Tom realized an unexpected benefit of being a pony, though it wasn't much of a benefit. You could stuff far more ponies into a car comfortably than you could humans.
While Paul and Devon were up front, the backseat of the car had himself, Wild, Amanda, Robby, Jessie, and Jackie. All of them had their own space to sit comfortably with no problems, though Robby had chosen to curl up on the floor and was now being repeatedly poked in the nose by his little sister.
Tom took a window seat behind Paul, Amanda was curled up in the middle of the backseat feeding Jackie, Wild was looking out the other window with a bored expression on her face.
The car ride was mostly in silence. While it was faster than walking, the fact they were constantly waiting for ponies to get out of the road to let them through did slow it down considerably. He didn't mind, it meant he didn't have to deal with non-stop greetings from strange ponies who had been brainwashed into being unnaturally sociable.
The problem was he was also one of those ponies who had been brainwashed into being extra sociable and the silence was starting to weigh on him. Rosetta wasn't wrong; much as he tried to resist his new pony nature it put a strain on him. While going all in and just striking up conversations with any random pony was something he was going to continue to resist, maybe he should build a small social circle of friends outside the family. Just for the sake of his health of course.
He turned to the mare to his side. She at least seemed to be less brainwashed than the other ponies in his family. "So, Amanda, what does that mark on your flank mean?"
"This thing?" Amanda asked as she pointed to it. "It means I can figure out what's underground really well. I can tell you where every bug and worm is, every rock, and every little seed."
"And you're a teacher?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "What does that have to do with teaching?"
Amanda flicked her tail. "Nothing really. I've been trying to think of ways to incorporate it into teaching, but haven't come up with much for great ideas yet. It's just something I can do well, just like when I was still human I was a very good cook. People used to say all the time I should open a restaurant with how good a cook I was, but I never really had a desire to. I enjoyed cooking, and was proud I was a good cook, but I didn't want it as a career."
"You probably had to develop the skills to cook, this was something that you were made into doing well," Tom observed.
Amanda shrugged. "I was also very big breasted while having a slim body as a human. Genetics gave me that, not any choices of mine. I still didn't go off and become a porn star because of it, or feel ashamed of looking attractive."
Tom heard Paul give off a chuckle before yelping in mock pain when Devon lightly punched his arm, but not so lightly it wasn't picked up by pony ears.
"What does your cutie mark mean?" Amanda asked him.
"I can make a forcefield spell," he said dismissively. He didn't really care to discuss the mark of shame, but giving an answer was fair since Amanda had told him about hers. "Not really sure how it works, but it's apparently unique."
"Are you planning on doing anything special with that talent?" Amanda asked.
He shook his head. "Rather forget I have it. I never wanted to get my mark. I wanted to be able to go back to being human. Ponies that are marked can't do that though."
He caught Wild giving him an odd look. His first instinct was that she was being judgmental about his wishes, but he didn't pick up any sense of judgement off her. Before he could ask about it Amanda continued.
"At least you've got a horn. I'd love to have a horn, or hands, or even wings. Instead I'm going to be doing everything by hoof and mouth for the rest of my life." Amanda's eyes widened briefly before turning to Wild. "Not that I'm criticizing earth ponies or anything like that, it would just be easier for me as a teacher if I had greater ability to manipulate objects than I do now. I'm sure being an earth pony is great for most earth ponies, just not for me."
Wild gave Amanda the same look that she had just given Tom, only mixed with a hint of confusion this time. "Why are you apologizing to me?"
Amanda blushed. "You're like the earth pony. The earth poniest earth pony that most earth ponies would love to be. I didn't want to come off as insulting just because I don't think that earth pony was the best tribe for me to have been put in."
Wild seemed to struggle with what to say for a moment before sighing. "I can see what your saying. Don't worry, I'm not offended by you having those feelings."
The entire exchange brought a small smile to Tom's mouth. Amanda was like him when it came to feeling that being turned into a pony screwed with her life. It might have been for more practical reasons than moral ones, but she was the first one he had met that wasn't fully enamoured with what she had become and would be forced by the mark on her flank to live out her days as. There were ponies out there he could relate to after all.
