//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: The Dreams That Be 
// Story: Spheres 
// by Neon Icy Wings 
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Prism made sure to actually lock her apartment door once home, the smile she got from her time at the diner persisting to even her bedroom. After placing her hoodie in her closet she proceeded to her bathroom to brush her teeth and maintain the strength and whiteness of her teeth that her fillyhood dentist insisted she maintain.

As she finished brushing her teeth she rinsed her brush and mouth, leaving only the slight tang of minty fresh after brush. After finishing her nightly routine and left her bathroom, flopping onto her fluffy bed. As she adjusted her position on her bed she picked up one of her favorite book from her nightstand, 'The Cat That Read Upside Down.'

Upon finishing a chapter or two she sighed sleepily, laid the book on the night stand and turned of the reading lamp on said nightstand. She wriggled underneath her bed covers, letting her head rest comfortably on her pillows as she felt the relaxing darkness of sleep overcome her.

Said darkness of sleep quickly shifted and shaped into a dream, one which showcased one of the best days of Prism's life. She saw herself, Storm and Snowy sitting on a checkered tarp, having a picnic in one of Canterlot's parks. A fond scene from all those years ago. Prism smiled as she saw the scene, as if watching her memories from a projector.

The younger Prism in the memory laughed at a joke that Storm told and turned to Snowy. "Snowy, you make just the bestest sandwiches! How do you do it? I can never get mine to taste anything like this."

Snowy Plume, a bright teal pegasus, with a seafoam and dark blue mane smiled, her piercingly blue eyes glowing from Prism's praise. "Thanks Prim! Mom says I got her dad's cooking skills. Any dish that doesn't actually require cooking I can make perfectly."

The three friends shared a laugh and continued to dine on sandwiches, salads and salsa, until their basket was empty and sun falling across the horizon. Storm patted his belly as he stared at the setting sun. "Thanks for setting this up Snow. All this was really good, even if the salsa was a tad hotter than I like."

Prism nodded, following Storm's gaze towards the sun with a sigh. "I just wish all this didn't have to end. Considering... Tomorrow..."

Snowy frowned with sad eyes before wrapping her wings around Prism and placing her head on the bigger pegasus' shoulder. "It's okay Prim. I can still visit from time to time after all! It's just..." She turned away, joining her friends gaze towards the sunset. "It's just that I don't think I can fulfill my dreams and be happy here in Canterlot. And come on!" She smiled widely and gave Prism and playful shove. "Some day you might wanna get out of here too! We might even end up in the same town! Maybe even become roommates!"

Prism smiled lightly, still feeling a bit sad while Storm gave his wings to the hug. "And as long as we're still friends nothing can stop us from being happy." Prism's smile widened and she didn't need to say anything as she gave into the hug, pulling her two friends closer to her with her wings. She knew they were right, and nothing would ever change that.

The Prism that was watching the memory nodded happily before noticing that not all was right with the scene. Sure, she and her friends were just as she remembered, but the polka dotted trees were definitely not there last time she thought of that happy moment.

Before she could even question the strange discrepancy the memory dream warped and cracked into a different location entirely. Where the park once was a strange field with a dirt road stretching as far as the eye could see, though it appeared to be turning on its axis. The polka dot trees were walking on their roots while slowly turning into checkered pumpkins and back again. Even the moon that could be seen in the sky seemed somewhat fake, or at least a bit odd.

Before she could absorb the wacky world she found herself in, a laugh resonated from the land itself, but before she could turn to look for K the ground itself did it for her, the grass forcing the earth up and spinning on their own tiny roots. She shook her head from the partial sensory overload to only look up and see K from the mirror, only now he had his own full form but still looked like a stark white clone of her with crimson eyes. Prism wouldn't admit it, but seeing K's smile on a full mouth was quite scary.

K fluttered closer to Prism, with a fancy bow accompanied by an orchestral waltz like score coming from the world around them. "Welcome my dear to my little slice of insanity!" It took a bit of will power, but Prism resisted the urge to shake or quiver now that K could potentially touch her. Though she did let out a light sigh as K fluttered on by, she did flinch at the realization that the ground she stood on floated after K. "Alrighty," K continued, "You're probably wondering where you are. To answer, I already told you. To answer other potential questions, A this was the best way to prove I'm real, and B this was best to properly have a conversation with you before introducing you to my comrades. Man these wings are amazing!"

