“Alright, it’s my turn! It’s a good thing I always keep my Dragon Pit board with me.” Starlight exclaimed with enthusiasm as she redecorated the part of the floor everyone had been playing on, busy as it had been due to someone else’s game night recommendation.
“Aw come on, we’re not even a quarter into our Ogres & Oubliettes campaign...” Spike looked on sadly at the sight of his many pieces being floated away to be organized and cleaned by Twilight’s magic, all while the purple alicorn gave him a small chuckle.
“We’ve already been at it for three hours, Spike. We all agreed. It’s only fair to rotate our selected games out or else we’ll be here all night.” She laid it out for him in a gentle and patient tone.
“Yeah, okay... But everyone took the better part of an hour to create their characters!” He crossed his arm still none too satisfied.
“You’re the only one that has played it before, Spike. It’s only natural that we’d take so long to learn the rules and make our characters when there were so many options to choose from.” Twilight explained while she rolled the die in order to move her piece on Starlight’s game which had already begun.
“Spike, I’m, sorry. Took longest.” The little changeling bowed to him, sad to have slowed everyone’s pace down and for having disappointed him. She didn't have a good frame of reference for many of the options available, and so she had to be lectured on a lot of what any of them were. Her lack of knowledge coupled with her often overly serious nature tended to make for an unimaginative mix, which did not pair well with Spike's game.
“Nah, don’t worry about it, Chrys.” He waved his claws dismissively as a show to say he had, had a change of heart in that instant in order to liven her mood. “Ogres and Ou’ is a game that takes lots of sessions to finish anyway. And it’s better if you took your time to choose the class you wanted to play, rather than choosing at random and being stuck with something you didn’t.”
“Aaannndd, we can always continue it at some point in the future. That is, if everyone present wants to.” Twilight added in order to alleviate Chrys’ remorse a bit, getting a nod from Spike and Starlight. “What do you say, Pip? Think you’d want to come over again?”
“Totally! It’s been really fun, Princess Twilight.” The princess gave him a contended smile at his reply, seeing as how Chrys brightened again at his response from a cascading effect since Spike had also felt better about it too.
“That settles it then. I’m holding you all accountable in order to finish that game. Ogres and Ou’ is serious business.” Everyone gave Spike’s comment a chuckle. “But jeez, talk about 'unexpected' with your character choices. Twilight, a rogue, really? No offense, but you’re not the sneaky type.”
“Hey! You’re the one who said to try and step outside of my comfort zone. ‘You can be whoever you want to be. This is your chance to be someone else entirely if you want.’ Is what you said, remember?”
Spike ignored her and continued. “Never thought you’d want to be a Paladin, Starlight.”
“Oh you know. Just want to be a force of good for once and do the right thing ... Haha.” She laughed nervously.
“Just be careful about upholding your Oaths, is my only advice. As for you, Pipsqueak... Well, yours was pretty expected. Don’t know why you took so long as well since it seemed like you already knew what you wanted from the start.”
“I was just wondering what Pint-size would’ve been. A champion or a gladiator? Wish there had been a class that was just ‘Hero’, you know?”
“Pint who? That historical pony Hero? Nice! You’re already leaning pretty heavily into the roleplaying part of this game, aren’t you?” Spike brought a fist up to him so that they could do a hoof/fist bump, which Pip gladly took. Then he turned to the changeling. “I half expected you to be a druid, Chrys, to be honest. You know, due to their animal shapeshifting and all. They have pretty good offensive capabilities thanks to that, and they also get a good amount of support spells like the class you chose. But don’t mind my words. Cleric is always a solid option.” He gave her a big smile and thumbs up.
“Mmm! Support, sound fun.”
“I hope you’re all well prepared for what I have in store for you as your game master!” He gave them his best sinister laugh, all while rolling his dice for Starlight’s game. “The dangers you will encounter will be so treacherous, your characters will have nightmares for weeks!” His dramatics and cackle immediately fell after having mindlessly moved his piece onto a dragon pit on the board, triggering the trap and sending a marble from inside the volcano in the middle of the board spewing out towards it and sending his piece into oblivion on contact. “Noooooo!” Spike fell to his knees after his spectacular scream.
“Better luck next time, dragon boy! That’s what you get for not paying Dragon Pit better attention.” Starlight added salt to the wound as she took up the die herself. “But enough talk, I have a game to win. You kiddies better watch yourselves, or you’ll end up just like Spike here. That includes you, Twilight.” The two mares went into squinting staring fits as their competitive nature began to flare.