He looked at Jackie and thought of something she hadn't mentioned.
"How does your husband or boyfriend feel about this?" He asked.
Amanda's ears flattened and she looked down. "He...passed away...just a few months ago, before everything happened with ETS."
Tom's ears sagged in turn. "Oh...I'm sorry for your loss."
Wild reached out and gave Amanda a hug, which Amanda accepted gratefully. Tom felt the urge to do the same, but he knew it was pony instinct driving him to do it, and resisted doing so. The poor mare didn't need to be smothered by well-meaning sympathies anyway.
"So, how was your night with Rosetta and Phobia?" Devon asked Robby.
"Miss Rosetta taught me about touching hooves and a few Spanish words. She also told me a lot of cool stuff about night ponies," Robby said excitedly.
"What about Miss Phobia? Did you like her?" Devon asked.
Robby looked uncomfortable. "Miss Phobia didn't say or do a whole lot. She just sat and watched most of the time. Miss Rosetta told me some things about her. Miss Phobia's kind of scary."
"Scary how?" Devon asked with a hint of concern.
Robby huddled a little in on himself. "She's just scary. I'm not supposed to talk about it. It's a night pony thing."
Paul stopped the car and turned around to look at his son. "Did she do something to you?"
"No. She's just scary," Robby said with a shiver.
Tom took offense to what was being implied. His daughter would never do anything to hurt a foal. He was about to say as much before Wild started speaking.
"I'm sure Phobia did nothing to him. If I thought Phobia was going to do anything bad to anypony I wouldn't support my sister getting married to her," Wild said firmly. "He's right though. Phobia can be really scary. She is probably the scariest pony I know. I pity anypony that gets on her bad side. For misbehaving night ponies she is the boogie-monster under the bed. Robby seems to be a good little colt though, so he has no reason to fear her."
"What's so scary about my daughter? Have you seen her lately? She's afraid to even leave the house," Tom demanded.
Wild gave him a steady look. "If you want to know then you go to her and ask. I don't think I'm even supposed to know about it; it's night pony business. It's not my secret to tell."
"Am I allowed to talk to you about her?" Robby asked the green earth pony.
Wild sighed. "I really don't know, kid. You might know more than me for all I know. I don't want to know more. You can try talking to another night pony about it, I know you're allowed to talk to them, or Tonya maybe; she knows as much as me, and I think Phobia scares her more than Phobia scares me."
Tom was completely confused. "Why would Tonya be afraid of her? They're best friends, and Tonya isn't a night pony."
"They are best friends, but Tonya's still scared of her. Take that up with Tonya, maybe she'll tell you why she should fear Phobia's wrath. It's none of my business," Wild said as she turned to go back to looking out the window.
Paul turned around and put the car back in drive. "We'll definitely do that."
Tom was still angry at the accusation that his daughter was somehow dangerous, but wasn't going to reignite the talk about it right away. Tonya would probably be at this big gathering to watch Wild grow some plants. They'd find her and put to bed this talk of Phobia being dangerous. Charlotte was dangerous, Phobia was kind and compassionate.
"Are you okay?" Amanda asked him.
"I'll be better when my daughter's good name is cleared," Tom said with a huff.
Amanda reached out and put a hoof on him. "I'm sure it will all be cleared up. Night ponies are a secretive bunch and can be intimidating. I don't doubt they're all good ponies though. Everything I've heard about your daughter up till today showed her to be very nice and caring. Plus, even though Wild says Phobia is scary she also isn't afraid for any pony around her it seems. I'm sure it is just some tribal misunderstanding."
"That's probably it," Tom agreed. Then thought of something no one had asked. Night ponies might really have a different view of things. Maybe Devon and Paul were not considering their son was a night pony. "Robby, do you think it's good or bad that Phobia is scary?"
"I think it's good," Robby said with an enthusiastic nod. The car lurched as Paul's foot slipped on the gas pedal, but quickly corrected itself.
