “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Dream Chaser’s eyes darted around the apartment looking for Dream Catcher, but there was no sign of her. Slip Stream slowly emerged from his room and approached his mother and the shaking stallion.

“I thought you said you weren’t sick,” Slip said, looking up at Dream Chaser.

> Chapter Ten- Follow in my Hoof Steps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“You promised! You promised!”

“Slip, please don’t do this right now.”

“It’s not fair!”

“Mommy will try to get out early.”

“But you won’t! You know you won’t! They never let you!”

“Please be quiet or you’ll wake Mr. Chaser.”


Dream Chaser had been awake since he heard the knock at the door earlier that morning. An associate from the hospital had come to inform the nurse she was needed to cover a shift. She bit her lip and tried to say no, but she was unable to turn down the chance for overtime pay.

Her promise to her son now broken, she was stuck trying to find someone to watch him while she worked. Her sister was out of town for the weekend and foal-sitters weren’t cheap. The stallion she’d allowed to stay the night tossed uncomfortably on her couch, and she knew he would rather go home than watch Slip for the day. In fact, she wouldn’t even think to ask, not after the night he’d had.

She’d stayed there in the living room with him, holding him until he fell asleep, and even a little longer. He had kicked and shook in his sleep, occasionally muttering the name of the white mare that used to accompany him on his visits. Slip Stream had nestled up to his mother to watch the sick stallion.

“What’s wrong with him?” Slip had asked, but Sun Stream did not answer. Even she wasn’t sure.


“Ice cream, the zoo, a new toy, anything,” the mare pleaded with her child.

“I want to go to the Equestria Games on my birthday!” Slip demanded. Sun Stream wanted to break down and say yes, but couldn’t make a promise she knew she would break.

“Honey, please…”

Slip Stream gave her the angriest look he could before running to his room and slamming the door. The nurse sat at the table and cupped her face in her hooves. She sat there sobbing, and Dream Chaser could no longer pretend to be asleep. He rolled off the bed and limped to the table. It wasn’t until he sat down that the nurse noticed his presence.

“Everything okay?” Dream Chaser asked.

“I’m a terrible mother,” Sun Stream replied, sniffing and wiping away her tears. “I have to go to work, and I promised him I’d spend the day with him.”

“Did you ever get a hold of a foal-sitter?”

Sun Stream looked at him curiously before asking, “You heard everything, didn’t you?”

“A fair bit, yes. Listen, I have nothing to do today, I could watch him until you get back.”

“No, no, no, I can’t ask that of you—”

“It’s the least I can do after last night.”

The mare reached for her purse and began fishing for a few bits to give Dream Chaser but he held up his hoof in objection. “Thank you,” she said, closing the purse back up. They sat in silence for a moment, listening to the clock tick and the sound of Slip Stream’s muffled sobbing.

“You’re going to be late,” Dream Chaser said, looking over at the clock which read 6:45. She nodded, grabbed her purse and left the apartment. After a few moments, Slip’s sobs stopped and he opened up his bedroom door. He looked around the apartment until his eyes fell on Dream Chaser.

“Is she gone?” he asked, wiping the tears from his bruised eye. The stallion nodded and Slip pulled a chair next to him. “She promised she wouldn’t work today,” Slip pouted, crossing his forearms, putting his head on them and resting them on the table.

“I know,” Dream Chaser said, copying Slip’s position. They simultaneously sighed and looked at each other.

“Do you work today?” Slip asked.

Dream Chaser chuckled. He knew the meaning of hard work, but had never had an actual job before in his life: all his income had come from winning races…or charities. “Nope, I have today off.”

Slip Stream lifted his head up, got ready to say something, then decided against it, and put his ears back and his head down. His stomach rumbled and he buried his face into his forearms. “Hungry,” he mumbled. After sitting like that for a moment, he stood up and walked to the ice box. A few glass bottles rattled as he opened the door and he stood there looking disappointed. He shut the ice box and looked over at Dream Chaser who hadn’t budged.

“Anything?”

“No,” Slip said, his stomach growling again.

“Want some pancakes?”

“Yes!” Slip said, running to the stove and waiting for Dream Chaser to stand up. Slowly, the stallion rose and walked to the wooden cupboards that lined the small kitchen. Every cupboard he opened was emptier than the last. Pots, pans and spider webs were the only occupants of the storage space.

“There’s no flour,” Dream Chaser said at last, giving up his search. Once again, Slip put his ears back and looked down at the floor.

“Can…can you go buy some?” Slip asked hopefully. Dream Chaser looked up at the clock. It was still ten minutes of seven; several hours before any shops or bakeries would open. And besides, he had no money. However, there was one other option.

“Grab your saddlebag. Let’s go,” Dream Chaser said, grabbing his pill container off the counter. Slip, in the blink of an eye, ran into his room and came out with his empty school bag. “Hold onto this, and stay close to me,” Dream Chaser said, putting his medications into one of the saddlebag’s pockets. With one last look over the apartment, Dream Chaser and Slip locked the door and headed out into the city.


The Hoof Beats novelty clock, featuring all four members of the band, struck 7:00 and “I Want to Hold Your Hoof” began playing from the mini speaker within. Short Stack stepped out of the kitchen and into the dining area of his restaurant. Everything was sparkling clean from the checkered floor tiles to the retro memorabilia that covered the walls. A cardboard cutout of Mare Lynn Moonroe struggling to keep her skirt down sat in the corner by a jukebox. As he always did before opening, Short Stack blew Moonroe a kiss and went to unlock the front door. What appeared to be a stallion and his son stood outside the diner, waiting patiently for the closed sign to be turned to open. Short Stack loved the early birds and eagerly turned the key in the lock. He flipped the sign to open and smiled up at his first customers of the day. They weren’t regular customers but one of them was stunningly familiar: the red mane, the gold coat…the scars.

“D-Dream Chaser?” the short pony stammered. The gold stallion nodded and Short Stack looked from him to the colt that accompanied him. “My friend, come in, come in!” Short Stack ran behind the counter and shouted, “Two in the door!” to Chewy out back. The red Pegasus looked out from the order window and stared in surprise.

“Well I’ll be—is that Dream Chaser? Shoot, ain’t seen you since…well…you know.” The red Pegasus looked over at Slip Stream with surprise. “Well, hey there little fella! Yer daddy takin’ you out for breakfast?”

Before Dream Chaser or Slip could correct the false assumption, Short Stack leaned over the counter. “Hey, I’m sorry to hear about Dream Catcher. I had no idea you two had a foal.”

“Hey, stop,” Dream Chaser intervened, “This is Slip Stream, he’s not mine, and I’m just watching him today for his mother.”

“Oh, sorry,” Short Stack apologized. Slip continued looking around at all the retro decorations of the diner, not terribly concerned with the conversation taking place. “Well, regardless, can I start you two off with some drinks?” Short Stack asked placing a pad of paper on the counter and grabbing a pen in his teeth.

“Tomato juice please.”

“Apple juice!” Slip shouted.

“Coming right up!” Short Stack replied, then scurried off to the kitchen. The bell on the door behind them chimed and several ponies walked in. They took their seats at the tables throughout the diner and began their morning conversations. Short Stack returned with the two ponies’ drinks and looked around at his new customers. “Let’s get your order in now,” he said, placing menus in front of them.

Slip opened his menu right to the pancakes and his face lit up. “I want that one,” he said, putting his hoof on the blueberry triple stack. “No wait! That one!” He moved his hoof to the bananas and cream triple stack. “Hold on…That! I want that!”

The newly arrived customers were already growing impatient and Short Stack looked at them nervously. Slip had once again changed his mind, this time deciding on chocolate chip pancakes. 

“Yo, Shorty, I’ll take an OJ and three slices of toast!” an impatient stallion shouted.

“How about I have Chewy whip you up something special?” Short Stack offered, writing down the impatient customer’s order on a separate sheet.

“Special?” Slip Stream asked with bright eyes.

“Extra special.”

“Yes, please!”

“Okay, good. Anything for you, Dream Chaser?” Short Stack said as another customer began shouting their order.

“Same as Slip, if you could,” Dream Chaser said, after being unable to decide. Short Stack nodded, scribbled something down, tore off the sheet, and pinned it up for Chewy to begin cooking.

“This place is so cool,” Slip Stream said, still marveling at the decorations. He absentmindedly kicked his hooves against the counter while looking around.

Dream Chaser took a sip of his tomato juice and reached into Slip Stream’s saddle bag for his pills. Once he found them, he popped the container open and downed the pills with a swig of his drink. “So, Slip,” he said, setting down his glass, “what do you and your mom do when she doesn’t work?”

“I don’t know. She ALWAYS works.” Slip took a drink of his apple juice and looked over at Dream Chaser. “And when she doesn’t, she either sleeps or does bills. She’s so boring.”

“Your mom does a lot for you. Be easy on her,” Dream Chaser replied.

“I don’t want her to do stuff for me; I want her to do stuff with me. Like, she never takes me out for breakfast.” He took another sip of his apple juice and began swiveling around on his chair.

Short Stack ran back and forth taking customers’ orders and relaying them to Chewy.  All the while, steam and pleasant aromas wafted out of the kitchen. Soon, the little diner became full to capacity with hungry patrons. An elderly unicorn stallion hoisted himself onto the stool next to Dream Chaser, tipping his hat as a friendly “good morning”. Dream Chaser nodded and went back to staring intently at the order counter. At long last, two plates stacked high with pancakes appeared and Chewy rung the little bell.

“Order up!” Chewy shouted. Short Stack brought the plates over one at a time and set them in front of the two hungry ponies. Mounds of berries and sliced fruits adorned the pancakes and syrup ran down the sides. Slip Stream’s eyes lit up and he immediately began shoveling food into his mouth. Dream Chaser watched happily and felt something slide under his hoof.