Thankfully, Dragon Pit was a game mostly up to chance at the roll of a die, and so their spirits were tempered by Lady Luck herself. The same could not be said once Twilight’s game was brought up. Trivia. Starlight is a headstrong and intellectual pony even at the worst of times, and this was not the type of character you wanted competing against Twilight at trivia. Their battle was ferocious. Their fight, legendary.
Spike had felt the onslaught approaching from a mile out and had made an excuse to escape with the two kids away from the crossfire by offering them a late-night snack. And although they had stepped away in the middle of that trivia game, it mattered none since they had long since lost the game, standing no chance to win. Unlikely Twilight or Starlight would’ve even noticed their disappearance amidst their literal headbutting as they waited intensely for the electronic prompter to give them their trivia question so that they could buzz their buzzers at dizzying speed. Leaving out into the hall and being trailed by the two kids, Spike acted as their guide since the castle of friendship was relatively new to both of them and because it tended to be quite maze-like.
“Any requests for what you want to eat? I’m sure we’ve got a lot of different snacks in the kitchen, or I can personally whip up something for us.” He asked the two hopeing to hear some preference.
“I’m okay for anything.” Pip remarked nonchalantly, not wanting to impose more than he needed to. “What about you, Chrys? What do you like to eat?” He asked her, genuinely interested.
“Pan, cake!” She exclaimed with involuntary gusto. Whenever her mind filled with something she was interested in, those thoughts had a tendency to glue on pretty tight until they finally erupted from her at the slightest opportunity. In a sense, it was like a mild Tourette syndrome that only manifested itself when she was feeling the desire for something.
“At this hour, Chrys? Well, I guess it’s not a bad idea for a snack since they’re relatively light. Yeah, I’ll go cook us up a batch. You okay with that, Pip?” Spike asked him.
“A little strange, but sure. I’ll never say no to a good flat cake.”
After a short bit of work with Chrys mixing the batter and Spike cooking it on the stovetop, they were able to make enough for everyone and then some. Pip found he very much disliked not being able to help with any of it. Even with something mundane like this, it reminded him of how little he ever contributed to saving anyone. But at the very least, Pip was able to find comfort in watching the two work together in happy harmony. They seemed to be almost in sync, such was the practice that they had put into making pancakes over their time together. And all seemed to be going well up until the point they were finally done and Spike began to look a little confused and a tad bit worried about the amount that they had made.
"Uh oh. I didn't realize how many I cooked. I was too in the zone, you know what I mean?" He rubbed the scales near his head with one claw and counted the cakes with his other. "We're usually pretty good at this Chrys, but it seems we made a few too many this time. We have enough here for all five of us to get two pancakes each, and then some! Overeating before bed is no good..."
With impeccable timing, Chrys shook her head to signal to Spike that it hadn't been a mistake, all while a voice began to permeate the walls of the kitchen. This disembodied voice was muttering to itself, intensely focusing on repeating some words as if reading from a book.
"Whose that, Spike?" Pip's curiosity drove him to ask since the voice sounded frantic and troubled.
"Don't worry about her. That's just Tiara. She's next door in her own room studying."
"Wait, Tiara? Like Diamond Tiara? What is she doing here this late at night? Does Twilight know?"
"Yeah, I get your confusion. And Twilight knows. She's the one that has allowed her to be here. I was entirely against it myself. But it's hard to win when you're outnumbered three to one." Spike sighed and looked over to the changeling so as to pass off the topic to her.
"Tiara, good now. Trust." Is all she said in response while nodding.
"I want to trust her Chrys, but she's burned all of us many times. Even you, don't you remember? Only Starlight hasn't been affected, but because she's still relatively new to Ponyville. We both know that she is more understanding of Tiara due to their similar circumstances. But I don't quite buy that she's turned good all of a sudden. Just looking at her, I can almost feel that meanness still inside of her, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I'm with Spike on this one, Chrys. Tiara has had a very mean streak at school ever since I moved here to Ponyville. I don't know if allowing her into your home is a good idea..."
The changeling frowned and stomped her hoof, showing her frustration at the two boys. "Tiara good, trust!" She used her magic to take the pancakes that Spike initially thought were extra, and brought them onto a plate. Then she trotted off to go deliver them to her, but not before looking back at the two boys and yelling, "Forgive!" at them.
"Maybe we should go apologize?" Pip looked over to Spike worriedly after she disappeared from view, not feeling well over making her upset.
"Nah, don't worry. I don't think what we said was wrong. Chrys is just quick to forgive. She wants to believe the best in everyone. I mean you heard her right? All she wants is for us to forgive Tiara. They've been better friends ever since Tiara started coming over every day to learn magical lessons from Twilight. Why an earth pony would want to study magic spells is beyond me. And while I still can't get myself to trust Tiara, I trust Chrys. She can see into someone's heart better than most, so if it's her saying so, I have to trust it. And even if she couldn’t, I’d still trust it anyway. For her sake."
