I found myself in Luna’s domain, the dream realm. Unlike the last few times, I actually chose the environment for the dream to take place. I think I’ll choose the private royal gardens. I tapped my hoof on the ground and the dream space began to mold and take shape, sculpting my surroundings from from my memory. I started with the castle first, moving onto the sidewalks afterward. It was when only a few flower beds and statues were finished when I heard Luna’s voice from behind me.
“Thou has talent, we’ll give credit for that. When did thee learn dream magic?” Luna asked, sounding surprised.
“Is that what this is?” I asked, now finished with the flower beds and most of the statues. “Give me a second,” I said as the labyrinth came into view. “Just one last detail. Though we won’t like it, it won’t feel complete without it. Before I have it appear, can you guess what it is?” I paused, then smirked at Luna who could only respond with a look of confusion. “Or who it is, I should say,” I added. I saw the realization dawn on her.
“Discord,” Luna replied, hatred in her voice. I tapped the sidewalk I was standing on. After a few waves of light, fading after a yard or two, the statue of Discord appeared behind me.
“There, now every detail is present.” I paused, then looked up. “Oops! I forgot the sky,” I added. Deciding to make it night, I added the stars. What moon to add? Hell, let's make it a full moon. Tapping my hoof on the ground, I conjured a full moon into the sky. “Heh, now that I think about it, it’s like I’ playing god here. The only difference being that this isn’t real,” I finished, making sure to smile.
“Thou did a good job, almost as good as we make our night sky.” Luna complimented.
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Let's take a seat,” I recommended. “Throne, bench, or chair?” I tapped my hoof on the ground making one of each appear. The bench on the edge of the sidewalk, the throne duplicate on her left, and a plush chair on her right.
“What about thee?” she asked, taking a seat on the plush chair. I dismissed the bench and throne duplicate with another tap of my hoof. I hope I don’t ever get tired of doing that.
“I think I’ll float. Something I don’t get to do in real life, you know.” I replied, sitting suspended in midair.
“Fair enough. How is the magic training? Well, we hope?”
“Sure is. Should be done learning all the basic magi in a few days. Then, I’ll make my way back to Canterlot to start weapons training with Shining Armor,” I paused, sighed, then smiled. Turning my head back to Luna, “by the way, if you and Celestia hate Discord so much, why have a statue of him placed in the garden, let alone have one commissioned in the first place?”
“We didn’t.” replied Luna.
“Excuse me?” I asked, now puzzled. I positioned myself to be just a few feet in front of Luna, my ears standing straight up.
“That statue isn’t of Discord, it is Discord,” she explained.
“Oooooo, a story. Go ahead, you have my full attention,” I encouraged.
“Over one thousand years ago, before our sister and we ruled Equestria, the land was ruled by a cruel creature known as a draconequus. A draconequus is a creature, no, a spirit or deity of chaos. The draconequus that ruled Equestria ruled it with an iron fist and chaos was everywhere. This draconequus went by the name Discord. We and Celestia recovered some ancient artifacts known as the elements of harmony. We used them to defeat Discord, turn him to stone, and return harmony to the land.” Luna finished her tale, “as for having the statue, our sister wanted to keep an eye on it.”
“Well then, I wonder, how did you tell Celestia about my dream and of Discord’s return?” Hearing about her reaction might be entertaining.
“We didn’t. We got you into training by asking to see how thou would do as a guard,” she replied. I smirked at this answer.
“So you tricked your older sister? Nice!” I complimented.
“Thanks.”
“By the why, what is your life like Luna?” I asked.
“Stressful.”
“I would imagine so. Do you mind if I asked what your duties entail?” I pressed on.
“After we wake, we raise the moon. After that, we run night court for several hours. It’s mostly listening to nobles complain over petty nonsense and more nobles asking favors of the crown. When we’re done with the paperwork, we monitor the dream realm, making sure everypony sleeps well. It’s about then when Celestia takes over for the day and we go to sleep,” she sighed.
“I find it amazing that you can handle that, night after night, without break. I don’t know if I could do it myself.” I truly believe that.
“We’ve got to leave now. We still have dreams to check on.” As if on cue, I tapped my hoof upon returning to the ground, summoning a door with her mark on it.
