//------------------------------// // Finding Friends // Story: The Magic Within // by PoisonInk //------------------------------// Dream Magic walked silently through the forest, thinking to herself. ‘I finally have real friends!’ She shook her head in disbelief. The only pony she’d ever counted as a friend was Shimmer, and she wouldn't even look at her at school today, its as if their friendship never existed. ‘Those other ponies, they actually seem to care about me,’ Dream thought, her head held high for the first time in ages. ‘They wouldn’t ditch me for Vibrato, or anypony like her.’ ‘Then again, I never expected Shimmer to ditch me either...’ Dream Magic shook her head to clear it. These ponies seemed to accept her more than anypony did before, plus they all seemed nice. Maybe she could see what it was like living in a world that didn’t revolve around one single friend. After a while she seemed to stumble out of the forest, the rain had calmed into a light drizzle as she made her way home. Time Warp had offered to walk her to her house where she told him she was not about to have him subcomb to the coddling of her mother. ‘As much as I love Vanilla Spice she can be a bit... Over protective. Plus she can’t stay out of anypony’s business’. Dream smiled at the thought, remembering the time her mother stomped down to the school when she explained to her the teachers were treating her differently just because she didn’t have a horn.   Dream sighed happily when she stumbled on a familiar cottage, until she saw the blue unicorn waiting at her front door. “Dream! Where have you been! I’ve been waiting ages!” Shimmer smiled at me, as if our earlier conversation never happened. “I-I was hanging out with Time Warp...” Dream mumbled, shocked out of belief. “Was that the brown stallion? I don’t know him personally, but he isn’t bad looking that’s for sure.” She chuckled slightly. Her sea-green eyes sparkling with mischief.  “Do you like him?” She asked. “I barely know him!” Dream snorted. “Well there must be somepony you like? How about Spell Caster? Everypony has a crush on him.” “Except me. That stallion is nothing but an egotistical know it all.” Shimmer said with a roll of her eyes. “You can’t speak of a pony with a great standing as his like that! If anypony heard you that would be social suicide!”   “As if I have to worry about that,” Dream frowned, glancing at the pond next to her home, her hornless reflection staring back at her. “Aw come on! Enough with the pity party, other ponies would like you more if you didn’t keep replaying ‘I’m not a unicorn, woe is me’ schtick.”  Dream Magic snorted. “Did Vibrato tell you that?” she snapped. “What else did your new best friend tell you?” Shimmer opened her mouth to reply, but shut it again, her eyes darting around looking for an escape. “I...” she began, but Dream Magic cut her off. “Lemme guess, she told you that she never hated you, right? She said she only teased you for all those years was because of me, right? She probably told you that she doesn’t care that you’re a blank flank, even though she makes blank flanks miserable!” “You don’t know anything Dream Magic. I told you we could still be friends, just not-” “In school, right. Where your precious Vibrato could see us. So what? I’m supposed to sit back and watch as you and Vibrato crack jokes about me all day, then just come home and be best friends with you again?!” “You know what Dream? I liked you better when you barely ever said two sentences in our conversations. When did you get so brash?” “When my one friend turned on me!” “I told you. It’s just at school. You didn’t expect me to cart around the magicless freak the rest of my school life, did you? I need somepony who gets me! The troubles with magic, how hard most of the spells we need to learn are, but you don’t get that. You couldn’t. Look, I came here to tell you we’re still best friends. We’ve been best friends for years and I don’t want to throw that away, but forgive me if I need more than one friend my entire life. I wish we could still hang out, but nopony would even consider me if we...” “Still talked. I get it Shimmer, you’re a unicorn, and I’m not. We come from different words and. you want to be in yours. I understand, and I’m sorry.” “Look, I’ll still hang out with you, and I’ll try to keep Vibrato off your flank okay? So, are we still friends?” Shimmer asked, holding out a hoof. Dream stared at her. This pony betrayed her, and sold her out. She was embarrassed to be seen with her, but she was also the first friend she ever had. “Friends.” Dream Magic replied, taking her hoof. “Great!” Shimmer smiled. “I have to go now, my Transformation Spell’s teacher is wanting us to learn some stupid spell on how to change an apple to an orange and I have to get it right by tomorrow. See you after school? We can meet at your house?” “I would love that, but I promised Time Warp I’d hang with him and the others tomorrow.” “Others?” Shimmer asked. “Prism Bend, Quick Sketch, Taci, Lucky Chant, and Divine Star.” Dream replied. Shimmer seemed to flinch. “I knew that Time Warp sounded familiar, are you really hanging out with those guys?” “Yes. What’s wrong with them? They like me for who I am, and are perfectly fine being seen with me.” Shimmer shook her head. “T-Thats great. Gotta run, meet you another day then?” “Sure, maybe we could go to the lake.” Dream sighed, glancing away. “Sounds like a plan, see ya Magic” “See you...” But Shimmer was already gone. Dream shook her head, and trotted through the door.  Not even getting the door fully closed when hell broke loose. “Where have you been?” Her adoptive mother, Vanilla Spice raged. “Out.”  Dream replied sullenly “Alone? You know I don’t like it when-” Spice sighed, her golden eyes wide with worry. “I wasn’t alone, I was with a friend...”  Dream shrugged, praying to magic her mother didn’t push the subject. No such luck. “Shimmer?” She questioned, trotting back the meal she was making. . “No, a different friend.” “A different friend! What’s her name? When do I meet her-” “His name is Time Warp, and if I have any say in it he will never set hoof in this house.” “His? Is he a coltfriend? Oh I must tell Bright Risk! Dream blushed. “No mother, he’s just a friend. One who accepts me for who I am. He also introduced me to some other nice ponies who, like me, who are just, different. Don’t bother father  either, he’s at work right now, and I won’t have you disturbing him on my behalf.” Vanilla shrugged, and went back to her mixing bowl. “Whatcha makin?” Dream asked, glancing to her mother’s creations.Anything she cooked was always delicious. “Nu uh. If I can’t hear about your friends, my cooking is to remain secret until it ends up on your plate.” Spice laughed, her golden eyes full of teasing. “Very funny mother” Dream sighed, glancing at the unicorn, comparing their coats, how different they were. Pale cream and pale green. White flowing mane, to a choppy multi colored blue one. Unicorn to Earth pony.The only thing similar was their golden eyes, but even that wasn’t shared by blood. “My little girl has friends.” Her mother smiled, mixing the contents of the bowl with her magic. “Friends.” Dream whispered. She liked the sound of that.