//------------------------------//
// Lessons Learned 
// Story: Dreamquestria 
// by TheBBofC 
//------------------------------//

	“...Because what does it matter what the old folks say when we’re all busy dancing to-and-fro?”
Pinkie and Stephen skipped down hallway of Canterlot castle as she belted her song.  Unable to follow along with the words, Stephen instead decided to set the tempo with an acapella beat.  But holding the tempo had become difficult as Pinkie found ways to fit more and more words into each measure.
Things were alright, all things considered.  When they touched down, everyone was examined and treated for injuries.  Rainbow Dash had her dislocated wing reset.  She was happy to get a sling but rather displeased with the order to not fly for two weeks that came with it.  Applejack had a scrape on her face from one of Earnest’s punches.  Twilight had a bruise and a spot of singed fur from one of his magic bolts.  Rarity had complained once or twice about chipped hooves but was as good as new after a pedicure.  Pinkie Pie had a tender spot on her head from bumping into Rarity during the fight and Fluttershy had only suffered minor emotional scarring.  Despite their armor, most of the guards had taken some heavy bruising from the turrets.  Those who fell into the trap door suffered various sprains and ultimately minor though nonetheless painful back injuries.  Stephen had several bruises on his back, flanks and ribs, which made deep breaths and walking uncomfortable.  He also knew that it’d be a while before he could handle a good roller coaster again.  But it wasn’t the worst beating he had ever taken.  Twilight’s diagnostic spells still held that record.
Almost everyone had decided to take a mini-vacation to recuperate after the ordeal, Stephen included.  He could have let the next siren wake him up back on Earth, but that would only mean dealing with whatever was waiting for him there during the day and coming back to Equestria when he’d fall asleep.  Instead, he opted to stay in Equestria where he could bounce between resting and mingling with the group until the spell was fully broken.
However, some others had gotten right back to work.  Princess Celestia and Twilight had started reverse-engineering the Spirit Traveler spell almost as soon as they had touched down.  Except for meals, not much had been seen of either of them since.  Shining Armor and his squad had departed the morning after returning to Canterlot.
Now it was about lunch time on the second day after Earnest’s capture and Pinkie was gathering her friends for the meal.  Stephen had been the easiest to find since he’d taken a liking to napping under the garden’s large cherry tree.  He was a little slow getting up, but was a bit perkier once she got him to start skipping with her.
They rounded a corner and nearly bumped into Princess Celestia and Twilight.  “Hey there!” Pinkie chimed, abruptly stopping her song.  “We were just looking for you, Twilight.  Are you ready to find the others and chow down?”
Twilight gave a relieved sigh.  “You bet.”  Turning up to Celestia, she said, “I’ll bring everyone to Canterlot Tower right afterwards.”
“Then Luna and I will wait for you there,” Celestia said happily.  “But may I borrow Stephen for a little while?”
Twilight looked to Stephen and he gave her a small nod.  “You go on ahead.  I’ll catch up.”
“We’ll be at the castle gates when you’re ready,” said Twilight.  Pinkie and Twilight continued down the way they were headed.  
Celestia walked forward and Stephen followed down the way he had come.  “How have you been feeling?” she asked after a few steps. 
“I’ve been feeling alright, actually.  Yourself?”
“I’m doing well, thank you.  I might take a long weekend after today though,” Celestia chuckled.  “Remind me to have Twilight do the same.  She’s such a hard worker and I don’t want her to overdo it.”
“Will do,” said Stephen.  “Have you two made any progress?”
“We’re done actually.  Are you excited?”
“I’m not certain.  I’ve got a real tough situation waiting for me and I’m not sure what will happen.  But I can’t stay here forever either.”
“What’s your situation right now?”
Stephen sighed and faked a chuckle.  “Alone, unemployed and comatose in a hospital.  If they take my body off life support, I probably wouldn’t get much of a warning.”  Stephen shuddered at the thought.
Celestia’s eyes widened momentarily.  “Then we’d better see you off soon,” she said as she rounded a corner into a new hallway.  Unlike the others in the castle, this wing was narrow and lacked decorations.  At the very end was a wooden door with two guards posted in front.  “But first, I need you to help me make a decision,” Celestia said plainly.