Prism shook her head a bit more, trying to absorb all the information. She looked to K that appeared to have control of the weird dream world she found herself in. "Okay, few questions. Where exactly are we? For one."

K's pegasus head turned all the way around to face Prism, like a freaky crimson eyed owl. "I guess you could say it's a manifestation of our power. If it was just me and C, we wouldn't be able to manage this. Er, let's just say that something you said last time may mark a potential dislike to part of our plan."

Prism gave a partial death glare to K, not liking the implications. "And what does that mean?" K only let out a small, nervous chuckle before turning his head around again. Prism let out a sigh that turned to a sharp gasp as the rotating dirt road and checkered pumpkins had vanished and in place of the ever changing world was replaced with stark stillness of towering pillars of dirt, stone and more. The only thing of note among the world of stone was a single taller pillar, made from dark stone, with something at the top. 

The thing at the top, despite being a mere speck from the distance, exuded a feeling of perpetual glaring. A presence that hit Prism so hard she automatically began to regret everything related to that very moment. "What on Luna's moon is that and why does it already hate me?"

K chuckled. The ground rumbled and Prism found herself and K rising, slowly at first but that quickly changed to speeds that would make even the Wonderbolts jealous. The wind whipped her mane across her face, forcing her to close her eyes from the fierce winds until it all came to a sudden stop, and K spoke, "My dear, meet my business partner, C."

She cracked her eyes open only to find the still pony K standing besides a pitch black biped creature the resembled the statue far more than K had the past few times she's met him. While K held his trademark eerie smile the new creature, this C, held a measuring frown for Prism before turning to K. "K. Why are you still pony like?"

K turned to the now taller C. "Well you see, not only did it allow me to not freak our little friend out, but if all my calculations are correct this is a necessary change."

C merely grunted at K before turning to Prism once more. "Don't you worry, now. While I often question K's choices, I'm not one to break a deal lightly."

Prism gulped lightly. "Kay..."

K popped up next to her, placing a hoof around her shoulder. "No I'm K!"

Both C and Prism then found common camaraderie in glaring at K, who shrunk under their combined gaze and flinched at Prism's following words, "Alright. Okay. fine. But you said 'comrades'. Plural. Where's the minimal single other to qualify the plural?"

The moment the words left her mouth a laugh sounded behind her. The laugh pierced through her memories, drudging up a world of cotton candy and once pleasant fillyhood memories tainted by unwanted flights across Equestria. Her face scrunched up in anger, in fury, her eyes twitched as she knew who was behind her without even looking. "Why hello you barfbag."

Discord snaked his head into her view, a mocking false look of hurt on his face. "Why, that hurts! Hurts I say! I hereby demand you refer to me with an appropriate title!"

Prism returned Discord's mocking look with a sneer. "Oh, I'm sorry oh Lord Barfbag of the Empire Motion Sickness, High Overseer of Vomitopia and close cousin to the ever renowned Dirtbags."

Discord was momentarily taken aback by Prism's words but quickly fell into a fit of laughter, with K snickering along as well. "Ha! Oh-ho-oh-hoh! I like her already! If I had known you were this sassy I'd have sought more fun with you all those months ago."

Prism practically growled her response, "Well, I'm glad you didn't cause that was already traumatizing enough as it was."

Discord shrugged. "Well, don't blame me. I was just making up for one thousand years of chaos-less life! That is a lot of chaos to make up for you know. But, if it's any consolation I did get the initial chaos splurge out of my system, so any further chaos, if I have the lovely possibility of letting any loose at all, will be quite minor. Minuscule in comparison!"

C's gaze shifted between Discord and K. "So, I suggest we quickly convene our thoughts. Just in case Luna notices the dreams of one of her subjects are obscured."

K nodded vigorously. "Yes! Indeed! So, dear... uh, I didn't get your name last time."

Prism rolled her eyes. "Prism."

K quirked his would be eye brow. "Just Prism?"

She glared at the not pegasus in annoyance. "Just the part of my name I'm willing to tell you."

K gulped and nodded, less vigorously. "Well okay.... But what are your plans? Anything life changing in the works? Dull drum  normal life continuing eternally?"

