Unconventional Conclusions

by FanOfMostEverything


Start of Pinkness

Princess Macintosh peered nobly into the distance. The dreamscape was a strange place, treacherous even for one such as he. It was even more of one of late. All across Applequestria, ponies spoke of sleepless nights, or ones that made them long for sleeplessness. Horrific, feverish visions spread like a disease, and so the most courageous and noble member of the royal family had come to investigate at the source.

But this was not the realm of the physical, where Macintosh was supreme in all ways. This realm was molded and navigated by the mind. Yes, his prowess in such affairs was scarcely less than that in his preferred ones, but the difference was enough to leave him uneasy. What if his strength was not enough to overcome this newest challenge to plague his people?

Macintosh shook away his doubts and approached the gateway to a mind shining with innocence, doubtless ideal and helpless prey to the affliction. It pained him to use this pure soul for something so base as bait, but it would be worth it to ultimately preserve not just this pony, but all ponies.

The dream beyond the door lay inchoate, a swirling mist of color, scent, sound, and less easily categorized sensations. Macintosh squinted into the haze. Slowly, an equinoid figure resolved itself in the distance. He hailed his subject in a manner befitting his dignity:

"Eeyup."

The mare, which he could tell now through the still-clearing haze, gasped and bowed.

"Eeyup." He bade her rise.

"Oh, Princess Macintosh the Strong and Brave and Other Capitalized Adjectives!" said the mare. "What are you doing here?"

"Eeyup."

"Oh my! What a terrible thing! But I'm sure it will all be over after tonight."

Macintosh nodded. "Eeyu—"

He dropped like a sack of bricks. He felt strangely light, and yet weighed down at the same time. As he watched, the sensory fog cleared completely, revealing a smiling pink mare standing right in front of him.

And her horn and wings.

"Oh yes," she said, her smile at once divine and devilish. "So much more fun is sure to happen now."