Stephen’s stomach sank.  According to Twilight’s stories, Celestia had been ruling Equestria for over a millenium and had the wisdom to prove it.  What advice could Stephen possibly offer someone like this?  After pondering for a minute, he boldly asked, “What kind of decision?”
Celestia stopped at the door.  With a bow, the guards opened it and the princess led Stephen down torchlit stairs.  “Though this situation could have ended much worse than it did, I can’t bring myself to punish someone for something that didn’t happen.”
Stephen, who had been looking up at Celestia, looked down to consider the implications of what she had just said.  It was then that he became aware of a ragged-looking Earnest sitting behind a barred door about ten feet in front of him and nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Greetings,” Earnest said lowly.
“His actions have affected you many times deeper than anyone else who’s encountered him.  What do you believe his punishment should be?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Stephen asked, his voice nearly cracking with bewilderment.  “I can’t just make a decision like that!”  He looked back up to Celestia.  “Don’t you have some sort of judiciary system that has set punishments for this type of thing?”
“Civil conflicts between ponies are either compromised at their townhouse or in my court.  We’ve never had anything quite like this.”
Stephen sat down and looked away from Earnest.  “Not like I’ve done this before either.”
“I’m prepared for your worst,” Earnest spoke up.
Stephen looked Earnest over.  He had risen on all fours and was standing at attention.  Gone was his cargo vest and armored horseshoes, making the large black gemstone fused into his chest much more apparent.  His front left ankle, shoulders and left flank had been bandaged.  Stephen assumed that the black crystal ring, which was coiled oddly around his horn, was a shackle for his magic.
After giving some thought, Stephen approached the cell.  Earnest closed his eyes and resigned himself to whatever was coming.  “Where I come from, you’d probably be sitting in this cell for the rest of your life.”
“Is that what you wish?”
“It’s tempting.  You’re obsessive and out of your mind.  So much so that I can’t tell if you really thought you could break the spell by killing me or if it was just an excuse to throw me off a cliff.”  Earnest hung his head low at that.  “That on top of everything else you did to me and all those other ponies.  How are you going to fix this?” Stephen shouted.
“Perhaps you should ask yourself?” Earnest muttered.
Stephen straightened up and raised his eyebrows.  Not quite certain of what he heard, he asked, “What?”
“Ask yourself how I can fix what I’ve done to you and you will find your answer.  Whatever it is, I’ll do it four-fold.”
Stephen bucked the air.  “But that’s the problem!  You can’t give me my job back or make Selena love me again.”  Stephen paused for a moment.  “Darn it!” he shouted.  Calming himself, he turned back to Celestia.  “Your highness, I can’t do this.  Normally I’d get some kind of settlement from him and he’d be paying me back everything I lost.  But that’s not possible here, is it?”  He sat back down.  “I can’t just punish someone myself like that anyway.  There’s judges and lawyers and all sorts of people who are trained to do these types of things.  I can’t bring myself to do that to someone else.”
“So what do you want?” Celestia asked.
Stephen frustratedly clopped both front hooves against his forehead and dragged them down his face.  After a moment, his ears perked up.  “The least I can do is make sure everyone here is compensated.  Anything that anypony lost, make sure he makes up for it.  Hospital bills, building repairs, lost labor, administrative costs, everything.”
“How do you suppose he does so?” Celestia asked.
“I don’t know.  Maybe he should just do construction and maintenance until he’s paid it all back?  Until then, he’d be a prisoner.  Even then, I want to make absolutely sure he’s not going to do it again.  So keep him on probation until you’re certain he’s learned his lesson.  If he tries any of it again, lock him up for good.”
“Is that your decision then?” Celestia asked.
Stephen sighed and looked back at Earnest.  Doing his best to pick up his heavy heart, he gave a definite, “Yes.”
“You’re much too kind to me, Stephen.  Princess Celestia, I promise I won’t fail you again.”
Celestia nodded.  “I hope so, Earnest.”  With that, Celestia turned to walk away.