“No charge, my friend,” Short Stack whispered. Dream Chaser looked at the paper beneath his hoof, and what would have been a thirty bit bill came out to nothing.

“Thank you,” the grateful stallion replied, sliding the bill beneath his plate. Short Stack smiled, then walked back to the order counter, leaving Dream Chaser to enjoy his free meal.

“How is it, Slip?” Dream Chaser asked, looking over at the colt. Slip Stream smiled and tried to say something through a mouth full of pancake. When Dream Chaser didn’t respond to what Slip thought was a very clear question, he shrugged and continued eating.

When Slip Stream finished his meal he licked his plate clean and looked over at Dream Chaser. “What are we going to do now?”

The stallion continued picking away at his collapsing pile of pancakes and thought for a moment. “How about a run?” he asked between bites. “Burn off some of these calories.”

“That sounds awesome! Let’s go!” Slip shouted.

“Hold on, hold on,” Dream Chaser said, “Let me finish.” 
Slip Stream sighed and watched as the stallion continued eating. “You’re too slow. Let me help,” Slip said, digging his fork into the side of Dream Chaser’s meal.

“Hey, I don’t need help.”

“Yes you do.”

“No. I don’t.” Dream Chaser slid the plate away from Slip.

“But I’m still hungry,” Slip pouted.

Dream Chaser looked down at his meal and knew it was more than he could actually finish anyway. He slid the plate back between the two and cut the pile in half. “I’m making you run an extra mile now.”

With the plate empty and their stomachs full, the two ponies left the diner. Short Stack and Chewy bade them farewell, hoping to see the two again. Slip Stream trotted happily ahead of Dream Chaser, even though it was the stallion who was supposed to be leading them to their destination. The sun was just making its way over the tops of the buildings and shone brightly on the city streets.

“So where are we going?” Slip asked as he performed a figure 8 around some puddles.

“Only the best place in all of Manehatten,” Dream Chaser replied proudly. He took lead ahead of Slip and led them into the recreational district. Past all the theaters and parks was a large oval building set apart from everything else. “Here it is,” Dream Chaser said, “Manehatten Stadium.”

Slip looked at the collapsing building skeptically. “This place is a dump.” That really meant something coming from a colt that had grown up in the ghettos of Manehatten.

“Yeah, it was like this when I was young too,” Dream Chaser replied, leading them across the street.

The building should have been condemned years ago; violating nearly every building safety regulation in existence. The building itself had been built over marshland and didn’t sit quite evenly, the left half having sunk several feet into the ground. Amateurs had laid out the designs and there were rows of seating with no access and hallways that went to nowhere. The glass roof that covered the field had been smashed, with only a few dirty panels remaining in the rusty grid. The Manehatten Stadium sign had been missing letters even when Dream Chaser was a colt. Despite its appearance and everything wrong with it, Dream Chaser still had nothing but fond memories of the place.

They approached the front of the building only to find the front doors covered with graffiti and chained shut. “The dream is dead.” Slip Stream read aloud from the graffiti. Spray painted next to the phrase was a tombstone with Dream Chaser’s cutie mark on it. While Dream Chaser fumbled with the locked chains, Slip compared the graffiti to the stallion’s flank; trying to see if the image beneath the scars was the same as on the door.

“Come on, I know another way in,” Dream Chaser said, letting the chains bang loudly against the rusted door. Slip followed the stallion around the building to some overgrown bushes and watched as he pulled them back, revealing a storm door.

“Secret entrance!! awesome!” Slip said excitedly. Dream Chaser grinned and pulled the door open. It groaned on its rusty hinges and bats burst from the cellar. The two ponies looked down the stairs and saw murky water reflecting what little light shone down.

“I don’t know how deep that’s going to be. Can you swim?” Dream Chaser asked. Slip Stream looked up at the stallion and shook his head left and right. “Alright, let me go first.” Dream Chaser carefully made his way into the darkness, trying to remember how many steps there were supposed to be. He could see six but he thought there were supposed to be ten. 
Slowly, he eased his hoof into the cold water, feeling for the next step, and the next. Sure enough, there were ten, and when he felt the concrete beneath his hoof the water was up to his neck.

“Are you sure we should go in there?” Slip Stream shouted down.

Actually, he wasn’t sure. If his legs went into a spasm he could drown. If anything happened to Slip Stream, he was responsible. However, the medication informed him everything would be fine. “I did this all time when I was young!” Dream Chaser shouted up. “Jump on my back and let’s go!”

Slip walked to the bottom step and looked into the water before climbing onto the stallion’s back. “This is just like in Daring Do!” Slip said as he rode into the darkness.

Dream Chaser carefully made his way through the flooded cellar, his hooves bumping submerged objects as he treaded. His eyes had adjusted to the lack of light and he saw the staircase leading up to the locker rooms. He let Slip Stream jump off and then pulled himself out of the water.

“Almost there,” Dream Chaser said assuring both Slip and himself. He climbed to the top step and pushed open the door. The locker room, with its peeling blue paint and missing ceiling tiles was exactly as he remembered it. “Come on, it’s this way,” he said, heading to a door at the end of the locker room.

There was a long hallway with a square of light at the end and Slip Stream ran forward in anticipation. Dream Chaser walked the path he’d walked hundreds of times before, imagining the cheering crowd and feeling his heart race. By the time Dream Chaser got to the end of the hallway, Slip Stream had already stormed the field.

The track itself was relatively well maintained. The drainage system was doing its job after the storm, even if it did lead into the ventilation system of the basement. The grass in the center of the track was littered with empty bottles and trash left by the homeless or the wasted youth of the city.

“This is so cool!” Slip Stream marveled as he trotted around the empty stadium. “Can I start running now?”

“You need to stretch first,” Dream Chaser said as he walked to the sidelines. Slip groaned and did a few basic stretches before readying himself at the starting line. He waited for the imaginary whistle to blow before taking off at breakneck speed. Dream Chaser watched him sprint around the 400m track, a blur of silver and blue, dodging puddles and ruts.

“Hey! This is a private field!” a gruff voice shouted from behind Dream Chaser. He turned to see a mustachioed donkey in a blue jumpsuit being followed by several young stallions in identical jumpsuits. The donkey spat as he yelled, his false teeth threatening to fall out, his glasses fogging, and sweat building on his shiny bald head. “I ought to call the cops on you! Breaking and entering is a crime!”

“Hello to you too, Coach Hard Ass,” Dream Chaser greeted.

The donkey paused at hearing his nickname said by the intruder. He wiped off his glasses and approached the stallion. “What you just call me?”

“Coach Hard Ass, sir,” Dream Chaser replied, standing up straight and puffing out his chest. The donkey squinted into the stallion’s eyes and made weird grumbling sounds as he thought.

“You know it’s twenty push-ups for callin’ me that, Tail Chaser.” There was a pause and the two embraced. “I’ve been worried about you, boy,” the coach said as he released Dream Chaser.

“I’m fine,” Dream Chaser assured his former coach. Slip Stream was suddenly right beside Dream Chaser, panting and looking around at the strangers.

“What was my time?” Slip asked in between breaths. The donkey looked down at the colt then to Dream Chaser with a sly grin.

“I see you must have finally caught some tail, you sly dog, you,” the coach said, elbowing Dream Chaser. The stallion stammered, but the coach ignored him, bending down to Slip Stream’s level.

“Do you want to run just like your daddy?” the coach asked.

“No…” Slip replied. “My mom wants me to be better than my dad.”

The coach laughed, not realizing the full implication of Slip Stream’s words. “Well, let’s see how you do!” The coach turned to Dream Chaser who was more than a little embarrassed. “See these fine stallions here?” The coach pointed to the ponies he’d brought with him. “They’ll be representing Manehatten in the Games in a couple weeks. Let’s see how your boy does against them.”

“I get to run with real runners? Awesome!” Slip Stream exclaimed. He looked over at the stallions and they posed with pride.

“Head on down to the track—and be sure to stretch!” The donkey yelled as Slip Stream had already bounded towards the track. The stallions joked and shoved each other around; saying whoever lost to the kid was to forfeit their slot in the Games. “Go easy on him, boys,” the coach whispered, slapping their haunches as they passed by.

“Coach—he’s—”

“Don’t worry about it,” the coach interrupted Dream Chaser, “If he’s anything like his father, he’ll be fine”. The coach made his way to the sidelines and left the flabbergasted stallion in the stands.

“He’s not my son,” Dream Chaser spoke the phrase to himself.

“You’re sure about that?”

Dream Chaser turned and saw Dream Catcher sitting in the front row, eating from a bag of puffed corn. Her mane had been straightened and dried since he saw her the night before. She tapped her hoof on the seat next to her, indicating for him to sit.

“Yes,” he replied, wiping the water off the seat before sitting. “I’m sure.” The racers and Slip readied themselves at the starting line and waited for the coach to blow the whistle.

“He’s cute,” Dream Catcher said, crunching on her puffed corn. “We should have had one.” Dream Chaser didn’t reply. Like the racers, he was waiting for the whistle. Slip had two racers on either side of him and they spoke and laughed with him. The coach blew the whistle and the five took off up the track.

At first, the four professionals galloped along at a steady pace, thinking they were keeping up with their guest. However, Slip was merely matching their speed. Suddenly, he broke from them and careened up the track, leaving the four stallions in his dust.

“Holy smokes!” the coach shouted, watching as his professional racers struggled to catch up to the speedy colt.

“Ooh, just like his daddy,” Dream Catcher marveled, watching Slip keep just ahead of the other racers.

“I’m not his father,” Dream Chaser said through gritted teeth.