"Why's it good that she's scary" Tom asked the colt. The question wasn't meant just to clear Phobia's name, it also was to give him insights into her himself. She was secretive and just like her mother thought extremely differently from when she was human.
"It keeps all the night ponies safe. She makes sure we don't do bad things again," Robby said confidently.
"Again?" Amanda asked as she looked at the colt.
Robby's ears sagged. "The vision you and Momma talked about. We made it go to everypony. Miss Rosetta said that was really bad, that it broke the rules. We're not supposed to be bad and break the rules."
Amanda gasped with shock. "Night ponies were responsible for the vision?"
"What vision?" Paul asked.
"I'll talk to you about it later, Paul," Devon said as she placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. "It didn't seem like a bad thing from what I heard about it."
"There's nothing wrong with the vision," Wild said as she turned back around.
"I always thought that vision felt rotten, and I'm proud to hear my daughter and future daughter-in-law think so too," Tom beamed. He was finally getting a confirmation that the vision was filthy brainwashing.
"So, all the night ponies are scared of breaking the rules again because...Phobia is scary?" Amanda asked in confusion.
"In short, yes," Wild spoke up again. "Night ponies are very particular about their rules and Phobia is one of the ones that makes sure those rules get followed. Don't dig anymore into the subject, Robby isn't supposed to talk about it. If you keep digging you'll get Robby in trouble. Just be satisfied Phobia is protecting you from night ponies and night ponies from themselves because she is really scary."
"I don't want to be in trouble, I want to be a good pony," Robby whimpered.
"We're still questioning my sister about this. I don't play around with the welfare of my child," Paul said firmly.
Tom gave Wild a suspicious look. There was still one thing bothering him. "How did you and Tonya find out about all this if the rest of us aren't allowed to know?"
Wild looked uncomfortable. "Tonya apparently can do things that Phobia has rules for. I was there when Tonya fessed up she could do those things and when Phobia warned her about...things. Again, ask Tonya if you want to know."
"The other night when you and your sister were arguing?" Tom asked. That seemed the most likely night. He hadn't seen Tonya around since then.
"Yeah, then," Wild said. She then turned back to her window.
"Anyway," Amanda said, breaking the tension. "See there, just a big misunderstanding. Robby is safe with Phobia. It sounds like he is safer with her than any other night pony."
Tom let himself smile again. That was true, and his daughter wasn't letting anymore brainwashing happen. He turned to Amanda and let himself give into pony instinct by giving her a hug. "Thank you, for sticking up for my daughter."
Amanda returned the hug. "Thank you too...for standing up for me earlier when I said I'm not happy with being an earth pony."
He sighed as he looked at his cutie mark then to Amanda's mark. "We're stuck as we are, but that doesn't mean with have to just feel great about it. We shouldn't be forced into just conforming to whatever arbitrary roles we're assigned as ponies. There's no reason you should be made to feel like you must behave like an earth pony. It violates free will, it's slavery."
Amanda gave him a long look and he wondered if he had said something offensive to her. When she spoke it was cautiously. "I don't spend a lot of time with other ponies because I worry about getting judged for feeling the way I do. Devon's been a great friend, but I could stand to make some more. Would you like to go get a bite to eat or something together and just hang out sometime? I know it must be lonely for you too."
He gave her a smile. "I think I wouldn't mind that at all."
It had been a victory when Rosetta had managed to finally get into her lover's dream yesterday, a terrifying victory, but a victory all the same. Today she was back to square one though.
"Luna, even though the way Yinyu did things was kind of insane, it did work. Why can't I do that again?" Rosetta complained as she picked herself up after being spit back out for the fourth time that day.
"It is an effective way of getting into the dream, but not something that you can do on your own." Luna explained. "I prefer that you be able to get into her nightmare on your own when I am not here. I have no objections to what she did, as it should give you confidence that you are capable getting into the dream."
"About that..." She took a deep breath. This had been on her mind since yesterday. "Do you think we could take a break and actually get me to where I'm dreamwalking on my own? I haven't actually managed to dreamwalk on my own as of yet."
