//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 – Accept My Apologies, Little Filly // Story: The Dream Guards // by Lusaminia //------------------------------// In the span of an hour and a half, almost the entirety of Ponyville castle’s library had gone from the most organized room in the entire castle to the messiest. Three ponies and one dragon search book after book, nonfiction to fiction, for some vague idea of whatever it was that had attacked Yolina. Princess Twilight Sparkle had surrounded herself completely with a mountain of books, one side read while the other was still on her list. Starlight and Spike matched her reading pace but took time choosing what they read instead of opening whatever was closest. Applejack, meanwhile, did her best to keep up with the ponies and dragon more use to this. She was a far slower reader than any of them, not to mention was decently less familiar with what she was looking for. The number of different types of books that could hold what they were looking for made her head spin, and the volume of reading she had done was making her head start to feel light. How much longer till they had their answer? Would they even get an answer? Applejack was starting to worry that not only was Yolina’s attacker some unknown beast, but one that Equestria had never seen before. It certainly made her nervous for what might happen when the school finally opened. In their attempts to spread the lessons of friendship to places beyond Equestria, they might now be putting ponies in greater danger than intended. “Applejack, you’re sure she didn’t tell you anything else about this monster?” Twilight asked from inside what was practically a fortress of books at this point. “Anything at all?” “Nope. Nothing,” Applejack replied, head dropping forward in annoyance. “And you’re certain it isn’t a bugbear?” “Bugbears aren’t naturally aggressive. They wouldn’t have attacked Yolina unless she went near a cub or was seen in their territory.” Twilight turned her fourth page in the span of two sentences before continuing. “I also doubt that a bugbear wouldn’t have chased after you for an easy meal.” Applejack gulped, shaking her head to avoid the picture of a bugbear eating the pony she had just saved. She knew how dangerous they were after battling one before Cranky and Matilda’s wedding. It was the only guess she had about what this beast could be, and if it wasn’t… a shiver ran down her spine. What was it? “The creature didn’t want food, otherwise they would have finished the job and not thrown her into the roof of Sweet Apple Acres,” Starlight thought out loud. “It wasn’t looking for food, it was looking to kill her. If we take that into consideration, then what we are dealing with isn’t some normal animal.” “So does that mean it was a griffon or a dragon?” Spike asked, looking up from his current book to look. Twilight shot up from the top of her book fortress, looking at Spike with eyes, terrified eyes. “What?! No! They wouldn't do that… At least I hope so. Especially with the school so close to being done and how important it is not just to the world but in terms of Equestria’s standing with its allies.” “And Yolina isn’t an Equestrian citizen, right? She’s from a place not on any map,” Starlight continued, looking to Applejack for confirmation she was right. The farmer gave her a nod. “So why her? If somepony really wanted to make a political statement they wouldn’t attack some random thestral. They would go for a noble, one of the princesses, or the former element bearers.” “Which is why we are going to keep on reading until we find something that makes sense,” Twilight said, falling back to her floor and picking her current book back up, only to realize she had just finished it. She quickly placed it on the top of the ever increasing pile before turning to the next one. “There has to be something we are forgetting. We just need to keep searching until we find it” There was a collective groan throughout the library from everypony save the princess of friendship. Applejack mentally berated herself for coming to the castle first instead of after getting her farm work done. Melissa looked at her recent phone calls, Lucy at her side as they rested against a wall within the halls of one of Champlain College’s many academic buildings. Both of them had already had their classes for the day, giving the time to discuss exactly what it was that had made the former flip that morning. Melissa had expected a rather understandable berating from her girlfriend for yelling at a young child, no matter what the reason might be. Instead, she had only so far mentioned the girl calling herself “Applebloom” before Lucy had suddenly taken to the internet. As Lucy searched up whatever it was that had suddenly gained her interest, Melissa considered the possibility of calling Applebloom back. She was still upset that some random Texan had somehow obtained something belonging to a dear friend, but she didn’t deserve the treatment she had received. Perhaps if she called back and apologized, the young girl could tell her if they knew what happened to Yolina. “Yep, as I thought. This is her.” Lucy suddenly shoved her phone in Melissa’s face, showing a picture of… a small cartoon horse with a ribbon in her mane. The shock on Melissa’s face turned to something far more blank as she looked at Lucy, who was looking at her judgingly. After looking between the phone and french girl several more times, Melissa sighed. “You spent all that time looking