“Impressive. If thou is this good at dream magic, we might have thy help us with dream patrol from time to time,” she complimented, leaving through the door. The door dissipated when it closed.
Suddenly, I felt something strange. I know this feeling. I groaned. “Alright Discord, how long have you been there?” I asked, turning to face his supposed statue. There was a flash, and then there he was. A loud yawn erupted from him followed by the cracking of bones as he twisted his back, sounding like thunder.
“The whole time. I just didn’t want to put up with Lulu this time around. By the way, you should try teasing her by calling her Lulu. it works every time. You’ll be laughing for hours if you do, and I know you do,” Discord said, and he was right too. I chuckled.
“You’re right, I do want to try it,” I agreed.
“Alright, down to business,” he said, now taking a more serious look. “Honestly, I’m bored. That tends to happen when you’re stone. I want something entertaining to watch, so I’ve got a challenge for you. A trial, if you will. Don’t worry, if you succeed, you’ll be rewarded. Will you hear me out?”
“Sure. No promises though,” I answered.
“That’s all I needed to hear.” He snapped his eagle claw and summoned the same chair I saw him use in the first dream I had involving him. “By the way, like my throne of chaos?” he asked.
“I think it represents you and what you stand for perfectly.”
“Thanks, made it myself. Anyway, about this little adventure I’m sending you on. Well, it’s more a game really. You will be going into the Everfree forest. Are you familiar with Poison Joke?” Discord asked.
“No,” I answered.
“A personal favorite of mine. Touch it and there's no telling what will happen to you. The first task of the game is to find a Poison Joke, but I’m talking about a certain one. You are looking for one made of sapphire. You’ll need that for the next task. After you find it you will need to make your way to the castle of the royal pony sisters and do a bit of exploring. You will find your reward hidden somewhere there. But remember, this is a game and there are rules. Interested?” Asked Discord.
“Very interested. Please, continue. What are the rules?” I asked.
“First, you play alone. Nopony is to go with you. Second, stay alive. And third, don’t go mad. That’s all.”
“If I fail?” I asked. Discord only chuckled at that.
“You don’t want to know,” he responded. And with that my vision faded and went black.
What to do now? I woke up for starters. I went to the kitchen to my usual teacup, tea kettle, a few pinches of tea leaves, and started on making my morning tea. As soon as the filled kettle was set to rest on the burner, all that remained was a few minute wait before it was ready. When the kettle started to whistle, I levitated it off the burner and started filling my teacup. With my cup filled, I returned to my usual couch in the main library room. It was after a few sips that I noticed Twilight wasn’t around. Something feels off. I set my tea down and started on my way to her room. I kept my steps quiet just in case. I leaned in and scanned the room. Empty, not good. I don’t think Twilight would leave without at least leaving a note. A note, of course. I began my search for a note or clue of some kind for an idea on where she went. Spike wasn’t around either so I couldn’t ask him. He’s likely with her. Then I paused. Wait, what am I worried about? It’s fine, she’s more than capable of protecting herself. Thinking this helped relieve some tension, but I was still a little worried.
I went over to the book shelves. I need to get started on learning teleportation. Could be helpful when in the forest. I found a book called “Guide to Teleportation Made Simple”. Perfect! The book is very skinny and fairly small. I opened the book to the table of contents. The guide only had three chapters and a total of eleven pages. “Page two, introduction. Page eight, instruction. Page ten encouragement.” I read out loud, turning to page eight afterwards. After reading, I gathered that all I have to do is focus on the location I want to be transported. The catch is, I have to focus on the exact spot from memory. Seems simple enough. The restriction is that the destination has to be within a ten meter radius.
I decided to start practicing, seeing that I have nothing better to do. Over the next few hours. My practice consisted of me positioning myself in the center of the library, then teleporting to various different rooms of the structure. Once, I teleported under Twilight’s bed on accident. When that happened, I found a weird container, which upon further inspection turned out to be a pill bottle, labeled “Estrous Cycle”. Whatever that is. Don’t feel like looking that up right now. After getting the spell down, I learned that the concentration level required increases depending on how many objects are in the way and how big the difference in elevation is. The distance doesn't affect the required level of concentration at all. “Gotta love magic,” I said. Then I heard the door to the library open and saw who came in.
