//------------------------------// // Drowsy Encounters. (Edited by BS) // Story: The Humble Prince // by Lighting Ace //------------------------------// Marching through the sandstorm, the mane six took only a few steps before losing their balance and almost falling when after five steps, they fell into a clear and sunny day at the entrance of the Golden Mirage, behind them the sand storm still raged, but before them, everything was peaceful. "What in tarnation?" "This must be the eye of the storm, the sand acting as a barrier to repel intruders while everything remains calm inside. My teleporter must have set us right on the edge of the storm, leaving just one thin layer of sand and wind to walk through," Twilight explained as she checked the area using a small pocket console she had brought. "Awesome! Then this will literally be a walk in the park!" Rainbow proclaimed confidently. "Let's knock on that door, blast the bad guy, and go home. Easy peasy." "Didn't you hear a single thing Sunset said? Dream is the strongest foe we have ever faced." AJ scolded her. "I don't think things will be that easy." "Well...Blueblood did mention that he is also the laziest, but yeah, we shouldn't lower our guard," Sunset reminded them. "Oh please, you guys are blowing things out of proportion; you'll see; I'll fix this before anyone can finish saying, Harmony. Now let's go!" "Not yet; first, allow me to calibrate the coordinates to keep the portal stable, and that way..." A series of sparks interrupted Twilight as the device vibrated violently before it broke, causing Twilight to yelp and let go as it continued discharging and left a steaming trail of smoke. The portal closed immediately after "...we can keep it open even after fixing the fissures." She finished in disbelief at what had just occurred in front of her. "Are we stranded again?" Fluttershy asked, starting to panic. "Ok, nobody panic!" Sunset tried to salvage the situation as best as she could. "We all knew that we were stepping in here half blind; of course, things would not go as expected, but come on? When did that ever stop us?" "Yeah, like when we faced that storm, the sirens, or that camp counselor!" Pinkie reminded everyone to lift their spirits. "We didn't have a then plan either, and that didn't stop us." "Makes me wonder why it keeps happening to us," Fluttershy inquired with a sigh. "Hey, Fluttershy's right, this is not even the first time we've been here, and we know how to escape; we can just go the other route and circle back home; easy!" Dash reminded the group as she pointed at the spa. "I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of swimming through some quicksand again, but I suppose it's better than being stranded." Rarity remarked. "Plus, the other planet is counting on us." AJ reminded the group. "Come on, everyone, let's save both worlds!" "Yeah!" They all cheered and started to move, minus Twilight, who kept looking where the portal was until Sunset went to her. "Are you ok, Twilight?" "Y-Yeah, I'm ok, it just... I planned for every eventuality and built in all sorts of security measures. I don't get it; what did I miss?" "We can think about that some other time; for now, we have a mission to complete." Sunset pointed at the building, and with a nod, Twilight finally looked away and followed the group inside. "Remember everyone. Be ready for anything!" Sunset gave them one last pep talk before they all marched in, bursting through the door and entering the reception area. The group immediately raised their guards and fists in various ways, ready for an intense and prolonged battle. Only to find the place early peaceful and normal with clients and staff moving around the area like any other regular spa center, except for the fact that all of them are not only quadruped ponies but there was the same pegasus  mare cloned and disperse everywere doing all the jobs, with the same upbeat and cheerful smile. "Hello, welcome to the Golden Mirage. Do you have a reservation?" A mare at the reception desk waved to the group, ignoring the entrance they made and making the whole situation all the more awkward for them as they slowly glanced at each other and subsequently blushed in embarrassment. "Ah...no?" Twilight finally answered and recovered her composure as she and the rest of her friends relaxed a little and approached the desk "Oh, that's ok, you are in luck. Today is a slow day. We can squish you in, no problem!" The receptionist said with a dismissive wave of her wing before retrieving a thick book from under the desk. "Just tell me what treatment you wish to have. Manicure, pedicure, hoof care, we have a promotion of two for one with a seaweed massage treatment..." That last part caught Rarity's attention. Who stepped forward until Rainbow grabbed her left shoulder and pulled her back. "Ok, stop it! We came here to save the world, not to get pampered," Rainbow said, slamming her fist on