//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - It's All About The Dreams! // Story: Following In A Knight's Steps // by Spacecowboy //------------------------------//         Whiteness.  Thoughts of The Matrix entered into my mind, white enveloping all I could see around me.  The vague form of walls slowly came into being, closing in around me.  Focused in the center of my vision, two hazy shapes emerged.  The first stood tall and proud, standing on two feet, dressed in a rather casual combination of jeans and a t-shirt.  A large smile graced his face, auburn hair framing hazel eyes.  The latter was a much smaller figure, standing on four hooves.  A horn adorned his head, and the overly large aquamarine eyes reflected a depth of inner peace.         The human and pony both sat down, facing each other and locking their gazes.  A smirk formed on each face, as if one knew something that the other didn't.  I watched them both closely, unsure as to what it meant.  My focus rapidly shifted between them, awaiting the next move.         The white shifted to grey, darkening to black soon after, leaving just the pony in a circular spotlight.  I watched as a scene unfolded before me, showing what could be.  He strode through a faceless mass of ponies down a street somewhere, confidence exuding off his figure.  An object fell from a roof somewhere, threatening another pony.  Before anypony else could act, his horn was ablaze with a navy blue glow, the object hovering in the air mid descent.  The ponies around him thanked him, lauding him as a hero.         The picture paused, holding the moment captive as the pony was posing to those thanking him.  Everything became fuzzy, floating away in wisps.  As particles floating away, new ones came in to replace them.  He stood on a cliffside this time, clouds butting up against it forming an illusion of a sea of clouds.  He stretched his wings wide, the wind rustling each individual feather as he closed his eyes.  The sanctity of the moment went undisturbed for minutes, until at last, he snapped his eyes wide open and ran off the cliff.         His wings splayed wide, he caught the thermals rising off the clouds and soared without care.  With no chains to tie him down to the earth, he was free, unburdened without a care in the world.  No thoughts of responsibility, concerns, or worries.  It was all in the here and now of the moment.  Once more, the scene before me froze, an expression of unadulterated joy showing through the smile plastered on his face.         The scene faded this time, only to be replaced by another.  He stood within a room, bustling with activity.  Ponies in medical scrubs rushed here and there, urgency in their steps.  The focus of their attention was a mare laying in an ornate bed, her belly swollen and breaths labored.  He walked up to her and held a hoof, comforting her in this wonderful moment.  Pain etched her face as a soundless scream escaped her throat, only to be overridden by the wailing only a newborn could manage.         The doctors quickly cleaned the babe and checked its vitals, then bundled it up.  Handing it to the parents, they embraced each other in a hug, large smiles of warmth gracing their faces.  He looked so happy, finally a family to call his own.         Family...         The moment shattered into a million pieces, falling like shards of glass.  The pony was not spared this time.  The human popped into focus, sitting in the living room of a very familiar house.  I watched my human self slowly get up off the couch, heading for the stairs in the back of the room.  Once upstairs, he made for the second door on the left, hand outreaching to grasp the doorknob.         A sudden twist and push revealed the contents of the room.  The walls were painted a bright blue on one side, black on the other.  Day and night, reflected on the walls; sun, moon, and stars all included.  A small bed sat against the wall, a coloring book and crayons laying on it.  Picking up a crayon, a little girl no older than six or seven looked up and smiled, her two missing front teeth making the sight that much more adorable.         "Angela..."  I watched as he rushed over to her, picking her up by the arms and gently twirling her in the air, giggles escaping all the while.  He brought her close into his chest, a bear hug uniting the two as one for a brief moment.         Wetness rolled down my cheek, this scene reminding me of what was truly important to my heart.  Everything shifted back to the initial image of both the human and pony staring down each other.  The pony flinched and looked away, the human jumping up and fistpumping in victory.  I knew that no matter what, I had to return home, no matter what I had to do, or how long it would take.         A fanfare began playing as everything began distorting around me.  "My, my, my...  now isn't this a most...  interesting development that we have here.  A stray, and very far from home.  Oh no, whatever can be done!"  A voice floated from nowhere, yet it seemed to come from everywhere at the same time.         "Who's there!  Show yourself!"  I shouted, hoping to find the voice's source.  The distortion continued, radiating from a central point in front of me.  A vertical slit appeared in front of me, disrupting the very fabric of the environment.  It lengthened, becoming the height of a door, then with a popping noise, it expanded horizontally, leaving a rectangular void.         A bicycle bell sounded out, shortly followed by an actual bicycle!  The...  individual peddling it was something else entirely.  Although bipedal, his exact species was unknown to me, although he had various body parts of others that I recognized.  A deer antler, a goat's horn, and an eagle's claw?  Were just some of the many features on his body.  