"Someone I know said something about that too. Is her eyesight really that good?"
Spike's chuckle almost lost him his concentration on the stack of pancakes as the two carried them over to the library where Twilight and Starlight were still in the middle of their trivia game. "Something like that! If you ever find that she's weirdly attentive, don't worry. That's natural."
"Yeah, I could tell..." Pip thought in silence for a bit. "I think I should go back and apologize after all. Um, to both of them. I'm realizing that maybe it wasn't entirely fair of me to assume stuff about Tiara on my own. She's the one who started teasing and bullying me in school over my height ever since I moved here, but she also hasn't been the one doing it lately either. Maybe what Chrys said really is true... At least, I think I owe it to both of them to find out."
Spike shrugged. "Well, whatever helps you sleep better at night Pip. I got pancakes to deliver, so see you back at the library."
Walking back towards the muttering voice of Tiara's had given Pip pause before his hoof could ever knock on the door to her room. His nerves had been building all day since the moment he had heard about the magical mist and was silently dreading going back to sleep, and now that he was no longer distracting his mind with the sleepover games, that anxiety had seeped in all at once. If his nightmares were partly caused by his own fears, this was him facing one of them. He swallowed hard. Pip was finding that it wasn't easy forgiving someone for the constant misery they had subjected him to. If it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have even entertained the thought. But something inside of him was telling him that he needed to, for the sake of his desire to be a hero.
His mind started racing with questions. Those on what it meant to be a hero. He now wondered who it was that heroes saved. Perhaps they only save those they care about? But no, Mr. Rock said that heroes go beyond their selfish nature. That's what makes them heroes. Do they just save those who are worthy then? But... what is worthiness? Should a hero try to save everyone? Even the villains who might've endangered others through their actions? But maybe they had good reasons to be bad... And what if he incorrectly assumes that they want to be saved? What if they end up betraying a hero's trust in worse ways? Would a hero's actions then cause a greater downfall for others through their kindness? Is acting like a hero even worth it then...?
Pip could've been stuck in those unending questions on the morality of heroism for ages, had it not been for a few words that Mr. Rock had said earlier. “You did what you felt you had to do, isn't that right? So don't look so down. A hero's path is not always easy. Your ancestor understood that.” Pip did as he had always done before when he would stop to question if what he was attempting to do was even the right thing. He imagined that he was Pint-size himself.
He had studied up on his ancestor extensively by this point. He had read the many historical records that existed of him. Took to heart many of the powerful speeches he gave. And he listened intently to all the stories that Mr. Rock had told him of Pint-size’s youth. What would Pint-size do if he were in his horseshoes? He wondered.
Pint-size the Brave was renowned for his strength, courage, and especially wisdom. His greatest feat came during a pivotal moment in the founding of Equestria, where it was that his wisdom was put to the test when quelling the three pony tribes’ hatred for one another. Pint-size had to go beyond even his own prejudices in order to save everyone, and as a result, brought lasting peace to the pony races.
Pip mustered his courage and knocked on that door. Heroes look beyond themselves. Heroes must never run. He thought to himself as he pushed the door open with one hoof after he was allowed to enter by the voice behind that door. Admittedly, he hadn’t been prepared for what awaited him there.
Tiara was certainly... different than how he remembered her. The room was dimly lit save for the desk and chair where she was studying, with mounds upon mounds of books scattered and stacked all about. Her mane was a lot messier and almost as unruly as his by how little it had been kept in the last few days. Her eyes bore dark circles underneath them to show that this intense studying wasn’t a one-off occurrence and that she had been doing this a lot lately. And the expression on her face was even softer and kinder than any Tiara had, had in the past. It was hard to tell since almost everything about her demeanor, from her stance to her small mannerisms, seemed subtly different. But just like Spike had mentioned earlier, just from looking at her once, Pip could sense a tiny bit of the old Tiara inside.
“Oh... hello Pipsqueak. Twilight mentioned that you guys were having a sleepover tonight.” She said quietly as if unsure if she even had the privilege to speak to him.
“Hi to you too, Tiara.” An awkward silence lingered between them since Pip didn’t know how to begin a conversation with her. Chrys had been busy running a comb through her hair while Tiara had paused to eat the pancakes that had been brought to her. By the pronounced look of her cheekbones and the ones near her neck collar, it seemed to Pip that Tiara hadn’t been eating properly lately either. “It’s a surprise to see you here, Tiara. Um... Were you not invited to our game night?” He asked after a bit, finally finding a topic to discuss.
