Dream had never before appreciated just how much effort it takes to walk everywhere quite like she does now. Panting and wheezing, the princess of dreams stops and catches her breath in a wooded thicket. After spending most of her life moving as a cloud, having to restrain from doing so to maintain her disguise is proving quite taxing. How exactly could the ponies in this place manage such a burden on a daily basis?
At least the air is nice.
As Dream walks through the forest she can see and hear wildlife on almost all sides, ranging from chirping birds to hopping bunnies. She can't help but think that Celestia would like this place… the princess of the sun seems to spend most of her time in the palace garden, so she would probably find this setting very agreeable.
Carefully stepping down off a large rock, Dream continues her passage. The trotting of hooves and the breaking of nearby branches suddenly alarms her, and she ducks low to the ground by instinct. What was that? Judging by the sound it had to be something, or somepony, of similar size to her. Sliding her belly along the grass and lowering her ears, she silently sneaks towards the sound's source. Slipping through a gap between two bushes, she finally lays eyes on the one who surprised her.
A male pony, perhaps of middle age and stature, appears to be gathering berries from a collection of bushes along the side of a small pathway. Dream's viewpoint is on a ridge slightly above him, about ten metres away. She looks on towards him with curiosity, noting the details of his form. His coat is a tan-ish light brown that bulks with thick, slightly unkept fur while his mane is more of a golden hue of the same colour. Looking closely, she observes no horn or wings on his body. What species of pony is this? She had thought the unicorns and the pegasi to be two halves of a complete whole, but now here before her is a pony possessing neither gift. How unfortunate.
Her first thought is one of sympathy for the poor creature. Having to live without the joys of flight and magic is a thought that makes Dream's fur crawl… what a horrible and bleak existence. Perhaps she should present herself to him, to offer assistance to his misfortune. But how to do it… the thought befuddles her. Dream knows nothing of his language or proper greetings, and for all she knows he could be vicious, mutated, or crazy. What harm could he possibly do to her anyway? Oh well, time to give it a try for better or worse.
Dream rises from her hiding place, and clears her throat loudly.
"Greetings fellow pony," she utters, unsure what else to say.
The earth pony whirls on his hooves, dropping some of raspberries out of the basket around his neck by accident. He looks alarmed, and a little bit frightened.
"…a unicorn?" he asks, but it is more of a statement borne out of surprise.
"More or less," answers Dream with a swish of her tail and a mischievous look.
The earth pony backs up a few steps, and makes as if he intends to leave in a hurry.
"If this is your land I-I'm sorry," he stammers, "I'll leave right now."
Before Dream can utter another word, he turns tail and flees down the narrow pathway into the deeper woods.
"Well that's not very polite," mutters the princess of dreams.
In a moment she decides to go after him, disappearing into a greenish cloud and zipping ahead in front of him, rematerializing with a smug look on her face.
"Going somewhere?" she asks casually.
The earth pony skids to a halt, and leaps away in a different direction. Slightly annoyed, Dream continues after him and rematerializes again in his path.
"Why are you running? It's not like I bite… most of the time anyway."
This time the earth pony makes a sharp turn to the right, scattering all the berries he had left in his basket all over the ground. Determined to continue harassing him until he tires, Dream fades again and flies down the path. Actually, this is turning out to be kind of fun. After a minute more of pursuit, the pony breaks into a small clearing and halts, breathing hard with exhaustion.
"Stay back," demands the earth pony aggressively as Dream once again appears nearby, "I've got a hoof-bow and I'm not afraid to use it."
Right then Dream, also tired herself, notices a wooden instrument on the pony's left hoof. It appears to be a set of shaped wooden shafts bound by a tail-hair bowstring. The string appears stretched like a modern crossbow, and bears a small bolt pointed directly at her. Such a thing would, if shot, definitely inflict injury but wouldn't kill her… could it?
"There's no need for threats of violence," states Dream nobly, with a smile, "I thought that was actually kind of fun."
"Fun?" inquires the earth pony, lightening up a bit, "so… you don't want to arrest me?"
