//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: One Dream, Two Dreams. Old Dreams, New Dreams. // Story: Night Terrors // by TikiBat //------------------------------// The week that followed had been relatively uneventful, much to Silver’s relief. While Silver slumbered, he and his students partnered up and conducted their experiments in the strange world beyond the dream realm just as they had voted for. Despite his objections, he abided by their vote and played the role of safety officer, seldom venturing any further than a few feet from the gateway building’s exit. Instead, he let his students (mainly Morgana and Koruk) explore and test the limits of the strange space. For the most part, these excursions consisted of them exploring the large central castle that filled out the pair’s basic framework, but occasionally their efforts had turned into the pair attempting to create new structures— more often than not with mixed results. Still, though, there were occasional breakthroughs, and despite his reluctance and hesitation, Silver was still nonetheless impressed by their growing mastery of the space. There was obviously a long way to go, but if there was anything to find comfort in it was the fact that there had been no real incidents that proved cause for alarm. As hesitant as he still was, he’d have been lying if he said that he wasn’t feeling the urge to start creating things with them. Like any creative, however, the temptation was nearly irresistible, which is why Silver now found himself stepping further from his safe spot. “Feeling that creative itch?” Radiant Phoenix asked from behind him. Silver flinched at the surprise question, as he hadn’t realized that his friend had crept up on him. “I— I swear I’m going to have a nervous breakdown in here one of these days. I’m already creeped out by this place without the extra jump scares from my friends.” “I didn’t mean to frighten you prematurely,” Phoenix laughed. “Just thought I’d glide over and check up on you. Y’know, pick your brain a little… though I probably shouldn’t have snuck up on you so silently, so I’m sorry.” “It’s fine,” Silver took a deep breath and relaxed. “You’ve been a lot more concerned about others lately. I’ll take it you’re still working on your psychology degree?” “Mhmm,” Phoenix confirmed. “Midnight thought it’d be a good idea to finish it after all this time. With how peaceful and relaxing The Oasis is, we both thought that it would be a great idea to work together and set up a retreat and clinic for ponies who need nothing more than a peaceful place to relax and work through whatever problems they might encounter in their day to day lives.” “With how the Oasis’ population is growing and the increase in work related stress that people seem to be feeling lately… you two might be very busy when you’re finished.” “Good, I like helping people work through their troubles,” he followed Silver’s gaze and smirked as he saw his two associates flying around their castle. “So how about it then? Has watching those two stumble around here sparked your creative imagination yet?” Silver turned towards him and shrugged. “When aren’t the creative gears turning in my head?” “You know what I mean, friend,” he replied. “To tell you the truth, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling the irresistible urge to create… I just don’t know what to make of this place still.” “Yet we voted to explore it and test its limits,” Silver reminded his friend. “Perhaps that’s why I’m so mixed on it,” Phoenix admitted. “The normal dream realm is a world of literally endless possibilities. Once you’ve crafted something a couple of times it becomes second nature… but in here? It just feels like we’re fighting through a current just to do basic things.” Silver touched a hoof to his shoulder and nodded. “Vote’s today, what are you thinking?” Phoenix sighed. “Well? I’m split if you want my honest answer. I know we need to be cautious but… just look out there,” He gestured with a wing. Silver looked down on Morgana and Koruk, who were seemingly finding their rhythm with building their castle. Despite the rough time that they had originally had, it seemed as if this strange realm was starting to bow to their will. He sighed and looked back over to his friend. “I get what you mean.” “You weren’t wrong, in case you’re wondering,” Phoenix spoke up. “Huh?” Silver asked. Phoenix smiled and conjured up a pair of plush couches and a plain wooden table. He trotted over and took a seat, gazing down