“Yes, Twilight invited me. But I don’t think it would’ve been appropriate for me to join you all. I’m... well... I’m busy studying anyway, so it’s alright.”
“You okay?” He asked, noticing the reluctance in her voice.
“Hmm? Yeah, totally. No need to concern yourself with me.”
Pip frowned. He hadn’t expected this kind of lukewarm reaction from Tiara of all ponies. He expected sneers, jeers, and all sorts of haughty larger-than-life behavior. Not whatever this was. His internal conflict had grown with his worry now that he had abandoned his pride and had opened up to the idea of forgiving her. Was he being lured into a false sense of security? Some kind of mind game? No. Why would Tiara even go that far?
He looked over to the small changeling quietly comforting Tiara, a similar worry plastered on her face as she attended to her. Tiara was obviously lying.
“You’re not okay. Why are you trying to hid-”
“Pip?” Tiara’s voice quickly cut him off, preventing him from addressing the issue directly. “Now that you’re here, I’ve been meaning to say this to you too.” Tiara got up from her study where she’d been seated and walked in front of it so she could properly express what she was about to do. “Nothing I say or do will make up for the years of bullying I’ve made you go through. I don’t think I could ever apologize enough to earn your forgiveness. But at the very least, I do want you to know that I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve done and that I’ll be doing my best from now on to stop being a source of that.” She dropped to her knees to bow her upper body almost all the way to the ground in a deeply sincere expression. Something Pip never imagined he would ever get to see from her.
She’d caught him completely unaware. To say he was stunned would not have done it justice. He was frozen. Petrified. You have to understand that this had been one of Pip’s greatest fears in his life up until now, and it was suddenly crumbling unceremoniously and anticlimactically. He had nurtured quite a rooted resentment for Tiara and all those who had bullied and teased him alongside her for so long. Not just because their words would hurt his feelings, but because he felt like they were true. Calling him weak... Calling him small... calling him useless... calling him a Wannabe hero...
“I see. Thanks for telling me, Tiara.” His voice was soft once he finally decided to respond, unable to make up his mind on whether he should even try to befriend her or not. Tiara had been the main instigator of all his problems at school and in his everyday life. With her out of the picture, no one else quite compared. So once his resentment for her had left at this apology, what remained of that resentment had no other place to go except the last pony whom Pip resented.
Himself.
“Pip, okay?” Chrys looked at him as she shifted her worry almost like she could see the change in his heart.
“I’m okay. Just nervous for tonight is all.” He had successfully convinced her with his words, hiding the pain in his chest with one of his other anxieties.
“Nervous for tonight? Weren't you all just having a game night? What is there to be nervous about?" Tiara's confusion had gotten the better of her before she put a hoof over her mouth to keep from asking anything more. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I'm not trying to dig up dirt of yours to tease you with, I promise!"
"That's not very convincing coming from you," Pip gave her a playful smile, which made Tiara liven up a bit from her moody on-edge state. As he looked over to the small changeling beside her who now wore a happier expression on her face, he was reminded of Mr. Rock's words again. A true hero understands when a fight can't be won alone. "Can I confess something to you, Tiara?"
"Sure. I mean... no. Sorry. Are you sure? I wouldn't trust me."
"It’s you saying things like that, that makes me feel like I can trust you this time around. Well, I'd like to trust you anyway. So what do you say? Think you could keep this secret of mine?" He held a hoof out to her, hoping she'd take it.
"Yes? Yes. I can. I will!" She took it with both of her own and shook his vigorously, beads in the corners of her eyes and smiling the world. "I'll do my best."
Pip felt like he understood what Luna had spoken to him about just a little bit more than before. Helping ponies on the inside rather than on the outside... Watching Tiara wipe away her tears from such a small gesture of forgiveness made him think that there was more to a hero than simply saving others from danger.
"Don't worry too much about it, Tiara. There's no point in hiding it from others for much longer anyway." He said in trying to alleviate her worries. "Truth is... I've been having tons of nightmares lately. So many that even Princess Luna has become concerned for me. And someone I know told me that it's because of a magical mist that is affecting my dreams."
"Lots of nightmares? Magical mist in your dreams?" Tiara thought on it for a bit as if trying to recollect her memories. "That sounds a lot like a Tantabus."
"Ah Tanta what?" Pip was honestly surprised that she seemed to know something about his issues. “Even the Princess seemed clueless about this, Tiara. How can you be sure?"
Tiara slapped a hoof onto her mouth again, a lot more violently this time as she realized she might've said something she shouldn't have. Then she had a sudden realization and looked all over her study to find a particular book within the large piles of them.