Luna flicked an ear and looked between her and the black mass of Phobia's nightmare, frowning as she did. "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps your lack of confidence goes deeper than I thought. To tell you the truth I had assumed you had already developed the skill. I apologize for my oversight."
Rosetta's ears perked up. She hadn't expected Luna would agree so quickly. She was just as eager as the alicorn to get Phobia well, but seeing Tattered Wing was able to dreamwalk as of yesterday drove home the point she knew so little of what she was doing.
"Very well, we shall get you to where you are a competent dreamwalker for the remainder of our time today," Luna said as she walked up beside Rosetta.
Rosetta sat up at attention. "What do I need to do first?"
Luna raised a wing and brought forward the light of a dream. "First we shall go into a dream, and then you shall leave it of your own accord."
"And I can use the same method to leave my own dreams too after that?" Rosetta asked as she looked at the dream. It had no trace of darkness to it, so it was probably not a nightmare. There was a hint of something else though, but she wasn't sure what it was.
Luna nodded. "Go on in, so you can learn how to leave."
Rosetta jumped in and was instantly in the dream. It was a bedroom. Her ears twitch as she picked up sounds and looked over at the bed.
She wished immediately that she hadn't as she blushed and covered her eyes with her wings. Instinct made her close her eyes and wish she was anywhere else at that moment. After she did that she found herself back out in the dreamscape.
"I see you figured that out very quickly. It is very simple for a dreamwalker to leave a dream," Luna said from beside her.
Rosetta glared up at the alicorn. "That was real cute. Putting me in some pony's sex fantasy."
Luna smiled down at her and lowered her head so she was looking Rosetta in the eyes. "And that means you not only know how to escape a dream, but can now recognize this type of dream for what it is and give its dreamer their privacy."
"If you will allow me to interrupt a moment, Luna, this one just entered the dreamscape on her own for the first time and I have a duty to attend to with her," came a voice from nearby.
Rosetta whipped her head around and saw an extremely old night pony mare watching them intently.
Luna sighed. "Of course, Sha'am. I can tell you are having a busy day and will not interfere with you doing what you need to do and getting back to work."
The name was all Rosetta needed to know, and she immediately did what was needed.
"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."
"Very well said," Sha'am said with a nod. The old mare turned to Luna. "I may need your assistance. The number of new dreamwalkers grows by the day and today has been the most straining day yet. If you could reinforce me for a few hours I would greatly appreciate it."
Luna frowned. "While I understand your position, I would prefer none of the ponies of this planet gave oaths to me."
Sha'am flicked her tail and shook her wings. "You could take on the form of Phobia Remedy so they believe they are giving the Oaths to her. Most of these new dreamwalkers are from her region of the world." The old mare flicked an ear. "Speaking of whom, when shall my sister and brother from that side of the world be ready? Their presence is very much needed. We can reinforce you with their training if need be if that gets them active sooner."
Luna sighed. "Phobia will take some time. She must overcome her recent trauma still. As for Psychic Calm, I'm working with him at this very moment. He just fell asleep minutes ago."
Sha'am lifted her ears and seemed to be listening to something. The old mare then nodded back to Luna. "Yes, I see you with him now. That still doesn't answer how long before you deem him ready."
"Two days more at most," Luna replied.
Rosetta didn't want to be an inconvenience. "Luna, if you are needed elsewhere, I can probably figure out some things on my own. I figure most dreamwalkers have to anyway."
Sha'am laughed at her. "Filly, she and I are Dreamwardens. We deal with multiple tasks in the dreamscape at once. We are not as constrained to one point of consciousness as you are. Luna can assist me, train my brother, and deal with you all at once without interruption. Even as we speak, I'm dealing with more than two dozen different conversations at once."
"And what in your judgement is your limit before your body gives out?" Luna asked
"Around forty I would guess would be my limit before my limitations are lifted. If the western United States follows the same trends as the east today I may be forced to die to maintain my duty," Sha'am said as she lowered her ears.
"Very well, I will assist you, and take up your suggestion to use Phobia's face in doing so," Luna said as she looked out at the stars. "My sister will be unhappy with my level of involvement though."
