When entering the dreams of another, one might expect some sort of transition, or journey. Such is not the case, as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash found. One moment, they were standing beside Princess Luna as a wave of magic swept over them, a tired feeling enveloping them. The next they were standing in the Everfree forest.
“Wait, what?” Rainbow looked around at the eerie forest. “I thought we were going into Michael’s dream, not to the Everfree forest!”
“Oh, I’m sure Princess Luna knows what she is doing, Dashie,” Fluttershy said.
Luna looked at her surroundings for a moment. She hoofed at the ground a bit, and took in a deep breath of air. “We are most certainly in the human’s dream. It would seem that he is dreaming about the Everfree forest.”
“Huh? I thought Twilight said he would be having good dreams. What kind of good dreams could be happening in this place?” the blue pegasus gave her princess a questioning look.
The alicorn started to reply, but stopped when she spotted a familiar stone structure. “I believe the answers we seek will be found in there.”
The two pegasi followed her gaze, and saw it. The old castle of the royal sisters, just as they remembered it. They shared a look, but followed their princess anyways as she walked towards the ruined building.
Their hooves beat on the moss-ridden cobblestone as they sought any signs of Michael. It was peculiar, though, how quiet the environment was. The three ponies heard no sounds coming from the wildlife, only the steady tempo of their hooves.
A breeze blew through the dilapidated castle as Fluttershy rounded a corner. The wind caused a bloodied rag to fly directly into her face, causing her to scream.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouted, yanking the rag off of her friend’s face. “You okay?”
“Y-yeah,” the frightened pony took a few deep breaths.
Luna, however, looked down at the cloth the rainbow-maned pegasus had tossed aside. It was torn in many places, but she could still discern a shape to it. It was larger than other examples of the same that she had seen, but the design was unmistakable anyways. On the ground before her lay a mostly shredded, blood soaked shirt just the size for a human.
“Quickly,” she told the two ponies with her, “I believe the effects of Twilight Sparkle’s spell have had consequences far worse than we anticipated.”
“Huh, what are you talking about Princess?” Dash asked her.
“Look at this cloth, does its shape seem familiar to you?” Luna held the shirt in her magic.
Both pegasi studied it, looking for what Luna had found. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in comprehension first, and she gasped.
“M-Michael!” she exclaimed, “We have to find him!”
Rainbow Dash realized what she was looking at after her friend’s exclamation, and was quick to agree. The princess dropped the destroyed shirt and they all nodded, taking off further into the castle.
It was not long until they heard a new noise. It was soft, but still audible, sounding like someone was shouting. The new sound only added to their worry, and they renewed their pace. They flew around a corner, and burst into the large room where the Elements of Harmony had been found.
Michael was there, at the end of the large room. He was curled up on the ground, sobbing once more. Standing above him was another human, one Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had only heard of.
Her blonde hair was not in a bun as she had been described, but instead was allowed to flow down her back. She had been facing away, but upon hearing their hoofbeats she turned to face them, her jade eyes glaring angrily at the newcomers.
“You,” she hissed, “What are you doing here?”
All three stopped not far from her. Luna was the only one to remain standing, however. Fluttershy and Rainbow found themselves floored their jaws agape as they stared at the woman.
“I-is that Jessie?” the speedy pegasus asked.
“S-she looks just like Michael described her,” the yellow pegasus said.
“Oh, the moron’s told you about me, has he?” the blonde woman sneered, “I bet he didn’t tell you everything.”
“That is enough,” Luna stepped forward, ready to dispel the nightmare.
Jessica turned to Luna, and marched directly in front of the alicorn.
“You think you can just blast me with your magic and make me go away?” she questioned, pointing towards the princess’s glowing horn. “Well, it’s not that simple, you dumb horse. I realize that I’m just a dream of his! But I also know that that idiot over there will just keep on dreaming me up, night after night! And he deserves the punishments I give him, after what he did to me!”
“Hey!” Rainbow shouted, rushing up to her, “You take that back!”
“Take what back?” the woman looked directly into Rainbow Dash’s red eyes “The part about that moron over there, or about you three being dumb horses?”
Dash’s face contorted in anger, and she made to strike Jessica. But the antagonistic human spoke first.
“You think you’re so great? You’re nothing but an idiot who thinks her wings make her special! What have you done that’s so great? Nearly beat the crap out of Michael for being in mourning? Then nearly doing it again when it was clear that he was hurting? You are nothing but a dumb blue horse with wings who thinks she is more than she is. I don’t even know why you’re here, what help could you be? You can’t just hit your way out of this one.”
“You will stop this, now.” Princess Luna stepped in, attempting to take control of the situation.
