//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The Lonesome Bat // Story: Do Ponies on Earth have Magic Dreams? // by TikiBat //------------------------------// The full moon shone brightly overhead, dimly illuminating the lone figure of a midnight blue night pony resting in the grass on a hill overlooking the nearby city. Silver Eclipse sat there reflecting on the past couple of months and the crazy changes he had lived through. Born Joshua, he chose his new name after waking up with a cutie mark after that fateful night he had met Princess Luna and learned about his talent for crafting dreams.  It had only been a short amount of time, but the Equine Transformation Syndrome had really changed a lot more than just his physical form. In a sense, it had both literally and physically changed his entire life— and the entire world as a whole too. Ponies not getting along with ponies, humans not getting along with humans, and both not getting along with each other— the same old world problems were now amplified even more, but with a whole other sentient species thrown into the mix. For a while after the smoke had cleared and humanity was still adjusting to it’s wild change, things seemed rough. You had fighting, looting, panic, and all of the associated chaos that came with a sizable portion of the population having been changed into something else, but months after the fact things seemed to at least be settling. Human and pony relations, while finally seeming to get a bit better, were still far from being perfect and this put Silver in an awkward position. You see, he was a pony, and his family were still human— almost everyone he had ever known was still human for that matter, and at first it only drove him into those deep feelings of loneliness and wistful sorrow. That sorrow turned to anger and frustration over time, because while he had made peace with the fact that there was no going back to his former humanity, his family still seemed to struggle with that.  He was still their son, but he was also the weird bat-like pony in a family of humans. At face value this might have seemed fine, he wasn’t alone after all but in the post ETS world it meant he was followed with a never ending stream of hushed whispers and snarky comments that were clearly not meant to be heard. Ponies had good hearing, and unfortunately that meant he wound up hearing a lot of the comments that otherwise wouldn’t have been heard. He was nocturnal too, which led to even more frustration when his family complained about how he was sleeping in too much and not spending any time doing anything productive. “But I’m a night pony,” He had tried to explain on so many different occasions to no avail, “So it’s really hard for me to be up during the day.” But without fail it usually turned into comparing him to other ponies, which only led to more arguments when it was clear that there weren’t a whole lot of other night ponies around. As the time went on, almost every interaction he had with his former family and friends seemed to end in increasingly frequent arguments. As much as it stung, he could understand why things kept going the way they did. So many ponies just outright acted differently after the vision was spread, and while he hadn’t spread it, he had still changed. His suddenly drastically different behavior and often sour mood at being woken up during the day only reinforced that idea that he wasn’t the same old person he had been as a human in his family’s eyes. He knew that it was just pony emotions getting in the way and that his family didn’t truly hate him, but the constant arguments and shouting matches between them were just too much for the night pony to take, so he did what any rational pony would do; cut out the negativity from his life and try and move on as best he could, which was easier said than done. As much as it stung him and made him want to just shut out the world, in a weird way he could understand their fears. His understanding did little to help his own struggles however, and he continued to dwell on these feelings often. So much had changed in such a short amount of time, and all the fear and resentment was only natural. It still didn’t make it feel any better however. Silver thought back to those chaotic times, when it seemed as if the entire world was on the verge of ending. The pandemic had started innocently enough, seemingly just another bad case of the flu that everyone seemed to be getting. However as time went on it had become very clear that this was not the case when the first signs of the transformation began to show. While his immediate family had started down the same road he had, neither of his parents had fully transformed, leaving him and his brother to feel like outcasts. They had been lucky, still having had the chance to rehumanize and try to return to their old lives, and in the end so did his brother. The fact that he was the only one to wind up as a pony in the long run and earn his own mark had probably been one of the biggest things that drove such a large wedge between him and his family. As happy as he was to have earned it at the time, the novelty was starting to wear off and it was only bringing his mood down more. It didn’t seem as bad at first, and for a while it even seemed like he could just resume his life