"Ah! Here it is." She brought a dusty old tome onto her desk and opened the book up to a certain page. "It sounds like this entry here, from Star Swirl the Bearded's book on the nature of magic. See?" She let him read over that particular entry within Twilight’s copy of Star Swirl’s book, a tinge of nervousness in her face. "I knew about it from this book because I've been studying magic a whole lot lately. Haha. Yeah, that's it."
Pip's face twisted into concern from having read it. "That's quite the grim entry, isn't it? Do you think it might be a Tantabus after all? But I don't have the kind of magic to create it. From what I read in the book, it takes a really powerful individual in order to make one. Why would I have a Tantabus?"
"Oh, it's definitely not yours, Pip. It's-" Tiara stopped herself again. Chrys began to comfort her in order to try and calm her down from whatever stress Tiara must have been feeling at that point. "I meant um, there's a good chance that it's not yours. Only the alicorns are powerful enough to create one. Like Star Swirl mentioned, what Tantabi want more than anything is to fulfill the original user's desires right? So they inherently want to escape into the real world to make it happen. I've heard a bit of what the dream realm is like. Apparently, it seems that everyone's dreams are connected by a planar where everyone's individual dreams reside. It's possible that if someone like the royal sisters, Cadance, or even Twilight have created one, it could have escaped from their dreams and made its way into yours." At the mention of Twilight, Chrys' ears perked up to show she was now fully focused on the conversation, her hooves having stopped the act of brushing Tiara's hair.
"My friend did mention that my nightmares were not all my own... So I'm thinking maybe you're right, Tiara. But whose Tantabus could it be?"
"I have a pretty good guess. There's only one pony amongst the Alicorns who is likely to hold the kind of regrets necessary to create one." Tiara thought about it a bit before speaking of it. "I think there was also mention of how the dream realms can only connect if the individuals have some sort of emotional connection to one another. So, Pip. Which one of the Alicorn princesses are you the closest with?"
"Princess Luna..." His voice trailed off, feeling beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "But no... it couldn't be her, right? She's the Princess of Dreams! That's..."
"It makes the most sense, Pip. Princess Luna is the one that holds the most regret over what she's done in the past as Nightmare Moon. Star Swirl's book also mentions that Tantabi are able to influence their users over time. I think this is something that has been haunting the Princess for longer than any one of us knows. Maybe longer than even she knows."
"So then... does that mean that the Princess has been having these kinds of nightmares way longer than anyone else? Has she been suffering to a Tantabus this whole time?" Tiara's confirming nod had made his heart sink.
Pip's heart began to race with what this meant. He was feeling it strongly again. That desire within him. That necessary need of his.
He has to save the Princess.
“Chrys, we have to rescue the Princess! She might be in big danger! You need to help me sleep now!” He looked over to the changeling frantically, infecting her with his anxiety.
“Wait, wait, hold on! What do you mean Pip?” Tiara asked, not fully understanding the situation.
“Didn’t you read what it said in the book, Tiara?! If the mist manages to escape, it could cause untold disaster! Or worse, it might be trying to overtake the Princess again! We have to do something!”
Tiara quickly dove over to her desk again to rummage for something. Instead of a book, what she pulled out this time was her own personal calendar. A calendar that had been meticulously kept with many different events drawn into some of the squares. Earlier in the same month, one of the panels showed a picture of a purple crescent moon with sparkles around it. Later in it, there was a picture drawn of a clothing boutique with the word “Canterlot” written on top of it. Somewhere in the middle of the month, only 5 days away from the date of today, was the drawn image of a purple unicorn-like silhouette.
“Ah! Good! We still have some time...” She looked over to the wildly confused Pip who was still in the middle of hysterics. “Pip, it’s okay! I’m pretty sure the Princess will be alright for now. I’m sure Twilight and her friends will be able to help the Princess somehow.”
“Are you sure?! How do you know? I don’t understand...” His heart began to slow, feeling his hysterics cool down with it.
“Um...” Tiara seemed to take almost a little too long to respond to his question. “I’ve been... studying Tantabi a whole lot. I can tell by the magical signs that nothing will happen until next week, at the very least.” She waved her forelegs around mysteriously, trying to play up her words to disguise how vague they were.
“Really...?” He asked a little incredulously, rightly so.
“Yeah. Besides, a Tantabus is a big deal. I don't think it’s something you should involve yourself in, Pip. There's probably nothing that we can do to help. I'm sure only Twilight can."
"But... I... I can’t let her continue to suffer like this. Let’s at least go tell Twilight about what’s going on.”
“No!” Tiara scrambled to get between the door and Pip right before he could push it open. “No. Please. Pip, trust me. I know I’m asking for a lot after all I’ve done to you, but I need you to put your faith in me when I say... Do not mention this to Twilight! She can’t know until it’s time. It would deviate Princess Luna’s recovery, and who knows what untold consequences that could do!”