“Oh come on,” Dream Catcher said, spilling some of her puffed corn. “I’d seen the way you looked at that nurse, the way she gave you ‘special’ care, that time I actually walked in on you…”

“That was…That wasn’t what it looked like,” Dream Chaser objected, recalling the exact situation the mare had brought up. He had fallen out of bed and spent twenty minutes trying to hoist himself back up. He had been alone and refused to hit the “help” button. By chance, the nurse had come by to check on him and found him laying there. She offered him help, but he refused. She only tried harder to help him, wrapping her hooves around him, and trying to pick him up. Had he complied, she probably would have gotten him up no problem. But he had resisted, pulling both of them to the floor. She had landed atop him and they were eye to eye. Exhausted, Dream Chaser allowed the nurse to do her job. As she sat on his lap and began hoisting him up, he wrapped his hooves around her back for better support and rested his chin on her shoulder. It was that moment Dream Catcher had walked in.

“It was exactly what it looked like,” Dream Catcher said, spitting a kernel at the stallion. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he kept his eyes on the race track and watched as Slip Stream crossed the finish line a full ten yards ahead of the other racers.

“Tail Chaser!” the coach shouted from the sidelines. Dream Chaser looked down and saw the donkey waving for him to join him.

“Dream Catcher, I—” he stopped when he saw the seat next to him was empty aside from an empty puff corn bag. Her scent still lingered and graced his nostrils before being replaced by the odor of wet garbage. “I still love you.” He whispered the words and descended the steps to the field.

> Chapter Eleven-Living the Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Push-ups! All of you! Now!” The coach spat in disgust at his “elite” team of runners. His expression lightened as Dream Chaser approached. The donkey put his hoof around Slip Stream’s neck and ruffled his mane. “I ain’t seen one this fast since you were a young ‘un. If I had an open slot, I’d take him to the games instead of these pansies.”

“Did you hear that, Mr. Chaser? I could compete!” Slip said excitedly.

“Mr. Chaser? A bit formal dontchathink?” the donkey chuckled.

"Tried to tell you earlier,” Dream Chaser began, “He’s not my son. I’m just helping out his mother today.”

The seasoned donkey looked from the stallion to the colt and still wasn’t completely convinced. “Well if you say so.” He bent down and looked Slip Stream in the eyes. “How’d you like to try out for next year’s roster?”

Slip’s face lit up and he bounced excitedly. Dream Chaser put his hoof on the colt’s shoulder to get him to calm down. “We’ll have to talk it over with his mother,” Dream Chaser said.

“Well she’d be a fool to let her son’s talent go to waste.” The coach stood back up and looked to his team. “When we get back from winning the games, be sure to give me an answer. Spots fill up quick in the off season.”

“Well aware, Coach,” Dream Chaser replied.

“Alright fillies!” The coach shouted, and the three stallions jumped up. “I want you to actually try this time. Slip—keep ‘em on their hooves.” 

The racers all lined up at the starting line once more and waited for the whistle. The roaring of a crowd was suddenly deafening and a “Chase That Dream!” chant started up. Dream Chaser turned to see thousands of ponies filling the stands, flying banners with his cutie mark on them. Dream Catcher was right up front, yelling as loudly as she could down to the race track.

Dream Chaser turned to the track to see, not Slip Stream, but himself, at the starting line. It was the Equestria Games. He wasn’t in Manehatten anymore… No, he was at the Crystal Empire Stadium…Ten years ago…

The younger Dream Chaser looked around in awe at the crowd that had gathered for the event. His smile got wider once he laid his eyes on Dream Catcher, and he nodded his head to her. Coach Hardline grabbed hold of the young stallion’s face and brought it to his.

“Now, I don’t care if these are just the prelims! I want you giving it all— and no goo-goo eyes at your filly up there!” Coach Hardline spat, releasing his prodigy’s face. “You stay focused, do ya hear me?”

“Sir yes sir!” Dream Chaser shouted. A heavy rock and roll riff began blasting through the sound system of the stadium, drowning out the Dream Chaser supporters. The lights dimmed, and a spotlight began making its way across the bleachers. Fog billowed out onto the track, and the spotlight searched through it, stopping on a large doorway. The door burst open as the rock song broke down into a shredding solo, and Nova Star took the field.

The crowd went wild for the reigning champion, and he basked in the attention. The unicorn was everything a mare could ever want in a stallion: athletic, intelligent, successful, gleaming white coat, flowing blonde mane, brilliant blue eyes, and of course, lots of money.

He took his place next to the other racers, and an official came over to him to place a magical restraint on his horn. All unicorns had to wear them in order to ensure a fair playing field between them and their earth pony brethren. After the strange black cone was on Nova Star’s horn, the official smiled and returned to the sidelines.

“Let’s give them a good show today, shall we?” Nova Star said, looking to the other racers. His eyes stopped on Dream Chaser for just a bit too long before he turned away; the look sent a chill down Dream Chaser’s spine.

The fog cleared and the lights shone brightly onto the track once more. The rock tune faded out; the cheering returned to a normal level. The preliminaries for several events were taking place on the inner circle of the track at this time. The head of the royal guard walked out with his team of crystal ponies.

Officials trotted out of the doors Nova Star had entered in through, and began dispersing toward the different events. A red stallion in a black and white uniform approached the racers.

“Alright, this race will determine your starting positions in today’s event,” the official began. “You will run five laps around the track at the sound of my whistle.”

Dream Chaser and the others nodded before lowering their heads in anticipation. He closed his eyes and waited for it. Dream Catcher’s cheering was audible over all the noise of the crowded stadium, and he focused on that. As soon as the whistle sounded, however, there was nothing except for him and the track. He quickly pulled away from the other racers and sprinted towards the first turn.

Nova Star stared in disbelief, struggling to catch up. His hooves kicked up the packed clay of the track as he tried to close the gap he’d been foolish to allow. Once he caught up to Dream Chaser, he began to match his speed.

Dream Chaser glanced over quickly before pushing himself harder. The gap between Nova Star and him began to widen as he pulled away. With the first lap complete, Dream Chaser had a pretty solid lead over his competition.

The second lap resulted in Dream Chaser falling into a false sense of security. He began to find himself wondering if Nova Star was even trying, when suddenly a streak of white and yellow passed by. As he entered the third lap, Coach Hardline was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Dream Chaser didn’t understand a word from the coach, but he knew what he was being told to do. He pumped his legs and rocketed past Nova Star, and into the lead. All it took was a momentary distraction to undo his efforts. He couldn’t help it; he looked to the stands.

High up top, in the royal seating, sat Princess Celestia, and she smiled down at him. If not for her public image, she likely would have been cheering him on. His eyes darted until he saw Dream Catcher, and his heart began pounding harder than it already was. After the games were finally over, he was going to ask her to marry him.

Before he could turn his attention back to the race, his hoof caught on an obstruction in the track, and he began falling in slow motion. Dream Catcher’s face slowly turned from joy to terror as Dream Chaser hit the ground. Nova Star ran past, soon followed by the other racers.

“And Nova Star breaks into the lead!” The announcer’s voice rang out over the tumultuous stadium.

Dream Chaser looked at the ground until his eyes could focus and his brain could function.

Last place. He was in last place. No. Not for long.

With the force of a meteor, Dream Chaser kicked off. Some of the fans, to this day, still claim the stallion was on fire as he ran. It was like nothing any pony had seen before. He streaked up the track and entered the final lap, just meters from the other racers.

“Nova Star is still followed closely by Checkered Flag. Fire Bolt and Thunder Hooves are neck and neck, but what’s this?! Out of nowhere, Dream Chaser passes them all! In all the Equestria Games I’ve spectated, I have never seen a comeback like this!”

The announcer’s voice was barely audible over the cheering of the crowd. Dream Chaser could feel Nova Star running right behind him, but he wasn’t going to look to see how close. The finish line was in sight now, and he gave one last burst of energy to ensure his victory.

“And it’s Slip Stream by a nose!” Coach Hardline shouted as the young colt crossed the finish line in front of the other racers.

Dream Chaser looked around in confusion. The crowd melted away and the cheering faded. Down on the track, it was just an over-joyous Slip Stream and an ever-disgruntled Coach Hardline. The once elite athletes had now been transformed into some scruffy-looking Manehatten locals. The bright colors of the Crystal Empire Stadium gave way to the rust and rot of the Manehatten Stadium.

“Mr. Chaser!” Slip shouted up into the stands. “I won again!”

“That’s great!” Dream Chaser shouted down. His head was spinning, so he closed his eyes to refrain from throwing up. “Do you…guh…Do you want to stay longer?”

“I think it’s best if you two get goin’. I got some words for these three that I can’t say in front of the young ’un,” the coach said, looking over at the panting stallions.

“Front door open? Cause we kinda had to swim in the first time,” Dream Chaser said, stumbling down to the track.

“Yeah, it’s open,” the coach replied. “What do you mean you ‘swam in’?”

“We came in through a secret passage!” Slip Stream shouted.

The donkey looked from Slip then to Dream Chaser disapprovingly. “You broke in through the boiler room, didn’t you?”

Dream Chaser nodded guiltily. “I just didn’t want to come all the way out here for nothing.”

“Yeah, I know ya meant no harm,” the coach said, reaching into his pockets. “I’m gonna give you a spare key. I want you to keep that boy runnin’, ya hear?”

Dream Chaser took the key from his former coach. “As I said before, it’s up to his mother.”

“Yeah, yeah, as if you don’t have a say in things,” the coach said, nodding and pushing Dream Chaser towards the exit. Slip Stream trotted up next to them with a big smile on his face. The coach walked them all the way to the main entrance before turning to go back to his athletes.

“What are we going to do now?” Slip asked as they walked out into the street. The sun was still shining brightly and the day had only just begun. “Oh! Can we go visit my mom?”

The hospital wasn’t far from the stadium, but it was further than Dream Chaser really wanted to walk. More than anything, he just wanted to get home. He couldn’t deny that it was a nice change to be outside… but he also knew every time he was happy, sorrow would soon follow.

“If we do go see her, don’t mention anything about competing in the games,” Dream Chaser said. Slip made the motion of zipping his lips shut and smiled up at the stallion. Together, they walked to the hospital, and by the time they arrived, Dream Chaser felt he should be admitted. In fact, so did the receptionist.

