//------------------------------// // Chapter 26** // Story: Pandemic: Picking up the Pieces // by Halira //------------------------------// "So, I get forced out the door now because I'm not a pony anymore?" Melissa demanded. Tattered brought a hoof up to her head and sighed. Why was Melissa making this so difficult. "I told you, I don't know if I'm allowed to talk to you about this stuff since you're not a night pony anymore. There are very strict rules. I'll consult with the ponies that make those rules and see if an exception can be made for you. Until then I'm not getting in trouble by doing whatever I want," she said calmly and evenly. "What kind of crock of shit explanation is that?" Melissa snarled with a wave a finger in Tattered's face. "I was a pony for a month before today; why am I just now hearing about these rules? It's bullshit!" Tattered wished she could give a better explanation. This was incredibly unfair to Melissa. She should have taken the time to explain this to her last night when Melissa was still a pony, so there would be no question that she could be talked to, but she had been afraid if Melissa knew last night she might call off her procedure for the prospect of dreamwalking. "You can be mad at me. I should have talked to you about this last night before you went in for your procedure. I didn't realize that it might be important for you to know at the time. That's my screw-up; but please, try to be patient and work with me," Tattered pleaded. A little of the fight went out of Melissa and Tattered could see tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't like this, Tattered. I was supposed to stay included in everything, but we haven't made it through a half of a day and I'm already being pushed out of a night pony conversation." "I don't like it either," Tattered said as her ears sagged low. "Don't let it spoil your first day of freedom from your bed in weeks. I'll find out this afternoon if an exception can be made for you." Melissa blinked and took a step back. "This afternoon? While you're asleep? Did you figure out dreamwalking?" Tattered lifted her ears a little and nodded. "You're looking at a dreamwalker as of yesterday afternoon. I'm going to see if I can teach Dan and Rudra how to do the same after we go to sleep, even if I have to have Lavender Mist help me out." "And whatever this is, it involves dreamwalking?" Melissa asked, looking uncertain. "I can't go into details, but yes, it does," Tattered said with a nod. Melissa sighed and shook her head. "I guess that is something that excludes me. I'm sorry for getting upset. I just don't want to be treated as if I'm not a full part of this group anymore because I'm human." "Mostly human," Tattered corrected. "I'm hoping that differentiation is enough to satisfy who I need to talk to. In the meantime you have my sister and Tonya outside waiting for you. I know Megan has some boring stuff to do today, but at least you're getting out of here for a little while." Melissa frowned, but nodded. "Are you going to be here again tonight?" "Probably not," Tattered confessed. "I took a full night off work last night. I'll need to be back to work tonight. The good thing is now you can come visit me at work and I can get you up to speed on Enclave activities and helping to run things." Melissa gave her a smirk. "You're just wanting to get me started so you can get more free time." "You'd better believe it," Tattered said with a flick of her tail. "You've no idea how sick I am of sixteen-hour work days. We'll each be doing twelve-hour days until we get Dan helping too. Then we might not only get down to eight hour days, we might get scheduled days off." "An eighty-four-hour workweek. Just what I was wanting to go straight into after getting out of the hospital," Melissa said with a roll of her eyes and a groan. "You're crying to the pony who has been running over hundred-hour workweeks even while I was in the hospital," Tattered said flatly. "Once Dan is up and running our weeks will get reduced down more. I'll see about getting us a sub-lieutenant or something to act as a fourth to take shifts as well; maybe one of those crystal ponies will fit into that roll. Just be patient." "It's better than being confined to bed I suppose," Melissa said as she looked at the door. "I'll head on out then. Speaking of patience, Tonya and Megan have been really patient waiting for me, as you said." "See you later," Tattered said as Melissa departed. Now it was time for the conversation that might involve some real fights. She walked back down the hall to Dan's room. Dan, Rudra, and Lavender were all waiting for her. Dan started on her immediately. "So what did you want to talk to us about that you couldn't talk about in front of Mel?" Tattered smiled. "Something that should be of particular interest to you in particular, Dan. I started dreamwalking yesterday, and I wanted to train you and Rudra to do be able to do the same thing." "And why did you need me here?" Lavender