//------------------------------// // Thirty // Story: Freedom Through Harmony: Book II // by Electricut //------------------------------// Chapter Thirty Phantom Isle Scratch Phantom Isle wasn’t much to look at, especially considering the reputation it had earned as the home of Marona, the Phantom Brave. There was a single, comfortable looking house standing on the island, surrounded by a few palm trees. It looked cozy for a few, but I had expected something a bit grander. “Phantom Isle.” I announced to the others. “This probably won’t take long, then we’ll be on our way.” I stepped off of the boat and onto the sandy shore. The sand soon gave way to grass, and as I stepped forward, though the evening was peaceful, something felt off. I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched. I probably am being watched. I thought. The phantoms are only visible to me if they choose to be, but they’re likely watching and waiting, in case I try anything. I approached the door to the small house and, seeing that the light inside was still on, knocked. “Sorry to bother you at this hour,” I started, “but I’m afraid this is urgent.” I heard someone moving around inside, before the door opened to reveal a woman with neatly cut green hair, and a simple but pretty white garment. Her face told the story of one who had witnessed a lot of pain, but given back only love. “What’s wrong?” Marona asked, clearly ready to jump to action if necessary. “I’ll try to keep it brief…” I promised her, “My name is Scratch. My friends and I are being targeted by a group of people whose goals are still unknown to us, but what we do know is that they’re incredibly powerful, and will stop at nothing to get… whatever it is they want. They’re called the Order. “Now, I’m not asking you to protect us. I think we can hold our own for now. But I’m asking you to be ready for them, ready to fight if they come knocking again. Those attacks you heard about in Monetopia, Forestia, Clutter Haven, and plenty of other places? They were behind each and every one. Like I said, I don’t know what they’re after, but it’s likely that they might try and attack again, with even more force. I don’t expect you to believe all of this right away-“ “How do we stop them?” she asked, interrupting me. By the look in her eyes, she believed every word. I allowed myself a small smile, glad that she was as honest and just as everyone said. “I wish I knew. My friends and I are working on it. We don’t have much to go on right now, only a single lead that’s taking us to Desert Isle, and a string of strange dreams that still need to be pieced together.” She thought for a moment. “How many people are in your group? And who are they, if you don’t mind me asking?” I scratched the back of my head. “They’re all around the same age as me. There’s my friend Raphael, who was named after the legendary Nine Sword. Then there’s Dinky, a cleric. And the rest are from Equestria. They saw some action in the second Civil War, and were framed for part of the attack on Eclipse City around a month ago. There’s Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Angel and Luna.” “Oh!” Marona exclaimed, a smile on her face. “I’ve met them! All of them, I think. When I traveled to Equestria to help with the war, and ended up helping the relief effort, those kids were right there with me. And Angel was the one who told me about the war and got me to go in the first place! Here, why don’t you tell them all to come ashore, and I’ll prepare you all a warm meal? It’s the least I can do, since you must have been on the run for quite a while now.” At least an hour passed while the group gathered around outside Marona’s house and enjoyed some delicious pasta, coffee and cocoa. The Crusaders spent most of the time catching up with Marona about the recovery of Equestria after she had gone home, and of various exciting Chroma jobs Marona had been part of since then. While I didn’t talk much in that time, I had to admit that it was nice to be able to relax for a little while, with real food, and without having to worry about being attacked. Dinky stayed close to me, and we didn’t have to exchange any words for me to know why. The dreams that bound us together were getting more frantic, and each time we went to sleep, it was with the strong hope that our avatars would be okay. “… There were two of the manticores left, but we didn’t have the strength any longer to defeat them. The strongest of my phantom allies had run out of strength for the time being and retreated, and my own arms felt like rubber. I was confident I could still get away, but if they were left alive, they would attack the town. But just as all seemed hopeless, one of the soldiers in my group leapt up behind one, holding nothing but a big rock, and defeated it in one fell swoop! This drew the attention of the other one, and I watched as the manticore and the soldier circled each other before leaping, each ready to deal a killing blow. The attacks collided and neither hit, but it gave the soldier enough time to get to his feet and finish the monster.” The others were clearly impressed by her story. Scootaloo had a somewhat confused look on his face, and shortly asked “Are there phantoms on the island right now?” Marona shook her head slightly. “Only a few, and they decided to head around to the back of the island while we have guests. You wouldn’t be able to see them anyway, unless they showed themselves to you. The other phantoms that are under my care right now reside in a pocket dimension, but maintain a faint presence here on the island in case I need to call upon them for help.” “Pocket dimension?” I asked. “I’ve always wanted to learn a bit more about them. Do you know how they work?” “Exactly how, I’m not sure.” Marona admitted with a slight frown. “But I know how to use this one. It was a power I was born with, passed down from my parents. There are many dimensions out there, each with wildly different worlds. I travelled to a few when I was younger, along with