“If I may be so bold, Princess,” Earnest called out.  Celestia glanced over her shoulder in response.  “Much like me, Evalrog didn’t want to rest until everypony was safe and happy.  I’m sorry it’s taken so much for me to realize what was really important and that we had already done everything we needed to.  It might be time to put her heart to rest but her help would all be for naught if I cannot redeem myself.  I’m sure she’d like it as much as I would if we could be friends again once I’ve repaid my debts.”  He maintained eye contact with a confident posture, but his voice was nervous.  “I don’t want her gift to go to waste and...I’ve missed having friends.”
Celestia sighed at Earnest.  “We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.”
Earnest hung his head and sat back down.  “As you wish, your majesty.”
Stephen and Celestia walked out of the dungeon in silence.  Once the doors closed behind them and they were back in the castle, Stephen looked up to Celestia and asked, “Do you think he’ll be alright?”
“He has a long way to go and it will take quite some time.  But as long as he has Evalrog’s heart, he’ll have plenty of it.  So it’s not hopeless.  You did the right thing.”
“That’s good to know, Princess.  Thank you.”
“I should thank you just as much,” Celestia said before pointing ahead.  “Now, head straight down this hallway and through the palace doors.  Your friends are probably waiting for you.”
Stephen nodded and jogged ahead.  “I’ll see you in a little while then,” he called back.  After about a hundred yards, he exited the castle and saw all of his friends waiting for him across the yard.  Grinning, he galloped forwards.  In a few seconds, he was close and greeted them with a wave.  Rainbow Dash was still wearing a sling and a small scuff was still visible on Applejack’s cheek.  Other than that, it was like nothing had ever happened.  “Come on, everypony.  This is my last meal in Equestria.  Let’s make it count!” Stephen cheered as he approached.  With an assortment of laughs and cheers, they trotted towards the city.

After two hours, a buffet and a carrot cake with a frosting decoration of Stephen’s cutie mark, everyone found themselves back at Canterlot Tower.  The Globe of Atlas and the Stone of Sisyphus stood in the hallways next to a freshly reconstructed Eye of Coeus.  Celestia and Luna had joined them and were waiting patiently while Twilight went back and forth from the inscriptions on the Eye to several notebooks in front of her.  Meanwhile, everyone else was trying to calm Stephen’s nerves.
“Come on, what have you got to worry about?” Rainbow pleaded with a shove that was probably meant to be reassuring.  “It’s not like you haven’t made this trip several times already.”
Stephen had been doing his best to hide his nerves.  But his cover had been blown by the constant shifting of his ears and tapping of his front hooves.  “And it’s not at all illogical to be nervous about being experimented on after every other experiment I’ve been a part of has gone just swimmingly, right?”
“Oh would you two drop the sarcasm please?” Rarity complained.
“She started it!” Stephen and Rainbow called out in unison.
“I don’t rightly care who started it anymore,” Applejack interjected.
“Hey!” Stephen glowered at Rainbow.  “What did you just say?”
“You heard me.  You’re acting like a scared little filly!” Rainbow chuckled jokingly.  “Where’s that stallion from a couple days ago that made Earnest blow up his own house?”
The energy Luna gave him three days ago had worn off and left him too tired to think of a witty response.  So instead, he turned to Twilight.  “I swear on all that’s sacred, Twilight, if you turn me into rubber again...Well, I’m not sure what I’ll do but you won’t enjoy it!”  Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Luna roll her eyes and Celestia stifle a laugh.  But it was probably a better idea to not make any quips at the princesses, so he let it go.
It was then that Stephen felt Fluttershy’s soft touch on his back.  “There, there, Stephen.  I’m sure it’ll be fine.  Sure the first Spirit Traveller spell may have missed its mark and dropped you in front of a pack of Timberwolves.  But I know Twilight is being extra careful to not let that happen again.  And this isn’t even the same type of magic that turned you into rubber...or made your front legs stop working...or made your coat extra thick and itchy.”
Stephen felt his face contorting with bemusement as he desperately wished for something simple like a warp gate run by a computer with calculated coordinates.  Why couldn’t Equestria be normal like every space-based science fiction movie he’d seen?  “I appreciate the effort, Fluttershy.  But being reminded of those things isn’t helping.”
