//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: Dreams' Horizon // by DrakeyC //------------------------------// Twilight’s eyelids fluttered and she let out a low groan. She cracked an eye and saw the ceiling of her dorm room, blurry but coming into focus. …Sunset? She slowly blinked open both eyes and laid still. She felt lightheaded and lethargic, and even the idea of trying to move was unappealing. Still, she pushed through it and put a hoof on the bed to push herself up. The only light in the room came from her bedside lamp, which had been moved to the kitchen table where Moondancer was reading a textbook. Across the table from her, Minuette was asleep with her head in her hooves. Twinkleshine was in her bed; Luster Dawn had managed to squeeze in with her, and Lemon Hearts lay on her back on the floor. “Girls?” Twilight asked softly. Moondancer quickly turned her head and gasped. “You’re awake!” She reached across the table and vigorously shook Minuette’s hoof. “Twilight’s awake!” She climbed down from her chair and shook Luster and Lemon next. The room roused as Twilight’s friends one by one lifted their heads and looked around. Lemon stood up to let Luster out of bed and the group crowded around Twilight. “You’re still here?” Twilight asked. “Of course!” Minuette replied. “We were worried about you. We weren’t going anywhere.” “How do you feel?” Luster asked. Twilight put her head back down. “Still a bit out of it. Tired.” She wrinkled her brow. “What time is it?” Twinkleshine looked up at the clock. “About three-thirty.” “In the morning?” Twinkleshine nodded and Twilight groaned again. “Sorry I woke everypony up.” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Lemon scoffed. “We’re glad you’re okay.” “So am I.” Twilight pushed herself back on the bed so she could sit up and braced against her pillow and headboard. “Do you remember what happened with Sunset?” Moondancer asked. The name jolted Twilight’s mind back to what had caused her to pass out in the first place. She inhaled sharply and thought. “I do…everything…” The five mares listened intently as she continued. “There was a lot of color, and emptiness. But eventually I heard her, and I almost saw her.” Twilight smiled and looked around the group. “I did it. We did it. I was able to make contact with Sunset. We actually spoke.” “That’s fantastic!” Twinkleshine grinned and clapped her hooves eagerly. “And?” “It was hard to maintain the connection, and I was more excited over making it in the first place than actually talking…but…” Twilight frowned. “I could hear other voices. She said they were her friends. They were faint, but I heard them.” Luster turned away and went to the table while Moondancer shook her head. “Twilight, that can’t be possible. A telepathy spell like the one we came up with – especially pushing it to the extreme we did crossing dimensions – can’t connect multiple minds.” “I know. But I heard them. Sunset even heard me hear them.” Luster came back and held out a piece of paper. “Here. You wrote this down and said these were their names.” “I remember.” Twilight took the paper and read it again. “There’s Sunset, of course. Then Starlight, Trixie, Lyra, Amethyst, and Sunburst.” Minuette hummed thoughtfully. “Names don’t ring a bell at all. I supposed that’s to be expected, alternate dimension, but I mean, they’re just names, right? Nothing special or significant about them?” “Not that Sunset told me.” Twilight carefully folded up the paper and set it on her nightstand. “That was the last thing I heard before I lost the strength to keep the connection…then…” The abyss… Moondancer tapped her hoof to her chin, gaining a thoughtful look.. “We were having trouble holding onto you here, your mind was stretched so thin. Mental magics always have at least a little inherent risk, but with this, it was…” “It was like trying to stretch a rubber band to its limit and holding it there without it snapping,” Minuette said softly. Luster nodded. “We were afraid we’d lose you.” “I think I was,” Twilight said. “Lost, I mean.” She swallowed. “I let the connection go and called back for you, but I couldn’t hear you. And I heard something. A voice.” She shuddered. “I…it was…” “What?” Lemon asked. “A shadow.” Twilight grunted and put a hoof to her head. “I know that doesn’t make sense, but it’s the best way I can think to describe it. I could feel it, a shadow over me, deep and looming and frightening and engulfing me…it was just…” She shuddered, wrapping her hooves around her waist. “A shadow,” Luster repeated. Twilight lowered her hooves and nodded. “Now I am worried,” Moondancer said sternly. She leaned over and looked Twilight in the eye. “You’re sure you feel alright now? If your mind was disconnected even temporarily, there’s no telling what kind of psychological or biological damage it could do to you.” “I’m fine, really.” Twilight held up a hoof. “Twilight Sparkle, student at the School for Gifted Unicorns, attending on a scholarship. You five are my best friends, I’m an honor student, and I’m mildly neurotic about my grades. I like reading, cosplay, and board games. Dislikes include pseudoscience, ladybugs, and quesadillas. Memories and personality are all intact.” Minnuette’s eyes gleamed. “I’m gonna have to update my notes on you,” she whispered to herself. Lemon shushed her. “At least we saved you from whatever it was,” Luster said. Twilight tilted her head, staring at nothing in particular. “Actually…I don’t think it was you.” She looked around the group. “I heard a new voice. I recognized it. I don’t know how, I’ve never heard it before, but I recognized