“Where the FUCK have you been?” I demanded as she walked in the direction of the stairs. I paused, calmed down, and said, “nevermind, it’s none of my business. I’ll be leaving tomorrow anyway, so don’t worry about leaving a note for me next time.” Twilight froze in her tracks.
“What do you mean you’re leaving? You’re not done yet. You still haven’t learned teleportation yet,” she protested.
“Twilight, you’ve been gone all day. I was left here with nothing to do, surrounded by books. Nevermind. It’s late, so I’ll spare you the riddles. While you were gone I researched, practiced, and mastered short distance teleportation.” After saying this, she gave me a doubtful look. “Don’t believe me? Then do me a favor. Go to bed and forget all about me by morning.”
“Fine,” she said, heading up to bed. I waited, five…..four…..three…...two…..now! I teleported onto her bed she approached it. “Wha-”
“It’s polite to say goodnight.” I interrupted, getting off her bed. I almost reached the stairs when Twilight spoke up.
“Wait, Spirit,” she called, but then her legs gave out and she took a seat on her bed. “I’m sorry if I made you worried about me,” she paused, sighed, and I turned to face her. “Please forgive me. I don’t want you to leave with a conflict between us.” I spotted a tear coming down the cheek of her downturned muzzle. Fuck! I went too far, damn it! I walked over to Twilight and sat down beside her.
“Twi, Twi, Twi.” I began, taking a tone of sorrow without knowing so. I lifted my left hoof up to her chin to lift it up, and I used my right hoof to wipe her tears away. “I’m the one who has to apologize for being such an asshole, especially over something that small. I don’t deserve to be forgiven for this.” I paused, letting my hoofs drop onto the knees of my back legs. Twilight kept her head facing my way, the weight of her stare now making itself known to me. It’s my turn to cry now. “Yes, I’m leaving in the morning. I’ll me sure to-” Twilight slapped me before I could finish. “ What was tha-” then she threw her arms around me, burying her tearful face in my chest hair, sending me into a surprise shock for a few seconds before I realized what happened to me. “Twilight, what are yo-” and for the third time, I was interrupted, but verbally this time.
“Spirit, just shut up and listen.” Twilight commanded. To be honest, I couldn’t say anything right now even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t know what to say. So I just laid there and compiled while Twilight had me pinned by laying on me. “You might not know it, but you’re great. You have done nothing but amaze me around every corner every day,” she paused, huffed a few times between sobs, then continued. “Since I became Celestia’s pupil, everypony has has either ridiculed me or has placed me above themselves,” she paused again to give herself enough time to unbury her face from my chest hair and look up at me in the eyes. “There were only two who didn’t act like that to me. Princess Celestia and Spike, but now there's a third. That is you. You treat me as an equal. Princess Celestia has mentioned in her letters she sends me how you treat her,” she sniffled, followed with a smile. “Like the profanity and lack of manners when you first spoke to her,” she paused while I yawned.
“Twilight, I’m not trying to be rude. In fact, I really appreciate the talk, but I am going to pass out and I don’t think it would be appropriate if I fell asleep on your bed,” I warned her.
“I really appreciate the talk too, but I have an idea. You’ve slept on the couch every night you’ve been here. How about you sleep up here tonight?” Twilight proposed, which confused me so I just went along with it.
“If I were to, where would I sleep? There’s not a lot of space on the floor and I don’t want to be where somepony would trip on me.” I paused to think.” Mmmmm….. Maybe under the bed?” I mumbled.
“On the floor? No, right here with me,” she replied.
I paused, “Is that what you really want, Twi?” she nodded. Hoping that this wasn’t going where I thought it was going, I accepted. “Okay Twi. please excuse me if I seem a little awkward. If I have done this before, I don’t remember, but it wasn’t as a pony though so-”
“It’s okay, Spirit. Just make yourself comfortable and go to sleep.” Twilight reassured me, tightening her embrace.
“A-alright, goodnight Twi.” And with that, I made myself comfortable, closed my eyes, and attempted to go to sleep. I failed. I started to mentally freak out. I’m not used to a bed anymore. What am I going to do? Should I wait for Twi to fall asleep then teleport out of their? She must have noticed my heart rate go up.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m fine. I’m just not used to a bed anymore, so it’ll take a little longer than usual for me to fall asleep is all. Don’t let that stop you from sleeping,” I answered.