onto the strange dreamy landscape. Looking back at his friend, he pointed at the second couch. “Take a seat, we might as well be comfortable while we chat.” Silver quickly looked back at the exit, then closed his eyes and nodded, taking a seat next to his closest friend. “I wasn’t wrong about what?” He asked. “We needed to play it safe until we had a chance to figure out what this place was.” Silver grimaced. “We still don’t know what it is though— and if you listen to the wardens this place isn’t even the dream realm. That’s got me worried.” “Mhmm,” Phoenix looked back to Silver. “We’ve done as good as we could with exploring this though. You played it safe and so far we’ve had no other incidents, no one’s gotten lost, been consumed by some weird void creature… or had any other weird encounters. It’s gotten me thinking, and well…” he gestured out to the landscape again. “Those two have managed to make something— and it hasn’t even attacked them since we’ve taken it slow.” “This place shouldn’t have fought back against us in the first place though,” Silver replied. “Regular dreams can be a mess, but they also tend to follow a specific order. This is… was, chaos.” Phoenix laughed and shook his head, “You always had such a flair for the dramatic. You see chaos, but I see something else.” “Oh?” Silver raised an eyebrow. “What do you see then?” “I see another layer of your psyche. If Somewhere is a part of your subconscious, then who says that this place isn’t another part of your mind?” “Psychic Calm, an all-powerful Dreamwarden who’s a literal psychologist,” Silver emphasized with a dramatic wave of his hooves that was accompanied by ethereal sparkles. “He didn’t understand Somewhere at first,” Phoenix reminded him. “The gateway showed up in a dream that’s directed by your thoughts and feelings, right?” “Right…” Silver slowly nodded. “But what about when I cut my hoof in here and had it happen in the waking world too?” “Coincidence?” Phoenix shrugged. “I guess I didn’t factor that into everything.” “Phoenix,” Silver reached his now healed hoof over to his friend. “Where’s this going?” “If you’ll humor me,” he chuckled. “How stressed were you when we first visited it?” “What’s that got to do with anything?” Silver asked. “I’ve seen you at city meetings. You’ve looked tired, exhausted, and all around burned out.” Silver turned away and instead shifted his focus to the ruins of the other structures his friends had tried building. “Was it that obvious?” “Mhmm, and you’ve been more tense and irritable lately— or rather you were, I’ve noticed a shift lately however.” Silver sighed. “You hit the nail on the head,” he looked back at Phoenix. “I burned out hard, was snapping at Sprocket and Tinker over stupid shit, and finally realized I needed to just take a step back and figure out what I wanted to do. I didn’t quit my department, but I’m basically a consultant now— have been for the last week, while I focus on figuring out what my next step is.” “Which is?” Phoenix asked. “Education. I always liked teaching you and the others in here, and I guess a part of me thought it might be a good idea to do something like that out there?” His friend smiled. “You’ll be a great teacher, Silver. Now I know this all seems like it isn’t tying into anything else here, but have you noticed that this place seemed more hostile to us when you were stressed out, and less when you stepped back?” Silver paused and shook his head. “You know? I haven’t.” “Where I’m going with all of this is that I think that this place is tied to your subconscious in a different way than Somewhere is. If it’s anything like Somewhere, then maybe it’s linked to an even deeper part of your psyche, and that’s why we’ve been having so much trouble with it.” “You think so?” Silver asked. “I do,” Phoenix replied. “So with all that said and done, I think I’ve figured out my vote.” Silver nodded. “I have a lot to think about, but I think this opened my eyes a little more.” “What are you going to vote?” Silver shrugged. “You want the real answer? I’m going to have to see what the others think when we meet in a little bit. You’ve brought up some very good points, and that’s going to change some of my feelings on the matter going forward.” Phoenix smiled. “I’m glad we were able to have this conversation.” Silver grinned, “Me too.” This simple comfort helped grant an unintentional wish for Silver; the desire to just simply relax during his slumber instead of taking a central role in the team’s adventures. Regardless