//------------------------------// // 25 - Complications // Story: Gladiator // by Not_A_Hat //------------------------------// I guess, at a certain point, the amount of weirdness in my life eventually tipped over the edge and I landed back in 'normal'. Or maybe prolonged exposure had permanently damaged my ability to discern normal. Perhaps I was developing an immunity to weird, and would eventually lose all the weird receptors in my brain. Either way, I was barely surprised the next day when I woke up as a pony. "No side effects she said. She checked, she said. Wouldn't leave my stupid watch alone." I rolled out of bed, thought about clothes, and then firmly squashed the thought. I gave myself a glance in the mirror; sure enough, I was purple. I had a darker mane and tail with a lighter streak, and a leg at each corner. I was in the Golden Oaks Library. I was Twilight Sparkle. I facehoofed, hard. I remembered going to sleep in my bed last night, in my shack on the edge of town. It had been delivered, as promised; a special extended edition. It had been soft. And comfortable. And quiet. And now, this. After assuaging my frustration and annoyance slightly, I essayed a few cautious steps around the bedroom. Walking on four legs was pretty doable. It wasn't that surprising, since I could crawl just fine as a human. Still, pony anatomy made it feel like walking on tiptoes. "Ooof." I tripped over the edge of the rug, and collapsed in a heap. Perhaps adjusting wasn't quite so simple after all. I lay on the floor for a second, noticing how a fur coat made the morning feel warmer, and the last of the sleep cleared from my brain. If I was here, that meant that Twilight, had to be... "SPIKE!" I yelled, taking a second to contemplate how different my voice sounded. "Twilight, why are you on the floor?" He swung the door open and shot me a confused glance. "Listen carefully, because this is too stupid to repeat. I'm not Twilight, I'm Wesley, I don't know how this happened, but I'm guessing Twilight is in my body and I need to get across town to find me. Her. Whoever." "...did you hit your head?" "Horsefeathers." I facehoofed again. "Look, I told you it was too stupid to repeat, but it's true. I know you've heard us talk about soul-bonding and that stuff; this has to be a side effect. There's no other explanation. I need to find Twilight, so we can get this sorted out. I promise you, as ridiculous as it sounds, we have somehow swapped bodies. Just... don't tell anyone, OK?" Spike gave me a disbelieving look. "Ok, Twi-I mean, Wes. I'll go make some breakfast. You...pull yourself together and come down when you're feeling better." "I did NOT hit my head!" I yelled, as he retreated down the stairs. I pried myself off the floor, and considered following. First, though, I needed to deal with this mane and tail. Twilight had bed-hair, and now it was my problem. I was starting to get seriously frustrated before I figured out how to pick things up with hooves. I tried telekinesis till I was blue in the face, but nothing came of it. Either the necessary memories hadn't come with me, or Twilight had taken her magic with her. I finally got her-my, for now I guess-mane under control, and turned towards the door. Stairs. "Ow." I said when I reached the bottom in a heap. Whatever else came of this, Twilight was going to have a nice collection of bruises waiting when she got her body back. I consoled myself with the thought she was probably having worse luck with my body; no way going from four legs to two would be easier. On the other hand, I was my own boss. If she decided to stay in bed all day, nopony would notice. I glanced longingly back up the stairs. Too late now to barricade the bedroom door and hope things worked themselves out. "Woah." Spike looked over from the table, where he was eating cereal. "You were serious?" "As a heart attack," I levered myself off the floor again. "Can you take a letter for me?" He wordlessly retrieved his scribing tools. I stumbled to table and, after a few attempts, managed to pour a bowl of cereal. It looked like tiny hay bales. "Your Majesty, Princess Celestia..." Through mouthfuls of cereal, I outlined the situation and asked for help as long as it could be delivered discretely. I stressed that we weren't yet in actual danger, and could maybe fix this ourselves; for some reason, I was feeling uncountably optimistic. Maybe because, out of all the situations I'd been in so far, this was actually the least life-threatening. I knew Twilight and I could deal with worse. Spike sent my terse sentences off with a flare of green