I was falling. The trees were bare of any leaves, with the branches reaching out like daggers, ready to pierce my flesh. The river was as dry as a bone. The skeletons of countless crushed pegasi were cackling with glee.
Join Us! they chanted, their voices hollow and cold, over and over.
It was terrifying.
It was Oh so Fake!
I never actually got any closer to the ground, or the stabby trees, my vision just kinda swam around, making it look like it. And if I looked too far in any direction, there were actual holes in the landscape, where stars were peaking through the void like evil eyes. The biggest hole was actually well hidden, as it was already overlaid on the night sky, but even though I know for a fact that I would have had the moon of earth as a throw away detail, the one from my new reality was proudly sneering down at me, with only the faintest traces of the more familiar satellite behind it.
Armed with the information that this was likely a dream, and I could, therefore, not actually get hurt, I swallowed my fear and closed my frantically flapping wings. I dropped like a stone, and bounced.
The trees fell over at the lightest touch, and bent like they were made of rubber. And the river? Well, that was actually a dried up river, so I guess that detail was okay.
The real kicker was that all of those skeletons? They were two dimensional, once I was below the trees, they looked more like high definition sprites from Space Invaders than the undead.
I couldn't help it.
I laughed.
The amused stare I was getting from the moon shifted to a hateful glare. I ignored that. "So then! what's the deal here? Am I having a nightmare? Because I've seen a songbird more horrifying than this," I stated, and I had, or at least, I had the information on one. The shrike, I can't remember if it was a songbird or descended from one, but this little bugger was a carnivore, and would stab rodents onto twigs around it's nest.
The moon did not seem to take my insult lightly, but again I ignored it, I wasn't talking to the moon anyway.
"Could you refine your query?" Said the emotionally stilted voice I'd been talking to since the day prior.
"Sure thing," I turned around, to find a slightly muted version of myself. grey-pink coat and feathers, muted blue mane and tail, and grey colorless eyes. It was at this moment that I realized I have no idea what my face looks like, since the one my double was using was actually that of my mother's. "How's this sound? Am I having a natural nightmare, as a reaction to the prior days events, or is something causing this particular occurance?"
"No, you are not having a natural nightmare, it would be much worse if it was your subconscious trying to orchestrate this," my double laughed, emotionless chuckles are weird. "I believe that the unusual celestial body is to blame."
"Makes sense." I shrugged. "What would you recommend? I mean, it's kinda annoying, but it's not like it can do anything." I pointed up with a hoof, ignoring the glare that could melt steel, beaming down at me.
"It can likely be banished like any other common bad dream, just focus on something else, might I recommend good memories?"
"You might, but I don't have any, lost most of my mind remember?"
"You've been around for a day. You're telling me you don't have a single pleasant experience yet?" They quirked an eyebrow at me.
"Eh, good point." I thought back to this morning, and how nice it was to be removed from the crib by my mom, it was an act at the time, funny how present experiences can colour past memories.
I blinked and the dead forest was gone. I was atop my mother's back, wandering a nondescript meadow, the sun was shining, and the moon was just barely visible in the daylight, earth's moon that is. This world's moon was peaking through a large crack in the sky, right between the Celestial bodies, glaring at me.
"Stubborn thing, ain't it?" my double noted.
"Indeed, oh well, let it watch, what's it gonna see? The blurred out face of my mom? Or ours, which has now shifted to pixel art?" I'm not stupid, if this was some dream invading horror, then I'm not giving it more targets to seek out, at night or in the waking world.
"You do know that this adds thirteen percent credibility to the 'This is Equestria' theory, right?"
"I do," I sighed. "But even if it is, it's not gonna be like the cartoon, what are the odds that thousand year old corrupt princesses exist, compared to that of six mares? Last time I checked my memories, Imperial Pegasi were not a thing in that world, neither were Thestrals. It's just not that likely that I'm in some friggin cartoon." The dream version of my mom laid down in a random clearing, I hopped off and crawled under her wing. "And if I am? then I know how this particular tale ends, and those files are safely locked away where mind demons wouldn't dare look." I giggled.
"Fair enough, so what now?"