“Face me,” she told me, I complied. After flipping over to face her, wrapped her back legs around me like you would a body pillow. Then, the took my head,and gently buried my face into the tuft of fur on her chest. I almost started to protest, but I couldn’t.
“Mmmmmm.” Twilight hummed, stroking the back of my head a few times. Along with that, the warmth of her fur was incredible. The sensation from the vibration of her hum, her stroking my head, and her warmth seemed familiar. Though when I try to think about it, it hurt my head. So I decided to ignore it.
With the sensations still stimulating my mind and body, I started to close my eyes. “Thank you, Twili.” I barely manage to say before passing out on the spot.
“Anytime.” I heard her reply, and with that I drifted asleep into the dreamscape.
I got up from Twilight’s bed with a yawn. Without waking up Twilight, I got off the bed and walked downstairs over to the window and looked out into the sky. I could just see a forth of the sun has made its way up so far. Better get ready for Discord’s game. I turned from the window to see Spike finish his descent from the stairs. Just the person…..Er, pony…… Er, drake I need.
“Morning buddy, how about we both start off the morning with some tea?” I proposed.
“Tea?” Spike asked. “Sure, sounds good.”
He followed me into the kitchen and took a seat at the dining table. I went to the counter and got everything needed. Instead of using the burner on the stove top, I used the heating spell to boil the water in the kettle. I placed our cups in front of us. I started to sip on my tea when I started the conversation. “Little buddy, I need some help with gathering some supplies for a trip. Think you’re free today?”
“Ya. It’s my day off and I usually spend it with Rarity or the CMC, but I can help. What do you need to get?” he asked.
“I need saddle bags and wood. That’s it.” I answered.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I hope you will understand if I want to keep that a secret,” I replied, finishing my tea. Spike downed his cup.
“Sure, I’ll respect your decision. See, I saw Twilight’s face when I woke up and she hasn’t been so happy and relaxed like that in a very long time. I thank you for that,” explained Spike as we both got up started making our the couch one would usually find me at.
“To be honest, I think she did more good to me than I did to her.” I sighed, “I don’t think I will be ever thank her enough for that.” But now that I think about it, I am not certain I fully grasp what happened last night or what it’s done to me.
“How about we start on our way to Apple Jack’s apple farm? It’s kind of a long walk from here,” recommended Spike. A farm? Sounds like a good place to get some wood.
“Sure.” I agreed. “Should we leave Twilight a note before heading out?”
“Good idea, you know how she gets if she’s worried.” he replied, reminding me of what happened when Twilight couldn’t find me last time. Spike finished the note and said “Ready when you are.”
“Let's go then.” I said, opening the door for him. I’m going to let Spike take lead. He knows his way around, unlike me. I thought.
Because of how early it was, we weren’t very talkative. Spike lead me past some points of interest. If I wasn’t heading back to Canterlot soon, I would start trying to memorize my way around Ponyville. I even noticed an entire structure mainly made of gingerbread. Fucking gingerbread. I have no idea how anything other than small wildlife and bugs could live in it, but as it turns out it is actually a pastry store. Enough about that, Spike and I made it the the edge of town when I finally said something.
“Who is Apple Jack anyway? Not trying to be rude or anything.” I asked.
“She runs the apple business in Ponyville. Her and her entire family that is. Twilight says that she’s the embodiment of honesty, so it’s best to avoid lying to her. She’s highly respected throughout all of Ponyville too, so I recommend leaving a good first impression,” Spike reported, still leading on.
“Duly noted. I’m planning to try to keep it short, simple, and straight to the point anyway,” I stated. It didn’t take much longer for me to see what appeared to be countless apple trees covering every speck of land surrounding a barn house up ahead. Impressive. I thought. We just passed through the opening of the surrounding fence when I spotted an orange pony mare in a stetson exiting the structure. She didn’t seem to have notice me, but she sure as hell noticed spike.