it.” She rubbed her head as she struggled to voice the strange experience. “I saw Sunset again, but it wasn’t Sunset. And there was this light, shining brighter and brighter…I heard the voice say, ‘find them. Find us’.” It was Minuette’s turn to tilt her head. “Them? Us?” “That’s what it said.” Moondancer once again tapped her chin. “Very curious. And also very vague. It isn’t much to go on. ‘Them’ and ‘us’ could mean almost anypony. Or not ponies at all.” Twilight nodded. “I know. I don’t think it means Sunset’s friends, because we just found them, right? Or, maybe it doesn’t count because I didn’t see them…” She held her head and grunted. “I don’t know.” “Hey, take it easy.” Twinkleshine put a hoof on her shoulder and gently pushed her to lean back into the pillow. “Even if your mind is safe, you’re still exhausted in more ways than one. Don’t push yourself to remember if it’s difficult.” Twilight yielded and let head head sink into the pillow. “Yeah. Thank you.” She stared at the ceiling and frowned. “I finally got an answer to my question, but now I have half a dozen more.” The group fell silent, letting the information they had been given sink in. Luster broke the quiet first, clearing her throat. “Sooo, maybe a blunt question, but…what now?” She looked between the other ponies. “I mean, okay. We’ve confirmed Sunset is in another dimension, we’ve got a vague lead on some group of ponies – maybe – to find. And maybe find out what that dark shadow-thing was. But even if we have these leads, what do we do with them?” “A fair question,” Moondancer replied. “The clues don’t give us a lot to go on. Was there anything else, Twilight?” She bowed her head and let out a long sigh. She closed her eyes and replayed the vision. It was Sunset, but not…I knew the voice, but I didn’t…it was something deeper… “Twilight?” “There were lights,” she said softly. She slowly opened her eyes. “Five gleaming lights circling Sunset.” “...Lights.” Moondancer took a deep breath. “Still not much.” “Sorry.” Twilight sighed. “I wish I had more to say, but…” “But nothing,” Twinkleshine said firmly. “If you think of anything else, you can let us know when you do.” She shook her head. “I want answers too, but not if it means putting you at risk. Especially if we don’t know the dangers involved in this spell you created.” “I agree,” Luster chimed in. “For now we should look into what happened to you and make sure it’s safe to try again, and if it is then we can talk about trying again.” “May I raise a suggestion?” Moondancer asked. Twilight lifted her head and the others turned to her. “Perhaps it would be time to consult with Princess Celestia about this.” “Celestia…” Twilight murmured. “She lied to me, Moondancer. Whatever is going on with Sunset and this other dimension, she’s keeping it from me. She’s been watching over my shoulder for who-knows how long. Remember when she denied me access to the restricted section when I wanted to research trans-dimensional teleportation?” “Yes, and why did she do that?” Moondancer replied. “She warned you that poking into other dimensions was dangerous and there’s no telling what could happen. Clearly she was correct. We can’t rule out a more nefarious motive, but it’s just as plausible she was trying to protect you.” Twilight thought for a moment. “I admit you have a good point. But even if that were the case, it still means she’s not likely to tell us anything to help us. She knows about Sunset, so one way or the other she’s keeping things from me. If I tell her we tried this spell – nevermind taking a book from the restricted section to help me – she’ll probably be furious, and almost certainly will try to stop us from investigating further.” Sighing, Twinkleshine gave a deep frown. “Twilight’s right, we have to do this on our own. I don’t like to say it out loud, but the harsh truth is that until we know more about what she’s up to, we can’t trust Celestia.” We can’t trust Celestia… Twilight had felt that way for a while now, but to actually hear it vocalized made her shudder. Whatever forces they were playing with, she had caught the Princess’ attention. The gravity of the situation seemed more dire as the realization set in. But I have to know. Whatever is happening between me and Sunset, we’re part of this now. This isn’t chance or coincidence, this is destiny. “Well,” Luster began, “seeing as we have very little to go on and can’t begin researching right away anyway, perhaps we should call it a night? Its almost four in the morning now and I’m sure we’re all still tired.” “Indeed,” Moondancer said. Minuette nodded. “Thank goodness it’s a weekend.” Lemon looked Twilight over. “You’re absolutely sure you’re okay?” “I am.” Twilight smiled and looked over the group. “Thank you. Without you girls I wouldn’t have been able to take these next steps towards unraveling this mystery. Whatever comes next, knowing we’ll face it together, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” “Twilight?” Twilight paused mid-paragraph and turned her head, illuminated by the glow of a small jewel set on the table. Twinkleshine sat up in bed and yawned. “You’re still awake?” Twilight looked up at the clock. “It’s almost nine?” She blinked and looked back at the journal in front of her. “I didn’t realize it was morning.” She lit her horn and deactivated the light-emitting jewel. Twinkleshine threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. She scratched her calf and approached the table. “What have you been doing?” “I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I thought I’d do something productive and quiet.” Twilight gestured a hoof over her journal. “I’d been re-reading my reports on my dreams about Sunset. I thought maybe I’d find a clue to that shadowy thing or the mysterious lights, or anything.” “And?” “Not a thing.” Twilight shook her head and scanned the page again. It was an earlier entry, shortly after she had begun grilling Sunset about her life over suspicions of her being Luster Dawn. “I admit, looking back at them over time and with a more analytical eye, they’re not as helpful as I could have made them.” Twinkleshine walked behind her to the kitchen counter. “How so?” “Listen to this.