"I enjoy the rest of the dream, you want under here? The wing is pretty spacious for kids our size, and she has two of them."
"...I would." they said with a small pixelated smile, diving beneath the wing with me, eliciting a chuckle from the dream mare.
1 day since the reboot.
I was woken up by my bedding moving out from underneath me. I grumbled, snagged the retreating blanket, and pulled it back over me. Deep chuckling got me to open an eye. Cobalt Rain was attempting to get up, but I was latched onto his wing, preventing advancement.
"Well good morning to you, miss Glitter Drops." he greeted, I pulled his wing closer, up and over my muzzle. The owner of the appendage chuckled, and pet me lightly. "That comfy huh? Sorry, but I gotta get up, you don't want me being late for work do you?" I shook my head and released my grip on him. He stretched out the kinks in his neck and spine. "You want a bottle before I head out?" My stomach growled it's agreement.
'Geez, at this rate I'm not going to have to talk, ever. Something convenient always speaks for me.'
Cobalt understood what my body said and laughed quietly. "Alrighty then, I'll get one all ready for ya. How bout you hon? Want anything?"
"Cinnamon roll and blueberry juice," mom mumbled "Thangz Rainy yur th' greatest." She let out a loud snore, and flipped her head to the other side. We both Laughed at that, then he left to go get a quick breakfast before heading off to work.
'What is his job again? Also, I should probably start thinking of him as 'Dad' or 'Father' at the very least.'
Now fully awake, I decided to mess with my mother, since she was expecting it and all. I crawled up onto her barrel and poked her, nothing. I scooted up to her face and poked her chin, a slight frown, but she remained unconscious. Deciding to try something odd, and also sate a bit of curiosity, I manually opened her mouth.
'Hmm, she has two mildly sharp teeth, but she ain't really equipped to chew tougher meat, interesting.'
I closed her mouth back up and tapped it respectfully, like one would a packed luggage case. I could tell she was up now, and could practically feel the confusion radiating off her, yet she still pretended to sleep. I shimmied back onto her chest and made an exaggerated "Hmm" noise. I looked to either side of her, her wings were wide open.
'I wonder if …
I opened my own wings and gave them a flap, straightening my feathers, then lowered them down over her sides, gently running my longest feathers along the insides of her wings, waiting for a reaction. as I made my way closer to the shoulder base, she tensed, and held back a burst of air. I made quick back and forth motions over this spot, I was rewarded with a muffled "Snrk!" I increased my efforts ten fold.
Cobalt Rain came back upstairs to find his wife howling with laughter, and his daughter smiling smugly to herself. "Found out she's ticklish?" he asked. Glitter nodded. Cobalt put down the light breakfast he brought up for them and calmly walked over. "Yeah, she's especially weak in this spot here." he pointed, earning a betrayed glare from his wife, before their daughter adjusted to the new position and reduced her to tears and unrestrained laughter.
"See?" he laughed darkly, letting the moment stretch on for a moment before continuing his plan. "Now I have a question for you," Glitter paused in her torturing of his wife to look at him, tilting her head. He took a dramatic pause and then asked her, "Are you ticklish?" The color drained from her face at the question, but it was too late, Gum Drops had just enough time to recover and rolled the little filly onto the bed, where she then returned her daughter's act in kind.
The little filly exploded with laughter, she desperately tried to push away her mother's expertly controlled wings, but it was no use, her mother was a far more experienced tickler, and would show no mercy to the foal. Three minutes passed, and Gum Drops finally let the filly breathe.
"I'll get you back for that, you know?" she said with a smirk, punching the stallion lightly in the shoulder.
"Yeah, but it was worth it." He chuckled. "Anyway, your meal, as requested, make sure you give Glitter her bottle when she gets her breathing back under control."
Gum Drops bumped her flank against him. "I will, now get going, don't need to make your partner wait too long."
"What about my goodbye kiss?"
"No, I'm withholding it as punishment for your treachery." She giggled, then took a bite of her breakfast.
Cobalt deflated a little, then got an idea. "I suppose that's fair, just, hold on, you've got something on your face."
She turned to face him, pointing at various locations with a wingtip. "Here?"