Sha'am snorted. "Send your sister into the dreamscape here and I'll spank her for you. She has no authority here."
Luna laughed. "As much as the look on Celestia's face if that happened would be amusing to see, I must decline your offer. I have to live with her in the waking world, and I'm sure she would vent her outrage at me at length."
"Twilight Sparkle will need to learn of us soon, do you intend to let us introduce ourselves or will you explain the situation?" Sha'am asked with a raised brow.
Luna shook her head. "I haven't decided yet. If I have her introduced, I will likely choose a gentler member from among you to introduce her to, and that she not be required to give any oaths."
"That goes without saying, she isn't one of ours," Sha'am said flatly. "Please make a decision on what to do about her soon as well, or we will make one ourselves once our ranks are filled."
Luna grimaced in response. "I have a feeling that she is going to be quite cross with me."
"If you delay telling her for too long you might find us getting cross with you as well," Sha'am said firmly. "You are our mentor and friend, but this is our dreamscape and our ponies that we need to defend, not yours. We wish no reason to be at odds with Equestria but delays too long could put us in a difficult position, forcing us to take action ourselves. Word will break of us sooner or later, the vow of secrecy was merely a stopgap for us until when we have the powers of our tribe properly policed, and we can demonstrate that fact to the other tribes and humans. I hope I'm already dead by the time we have to repeal that oath; not only because it will make it easier, but because I don't want to have to deal with the waking world pretending they have any authority in the dreamscape."
"I shall attend to it. Do not worry," Luna said as she held the old mare's gaze. "How high is the chance of word escaping early about you as things stand?"
"You can check the number of night ponies we've been forced to lock out yourself," Sha'am said with a sad shake of her head.
Luna seemed to listen to something for a moment then looked to Sha'am again. "Only forty locked out; considering the vast numbers you're dealing with that seems like you're doing exceptionally well obtaining your Oaths."
"Each one is another opportunity for our existence to be revealed too soon," Sha'am spat. "I would rather the total be zero, forty out of two million is forty too many. So far they're isolated and can be treated as madponies, but if the numbers grow too high they may begin to be taken seriously by Earth's governments. Your ambassador must be made aware of us before that secret finally breaks. Our tribe could be in grave danger if this goes wrong."
Luna grimaced. "And how many dead so far? That's something I rely on you telling me."
Sha'am's ears sagged. "One, and I pray that it'll be many years before there's a number two. Krik took action before consulting us, but upon hearing the details both Yinyu and I concurred with his decision. There was no need to debate between us this particular pony's fate, he deserved death, delaying till the others were ready for council would have only led to more suffering and death. Krik is still very distraught he had to finish a pony off though. Krik is perhaps the most gentle soul among us."
Luna nodded. "I will not press any of you for details. Lives were in peril, I need know nothing more."
Rosetta began to feel very uncomfortable. These were things that she'd rather not know, and they made her feel sick to her stomach.
It also was an eye-opening realization for her how much authority and power had been given over to the Dreamwardens. Sha'am was not talking as a student to her teacher, or at least not a current one. Sha'am was addressing Luna as an equal.
Phobia would have that power and authority soon. That filled Rosetta with pride for her mate, but also intimidation. How would that impact their lives? Night ponies would know what Phobia was, how would they treat her and Phobia when they were awake as a result? She wanted nothing to do with Sunset Blessing's plotting, but would there be ponies hoping to use her to get Phobia's ear? Phobia might only have authority in the dreamscape, but that authority was so strong that it could spill over into the waking world.
"I'll leave you two be now. While we've been talking I've had to split myself six more times. I need to reduce my strain," Sha'am said as she looked up at the stars, then her form faded from view.
Rosetta turned to Luna. "Is she going to be alright?"
Luna nodded. "I'm assisting her now. I can split myself potentially a thousand times if need be. It will distract from my duties back on my world for the next few days, but I won't have her running herself into a grave for her duties. Though I will be posing as Phobia for the duration."
Rosetta wasn't sure how to feel about that part. It made her think of a question though. "How many times will Phobia be able to do that at once, split her consciousness here, before it becomes too much for her?"