asked with a raised brow. "I was hoping you could help us get up to speed on what were doing," Tattered answered. "I'm an extreme novice at dreamwalking. Having an experienced dreamwalker helping us would help out a lot." Lavender narrowed her eyes. "I might help you if you want. You're familiar with the fact that there are rules that have to be followed." Tattered shivered. "Believe me, I know. That's why we're having a private conversation without Melissa hearing it." "Why do rules for dreamwalking require Miss Rivers absence?" Rudra asked in confusion. Tattered lowered her voice to a whisper. "Because one of the rules is we're not to talk about certain things with non-night ponies." She glanced at Lavender to see if the Equestrian was familiar with what was being discussed. Lavender gave a slow worried nod. Good, knowing that the Equestrian was on the same page made things easier. "I assume that you encountered Princess Luna?" Lavender asked with a flick of an ear. "She visited my dreams in the past, but I haven't encountered her when dreamwalking. She wasn't the one that laid the rules down for me. I ran into one of the Dreamwardens on my first dreamwalk," Tattered explained earning a small frightened gasp from Lavender. "I'd rather these two were more prepared than I was for when the Dreamwardens come a-knockin' so they don't get the same experience." Lavender shivered. "In the interest of making sure they don't upset a Dreamwarden--sweet Celestia, it still terrifies me that your world will have multiple--I'll do what I can to help." "Um, what's a Dreamwarden?" Dan asked as he glanced between Tattered and Lavender. Time to go into the big explanations. "First thing to know is we do not discuss the Dreamwardens with anypony but night ponies, period." Lavender nodded along in affirmation. The other two night ponies gave skeptical looks, but then gave their own nods. Lavender raised a hoof. "I should make you aware. Tonya Middleton seems to know about them. I think Luna told her, but I don't know for sure how she found out or how much she knows. She seems to know to keep her mouth shut though, and the restriction about night ponies." That was interesting to know, but not something she'd worry about right that minute. "I'll keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't run her mouth." She looked her Enclave compatriots in the eyes. "Keep an eye on her as well. We don't want her broadcasting night pony secrets; for her own safety, and ours." Dan and Rudra looked even more dubious of the conversation now, but nodded again. Tattered continued on after getting their agreement. "There are six Dreamwardens on our world." This earned another shiver from Lavender. "I suppose Princess Luna would count as a seventh, but she isn't who we need to concern ourselves with--it's our Dreamwardens you need to fear. You can assume anything Princess Luna can do in the dreamscape they can do as well, and they won't be as nice and gentle with us." "So, they're something dangerous we should avoid then?" Dan asked. "You can't," Tattered said as she looked him in the eyes. "You have to appease them. They have rules, and they have Oaths they require you say. The dreamscape isn't American soil or any other country's, it's their realm, and their rules. You disobey the rules and you get kicked out for good...or worse." "What kind of rules?" Rudra asked as his ears flattened. "Pretty simple ones really," she said with a smile. "One, we don't try to hurt any pony using dreamwalking, or try to enact justice in the dreamscape--that's for the Dreamwardens to do, not us. Two, we don't take what we learn from dreams and use it against anypony. Three, we don't try to brainwash anypony using mind magic or their dreams. Four, we respect the Dreamwardens and give them their damn Oaths when they ask for them." "That's all very much in line with what Princess Luna requires from us back in Equestria," Lavender confirmed, looking somewhat relieved for some reason, before she shivered again. "We have lived under her jurisdiction of the dreamscape for over a thousand years. It is very rare that she has to take action against any of us. The times before her taking control were said to have been very dark times. We as a race were hunted to near extinction by the other tribes because of our actions back then. Even Princess Luna herself, while bringing us under her authority and protection, killed many since many of our ancestors were incredibly cruel and vile with mind magic and she would not tolerate them living after what they had done. Our population never fully recovered, and we're still the smallest tribe by far after all these centuries. The rules keep us safe." Dan paled as his ears flattered. "Okay...avoiding genocide sounds like a good thing to do. What are these Oaths?" Tattered took a deep breath and before reciting them off. "Psychic Calm, we promise ponies shall dream in peace. Yinyu Wu Yan, we shall not allow our passions to lead us to folly. Ghadab, the