as normal, but as the days went on his family only seemed to distance themselves more from him, treating him as if he was something less than their own flesh and blood. He had tried to stay at home and continue his life as usual despite the fact that he was never going to truly fit in with them again, but it never seemed to work out the way he had hoped it would. For a few days it almost seemed as if it was, but then the big argument happened. His father couldn’t accept his new direction in life, and the two had finally hit a breaking point. Mean words were exchanged and feelings were hurt, and Silver had decided that it would just be better for him to go find his own way in life, even if it meant having to do it on his own. He had started with renting out hotel rooms for a few nights, and then crashing on couches when he had blown through his funds. When even that fell through, he decided to just rough it out in the wilderness, camping out under the stars most nights, and spending time with some of the local pony groups that had all come together. As much as he enjoyed the friendship, he was still more often than not the only night pony in the group, and it only made him feel like more of an outcast. He wiped a tear from his eye as a wave of emotion surged back through him, making him curse that mark again for causing all of this. With a deep sigh, he looked back to the mark that seemed to taunt him, reflecting on the image of the moon caught in an eclipse that now dictated who he was, though he couldn’t help but feel at least a small bittersweet acceptance at his fate. He shook his head, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. Some things couldn’t be helped though, and as much as he wanted to be the big scary night pony the world saw him as, he couldn’t help but let out another sad sigh. The self isolation was clearly getting to him, and it was definitely not healthy in the slightest. It was just so hard for him to interact with the others when he was on a completely different schedule, and there were so few night ponies around him that he just couldn’t help but feel all alone in the world. He let out another sigh, "I can't let this get in my way, my life may have changed in a big way, but that doesn't necessarily mean that this has to be the end of it right? If I quit now and don't try to do anything meaningful then what have I been working towards all this time?" He calmly said to himself. As if he was waiting for an answer that was never going to just come to him, he sat in silence for a long while, enjoying the calm serenity radiating from the scene in front of him. Reflecting on all of these things and thinking towards the future, his new future. Perhaps with time, old relationships could be mended, that was still near the top of his list. However he was also determined to pursue his research no matter what species he was and regardless of what others thought of him. Most of the ponies that he knew took hold of the vision they had all received shortly after transforming, seemingly no longer caring for the world that they had left behind. It was a wonderful idea, but he just couldn’t settle for something that felt too good to be true. Perhaps he would be proven wrong, he knew that he couldn't spend all of his time dwelling on the past after all, but he still couldn’t stop himself from wondering “what if?”. What if his life had taken a different turn, what if he hadn’t transformed? What if ETS was just all a bad dream? These were all questions he asked to himself every time he spent meditating. He felt something during every session, and the more he focused the more it felt as if he was reaching some peaceful plane that hovered somewhere between being awake and asleep, and it was something that called out to him, pulling him forward and giving his lonely life a semblance of meaning. Silver was determined to make sense of his talents and abilities but he knew it wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded coming out of his own mouth. So much had changed around him and his own self imposed isolation didn’t do much to help either, the bitter feelings of loneliness only acting as a constant reminder of his past. The dream realm was at least a place where he could feel at home, sometimes he’d remain alone in his own dream, trying to craft it into amazing and fantastical places. Then there were the times he’d go off and explore some of the other dreams, curious to see what others were doing with their abilities, meeting his own fair share of strange and unusual ponies along the way. The experiences only seemed to make his interest stronger, and in turn that drove him to spend more time in his own dream, eager to do something amazing with his ability that he just knew he’d unlock if he could only focus a little harder. Silver let out a long yawn, and he decided to put his thoughts on hold for now. He’d be asleep soon, and that meant he’d have more time to play around with his abilities, a thought that brought endless joy to him. As his thoughts began to drift off to sleep, he began to plan out his new course, taking note of everything that he needed before embarking on his grand journey. As the morning sun rose Silver reflected on one final thought before falling into a deep sleep: It would be a new dawn for him, and