//------------------------------// // Meet Your New Playmate // Story: The Dream Catcher // by SilverOrion //------------------------------// As Cheerilee finished her story, the colts gave her a little round of applause. Pipe Dream clapped as well, having enjoyed the story she had to tell. Of course, he knew he could never be brave like Olympus, but he still enjoyed being able to hear the story and look up to him, even if he was just a legend. To Pipe Dream's surprise, a hoof tapped him on the shoulder. Looking to see who tapped his shoulder, Pipe Dream found himself looking face to face with the same filly he saw when the other colts were entering the schoolhouse. "I like that story," she said, "always have." "You..." responded Pipe Dream, "I saw you earlier-" "Nah ah ah," she interrupted, "don't talk to me." Then she leaned in to whisper in Pipe Dream's ear, "ponies will think you're crazy!" "What do you-" "Shhh!" she interrupted again, "just look at Captain Green while I talk to you, and nopony will suspect anything." Pipe Dream looked confused, but turned to look at Captain Green anyway, who was currently giving thanks to Cheerilee for telling a story to the colt scouts. Cheerilee turned and gave a final word about the story to the colts, "...this story was used many times in the past to applaud perseverance, heroism, and most of all, bravery, in the past..." "You asked me what my name was earlier," continued the filly, "but I didn't tell you what it was." "Why didn't you tell-" "Shhh! Didn't I tell you not to say anything?" "Hey Pipe," said Clean Slate, turning to face him, "did you say something?" Pipe Dream was about to respond, when the filly cut in, "Tell him no, you didn't say anything." "No, I didn't say anything," responded Pipe Dream. Appearing confused, Clean Slate turned and looked back at Captain Green, who was now talking about the different events the colt scouts would be holding throughout the year. "See what I mean? If you say anything, ponies will think you're crazy!" Pipe Dream was about to ask why, but then kept his mouth shut. "You'll understand everything after I explain," continued the filly, "you see, the other ponies can't see me." Pipe Dream blinked, trying to comprehend what the filly was saying. "The reason why, is because I'm up here," she said innocently, as she tapped Pipe Dream on his forehead. "On my head?" Pipe Dream said in a low whisper. The filly looked annoyed that Pipe Dream had responded to her, but didn't condone him for it. "No, silly. I'm in your mind." Pipe Dream felt a shiver run down his spine. "Hahaha, you look a little scared, Pipe," the filly continued, "but don't worry, I'm not trying to hurt you, although I might, by accident or if I go to far." The filly continued to speak innocently, as if nothing was wrong. "Who... wh-who are you?" Pipe Dream stammered, in a low whisper. "Guess." she replied, playfully. "H-how?" Pipe Dream answered. The other filly sighed, "You're making everything so difficult, Pipe Dream. You know what I look like, don't you?" Pipe Dream nodded, trying to collect his thoughts. "Then guess." she stated, " and here's a hint - think about the story Cheerilee just told you." Pipe Dream began to have a feeling of what the answer was, but he didn't want to say it - didn't want to believe it. "Fire-like mane, black coat, set apart from other ponies by sensing emotion and controlling thoughts... Or consciousness, if you want to be specific." she said, giving him hints to make him say it. "So y-your a... Night pony?" "Bingo!" she replied, sounding satisfied, "but not just a night pony, a night mare. Get it? The pun? Ahaha... Ha... Ha..." she trailed off, noticing that Pipe Dream was not laughing. "Aww, c'mon Pipe Dream, If we're gonna know each other... forever... then you should at least try to get to know me." the filly pleaded. "Forever?" Pipe Dream thought, feeling a little cold now. "Forever!" replied the filly, happily. "Did... Did she just read my mind?" Pipe Dream thought, feeling clammy. "Of course I can, silly! I'm a night pony, remember?" the filly said, still sounding innocent. "Pipe Dream, are you okay? You look a little sick," said Clean Slate, who had apparently just looked back at Pipe Dream. "Oh? O-oh y-y-yeah, I'm f-fine, r-real... r-reall-ly..." Pipe Dream studdered. Pipe Dream felt even more afraid at the feeling that he couldn't talk right, all over again. Clean Slate looked at Pipe Dream curiously. "Y'know, my mom always makes me hay noodle soup when I'm not feeling good. I'm sure she might make some for you if you want." "N-no, I'm f-f-fine, thanks," replied Pipe Dream. "Mmmm, mmm, nothing beats a strong emotion!" chimed the filly, as if she'd just eaten something delicious. "P-please, just g-go away," pleaded Pipe Dream, once again in a low whisper. "I can't do that, Pipe Dream, I know you so well! Why would I leave you?" the filly responded. "Are you sure you're okay, Pipe Dream? You're sweating bad," said Clean Slate. "Y-yeah, of c-c-course I'm okay," said Pipe Dream, his mouth starting to feel a little more dry than usual. "Y'know, I'm getting tired of just talking at you. I know, maybe this will work!" said the filly gleefully. All of a sudden, time seemed to stop. Cheerilee, Clean Slate, Captain Green and his assistant, as well as all the other colts, stood still. It was as if Pipe Dream was sitting inside of a picture - nopony was moving. At that moment, the filly hopped up on top of the head of the colt sitting in front of Pipe Dream, before turning and facing him again. "See? Much better! Now we can really talk!" continued the filly. "Just go away, j-just p-please go