"No, no, no, how about I just get it?" before she could react, he leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips, licking off some crumbs from her roll. "There. Bye hon~!"
Realizing she had been tricked, she dropped the cinnamon treat and gave chase. "Get back here!" she shouted, following him down the stairs, his tail just out of reach, and to the front door.
He laughed as he took off. "I'll give it back when I get home!" he called back to her.
"You better!"
Gum Drops sighed as she watched her stallion shrink into the distance. She made plans on how to get her revenge later tonight, after they put Glitter to bed.
With that thought she went back inside, chuckling softly. When she went back upstairs to finish her treat, she didn't see her foal on the bed where they had left her. Her eyes widening in panic, she started to look around the room for holes, until something lept from the door and landed on her back. The startled mare jumped and nearly fell over, she snagged whatever had attacked her, only to find the smiling face of her daughter. She looked between the laughing foal, and the top of the door, then at the floor, a single question crossed her mind. "How did you get up there!?"
[two minutes earlier]
I looked at the solid wood door that my parents had just run through. It was left open, and I had an idea.
'Okay no big deal, this is just like a high stakes game of the floor is lava!'
I looked at the expanse of cloud floor between me and my goal.
'No problem, I don't pass through anything that isn't clouds, so I just have to do, this!' I threw a pillow over the foot of the bed, it landed halfway between the bed and the dresser. I tossed another pillow, and then jumped. To my relief, the pillow didn't sink through the floor, and I was able to hop to the next one, then up onto the dresser. I then scaled up the adjacent wardrobe, and leapt the short distance to the top of the door. I giggled maniacally.
'And now, I wait~'
I finished off my morning drink, longing for it to have been served in a bowl, with cereal floating in it, lucky charms to be specific. Sadly, it was not to be. Next on the agenda was … the bathroom. I rapidly tapped my mother on the shoulder, then crossed my back legs. After a moment of squinting at my dramatics, her eyes lit up with recognition, and I was swept away to yet another room. Fortunately the toilet, although a little odd looking, was porcelain, and therefore safe to stand on, now if only mom hadn't been watching me the whole time …
It is to be expected, you are a foal, I'm actually a little surprised they haven't put you in a diaper, given your age.
'As nice as that little sliver lining is, I could have done without her watching me flush out the biological pipes.'
Noted.
I was then cleaned off, much to my chagrin. But we did not leave the bathroom. Instead, Mom placed me on a nearby stool and kicked a cloud over a shallow white dibit in the floor, it was two thirds full before I realized it was a bathtub.
Mom tested the water with a hoof before retrieving me, where I was then lowered into the soothing warm waters, up to my stomach. I shuddered at the feeling, my legs practically collapsed out from underneath me. Mom lowered herself into the deeper part of the tub, having a similar, but better controlled reaction, she kept her wings high and dry, so I mimicked her.
After a minute of enjoying the soak, my mother spoke up. "Alright Glitter, watch me, okay?" I nodded, and after a few moments of staring, she pushed her head underneath the surface, bending forward as she did so, then lifted back out of the water a second later, her body following in a wave like motion, the tiniest splash of water going over her wings, washing out loose dirt and hairs, she repeated this action three more times before shaking out her wings, leaving the feathers damp, but fluffy. "Do you think you can do that, just like mommy showed you?"
I nodded, and dove underneath the surface, and shot up a second later, in a much less smooth action, coughing up water, my wings were sticking straight up into the air, basically untouched.
"Silly filly, alright, I'll take care of your wings~" She scooted closer, scooping a small amount of cloud matter out of the overhead mass, it began trickling water gently.
'Cool, magic shower head.'
She ran the water over my wings, while nosing through my feathers as she did so. I became a wad of foal shaped putty that she rinsed off and scrubbed clean. She wetted down my mane and tail, then treated them using various bottles of goo, I assume at least one of them was shampoo. After she was done with me she went to preening her wings at the tub's edge, I watched intently, because as handy as my 'instincts' had been, I couldn't help but feel it would be beneficial to actually see this particular bit done, rather then just trust my gut.
After the tub was drained, I was brought to the bathroom mirror, Mom toweled us off, and I learned what a frizzy foal looks like, much to her entertainment. Then she brushed out my mane and tail, which she played with for far to long.