“Oh dear, Mr. Chaser— what’s wrong now?” the receptionist asked with concern. Like most of the staff, she was aware of his history.

“Nothing. I’m, uh, just fine,” Dream Chaser lied. His legs were shaking, and he had to put his front hooves on the counter for support. “I was wondering if you could page Nurse Sun Stream out for me.”

The receptionist gave him a sly smile. “We typically don’t allow personal calls, but I suppose I can make an exception.”

He blushed as the receptionist paged out the entire hospital to inform the nurse she had a visitor. Moments later, the double doors to the ER burst open and Sun Stream ran out looking panicked.

“Mom!” Slip Stream shouted, running up to his mother. Her fear melted away as she hugged her son, and then she looked up to Dream Chaser. The stallion was in a cold sweat and a lot of pain, but he smiled at her.

She released her son and walked over to Dream Chaser. Before he could say anything, she held her hoof up to his forehead.

“You haven’t taken your antibiotics, have you?” she accused.

“Right, uh,” Dream Chaser rummaged through Slip Stream’s saddlebag for his medicine container. “Which ones are those again?”

“The green ones,” she replied, taking the container from his shaking hooves. Slip Stream paced anxiously around his mother and Dream Chaser, waiting for their attention. After the nurse was sure Dream Chaser hadn’t faked swallowing his pills, she turned back to her son.

“Today was so awesome!” Slip said, finally stopping in one place. “Mr. Chaser is so cool! Can he be my foal-sitter all the time?”

Dream Chaser’s eyes went wide with surprise, as did Sun Stream’s. They looked to each other for an answer that neither seemed to have. Dream Chaser wasn’t sure he could handle the responsibility. After all, he’d barely been taking care of himself the past ten years.

“Um, we’ll talk about it over dinner,” Sun Stream said, still looking around as if a definitive answer would be written on the walls. “You will be joining us for dinner again, won’t you, Mr. Chaser? It’s the least I can do.”

“I really need to get back home at some point,” Dream Chaser replied.

“But it’s mac and cheese night, Mr. Chaser! You don’t want to miss mac and cheese night!” Slip Stream looked at the stallion with pleading eyes.

“My shift doesn’t get over for a few more hours. If there is something you need at your house, there’s still plenty of time,” Sun Stream reasoned.

Dream Chaser looked from Slip to his mother and then back at Slip. They were eagerly awaiting a response from the stallion. Just as he could delay no longer, the doors to the ER opened and a nurse looked around the waiting room.

“Sunny, we need you in here now,” the nurse said with mild annoyance.

“Well, if I don’t see you tonight, thank you for watching Slip today,” Sun Stream said, looking Dream Chaser right in the eyes. Her expression was begging him to accept her offer. When he failed to reply, she turned to her son. “And I’ll see you at home, sweetie.”

She turned to go into the ER and Dream Chaser took a step after her. “I’ll see you tonight, then,” he said. She stopped and looked back at him with a smile before proceeding through the doors.

“So you are coming over again?” Slip asked excitedly.

Dream Chaser sighed and turned to the colt. “I guess so. Come on, I have one more place to show you before dinner.”

> Chapter Twelve- The Night I'd Rather Forget
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dream Chaser poked the elbow macaroni around his plate while his mind wandered. Slip Stream was going into excruciating detail about his day while his mother listened intently. She’d laugh and look over at Dream Chaser occasionally, and he’d smile before returning his eyes to his meal.

“—and then after we visited you, we were going to Mr. Chaser’s old neighborhood, but we got lost and found a carnival!”

Slip Stream went on to describe the rides he rode, and the prizes he didn’t win, claiming that the contests must have been rigged. Dream Chaser half listened as he chewed his meal.

“Is that so?” Sun Stream asked. She and Slip looked at Dream Chaser, waiting for a reply.

“Huh? Oh yeah, those bottles were definitely glued to the table… But, hey, what do you expect from a free carnival?” Dream Chaser answered. He received puzzled looks in response.

“No, Mr. Chaser, we were just talking about your old coach, the donkey,” Sun Stream said gently. The conversation had switched topics since Dream Chaser had last listened.

“Yeah! Tell her what he said!” Slip said excitedly. His expression was joyous, but his mother’s was worried. “You know— about me trying out for the team next year!”

Sun Stream looked over at Dream Chaser slowly and his eyes darted back to his plate. The macaroni stuck to the plate and he pried at it with his fork. “Yes. Um. Well,” Dream Chaser hesitated, searching for the right words, and continued cautiously, “the coach mentioned there may be an open slot on the roster in the spring.”

“He wouldn’t be competing in The Games though, would he?” she asked, her even tone indicating a statement rather than a question.

“Well, he’s very good. He’d probably make the roster with no problem,” Dream Chaser said cautiously, not daring to look up from his plate.

Slip Stream looked at his mother with a big smile on his face. “Please, Mom! Let me at least try out!”

“It would give him something to do after school,” Dream Chaser added. He didn’t want to come between the two of them, but at the same time, Slip was a talented colt; talent like that didn’t just appear every day. Perhaps Slip was starting to grow on him and he wanted to see him succeed at his dream, or perhaps it was just him wanting to live vicariously through the young colt. Either way, the fact remained that he had seen Slip smoke the other “professional” ponies and talent like that shouldn’t go to waste.

“We’ll see,” Sun Stream said at last. She looked out the window and saw the sun had already set. “It’s getting late, Mr. Chaser. Will you be staying the night again?”

“Look at her…she’s practically begging you to get in her bed.”

Dream Chaser turned so fast that his neck popped. Sitting on the couch behind him was Dream Catcher. She sat there, polishing her horseshoe, looking at it rather than Dream Chaser.

“Mr. Chaser?” Sun Stream asked with concern.

He turned back around when he felt her hoof upon his. “I should be going,” he said, trying to stand up. His legs gave out from under him and he fell to the floor with a thud. The muscle relaxants he’d taken before dinner had already kicked in, and he lay on the floor as Slip and Sun Stream rushed to his side.

“Mr. Chaser, are you okay?” Slip asked, getting right up into Dream Chaser’s face. The colt tried to help him back up, but wasn’t nearly strong enough to do so. His mother, however, had much experience in picking the stallion up off the floor, and she had him standing after a few moments.

“You’re staying,” she said, looking him firmly in the eyes.

“But I want to go home,” Dream Chaser said quietly.

“I will get you a coach in the morning. Now, come sit on the couch,” Sun Stream said. Dream Catcher was still sitting on the couch and watched as Dream Chaser was lead over next to her. He sunk into the cushion, focusing his eyes straight forward, refusing to look anywhere else.

Sun Stream walked back to the table and began bringing the dishes to the sink. Slip Stream walked into the kitchen to help his mother and they began whispering to one another.

“So why didn’t you go back to the old neighborhood today?” Dream Catcher asked, eyeing him hard. “You still know this city like the back of your hoof. You can’t tell me you got lost.”

“Go away,” Dream Chaser grumbled. He maintained his focus on the kitchen to make sure neither of the Streams could hear him.

“You remember how to get there right? Just go down Mane Street—”

“Shut up.”

“Take a left onto Old Sycamore—”

“Shut up.”

“Go past the cemetery your parents are buried in—”

“SHUT UP!”

Slip and Sun Stream stopped talking abruptly and looked out into the living room. They saw Dream Chaser looking furiously at the seat next to him, his teeth clenched and his nostrils flared.

“They never built anything where your house used to be. It’s still just a dirt lot with weeds growing over it. At least they were nice enough to tear down that eyesore after your mother died.” Dream Catcher was void of all emotion, with a calm, robotic voice and had absolutely no care for the anguish she was causing.

“I’m sorry— we’re just concerned for you is all,” Sun Stream said anxiously, thinking Dream Chaser’s outburst was directed at her. He turned to look back into the kitchen to see Slip Stream hiding behind his mother’s legs.

“No, I’m sorry, I wasn’t—” Dream Chaser tried to apologize. His words trailed off as he turned to see the seat next to him was empty.

“You don’t have to be sorry. We shouldn’t have been talking about you like that,” Sun Stream apologized. She turned back to the sink and continued washing dishes in silence. After that was done, she and Slip Stream went to the bathroom to give Slip his bath.

Dream Chaser remained on the couch, listening to the pouring water and occasional whispers from beyond the bathroom door. He kept looking around the apartment, half-expecting Dream Catcher to show up again to torment him. However, she did not make another appearance, thankfully, and he began drifting off to sleep.

When he next opened his eyes, he was not on the couch, but lying down in a very comfortable bed. The pillow against his head smelled of a feminine fragrance and he realized he was in Sun Stream’s bed. He turned, expecting to see the nurse on his other side, but only saw the wall of the apartment.

She’s practically begging you to get in her bed. Dream Catcher’s words rang through his head and he sat up to look around. The small room had only the bed, a night stand, and a bureau. Atop the nightstand were a few pictures of Slip Stream as a foal, and Dream Chaser nearly knocked them over as he got out of the bed. He steadied them with his hooves before making his way to the door.

Sun Stream was asleep on the pull-out bed where Dream Chaser should have rightfully been sleeping. She stirred slightly as Dream Chaser opened the door to leave the apartment.

He paused and waited for her to settle back down, but she opened her eyes to see him standing in the doorway.

“Dream Chaser?” she asked groggily. “Where are you going?” She rolled off the bed and approached the nervous stallion.

“I’ve been a big enough burden. I have to go,” he whispered, so as to not wake Slip Stream.

“You’re not going anywhere until morning,” she replied firmly. “Here, let me help you back to bed.” She eased his forearm around her shoulders and tried to drag him from the door.

“Please… I just want to go home,” Dream Chaser whimpered, resisting the nurse. He held onto the doorknob, pulling the door shut as he was dragged away. He went entirely limp and Sun Stream nearly fell to the floor with the addition of dead weight. Somehow, she managed to get him all the way back to her bedroom. She then threw him onto the bed like a sack of flour.