away..." Pipe Dream stammered, still speaking in a low whisper. "Oh, you don't have to worry about anypony hearing you anymore, not while I'm keeping them in control too." the filly stated informatively. Pipe Dream looked around once again at the dismal scene the filly seemed to create. Colts were stopped mid-sentence in their conversations, colts were looking up thoughtfully at Cheerilee or Captain Green, and other colts were just dazing off - nopony was moving at all, as if Pipe Dream were sitting some hall of pony mannequins. "See? Now nopony can pay attention to us! Isn't that great? I know what you're thinking, but no. I can't control time, just conciousness. So everypony here? I'm controlling each of their realities right now in a way that they'll all think everything happened in one way, when in reality, you and I were talking to each other the whole time. Cool, right?" Pipe Dream swallowed as he looked back at Clean Slate, a paralyzed version of his friend, who could wind up simply staring at him silently for a lifetime if this filly wanted him to. "Anyway like I was saying a little bit ago, since we're going to know each other forever, I thought it would be great if we got to know each other. I already know plenty about you, since I've known you for the majority of your lifetime. That's why I told you how I knew you weren't always so clumsy earlier. You know, when you saw me trotting into the school house and you fell over because one of the colts caught you off-guard scaring you half to death! Jeez, I wasn't even trying to give you any nightmares and you still freaked out. Crazy, huh?" The filly raised a hoof in front of her face, eyeing it proudly, "aaaand that's why you only saw colts in the colt scout meet earlier - because I never entered the schoolhouse to begin with. In fact, I'm not even here right now! Although, you've probably already figured that out, really. See, I'm actually somewhere else while I'm controlling your thoughts like this. Neat-o, right?" The filly then proceeded to take several bows, saying "hold your applause, hold your applause, aww, you're too kind." Pipe Dream simply looked up at the filly, not saying a word; as he did so, the filly hopped down from the colt in front of him, continuing to look at Pipe Dream in the process. "I just thought, since we know a lot about each other, we can be playmates! Wouldn't that be fun?" Pipe Dream gazed back at the filly, feeling tired. "What's wrong, don't you like playing? You play with Belfry and Bats all the time!" Pipe Dream continued to gaze back at the filly, sweat and tears dampening his face, as the filly gaze back at him innocently, with some distant hint of mania. "Soo... whatcha thinkin'?" Pipe Dream only looked back at the filly, feeling like nothing mattered anymore. "You know what, I'm just going to get something started here, because it looks like you're all out of ideas. Actually, I have an idea. Nopony can really get to playing anything without some fun toys, wouldn't you say?" At that moment, two jack-in-the-boxes appeared beside the filly, one on each side of her. "This game is my favorite," she said, as everything in the room turned pitch black, disappearing, leaving only the two jack-in-the-boxes in sight. "I call this game 'chance'. There's so much suspense, it kills me! Anyway, see that monster?" said the filly, although she was nowhere to be seen Pipe Dream looked ahead of him, only just noticing a hellish beast wrapped in chains. It appeared to be a big, slimy worm, with a round mouth lined with countless teeth, and a mucus-like substance emerging from the back of its throat, drooling onto the pitch black floor. It roared, then growled, thrashing at its chains, sending mucus flying across the room. Pipe Dream felt a glob of it hit his forehead, splattering across his face and back. He could feel the mucus slowly ooze downward further and further, until it began to hang and drip from his horn and muzzle. "Oooh, that thing looks hungry." the filly commented. Pipe Dream simply sobbed, taking steps back, the mucus on face intermixing with the downpour of tears from his eyes. "P-p-please, just leave me alone..." he managed to say, voice wavering with every word. "Here's how the game is played. See those two jack-in-the-boxes? One of them will make the monster go away; but the other - and this is the best part - will set it loose. Then you get to play tag with that monster, and it will be 'it' until it catches you! Oh, and you only get one life in this game, so you'd better not screw it up." The monster thrashed again, creating a repulsive, gargling roar. Pipe Dream could feel the ground quake beneath his hooves from the mere power the monster was using in an attempt to break the chains. "Of course, you could just sit and do nothing, but be warned, because those chains will break eventually, and that monster won't be happy when he's finally set loose. "I don't w-wanna p-play," sobbed Pipe Dream, taking several more steps backwards. "Aww, you're not being any fun." the filly pouted, "killjoy." Pipe Dream was paralyzed, mouth hanging slightly, as he stared at the monster in a vain attempt to make sure it wouldn't break free. Its muscles pulsed and rippled, smashing the ground with every violent jerk. It's teeth began to wriggle back and forth, as if it was trying to pull back on the air around it in an attempt to help it break free. "Well, you never know if you like a game 'till you give it a try, Pipe. Didn't your mom Heebies teach you that about food, that you don't know if you don't like it, unless you actually try it?" Pipe Dream thought about his mom. He wanted to be back home with