Chapter 6
“Oh my, what now? A little farm pony. This won’t be as easy as I had thought.” A voice whispered in a dark void.
“Excellent.” He purred. “I love a good challenge. She will fall from this state of sleep to the next, where I can begin work in just a moment. I can enter the subconscious of this little earth pony, then I shall go deeper. Tap into her deepest fears, and work from there. Then the time to weave dreams shall begin.” He chuckled with dark delight.
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Apple Bloom was back home at Sweet Apple Acres. It was a foggy day. So foggy, in fact, that she could barely see the ground in front of her. She stood cautiously and was surprised to find that her leg no longer was giving her pain. She squinted ahead and saw the Crusaders’ Clubhouse and heard Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo laughing about something or other. Instinctively, she walked towards it. She couldn’t be late for her meeting.
A cold, wet drop hit her between the eyes. She shook her head in annoyance, then walked on. Another hit her back and she sped up a little to avoid the rain. The rain began to pick up and she finally got a good look at it. But it wasn’t rain, it was... mud? But how could that be? She stared up at the clouds in confusion, and noticed for the first time they were a soft, fluffy pink. Upon further inspection, the rain proved to be chocolate milk.
For the first time, she noticed the popcorn growing from corn stalks, and the gigantic rabbits and shrunken barns. The farm felt like it was in a dream. How had she gotten there in the first place?
Apple Bloom sat for a moment on a soft rock, trying to figure out what was going on. A mouse-sized Winona crawled onto her lap, but Apple Bloom barely noticed, so deep in thought was she. Yes, how had she arrived here? The last thing she remembered was... was...
“Funny thing about dreams, you never start at the beginning” An almost jolly voice said. Apple Bloom couldn’t pinpoint where he was, left, right, above or behind. Winona began to growl, then suddenly tucked her tail between her legs and scampered off, whimpering like a puppy.
“Who said that?” She stood up. “I can hear you.”
“Well I would hope so.” The voice said. “I wouldn’t be talking unless I wanted to be heard.”
Apple Bloom’s heart began to race. That voice sounded horribly familiar. “Who are you?” She demanded.
“See for yourself.” A creature appeared before her. Apple Bloom gasped in horror. It was the statue from the garden, but alive! “Excited that I’m finally making an appearance?” He asked.
“Uh,” Apple Bloom stammered. “I don’t know... I don’t think so anyway.”
“Ah, yes. You were the one who didn’t want to see me after all. Happens every time. Somebody always changes their mind.” He waved his claws in lazy circles. “Same cycles, so predictable, so boring.” He huffed a sigh. “But talking about it is almost as bad. So lifeless and changeless, almost like being a statue. I speak from experience, you know.” He pulled a glass of chocolate milk out of who-knows-where and crunched on the glass. He pulled a face. “Blech. Cherry flavored.”
Apple Bloom sat down again, baffled by the beast’s antics. “Who are you?” She repeated.
Discord smacked himself upside the head. “Where are my manners? Discord Pandemonium Esq.” He clapped a top hat on his head. “Here’s my card.” He handed Apple Bloom a bright green slip of paper. Still confused, she read it. Mathematician Chaotician for Hire. Call: 1800-iWon-thelp for contact. Apple Bloom turned the card over
Got you! Was emblazoned in large, bold letters. She looked back at him in confusion. He grinned. “Bet you didn’t see that one coming.”
Apple Bloom rose to her feet and began to back away nervously. “Listen, it was nice getting to meet you and all, but I’ve got to get back to my family.” She pulled a weak grin and began to turn.
Then she was surrounded. At least eight chaoticians for hire circled around her, each the same as the last. Discord stepped into the middle of the ring holding a briefcase. His expression was devoid of any amusement. “You’re not going anywhere. I have a special bargain and I’m sure that if you’ll hear me out you won’t be able to resist.”
Apple Bloom tried to run away, but the clones packed closer together to form an impenetrable wall. She gasped and spun around in panic. Discord grabbed her and snapped his claws. Apple Bloom tried to will herself to move, but found that her limbs had been turned to lead.
Discord backed away a little, a resentful, perhaps even spiteful glint in his eye. “Even I don’t turn ponies to stone when I want them to stand still and listen.”
Apple Bloom tried to shake her head, but found that she couldn’t even do that. She had lost so much freedom and realized that you don’t miss something until it is taken away from you. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t!” Discord huffed and a fire lit in his eyes. “Nobody can. Nobody should know something like that but Celestia.” He took a moment to calm himself down. “But enough about that. I’m here to talk to you about your family.”
Apple Bloom frowned. “What about them? I love them, and they love me back. Course Applejack can be real protective, but–”
Discord perked his ears. “That’s exactly what I was going to bring up. What has the Apple family always done? I’ll give you a hint, they harvest apples. They use apples. They eat apples. They breathe apples, you can smell it on their breath.”
“Well that’s just out tradition,” Apple Bloom began.
“Exactly!” Discord waved his paws in exasperation. “No variety. And what would happen if you happened to have a talent without apples? Would you still be a part of the Apple family?”
“Well–”
“I’ll tell you. No. Well have I got a surprise for you.” He reached into his bag. “I’ve seen the future, Apple Bloom. You’re an inventor, a maker of dreams. And it has nothing to do with apples.” He tossed some odds and ends out of the bag in his search. The usual things peddlers sold, buttons, badges, kitchen appliances, a live parakeet, and the squashy chair from the hotel.
Apple Bloom tried to see what else was in the bag, but was hit in the face by an airborne kitchen sink. “Ouch!”
“Here it is!” Discord pulled out a sticker, but kept covered in his hands before Apple Bloom got a good look at it. “What I have here is the key to your destiny. I can’t just let you see it. You have to give me access to a part of you. Deal?”
“Deal.” Apple Bloom found herself forced to say.
“Excellent.” He grinned. “Look into my eyes.” He grabbed Apple Bloom with his gaze. She felt a strange lurching in her stomach, then a syrupy sleepiness.
“Interesting.” He mumbled. “But just what I expected. A strong bond with family, a respect for tradition. Honey, you’re not an Apple by destiny. You need to alienate yourself, doctor’s orders. A new look, a new identity. A new path for your life. There we go, all done.” He placed the cutie mark, a simple, black gear, on her flank and snapped his fingers again. “You can move now. Here’s a secret, your little unicorn friend got her mark too. Rather lame if you ask me, all she can do is sing. Not very productive. Hardly what you could make a life out of. You’ll have friends now, you can show up the bullies.” He tied some red yarn to a pink and purple strand. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” He packed his bag and waved his clones away. The world began to shimmer, then smear, then fade away all together. The dream was over.
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