She looked down at him with a mixture of pity and concern as he lay there, not wanting to look at her. He was beginning to feel like a prisoner, similar to the first couple years he had spent in ICU wards.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Chaser, but I’m only doing this for your own good,” Sun Stream apologized as she tucked Dream Chaser back under the blankets. When she was done, she looked down at him again. “Would you like me to stay in here with you?”

Dream Chaser finally turned to look at his nurse and saw she was completely serious. He could hear Dream Catcher’s words again and he shook them from his head. “No, that’s okay, I’ll be fine,” he replied at last.

Sun Stream almost looked disappointed, but retained her professional appearance. “I’ll be in the living room if you need anything,” she said as she turned to leave. She paused in the doorway, with her hoof upon the door knob; waiting, hoping, longing for Dream Chaser to change his mind.

“Um, Sunny,” he whispered.

She turned around slowly to look at him.

“Can you leave the door open?”

Sun Stream smiled and took her hoof off the door knob. She then returned to the couch-bed in the living room and attempted to get comfortable again. Once she was settled, she turned to look into her bedroom and saw Dream Chaser watching her. He snapped his eyes shut, hoping she hadn’t noticed, but of course, she had. She continued to look at him and waited another moment, and sure enough, Dream Chaser’s eyelids cracked open again.

He couldn’t hide the fact he was looking at her, so he rolled over onto his side to hide his embarrassment. He listened as Sun Stream rolled over, hoping she would fall back asleep soon. Unbeknownst to him, instead of attempting sleep, she stayed up, staring at the apartment door. She lay and listened for a while until she was sure Dream Chaser had finally fallen back to sleep. Only then did she allow herself to sleep as well.

Sun Stream awoke the next morning with a beam of sunlight shining in her face. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the apartment. Her bedroom door was still open, but the bed was empty. After a quick look around the apartment, she found both Dream Chaser and his medication were gone.


--------------------------------------


When Dream Chaser awoke the next morning, he found himself in his own bed, in his own home. The puddle of vomit he’d left before his hospital visit had graciously been cleaned up by Mrs. Prism. His memory box had been tucked back beneath his bed with all of its contents still inside.

He rolled out of bed uncomfortably and recalled his long walk home. His legs were searing with pain and he unsuccessfully tried to walk it off. His prescription container was sitting on the kitchen table and he removed his A.M. pills. He went to the bathroom sink and found the light bulb had been replaced in his absence.

A knock came at the door and Dream Chaser feared it was Sun Stream coming to look for him. He quickly downed his pills with a gulp of tap water and snuck to the front door. A mail mare was standing on the other side of the door and tried knocking again. Just as she turned to leave, Dream Chaser opened the door.

“Wait, do you have something for me?” he shouted before the Pegasus mare could take flight. She stopped flapping her wings and turned to look at Dream Chaser.

“If you’re THE Dream Chaser, then yes, I do,” she said, taking an envelope out of her mail bag. She looked him over, even though there was no question of his identity. “Have a nice day!” She shouted as she flapped her wings once again and kicked off after Dream Chaser took the envelope.

He walked back inside and shut the door, looking over the envelope skeptically. It was addressed to him, but he didn’t recognize the return address. There was no pony out in Coltafornia he’d ever known.

He tore open the top and fished out the contents, expecting junk mail or a credit card offer. Instead, he removed four tickets and a neatly hoof-written letter.

Dear Mr. Chaser,

It has been quite some time since our last encounter. I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for your unfortunate mishap at The Games all those years ago. It was a true tragedy. I was reminded recently of your situation by an oh-so-charming mare. Enclosed are two train tickets from Manehatten to the Crystal Empire, set to leave the day prior to The Games, and of course, two tickets to The Games themselves; one for you, and one for that lovely mare of yours.

I hope that you can put the past behind you, and come out to enjoy the show. And remember, if there is ever anything you need, you can always ask.

Sincerely, 
Nova Star

Dream Chaser let the letter and the tickets fall out of his hoof as he read the name of the sender. He slumped against the door and closed his eyes.

“Excuse me, you need to keep moving,” a voice said.

Dream Chaser opened his eyes to see a mustached stallion with a monocle looking at him impatiently. Well-dressed ponies passed him on both sides as he stood frozen on the carpet. He looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where he was.

His apartment had been replaced by a banquet hall of some sort. There were glorious marble pillars, intricate tapestries, stunning chandeliers…and crystals…lots of crystals. 

“Come on, we’re holding up the line,” a voice to Dream Chaser’s left said, and he felt a gentle push. He turned to see Dream Catcher smiling as they strode into the hall together. She wore an elegant dress and her hair was done up with several blue ribbons.

Together, they made their way to a large open area where the majority of the crowd was gathering. Crystal ponies made their ways in and out of the crowd, all the while serving fancy glasses of bubbling beverages. There was only one time Dream Chaser had seen crystal ponies before, and that was at—

“Welcome, everypony, to the Equestria Games Banquet!”

All the ponies in the hall turned their attention to the balcony above, where Princess Cadence was standing. Dream Chaser stood in awe, not realizing every pony, with the exception of himself, had dropped to bow. When the audience rose, the alicorn princess looked out over them; her eyes stopping on Dream Chaser for a moment in silent contemplation.

“I would like to thank all the athletes for coming all this way for what will be one of the most important Games in Equestrian history. Please enjoy our hospitality, and good luck in tomorrow’s events.”

The crowd cheered as the alicorn made her way back to her private quarters, and the din of the hall resumed. Dream Chaser made his way through the crowd until he came to a table piled high with exotic foods. He eyed a particularly shiny red fruit and memory flooded back to him.

This is where I first met Nova Star.

Dream Chaser reached for the fruit, only to have it levitated away from him in a blue aura of magic. It was no surprise to him when he turned and saw several members of Coltafornia Athletics approaching him. A chalkboard-colored unicorn stallion led the pack and levitated the fruit towards him.

“What do you think you’re doing, you Manehatten trash?” the stallion asked angrily. “Don’t you know this table is for Coltafornia athletes?” He indicated to a large tapestry above the table with Coltafornia’s crest upon it.

“It was my mistake, I’m sorry,” Dream Chaser apologized. Before he could turn and walk away, the fruit was levitated back toward him, this time in a green aura.

“Don’t worry about it, friend.” Nova Star pushed through the other athletes, his horn glowing green as he offered the fruit to Dream Chaser. “There’s more than enough food here.”

Dream Chaser let the fruit fall into his hooves and looked up at Nova Star with contempt. The unicorn only smiled back, and went on to speak as if reading from a script.

“That’s right, I’m THE Nova Star, and you must be that stallion out of Manehatten I’ve been hearing all about.” Nova Star paused before he and his fellow athletes began laughing. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t sign autographs for my competition.”

Dream Chaser realized the memory was set in stone and was going to play out exactly as it had ten years ago. Uh, what did I say next? Oh yeah. I took a bite of this nasty thing. He looked down at the fruit he held in his hoof and wrinkled his nose before taking a big bite. It was just as bad as he remembered and he began spitting the seeds out.

“Pomegranate; delicious, isn’t it?” Nova Star laughed. Dream Catcher poked her head through the athletes and pushed through when she saw Dream Chaser.

“Were you really so hungry that you just had to take off without saying anything?” she asked angrily, walking right up to the gagging stallion. The athletes she’d pushed through all tilted their heads for a better look at the mare. Nova Star gave them a glare and motioned for them to leave. They slunk off, leaving just Nova Star with the couple.

“And who is this charming mare?” Nova Star asked, walking up and taking Dream Catcher’s hoof. He kissed it and looked at her with a grin.

Dream Chaser fumed as Dream Catcher blushed slightly. “This is MY marefriend, Dream Catcher,” he replied, putting his forearm around her.

“I see,” Nova Star said, a little disappointed. “Well, it was lovely meeting you two, but I must attend to some business.” He gave a bow before turning to stride off, and disappeared into the crowd.

Dream Catcher rested her head against Dream Chaser’s shoulder and looked up at him with her beautiful emerald eyes. “I love it when you get defensive,” she whispered. He smiled at her and they strode through the crowd together.

The Manehatten tapestry hung way in the back of the banquet hall, and Coach Hardline was under it, looking around impatiently. He was wearing his ugly, olive green suit and fedora, and could be seen from a mile away. The other athletes stood around conversing and eating from the table, which Dream Chaser couldn’t help but notice was half the size of Coltafornia’s.

“Get over here, Tail Chaser!” the coach shouted when he spotted the stallion. “Not your honey, though,” he waved his hoof at Dream Catcher. “This is official Games business.”

Dream Catcher looked slightly offended, but gave Dream Chaser a peck on the cheek before slipping back into the crowd. She went off to socialize with a small group of mares sipping from crystal glasses.

What did I say here? Oh yeah, “What can I do for you, Coach Hard Ass?” The donkey glared at Dream Chaser as his fellow athletes snickered behind him.

“You’ll be doin’ push-ups for that,” the coach growled. “Anyway, don’t go doin’ anythin’ stupid tonight. No drinkin’, no pickin’ fights, and no stayin’ up too late with that filly of yours.”

“Okay, Dad,” Dream Chaser replied sarcastically. He got another snicker from the other athletes.  “Is there anything I should do?”

“I ain’t done with the don’ts yet!” the coach said angrily. “Don’t go showin’ off that special talent of yours, don’t take any food or drink given to you, and don’t make me repeat myself!”

A crystal pony walked by with a tray of champagne and Dream Chaser snatched a glass. “No promises,” he said to his coach, and downed the liquid. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think Nova Star is hitting on my honey again.”