Jessica turned to her, and spat “I don’t even know you, but I can tell that you belong here even less than the great rainbow failure over there. How could you help him? You think you can just waltz into someone’s head and fix everything because you have a horn and wings? You may look impressive, but I can see right through you. I’d bet that you’re nothing but a failure. You probably live in someone else’s shadow. You’re only here because you want to make yourself look better. You want to know how I know this? Because if you were important, that fuck up over there would have known you!”
“You will be quiet!” Luna’s eyes shone with rage.
“Oh, no, I’m not going to stop until I’m done. You came to me, so you just have to sit back and listen.” She turned to face Rainbow Dash, who had been attempting to sneak up on her. “And that means no surprise attacks.” She leaned to the side as Rainbow dove at her, causing the blue pegasus to collide with the princess.
Jessica chuckled a bit as she faced Fluttershy. “You,” she grinned, “I’m going to have fun with you.”
Before the cruel words could start, the scared pegasus shouted out “Michael, you need to get up! Please!” Her eyes caught his, and for a second she thought she saw a spark in them. But it was gone as soon as it came.
The blonde woman began to laugh madly. “You think that sad sack of shit can help you now? He’s nothing but a crying mess because of me. And he deserved it, too. Oh, but you wouldn’t know, would you? Poor, innocent little Fluttershy, always trying to be nice to her friends. But what have they ever done for you? They dumped a strange creature you had never seen before on you, they expected you to house and feed him, and they never once even thanked you! And you just took it like the good little bitch you are. You deserve this more than the other two dipshits who came into this dream with you. With your annoying ass whimpering and your constant shyness. I would say I don’t know why your friends stay around you, but that would be a lie. I know exactly why. They can see just how sad and pathetic you are, and they take pity on you by letting you think you’re accepted. They act all nice to your face, but they’re secretly talking about you when you’re not around, I’m sure. They’re probably talking about the best way they can use you, because they know that you are too much of a wimp to say no! You should just go hide away in your home and die, because you certainly don’t belong anywhere else!”
Fluttershy’s eyes began to water. Jessica’s comments had cut deep. She knew that what the woman had said wasn't true, but even as she told herself this the words felt hollow. She tried to stand up for herself, but she couldn’t. She just was not strong enough. The downtrodden pony sobbed, wondering if maybe Jessica was right.
Not far from the ponies, Michael laid on the ground. The nightmare was the same as what he had been experiencing every night of his stay. But not even the night that it changed compared to what he was feeling then. With his emotions in full force, in addition to the condition he was in while awake Michael hadn’t even attempted to fight. Jessica had every right to say those things to him, he decided. And he did deserve every harsh word thrown at him.
Then Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had shown up, along with a pony he did not know. He didn’t pay them much attention, lost in his own misery. He heard his tormentor start to tear into his friends.
“I should do something,” he thought, “I shouldn’t just stand back and let this happen.”
“But what would I do?” he replied in his mind, “I would only make things worse. Just look at what I did to Jessie.”
“That is entirely different,” his rational side returned, “Now man up!”
“No! I’ll only wind up hurting them! There just isn’t any way for me to help without making things worse, I know it!”
“How can I just sit back and watch as she hurts my friends like this though?”
“Simple, I’m already doing it. It’s pointless to try, anyways. I have tried before to fight back at the nightmare, and it only ever makes things worse.”
“What if this time is different though? What if I win this time?”
“Seventy two examples to the contrary would beg to differ.”
“Maybe I’m right. I hate to see it happen, but maybe there just isn’t anything I can do.
“I may as well just roll over so I don’t have to see this.”
Michael began to roll away from his friends, ready to accept defeat once again. But he caught Fluttershy’s gaze just before he did. Their eyes locked, two pairs of the same color. Both somehow managed to convey an amazing amount of pain, even though one sought help and the other sought solitude. He couldn’t do it, though. He knew what she was asking of him, but he could not help. His nightmare was simply too much for him to handle, they would have to fight it on their own.
He faced away from his pony friends as Jessica’s cruel ranting carried on. He was ready to sink further into his own self pity, when he heard something. It was something tragic, something horrible. Something that he could not stand to hear, not again. He had already caused enough pain, why did he have to cause more?
Fluttershy was crying, he knew that sound from just a few nights prior. But why did he have to cause it again? Why did he have to hurt everyone he cared about?
“No,” he growled softly, “I can’t let this happen.”
“I already went over this, though. There is nothing I can do, I’ve already tried and failed so many times before!” the frightened part of him thought in an attempt to keep him down.
“Well, this time it’s not just me getting hurt, it’s my friend. And now, I refuse to let this happen.”
Slowly, as Jessica, Luna, and Rainbow Dash argued at the brink of fighting, Michael stood. He grabbed his hat from where it had fallen on his way up, as he slowly stood straight. He placed it on his head, and turned to face his dead lover.
“Hey!” he shouted, “They have nothing to do with this, your argument is with me.”
Four sets of eyes snapped to him, each surprised. On his face was a look of determination, and a fire burned in his eyes.