of what the outcome of the vote would be, he was at least starting to feel less stressed and more at ease. For all intents and purposes, he was still their teacher, however, their current interests meant that he could focus more on being a teacher in other ways— primarily when it came to his career shift. Silver let out a long yawn and groggily rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Sleep well?” Scarlet rolled over in bed. “Mhmm,” Silver snuggled up next to her. “Sat and chatted, took a vote on some stuff. All in all, I had a pretty boring time, to be honest. What about you?” “I had a meeting regarding some of the Equestrian exchange program stuff. I know that Starry is in town… but I didn’t feel like bothering him with work questions in the waking world.” “How’d that go?” “Good. It was mostly just running through some stuff with Princess Luna and Starry— a lot of questions and answers that are more formalities than anything else, then talking about what’s going to happen in the long term.” “I take it we’ll be making some regular Equestrian vacations then?” Silver smiled. “Yep!” Scarlet laughed. “We haven't gone over how regular this is going to be yet, but the original contract stated regular field work every other year with the option for that to turn into a yearly thing if I’m doing a good job.” “That’s awesome!” Silver cheered. “Think this’ll turn into a career then?” Scarlet let out a soft yawn. “Not sure yet, but I would love it if it did.” “Guess time will tell then, eh?” Silver smiled. “I know I’ve said this a lot, but I’m so proud of you!” “I’m proud of you too, Silver,” She smiled. “So how was your dream?” “It was fine I suppose,” Silver shrugged. “We just explored that weird dream and voted on what we do next. Pretty much everyone decided that they wanted to test the limits more so I guess our safety procedure is getting sunsetted.” “You don’t seem happy about that?” She raised an eyebrow. “Is everything okay?” “It is,” Silver reassured her. “I just got spooked in there before and I think that it’s stuck with me more than it should have.” “No, I think you were perfectly justified in being wary,” she shook her head. “You woke up with an injury you sustained in the dream, and whether it was a weird coincidence or not, you did the right thing and chose to be safe.” “We’re still going to be safe, it’s just that now we’re going to focus more on trying to make things together as a group. You know, see what seven creative minds can come up with in there.” Scarlet sighed. “Just be careful, okay Silvie?” Silver nuzzled up next to her. “I will. I can’t afford to get stressed out anymore, so I’m just going to do what I feel is safe; even if it means I’m sitting on the sidelines more than the others.” “Good,” Scarlet smiled. “So what’s on the agenda for tonight? Is Star going to have you shadow her class again?” “Mhmm,” Silver answered. “They’ve been giving me the easy stuff to work on. Feels like I’m an aide again.” “That’s good though— it means you’re going to have an easy time going forward.” “Hopefully,” Silver laughed. “I did work in a high school and shadowed at a community college… that’s a teensy bit different from pre-kindergartners.” “Yeah?” Scarlet asked. “But you’re also a smart pony and I know you’ll be able to tackle this like a pro. What’s the worst that could happen?” “I dunno, but tonight’s the first night I’m dealing with an all night-pony class…” “Oh…” Scarlet’s eyes widened. “Maybe it won’t be so bad?” She optimistically assured him. Silver and Orion trotted down the street, enjoying yet another wonderful evening. While most kids seemed to dislike going to school, Orion evidently loved it. If Silver had to guess, it was largely because of the fact that there were so few ponies his age who he regularly got to spend time with outside of school. “Are you ready for school, Orion?” Silver asked. “Yeah!” He excitedly exclaimed, practically throwing himself off balance in the process. Silver laughed and knelt down to his level. “And what’s your favorite thing about school?” Orion stopped for a few seconds, clearly pondering this in his mind. “Umm,” he started. “I get to play with my friends!” “I bet you guys play lots of fun games!” Silver smiled. “What’s your favorite game?” “Monsters!” The foal cheered. Monsters? Silver thought to himself. “What’s that?” “You’re the monster!” Orion gleefully replied. “And what do you do?” Silver pressed further. “You be a monster!” Orion repeated, emphasizing this with a loud roar. “Ahhh. Can