Pip would have ignored Tiara and had gone straight to Twilight had it not been for one worried hoof that placed itself on his shoulders and one pair of anxious yellow eyes pleading him to reconsider. Chrys now too seemed to be standing in the way, her full faith placed into Tiara. Whatever Tiara had done to gain the changeling’s trust to this extent was beyond him, as the two of them had started off with an equally horrible if not worse relationship than Pip had with her. He eventually relented at the pleading nature of those eyes, and let out a remorseful sigh.
“Okay, alright. You seem to know more about this than anyone, Tiara. So I’ll trust in you.” He said quietly, resigned to the two fillies. “I feel like I should be skeptical. I feel like this should be a red flag in and of itself. But... You’ve been right in the past, Tiara. I am no hero. Every time I try, I seem to make matters worse. If swallowing my pride and trusting your judgment will save Princess Luna from this, then that’s just what I’ll do.”
“Pip...” Tiara seemed to recognize that Pip was actively going against his nature now, all for the sake of putting his faith in her. Or perhaps, this decision was finally his admittance to the awful truth. That his heroics would only get in the way, and that he needed to step aside and let more capable ponies do the saving instead. “Wait... You said the Princess doesn’t know about the Tantabus yet?!” A flash of realization struck Tiara like a lightning bolt.
“Hmm? Yeah. At least, she seemed to think my nightmares were entirely my own creation. But Mr. Rock, the friend I told you about, knows that the magical mist is the cause of them.”
“Huh... This Mr. Rock. Can you trust his words? How does he know?”
“He has lived a looooong time so he knows a lot about everything, and I’m positive that we can trust him.” To confirm, Chrys nodded her approval to Pip’s statement, letting Tiara clue into the truth of it.
“I see, okay... This changes things.”
“Huh? How do you mean?” Pip was now thoroughly confused, having been taken for quite the emotional rollercoaster since the start of his interactions with Tiara.
“We have to let Luna know of the Tantabus. She needs to be aware of it, and soon!” She walked over to the nearby window to look over at the sight of Canterlot. “But how do we get a message to her fast? Maybe if we let Spike in on the down-low and keep him from letting Twilight know? Maybe then we could send a message out to the Princess quick.”
“Luna should be taking care of the dream realm right about now. Maybe I can call out to her again and tell her there?”
“Oh that’s an even better idea! Nice thinking, Pip. Spike is too loyal to Twilight and there’s no way he’s trusting me.”
“I can’t take full credit. Mr. Rock gave us a spell that Chrys could use to help me with my dreams tonight since he figured I’d need it. He told me to let Princess Luna know about the mist if we saw her in there, so this is just going back to the original plan. Although... I wonder what the spell is for. Chrys already knows a good one to help me relax and sleep. Do you know, Chrys?”
“Dream, spell. Help, Pip.” Is all she said.
“Did Mr. Rock mention anything else about it?” The little changeling tilted her head and her brows furrowed with her focus, not knowing what else there was to say about it. “Ah, it’s okay. It’s probably something to help me fight off the nightmares in all likelihood.”
“Okay Pip, no time to waste. I know you guys are having a sleepover right now, but I’d like it if you slept in this room for today. That way, I can safeguard you while you sleep. We can’t have anything awaken you while you’re trying to deliver this message. It’s vital that Luna finds out about the Tantabus tonight.” Tiara explained to him while she quickly shoved several large piles of books off of her bed and pulled back the covers to allow him to enter. “I’m used to being awake all night at this point, so you can trust me to keep a watchful eye out.”
“Alright.” He pulled up the covers and cozied up, a firm expression on his face. “I’m ready. Drop me in, Chrys.” The little changeling nodded with equally serious determination, and her horn lit up with her own personal soothing spell she’d been using for ages now.
The golden glow of her magic seemed to envelop him in a warm cocoon of light, easing the troubles in his heart and bringing levity to his soul. Despite his worries over Luna, his fears of the nightmares, and the resentment for himself growing due to his powerlessness being so strong he could hardly think of anything else, this spell that Chrys was using was managing to melt his troubles away with a soothing, nurturing softness that was flawlessly lulling him to sleep. His eyes grew heavy, and his exhaustion from the eventful day finally seeped its way into his chest. He let out one tiny yawn before finally dozing off into dreamland.
Then from the pitch black of his subconscious, a familiar grotto materialized as if from the blue.
“Tiny snores for a tiny pony. Adorable. Equestria is just full of cute things.” Tiara gently poked one of Pip’s cheeks, happily watching him sleep on. “Well, at least this confirms he’s fully asleep. Pip’s a heavy sleeper, though. Ain’t he?” She looked over to the changeling who was smiling along with Tiara.