and a bemused look. "It really is Wesley in there." "Right. Don't ask why; I couldn't say. My only lead is that we were experimenting with our link the other day. Although it's a long shot, that's my best bet on what caused this. But then, I'm not actually a qualified magician. Despite looking like one." I smiled wryly. "We just need to go get Twilight, and maybe we can see about setting this straight." "Um..." Spike glanced nervously at the clock, and ran one claw in a small circle of milk. "Spike?" I asked, voice low and ominous. "Sorry!" He jumped guiltily. "I didn't think you were serious! But, if you want to keep this even sort of secret....Twilight's-supposed-to-be-at-the-school-soon!" "What." My forehead was starting to get sore. Twilight would have facehoof calluses if this kept up. "When? Why?" Spike took a huge gasp of air, and I stopped him with a hoof. "Slowly. Remember to breathe." He gave an abashed chuckle. "Twilight agreed to give a guest lecture on basic arcanology. It's a favor to Cheerilee, and she's due just after recess. It's weird for you to be the calm one. I mean-you know what I mean." I checked the clock again; a five minute walk. I had five minutes to finish my cereal and come up with a plan. I took another bite of cereal. It was surprisingly good to a pony palate. "Arcanology. How ironic. On a scale of one to ten, how out of character would it be to skip?" Spike winced at that. "You know how serious Twilight is about her responsibilities," he said. I nodded glumly. "Suggestions for a decent excuse?" I asked. "Pony pox?" he said. "Come on. Not even Rainbow would fall for that." "Magical accident?" "Heh. That would work, but I don't think I can whip up something convincing and ALSO low profile. I want to avoid attention." "Why can't you just give the lecture?" "Pff. Of course I-" I stopped. Maybe I could. This was Twilight, after all. She could be counted on for preparation. "Do you have her notes?" Spike gave me an approving look, and dropped a stack of cards on the table. I clumsily shuffled through them. Arcanology wasn't a specialty of Twilight's, but that's like saying hamburgers weren't the specialty of a chef; she could still do it in her sleep. Concentrating on the notes, I discovered the connection between us still gifted me with enough of her memories that I could at least understand concepts and recognize most terms.  I tried tapping the cards back into a sheaf, but my clumsy command of hooves spilled them across the table. "That's going to need a bit of practice." Spike carefully gathered the cards. "But can you do it?" "Actually, I think I can." I drank the last of my milk, and glared at the saddlebags by the door. "Listen, Spike; I'm going to need you to come and help." "What? But I-" "Spike. Please." "...fine. But why?" "Wherever Twilight is, she took her magic with her. I can't pick anything up with telekinesis, and you saw how bad I am with hooves. I'll dictate, and you write on the board. As my Number One Assistant. Got what we need?" He nodded once, and we set out. "Here's a few tips on keeping secrets, in case something comes up-" As we walked, I gave him a bit of coaching, mostly on keeping his mouth shut. He listened astutely; I guess lectures were normal for him. "Wes, you're pretty good at being sneaky." He shot me a curious glare. "What's up with that?" "Um." I cast around for some explanation. "I'm just a sorta private person, I guess? And I had a brother who was always a bit of a tattletale...but we've arrived." A small herd of yelling foals marked the schoolhouse, as they lined up for the end of recess. I casually trotted up the steps and slipped in first. "Oh, Twilight! I'm glad you made it!" Cheerilee greeted me with a wave. "Are you ready? Do you have everything you need?" "I think so." I smiled back at her. Act casual, friendly. Twilight was both. Remember, even Spike thought body-swapping was too stupid to be real. "I've brought Spike along, to help with the blackboard." Cheerilee nodded, and started corralling her students. I borrowed her hole punch and tied my stack of notes together so I wouldn't lose them. Once everypony was seated, I cleared my throat, and launched into the lecture. "Arcanology is the study of secrets. More specifically, it's the study of 'spending secrets'. We don't have the time to give this specific branch of magic the in-depth study it deserves, but believe me when I say it's absolutely fascinating. Today, I would like to reveal a bit of Arcanology's mystery and beauty to you." I frowned a bit, and scanned ahead on the note card. It was more of the same; quite dry, very intellectual, and utterly wrong for grade school. Maybe a more direct approach was called for? "Ok," I tossed the note cards to Spike. "Who in here knows a secret?"  