for a pony from a kids show?” Melissa asked, taking a hold of Lucy’s phone. “Not just any pony from a kids show!” Lucy replied, placing one hand on her hip and using the other to point to the pony in question. “This is Applebloom, a filly with a rather thick southern accent.” Melissa’s eyes went wide, once again looking back between her girlfriend and the picture of the filly multiple times. A piece of her knew what was being implied, but a somehow intact side of her that was still grounded in logic couldn’t bring itself to believe it. Even if Yolina was trying to prove wondrous, fantastical life could be found in the universe by leaving the known portions of the realm of dreams, the idea she had ended up in a world populated by horses felt too absurd. “It… it can’t be possible,” Melissa said, trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Lucy. “There has to be something that makes more sense than this.” She looked back to the picture of Applebloom. “Right?” Lucy smiled, shaking her head in amusement. “Remember what Vee always tells you when you say things like that? Through our imagination, we create things that break impossibility and show that it can exist. Through our belief in it, through our love and care, that new creation-” “No matter how far-fetched, can become reality,” Melissa finished. She sighed once again, logic accepting a defeat that it was becoming all too normal for its liking. “So… I yelled at a little pony earlier.” The smile Lucy wore instantly fell away, making Melissa take a worrying step back.“Oh, you didn’t just yell at a little pony earlier, but a little pony kid! You probably scared the shit out of her!” Melissa wasn’t sure whether to apologize, stare blankly, or groan as loudly as possible about the situation put in front  of her. She started to wonder how her life had gotten to that point, and then distinctly remembered the exact moment reality started taking strange turns: when Vee had unceremoniously fallen out of the sky and collided with her arm. Becoming a Magral Knight, fighting nightmares, and ending up in the exact situation where her brain could be convinced that, yes, talking ponies were actually real all stemmed from that single unfortunate incident. Her life could easily be called a strange, unnatural mess, and while her brain certainly didn’t like the constant twisting of logic she didn’t really hate it. The monsters she had to deal with some nights made her stomach churn at times, but bringing them down made her happy, knowing she had saved or avenged a life. Lives that had ranged from young to old, friendly to offensive, and all manner of inbetween. All of them were targeted by nightmares so addicted to the energy they got from dreams it reminded Melissa of those constant “do not vape” ads she got on YouTube. “I should… probably apologize to Applebloom,” Melissa finally said after a long, painful silence, holding Lucy’s phone out and looking back at her own. “She didn’t deserve getting screamed at like that.” Lucy allowed the tiniest amount of her smile to her, giving a consenting nod. “Yeah, though I can’t say I completely blame you. In the heat of the moment, thinking I’ve finally gotten hold of Yolina for the first time in days, I’d be pretty pissed at myself.” “Pissed?” Melissa asked, somehow managing to conjure a goofy smile despite the atmosphere. “Lu, I don’t want to know the amount of expletives and destruction that would have been left if you were the one who had made the call.” Lucy let out a mock gasp, placing a hand to her chest. “Me? You would call the daughter of an extremely successful CEO a barbarian!” “Says the girl who is practically a blood mage and hasn’t brushed her hair in two whole weeks.” Against her will, the french girl blushed at her girlfriend’s accurate statement. “Barbarian or not, doesn’t make me love you any less.” Lucy’s eyes found the wall, tracing the lines between the stones that made it up. “Not sure whether to feel insulted or proud after hearing that.” “Maybe both?” Melissa said. “I’m sensing a hint of both.” The blush on her face increased, because as much as she hated to admit it Melissa was right. Both of them knew any “high and mighty” behavior from her was a joke and nothing more. After all, daughter of a CEO she may be, the first eight years hadn’t been in their care. She couldn’t help but chuckle at how surprised that version of herself would be to see the women she had become. “So you gonna call a small pony or not, wiseass?” She jokingly spat back. The harsh words didn’t make their smile any less true. With a nod, Melissa opened Yolina’s contacts and pressed call. She turned on the speaker phone so that Lucy was able to join in if she wanted to, and waited. After three rings, the otherside answered, and a familiar young voice suddenly appeared from the other side. “Hello?” “Hey. This is Applebloom right?” Even if she couldn’t see it, Melissa was sure Applebloom was shaking at the sound of hearing her voice again. There was a pause in the initial sound of clip clops through the speaker. “Applebloom, everything okay?” Another voice asked, just as young and somewhat scratchy. She probably had no idea Melissa could hear her. “Y-yeah,” Applebloom said, her stutter betraying her answer. “Um… I’m really sorry for making you mad earlier, miss. It just scared me.” “Hey, it’s fine. I’m actually calling to apologize about yelling at you earlier,” Melissa said. When Applebloom didn’t immediately respond, she continued. “I’ve been worried about a friend, you