Chapter 2
The Dream
That night, Sweetie Belle had a dream. In it, she got her cutie-mark, but it was not like any normal cutie-mark she had ever seen before. This cutie-mark was a big, red "L". She didn't know what it meant, but Scootaloo and Applebloom seemed to be really scared by it. They dashed into the Everfree Forest and were soon lost from sight.
Sweetie Belle ran after them, but couldn't catch up fast enough. She got lost in the forest, but soon came to the edge of a huge cliff on the completely opposite side of the immense forest.. She looked down in time to see two little splashes in an enormous, stormy, churning lake. She couldn't hold herself back from crying. She cursed this strange cutie-mark, she cursed her entire existence, she cursed everything ever created! She curled up into a ball and sobbed for what seemed like hours.
∞
Sweetie Belle woke up with a start. Her pillow was soaked where her head was, and she assumed she cried in her sleep as well as in the dream. She glanced over to the clock. 6:24, she thought, I guess I could get up now. I could use some walking around. She grabbed her bag and left the boutique making sure that she didn't wake Rarity. She would get really mad if somepony interrupted her beauty sleep.
While she was taking a leisurely stroll around Ponyville, she spotted a gypsy cart rolling through town. Sweetie Belle remembered something about gypsies being able to tell futures and interpret dreams, so she trotted toward the old thing.
As she got closer, she could make out an old, faded cloth sign that was draped over the cart. She could make out only a few words, but there was enough light that she could read: "Madame Graciela. Fortunes Told Here!"
"Well that's convenient." Sweetie Belle said aloud, "I wonder if she interprets dreams as well." She checked her satchel and found a few bits inside, so she continued on.
"Um, excuse me sir," she said when she reached the driver of the cart, "are you stopping close to here?"
The driver looked down and had to squint his eyes to see her clearly in the low light of the morning.
"Why yes we are! We are actually stopping right outside town!" he said with a smile. "Would you like a ride over there with us?"
"Yes, thank you." Sweetie Belle climbed up with the aid of the driver and sat down beside him. They continued on for a few minutes and found a spot underneath a large oak tree.
The driver opened a small hatch right behind his seat after he and Sweetie Belle had gotten down and unhitched the stallion who was pulling the cart.
"Mi'lady, we have a customer!" There was rustling and a small crash in reply. He hopped down, opened up the large back door, and went with the stallion to get supplies, food, and drink.
"Come in, dear," the mare said,"have a seat."
Sweetie Belle trotted around the cart and walked into the small room. There was a bed, two bookshelves full of books, most likely on occult practices, a table with two chairs, one occupied by the mare, and a candle in the middle of the table that lit the tiny living space. The mare was not much older than Rarity, much to Sweetie Belle's surprise. She had a light brown coat and a sandy blonde mane, and wore a light red headband that looked similar to the one Aloe wore back at the spa. Sweetie Belle sat down in the chair opposite the young mare.
"Now how may I help you? I can sense that something is troubling you," she said concernedly. She gasped and sat back and gave an embarrassed smile after burying her face in her hooves. "Silly me! I haven't even introduced myself! My name is Madame Graciela, but you can call me Graciela or Grace. It is a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hoof. "And your name is?"
"My name is Sweetie Belle," she said, shaking the mare's hoof. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well! You have no idea how lucky I feel right now."
"I'm sure I don't," Graciela said with a smile. "Now," she continued warmly," what seems to be troubling you? I could sense that something was on your mind as soon as you came in. Now, wait. Before you say anything, let me guess why you're here." The mare closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Aha! I know just the thing that we need!" She got off the chair and scanned one of the bookshelves. She pulled out a medium sized book and blew the dust off of it.
"My, I haven't used this one in a while!" She set the old book down on the table in front of her seat at the table. "My guess is that you came here about a dream you had." She scrunched her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could.
"The dream was about a certain somepony, no, two certain someponies! You are obviously very troubled by this dream because first off, you don't know what this dream means, and second, those two certain someponies are very close to you. Whether they are friends, family, loved ones, I do not know."
She opened her eyes to find a quite surprised Sweetie Belle. Her mouth was open slightly and her eyes were wide. Graciela smiled contently.
"My powers haven't failed me yet, I see. Now, let's see to that dream. Could you describe the dream to me, was there anything that seemed odd, like certain objects or symbols that struck you as weird or out of place?" Sweetie Belle had to think for a moment.