About a half-dozen hooves went up. Good; now we were getting somewhere. Nearly an hour later, the class was chattering with each other, working on the group exercise I'd set them. It was a simple logic puzzle, but hopefully it would distract them long enough for me to take a breather and think through the next bit. "My, Twilight!" Cheerilee gave me an approving smile. "That was excellent! Even I think I've learned something. And the students are definitely enjoying it. You're just full of surprises today!" "Thanks." I smiled weakly. You have no idea. A few minutes in I realized just how badly I was breaking character, but by then, I didn't care. Twilight was an excellent magician, and probably even a very good lecturer. But she was used to teaching ponies at the college level. Her notes were mostly worthless to me, except as the roughest outline and a jog to my memory. If I could do this better than Twilight, I was going to give it my best. She'd thank me for it later...right? I sighed gently, and accepted an annotated note card from Spike. I only had an hour or so more to do, and I would be able to go look for my body. As long as I could avoid any complications, this seemed pretty doable- "Sweetie Belle!" A knock came at the door. Oh NO. Thinking of complications. The door swung open, and a pink pony bounced in, carrying a paper sack. "You forgot your lunch! Oh! It's Twilight! Are you teaching today, Twilight?" "Pinkie Pie." "Yup, it's me! Did you forget who I am? I do that sometimes! Then I go look for myself! When I find myself, we hang out and it's super fun! Why are you doing that? Hey, you have a bruise on your forehead! You shouldn't do that so much!" A complication. A BIG complication. In fact, probably the biggest complication. And she just bounced in here. Maybe I could get rid of her? "Um, yeah. You're probably right. Hey, did you come here to give Sweetie Belle her lunch?" "Mmmhmm!" "And now you've done that?" "Yup!" "Soooo....you no longer have a reason to be here?" "Nope!" "Then....are you going to leave?" "Nope! Today I'm off, and I want to stay and be a student! I bet you're a really good teacher, Twilight! I want to learn something too! Oooo, maybe I'll get homework!" Cheerilee laughed lightly. "You're welcome to stay, Pinkie. Twilight is giving a lecture on Arcanology. If you want, you can take a desk near Button Mash." "Okee-dokey-lokey!" After a few minutes, the students were done with their exercise. Now actually feeling nervous, under the scrutiny of one of Twilight's good friends who was also the town expert on 'weird', I resumed my very out-of-character lecture. "And that is how you use a numismatrix!" Spike scratched the last symbol on the board, and I sighed in relief. I took a moment to straighten up my things as Cheerillee got the class ready for lunch. "Thanks for coming," she said quietly, as we slipped out the door. "You're welcome." I returned, finally relaxing as it swung closed behind us. With one last wave and nod, Spike and I set off down the road.. My relief was short lived. "Spike, is there a bouncing noise coming from behind us?" "Yup." "Is it coming from a pony?" "Yup." "Is the pony approximately five different shades of pink?" "Yup." "Oooh! Ooooh! Are we playing twenty questions? Can I go next? I want to play too!" "Pinkie, why are you following us?" "I'm your friend, Twilight! Aren't you happy to see me?" I blinked at her reply, and swallowed a lump of frustration. "The thing is, Pinkie, we're going to see Wesley, and I don't think he's expecting you, so-" "Oh, that's OK! He said I could drop by anytime." I nearly ground my teeth at that. I had, too; I'd told all of them they were welcome. I'd just planned on locking my door and hiding under my bed when I was feeling overwhelmed. That, and spending lots of time in the Everfree. "...oh." "Anyways, I had a question for you, since you said we could ask whatever at the end of the class." "Ok, shoot." "Are you actually Wesley who got trapped in Twilight's body because of some obscure magical thing you don't really understand? Huh? Are you?" My natural response, of course, was to curl up into a ball. "Please don't tell anyone! It was an accident! I'm not going to do anything bad!" "Ok, I take it all back." Spike gazed at me with faint amusement. "That's not sneaky at all." "Of course you're not! You're Wesley, and he's a good human, so you're a good pony!" "I think this body