I be a monster?” Orion furiously shook his head. “You’re too big!” Silver couldn’t help but reply with a laugh. “You’re too cute. Wanna fly to school?” Orion’s eyes lit up and he started hopping around. “YES!” Silver helped Orion into the flying harness, and once satisfied that he was secured, he took off into the sky, much to Orion’s delight. “Faster!” He cheered, as Silver gently weaved through the sky. Silver knew better than to actually fly recklessly while carrying his son, but he also knew how to make the trip exciting while still staying safe. Gentle swoops and slow dives were more than enough thrill for the young foal. Eventually, they gently touched down, and Silver removed Orion from the harness. If it weren’t for the fact that Orion enjoyed school so much Silver would have expected him to protest, but thankfully he would avoid that meltdown. As Silver approached the small multi-purpose building that served as the Oasis’ makeshift preschool, a handful of thoughts began to run through his head. “Alright Silver, nothing to worry about. It’s just a group of kids… it’ll be just like when you were an aide… sure, they’re just a lot younger and a lot rowdier… but you’ve got this!” he thought to himself. As he pushed open the door he was immediately greeted by a mob of loud, screaming foals who were running wild. Orion, who was clearly overjoyed, excitedly leapt into the fray, leaving Silver to take the sight in alone— not that he would have been much help. The screeching cacophony assaulted his ears, forcing him to flip them back in hopes of even muffling the sound slightly. If Moonlight Star’s reaction— or lack thereof was any indication, he’d eventually grow used to this in time. Catching sight of Silver, she couldn’t help but let out a laugh, as it was clear that he was running through the gauntlet. Dodging and weaving through a field of flying toys and roughhousing night ponies, she effortlessly approached him and smiled. “Soooo… you’re not scared away from this already, right?” Silver glanced around at the ruckus surrounding them, then nervously nodded his head. “Nahhh, Orion went through his diablo phase right after Scarlet left for a business trip.” Moonlight Star let out another loud guffaw “Oh no, you sweet innocent soul…” “Is that a warning?” Silver raised an eyebrow. The mare looked back at the chaos that had unfolded behind her, then back to Silver. “Let’s just say that this is your first test. If you can survive tonight then you’ll make it. If you tap out… let’s not worry about that. There’s always higher education after all.” “I see,” Silver nervously chuckled. “Might as well get started then.” “You think you’re ready?” “I’ll be reading a story to a bunch of foals, how hard can it be?” “These are night ponies,” she reminded him. Silver laughed. “I read stories to Orion every night, and I’ve managed to crack the code on keeping him interested.” “Really now? Tell you what then, if you can keep a room of rowdy night ponies in line then I will be very impressed.” “I doubt it’s gonna just be a trot in the park, but I’ll give it my best shot.” “And that’s all you need to do. I’ll go ahead and round up the fillies and colts and then we can start, so just hang tight for a second.” Silver nodded and trotted over to the aide’s desk, slipping his saddlebags off along the way. “Alright, class!” Moonlight Star called out to the room. “I need to see every filly and colt in their seats and ready to learn.” “YES MRS. STAR!” The room answered in unison. One by one the mob of foals rushed to their seat, and Silver was once again proud of how well-behaved Orion was. “Now, because you have all been so good this week, Mr. Eclipse is going to read you a story. What do you say to Mr. Eclipse?” Despite the classroom being dimly lit, Silver could pick out the interested and surprised expressions from each of the foals, including his own. They might have been silent for the moment, but that silence would be short lived. “THANK YOU MR. ECLIPSE!” they shouted back. This was the part of teaching night ponies that Silver would soon grow accustomed to. The stallion nervously smiled and trotted up to the front of the classroom. “Good evening class,” He looked over towards Moonlight Star for reassurance, getting a warm smile and nod in return. He gulped, and nodded, turning back to the class. “As Mrs. Star said, I’m going to read you all a book tonight.” “What story?!” a hoof shot up, though perhaps a little too late. Silver smiled at the filly, and pulled out a book