the receptionist's desk. "So stop with the weird spa receptionist act already." The receptionist, for her part, could only blink in confusion at her statement, making the situation awkward again. "Ma'am...this IS a legitimate spa" She stepped aside and showed them the legal documentation framed on the wall. "We are only doing our job helping heal and relax every creature in Equestria." "And I said stop it!" Dash insisted until Sunset intervened and gently pushed her away, followed quickly by Pinkie Pie "Let's try another approach, Dash," Sunset suggested as Pinkie approached the receptionist. "Thank you so much for telling us the options. They sound incredible, and we might consider them some other time, but we will have to decline for now." "As regrettable as that may be." Rarity mumbled to herself as she crossed her arms and pouted "Right now we have some business to attend to with your boss, so can you point us to where she is?" Pinkie casually asked with a calm smile. "And no, we don't have an appointment either, but it is kind of urgent, so could you please let us in?" Sunset added getting the idea and decided to give it a try. "...Uh, sugar cube, I'm not sure they would just let us walk right up to their..." "Sure! No problem!" The receptionist replied, returning to her cheerful grin, much to the surprise of Applejack. "Wait?! Just like that?" She asked in disbelief "Yeah, the boss is not doing much at the moment, and she always loves to promote the Golden Mirage." The pegasus explained before pointing to the right with her wing and frontal hoof. "She is in the feather room, two doors to the right, one turn to the left, and just keep straight forward until you see a double door set that looks like two giant feathers. If you see a mud pool, you pass it." All the girls keep blinking in surprise as the pegasus keeps smiling. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" "Ah...no thank you and uh...have a good day" Twilight thanked her help, and they just started walking to the right without saying anything else as they saw the ponies continue to do their jobs. "Is anyone else worried about how easy this mission is becoming?" Applejack spoke her concerns as she kept an eye on their surroundings. Fluttershy could only nod in agreement. "Yeah, it's like they are taking all the fun out of it," Dash complained with a grunt. "Fun? Darling, you are not honestly not considering this as a game, are you?" Rarity scolded Dash, who rolled her eyes. "Of course not! But you know what I mean? Sure, we have dealt with plenty of things before, but with how things are going right now? It's weird that we are not facing any resistance." "I don't know, after facing the sandmen? The zombie apocalypse atmosphere for the past days, and well...this," Pinkie reminded the group how clients and workers all around them were ponies. "I say we pretty much covered enough obstacles already." "And it is a bit refreshing not having to fight some big bad villain for once." Fluttershy smiled a bit at that reason as the rest, minus Dash, nodded in agreement. "But it's not the same, and those fights usually make things all the more awesome." Dash complained with a frustrated sigh. "You might still have your wish, Dash," Twilight mentioned as they all stopped in front of the feather room. "Lazy or not, this guy is powerful enough to turn both our worlds to chaos by lying on the ground. And if he's asleep, something tells me he is not going to simply stand up and return to Equestria if we ask nicely." "Twilight is right, girls, and if the stories from Princess Twilight indicate how things go, we need to be on alert and ready to fire the elements as fast as possible." Sunset reminded the group as they got pumped once more and braced themselves as Sunset grabbed the handle and opened the doors. Once more, the girls were left speechless as they expected to find some big room full of massage tables, ponies being treated by feathers, or at the very least, a spacious room full of sand. Instead, they faced what looked like the entrance to a white sand desert without its trademark heat. The floor was swallowed up in a thick layer of sand, making various hills where various ponies were currently asleep atop patches of grasses and using feathers as blankets and pillows. The sky reflected the outside world with a relaxing clear day, and at the center of it, all lay Dream himself. He lay curled up like a dog with his wings spread out and a giant pillow underneath his head. Now more than alert, the group took a few tentative steps forward before stopping and getting on guard once they noticed the pillow move slightly, revealing it to be a vast, puffed-up pegasus who stirred in her sleep and started to wake up, the same one that had attended them as the receptionist. Each of her movements released a stream of sand all over her body. "Ah! Visitors!" The pegasus greeted them, and they took a step back when