is conditioned to panic." I said bitterly, raising an ear and looking to see if everypony was staring at me, or if it just felt that way. "How did you know, Pinkie?" "You just told me, silly!" "Horsefeathers," I said, slowly climbing to my hooves. "You had a pretty good idea. What gave it away? And why are you so willing to accept it?" "The words you were using were waaaay to short for Twilight! And so I thought, who else is super smart and knows lots of stuff about magic? Wesley, of course! So, the logical conclusion is that you swapped bodies!" "How is that logical? I was banking on it being too impossible to believe!" "Sometimes, I believe three impossible things before breakfast. And you smile like Wesley." "Fine." I gave up trying to understand Pinkie, and turned towards my house. "Come on. I really do need to find my body. I just hope Twilight is doing better than me." "So, can I call you Weslight? Is it fun being a pony? What sort of things do you think Twilight is up to? How long are you going to be doing this for? Can I try next?" "Please don't call me that. Um, it's Ok, I guess. Being a pony is pretty tricky for me, since I don't know how to do some simple things, like stairs. I have no idea what Twilight's doing in my body, but my guess is not much, since it's pretty beat up from yesterday. I have no idea how long this is going to last; if I can do anything about it, not much longer. And no. No, you cannot try next. I don't even know how this happened, but even if I did, I don't think I'd feel comfortable about loaning my body to anyone. This is pretty strange for me, Pinkie. Even if weirdness doesn't bother you, some of us aren't quite so inured." "Come on, Wesley! Don't you want to try being pink? Oh, or maybe you can switch with Rarity, and be faaaaabulous!" "No. No. Nononono. This is NOT a good idea, Pinkie. Seriously. I want this to stop, and then have a sorta boring life for at least a few weeks! Please!" "Silly Twiley, you can't do that in Ponyville! This place is super exciting, which is why I love living here! Cool things are always happening, like that one time last cider season, when-" Both of us stopped, ears swiveling towards the end of the road as we heard a distant roar. I took a moment to reflect on how weird mobile ears felt, and so was a second behind Pinkie when we both gasped "Manticore!" and took off at a full gallop. "Spike, thanks for the help!" I yelled, as we left him behind. "Why, why, WHY is there a manticore at my house?" I gasped, was we galloped full-tilt down the road. "No idea!" Pinkie shot back. "Do you think Twilight will be OK?" "Gah!" I redoubled my efforts, managing to put on a bit more speed. Ponies were faster flat-out than humans, but I felt my energy flagging already. I'd do better over a long distance than Twilight. I was willing to bet on it. I guess scholar-magician vs. survivalist-warrior wasn't really a fair match, though. Maybe she knew a boosting spell? Too bad I couldn't cast. "Wesley?" I felt Twilight's connection with me snap into place as we got near my shack. Another roar came from the forest behind. "Ooof!" The distraction caused me to stumble, and I collapsed. Pinkie looked back worriedly. "I'm fine!" I called. "Twilight just contacted me with magic. Let me find out what's up before we head in." Pinkie slowed, and turned back to me, glancing worriedly at the hut. "Twilight, draw more!" I called. Through the link, I had the odd sensation of feeling a myself-that-wasn't-myself wrap fingers tighter around a familiar orange horn, and draw magic more strongly through it; enough to let me borrow her instincts. With a dizzying lurch, a whole host of new options opened up to me, the most useful of which was scrambling to my hooves. I felt Twilight spring to her feet, reveling in sudden understanding. The doubled viewpoint disorientation nearly caused me to tumble again, but I recovered my footing and motioned Pinkie to approach more slowly. "What's going on, Twilight?" "I'm not sure. Fluttershy came over-" "Fluttershy's there." I said, for Pinkie. "-and I was pretty much just acting sick and not talking. Now she's gone outside to see what this manticore wants." "She went out to meet it?" My horror and shock must have carried pretty strongly, because I felt Twilight wince. Pinkie gave me a curious look. "If there's any chance of settling this peacefully, it's Fluttershy. She knows what she's doing, Wes." "Fine." I swung the door open and trotted into my house. "But, if she's not back in a minute or two, we're going after her." "But what can we do?" Twilight asked. "Seriously?" I pointed to her. "You're STILL the strongest magician anywhere outside Canterlot. And I bet you throw a pretty mean punch right now. Pinkie and I aren't going to do anything; if we need to, you  are going to sling a few spells and use my body to chase that monster off.  