a few close friends of mine, looking for another friend. To each large dimension is tied countless tiny pocket dimensions, but it takes special conditions to access them. Putties are the best at it: they have two or three pocket dimensions set aside just for storing valuables, but they have the ability to travel to most dimensions if they train hard enough at it.” “I see…” I said. “I have a set of artifacts that let me travel to different times and places, but they’ve never been able to move between dimensions.” “Really?” she asked, intrigued. “That’s pretty cool! But to move through dimensions, you would need the help of a putty. Probably several, if you ever needed to move your whole group… Of course, there is one other path through dimensions, but it’s more difficult to use. The Hermuda Islands to the west can serve as a gateway between dimensions, but I’ll admit, I have no idea how to use it or how to navigate to the dimension you want to go to… Or how to return here.” She set her dishes to the side and stood. “Well, I thank you for coming to warn me of this coming threat, friends. I promise, I will be ready when they next attack, and my phantoms and I will stand beside you in any way we can.” ~ Scootaloo I dreamed during the trip. It didn’t seem like the same kind of dream Applebloom and the others had been having; from what limited information they had given me, I understood that they were acting through avatars, both in control of their actions and simply along for the ride. In my dream, I was still just me, surrounded by nothing. There was only a heavy fog, coloring my field of vision a dusty off-white. For what seemed like several minutes, I wandered around the fog, finding no landmarks, change in scenery, or people. “Stop fidgeting.” a voice from beyond my field of sight said, sounding female but tomboyish. “There’s nothing out here in the Dreamscape. It’s a place for people to meet, whether they’re alive and dreaming, or they’ve passed away and their spirit is still hanging on… Or for special cases like me, apparently.” From out of the fog, a familiar figure approached, until I could see her fully. It was me, the female version that had been left to die in the doomed timeline. The version that was supposed to have lived my life. It was strange looking into a pair of eyes that was both mine, and someone else’s entirely, but it also felt right somehow, on some deeper level. “Hey, I…” I started, “I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “It’s alright. It wasn’t your fault… The version of you- of us- that did it, didn’t have a choice. And that version is gone. He lived a different life than you, and that’s enough for me to say that you aren’t him. Besides… While he took my place in the Alpha timeline and left me to die… You didn’t let me die. You let what was left of me, stay with you. And I want to thank you for that.” My head was hurting already. “How do you know about the timelines? Heck, you seem to understand it better than I do, too…” “I can access to your memories.” she explained simply. “Our spirits- different versions of the same one, but still distinct- are sharing a body, after all. Most of the memories I was able to keep are pretty much the same as yours, since we lived almost the same life up until the point of the second Civil War. But if I had anything different from yours, you would be able to access them.” “Alright…” I said, trying to make sense of everything. “Oh, wait! Since you’re here… I mean, since our spirits are in the same body… Are we able to do the same thing Pinkie was able to? She and her other spirit, Chaos, were able to separate for short periods of time. Can we do that?” She frowned and folded her arms. “That… I’m not sure about. Everything I know about our arrangement, I only learned by trying different stuff out. It’s not like anyone else has ever done this, except for Pinkie, so we’re pretty much just going to have to figure it out for ourselves.” I nodded. “I bet we’ll be able to figure something out that will give us an edge over the enemy. But… again, I’m really sorry. I know it wasn’t technically me, but I’m still sorry that it happened to you. This life I’ve got might not be perfect, but it’s still good enough for me… But it wasn’t supposed to be mine.” She frowned and shuffled her feet. “I know. But it’s okay, you know? I still have my memories of my life. And now I’m with you, so I can continue to live it, just… from behind the glass, I guess.” I stepped forward sympathetically, and we shortly wrapped each other in a comforting embrace. Once again, it felt somewhat strange to be hugging an alternate version of myself, but it definitely didn’t feel wrong. In fact, it felt pretty nice. “No use worrying about what happened now, anyway…” she said in a quiet voice. “It’s in the past now. We can’t change it… so we’ll just have to deal with it.” She looked up at me and smiled. “I think you should probably wake up soon, anyway. It’s bound to be a big day tomorrow. Besides, I think someone’s hugging us in the real world, too.” ~ My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself slumped against the wall of the cabin inside our group’s boat. It was nighttime outside, and the boat still moved swiftly over the waves. I found Applebloom snuggled up against my side, sleeping deeply. I smiled, and noticed the others sleeping around the cabin: Raphael against the other wall, and Scratch and Dinky sleeping on the available bunks. If Scratch is asleep, who’s steering the boat? I thought he was the only one who knew how… I carefully separated myself from Applebloom, although she didn’t stir at all. I guess she and the others must be dreaming those strange dreams again… I made my way to the deck, and saw Sweetie Belle at the wheel, looking the part with her father’s bandana around her head. Angel and Luna were against the railing as well. “I didn’t know you knew how to operate a boat.” I commented, approaching the group. “I didn’t, but this one’s pretty simple. The hydro engine takes care of actually moving it forward, I just have to point it where we want to go. Scratch showed me, since he needed to sleep, and I took a nap on the way.” I nodded, and stood against the railing with the other two. “So, how are you all holding up…? I know this hasn’t been easy on any of us.” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I’m okay. Sure, I’d like to go home as soon as possible, but until then, I think I’ll be okay.” “I mostly just want to get back home.” Angel said. “They’re going to be in danger, too, and need to be protected.” Luna sighed. “We-I… do not know what I want. I want safety for the people of Equestria, and of the world as a whole… and while I would like to return home, it will be a mournful day when I must part company with Raphael…” “You really like him, huh?” I asked cheerfully. “He’s a pretty cool guy, I’ll admit, and a great fighter.” Luna nodded wistfully. “Yes… He’s taken the virtues of the knights of old to heart, and follows their way of life. He reminds me of those brave soldiers that fought in the first Civil War. He makes me feel… like I’m not so out of place. Like I belong again.” “How about you, Scoots?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Can’t pretend to be composed forever. All this stuff has us all rattled.” “Yeah…” I confirmed begrudgingly. “I just wish I understood more of what we’re really dealing with, of what’s really going on. I wish we could just hear about these dreams already, so we can decide whether or not it’s an advantage we can count on.” Sweetie Belle nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! I trust Scratch and Applebloom about the dreams being… weird, and the nature of them makes it so they can’t tell us about them yet, until all of the dreamers are together. But I wish we could get more than that. Seems like we deserve to know a bit more than that. I mean, we’re all in the same boat here, we’re all running and fighting for our lives. It doesn’t seem fair that information that could save us is being kept from us!” Sweetie Belle sighed, and hung lower on the wheel. “I’m not suggesting we confront them about it though. I’ve seen them when they wake up: they’re almost always in a cold sweat. Whatever those dreams are about, it isn’t pleasant. And if they want to wait until they have everyone- whether it’s for the whole picture, or emotional support- I don’t blame them… I’m just worried for them. For Scratch, Raphael and Dinky, but especially Applebloom. She’s hurting, and it kills me to have a friend hurting that I can’t help. And she wants to talk about it, I know she does. But she knows the same information Scratch does, and agrees with him about keeping it between them until we get these two other dreamers with us.” We all nodded in agreement, and lapsed into silence. Several minutes passed during which the only sound was the lapping of the waves against the side of our vessel, as we continued to sail northeastward. The silence was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching from the cabin, and I turned to see Raphael, who looked as though he hadn’t become fully awake yet. He seemed to be turning something over in his mind, and I noticed that the others- Scratch, Dinky and Applebloom- were still asleep. “Raphael, are you alright?” Luna asked, concerned, and stepped over to him. She put a hand on his shoulder, but he scarcely reacted. “I think…” he started, “I think I’m… dead. In the dream, I mean… I think my avatar has died.” “Oh…” Luna breathed, sorrowful. “Raphael, I’m… I’m sorry…” “It’s alright…” he said, still barely above a whisper. “The rest of you… You may want to be there for the others, when they awake. They will likely need comfort as well.” Realizing the truth of his words, I nodded and quickly made my way back to Applebloom. Sweetie Belle was right beside me. Applebloom was still asleep, but it seemed now to be a troubled rest. I turned and nodded to Sweetie Belle, and we sat down on either side of our friend. We were unsure what to do about Scratch and Dinky, since I didn’t feel close enough to either of them to properly comfort them, and I guessed Sweetie Belle and the others felt the same way. After a few agonizing minutes, Dinky began to stir, followed by the others. Applebloom awoke with a slight start, her eyes wet, but looking more stunned than upset. She took a moment to gather her surroundings again, seeing Sweetie Belle and I beside her, and then I was able to see the sadness in her eyes. I gave her a sympathetic smile, and wrapped my arms around her. Sweetie Belle did the same after me. Applebloom rested her head on our shoulders, and while she didn’t start crying out loud, I could feel her shaking and drawing ragged, tearful breaths. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scratch and Dinky both holding onto one another, doing their best to keep their emotions together. Something didn’t sit right with me, knowing Scratch had turned down Sweetie Belle, but then turned around and was visibly growing closer to Dinky, but I kept these thoughts to myself. Several minutes passed before everyone, Raphael included, got themselves together and were able to stand on their own without emotional support. I looked Scratch in the eye, my violet eyes meeting his red, which I had seen only a few times without his shades to shield them. He knew what I was going to say, but I still had to say it. “This has to end, Scratch.” I told him. “I know the nature of these dreams must be delicate, even dangerous, but it’s even more dangerous to keep it from us. I know you want to wait until we have the other two dreamers in our party, but… We may not have time to wait for them much longer.” He averted his gaze and sighed lightly. “We’ll discuss it.” he said, directed mainly at Dinky, Raphael and Applebloom. “You may be right, and we may need to share our dreams sooner… That’s the best I can promise right now.” He moved past us and onto the deck, then turned. “I’ll take over steering again. We’ll be at Desert Isle soon.”