"Maybe a braid? No, no, what about curling it? No, something simpler than that, we need an accessory for you." She tied back my mane and put a headband just behind my ears, it was uncomfortable, and too big. She must have agreed, because she tossed it back onto the counter. A new piece of plastic was drawn from the open drawer by a wingtip, this one was a simple black clip for keeping hair out of one's face. Mom brushed the majority of my mane to the left side of my face, and attached the clip to hold the blue curtain out of my eye. I pawed at my locks, turning my head side to side, getting a feel for the slightly different weight distribution, then to the mirror. Orange eyes looked back at me, appraising my new look.
'Huh, cool colours. Compliments my mane, I think.
Mom took in the style from a few angles, then shook her head. After my mane was brushed straight once more, we left the bathroom and made our way to the couch. Mom laid a blanket over it's cloud made surface, and cautiously placed me down, the surface of the couch flexed downward, but I didn't fall through.
She breathed a sigh of relief, then went over to a nearby bookshelf and returned with a thin hardback in tow. "How does a story sound?" I nodded. She curled up around me on the couch, and cracked open the book with her hooves. "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away..."
I came to, surrounded by darkness, warmth, a steady, calming rhythm, and a conversation I couldn't quite make out. On my right, I could feel the warmth of fur, and the steady beat, on the left, the softness of feathers, and the barest hints of light creeping through them. I flicked my tail muscles, causing it to curl around my body and lightly pap my muzzle, covering my eyes. I pulled my legs fully underneath myself and closed my eyes, I had no interest in being awake at the moment.
'Fell asleep about halfway through the story. Brain, did you pick up anything after the knight went out and invited the dragon to a tea party?'
The dragon, shown the kindness of others, left his cave, and got to know the ponies of the small town, they all became friends and lived happily ever after.
'That’s cheesy.'
Yeah, nice sentiment though.
I shrugged my wings, causing the wing I was under to be pulled up, letting in the evening sun into my once comfy, shadowed lair. I lifted up a wing to shield my eyes from the offending rays of the sun, and hissed.
"Oops, sorry." Mom laughed nervously.
"Ah, you awake yet, little Glitter?" the voice of Red Strings asked.
I lowered my wing and glared grumpily at them, the sun was still too bright for my liking, but I definitely wasn't going to be getting back to sleep any time soon.
'Wha'd'ya want?' I mentally griped.
You know they can't hear that, right?
'Shaddup.'
What happened? You were in a decent mood not ten seconds ago.
'The infernal rays of the sun burned it away. You're left with a grumpy, winged horse.'
"Hey honey, I'm home," Cobalt called over the sound of the front door clicking shut. I leapt up onto the back of the covered couch to look at him, what I was greeted by, was the sight of a white pegasus, dressed up in golden armor.
'Who the fuck is that?'
The armored stranger looked straight at me and smiled, like we had met before. "Oh, hey Glitter! You excited to see your pop home?" he said in the voice of my father, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. He laughed my Father's laugh. "Don't tell me, you don't recognize your own father!" he said, laying on the dramatics thick. The mares behind me joined him in laughter, then he removed his helmet and set it on an end table. His coat pulsed as something failed, and then darkened, trailing up from his hooves, his colors shifted to a far more recognizable shade of blue. "Surprise!"
'The fuck? What was that? Was that freaking magic?!'
Why do you sound surprised? The hospital was staffed with a few unicorns, or did you think Soft Touch's medical chart was suspended on strings?
"Try not to scare her too bad dear, she's not used to your sense of humor," Mom sighed, a serene smile on her face as she shook her head.
My father walked closer, and pulled mom into a kiss, whispering ‘told you I'd give it back~’ into her ear, causing the mare to blush.
"Hah, I've always thought those illusion enchantments were silly, why is it so important that the entirety of the royal guard look the same?" Red Strings mused.
'Royal guard huh? is Cob- my father, some kinda big shot?'
How would I know?
"It's a show of unity, I think I remember the sarge also saying something about a massive force of identical troops being unnerving for enemies." The sole stallion in the room explained. "Good to see you, Red."