"Of course not," replies Dream with a laugh, "…why would I want to do that?"
The earth pony slowly lowers his bow, looking a bit guilty.
"Because that's what unicorns do… lock us up if we dare walk on their land. Sometimes you even keep us imprisoned forever."
Suddenly, Dream realizes that the denizens of the castle she had seen earlier might not be as regal as she had before thought. What a horrible, monstrous thing to do… to cast out a pony because he doesn't have a horn, on the threat of imprisonment. The resulting lull in conversation created an awkward silence as both earth pony and alicorn felt guilty about earlier events and mistakes. Eventually, Dream got the courage to speak up.
"Listen, I think we got off on the wrong hoof before," the princess of dreams suggests, "maybe we could start again, with a proper introduction?"
"Okay," agrees the earth pony.
"My name is Dream," she begins, "I'm the prin… Uh, I mean I'm here because there's been an unfortunate mistake, and now I'm trapped out here and lost."
"My name is Buck," continues the earth pony, raising his hoof-bow with pride, "Buck-shot."
"Your name is Buckshot?" inquires Dream in disbelief.
Accidently, she catches him in a lie.
"No…" replies the earth pony in shame, "It's really Buckwheat. I just wanted it to…you know… sound tougher."
Peering over at his cutie mark, she makes out a pair of wheat chaffs. He's definitely telling the truth.
"Well Buck, now that we have been properly introduced would you–"
"–Watch out!" interrupts the earth pony suddenly, raising his hoof-bow and pointing it over her shoulder.
With a harsh rapping sound, Buck releases a bolt. It whizzes past Dream's ear and into the bushes behind her. There is the sound of an impact, and a yelp of pain.
"Huh?" utters Dream in confusion.
"Timberwolves," shouts Buck with urgency, "we have to get out of here quick before the rest of the pack encircles us!"
Snarling, rabid wolves emerge from around the edges of the clearing making it apparent that it is already to late. Buck makes haste to load another bolt from his pack.
"Why are they surrounding us, what do they want?" questions Dream with passive awareness of the aggressive demeanour of the wolves around them.
"They're going to eat us!" replies Buck irritably as he pulls back the bowstring with his mouth onto the latch.
Eat them? It sounded absurd to Dream. In her experience in the Palace Garden all creatures lived in perfect harmony and health… why would mother create animals that feed upon one another? This is obviously just a misunderstanding.
"You 'Timberwolves', would you kindly move out of the way so we can pass. We do not wish to harm you any further."
Ignoring Dream's intelligent but useless words, one of the pack near her right flank pounced towards her. The princess of dreams turned face the attack, and it was just in time to receive an aggressive slash right across her face. Snarling, the wolf retreated to give others of his kin a chance to seize upon another moment of vulnerability.
Sharp pain coursed through Dream's cheek, and instinctively she reached a hoof up to the location of the injury. Pulling it away, she could see it was stained with viscous red liquid – her own blood. She looked at it with shock and amazement for a moment, and then the rage set in. How dare these insignificant creatures tear her skin? She will make them all pay for this. As another wolf behind her got ready to pounce, she whirled around and glared at it with eyes as green as death itself.
"I'll chop you into TWIGS!" she shouts in rage, before vigorously slashing the air with her horn.
The poor timberwolf is slashed into half a dozen pieces, its wooden legs and body parts scattered in all directions. Yelping, the others realize this foe is too powerful to be worth taking on even in a pack. They suddenly turn and retreat into the woods. Buck takes the opportunity to loose another bolt in their direction but it falls short and misses.
"Damn, they almost got us," remarks Buck in between rasping breaths, "are you alright Dream?"
The princess of dreams cools off and the green glow in her eyes fades as she resumes control once more. Anger is replaced with guilt, and in equal time sadness.
"I killed it," states Dream, but it is distant and sorrowful.
"Yeah you got him real good," answers Buck as he begins collecting the wooden pieces to take home – they could be useful as firewood.
