//------------------------------// // "That, my dear, is not a good thing..." // Story: The Hourglass Always Stays // by Elusive Phoenix //------------------------------// The grass was blue, and the sky was green. The freakin’ sky was green. Dinky looked around the new land that lay before her. A field lay directly in front of her. To her left was a forest. Whose leaves were…white. The trunks were a normal brown. To the right was a cliff. From her angle, it looked like it led to nothing. She figured there was probably land on the other side. In the field, cows grazed, oblivious to the three visitors. Dinky raised an eyebrow. The cows were fine? Suddenly one grew a tentacle out of its mouth and swallowed another whole. Dinky screamed, and Pip had to calm her down by patting her on the back. The Doctor, on the other hoof, smiled widely, knowing that Dinky would eventually overcome the stage of fear, and gain one of wonder and amazement. Pip continued to pat Dinky’s shoulder in a calming gesture, though Dinky sat there screaming, not stopping for breath. Pip asked, “Uh, Doctor? Where are we, exactly?” The Doctor turned to face Pipsqueak, finished admiring the new world, “Well, judging by the trajectory of the sun and the moon, I’d say… a planet that is not our own!” she muttered under her breath, “and I am liking this blue grass… very nice! Adds an… unknown touch of adventure, and reason, to it!” Dinky finished her outburst, and stared around the area, wide eyed. Her breathing was heavy, and completely audible. “Calm down, Dinky! Nothing’s going to happen!” Pip hushed in her ear, “It’s like when you’re a kid! When everything is totally different in your imagination!” Dinky replied, looking straight into Pip’s eyes, “But this isn’t my imagination!” “Yes it is!” said the Doctor, “It’s all a dream! You’re just in your bed! You’re fine! You’re invincible here!” Pip retorted, “No we’re not! This is-” the Doctor pressed up against him, and whispered in his ear, “If she thinks it’s real, she’ll keep going insane!” Pip looked at Dinky, who bit her leg, then squeaked in pain. Pip looked at the Doctor, who’s eyes were pleading for him to tell her it was just a dream. Pip looked at the grass, thinking. He had never lied to Dinky, and never wanted to. He always told her the truth. But desperate times call for desperate measures, “Dinky,” he looked at his girlfriend, who was beginning to cry, thinking she was going insane, “biting your leg doesn’t actually work! The dream only ends when it ends!” Dinky actually seemed to calm down a bit, but tears still streamed from her eyes. Pip continued, “Dinky, this is only a dream! You can do almost anything you want! Almost anything…” Dinky kissed Pipsqueak, and held there, leaning against him. Pip was surprised by the sudden kiss, but went along with it anyway, and closed his eyes to enjoy the moment. The Doctor giggled. It was nice to see the world still had love in it, while the others were full of death and despair. Dinky’s lips broke away, so suddenly it caused Pipsqueak to fall on his back. She giggled lightly, smiling, and apologizing. "Why? Why apologize for that?" Pip asked, confused as to why she would apologize for a kiss. "Not the kiss, silly! Your flank!" She replied. Her face fell from a smile to seriousness. Dinky looked around at the cows, no longer in fear, but in confusion. Dinky examined the cows closer, “Why am I dreaming about cows? With super-tongues?” the Doctor shrugged, “… I like this dream... it’s... unique.” She smiled in enjoyment The Doctor bounded over to Pipsqueak, who still lay on the ground, and hovered her head above his, “Andiamo, Pipsqueak! We have a mystery to solve!” the Doctor bounced a few times to turn around, then began to trot slowly in the direction of the forest. Pipsqueak climbed to his hooves, turning his head to Dinky. She met his gaze, then shrugged. She followed the Doctor as she trotted excitedly toward the forest of white leaves, figuring she'd go along with where the dream led her, excited to see what happened next. Pipsqueak began to follow, but stopped, and thought, Why are we following her? Why should we follow this ‘Doctor’? What can she do to help us? What do we get in return? He looked around himself, finding the answer around him, Go where you’ve never been, and never will be again. Pipsqueak galloped to catch up with the two unicorn mares… _________________________________________________________________ “We meet once again! My arch nemesis!” the Doctor glared at her enemy, “You can’t back down now!” “What are you doing?” Pipsqueak looked at the Doctor inquisitively. “I’m a unicorn, so I should be able to use magic! Better practice while I can!” the Doctor pointed her horn at the tree, which was known as ‘My Arch Nemesis’. She grunted, and her horn glowed slightly. She grunted again, Dinky and Pip watching in amusement, never realizing how funny it is to see a unicorn who doesn’t know how to use magic. The horn glowed once more, then died out, and the Doctor sat down, panting. “Well, your horn glows, so that’s good to know!” Dinky joked. “Happy… day…” the Doctor said between breaths, “whew… why is… magic so tiring?” Dinky shrugged. “Right… andiamo… yeah…” the Doctor slowly walked away from the tree. She noticed Pip staring at the ground. “Pipsqueak?” Pip looked at the Doctor, who looked at him worriedly. “It looks like there’s a trail or something here!” he explained. The Doctor trotted over to him, and followed his gaze. Indeed there was a thin, dirt, trail. “Great Scott!” Dinky giggled lightly at the reference, “There’s life on this planet!” “We knew that already.” Pipsqueak stated the obvious. “Right! Intelligent life!” the Doctor corrected herself. “Actually, fifty percent of all trails are made by wild animals,” Dinky said, “so it proves nothing.” The Doctor paused, keeping her eyes on the trail, “… shut up.” She bounced down the trail, and yelled over her shoulder, “Andiamo, my assistants!” Dinky and Pip glanced at each other. 'Assistants'? They shrugged, and followed the over-zealous unicorn down the thin, brown dirt, path. Pip glanced around at the trees, "You know what? These trees remind me of the massive amount of snow we get during the winter!" "And we care... why?" the Doctor asked impatiently. Pip looked at the ground in shame. Dinky retorted to the Doctor, "What is wrong with you?! He's just trying to start a conversation!" The Doctor stopped walking, and frowned, "I'm sorry. My body is in limbo between personalities. It's uncontrollable. Eventually I'll settle on one-" A massive quake shook their hooves. Dinky stood in confusion, while Pipsqueak shook from the surprise. Dinky asked quietly, "What was that?" "That,my dear," the Doctor paused in thought, as another quake shook the ground, "Is not a good thing."