Wardens' anger is unyielding and just. Phobia Remedy, fear of the Wardens keeps us safe. Tikhiy Krik, we shall keep the secrets of the Wardens. Sha'am Maut, better to die than to face the Wardens' justice." "Um...you might need to go over that a few times," Dan groaned as he covered his head with his wings. "Why couldn't they just have normal sounding English pony names that are easy to remember?" Lavender and Rudra were staring at her though. "Phobia Remedy is a Dreamwarden?!" Lavender asked wide eyed. Tattered considered before answering. "I think only a few of them are actually trained all the way so far. It is probably better to say she will be a Dreamwarden, but I'd still treat her as a full Dreamwarden already. I don't want to piss her off." "Who's Phobia Remedy?" Dan asked as he looked at them from between his wings. "She lives here, and is a recent rape victim. I'm actually expecting her in tomorrow for a follow-up on her recovery progress," Lavender explained to him. The Equestrian then turned to Tattered. "It's kind of ironic I told another pony just the other day I'm no psychologist, but if Phobia is a Dreamwarden then her mental health is going to be my top concern while I'm in town going forward. We do not want another Tantabus." "Who or what is a Tantabus?" Tattered asked with a raised eyebrow. Lavender put a hoof to her chin to think before answering. "Consider it a nightmare that takes on a life of it's own, and tries to swallow the world up in itself. Princess Luna spawned one a few years ago, and it almost got out of control before it was stopped." "Alright, that is something I will pretend I didn't know, for the sake of my mental health," Tattered said with a shake of her head. The next half hour was spent getting Dan and Rudra to memorize the Oaths. Lavender said she was fairly sure that her Oaths to Luna should suffice for her if confronted by a Dreamwarden, but she learned the current Oaths as well just in case. Once they were all satisfied that everypony understood the rules, and could recite the Oaths on demand, Lavender let the crystal pony up front know that she and Rudra would be unavailable for a few hours while they caught up on sleep, and to simply schedule appointments for tomorrow for anypony that came in-unless it was an emergency. And with that done they all went to sleep. Within moments of falling asleep Lavender was already in Tattered's dreams and quickly walked her through a quicker way to reach the dreamscape than what Tattered had done just the day before that made everything much simpler. The next thing Lavender walked Tattered through was how to find Dan and Rudra's dreams out of the countless stars that filled the dreamscape, and the general guidelines on how to find specific dreams of those Tattered knew personally. It was surprisingly simple to learn, and she likely could have done so on her own in the next day or two. Once that was done they went to Dan's dream first to instruct him on how to dreamwalk. She wasn't surprised at all that Dan's dream was also a nightmare reshowing the events that had crippled him. She was happy to see that in the dream he was whole. They pulled him away from the unfolding events and began to instruct him about how to leave the dream to dreamwalk, even while the pained cries of the nightmare made them all flatten their ears. Lavender looked like she was going to be sick as she glanced on and off towards the source of the noise. After getting Dan instructed Tattered paused and took a deep breath. "Okay Dan, we're about to go out into the dreamscape together. That means we should have a Dreamwarden trying to get Oaths from you right away since you're dreamwalking for the first time. Just be ready for anything, and be ready to give those Oaths right away. Don't fuck them up." Dan gulped and nodded. They closed their eyes and pictured the stars of the dreamscape and the next thing they knew they were all there even though they had not opened their eyes. The Dreamwarden didn't appear right away which threw them off guard slightly after having hyped themselves up for it. "Um, Yinyu?" Tattered called out into the dreamscape. "We have a fresh dreamwalker here wanting to give his Oaths. We're going to have another one in a few minutes too. Kind of just wanting to get this out of the way." The dreamscape shifted, they were no longer standing in a field of stars; instead they were standing on a stone balcony of a building overlooking what looked like some sort of Middle-Eastern bazaar. With a quick glance around Tattered corrected her assessment from Middle-Eastern to Indian, since she could see statues of elephants and odd looking Hindu gods. Those down below were all humans, and she was pretty sure she saw World War Two era British soldiers in the crowd. A memory maybe? Whoever remembered this would have to be in their ninities or older. "Yinyu is taking a few days break from dealing with your side of the world," came a voice from behind them, causing them to