he wouldn't need to worry about anything or anypony else to ensure that his dreams would become a reality. A lone mare sat amongst the starry backdrop that comprised the dream realm, pondering on what they were about to do. ETS had changed her life just as much as everyone else’s, but it also seemed to open her eyes to something else. Much like Silver, she was the only night pony in her area, and it left her feeling all alone in the world. She didn’t know whether it was instinct or intuition, but she could almost sense a similar feeling when she had stumbled across his dream before, and it brought a smile to her face knowing that there might be other ponies out there that felt the same as she did. The mare felt a little strange at the thought of just trying to jump into someone else’s dream, the ability was still new to her, but she figured there was no harm in at least talking, even if at the very least it helped her make sense of her situation. The pony who’s dream she had been watching was determined to make the best of their situation, even if it was a little unorthodox. Self isolation and meditation wasn’t normally out of the ordinary, but this pony chose to spend more of their nights in their own dream, just tinkering with the landscape like it was some advanced computer game. It was hard for her to get a good read on other ponies' dreams, but this one felt different, and she was intrigued to learn more. She supposed that it wasn’t the weirdest thing imaginable, but it definitely stood out for a night pony, and she couldn’t help but feel a certain compassion for this pony that was very obviously hurting. She didn’t know if it was her new pony instincts talking, or just the thought of another pony being sad driving her forward, but It would be a detriment to her very own morals if they didn’t make an attempt to change somepony else’s life for the better, even if that change was simply offering friendship to somepony in need. There was much to do in order to meet his goals, and Silver honestly had no real idea of where to start or what to really do. His hobby as of late had been creating a dream that he could summon time and time again. A daunting task for a detail oriented night pony, but one that he was determined to perfect, even if it meant he stood out amongst the other night ponies. With no other direction, he started as he always did, with a large room, adding in the detail as he imagined it. He had always found that visualizing a floor plan made the experience a lot easier to tackle, and so he did. Each night he focused on trying to recreate that room and pushing it further. Sometimes it was a few small changes here and there, other times it was trying to make something bigger. “Did you make this on your own?” Came a lone voice from the far side of the room, pulling him from his work. “Huh? Who’s there?” Silver turned towards a red night pony that was looking around at the dream he had been constructing, “I wasn’t expecting any company tonight.” “Sorry if I’m intruding. I take it you don’t get very many visitors? I’ve seen your dreams before… something about them just drew me here.” Silver slowly nodded, “Right... So uh, what’s up?” “Well I guess an introduction’s a good start. I’m Scarlet Moon, nice to meet you.” He nodded, “Silver… Silver Eclipse.” He awkwardly paused for a few moments before letting out a small laugh, “I know it’s a little corny, and I’m blue, not silver, but what can I say, it fits my mark, so why not just roll with it?” Art by: https://twitter.com/BrokenTRabbit  She smiled, “I like it, has a nice ring to it. So do you do this kind of thing often?” “Make dreams? Kind of…” He paused, looking around at the small library he had built, “I’m sorry, I guess I’m just not used to this, is there anything I can help you with?” She shook her head, “I guess I’m just curious about you,” She hesitated for a moment, “Look, this is going to sound strange, but I can sometimes feel things that others can’t, It’s not always clear, and I can’t always get a good read on it, but I felt so much sadness and unease when I came across your dreams a while ago, and it made me think about my own situation.” “Your own situation? Wait, you’ve been to my dreams before?” She nodded, “Just in passing, but I picked up on a strong feeling when I did, and it really made me think about my own life right now. I’m sorry if I’m just assuming things, but you’re probably the only night pony in your area too right? If it’s anything like my situation, it must make you feel—” “ — alone…” Silver turned towards her and smiled, “That’s exactly what I’ve been going through. So is that why you’re here? Because you feel the same?” She shrugged, “I… I don’t really know. I guess I just didn’t know what to really do going forward. This whole dream walking thing is new to me and It’s just hard to get a good feel for. I hopped through a bunch of dreams at random, but yours was the only one I felt any kind of strong emotion from, I thought that maybe trying to talk with someone that’s going through something similar would be a better way to make peace with it all… if that makes sense.” Silver nodded, bringing up a couple of chairs and a table, “It does… I guess I’m not really the best at making friends, but uhh, feel free to stick around if you want. I can’t say I’m going