from his saddlebags with the same dramatic flair that he often used when sharing stories with Orion. “An old classic that my dad used to read to me when I was your age… One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, by Doctor Seuss!” The class sat silently and stared at the book as if it was some surprising artifact. That silence was soon broken by another question. “A doctor wrote that?!” One of the colts shouted. “You’re telling about fishies?!” another marveled. “He’s not really a doctor,” Silver started. “Why is the story about the fishies?” The same colt interrupted. “I…” Silver was at a loss for words. “I— I don’t know, it’s just part of the story.” “But why?!” a different filly replied back. “Because the doctor man wroted it that way!” came another reply. “Can you read the cat one?” Orion added his own insight into the fray. Silver smirked and rolled his eyes. It wasn’t long before the class soon descended into chaos, as the colts and fillies lobbied question after question after question. This was Silver’s lesson just as much as it was theirs, he soon came to realize. “Okay fillies and colts, please settle down,” Silver sternly spoke. “What’s the cat one?!” one of the students called out. Frustration started to grow inside of Silver but realizing that he was dealing with something he had dealt with before, he took a deep breath and smiled again. “If you all settle down and let me read, then I promise I’ll read you the cat one too.” The room quickly hushed, and Silver began to read. It wasn’t without the occasional outburst from the class, however. As it turned out, most of the students were more interested in why Silver was describing fish than what was actually happening, but with practiced patience that came from raising a night pony foal of his own, Silver powered through. Finally he was done with his story, and as promised, he pulled out The Cat in the Hat and began to read that. Naturally, this brought it’s own slew of questioning and debate, but much like before, he was able to weather the storm and push through. Before long class was over, and Silver was facing Moonlight Star again. “I have to commend you, Silver,” She started. “You managed to hold your own surprisingly well.” “I’ve had a lot of practice with Orion,” he laughed. “I could have done a better job at calming them down though,” Silver admitted. “I dunno,” Star smirked. “You handled yourself pretty well for a beginner. Keep up that attitude and you’ll make a fantastic teacher someday.” “Do you really think so?” Silver excitedly asked. “Mhmm,” Star nodded. “No one’s ever perfect on their first go, but you did a good job. Perhaps I’ll have to make Storytime with Silver a regular part of my weekly lesson plans,” She smirked. Silver let out a chuckle. “If you’ll have me, I’d be glad to.” He was suddenly interrupted by Orion, who excitedly ran up and hugged him. “Thanks for the story, daddy!” He squeezed Silver’s leg tightly. Silver smiled and lifted his son up onto his back, “Thank you for being such a good listener, little buddy. I’m always so proud of you.” The colt beamed at the compliment. Silver meanwhile, turned to face Moonlight Star again. “Thanks again for even giving me this opportunity. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.” “The pleasure is all mine,” She replied. “Wanna know a secret?” “Sure?” Silver answered, not really expecting where she was going. “I was in your horseshoes once. When I was younger I swore left and right that I would never go into teaching, and when I first started I was a nervous wreck. I stumbled over my words, I lost control of the classroom on the first day. I thought about quitting then and there, but I stuck with it and here I am now.” “So don’t quit? That’s what you’re saying right?” “Mhmm. Even though you had a good day today, things won’t always be that way. But don’t ever get discouraged. Just keep thinking about what you managed to do today, and it’ll keep you motivated on the bad days.” Silver grinned, holding out a hoof towards her. “Thank you, that means a lot.” “You’re very welcome,” She bumped her hoof against his. “See you tomorrow?” “Same time,” Silver nodded. “What’s next, daddy?” Orion suddenly asked. Silver craned his neck back to look at the colt. “How about we head home and get some dinner with your mom? Then I can read you another story.” “Can you read me a space story?” The colt practically pleaded. Silver couldn’t help but let out a chuckle and nod. “Of course Orion, I would love to read you one.