all jump in startlement. A very old night pony mare with wrinklely dull tan fur and a mane that was straight white walked out of the building behind them. She was heavily laden with gold jewelry, and had that odd little dot that a lot of Hindus had on their heads. She had an empty ceramic bowl for a cutie mark, which did little to indicate what her talent or purpose was. The best word to describe her overall would be shriveled. It was a shock the flu hadn't just killed her with how old and frail she looked. The mare came and sat down between them. Seeming barely interested in them. "We're all very eager to see our sister and brother over in your country become active so our sleep schedules can resume a more natural flow. I'm too old to be trying to sleep at odd points of the night I typically wouldn't," the mare said as she propped herself up on the railing and looked out at the bazaar. "I'm Sha'am Maut, Warden of Death. You two from our world may say your Oaths now. The Equestrian doesn't need to, I feel Luna's Oaths on her and will not demand more." Well, she had said to expect anything. This Dreamwarden seemed much easier to deal with than Yinyu at least. She wasn't going to ask how the Dreamwarden knew the difference right away between an Equestrian and an Earth-born pony. It was hard to feel intimidated by such a frail looking old pony, but the Dreamwarden's title was a huge red flag, so best not to make her mad. Tattered drew herself up so she was standing at near salute and Dan mimicked her. They then recited in unison. "Psychic Calm, we promise ponies shall dream in peace. Yinyu Wu Yan, we shall not allow our passions to lead us to folly. Ghadab, the Wardens' anger is unyielding and just. Phobia Remedy, fear of the Wardens keeps us safe. Tikhiy Krik, we shall keep the secrets of the Wardens. Sha'am Maut, better to die than to face the Wardens' justice." Sha'am nodded in acceptance then turned to face them. "You say there is another? Picture him in your minds for me, please." Tattered didn't question it, she just did as she was told. The Dreamwarden stared at them for a moment then nodded again. "Very good," Sha'am said. "I will fetch this third Earth-born pony and bring him here myself. It'll be faster than sending some half-trained filly or colt after him. You foals may make yourselves comfortable. There's food laid out to eat that you may help yourselves to. It gives no real sustenance, but the taste is enjoyable and shall help put you at ease." With no warning Sha'am vanished leaving the three night ponies sitting confused. "She seems nice," Dan observed as he gave Tattered a bewildered expression. "Yeah, but note her title; Warden of Death. I'd rather not find out why she has that title," Tattered said with a shiver. "Her culture seems very different from yours," Lavender said as she looked at their suroundings. "How many cultures does your world have?" "A lot, more than I could possibly count or know of," Tattered said as she looked inside the house and saw a large table laden with pastries and drinks. "One thing that is pretty common in most is don't reject hospitality. We aren't going to do anything to offend a Dreamwarden if we can help it, so let's go eat." They entered in and sat around the table. It was set low to the ground, as if meant for ponies, and pillows were provided to sit on. Tattered picked up a tart of some sort and popped it into her mouth. Her wings rippled with bliss at the sugary sweetness mixed with the taste of fruit and the fact it wasn't just hay. Time seemed to drag on as they are in silence, and Tattered started to get worried. She was about to voice her concerns when Rudra came crashing down on the floor out of thin air with Sha'am stepping casually into the room as if she had just been standing out at the balcony. "My apologies, your friend couldn't seem to get Krik's name or vow right, despite prompting. I could tell he was doing so deliberately. I don't allow ponies to try to sidestep their Oaths. He required...encouragement to say things properly. I almost banished him from the dreamscape for good before he finally recited them properly like a good little colt," Sha'am said as she came and took a seat at the table. Rudra laid where he was and sobbed. Tattered and her other two friends flattened their ears but didn't say anything. What had Sha'am done to him for encouragement? "Do pick yourself up from the floor. It is very undignified for a doctor to lay crying on the floor," Sha'am said as she poured herself a drink. "Come over here and have a bite to eat, and put your unpleasant experience behind you. I am sure you will never misspeak your Oaths again." "No disrespect meant, Dreamwarden, but did you do to him what Yinyu did to me?" Tattered said with concern as she looked at Rudra breathing heavily trying to pull himself off the floor. "Your question is acceptable," Sha'am said as she finished sipping her drink. "My sister is quite playful in her ways of dealing with things--I am not. I