Dream Chaser trotted off, leaving his coach in angry disbelief, with his teammates laughing uproariously. No matter what Dream Chaser did or didn’t do, the coach was well aware that he would just have to deal with whatever happened as it came. After all, he knew it would be unwise to cut the fastest stallion he’d ever seen from the team. He just hoped Dream Chaser wasn’t dumb enough to pick a fight with Nova Star of all ponies.

Nova Star had not re-approached Dream Catcher after all. He was instead surrounded by adoring fans, the press, and sponsors, who wanted to plaster his face on anything and everything. He basked in the attention, loving every moment of it. He’d been the center of attention all his life. The only foal of his wealthy parents, he was bred and raised to be the best of the best. Winning his first race at just seven-years-old, he went on to conquer all the minor leagues by age nine. At ten-years-old, he became the youngest racer to ever take an Equestria Games Title.

Dream Chaser grew up idolizing Nova Star, wanting to be just like him. He had posters, trading cards, and action figures, and anything else his parents could find that had the unicorn’s likeness on it. Every time he would run, he’d pretend he was Nova Star, winning yet another race. And so his dream of being right up there with the champion began.

“Dream Catcher!” Dream Chaser shouted when he finally saw the white mare among the crowd. She turned to him and beckoned for him to join her. He trotted over to the group of mares Dream Catcher was socializing with.

“Hmm, so is this Manehatten’s golden hero? The Dream Chaser, yes?” a blue unicorn mare asked, taking a sip of her champagne. Based upon her air and manners, with her nose held as high as the ceiling, she seemed to be a Canterlot mare. “There’s been big talk of you; some say you may even beat Nova Star.”

Dream Chaser smiled and rubbed his neck. “Well, I—”

“I am not one of them, however,” the mare interrupted, smiling stiffly. She took another sip from her glass and waited for a reply.

Before he could say anything, a roar of laughter came from the large group gathered around Nova Star. He had just told the punch-line of one of his prepared jokes, and he grinned at his audience. Several ponies on the second floor gathered at the balcony to look down at the champion.

Dream Chaser looked up at the balcony, spying a Pegasus mare holding a bundle of cloth, her body right up against the railing. Another laugh came from Nova Star’s crowd, and more ponies rushed to the balcony for a look. An intoxicated stallion bumped into the mare that Dream Chaser had been watching, causing the bundle of cloth to tumble out of her hooves.

“My foal!” she shouted, and every pony in the hall turned to see the newborn plummeting towards the floor. Dream Chaser sprinted through the horrified crowd, determined to save the foal. Nova Star had also made a bid at being the hero, but was slowed by the ponies frozen in fear all around him.

The foal was crying as it fell, and Dream Chaser knew he wouldn’t be able to catch it unless he ran faster. Using every ounce of strength he had, he kicked his legs harder. It was just like the incident with Smoke Storm and train; time had slowed all around him. The foal was hovering just inches off the floor and he raced towards it. Nova Star was still yards away, and his face was frozen with a look of despair. The crowd had stopped all together, and the screaming and crying was replaced with silence.

Dream Chaser dove and brought the foal to his chest as he tumbled across the floor. Time resumed and he slid up against a marble pillar, attempting to shield the foal with his forearms. He lay there, breathing heavily, not daring to move. The bundle of cloth stirred, and he looked to see a little filly smiling up at him.

The hall remained dead silent as Dream Chaser got to his hooves. He looked around at the stares he was receiving. None believed he’d actually made the catch until he presented the uninjured foal. A roar of cheers and applause erupted throughout the hall.

The foal’s parents shoved their way to the front of the rapidly gathering crowd around Dream Chaser. The mother took the child and held it to her body, sobbing with joy. The father, one of the Cloudsdale athletes, grabbed Dream Chaser in a powerful embrace.

More than half the hall was now gathered around Dream Chaser. The sponsors, the fans, the press… every pony that had made up Nova Star’s audience was now surrounding Dream Chaser.

He spent hours posing for pictures, shaking hooves, and answering personal questions. Dream Catcher was right by his side, and so was Coach Hardline. The donkey smiled and spoke fondly of the stallion, but Dream Chaser knew that deep inside he was furious.

Nova Star had slipped out during the commotion, but his absence went mostly unnoticed. The evening carried on and it was hours before Dream Chaser could break away to use the bathroom. He found his way to the lavatories and locked himself inside a stall. The bathroom door opened and a slow set of hoof steps walked across the linoleum.

“Mr. Chaser,” a gruff voice said. It wasn’t a question; it was a statement. Some pony had followed him. “Mr. Star would like a word with you.”

Dream Chaser remained silent and after a few moments the hoof steps made their way back out the bathroom door. He sighed, and nervously went about his business. He exited the stall and washed his hooves in one of the crystal sinks before leaving the bathroom. A very large stallion with a shaved head and a black suit stood outside the door.

“This way,” the stallion said, opening the fire escape door. Outside was Nova Star, taking a long drag on a cigarette. Dream Chaser walked through the door and it slammed shut behind him.

“Mr. Chaser, I’m glad you could find some time to see me,” Nova Star said, flicking his butt onto the ground.

“Yeah, it’s not a problem…what’s up?” Dream Chaser asked, a bit confused. Nova Star approached Dream Chaser and he could smell the liquor on his breath.

“Oh, I just wanted to congratulate you on the fantastic catch you made earlier. You sure made me look bad, but naw, good for you.”

Dream Chaser squinted at the unicorn. “I didn’t do it for the attention; I did it to save a life. And you had plenty of time to use your magic to—”

“I do not trust my magic as much as my legs! What if I’d cast the wrong spell; what if I missed; what if the foal was magic intolerant—I couldn’t take any of those chances!”

“Look, I’m sorry for stealing your glory, I—”

“Oh, but it’s not just about you stealing my glory, it’s how you did it,” Nova Star interrupted. “What kind of spell did you use to run that fast? Because if you use that in tomorrow’s events, I will have you disqualified.”

“What, no, it wasn’t a spell, it was—”

“A sonic rainboom? Ha! Only pegasi can perform those, and even then, there’s only one in the last thousand years that has!”

“A sonic-what? Just listen to me! I’ve always been able to run that fast. It’s just my special talent.” Dream Chaser showed Nova Star his cutie mark and the unicorn scoffed.

“I’m only gonna tell you this once,” Nova Star teetered as he glared into Dream Chaser’s eyes, “I’m the fastest. I’m the king. I’m the Alpha and the Omega, and you? You’re just some colt from Manehatten.”

Nova Star took a step back from Dream Chaser and brushed his mane back into place. He then levitated a flask out of his suit pocket and took a quick drink. The sound of crickets echoed all around the building and the noise from within was barely audible. The moon shone down on the two stallions as they exchanged looks.

The drunken unicorn pocketed his flask and stumbled toward Dream Chaser again. “You should take my advice and just forfeit now. You don’t want to mess with me, Chaser.”

“Oh, I’m going to compete,” Dream Chaser replied, pushing Nova Star away. “I’ve always been chasing this dream of competing against you, but my dream now is to beat you.”

Nova Star stumbled forward and pinned Dream Chaser against the building. “You will never beat me,” he whispered. His blood-shot eyes struggled to maintain contact with Dream Chaser’s, and eventually began drifting downward.

“I’m going to,” Dream Chaser replied firmly. Nova Star’s eyes shot back up and he grinned.

“Tell you what, you come back to my place, have a few drinks, and see if you can walk, never mind race, after I’m through with you.” The drunken stallion licked his lips and Dream Chaser shoved him away in disgust. The fire exit burst open and Dream Catcher stuck her head out.

“There you are!” she shouted, yanking Dream Chaser toward her. She hadn’t even noticed Nova Star standing in the shadows. “Come on, I want to dance!”

“My offer still stands, Chaser,” Nova Star said. Dream Catcher stopped to look for the source of the voice, but Dream Chaser pulled her along, back inside. He slammed the door shut behind him and turned to look at his marefriend.

“Was that Nova Star?” Dream Catcher asked, trying to look back out the window. “What offer was he talking about? Were you making business? Ooh, it’s so exciting we got to meet him!”

Dream Chaser remained silent as they walked back into the banquet hall. A live band was performing a slow ballad, and the lights had been turned down low. The crystals of the hall made dazzling shapes of light reflect over the dancing couples below. Dream Chaser allowed himself to be led to the center of the crowd for everypony to see.

Dream Catcher rested her head on his shoulder and swayed to the beat of the band. Soon enough, they were back at their hotel room, and Dream Chaser realized he’d done everything his coach had told him NOT to do. He laid his head next to Dream Catcher’s and closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

“Mr. Chaser?”

The voice from reality shook Dream Chaser awake. He was still in his apartment, lying up against the front door. The letter and tickets were still scattered out in front of him. He tried to reach forward for them, but suddenly the door he was resting against opened. He tumbled backwards, out onto the doorstep and stared up at the sky. Slip Stream and his mother were looking down at him in shock.

“Are you okay?” Sun Stream asked, helping him back to his hooves.

Dream Chaser rubbed his head and looked around before answering, “I think so. What are you doing here?” He didn’t have to ask because he already knew why.

“Well, when we woke up and you weren’t there, we had to come make sure you made it home okay.” 

“You missed out on pancakes,” Slip added in. He peeked past Dream Chaser and into his apartment curiously.

“We brought you some groceries. I know you probably haven’t had a chance to go shopping,” Sun Stream said, holding out a brown bag from the supermarket. “May we come in?”

Dream Chaser tried to block the doorway with his body. “Um, it’s a mess right now, I’d rather you didn’t.” In actuality, Mrs. Prism had cleaned the apartment in its entirety during his absence. 

“We’ll only be a minute,” Sun Stream said softly. Slip Stream slipped in past Dream Chaser, galloping right over the envelope and its contents. “Slip! Get back here!”

Before the overly-excited colt returned, Dream Chaser managed to pick up the empty envelope and the letter from Nova Star. However, he couldn’t get to the tickets in time before Slip tried to help. The young colt’s eyes lit up when he realized just what he had helped pick up, what he was now holding in his hooves.