her, never to leave his home again. He wanted to be back in his bed, clutching his dream catcher his mom made for him, singing a lullaby to himself. - - - Pipe Dream was little colt, who was trotting around his mother Heebie's garden. Smelling the breeze in the air, he was happy. He felt protected, and safe. His mother was always protective, always cautioning him of what he should be afraid of and what was safe. She made sure everything was safe, for him. "Look, Pipe Dream, it's a worm." Heebie chimed, directing his attention to something which was moving on the surface of her garden. Pipe Dream looked down to see a small, squirming creature on the ground, its long shape pulsing, moving it forward. "Is it safe?" Pipe Dream asked, being hesitant to touching it. "Yes, they're safe. Oh, but they are slimy, so watch out for that." Pipe Dream lifted the worm with his magic, and playfully placed the worm on the tip of his horn, watching it squirm in midair. "Aaah!" Pipe Dream exclaimed, dropping the worm. The wriggling from the worm shocked him, and he wasn't prepared for it. "Don't worry, Pipe Dream, it's harmless. Worm's aren't monsters, see?" Heebie responded, nudging the creature with her muzzle, safely. Building up the courage, Pipe Dream tried lifting the worm again. Cringing at its writhing movements, Pipe Dream simply held it out in front of him with his magic. After some minutes passed, Pipe Dream slowly lifted the worm up further and placed it on the tip of his horn. "Look, mom, it's on my horn!" a younger Pipe Dream squealed, laughing. Heebie laughed with him too. Those were good times. - - - "I j-just want to go back h-home," Pipe Dream sobbed. "You're just being a fraidy cat, fraidy cat," the filly responded, "all you need is just a little motivation." With that, all of the chains holding the monster broke free, save for one flimsy-looking tether. The monster roared in depraved fury, mucus flying everywhere from its mouth. "Now you'd better choose quick, Pipe Dream. That monster does not look happy." Pipe Dream sniffled, then choked, finally forcing himself to trot up to the two jack-in-the-boxes. They both seemed to stare back him expectantly, maybe even judgmentally. Pipe Dream sniffled again, hyperventilating. Mouth open from despair, he could feel the mucus trailing down over his muzzle and into his mouth, with the taste of rotten meat. Trying, and failing, to focus, Pipe Dream tried to decide which jack-in-the-box he should use. The one of the left was red, and the one on the right was blue. "How creative," Pipe Dream thought to himself, trying to use comedy to calm himself down. "I don't know, that tether seems to be holding that thing back just fine on its own-" As Pipe Dream thought this, several of the metal coils on the tether snapped, making the tether even more frail than before. The monster howled with rage, slamming itself at and away from the tether. That settled it - Pipe Dream had to decide which jack-in-the-box to choose, and he had to choose now. Pipe Dream looked at the two jack-in-the-boxes, and made his decision. There was no way that the red jack-in-the-box would be the right jack-in-the-box because it was - well - red; and red always had to do with dangerous stuff. Therefore, the blue jack-in-the-box had to be the right box. Going for the blue jack-in-the-box, Pipe Dream stopped himself. This night mare thought he was a fraidy cat. If she wanted to use him, then she was going to try and manipulate his fears. If this was the case, then the red jack-in-the-box would be the right jack-in-the-box, because this night mare would have thought that he'd go for the blue jack-in-the-box, which would only be a trap, and it would set the monster free, causing him to have even more fear, making the night mare feel even more satisfied. It was a longshot, but feeling hysterical, Pipe Dream was willing to take any chance he had. Pulling his hoof back, Pipe Dream close his eyes and turned the crank on the red jack-in-the-box. As he did so, the jack-in-the-box began to crank itself while playing this dark jingle: "Half a pound of shadowy glop, another half of failure, that's the way the game is played, pop, goes the tether!" Pipe Dream felt the strength leave his body as the tether to the monster broke. In a final roar, the monster squirmed and writhed at a great speed in Pipe Dream's direction, spraying mucus everywhere as he did so. "Well that was a bad idea!" chirped the filly, as the monster was almost upon him. Pipe Dream stared up at the monster which was now rearing to devour him whole, the creature's mucus and saliva drizzling from its mouth like a small waterfall, before the creature slowly began to fade away. It was gone. "Just kidding! Oh I am such a kidder. No no no, the tether broke on its own just as you were cranking the jack-in-the-box, which luckily for you, was the right jack-in-the-box! I just like making ponies think they lost before I tell them they actually got it right." Pipe Dream began to nervously laugh to himself as the fear began to leave him, his hooves still quaking and shivering from the stress of the moment. "See? You're laughing! Wasn't that fun?" Pipe Dream was catatonic, still staring at where the monster had just been not one minute ago. "Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to tell you my name this whole time. Can you believe it? Why didn't you remind me?" Pipe Dream's nervous laughter changed to sobs again, as he continued to calm down from what had just happened. "My name's Phoebe! I just know we can be playmates forever, Pipe. You just need to loosen up is all, then you and I can really have some fun!"