“Mm.” She nodded, copying Tiara’s gesture by poking him too.
“Thank you again, Chrys. I’m sure Pip wouldn’t have trusted me without you to convince him. And not just with him either. It’s thanks to you that Twilight has allowed me to study under her. I know I don’t say it very often since I always have my nose stuck inside a book or two, but I wanted to say how much I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
“Its, okay. Only doing, what, is right. I feel.” She replied, trying to deflect the praise.
“You’re too humble sometimes, Chrys. If it weren’t for you and the Crusaders, I would’ve probably given myself anorexia by how often I forget to eat. I would've been all alone here in Ponyville if it weren't for you four, since I doubt anyone would've given me a chance without your help. You’re truly the best friends a girl could have.” The small changeling initiated a hug with Tiara, having sensed how emotional she’d gotten then. Tiara fully fell into it and hugged her back. “I hope I can make it up to you one day, Chrys.” Tiara raised a hoof as far as it would go after they separated from the hug, which the small changeling proceeded to imitate. “From here, forever, and after. Through weathering stormy seas or unforgiving blistering deserts. So long as my soul still exists within Equestria, I promise this to you: My greatest of friends.” Her whole foreleg rotated on its axle clockwise until it stopped midway so that it was reaching out onto her side, then she folded it in towards her chest so that her hoof rested on her heart. All of which Chrys imitated. “I will do right by you. My promise is my very soul which I give to you freely should I break it.”
This was Tiara’s own personal version of what any pony could’ve recognized as a Pinkie Promise. A solemn promise decorated by a meaningful ritual unique to the individual.
Tiara had gained Chrys’ trust with that very same promise before, and this was just a repeat of that as a show to say that she had not forgotten about it. There was something about those interlocking words and that small gesture that seemed to grip at the heart stronger than simply promising on a whim. Almost as if it were a magical spell, it seemed to invoke a greater power from within the one who performed it, sealing their pact not just with their whole character in question, but even their very soul.
To Tiara’s immense delight, the little changeling repeated her words, although in the broken and uneven way she knew to say them. This was the sign of their friendship.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Chrys.” The two touched foreheads as they smiled at each other, in what was a personal sign of affection from the changeling.
“Tiara. Would be, lost.” Chrys said with a bit of cheek, which was something she had adopted from her. Tiara tried to keep herself from giggling out loud due to Pip being asleep next to them.
“Too true. Anywho. I need to go let Twilight know that Pip is here. I’ll just tell her that he fell asleep while he waited up for us and that I’m going to let him sleep here so as not to wake him. I’ll be back in a jiff.” She said as she began to trot off.
Before she could exit out into the hall, however, Pip began to toss, turn, and moan from his nightmares acting up again. Strangely, this set of nightmares he was having quickly turned more turbid and intense, with Pip beginning to break out into a cold sweat as he reached out to grab whatever was near him, holding onto the nearest book with a death grip in his forelegs.
“Pip!” Chrys exclaimed worriedly as she tried casting her own spell on him again, trying to alleviate his nightmares as this spell from hers was used to calm and cleanse the mind from such awful thoughts. But to no avail. This Tantabus had now grown too strong even for Chrys to repel. This was quite a cause for concern since the little changeling had studied under Twilight for a long time now and was adeptly attuned to her magic by this point. In fact, when she told Twilight about helping Pip with his nightmares, Twilight deferred to her to be the one to help alleviate Pip’s problems due to how much more practiced she was with the spell. So if Chrys could do nothing to quell his nightmares, this spelled trouble indeed...
Tiara quickly returned to the bedside to check on him herself. “Oh no! Poor Pip... The Tantabus must be wreaking havoc amongst the infected dreamworlds it has spread to. Perhaps the event has already started, and it’s grown too strong even for us to handle... All we can do now is hope that Pip manages to find and talk to Luna in there...”
Suddenly, a thought filled the little changeling’s head. The obvious remedy they had yet to try. “Spell!” She blurted out involuntarily, readying her magic again by weaving it around her horn. “Guardian, spell. Must concentrate. Will cast.” Chrys sat down beside Pip’s bedside and began to murmur a few unintelligible words in a dialect and language Tiara had never heard before.
To Tiara’s surprise, Chrys’ golden magic erupted wildly into the room sending books scattering everywhere. It was unlike the spell she had used before. This one was far, far stronger. So strong, that the very air around the changeling was being forcefully pushed out with such force that the gusts it generated were shredding pages off of the many tomes. Chrys’ twisted horn was pulsating with power, having been completely replaced by a saber of light. Even the ground beneath her was beginning to crack with the sheer magnitude of this incredible magic. This was no simple spell, that much was obvious. The amount of magic that was being used to cast it was enormous.