believe in a much firmer lesson being given at this period of time." Rudra got himself to his hooves finally and made his way to the table. He sat down on a pillow and stared blankly at the food as if not knowing what it was for a moment. "You may tell them what you endured for your attempted disobedience," Sha'am said as she looked at the stallion. "You need not fear any further repercussions. Your lesson is learned and I'm sorry I had to discipline you, nor did I enjoy giving you discipline." Rudra licked his lips as he glanced around the table, cringing as he looked at Sha'am. "She made me experience death. With each time I misspoke she made me endure some other horrible method of dying. Drowning, being buried alive, immolation, being sliced in two; and I felt all of it." Tattered whipped her head around at Sha'am. That was far worse than what Yinyu had done to her. She wanted to rush the Dreamwarden and tackle her to the ground. She held her tongue though and sat still. Lavender wasn't holding her tongue. "That's downright evil! He was trying to give you your Oaths in his own way. You sat there and tortured him for a minor mistake. You're a monster!" Sha'am took a sip from her mug then looked at Lavender with a flat expression. "Your disrespect will be overlooked, as you're not one of our ponies. I shall even give you an explanation on why such extreme methods must be utilized." Lavender stomped the table with her forehooves. "There is no possible good explanation!" Sha'am calmly took another sip from her mug then continued. "There is actually. To be very clear, none of the Dreamwardens--with the possible exception of Ghadab--have any natural tendency towards cruelty. It's necessity that drives us. There are several million night ponies on this planet, and those numbers will only grow in the coming years. There are only six of us. While we can wish that all ponies will just naturally do what's right, such a belief is pure foolishness. We must be seen as uncompromising, that we will not allow even minor slips or misbehavior. Those minor slips in mass can spiral out of control and lead to us having to do mass banishments from the dreamscape or putting ponies to actual death. They must understand that infractions, no matter how small, will not be overlooked or allowed. Fear shall keep them safe during this transition period." "That is tyrannical," Lavender hissed. "Ponies should not be governed by fear." "Fear serves a purpose, as my sister Phobia will be quick to point out to you," Sha'am said, still perfectly calm, displaying no signs of being upset at the accusations. "Tell me Equestrian, do you fear the repercussions of doing what is forbidden by Luna? Do you think she is cruel despite knowing what consequences you'll endure if you do wrong?" "She doesn't punish for such minor infractions," Lavender countered. Tattered inched herself away from the angry Equestrian in case Sha'am decided to actually do something to her. "Your princess has also had over a thousand years to establish herself and already has your absolute fealty. Obedience to her rules has been grilled in your kind for generations. If you were to travel back in time I think you might find a time she was not so kind because the state of your world demanded no compromises. A world when you nearly drove yourselves to extinction with your uncontrolled antics," Sha'am said and took another sip. Lavender crossed her legs and muttered. "It's not right, It's unjust and cruel." "The time when this level of cruelty is no longer needed is coming. Fear shall still be maintained, but some more leeway shall be granted. Unless a tragedy strikes you down first you'll all live to see the day," Sha'am said as she set her mug down that she had been drinking from. The aged night pony briefly conjured a mirror in front of her and examined herself in it. "Five years at most, perhaps not even that. When I die my limitations on how many dreams and dreamwalkers I can watch, as well as when I can watch, shall be lifted. The same will be true of my brothers and sisters when they pass on. Even your princess is limited by her continued existence in the waking world and would be better in her service if she was dead." The mirror vanished as Sha'am continued. "Forgive an old pony for trying to cling to her life but a small time longer. I was on my deathbed when the flu came, and have been given a small reprieve due to my transformation. I was chosen, in part, because my time on Earth isn't going to last too much longer, and this transition period could end with no suicides on any Dreamwarden's behalf or decades instead of years of us maintaining order through brutality; things we would all prefer to avoid." Okay, that was kind of morbid. Tattered wondered if Yinyu would have been this forthcoming about things if asked. Lavender licked her lips nervously. "Why are there six of you at all if just one dying would be enough to establish order?" "To give us each time to rest for periods in the