her body took a semi-transparent form as she stood up, copying and dividing her body until a sandy, thinner version of herself with light blue, glowing eyes whos rose and walked toward them, maintaining her imposing stature, the original soon returned to resting on the floor and closed her eyes. "Please come closer and be welcome in the Golden Mirage, my name is Crossfire Tempo, and I'm the owner of this fine establishment. "She calmly greeted them with a short bow. Now more than ever, the group was confused as they exchanged glances between the giant sand pony and her body, drowsily staring at them while lying on the floor underneath the bird's head. Tempo noticed them staring and raised an eyebrow, and tilted her head. "Is there something on your mind?" She asks, perplexed at their reaction. "Is there something...?! You actually don't see the issue here?!" Dash finally snapped and spoke her mind pointing at her sleeping copy. "You just duplicated yourself out of sand! And are using your own body as a living pillow! Who...what are you?" Smiling, Tempo only nodded and looked back at her body. "Ah yes, the dissociation of an out-of-body experience can be quite surprising at first. Especially when viewing it from an outside perspective." With a sigh, she looked back at the group. "But don't worry, these kinds of things are normal in this room where the line between subconscious and reality is null and void." Slowly extending her wings, the roof and wall burned away as if they were made of paper to reveal giant blue chunks of crystal floating everywhere in an eternal night sky .and most disturbing of all, both ponies and humans could be seen relieving a pleasant scene in loops as thin rings of the sand circled around the crystals. Where they scattered and floated around in the middle of the sky. "Welcome to the Orpheus Core. The epicenter of slumber and the eternal realm of pleasant dreams." She announce in pride "Beautiful, isn't it?. And soon, the entire world would look the same." That caught all the girls' attention, and they prepared their elements at the statement, startling the pegasus with their reaction. "We are not going to let you do it!" Twilight exclaimed in anger. "What is the matter? Wow! Hey, that almost hit me," Tempo complained when the girls tried to use the elements, yet instead of a big explosion, a rainbow-colored beam ray flew out. All of them were so angry with Tempo's plans that they decided to fire again and again until they hit her face, turning her body into a mass of feathers and white smoke that exploded everywhere. The girls sighed in relief until they heard the voice of Tempo speaking again, "What's the big idea? Why are you attacking me like I'm some kind of monster?" She complained, not hiding the hurt in her voice. "Well, you kind of want to trap everyone in their own dreams?" Fluttershy answered, feeling sorry for her. "Trap? Oh no, no dear, you got everything backward; I'm not trapping any soul; I'm rescuing them." Tempo kept talking as the girls put their backs together, trying to locate Tempo. "A world free of pain, of misery, or sorrow. How is that evil?" "You forgot free will," Rarity tells her with anger. "Who said it is not included in the package deal?" Tempo countered as the fog faded, revealing a world of sand starting to form. "Dream has shown me so much; he is very kind. He even let me use his magic in exchange for turning my body into his pillow. And I feel at peace and well-rested for the first time in a long time. Enough for me to realize how many others suffer as I did." She confessed with melancholy, scooping a handful of sand from the ground after scratching the thin layer of grass. "Memories are locked in dreams, and each time someone touches the sand in the wake world, it gets preserved, ready to be used and let me know everything I need to know to whoever I wish to speak to." The girls exchanged glances, unsure of what to do next. "You read everyone's minds? That sounds utterly dreadful, darling! How did you manage to avoid the headache?" Rarity finally decided to ask. Tempo laughed and tossed the sand behind her. "Oh, it's not like I get everything all at once! Think of it as...what was your word in your world? Oh yes! A hard drive. I didn't even attempt to use it until I got a better hold on my new powers, and well, when I glanced at the pain everyone goes through, it broke my heart. That's why I plan to make a world of dreams, a land where no nightmare can ever reach. Only serenity and calm exist. " "So what? You want to play the hero now?" Dash derisively asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's a nice gesture, and all partner, but you are going about this thing the wrong way." AJ tries to reason with Tempo. "Yeah, even I know that a party eventually needs to end, or everyone becomes tired and sick, or even worse, boring." Pinkie explained, shivering at the last word. "And what makes me