I've done it before, so you should be just fine." "Wesley!" Fluttershy swooped in the door, and landed between us. "Yes?" Both Twilight and I said. I facehooved. Fluttershy gave me an odd look. "He won't leave! His eye is hurt, and I think he's angry at you because of it. We need to do something before he heads into town!" "" I swore vehemently. Twilight flinched. Fluttershy gave us a really confused look. "Ok, we need to act. Let's go do this." "But I don't-" "Come on. We don't have time for backup, and I don't know who else could handle this anyways. Let's...sorta give him what he wants. Pinkie, if you want to explain to Fluttershy, feel free." "Wes, I don't want to hurt anypony!" Twilight hissed, as I led her out the back door. Inside, Pinkie was chattering about Arcanology. Fluttershy was responding with a series of more and more confused noises. "That's fine. But you're going to need to do something  flashy. Do you have a weak electricity spell? Or some something that will scare him good?" "I...guess. Maybe if I used Freezing Hooves..." "Right, go with that. Here's the plan. I'll feed you cues, and you dodge for all your worth while preparing the spell. When it's ready, use it on or near him. We don't need to hurt him much, just enough to convince him I'm still not worth messing with. I thought I did a pretty good job last time, but...I dunno. Anyways, go with that, OK?" I looked back, realizing just how much my rangy frame towered over most ponies. I wasn't even far above average for a human. She-he-she I decided, nodded uncertainly. "There." I caught a glimpse of the manticore in the clearing ahead. It suddenly seemed a lot more threatening than I remembered. It was clearly the one I'd fought right after my escape, with a charcoal mane and a scar across its left eye. "Huh." Twilight gave it a bemused look. "Suddenly, it doesn't seem so scary." She gave a confident smirk. Do I really look that cocky? I wondered. "Yup." Came an answering thought as she sprang forward, seizing the initiative. She had Splinter's horn in her left hand, and she'd drawn my dagger with her right.   The next few moments were both fascinating and nerve-wracking. I hadn't really noticed that I actually did move like a trained martial artist, but now I watched in surprise as Twilight fluidly ducked and wove through each and every blow sent her way. She even blocked a strike or two, turning them on the flat of my dagger. As she fought, I saw lambent energy start gathering around the horn in her left hand. It was a warm orange, but still streaked through with crackles of purple. I wondered at that; what actually colored magical energy? I nearly lost myself in thaumaturgial theorizing, but my attention was yanked back as a familiar feeling began feeding through our link. I realized I was clenching my teeth. Twilight was starting to get angry. I'd foolishly thought that her normal pacific disposition was enough to quell old habits. I'd underestimated the effect my instincts had. Last time I'd fought this beast, I'd been too injured to consider seriously harming it. I'd happily settled for driving him off. Here, Twilight had the upper hand in every way. She wouldn't even lose to brute force if she used her magic, and she was about to do just that. I mulled my options for a second. I didn't have a problem with injuring someone who brought the fight to me, but she would. Also, as much as I'd killed before, I couldn't be sure she'd settle for wounded in the heat of battle. Killing the manticore would be bad all around; she'd be crushed, and although they might not be able to talk, they were clearly much more intelligent than Earth animals. I wasn't sure if it would be murder, but as long as I wasn't sure, I couldn't, in clear conscience, put it down like a dangerous animal. If there was a possibility of it being intelligent, I'd treat it like a human. I paced for a second, unsure what to do. I needed to calm her down before the fight peaked, but how? She was dealing with my feelings and instincts. I wasn't even sure what to do when I was dealing with them, and I'd had practice. She might not even be aware of how she was slipping. I'd never realized before just how much a 'feeling' was literally 'something you felt'. But...feelings could carry across the link. I was getting feedback from her anger right