//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Life Is But A Dream // by Cosmic Charlie //------------------------------// The wind blew gently through a nearby window, carrying with it a faint scent of flowers. Twilight was starting to wake up. She kept her eyes closed and breathed slowly, embracing the simple momentary bliss one experiences when waking up naturally to a pleasant smell. Although she was lying still, her head felt like she was spinning in circles, and this soon led to her stomach garnering a similar feeling. Suddenly the flowery smell made her feel sick in a sense she was not awake enough to handle properly. She held her eyes closed as she let her upper body slump off the bed and onto the floor, groaning. No sooner had she met the floor than she remembered what she had been up to before this nap and her sickness finally manifested itself in an unpleasant manner. “Oh no, you poor thing!” Fluttershy’s voice made Twilight groggily open her eyes. Her pegasus friend was already after her mess with a wet rag between her hooves. Twilight let her eyes close again and groaned again what she hoped would serve as both a thank you and an apology. “Let’s get you out of this mess. There, there, you’ll feel much better now. Um… Pinkie Pie, would you please help me with Twilight again?” “Sure thing, Fluttershy!” Within seconds, Pinkie and Fluttershy were each under one of Twilight’s forelegs and pulling her back up into bed. Twilight cracked one eye to look at Pinkie Pie, who only winked at Twilight. Twilight pressed her eyelids shut and groaned loudly. “Oh Twilight, you must be very sick!” Fluttershy was extremely concerned for her friend’s wellbeing. “I’ll be right back!” She ran out into the kitchen in a hurry. “N… no, I’m feeling okay now,” Twilight stammered unconvincingly to Fluttershy’s retreating backside. “I think I got it all out of my system.” “Did you eat something icky that you shouldn’t have eaten? A rotten worm-infested apple, maybe?” Pinkie Pie suggested, trying to help. Twilight only gagged in response. “That was it, wasn’t it? You’re way too smart to be eating rotten worm-infested apples, Twilight.” Twilight latched onto a moment of clarity through her still-dizzy vision. “Pinkie, I didn’t eat a wo-URK!” Twilight suppressed the feeling successfully. “I didn’t eat anything bad for me. You know exactly what I was doing.” “I do? Are you sure? ‘Cuz it sure doesn’t feel like I know.” Pinkie sat back on her haunches and tapped her chin thoughtfully. Fluttershy came running back into the room with a canteen of water on a rope around her neck and a pill bottle in her mouth. She set down the pill bottle and pushed it over with her hoof, revealing two large pills inside. She took one in each hoof and held them out to Twilight. “Okay, Twilight. Do you want the red pill or the blue pill?” Fluttershy asked, looking worried. Twilight glanced at Pinkie Pie, who was apparently still deep in thought. She looked at each of the pills and then back at Fluttershy. “What do they do?” Twilight asked skeptically. “Oh, um, well… this blue pill is good for headaches and general pains, and the red pill helps with nausea, but you- oh…. um, you… shouldn’t…” Twilight had grabbed both of the pills and swallowed them at the same time, then magically grabbed the canteen, popped it open and chugged until it was empty, gasping a little as she finished. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I don’t know what you were doing, Twilight,” Pinkie shrugged. Twilight spun around to glare at Pinkie. “What do you mean you don’t know?! We were… together, remember? We were having that private conversation?” “Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy spoke up, meek as ever. “Pinkie Pie has been with me all afternoon… she actually spotted you out the window, lying all alone on the path, and she helped me carry you back here. I hope this is okay to ask, and I don’t mean to intrude, but what were you doing out there? Did you eat something bad, like a rotten ap-“ “NO, I didn’t eat any rotten apples today!” Twilight cut her off, a little too loudly. “I’m sorry…” Fluttershy shrunk back, hiding her eyes behind her mane. “No, it’s okay. I’m the one who’s sorry.” Twilight made sure to speak more gently despite her aggravated mood. “I’m just trying to figure out what the hay is going on, is… is all.” Twilight reached up and scratched her ear with a hoof. “Listen, girls… thanks… thanks for the help, but I have to, uhh… I have to get going.” Fluttershy shot an alarmed look at Pinkie Pie as Twilight made for the door, stumbling a bit as she moved. “Um, Twilight, I was trying to say, those pills…” Fluttershy started, but it was already too late. Twilight had fallen face-first, already snoring loudly as she hit the floor. She promptly curled up in her sleep and went on snoring. “Those pills knock you right out if you take them together. Pinkie Pie, can you…?” “Already on it, Flutterbutter.” They grabbed her and hauled her back to bed yet again. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * As Twilight slept, she dreamt again, but this time it was a nightmare. The queen of the changelings was there – Chrysalis – and she had Twilight and her friends all captive in cocoons similar to the one Princess Celestia had been in during the changeling occupation of Canterlot. She was hanging upside down, which was very disorienting, even in a dream. Twilight was unable to move her head, but she could see Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash clearly in front of her. They appeared to be asleep in their cocoons, but otherwise appeared unharmed. Twilight tried to scream but found she could only exhale softly. With great effort, dream-Twilight managed to turn her head and saw that her friends were not the only ponies in this place. She saw the faces of nearly every pony she had ever seen in Ponyville, including the mayor. Even Sweetie Belle was a prisoner of the changelings. Twilight tried once again to scream, and once again could only manage to breathe harder. It occurred to her that Applejack and Fluttershy were nowhere to be found, and she started looking for them in a panic, although it was not as if the sight of their imprisonment would bring her any comfort. As she struggled within her own horrifying prison, her gaze met with that of the changeling queen, who appeared to be patrolling the area. Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at Twilight and stalked over to her like a wolf about to pounce on a deer. Through the translucent green outer shell of the cocoon, Twilight thought she could hear the muffled sound of laughter coming from all around her. It was the laugh of a bully, full of resentment and spite. When she was practically face to face with Twilight, the Queen’s voice resonated through the cocoon and chilled Twilight to the bone. She thought she heard it more in her head than with her ears. “You have made a terrible mistake, my little pony, and now you will pay dearly for it. I’ll be watching you, Twilight Sparkle.” The queen opened her eyes wide and hissed loudly at Twilight, who could only try to scream in vain once again. This seemed to amuse Chrysalis, who joined the terrible laughter and carried it to a loud, cruel cacophony. Twilight shut her eyes to block out the horror around her, and tried her best to wake herself. Wake up, Twilight… please, this is all just a bad dream. Celestia, help me! Wake up. Please…