“Aww, I miss fluffy Stephen!” Pinkie chimed in, wrapping him into a hug and rustling his mane.  “You were so cute and funny the way you flopped around.”
Stephen groaned and hung his head.  “Rarity, make it stop!” he called out desperately.
“Alright, girls.  He’s nervous so let’s not make it worse.”
“Not to worry,” Twilight called from a few feet away.  “I think we’re ready!”
Steeling himself, Stephen stood as straight as possible.  “Alright, what do I do?” he asked, a small crack in his voice contradicting his confident posture.
“Stand clear, everypony,” Twilight requested.  With that, her friends split and gave Stephen several feet of room on each side.
Twilight’s horn lit up.  Stephen felt his eyes go as wide as saucers and every muscle in his body locked into place.  He flinched when a beam of purple light shot from her horn and hit him in the chest, but he didn’t feel anything.  Slowly opening his eyes and examining his surroundings, everything seemed normal.  Until he looked down and saw his entire body encased in Twilight’s purple glow.  “I think it worked,” he heard her say.
“Wait, what?” Stephen asked.
“Now all you have to do is think about where you want to go and touch the Eye’s pupil,” said Twilight.
With a nod, Stephen walked up to the tall statues.  Positioning himself at the Eye of Coeus’ base, he rose to his hind legs and stretched forward, thinking about his body on Earth the whole time.  Pushing up a little further, he managed to place his hoof on the spherical purple gemstone at the center of the crystal eye.  Stephen’s glow rapidly left his body through his right hoof  and illuminated the gem.  Stephen backed up just in time to see beams of light shoot from the Eye and project an image of Earth over everyone’s head.
A variety of astounded responses echoed through the room as the image zoomed in, focusing on America and zipping right down onto the north west until Stephen recognized his hometown from a bird’s eye view.  Then it zoomed in even further until they were looking at the outside of a hospital building and focused on a second-story window.
“Stephen, that place looks so awesome!” Rainbow gawked from behind him.
Celestia’s horn took on a bright golden glow.  “Do you have anything you’d like to say before you go?”
Stephen nodded and turned towards the group.  “There aren’t enough words to properly express how grateful I am to have met all of you.  I’ve never met anyone so kind, generous and willing to help.”  Unable to contain himself, he rushed forward and embraced the group one-by-one, each returning his affection.  “Not only that; I’ve learned how to be brave and how I can do anything with the right mindset.  But I’ve also learned my limits and when it’s time to stand up for myself.  You’ve even helped me realize what my special talent is.  Despite everything that’s happened to me, I don’t think I would have ever gotten a chance to learn that if it hadn’t.  So even though I’m leaving to face an even greater challenge, I’m grateful to have made friends in all of you because now I know how I can do it.”
Rainbow Dash was the last to accept a hug, but gave him a light push as soon as he was done talking.  “Alright, now quit being so sappy,” she said as softly as she could while saving face.  “You’re going to cramp my bad wing.”
Stephen backed up with a smirk on his face.  “And now that you know how to find me, don’t hesitate to visit any time.  I could certainly use someone to back up my story so they don’t think I’m crazy.”
“I’m glad we could help,” Celestia said.  “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Stephen said confidently.
“Go get ‘em, Stephen!” Applejack cried out.
“Yeah, you got this!” Rainbow punctuated herself with a stomp.
“Don’t forget to write!” Pinkie Pie shouted.
“Do be careful when you get back!” Rarity requested.
“You rock!” Stephen barely heard Fluttershy’s cheer.
“Good luck,” said Twilight.
With that, Stephen bowed his head and felt the touch of Celestia’s horn on the top of his mane.  When he opened his eyes, his body was fading to transparency.  He didn’t feel anything, but the sight made all of his nerves return with a vengeance.  Then, he started growing.  Slowly, his dark red front legs and hooves morphed into ebony arms and hands.  Looking down, his legs returned to their normal form.  Standing up, he noticed that he was now only a few inches shorter than Celestia.  This must have been the second level of the spell that Twilight and Earnest had mentioned - bringing the target to the caster in the form of an apparition.  He looked down on his friends and took in their astounded reactions to his true form.  Then, the world around him started fading to black, just as it had done when he voluntarily left Earth.