“Well I’ll be, if it ain’t Spike,” she began, Spike now running up to greet her in an embrace. That’s actually a little cute. I thought. “What brings ya here this early in the mornin, without Twilight much less?” she asked, breaking the hug. I decided to stay back until I was needed.
“I was hoping to acquire some wood to use as tinder for Spirit over there, Spike answered, pointing a claw over to me. It was only now that she finally noticed me at all.
“Spirit?” she turned her head to look in my direction. “Hay Spirit”! Come on over!” she called over to me. I played along and went over to her. “I haven’t seen ya in Ponyville, ya new?” she asked.
“Kinda, I’ve been sent here to learn magic from Twilight about a week ago. I’ve been living with her in the meantime, but I’ll be on my way back to Canterlot in a few days” I explained. “ you must be Apple Jack, right?”
“Yes Sir-y! Nice to meet ya Spirit.” answered Apple Jack, taking and shaking my hoof rather vigerously. “Mind me asking why ya need some wood?”
“I’m taking a side trip on hoof that might take awhile before I leave for Canterlot. Please don’t be offended if I can’t say to where.” I answered, my hopes rising.
“Don’t sweat it. I have a cart of twigs, sticks, and broken branches over there,” she began, gesturing a hoof to a nearby cart. “My brother Big Mcintosh is going to take it to be disposed of later, but ya are welcome to whatever ya need from it.”
“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” I told Apple Jack. I turned my attention to Spike. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to go, Spike.” I trotted off to the wagon of wood.
Damn, that’s a lot of wood! I only needed some twigs and sticks. It took a while, but I managed to find the appropriate pieces of wood needed. I made my way back to Spike, who was just wrapping up conversation with Apple Jack, saying goodbye.
“Ready,” I reported to the drake. I looked up the the sky. Due to where the sun is, I’d say it’s been a little over an hour since we left the library this morning.
“Then let's be off,” announced Spike.
“Good luck on the trip!” yelled Apple Jack as we were leaving.
We got back on the rocky path back to Ponyville when I wondered what could be waiting for me in the castle ruins. Magic texts? Ancient artifacts? Maybe a prank? Knowing Discord, probably the last one. That’s making me not look forward to the reward. Instead, I’ll use this game to test my magical abilities.
“Hay Spike, are there dangerous wildlife in Equestria?” I asked.
“Only in the Everfree Forest. There are Timber Wolves, Manticors, and Sea Serpents. Even the vegetation will try to kill you, but as long as you stay out of the Everfree you won’t have to worry about any of that,” warned Spike.
“Thanks Spike.” That explains why Discord choose to send me into the forest. He’s most likely hoping that I’ll be killed by monsters. By this time we made it back to town. “Do you think Rarity’s available right now?” I asked.
“Oh ya, definitely. By now she’s already finished setting up her work station and got a start on orders for her clients,” answered Spike.
“Good, let's head on over. Hopefully she’s not too busy to have an audience with us,” I finished, now passing through the market area. We took a turn passing the library and kept going till we reached a spa of some sort, I guess, and around the corner I spotted an odd looking building. I say odd because the architecture of the building is completely different from the rest of Ponyville. In fact, it reminds me of Canterlot.
“Spike, Rarity told me that this is also her business building as well as her home. What is it called?” I asked.
“It’s known as the Carousel Boutique,” Spike confirmed. “Even though her custom orders are pricey, I’ve never heard of anypony complaining or not feeling satisfied.”
“Shit! I forgot,” I cursed myself. “That changes things a little, doesn’t it?”
“What?” Spike asked.
“I have no bits. That means I can’t get the bags. Mmmm…. Alright, new plan for now. We’ll still go in, but I’m just going to check how much it would cost so I would know how much I need in order to make the purchase in the future,” I said to myself. I didn’t expect Spike to respond to it.
“I’m sure I could help pay fo-” Spike began, but I interrupted.
“No Spike. I’ll just go in and see how much they would cost, then determine what to do from there. No doing anything that isn’t vitle.” I commanded, stashing the wood I’ve been levitating the whole time at the base of a tree nearby. I went up to the front door of the boutique, lifted a hoof, and knocked on the door a few times.
There was a friendly hum followed by Rarity’s invitation, “Come in!” I opened the door and entered, accompanied by Spike. “If you want to place a custom order, then fill out a form on the table being as detailed as you can over there,.” Rarity instructed without looking at me.