see. A… mare by the name of Yolina.” “Yolina?” One final new voice asked, this one reminding of a far young Lucy. The aggressive edge her girlfriend had was missing, but it was there. “Applebloom, is that the name of the mare that crashed through your roof three days ago.” Lucy leaned close. “Wait, three days?” There was no reply, which Melissa expected was due to the ponies on the other side not expecting someone new to show up on her end. The lining up of dates couldn’t be a coincidence though; Melissa hadn’t mentioned how long Yolina had been missing both during breakfast and now. Forcing a cough, and seeing as how Applebloom hadn’t hung up just yet, Melissa decided to get the conversation moving again. “Rights, perhaps some introductions first. Applebloom, my name is Melissa, and the… mare you just heard is my, um, marefriend.” “Lucy Francious,” Lucy said, giving a salute to the fillies that they would never see. “Bonjour, Applebloom.” “Oh, um, bond draw to you too?” Applebloom replied, her butchered greeting getting a giggle from both Melissa and Lucy. “I have two of my friends here with me, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.” “Oh, uh, hi Miss Melissa and Miss Lucy,” the raspier voice, Scootaloo, replied. “It’s nice to meet you, and sorry about your friend.” “Yeah. If something like that happened to Applebloom and Scootaloo and I didn’t know what was going on, I would be just as scared,” Sweetie Belle said. Despite her personal feelings about little kids, Melissa’s smile couldn’t help but grow at the sincerity of their words. They weren’t like the typical gremlins that screamed when things didn’t go their way or wandered around without a second thought. Sure, a piece of that no doubt resided within them, but for how young they sounded they were rather mature.  Was she like that before dysphoria and the true nature of her parents started to show themselves? Perhaps, but she would never know. She had cut all contact with her mother as soon as she went off to college, and her father… the screams he caused still rang in her ear. Her free hand gripped at an invisible revolver, doing her best to stay calm. “Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo,” Lucy called, a maternal note hitting her voice. Melissa looked at her eyes, noting the sudden fear. “What happened to Yolina? Is she okay?” Quiet. The sudden silence allowed Melissa the time she needed to have taken in Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo’s earlier remark. A stuttered breath left her mouth, free hand clenched tighter. As she looked back to the phone her mind recalled what Applebloom had said during that first, far less friendly call between them. Yolina had crashed into a roof. Something had gone very, very wrong. “I’m not sure. I think I heard mention of her having woken up when I went to go visit Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, though,” the farm filly answered. “Woke up?” Melissa asked. She and Lucy shared a look of concern between themselves, heartbeat increasing. “You mean she’s been unconscious?” “Y-yeah. Three days ago she crashed into our farm house. My brother and sister, Applejack and Big Mac helped get her to the hospital. Sis mentioned she said something about a cowboy.” There was a quick pause, Applebloom’s voice growing bubbly. “She… she didn’t look that good, but she’s awake. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” A sigh left both of them near simultaneously, Lucy clutching her chest in relief. Fear, confusion, and terror mixed with joy to create a concoction of feelings that neither could put into an expression. They would somehow find a way to thank Applebloom and her family in person; it was the least they could do to thank them for saving a friend's life. Words would have to suffice till then. “Applebloom, thanks,” Melissa replied, her words carrying a breathy tone to them, “and give our thanks to your brother and sister too.” “Of course Miss Melissa!” Applebloom responded with a fake but appreciated cheer. “I’ll get this little voice thingy to her as soon as possible. I’m sure she would like to hear from you.” Lucy gave a firm nod. “And us from her. Actually, if anything happens between those two points, it might not be a bad idea to show you how to make an emergency call.” She looked at her girlfriend, giving them a not-so-confident look. “You know, just in case something happens.” Applebloom paused, the french girl imagining the cutest head tilt she possibly could. “Emergency call?” “You don’t think- but you can’t be too careful in our line work,” Melissa admitted, peeling off an exceptionally dry part of her lip with her teeth in defeat. People had indeed been put in harm's way just by knowing them; a filly from another planet might not be safe. “Lucy is right, Applebloom. If you have no other option, then making sure you know how to dial us might be a good idea.” Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo went quiet once more on them, though both humans could hear the faint sounds of whispering through the phone’s speakers. The image of three small ponies huddled in the corner came to Lucy’s mind, her face beaming at the cuteness in her mind's eye. Melissa just watched, confused but delighted to see the smile she was wearing.  “You really think we’ll need it?” Sweetie Belle asked. “It never hurts to have options,” Melisse replied. There was a noise of collective agreement, followed by Applebloom’s voice. “Okay then. Explain how this emergency call thing works.”