“Goodbye and thank you,” he said just before the darkness overcame him.

A moment later, the hospital room began coming into focus around him.  Feeling returned to his body soon after and he blinked away some fuzziness in his eyes.  It was really over this time.  He knew it.  For a moment, he tried to come to terms with the fact that he may never see Twilight and her friends again and most likely never even be able to share his story.  However, these thoughts were distracted when he noticed a strange weight on his chest.
Looking down, his eyes were graced with the sight of long black hair that was spilling around on his body.  A small, dark brown arm was stretched across his stomach and a graceful hand was gripping his covers on the other side.
“Well, would you look at that,” a high-pitched masculine voice said from the other side of the room.  Startled, Stephen looked up and saw his friend, Jake.  He was a short but very muscular man with pale skin and long blonde dreadlocks tied behind his head.  Dedicating so much time to work had put a few months in between the last time they’d seen each other.  But here he was, seemingly returning to the room with two bags of fast food in each hand.
Selena shot up from his chest to look at Jake, who smirked and pointed at Stephen.  Slowly, she turned around.  When Stephen’s eyes reunited with hers, her smile grew too big for her own face and her eyes welled up almost instantly.  “Hey there,” she choked out.  Carefully straightening herself up, she scooted closer to his head to run a soft hand down his cheek and place a gentle kiss on his forehead.  “How are you feeling?” she asked softly.
“Alright, all things considered,” Stephen strained, his voice raspy with rust.
“I’ll go get a nurse to make sure you’re all good,” said Jake, setting down the food.  “You two kiss and make up now.”
As soon as he was gone, Selena planted a cautious yet passionate kiss on his lips and gently hugged him.  “I was so scared.  I missed you.”  Her voice stuttered, teetering on the edge of sobbing.  “I’m sorry I left you.”
Stephen slowly raised his right arm and stroked Selena’s hair, a gesture which required most of his strength.  Placing his hand under her chin, he pushed up and prompted her to look at him.  “It’s alright.  I understand,” Stephen rasped, never breaking eye contact.
“You’re not mad?”
“Knowing you weren’t willing to help me was a little upsetting.  But when I get out of his bed, I’ll be a lot stronger for it.”
“I doubt that,” Selena chuckled weakly.
“Stronger in a different way.  Anyway, what I’m saying is that I needed to go down like this and I wouldn’t have done so if you believed my story.”  Stephen paused to make sure he was looking at her as seriously as possible.  “But don’t you ever leave me like that again.  I can’t handle it.”  He softened his face with a smile and Selena responded with another kiss.
“I’d say he’s doing alright,” Jake’s voice came from the other end of the room.  Stephen and Selena looked up to see him standing there with a nurse by his side.

Much to the surprise of the doctors he’d encounter for the rest of the day, Stephen was in good health.  Although nobody could figure out the origins behind the fresh bruises on his ribs.  After a little walking, his muscles woke up, leaving him only slightly weak.  But they assured him his strength would return with a little exercise.  They wanted to keep him for a day of observation, but they expected to release him late the next day.
It had turned out that while he was in Equestria, his family had come to see him and when he woke up, they had been preparing to move Stephen across state lines to a hospital closer to them.  They were notified as soon as he woke up and after a confirmation from Stephen himself, they resolved to visit again in a few days.
Later that evening, Selena had gone off to work and Jake stayed behind to keep him company.  Bringing back some cheeseburgers for dinner, he sat at the foot of Stephen’s bed and waited for him to dig into a chicken sandwich and salad that the hospital had given him.  “So...pony-man.  Have any fun dreams while you were out?”
Stephen palmed his face.  “So she told you about that, huh?”
“She told me everything, bro.  So what kind of pony were you?  Shetland?  Clydesdale?  Thoroughbred?”
“I was red and had an afro mane.  Does that mean anything?”
Jake barely contained his mirth as he spoke, “How the heck would I know?”