different from what you are doing now?" Copies of everyone emerged to stand in front of all seven girls, all younger and wearing different outfits; Sunset and Twilight felt a knot in their throats as the clothes worn by the clones brought old, painful memories. "The effects of the sand happen even with particles floating in the air. The second you stepped out of the portal, you gave me everything I needed to know, and from what I gathered, you all stumbled into magic by accident, and ever since then, you have been using it as you please." They managed to create a wave of energy that dissipated the copies but exposed themselves to the smoke, rapidly closing in and engulfing them. Coughing, they all closed their eyes and cleared their vision until they discovered they were not alone, as another copy of a younger version of themselves stood smiling at them. Dash was taken aback and ready to fight her copy when it spoke calmly, "This way, you don't have to choose." "What?" Dash relaxed as she stared at her copy with a raised eyebrow. The copy laughed and started making balancing gestures with her hands. "The athlete, the hero, the rock star, you can be all that at once and more with a single move." As they talked, the rest were having a similar conversation "The ex-apprentice of Celestia, she-devil of Canterlot/ the prom queen, the world's heroine." Sunset's copy started to list. "Aren't you becoming tired of carrying so many titles? You can just let them all go, run away, and never look back, start again for good this time. One last do over." "From one crazy adventure into another, it has become our daily routine; when can we rest?" The copy of Fluttershy asked, "It's true that we want to help, but we're still teenagers, aren't we? We have lives, dreams, and goals. Do you want this to be the rest of our lives?" "You can't fool me, partner. You were always the worst liar. You crave the simple life, just you, your family, and your farm." The copy confronted AJ, still maintaining her calm smile. "To be a farmer." "To be a tailor," Rarity gave her copy of a similar speech "To have lots of parties!" Even Pinkie's copy was getting in her head One by one, each girl started to get drowsy and began to lose the battle against falling asleep. Pinkie was struck with a final idea in the lapse of conscience and quickly texted a message and hit send with one last burst of willpower before falling asleep. "Are you ready to say goodbye to your ugly past?" Copy Twilight offered her hand while behind her was forming a gem encapsulating Midnight Sparkle. "I-I'm afraid," Twilight confessed with tears, kneeling before her copy. "Don't be; this is only what you want." Her copy encouraged her and sat beside her, bringing her into a hug. "Even gods need to rest occasionally; you did more than enough; you learned a lot. You did plenty of what others asked you to do. You earned a break, even if it's just a brief one. Just relax and breathe in." The copy chanted, turning into a pile of feathers for the unconscious Twilight to fall asleep upon. With Sunset being the only one left, she could only take one glance at her. She devil copy had been encapsulated too. "Would she...be gone for good?" "It would be as if she never existed in the first place, just relax and go to bed, me," Her copy giggled, which Sunset repeated, closing her eyes and falling backward, completing the circle of the sleeping girls. With the deed done, Temple lifted the fog and nodded at her handy work before looking at the gems containing the memories of Midnight Sparkle and Sunset Demon Shimmer. "Now, what to do with you?" She hummed and picked the devils up with an intrigued eye. "Eh, I will figure it out eventually" She shrugged and placed them on either side of her natural body. With that resolved, she extended her wings as seven new chunks of crystal formed in the sky. "Time to work." Closing her eyes, she recalled the events with the sirens and what happened before that, finding how the music seemed to channel magic efficiently in this realm. "If music and song can channel magic as a horn would do, then all I need to do is sing a sweet lullaby for my dear Equestria. She created a giant portal to view Canterlot Castle and stood in front of it with an expression of pure serenity. Summoning various musical instruments, she clears her throat and starts to sing with all her heart, a horn soon appearing on her forehead. The effects were almost immediate as all of Equestria started to hear her music and song coming from the sky, followed by golden rays that enticed others closer before they all fell asleep. The power and wave of magic were so strong that fissures spread out at the portal's edge and breached into other worlds. Yet, with her eyes closed and focused on her song, Tempo did not realize the disaster she was creating as sand started to spill into the portal, turning in copies of herself to accelerate the process even more.