"I told you to call me mom, didn't I?"
"Yeah, yeah. So, how did the meeting with the Princess go?"
"Well enough. She was in the middle of Day Court. One of those stick-up-the-plot nobles was complaining that the common ponies had no respect for those of 'higher blood'. So, naturally, I threw the doors open and screamed at her, 'Your Highness! It's a national emergency!' and the throne room was clear in seconds, ah, the way she laughs whenever I do that is well worth all the threats I get for barging in unannounced."
"Mom, you said you were going to stop angering the nobles … They may act like stuck up foals, but they have enough money and influence to make life more difficult for you."
"Hah! I'd like to see them try! I'm just a sweet little granny, why would anypony bother?" She chuckled. "Ah, if only they knew … Anyway, I brought up the issue of young foals falling through clouds, and she went wide eyed! Promised to have a word with the medical know-it-all's about why future generations might be losing that particular ability, and how she was going to be speaking with the mayor of Cloudsdale in a month or so, and have the whole city undergo inspection." She waved a hoof in the air, waving away further questions. "Enough politics talk. Tell me, how fares your mother Swift Wings? I haven't seen her since she made the announcement."
My father shaped a portion of the floor into a temporary addition to the couch, then settled in with the rest of us. "She's fine, Dad's been run ragged trying to keep up with all her cravings, but they expect a healthy delivery."
"Oh that's wonderful, we should have her over for dinner some time, I would love for Glitter to get to know her other grandma!" Mom cheered, snuggling me into her barrel. "And just think! Her new aunt or uncle will grow up right alongside her, oh the stories it could make~"
'Eh?'
The sun suddenly zipped beneath the horizon, and the moon was brought up in its place, coulda sworn it shot me a dirty look as it ascended into the heavens.
'Woah! Holy crap, did you see that!?'
Of course I did, we share a set of eyes.
'What the heck is with this planet's orbit? The sun should not disappear that quickly!'
Just accept it as magic and move on, it's more likely that the sun's orbiting the planet anyway.
'That feels wrong on so many levels.'
"Oh dear, looks like we lost track of time, I guess I should get on home." Red Strings Stretched and made for the door.
"Mom, you know you could stay with us tonight, we don't mind, do we hon?" The stallion shook his head, undoing the straps holding on his Peytral.
"Oh you~ You've got a brand new foal in the house to worry about, I'm not going to impose on new parents," Red Strings said with a cheery smile.
"It's really no trouble," my father added in.
"As nice as your offer is, I'm still gonna get going, I've got a quilt waiting for me to finish it back home." She opened the door and prepared to take off, when she stopped and turned around. "Almost forgot, paid a visit to my old school flame, had him whip up something for Glitter's selective surface suspension problem, here, but be sure to teach her proper when she's old enough to learn." She retrieved three bands from under her left wing. They looked ordinary enough, but something about them felt energized. She tied up my mane and tail with them, and then proceeded to gently set me down on the floor.
I panicked, and started the futile practice of flapping my wings, then noticed how I was simply standing upon the ground, as if it was the carpeted floor I had assumed it to be before I learned the truth.
My parents stared at me in shock, Red Strings had moved too quickly for them to realize what she was doing till I was beginning to cautiously walk around the front of the couch.
"Cloud Walking enchantment, charges off of ambient magic in the air, so you don't have to worry about it draining her, and now you can sleep easy knowing she won't stumble through any walls." She chuckled as I began to run around in earnest, finally getting to properly vent my childish energy, meager as it may be.
"Mom, that couldn't have been very cheap, how much-"
"Don't you finish that sentence Bubbles," Red Strings threatened with a mischievous smile. "It's my duty as a grandmother to spoil my grandfoals." She swept up her daughter, son in law, and me, after a moment, in a hug before departing.
Well that solves one problem we were going to have.
'We still need to figure out how to do this without training wheels, you know?'
I'll get started on filtering through your instincts, see if I can't find the one we need.
'Thank you, now, let's go to bed, running around for a mere two minutes has left me desiring to hit the hay.'
You don't hit the hay, you eat it! You are a pony now.
'Don't even start with the dietary jokes!'