They shared a laugh before Stephen took a bite from his sandwich.  After swallowing, he looked up at Jake, “So what exactly happened while I was gone?”
“Dude, it was the weirdest thing.  At least for me.  I haven’t heard from any of you in months and then all of a sudden your girl shows up at my door and she’s absolutely losing her mind, right?”
“Yeah, that’s the state she was in the last time I saw her.”
“So she starts spouting off about how your insomnia has you thinking you’re a horse that suddenly likes heavy metal.  I have no idea what’s going on so I calm her down and tell her to take a day to herself.  We go back the day after because she wanted help getting her games in case you’re still punching walls or something.  Your door’s unlocked so we try to check on you and as far as I could tell, you were dead.  Scared the crud out of everyone, dude.”
“Thanks for helping Selena,” said Stephen before taking another bite.
“Not a problem, Steve.  But you’re lucky I’m not a different type of guy.  Otherwise I would have been all over that rebound.  She’s way out of your league, bro.”
Stephen swallowed so he could laugh sarcastically.  “You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are, Jake.”
Jake sniggered and took a bite from his burger.  When he finished chewing, he looked up and asked, “So tomorrow we gonna get you out of here and pick up like nothing happened?”
“Not really.  I flipped out at work so I’m not sure if I’m still employed.”
“You flipped out?  Dang, I would have paid money to see that.”
“Yeah, it stinks.”
“So what now?”
“I don’t know.  I’ve got to think about it.  My boss said he might take me back once I got better but I’m not sure I’d want to go back there anyway.”
“Well let me know if you if you need any help, Steve and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Jake.  I’ll give you a call in a couple days.  We’ll hang out and I’ll let you know what’s up.”
“Sounds good, dude.”
“But for now, I’m just looking forward to some actual sleep.”
“You’ve been asleep for a week,” Jake said with a laugh.  “You think you’d be rested up by now.”
“You’d think so.  But there’s something about being in a coma, it’s not nearly as relaxing as you might think.  Especially when your dreams are so weird.”
“Yeah, tell me about those dreams.  They sound hilarious.”
A little bit of satisfaction came to Stephen at that.  Even though he wouldn’t be able to tell the full truth or treat it like it actually happened, it felt good to tell other people about the amazing friends he made and the whacky adventure he’d been on the last couple of weeks.  With that, Stephen told the story, starting from when he had landed in the Everfree Forest and and summarized until he got to the battle at the Galloping Ghost islands.  Jake laughed at almost everything that Stephen would forever remember as painful.  But he had always been into slapstick humor and he didn’t think it was a real story anyway, so it could be forgiven.
His story was interrupted only once when Stephen slipped and referred to the group as ‘everypony’, causing Jake to burst into raucous laughter.  “Hey, give me a break,” Stephen defended himself.  “I’ve been in that state of mind for a week and for some reason, that’s how they referred to each other.”
“That doesn’t make it any less ridiculous, bro!” Jake spat in between peals.  After a moment, his laughter subsided and Stephen continued.
When it was over, Jake bid Stephen goodnight and left with a promise of visiting again the next day.  After he was gone, Stephen got up and went for a shower.  Once the temperature was just right, he stepped in and enjoyed the hot water gently massaging his stiff back.
While Stephen was soaping his legs, his fingers noticed something odd.  A large spot on the outside of his thigh felt like scar tissue.  Curious, he shut off the water and stepped into the bathroom’s better lighting.  Examining himself, he found a half circle with a small wedge hanging from one side and several star-shaped marks surrounding it.  There were tiny incremental lines across the half circle.  This was a protractor.  It was his cutie mark.
Stephen sat down on the toilet and processed for a moment.  An odd but nonetheless huge sense of satisfaction came with the realization.  This was his battle scar, a forget-me-not from his Equestrian friends, a testament to his true talent and further proof (at least to himself) of what he’d been through.  Drying off and getting dressed, Stephen returned to his hospital bed.  For a moment, he held a victorious fist into the air before letting his arm flop down to his side.  Then, for the first time in nearly two weeks, Stephen fell asleep.