Chrys herself was equally impressive, as her small body was somehow able to harness this incredible amount of magic. Tiara could only stare in awe at the spectacle and wonder how the little changeling had obtained such powers. But this magic was not without cost. Chrys was struggling to maintain the spell, forcing herself to finish the incantation. She was grunting and powering through the overwhelming forces, clearly pained by the efforts of trying to contain it. Tiara wished she could help her there and then, but without magic as an earth pony, she was powerless to aid her.
The best she could do was make sure that Chrys would go uninterrupted.
And you know, that would’ve been quite easy had anyone other than the one who arrived to witness what was happening, had come instead. Starlight would’ve likely trusted Tiara, and Twilight would’ve trusted that Chrys could handle whatever this magic was. But no, the one who walked into this scene was none other than a mistrusting purple dragon who had, on many occasions, openly proclaimed his distrust of Tiara. No chance she was going to get through to him, despite all her pleading.
And it’s not that Spike didn’t trust Chrys when it came to magic-related issues. But he wasn’t as well-prepared as Twilight was when it came to knowing when to leave it to the small changeling to do her thing. He hadn’t had the same experiences that could’ve tempered his worries. Besides, he’s still only a baby dragon. For as mature as Spike can be, he’s still a kid at heart and he can be so easily shaken up when something he doesn’t fully understand is happening in front of him. You have to imagine that he took one look at Chrys grunting in pain and basically flew up in arms towards trying to save her. Brotherly love can make fools of us all, so don’t blame Spike too much for what happened next.
But here, let me give you a run-down of how it went down:
Spike knocked on the door and said “Chrys, Pip. You guys are taking an awfully long time over here. It’s almost bedtime. We should head back to the library. Trivia is almost up anyway.”
With a ruckus going on inside and getting no answer, he opened the door. Lo and behold, there was that chaotic scene unfolding before him. No clue as to what might be happening, just that he knows that Chrys is in pain and Tiara is the only conscious suspect because Pip is passed out on the bed.
Then he said something along the lines of: “I knew I couldn’t trust you, Tiara! What did you do to Chrys?!”
It gets really messy from here. Tiara says “Spike! Don’t do anything drastic! You don’t understand, she’s-!”
Finally, here is where we get Spike putting his claws onto the little changeling to try to stop her magic from continuing, with Tiara trying to pull Spike away to keep him from disturbing her.
Wham-zam, a blinding light goes off, possibly from a spell mishap or maybe the spell completing. We don’t know at this point because who knows what this spell is even.
And scene.
Quite a lively night for the four kids, all in all. Well, probably still not as exciting as the trivia match between Twilight and Starlight.
“You just don’t know when to quit, do you, Twilight?”
“Now where have I heard those words before?”
“Touche’. Seems like we always end in a tie.”
“I have to hand it to you Starlight. No one has given me quite a run for my money on trivia before.”
“No offense, but your friends all have specific specialties, none of them trivia. And the three children are hardly competition.”
“Speaking of which, it’s unlike Spike to take so long to go fetch Chrys and Pipsqueak. I wonder what’s taking them so long...”
“Well, we’re right here. Why don’t you care to ask them?” Starlight waved her hoof over to Tiara's bedroom door that Twilight had almost walked past.
“Right, haha. I forget my own way around the castle sometimes.” Twilight pushed the door to Tiara’s bedroom open in order to see for herself what had transpired.
“Aww, look at them. So cute.” She walked over to the four sleeping kids, with Tiara, Chrys, and Spike leaning their heads against the soft mattress of the bed. She picked them up with her magic and tucked them into the same bed, as it was big enough to rest the four of them with ample space. “It looks like they fell asleep waiting for us to finish trivia. It’s so nice to see them getting along with Tiara. I was a bit worried that she would miss out on the fun when she refused to join us for game night, but it seems the fun found her anyway.”
“And what fun they had.” Starlight whistled as she looked around the deeply chaotic room with books and pages strewn all over the floor.
“It was bound to happen. Tiara has been letting mountains of books pile up, so they must’ve tossed them over in a game of tag or something. Nothing a few fix-it spells and an afternoon of organizing won’t fix, which I enjoy.”
“Lesson learned then? No more trivia for game night. We’ll alienate our little buddies at this rate.” Starlight made the purple alicorn chuckle.
“Alright, you got me there. No more trivia. Because you’re afraid to lose.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Twilight shut off the lights in the room with her magic, letting the cool night in through the window. “Goodnight kids. Sweet dreams.”