Prism mulled over her response carefully before answering, "Weeeellll... a friend has convinced me to move to Ponyville. Coming weeks being the most likely. I was planning on writing up my resignation and working the how ever many weeks required while getting everything sorted."

Discord appeared quite entertained by Prism's words, a wide smile taking form. "Oooooh! Ponyville huh? That place was just so much fun when I was free! It will be quite fun to mess with those delightful little Element bearers! Which reminds me: K, would you be so kind as to inform dear Prism on what she will have to do to fully fulfill her part of our little deal?"

Prism narrowed her eye warily at Discord's ominous words. "Wait. The Elements are in Ponyville!?" She practically punched herself in face with her hoof as a thought flashed through her mind. "Gah, Storm said Rainbow Dash was his boss. Okay I'm unobservant. But what's this so far un-discussed clause?"

K cleared his throat, a pinch of nervousness found in his voice, "Well, to properly allow us to follow you around and advise and see, you will need to absorb parts of our power." Prism immediately pulled back from that information forcing K to try and ease her paranoia, "Don't worry! It won't affect you. Too much. It won't let us affect YOU it will just allow us to follow you around and if anything you absorbing parts of our power would more likely allow you to use our powers than us use you as a puppet."

Prism gave a glare to each of the creatures before her before speaking simply and clearly, "Alright. I'll play along for now. But if I so much as think for a second that you guys twitch an eyelid on my face, then I will make sure the Princesses grind your statues into dust. You will watch only, if you want to do something, if your power can be used at all, you will ask and do as I say." Her glare lingered on Discord. "And if I see a strand of cotton candy where it shouldn't be the previous threat applies."

As the three nodded, K vigorously once more, C calmly and Discord nonchalantly, Prism simply sighed. "Okay. How the heck do I get these pieces of power, and if you can lend pieces of your power to go about why haven't you just, like I don't know, forced them on me when I was cleaning your statues?"

Discord hummed gently, floating about the top of the dark tower. "Simple; we can't just force them on you. If I was free I could use chaos to mess with your head, but I wouldn't able to store pure chaos magic inside your little pony head. It has to be entirely mutual. For me all you have to do is touch my statue and I can transfer some chaos I got from that changeling terbackle to you."

K leaned in with his own instructions, "And for me and C we'll, uh, have to see. Our power may be harder for you to absorb so we'll have to play it by ear. But eh, it'll be fine!"

Discord yawned and slid his claw along his arm, revealing a row of clocks. "Well, I don't know about you three but being the major force behind this little dreamscape sure is tiring me out. So if all of you could hurry up and bash all the needed information into your brains so I can rest, that'd be great."

C grunted turning away from the group. "I hardly have much to do with this. The planning and such. So, go ahead and finish up K."

K groaned, straightening his posture. "Alrighty! Recap of niceness; you go and touch our statues, the end. Well, except for me and C's where we tell you more at the statue but blah-gah-bah."

Prism glanced around lightly a single thought occupying her mind at that moment. "So, how exactly does one leave this place?"

K's smile returned in full force, Prism taking a step or two back from the sadistic tint that the smile held. "You wake up. Silly."

It was then K clacked his front hooves together, the obsidian pillar they all stood on fracturing into uncountable bits and then, with a scream, Prism began to fall. She looked down, squinting through the vicious wind to see a large mirror like surface rushing towards her vision. She tried to flap her wings but it only brought a sudden pain, the feeling of her wings joints locking against her will shooting through her radius. She glared in mixed anger and fear at K who simply melted away into the rushing wind, smile and all. The other two nowhere to be seen amongst the crumbling debris of fractured pillars of stone.

Her heart raced to an impossible degree, tears formed and flew away, tears she herself could watch thanks to her mirror demise that raced to meet her like an old friend made of knives. She fell faster. Memories flashed by with eyes of amber and eyes of piercing blue. Her own eyes of teal hardened and glared at her mirror nemesis, resolved to see those two beautiful pairs of eyes again no matter what! Whether or not she was in a dream didn't matter to her in that moment, she didn't know the extent of K or C, and especially not Discord. She garnered her resolve and prepared to face the fall without fear.

In a single instant before the meeting of flesh and glass Prism refused to rip her eyes away.

She hit the glass.

There was a shatter!

And then, as the clatter died within the void, there was darkness.