“Are these real?!” Slip squealed in a pitch almost too high for the pony ear to comprehend, holding the tickets up to the light. Sun Stream walked into the apartment and looked at the tickets Slip held in his hooves. She turned slowly to Dream Chaser, but found herself unable to speak.

The stallion looked from her, then down to the joyous colt. “They’re real…Happy Birthday.”

> Chapter Thirteen- Selfless Actions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sun Stream stepped forward and took the tickets from her son so she could look at them. “You didn’t,” she said, looking up. “How much did these cost you?”

“Uh, look, don’t worry about it,” Dream Chaser replied, tossing Nova Star’s letter into the trash. “Just take him to see The Games and have a good time.”

Slip Stream ran up and hugged Dream Chaser’s leg, sending pain coursing through the stallion’s body. “Thank you so much Mr. Chaser!” Slip shouted. Dream Chaser clenched his teeth and smiled, wishing the colt would release his leg. When he finally did, he ran up to his mom and snatched the tickets away from her.

“So what’s in the bag?” Dream Chaser asked, peering into the brown bag Sun Stream had set on the floor. There were off-brand oats, some berries, lettuce, and a few other things he probably wouldn’t eat. Still, it was a nice gesture.

“Just a few things to get you through the week—Slip! Get back here!” the nurse shouted as her son wandered off further into Dream Chaser’s apartment. Slip Stream came running back and sat on the floor next to Dream Chaser. His mother reached forward and took the tickets back. “If you can’t behave, you’re not going.”

“So we are going?!” Slip asked happily. His mother bit her lip and looked off to the side before eventually nodding. Slip Stream jumped up excitedly and shouted, “Yeah! I’m gonna go meet Nova Star, and I’m gonna get his autograph, and I’m gonna show him how fast I can run, and I—”

Sun Stream stepped toward Dream Chaser as her son ran circles around them, listing off all the things he was going to do at The Games. She stared into his eyes before leaning forward and whispering in his ear, “If there is ever anything you need, you can always ask.”

If there is ever anything you need, you can always ask.

If there is ever anything you need, you can always ask.

And remember, if there is ever anything you need, you can always ask.

Dream Chaser just stared at the mare as Nova Star’s voice echoed in his head. She smiled and put her hoof out to stop Slip Stream. “Come on Honey, let’s get going. Mr. Chaser needs to eat breakfast.”

“Bye Mr. Chaser! Thanks again!” Slip shouted as he and his mother left the apartment. The door closed behind them, leaving Dream Chaser alone in the hallway.

“That was nice of you,” Dream Catcher said, coming from behind Dream Chaser and putting her hooves around his neck. “It’s almost like you have a nice little family. You know, kinda like how we could have had.”

“Can we not do this right now?” Dream Chaser asked, shaking the mare off of him. She looked hurt and pouted her lips; a look of hers he’d always loved and hated. He tried to ignore her as she followed him to the kitchen.

“You know, I bet if you asked him, Nova Star would send you a third ticket,” Dream Catcher said, rummaging through the grocery bag after Dream Chaser set it on the table. Before Dream Chaser could angrily object, Dream Catcher added, “Oh but wait! Doesn’t that train leave on a Friday? Tell me, who works Fridays?”

“Sun Stream,” Dream Chaser whispered in realization. “But I’m sure she’ll be able to get it off.”

Dream Catcher just shook her head. “You know she won’t, and then what do you think will happen?” She paused to allow Dream Chaser to answer her rhetorical question. When he didn’t, she got right up to his face and said, “She’ll come begging you to take her son to The Games, explaining what a bad mother she is.”

He knew she was right. The hospital staff treated Sun Stream like garbage and wouldn’t allow her to take a day off no matter the circumstances. There were hospital visits he could remember where the nurse had shown up violently ill, but performed her duties regardless.

“But you don’t want to go,” Dream Catcher said, sitting back down and taking the berries out of the grocery bag. She opened the package and popped a berry into her mouth. “Too many…bad memories,” she said as she bit down onto the berry.

A vision of blood spattered across the locker room walls flashed before Dream Chaser’s eyes. He could hear himself screaming and the sound of a lead pipe being brought down onto his legs. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to stop the noises, but they only intensified. The tearing of his flesh, the breaking of his bones, the screams—Oh, the screams!—they were all suddenly deafening. He put his hooves against his ears and slid to the floor. After a few moments, the beating ceased and there was only the sound of something dripping and heavy breathing.

There was but one phrase that had always haunted Dream Chaser, and he could feel the hot breath against his cheek as it was whispered to him. “Good luck chasing that dream.”

“No!” Dream Chaser shouted and his eyes flew open. He stood up off the floor and looked around the apartment. Dream Catcher had disappeared as she always did, leaving Dream Chaser alone and confused. The package of berries she’d been eating from still sat open upon the table.

He snapped it closed and tossed it back in the bag of groceries. Using his teeth, he brought the bag to the fridge and threw the whole thing inside. He’d eat later, but for now, his appetite was gone.

After a few hours, Dream Chaser found being back home wasn’t as pleasant as he first thought it would be. For the first time since losing Dream Catcher, he actually felt lonely. The time spent outside the apartment had been stressful at times, but he’d gotten to see ponies he hadn’t seen in years. On top of that, he’d been able to make a young colt very, very happy.

Dream Chaser also couldn’t help but think about his nurse; her orange coat, her pink mane, her soft lips, her—

“No,” he said, shaking his head to interrupt his own thoughts. “No, no, no. I am NOT going down that road.”

He stopped pacing and looked around, half expecting Dream Catcher to show up with a remark. When she didn’t, he took to pacing again. The knots in his legs had loosened enough to allow movement, but the pain would not cease. After five slow laps around the apartment, Dream Chaser found himself in need of a break. It made him long for the days when he could run a hundred laps in his parents’ house without stopping.

Dream Chaser removed a head of lettuce from the bag in the fridge and sat down at the table. He absent-mindedly peeled away layers of the vegetable and tossed them into his mouth. It was about the blandest meal he could ever ask for.

The clock in the living room chimed to indicate seven o’ clock, and Dream Chaser’s heart sank a little. Up till that point, there was a chance Slip and his mother would return for a visit, but with Slip having school and his mother having work the next day, they were probably getting ready for bed. Another hour passed by uneventfully, and Dream Chaser decided he could stay awake no longer. He took his medication and plopped down face first onto his bed.

Restless nights led into long days. The week dragged on, and each day played out the same. Dream Chaser would wake up, take his medication, pace, and wait for a visit that never came. Once he’d given up hope, he’d go back to bed and repeat the process the next morning. Four days passed like this, and finally, on the fifth day, a knock came at the door.

Dream Chaser had chosen to sleep until noon that Friday. When he woke up, he stared at the ceiling for an additional hour. The prospect of getting up sat heavily in his gut, but he hadn’t bathed in nearly a week and his own odor was making him sick. He slowly eased his legs off the bed and onto the floor. After taking a moment to ensure his balance, he made his way to the bathroom.

He turned the knobs of the shower and patiently waited for the water to get up to temperature. Once the smashed mirror above the sink began to fog, he stepped into the steaming water. He grabbed a bottle of shampoo and squeezed a large green glob of it into his hoof. As he lathered his mane, he kept his eyes closed and his head down.

His hooves worked carefully through his mane, trying to rid it of the many knots and tangles. There was one spot in particular on the back of his head that needed a lot of attention. Something crusty had matted his mane against his head and he slowly scraped at it with his hoof.

Flakes of dried blood circled the drain of the bath tub as he continued to scrape. He opened his eyes when he felt a large chunk of the crusty material fall loose. The pain of the action was overwhelming and he fell to his knees. The water swirling the drain soon became crimson and a large scab drifted through the flow.

“That little brat got you good,” a gentle voice said from behind Dream Chaser. He felt two gentle hooves begin carefully massaging his scalp. They worked small circles around the sensitive area and eventually the bleeding stopped.

Dream Chaser couldn’t deny the sensation felt good, but he was getting aggravated with Dream Catcher’s constant comings and goings. “Are you doing this for a reason?” he asked. The sensation of the hooves stopped and he turned to look behind him. Dream Catcher wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

He turned the shower off and dried himself hurriedly.

With nothing else to do, Dream Chaser sat at his table, going over the contents of his memory box again. The bulk of box’s contents were focused on his glory days, and he spent hours looking over all the photos and newspaper articles detailing his success. He was so engrossed, he almost didn’t hear the knock at his front door.

After the second repetition of knock, knock, knock, he looked up in surprise. It was nearly nine o’clock, and he knew that there was only one pony that would find such an hour to be convenient for a visit. He limped to the door and opened it without hesitation.

Sun Stream stood on his door step, looking exhausted from both work and stress. “I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, “Can we talk?”

“Yeah, come in,” Dream Chaser said, stepping aside for her. She walked into his apartment and he smelt the nauseating aroma of the hospital coming off of her. They walked to the kitchen and Dream Chaser realized he’d left all of his memories out on the table. “Uh, don’t mind the mess,” he said, trying to squeeze past her.

“It’s not a problem, I won’t be long,” Sun Stream said, taking a seat. Her eyes scanned the table at all the awards and pictures of a younger Dream Chaser. “I forgot how popular you were back then,” she said with a small smile. She picked up a picture to look at it, but Dream Chaser snatched it from her.

“A lot of ponies have forgotten,” he said, setting the photo upside down. He tried to scoop all the memorabilia into a pile, but there was just too much of it, and he was starting to embarrass himself trying. “Uh,” he said, sitting down at last, “what do we need to talk about?”

She reached into her purse and removed the Equestria Games tickets. “Thank you, so much for these, but I can’t accept them,” she said, sliding them across the table.

Dream Chaser just looked down at them and asked, “Why not?”