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Sunset does well in most of the same subjects I’m studying, but it sounds like she doesn’t really care for book work, she prefers to learn hooves-on. I’ve always envied ponies that can absorb information from practical experience like that. I told her I’m more of a book learner, it’s easier to take things in when I have a simple list or chart in front of me. She replied that staring at lists makes her eyes glaze over. She finished and lifted her head. “See what I mean?” “Uh, no?” Twinkleshine had gotten down a box of cereal and was getting milk out of the fridge. “Even at the time, I was suspicious she may have been Luster Dawn. I should have been taking notes on her physicality, her vocal inflections, subtle cues that might have helped me figure it out either way. But no, I focused just on the conversation.” Twilight glared at the page and flipped through the journal. “Most of the entries are like that, increasingly so as time went on. I made observations of facts where I remembered, but not as many as I could have – or should have.” “That entry sounds to me like you were just remembering a chat with a friend.” Twinkleshine set a bowl of cereal on the other side of the table, and one in front of Twilight above her journal. “Here, if you’re not sleepy yet you may as well have breakfast.” “Oh, thank you.” Twilight watched as her roommate sat across from her and dug into her cereal. She glanced back at the journal. “You’re right, it’s anecdotes of conversations with a friend. The problem is I lost sight of what I should have been doing all along – getting answers. I always went to bed intending to ask questions, but even when I asked them, I barely wrote down the answers. I just remembered getting them.” “Hey, time flies when you’re on a date.” Twilight felt her face heat. “Will you stop that?” she hissed. Twinkleshine smirked and rolled her eyes. “Stop what?” “Sunset and I are…not…that.” “Twilight, she is literally the mare of your dreams.” “Oh, come on!” Twilight shook her head. “That is totally twisting the situation! I don’t know what caused this, it could be anything.” “Yeah, sure. But look at you now, you’re obsessed with her. You have been since the start. You’re doing your darn thesis on these dreams!” “Because they’re a fascinating and engaging mystery to unravel!” Twilight insisted. “Maybe.” Twinkleshine popped a spoon of cereal in her mouth, chewed, and held up a hoof to make Twilight pause until she was done. “But look at your own journal notes. You said it yourself – it’s more like anecdotes of a friend than studying a subject.” “Because Sunset is a friend.” “Duh.” Twinkleshine propped her head on her hoof. “I’m being real here, Twilight. I ain’t gonna say the L-word, but I’ll use a L-word – you like Sunset. Like like her.” “That’s ridiculous.” Twilight hid her burning face in her bowl and quickly slurped up a few spoons. “You think so?” Twinkleshine let her spoon clatter in the bowl to make Twilight raise her head. “Let’s try an experiment.” Twilight narrowed her eyes and gave her a dubious look. “Okay…” “Lean back, close your eyes, and relax.” “Why?” “Trust me.” Twilight thought for a moment, then settled back in her chair and closed her eyes. “Now, think about Sunset Shimmer and a specific moment with her. Nothing specific, just whatever comes to mind.” Sunset… Twilight pictured the mare and let her mind wander. We had the best conversations in the library. It always felt like we were most comfortable there. We met for the first time there, we talked about friends and studying there. There were nights we just sat at the center tables and talked until I woke up. I don’t even remember what about every time, but looking at her and listening to her and trying to help her with her problems, and knowing she’d be willing to do the same if I needed it… “You’re smiling.” Twilight’s eyes popped open. “What?” “You have a happy little smile on your face.” Twilight sputtered, “I-I do not!” “You totally do.” Twinkleshine smiled wide. “All ribbing aside, Twilight, you don’t need to be embarrassed or anything. She sounds like a great girl. Plus, consider this: if you’re planning on trying that mental telepathy spell again, you’re going to need to concentrate on making that contact and maintaining it. Everypony knows that a calm, clear emotional state is key to focusing unicorn magic properly.” She lifted a spoon of cereal and gestured it towards Twilight. “Just think about it, hm? Being honest with yourself can only help.” Twilight didn’t reply and Twinkleshine went back to eating. She leaned forward to go back to her own cereal, and her eyes shifted over to the journal, still open to a past entry – the night she had suggested meeting up outside the dreams. Sunset, I hope we can finally meet up tomorrow. I want to be able to see you in person and introduce you to all my friends. We could even have lunch with them. We have so much to talk about.   She lit her horn to gently close the journal and continued eating breakfast.