"Let's see. In the dream, I got my cutie-mark." She hopped down to show Graciela her flank, then climbed back up. "But it wasn't like any cutie-mark I had ever seen before. it was a big red 'L'." Graciela perked up at the mention of 'L'. She opened the book and began to flip through the pages.
"Go on." she said.
"Then my friends Scootaloo and Applebloom, who were with me, ran away into the Everfree Forest. I chased after them, and I got lost, but I continued running." Graciela dog-eared the page she was on, and flipped to a different page, dog-eared it, then looked up, signalling Sweetie Bell to continue.
"All of a sudden, I was on the other side of the forest, and I ran to the edge of a cliff. I looked down and saw two little splashes in a massive lake. It was really stormy so that the water was really choppy and was churning like crazy. I don't think anypony could survive the fall, let alone swim to shore and get there in one piece. Then I just cried for what seemed like hours and when I woke up, my pillow was soaking wet, so I guessed that I had been crying in real life as well." Graciela looked up. Concern, fear, and utter amazement were evident in her eyes.
"Please excuse my language, but you had one hell of a night. Your subconscious was working overtime to try and feed you information about yourself so that your conscious mind can interpret the information and finally figure everything out about what's going on in your head, or shall I say heart."
Sweetie Belle had been afraid that that was what Graciela would say, but she was still confused as to what all the different signs meant.
"Normal dreams only have a few signs in them, and they're vague at that, but yours... Your dream was full of signs! There was a sign in pretty much everything you just told me! The 'L' cutie-mark usually symbolizes being a so-called loser, but having your friends there and sensing what I sense about you, the letter L signifies your fear of the "l-word". You cannot even bring your dreaming mind to express love. That's why I said "heart" when I was explaining what your subconscious was trying to tell you." She flips to the second dog-eared page.
"The bit about the Everfree Forest. There's nothing in here concerning that particular forest, but it does say something about getting lost in a forest. It says "To dream that you are lost in a forest indicates that you are searching through your subconscious for a better understanding of yourself," which is exactly what is happening." She turns to the third dog-eared page.
"It says here that "To dream that you or somepony falls off a cliff suggests that you are going through a difficult time and are afraid of what is ahead for you. You fear that you may not be up for the challenge or that you cannot meet the expectations of others." This is kinda saying that what you feel in your heart might not be accepted by everypony." She flips to the fourth page that she dog-eared.
"The lake is really significant. It says here that "To see a lake in your dream signifies your emotional state of mind. You feel restricted and that you can't express your emotions freely. Alternatively, the lake may provide you with solace, security, and peace of mind. If the lake is clear and calm, then it symbolizes your inner peace. If the lake is disturbed, then you may be going through some emotional turmoil." The lake churning as violently as you described signifies that you are really fighting with yourself. You don't want to find out what is going on in your heart." She turned to the final dog-eared page.
"To dream that you are crying and to wake up crying give me the most information about what is going on. It says here that "To dream that you are crying signifies a release of negative emotions that is more likely caused by some waking situation rather than the events of the dream itself. Your dream is a way to regain some emotional balance and to safely let out your fears and frustrations. In your daily lives, you tend to ignore, deny, or repress your feelings. But in your dream state, your defense mechanisms are no longer on guard and thus allow for the release of those feelings that you have repressed during the day." The other signs are just backing up what this sign is telling you. They are emphasizing it way too much for it to be a minor detail. It also says something about crying in real life during a dream. it says "To wake up crying represents some suppressed hurt or previous trauma that is coming up to the surface. You can no longer suppress these emotions. They need to be dealt with head on." The thing is that you are dealing with a major psychological civil war. Your mind is telling you that you need to, no, it is a necessity that you figure out what is causing you so much pain! You need to face that something, and defeat it." Graciela closed the book slowly and walked over to Sweetie Belle.
"I'm going to stay here in Ponyville for a few more days, maybe even a week. So if you need any help at all, just knock." She gave Sweetie Belle a kiss on the forehead. "Just because you have moved me so much, I am going to tell Sergio that he is never to charge you as long as he works for me."
Sweetie Belle lost all control of herself at that moment. She started to weep quietly at first, but soon after, she was sobbing on Graciela's shoulder. Graciela hugged the little filly that she had only known for all of fifteen minutes, but it seemed that they had known each other forever.