“I want to accept them, I do, and I’m so happy you care about Slip and I so much, but I just can’t take them.”

“Is it you can’t take the tickets, or you can’t take Slip to The Games?”

Sun Stream went silent and looked at Dream Chaser in surprise. After a moment, she said, “I can’t take him.”

They went quiet and waited for the other to speak first. Sun Stream hoped Dream Chaser would volunteer, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to. He looked up from his photos and into Sun Stream’s blue eyes.

“The hospital won’t let me take the day off,” she said, her eyes glancing down at one of the photos Dream Chaser hadn’t flipped over. It was a picture of him and Dream Catcher on the train to the Equestria Games, and they were both smiling for the camera. “I have Slip’s birthday off, but I couldn’t get that Friday off. And that’s when the train leaves,” she explained.

“They really wouldn’t give you the day off? You work so much, though,” Dream Chaser said. The nurse sighed and nodded. “Well,” Dream Chaser began, “can you find somepony else to take Slip?”

Here it is. You walked right into it. She was hoping you’d say that, Dream Catcher’s voice echoed in his head.

“I was hoping that, maybe, you could take him,” Sun Stream said slowly, maintaining eye contact with the stallion. He winced as if her request had caused him some physical pain. “I know, I shouldn’t have asked!” she said with embarrassment. “It’s just, Slip was so happy to get these tickets, and if he doesn’t get to go…”

“He’ll think you’re a horrible mother,” Dream Chaser finished for her. She nodded, and he sighed.

“Please, he likes you so much! All he talked about this week was you! He begged me to take him over for a visit, but I didn’t think you’d want to be bothered.”

The opposite was true. He would have loved some company. “Where is he now?” Dream Chaser asked.

“He’s staying with his aunt for the weekend. It was the only way I could get over here to see you,” Sun Stream replied.

Dream Chaser looked back down at the tickets and the back up to his nurse. “I can’t take him,” he said at last. They were not the words Sun Stream wanted to hear, and her ears drooped down. “I’m sorry,” he added.

She’s gonna start begging, Dream Catcher whispered.

“Please? I’ll pay you,” she said, reaching into her purse. Dream Chaser put a hoof up to stop her. She looked up into his eyes and saw how much it was hurting him just to say no.

“I want to, but I just can’t,” he said. “You need to find somepony else.”

“There’s nopony else!” Sun Stream cried. “Please! I will do anything!” She grabbed his hoof and held it between her own. Tears were now rolling down her face, and several landed on the photos spread out on the table. Still, Dream Chaser said nothing, and the mare finally stood up to leave.

She grabbed her purse and left the tickets sitting in front of Dream Chaser. He tried to stand up to see her to the door, but his legs gave out and he fell to the floor. She looked down at him with a hint of disdain, and he thought she was going to leave him there.

“I’m fine,” he said as she walked toward him. He expected her to help him up, but she just stood above him, watching him struggle. After a moment or two, he was back on his hooves and face to face with his nurse.

“Are you afraid?” she asked quietly. “Afraid of going back there? Afraid of what other ponies will say?”

Dream Chaser swallowed the lump in his throat and still found he was unable to speak. He was afraid. He feared going back there, where his life changed forever. He feared having to explain to Slip Stream why he was afraid. The colt didn’t need to know about any of those dark things.

“I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry,” Sun Stream said, turning from him. “I’ll be leaving now.”

“Wait,” Dream Chaser said, putting his hoof on her shoulder. “Just, just wait.”

You’re weak, Dream Catcher hissed. He knew she was right, but he just couldn’t help it. The Streams were the closest thing he’d had to family in so long, and he didn’t want to disappoint them. He would put his fears aside so Slip could have a good time, and so Sun Stream could show her son how much she loved him. And maybe Dream Chaser could show Sun Stream how much he—

“I’ll take him,” he said. Sun Stream turned to face him with a weary smile on her face. “It’ll be…fun” he said at last.

“Thank you,” she whispered. They looked into each others eyes and their heads tilted a little. Sun Stream slowly closed her eyes and brought her lips closer to Dream Chaser’s. He copied her until their lips were millimeters apart. They held there, neither daring to be the one to close the gap.

Finally, Dream Chaser pulled back and opened his eyes. Sun Stream remained still for a moment until she realized just what she was doing. She blushed and shifted her hooves nervously.

“Sorry,” she said, looking away from Dream Chaser.

“No, it’s, uh, it’s okay,” he stammered. “Uh, would you, uh—It’s pretty late. You can stay the night here if, uh…”

He trailed off and she looked at him uneasily. He could tell she wanted to, but after the kiss-that-wasn’t, she didn’t know what to do. “I’ve already troubled you enough, I’ll just catch a coach home,” she replied.

“Oh, alright,” Dream Chaser said, defeated. “Be sure to let Slip know about The Games.”

“I will,” she smiled, and she left Dream Chaser’s apartment without another glance back.


------------------------------------------------------------


Dream Chaser stood outside the school building, clutching a note between his teeth. Sun Stream had given him written permission to take Slip out of school early that Friday. It was the only way they’d make it to the train station on time to catch their train to The Games. He took a deep breath, and opened the front door.

As he walked in, he saw something very familiar. Against the wall to his left was a trophy case; the same trophy case he’d helped fill in his youth. He walked up to the glass and looked inside. Years of dust and spider webs covered the faded awards. It looked like no new trophies had been added in over ten years.

“Can I help you?” a concerned voice asked. Dream Chaser turned to see a mare sitting behind a glass window. Parent Check-In was written above the window, and Dream Chaser walked up to it.

“Yeah, I’m here to pick up Slip Stream,” he said, passing the note through the slot in the glass.

“Are you the colt’s father?” the mare asked, looking over the note carefully.

“No, I’m a friend of his mother’s.”

The mare looked up with an eyebrow raised. “One moment, please,” she said, turning and trotting off out of view.

Dream Chaser stood in the hallway awkwardly, waiting for the mare to return. He glanced up and saw a security camera focusing in on him. He imagined the mare and her co-workers standing beside a black and white screen, talking about Dream Chaser like he was a pedophile here to foalnap innocent—

“You’re all set, Mr. Chaser,” the mare said, returning to the window. She passed him a red visitor’s pass and smiled. “Slip Stream is in room 137. Just follow this hallway and it will be on the left,” she said, pointing her hoof in the right direction.

Dream Chaser clipped the pass onto his mane and slowly made his way through the school building. It was radically different than when he’d attended and if not for the mare’s directions he wouldn’t have found the classroom. He knocked on the door and saw the students inside look up at him. Slip was in the front row and he waved his hoof eccentrically and started whispering to his classmates. An old mare walked up to the door and stared at Dream Chaser through the glass. He didn’t recognize her, but she certainly recognized him. Her eyes lit up and she opened the door.

“Mr. Chaser, we’ve been expecting you, please come in!” she said, pulling the confused stallion into the room. The class whispered excitedly to one another as Dream Chaser was forced to the front of the room. Slip Stream waved and Dream Chaser slowly returned the gesture.

“I’m just here to pick up Slip Stream,” Dream Chaser said, looking to the teacher.

“Yes, he’s told us!” she said with a big smile. “It isn’t often the class gets to meet a school legend, and I was hoping you could tell them a bit about yourself.”

"School legend"? Not, “Equestria Games legend?”

Seeing his confusion, the teacher walked up to him and whispered, “They only know you for what you did here, and that’s all I want you to talk about.”

“Um, okay,” he said, composing himself. The class looked at him anxiously and waited for him to speak. “My name is Dream Chaser, and—”

“Did you really set all the school records?” one of the classroom fillies interrupted.

“Are all those trophies in the case really yours?” a colt shouted.

The teacher laughed and put a reassuring hoof on Dream Chaser’s shoulder. “Maybe we should let them ask you some questions. They already seem to know quite a bit about you.”

Dream Chaser looked to the clock and debated if he had enough time to entertain the class’s questions. “Okay, a few questions and then Slip and I have to go,” he said, looking around the classroom. Several hooves shot into the air and he pointed at a blue filly in the second row.

“What happened to your legs?” the filly asked. All the hooves that had been raised went back down. Dream Chaser just stood in silence, running the question through his head.

“Maybe that isn’t the best question to ask Mr. Chaser,” the teacher said, looking to the filly. “Does anypony else have a question?” Aside from occasional shuffling and stifled coughs, the classroom was silent. Slip looked to Dream Chaser and then to his scarred cutie mark. He was curious too, but his mother had told him not to ask.

“Well,” the teacher said, “I apologize for holding you up, Mr. Chaser. I hope you and Slip have a fun time at The Games.”

“Thank you,” Dream Chaser said quietly. He looked up to slip and the colt jumped from his seat. The class remained quiet as the two walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.

They walked through the halls in silence, and when Dream Chaser went to turn in his visitor’s badge, Slip stared into the dusty trophy case. He could make out Dream Chaser’s name through the dust, and a few of the plaques had his cutie mark on it. It was the first time he’d taken a close look at the trophies, and he marveled at how many there were.

“Come on, Slip,” Dream Chaser said, giving the colt a tap on the shoulder. Slip nodded and followed his chaperone out of the schoolyard.

Slip was happy to be out of school early, and even more excited he was going to The Games with his new favorite stallion in all of Equestria. He trotted happily beside Dream Chaser as they walked through the busy Manehatten streets.

They stopped at Slip’s apartment so he could drop off his school bag and get his supplies for the over night stay in the Crystal Empire. Next, they went to Dream Chaser’s apartment for his belongings. Dream Chaser assumed Nova Star had also prepared living arrangements for the trip, but just in case, he grabbed some extra money.

With his bag fully packed and tickets in hoof, Dream Chaser locked up his apartment and turned to Slip. “Are you ready?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“I AM SO READY!” Slip shouted. Dream Chaser smiled, trying to hide the fact he was anything but ready for what the next two days would hold.