to be the most interesting conversational partner, but if this helps you then I won’t argue.” Scarlet nodded and took a seat while Silver summoned a couple of drinks, “So what’s your whole goal with this? Like I said before, I guess I’ve just never really seen a night pony do something like this before.” Silver shrugged, “Just trying to get a better grip on crafting dreams. It’s tricky but I feel like I’m starting to get a hang of it.” “Dream crafting… interesting, can’t say I’ve seen too many ponies that give that a shot.” Silver nodded, “Me neither, but hey that’s why I’m trying it out,” He paused for a moment, “So uhh, If you don’t mind me asking... what did you do in life before this all happened?” “A little of everything, but a whole lot of nothing I feel. I always liked to stargaze though, and wanted to do something with that, but never really figured out what,” She gestured towards her flank, “Got my mark in it though, so I guess that’s a plus. I don’t really know what my talent is, but it’s almost like I can pick out objects in the night sky really well, like I just know where they’re at and what they are.” The blue night pony passed her one of the drinks and took his own seat, “Well, it sounds like you figured it all out… Stargazing, that’s something I haven’t done in a very long time.” She smiled, “Well, if you’re ever in the mood to take a trip up my way I’d love to reintroduce you to it. So whereabouts are you, anyhow?” “Well, right now I’m kind of on the edge of LA. Lived there most of my life but I had some… stuff come up that I’d rather not get into. Needless to say I’ve just kind of been camping for a while now. Not really sure where I’m headed overall. How about you?” “Me? I’m in the mountains, up in Idyllwild. There’s a little pony community set up in an old campground that my parents used to take me to all the time as a kid. Thought it’d be a nice getaway given that I couldn’t really afford my home anymore.” Silver nodded, “Well, maybe I’ll take you up on that offer sooner rather than later, I’ve kind of been drifting around here, haven’t really found anywhere to just set up shop in.” “Do you have anything concrete planned out?” Silver shrugged, “Well not really, at least not out there. It’s going to sound strange, but I want to try and put my powers to good use in here. This is a dream right? None of it’s real so we could probably do anything we wanted to do here then, so why not do something productive.” “What kind of things do you have in mind?” Silver shrugged again, “I guess I don’t know yet, I’ve been trying to make the same basic construct each night, see if I can make something that sticks. I guess my plan from there is to try and figure out what I can actually do with the concept.” The night pony smiled, “Well it sounds like a fun idea, need any help with it?” Silver smiled, “Well, I’m not a hundred percent sure how you could help with this specifically, but it’s always nice to have a good friend. You don’t know how great it is to finally have someone I can just talk to again, even if they’re just some random dream stranger. I mean, I feel like the world’s ended, my family doesn’t want to talk to me, I don’t really have any close friends left, and there’s hardly any pony around me that I can feel a connection to. It’s just… frustrating you know?” Scarlet nodded, “Definitely. Like I said, it’s just so lonely out there, it’s really nice to chat with someone that’s going through the same kind of thing.” “Well, I guess that’s a stroke of luck then? We’re both a couple of loners wondering what’s going on in the world then,” He paused for a moment, looking back towards the mare, “Well, tell you what, maybe I could try and make a trip up there sometime, I’m sure it’d be a lot better than just sitting around in the grass on the outskirts of town like some lost puppy. So what’s the little community called anyways? You said it was set up in some old campground right?” She nodded, “It’s called Hurkey Creek, we’ve taken over a part we’ve started calling Green View. Lots of nature and trees all around, seemed like a fitting name. Do you still have a phone or something? I could send you the address,” She paused, taking a drink from the cup, “I know it sounds crazy right now, inviting you along to some random little village, but we’re social creatures and I know the isolation’s been killing me, I’m sure it’s the same for you, especially if you’re just out on your own. I could show you around and introduce you to some of the locals.” Silver smiled, “That’d be nice, I haven’t charged my phone in a few days, but let me give you my info anyways, I know a place I can charge it at tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll be a hassle to fly all the way out there, but it’ll sure beat sitting around all alone.” As he gave her his information, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of happiness knowing that he wasn’t all alone in the world right now. It felt like a crazy idea, travelling such a far distance on his own just to meet up with a dreamer he barely knew, but it was a chance to be around another pony he had something in common with, and if it meant that he wouldn’t be so alone, then maybe it wasn’t the craziest thing that he could do in a world that had just gone through such a crazy change in itself.