Staring at the dismembered corpse of the living creature she had just murdered, Dream suddenly realized why Mother had been so upset over a simple food fight. She had only intended to strike back – like a magical punch or a kick – not to use her overwhelming powers to butcher another living thing. What would have happened if it wasn't just a timberwolf, but another pony or worse… one of her siblings? Right then it hit her that in this world she is nothing less then a god; immortal, exceptionally powerful, and owning a domain of her own. The reason why these ponies here have either wings or a horn or neither is because they are the rule… the five of them including her are the exceptions to that rule.
"You okay?" asks Buck with concern. The proper introduction and the trauma of the wolf attack seem to have removed any apprehension he had towards her.
Dream turns to the earth pony, and he is shocked to see a tear running down her face. She hangs her head in guilt, and he finds himself feeling sorry for her. Buck remembered his first kill – he had felt almost the same way.
"Listen, if you have no place to go, you can stay with me for a few days. It's the least I can do for you given how you chased off those wolves."
The princess of dreams raises her head and joins eyes with him. Quietly, she nods in acceptance of the offer.
"Come on then, we have some ground to cover before we get back to the farm."
Having finished filling his basket with wooden timberwolf parts, Buck turns and trots off in the direction of his family home. Silently, Dream gets to her feet and follows him. As if on cue, there is a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder in the sky. Rain begins to fall.
…
The journey to Buck's family home is a long and disheartening one. The rain continued to pour excessively soaking them both right through their fur coats. The earth pony didn't seem to mind, but to Dream it is absolutely terrible. She can't recall a time when she was forced to suffer this much; exhaustion, hunger, depression, and the shivering cold all are making their mark on her and driving her into a state where all she can do is put one foot in front of the other. In her brooding thoughts the princess of dreams reaches the conclusion that this world is an aweful, aweful place where all manners of physical suffering are inflicted upon the inhabitants. She didn't know how the earth pony could take it all in stride so easily – what joy is there in such a bleak existence?
"Here we are," spoke up Buck, his tone implying he is very glad to finally be home.
Pulled out of her own thoughts, Dream looks up and sees a remarkable structure. A house built of fine wooden planks and even adorned with glass windows sits before her just a few metres away. Inside she can see light and hear the sounds of laughter and conversation. Oh well, it's not a palace but at least it's a chance to get out of the rain. Pushing her way through the curtain of falling water at the entrance, Dream enters the dwelling.
"Buck, you're back!" cries out a small female pony in relief. She is slightly more yellowish in colour then him, but with a scarlet mane. She jumps forward and hugs Buck, and he returns the gesture.
"Yeah sis I'm back, sorry it took so long,"
"I'll say, Tangerine has been waiting for those raspberries all day," declares an older and rougher looking earth pony with grey fur. He is sitting in a rocking chair smoking a pipe, stroking his dark brown beard with a hint of agitation.
"I had a basket full of them Papa," explains Buck.
While Buck goes through all the reasons why he has returned without the precious berries, Dream takes the opportunity to examine the new setting. It is moderately sized and sort of quaint. The room she has just stepped into has two open doorways to the left leading into separate areas of the house and one large opening leading back into a kitchen and dining area. A large fireplace occupies the far end of the room, and it is currently burning brightly and warmly. Assorted decorations adorn the walls and floor such as leafy vines, skins, and pictures. The delicious smell of something cooking fills Dream's nostrils though, and she finds her mouth watering with anticipation.
"And who is this?" inquires Papa after taking the pipe out of his mouth, "you brought a unicorn home with you son?"
"Her name is Dream," replies Buck, "and she's a nice unicorn… she saved me from some timberwolves in the forest. She was lost… I-I offered her a place to stay for tonight."
Papa appears disapproving anyway.
"What have I told you about their kind," scolds Papa passively, "you run, and you don't stop running until you get back here… I thought I made that clear."
So that's why Buck reacted the way he did when they first met. It amazed Dream that the ponies here held each other in such low esteem for just small racial differences.
"Oh Papa don't be so stiff."