“Actually, I would like to apologize and thank you for carrying me from the train station to the library. Must have felt kind of awkward.” I said. Rarity froze, then slowly turned in her chair to face me. She gasped, in a slightly over dramatic way, when she recognized me.
“Spirit, darling, hello. Spike too. Please, take a seat and I’ll get some tea,” said Rarity.
“No need, I just came to check how much saddlebags would cost. I don’t mean to distract you too much from your projects. You yourself and Spike told me how busy you can get.” I declined as politely as I can.
“Nonsense. Please stay for a bit,” she persisted, Spike now looking up to me with hopeful eyes.
“Fine, if you insist,” I replied, making my way to the living room couch.
“I do,” Rarity stated.
“Sweet,” said Spike. As Spike and I got ourselves situated on the couch, Rarity trotted to the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later with three cups of fresh, hot, delicious smelling tea and levitated them in front of us. Spike grasped his with his claws while I took mine with my magi. Rarity took on a face of surprise.
“You told me you couldn’t use magic,” Rarity reminded me.
“That’s the reason I came to Ponyville. I was sent to live with Twilight while she taught me how to use magic. I just finished master the spells of basic magic yesterday,” I explained, getting Rarity up to speed. “Anyway, I don’t want to seem rude, but I’m in a bit of a rush. I just need to know how much it would be to get some saddlebags.” I persisted. Since I realized I don’t have any bits, I’ve been panicking like crazy. I need to make time to think.
“What’s the rush?” Rarity asked.
“I am required to get going on the trip soon,” I answered.
“Say no more, I completely understand. Saddlebags, depending on what you choose, range from twenty five bits to two hundred fifty,” she listed off.
“I’ll be back when I get the bits,” I began.”I just needed to know how much I needed.” I started to leave when she stopped me.
“What do you mean by that?” she interrogated. I was about to make something up when Spike spoke up.
“He has no bits. He’s also refusing to let me help or ask Twilight for help either.”
“Spike!” I yelled. I paused, stopped, calmed down, and continued talking. “It’s quite rude to share ones financial information with others. Especially after I asked you not to mention it.” Rarity came to his rescue.
“Thank you, Spike.” she sighed.”One pair of saddle bags coming up.”
“ Wait, what!? NO! No, no, no, no, fucking no. Rarity, you can’t. I can’t pay for it. I don’t even have one bit,” I retaliated. “It wouldn’t be fair to either of us. Not for you, because you wouldn’t make any profit. Not for me, because me not having the bits to pay you with means that I didn’t earn it. I can’t let you lose profit. You have a little sister to support. Besides, you barely even know me.”
“I know that darling, but I’m doing it anyway,” she replied, leaving me confused.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I consider you as my friend. Right now I see you as a friend in need. I believe it’s only right to help. That’s all the reason I need,” she explained, turning to her work station. “Please wait in the living room while I craft your saddlebags.” I took my leave to the living room with Spike and sat on the couch. My cup of tea still half full, so after a little heating spell, I continued sipping on it.
“Spke, after this, I’m done. We go our separate ways. When you get back to the library, Can you do me one last favor and send a letter to Celestia saying I’ll be back in Canterlot in a few days?” I requested, sipping on some more of my tea. That’s some good tea.
“Sure thing,” Spike agreed, leaving the building. I waited for thirty long, boing, silent minutes before Rarity arrived in the living room with the finished product of her work.
“Here you go, new saddlebags,” she announced in a professional tone, presenting the bags. The material of the bags are black, the straps white, and the strap buckles and bag snaps are silver.
“Rarity,” I began, trying to sound as serious as possible, “you are seriously going to make me feel terrible forcing me to accept this.”
“You’ll get over it. Where’s Spike?” Rarity asked, scanning the room for any sign of the drake.
“He went back to the library as far as I know,” I answered. “I better get going now. Thanks for the saddlebags.”
“Goodbye,” I heard her say as I left through the door.
And may our paths cross again. I said to myself while heading over to the tree where I stored the wood. I filled both bags evenly with the wood to get use to the weight. Off to the Everfree Forest with me! I told myself, trotting off.