"I can't give an exact figure, but I would hazard a guess around two hundred times. She is younger and healthier than Sha'am. Sha'am is well over a hundred years old."
"And when she...dies...then she will have basically no limitations on that number?" Rosetta asked, not happy with the idea of thinking about Phobia's eventual death.
Luna nodded. "That's correct. Hopefully she will die an old mare who had lived a long happy life before it comes to that though."
"I'm just hope she doesn't overstrain herself trying to do her job. Hearing Sha'am talk about overstraining worried me about Phobia," Rosetta said as he ears sagged.
"I doubt she would, having to pressingly deal with that many ponies at once seems unlikely," Luna assured her.
"Yeah, that's true," Rosetta said. Her ears and tail still hung low though. She had been terrified she was going to lose Phobia the other night, any thought of losing Phobia dampened her spirits.
"Now we will finish up today with a simple enough lesson and I will let you practice in your own afterwards," Luna said as she began walking. Rosetta hurried after her.
Luna came to a halt after a few steps and Rosetta wondered why the alicorn even bothered to walk anywhere. It wasn't like they'd actually gone anywhere.
"If you focus on a pony that you know, you can locate their dreams specifically, as long as they are asleep," Luna explained. "The better you know them the easier it will be to get to it. If you don't know them well you will have to focus more intently and try to imagine more about their personality, their appearance, and other aspects to find them."
That seemed simple enough. She focused on the first pony she could think of, and hopped back in fright as Phobia's swirling nightmare immediately appeared right in front if her.
"I'd expect you would be able to find that particular dream with ease, and it will allow you to work on penetrating it without me present, but maybe another pony for this exercise would be advisable," Luna said as she glanced at Phobia's nightmare.
Yeah, that was a pretty stupid first choice on her part. She should have known what would happen with that. The problem was she didn't know who would be asleep right now to find a dream of.
She tried running through trying to summon up dreams if others; her sister, Tom, and Tonya all were duds. They were likely all awake right now. On a whim she tried Sunrise Storm and also whiffed on that one, she guessed the pegasus she had helped was awake as well. No, she should try some night ponies instead.
The first night pony she could think of outside Phobia was John--Swift Strike. She'd love to pull his dream up just so she could track him down. His also was a complete whiff though.
Luna put a hoof on her shoulder, startling her, and glared down at her. "Remember, you do not enact justice in the dreamscape. I advise you don't try that one again."
She gulped and nodded, realizing her mistake. Luna removed the hoof from her shoulder as she focused on another pony instead.
She was surprised to be rewarded with watching Tattered Wing, Lavender Mist, the doctor from the clinic, another night pony she didn't recognize, and Sha'am pass quickly in front of her into the light of a dream. The old night pony mare even glanced at her when passing by though the others went by so fast she doubted they noticed her.
"Tattered Wing is actively dreamwalking right now, if you try to locate a pony already dreamwalking that is what will happen," Luna explained.
She looked at the dream and was tempted to try following them in to see what they were up to. She had another thought first and decided to try one other pony first.
It turned out to be a very bad idea as every star glared to bright light around her and she covered her eyes with her wings and whimpered.
"Trying to locate a full Dreamwarden is impossible. We're one with the dreamscape, so we're in everything here. Only a full Dreamwarden can locate another full Dreamwarden face to face here." She heard Luna say. "You probably drew Sha'am's attention to you when you tried locating her though, even if she's choosing to ignore you. The same would happen if you tried to locate me or your wife after she's fully trained. Simply call out into the dreamscape instead, we shall come to you, if we choose."
After uncovering her eyes she found that the stars had reverted back to their normal locations.
"I think I shall leave you to practice now," Luna said. "Do try to get into your wife's dream again on your own some more today before you wake. I will return tomorrow to check your progress."
With that Luna vanished, leaving Rosetta to decide what to do with her time.
She picked herself up and looked around again. With another thought she summoned up Tattered Wing's location again and dove into the dream that Tattered occupied. It was time to see what other dreamwalkers were up to today.