//------------------------------// // The Dream // Story: Fraternal // by Melody Song //------------------------------// Later, their tent and sleeping bags had dried out. The two set them up so they could finally get some sleep. Daring settled down and fell asleep quickly. But Daring had a strange dream. "Come on, we've got to get pawst da monster to the Wondewrbolt Medallion! Wet's go bwave adventuwer!" a filly, who Daring couldn't make out, called. She was viewing it from a filly's body. They raced under a table and crouched down, huddled together. "On Thwee, we jump out and catch him!" Daring's dream form said in a baby voice. Then, they heard ponies talking. "I can't do this anymore. I can't!" a stallion cried "You know that I'm always here for you. But what else can we do?" a mare's voice responded "Well, they love playing with their Uncle..." "You're not suggesting that you give them to him? They're your children!" "I won't take them both. Just one. She reminds me too much of her mother anyway." the stallion replied. The filly Daring was seeing this from turned to the other foal. "Which one of uws is gonna be taken away?" she asked "Don't matter, we're gonna protect each other! It's what we're aposed to do, we wov each other! Now let's go get da monster!" the foal raced out from under the table, Daring's form following. She caught a glimpse of a rainbow mane just before she woke up. ---------------------------------------------- Daring sat up in her sleeping bag and gasped. It was still nighttime. "A rainbow mane? But how is that? Was I seeing one of Rainbow's memories?" Daring muttered to herself. She turned and shook Rainbow. "Rainbow, wake up!" "Huh? What is it? Is Caballeron here?!" Rainbow asked, jumping up. "No, I-I had a dream..." "You woke me up for that?" Rainbow fell back down into her sleeping bag. "No, Rainbow. The dream was a memory...and you were in it." Rainbow shot up again. "Why did you dream about a memory with me in it?" "That's just it , I don't know. I was seeing it from the perspective of a filly, and there was another foal with me. I think we were playing. Then, I heard a stallion and a mare talking about giving one of two foals up. The pony I was asked if we were going to be separated. The other foal promised that neither of us were going to be taken. Then we ran out from where we were hiding and I saw a rainbow mane." Rainbow stared at her, then stood up and began tossing her things into her bag. "What are you doing?" "Packing so we can leave first thing tomorrow morning. If there's one pony who can figure anything out, it's Twilight." ------------------------------------- The next day, Rainbow and Daring headed back to Ponyville, where they landed outside the castle. They headed inside, where they found Twilight reading in her library. It was almost as though she hadn't moved since Daring had visited days before. "Twi?" Rainbow asked "Oh, hello Rainbow, hi Daring. Did you find what you were looking for?" Twilight asked, standing and trotting over to them. "Yes and I'll tell you all about it in my next book, but that's not why we're here." Daring replied. "Okay...?" Twilight said. "What are you here then?" "Well...it's kind of hard to explain." Daring said "Daring had a really weird dream where she was a filly talking with another filly and right before she woke up she saw a rainbow mane." Rainbow blurted out. Twilight blinked. "Well, what's so weird about that?" "The way I was talking in my dream, it sounded like I knew the filly, like we grew up together." Daring replied "And?" "Why are you not freaking out?" Rainbow asked "Because then there would be two crazy ponies in this conversation. Also, it's fairly simple to understand." "It is?" both Rainbow and Daring asked together "Yes, of course it is. Daring knows Rainbow on a personal basis, thus a version of her was manifested into Daring's dream. Seeing yourself as a foal symbolizes a great stress, thus returning your brain to a gentler state of mind when nothing mattered. By that, I mean the innocence of childhood." "But that doesn't make sense. I'm not stressed about anything, I was actually really happy that I'd finally found what I was looking for." "Well, that is a little weird. But still, having that dream is perfectly logical." Twilight's reassurance didn't do much for the mares. When they left, Daring spoke. "You know, I wonder why I dreamt about a stallion and mare talking. It felt more like a memory, really." Daring said "Could you recognize either of them?" "Not by hearing their voices. With my talent, that means they aren't ponies I've ever met before. I mean, I can usually tell friend from foe just by how they talk and their actions. But in the dream, I got mixed readings about both of them." "How?" "The ponies sounded familiar, like they were ponies I knew and trusted. But the tones of their voices told me they were trying to act against me. It was really confusing." Daring said, rubbing her temple. "Maybe you just need some more sleep." Rainbow suggested, and they took off, heading for her house.