A true chimera, riding a bicycle, wearing a clown suit.  My jaw dropped as one of his hands moved to ring the bell once more.         He hopped off the bicycle and snapped his fingers, causing it to simply vanish.  The doorway he had created snapped shut, the distortion rushing back in and disappearing.  "Hey there, human!  Glad to finally see another one of you folks, your world is so much fun to look at, ya know?"  He walked up to me, a smirking grin present on his face as he reached behind his back.  "You might want this back though, just talking isn't any fun at all!"  He pulled out my lower jaw from behind him and smacked it into my chin.         My hands shot to my mouth, but nothing seemed to be out of place.  Opening and closing my mouth several times proved this to be true, and a booming laugh began to echo from this creature in front of me.  "Who are you?"  I asked incredulously.         "I," the creature began, a snap changing his attire, now that of a pink pimp suit, complete with a jeweled cane, "am Discord, the God of Chaos!  I must say, I am most pleased to meet you human, you all truly are such fun!"  He stretched out a hand in greeting,         "Umm, it's a... pleasure to meet you?"  I wasn't quite sure what else to say, I think it was the pimp suit that threw me for the spin more than anything else.         Discord walked around me, and I felt his gaze on me, sizing me up.  "Yup, you'll do just fine I think.  Such potential, such chaos!  I truly do look forward to see what you bring about in your wake, I dare say!"  A snap of a finger, and five flying placards appeared mid air, all displaying nines.  "I've always looked up to humans, you all are a fun lot.  I might not be able to breach the barrier myself, but I can always meddle a bit every so often.  Why, I remember when I messed with those poor people who were interpreting that old Mayan Calendar.  I had them convinced that because the Mayans ran out of space on their silly rock, your world was going to end!  Such delectable, tasty, sweet chaos!"  He paused, pulling his hand from behind his back.  "Cotton candy?"  Discord held in his grasp a fair style cone of cotton candy.         I tentatively reached for it, holding it in my hand.  "Thanks...  Anyone ever tell you that you come off as crazy?"  I went to take a bite of the candy in my grasp, the heavy taste of... snozberries?  Reaching my taste buds.  It also began fizzing and popping, just like Pop Rocks.         Discord cracked up laughing again, only serving to solidify my opinion that he belonged locked up in a padded room somewhere.  "Why, thank you!  Chaos is always rather crazy, it's what makes it so unpredictable!"  He came up to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, the claws of the talon thumping against my shoulder.  "You know, I really would love to stick around longer, but it's time for me to make like a banana and split!  We should do this again sometime!"         Discord walked over to a random section of my dreamscape and simply walked through it, disappearing from sight.  I was left holding the cotton candy as I simply started at the spot he had occupied just moments before, rather confused.  Unsure of what action to take, I simply took another bite of candy.         The rest of my dreams were rather peaceful, the grip of sleep keeping me in its grasp.  I had this lovely dream of flying through the air, something that I dreamed of on numerous occasions even before coming to this magical land.  Eventually, my dreams made their way back to my daughter Angela, everything turning dreary and dark around me.  I could see her in front of me, yet every time I reached out for her, I grasped at empty air.         She still stood there, looking at me with pleading, sad teary eyes, as if begging for me to hold her.  No matter how many times I tried, however, I just couldn't reach her, even as the shadows began to close in around us.  They eventually began licking at her feet as I was forced to simply stand there and watch, having resigned myself to the fact that no matter what I tried, it didn't work. I immediately awoke, lunging up into a sitting position, a hoof rising to my chest as I caught a glimpse of a dark blue wave of, something, in the corner of my eye. Wait a second... I slowly lifted my hoof, no, my hand, into the center of my vision. "Yes!" I hollered aloud, jumping the rest of the way from the bed to stand on the floor just as the door to my room was flung wide open with a pink aura, quickly followed by a familiar looking purple alicorn, panic evident on her face. Oh shit.         A pulse of foreign magic made itself known across Equestria, triggering an ancient ward long since forgotten underneath a long ago abandoned castle.  Deep in the confines of the catacombs, a series of self contained spells activated, calling back an entity long since thought gone.  Conscious thoughts began forming as it slowly pieced itself together.         Sounds...         Thoughts...         Self...         Identity!         A purpose.         The barrier was breached.         My purpose will be fulfilled.         I must go to them.         A misty shadow rose from the center of a magical circle, violently swirling about.  It writhed and squirmed, contained by the magic, as the soul slowly began piecing itself together.  As it calmed, a vague shape began to form, standing on two legs, proud and tall.  The last of the mist settled down, leaving a transparent older man in its wake.  He heard the call, and it was now time to answer it.  Another had finally found their way here, and it was time to act.         It's only a matter of time, now.  I must stabilize, first.  The spirit sat down in the center of the circle and crossed his legs, then slowly closed his eyes, turning his thoughts inwards.  The silence of the catacombs returned once more.