future," Sha'am said with a sigh. "Eternity is a long time, and the dreamscape must stay attended. We shall take turns locking one at a time into a regular dream for a few decades at a time to rest while the others maintain. Hopefully this shall keep us from growing too dispassionate with time, and stop us from longing for the eternal dream we cannot be released from. Luna's creator hoped that she would be able to withstand the toll of the passage of time due to her already existing immortality. Luna made us with the hopes that companionship and rest breaks will help us last longer." Lavender looked confused at the explanation. Tattered was definitely confused herself. It sounded like she was talking about death, but she and Yinyu had both said they couldn't die as far as the dreamscape was concerned. The aged Dreamwarden gave Lavender a sympathetic smile. "There's much that you don't understand about us. Equestria had a long history of Dreamwardens, going back to primordial times with things that weren't even ponies. Only Dreamwardens can make Dreamwardens, and we only truly die when the dreams are all gone. Back at your homeworld there are three previous Dreamwardens before Luna, bound into self contained dreams for all time because they have tired of their duty--yet they still live on in those prisions. Luna was just the most recent in a long line. If Luna had not established us here our universe would have eventually created something to begin the process here as well. Magic demands order, and it will make an order eventually if there is none, and order has no concepts of morality. You do not want to know what the universe would have likely birthed in our stead had Luna not helped raised us to our positions; the oldest of the Dreamwardens sleeping eternally on your world are some of the most vile things you could imagine. It has taken eons for us to reach this point." Lavender frowned. "This is all new information to me. How can I know you're even telling the truth?" "It's information you never had a need to know. Luna shall likely reign as Dreamwarden in Equestria for many millennia yet before she tires. Maybe she shall not tire and keep going. You may consult with her if you wish, she can give you a fuller education of who she inherited her job from," Sha'am said with a note of finality to her voice. The Dreamwarden then turned to Tattered. "Now, I believe I sensed you had some sort of question for me. Some matter of permission. I am not a mind reader, but I can pick up on some things unspoken here. Explain the matter to me and I will tell you if you will get approval or not." Tattered took a deep breath again before continuing. "Our friend was recently turned back into a human from being a night pony. While I am sure that she can't dreamwalk anymore, I was wondering if it would be possible for us to dreamwalk into her dreams." "To what purpose?" Sha'am said as she picked up a cake and started examining it. "Dan and she want to pursue a relationship. We were thinking that they might be able to do that easier if they could spend time in a dream together where things are a little more...workable." "I see," Sha'am said as she set the cake down. She seemed to consider or a moment. "Does she retain any magic still after her rehumanization?" "Yes ma'am. It's extremely little, but the doctors say it's there," Tattered said with a bob of her head. "Then it's possible for it to be done, though you may struggle to find her dream at first. If the magic is weak the trace of the dream shall be weak as well. If he forms a strong connection with her then he should be able to locate it," Sha'am said as she gave Dan a raised eyebrow. "The human would have to give consent for it to be done, and she would be the one who governs what goes on in the dream. If those conditions are not met I would consider your presence in her dream a violation of the rules, and consequences would be enforced." Dan gulped. "I can follow those conditions." "Good, and I would advise you that if you do end up doing such a thing that you do not discuss it with other ponies or humans, even night ponies. I have no rule to enforce in this so you fear no consequences if you choose not to, but it's in the best interests of night ponies that dreamwalking into such a mind is not known to be possible. Keep this a private matter between you and her," Sha'am said as she stood back up. "The prohibition on humans knowing about the Dreamwardens still stands with her. Speak nothing of us to her." The night pony walked out towards the balcony. "If you'll excuse me, I have other dreamwalkers to attend to, and I can only divide my consciousness so many ways before my mortal body gives out so I feel strain no more. I prefer to preserve what little time I have left being able to live in the waking world, and my aged body can only take so much strain before it releases me here forever." With no further discussion the Dreamwarden vanished, leaving the four night ponies sitting where they were.