Another earth pony entered the room, and she appeared to be older and more mature then Buck's sister. A simple guess would be that she must be Buck's mother. Her fur is a golden yellow and her mane is an earthy brown, though it is tucked up neatly behind her head. Around her chest is an apron with the symbol of a bushel of oranges on it.
"You remember that pegasus that helped you into town when you got lost on your way into Manehatten last year, don't you?"
Papa looks away and grumbles in submission. His wife is much smarter then he is, but that doesn't mean he likes being corrected by her. Old habits die hard.
"Miss Dream," begins the female earth pony, "I'm really happy for what you did for my boy Buck. Would you like to join us for supper?"
"I would," answers Dream politely, eager to accept the hospitality.
"But first let's get you warmed up," interjects Buck's mother with enthusiasm, taking one of the furs off the wall and wrapping it around Dream. She directs the princess towards the open fire, and its warmth is appreciated beyond all measure.
"Thank you," Dream says as she begins the process of drying off her mane.
…
Dinner was served a few minutes after Dream had finally got herself dried off. Her normally flowing mane is a complete disaster and she is dirty and almost certainly smelly, but none of that matters at this moment. She is so hungry, she could eat poison ivy.
Around a nice oak table the four earth ponies sat, with the princess of dreams taking up the opposite end of Papa. The meal turned out to be a vegetarian sheppards pie, with a fresh loaf of bread and orange juice. Cobs of corn had also been cooked, and Dream couldn't resist but eat everything she could get her hooves on. It was the best meal she had ever had in her life, and it was so delicious she didn't even notice when the earth ponies stared at her use of magic to keep the four pieces of her food hovering in the air around her. It meant she could eat at bit of everything at once, an impressive thought to all of them.
Following the end of the excellent meal, conversation started. Dream learned the names of all those present, as well as a bit about their daily lives. They are Papa Thickskin, the mother Tangerine, of course Buckwheat, and his younger sister Clementine. Officially they are known as the Orange Family, having inherited their farm 'Orange Orchard Acres' from Tangerine's father upon his passing. Their specialty is obviously oranges, and they have over two dozen trees that they harvest twice a year to sustain themselves.
Now that she is warm, dry, and full Dream is feeling much happier and starts to talk a bit about herself and how she became lost out here.
"My siblings and I all live together within our mother's cas- I mean house. We all have some very important responsibilities, and we aren't allowed to leave while outsiders aren't allowed to come in."
"So it's like one of those monasteries I've heard about," states Tangerine with recognition, "…you know the ones where they train lectors."
"Yeah," puts in Papa, "the ones where they teach youngster unicorns how to better kill us with their powers. Speaking of which, how do we know you aren't here to do just that Miss Dream, huh?"
"Papa!" scolds Tangerine, "why would she go through the effort of saving our son if she meant to do that?"
The outburst forces Papa into another grumbled silence.
"Well I for one think she is really nice," pipes up Clementine, "she's not stuck up like those other unicorns… no offense."
"None taken," replies Dream with a smile, "It is clear my kind are responsible for some misdeeds, if only I had known."
"Here, here," adds Buck, raising his hoof-ring attached glass into the air. The others repeated the gesture, and Dream went along with it.
"I think it is time you young ones are off to bed," declares Tangerine with finality, "if you stay up too late you'll be too tired to work on tomorrow's harvest."
"Aww mom do we have to?" complains Clementine.
"Do as your mother says," commands Papa, ending the discussion.
The five ponies depart the dinner table, with Dream following Buck timidly as he heads off to his room.
"Come on," he says to her over his shoulder as the two of them enter the attic, "you can sleep over here where Grampy used to."
It turns out that the bed is nothing more then a hammock with a few woolly blankets covering it. Despite its unconventional appearance, it is probably the best thing Dream has seen all day next to the food at dinner. Not waiting for Buck to invite her in, she hops up onto the makeshift bed and covers herself with the blankets. Thanks to her unique talents, she pushes herself into sleep not a minute later. Outside of a small open window, the sounds of pattering rain and rumbling thunder ease her rest.