“Oh, so the murderer thinks he’s big stuff,” Jessica taunted, taking a step towards him.
He in turn marched directly up to her, stopping when his face was only inches from hers.
“You better listen, because I am not going to repeat myself.” He snarled, his friends almost unable to hear him.
“What happened to you was not my fault. That monster that attacked us was not called by me. I did not let it attack you. You have no right to blame me for that tragedy. If you truly were Jessie, you would know this.” He didn’t know where the words were coming from, but they felt right. His righteous anger burned bright as he said “I would have given my life to save hers. But when that creature attacked, it could only choose one of us. It chose her, but I didn’t escape unscathed. When she shouted to me to run, I didn’t listen. I tried to save her, and paid the price.” He lifted his shirt, baring to them a wicked set of scars. Three lines trailed across the right side of his chest, just above his heart. The ponies gasped, but his nightmare only growled.
“You think some stupid little scar makes up for what you did? You left me for dead, Michael. My death is on your hands, you should just accept it.” She was grasping for a hold by then, he could tell.
He lowered his shirt once again, and continued “You are nothing but a bad dream. I see this now. You can’t do anything but blame me for Jessica’s death. I suppose that makes you a reflection of my own feelings. But I don’t need you anymore. I already blame myself every time I see that scar. That will stay with me for the rest of my days, of that I am certain. And every time I look in a mirror, I’ll see it, and think again of what I lost. But not of you, never again of you. You are not Jessica Reese, and I do not love you. Leave, you witch, and never bother me again!”
Whatever he expected, Michael never would have foreseen her reaction. Rather than continue to fight him, or even any sort of violent reaction, she smiled. In that moment, Michael could have believed that Jessie was still alive and before him. He took in the gentle smile on her face, and gave a small one of his own without realizing it.
“Good,” she took his face in her hands, “I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”
“W-what?” he stuttered, “What are you talking about?”
“It wasn’t until tonight that I did, but I wanted you to stand up to me. I may be a figment of your imagination, but tonight something inside of me felt more real. It was as if some outside force breathed life into me, but not enough. Michael, it wasn’t until you told me off that I could talk to you without being filled with all of that hate you felt. But tonight you overcame your fear, and made me stop. It was like all of those horrible emotions just flowed out of me when you did that. All that’s left is me, Jessica, your girlfriend.”
Michael couldn’t believe his ears. What she said was just too incredible to be true. But looking into her beautiful jade irises, he knew that he didn’t care. Whatever brought her to him had his thanks.
“Jessie,” his voice was filled with emotion, as tears once again welled in his eyes, albeit for a different reason.
“Oh, Michael,” she whispered back.
Then the two met in a passionate kiss. Time stood still as they held each other in their arms, and the outside world melted away. It did not matter that they were standing in a decayed castle in the middle of a dangerous forest, or even that three ponies watched on with varying expressions. All that mattered to the two lovers was the other, now that they could finally be together.
When they finally separated, Michael saw something that nearly brought him to his knees. It was only for a brief instant, but it was there. Jessie had flickered, as if disappearing.
“Jessie,” he said, barely above a whisper.
“I know,” she held a finger to his lips before he could say anything else, “We both knew. There was no way we could just be together again. This is just a dream, and it’s time for you to wake up soon.”
“But there was so much I wanted to say to you!” he cried, “So much that I never thought to before!”
“I know, my love. I know. But there just isn’t time anymore.” Tears were falling from her eyes as well.
Michael’s world was falling down around him. He had only just gotten her back, she couldn’t be leaving him again! But there was nothing he could do, and he knew it. He had just about resigned to his fate, when a thought crossed his mind.
Reaching into his jacket, he told her “There is one thing I have to do before you’re gone.”
The others all watched as he bent down on one knee, and took out a small velvet box. Snapping it open, he look directly into the eyes of dead lover.
“Jessica Reese,” he said, “Would you marry me?”
The blonde woman drew her hands to her face in a gasp, even as she faded even further away. She cried tears of joy as she nearly shouted, “Yes! I would! I love you so much, Michael!”
He stood once more and wrapped her in his arms. It was nearly time, he could feel her disappearing in his embrace. They looked into each others eyes one last time, and their lips met. He felt her fade away, leaving an empty feeling in his arms. But despite this, he did not feel sadness. Instead, a sense of closure came over him, and he look to his friends.
“M-Michael?” Fluttershy was still in shock at what she had just witnessed, “Are you okay?”
And Michael Greenfield did something that he hadn’t done in a long time. His lips stretched across his face, and he gave the most genuine smile he had ever given in the land of Equestria. For once, his grin did not mask any feelings of hurt inside of him, instead it showed the joy he felt. He had finally overcome his nightmare, and could live again.
“Yes, Fluttershy,” he said softly, “I’m just fine.”