now. Maybe I could counter it with a feeling of my own? What sort of thing would counter anger? Shock her enough to bring her back to herself? Ahh...that might do it. I thought of Twilight's apprehension in the Canterlot palace, before meeting with Celestia. I tried to grasp the emotions she had fought: anxiety about disapproval, disappointment, and distance from the pony she loved and feared so strongly. I barely managed to get a grasp on the feelings when Twilight's anger snapped, turning suddenly to confusion. "Celestia?" she asked, turning to look. "Watch out!" I yelled, as distraction broke her guard. I winced as she took a ferocious blow to the hip. She tumbled to the side, barely managing to catch herself, but dropped my dagger. She rolled to her feet, and I felt the pain in the link. "Now, Twilight! While you have some distance!" She nodded, and leveled the horn across the clearing. Magic surged, and a cone of sparkling dust burst from the point of the horn, engulfing her opponent. There was a crackling noise, and the condensation cleared to reveal a very surprised looking manticore, rimed with frost and clearly shivering. "Quick, charge up another one!" I shot across the link. "I can't! This isn't the same as-" "It doesn't know that! Just make the horn glow!" She nodded slightly, and power surged again, the aura re-appearing."Stand straight! Be confident!" She squared her shoulders, and forced her stance to display strength. "This is about dominance. Take a step forward. Menace! Be scary!" "I've never been scary! I don't know how to do it!" "Like this." I showed her what I could, feeding it across our link. She narrowed her eyebrows, tensed her fists, and stared the manticore down with as much cool confidence as I ever could. Her relief was palpable across the link as it took a cautious step backwards. At my urging, she stepped forward, leveling the horn. It flinched at the sudden movement and broke backwards a few steps. She pushed forward again, grimacing. A spark or two leaped from the tip of the horn, and at that, the beast turned and fled. "Hold!" I sent, as it disappeared into the underbrush. I fed her encouragement, forcing her to remain confident as we walked back to my house. I didn't let her relax until we were inside, well away from any windows. She collapsed like a cut marionette, the link snapping as her concentration broke. "Twilight!" Fluttershy gasped, jumping forward to support her. "She's Ok," I said. "Just took one hit; I don't think it managed to get its claws into her." "So you really did...swap?" she asked, glancing back and forth between us with her soft eyes. "Yup." I tossed my purple mane out of my face. "I'm not very happy with it, either. But maybe we can do something about it, now we have a spare moment." "That...might be tricky." Twilight said, sitting up and wincing, a hand to her side. "Wes, this hurts like crazy! Are you sure it'll be OK?" "Fluttershy?" I asked. "I think it will be fine." The pegasus inspected the bruise that was forming. "He's right, it's another bruise. Just a bad one." "Good thing you dodged," I added. "A bit slower, and you could have ruptured organs." "It was all instinct. Do you always feel like that when you fight, Wes? So...wild? So invincible?" "Yeah. But don't trust those feelings; they're straight-out wrong." "That's what Lyra was talking about." "Yeah," I nodded, "but I don't know any other way to fight, and well... you've seen the nightmares. That's mixed up in there, too. Paranoia, rage, and confusion; I can't say how much is from my head, and how much from my heart. Sorry." I shrugged awkwardly with pony shoulders. "All in all, you should probably be as worried about switching back as I am." She grimaced, obviously unhappy. "I'd love to, Wes. Well, I mean, this is fascinating and all, but you're right; we should focus on getting back to normal." I mentally tacked 'experiments can come later' onto the end of that. "But first, we need to know why this happened. We can't do anything without that information." "But I thought..." I paused, reviewing my morning. "No, I assumed it was the link, since it's the only new magical thing I could think of." Twilight shook her head slowly. "It can't be the link. It's logically impossible. Like opening a box with the crowbar that's inside it. You'd literally have to turn your soul inside out. I said it was free from side effects, and I meant it. Whatever caused this is packing a hefty magical punch, and we're both missing it." I frowned at that, the suspicious bastard part of my brain ringing an alarm. "I-" I started trying to voice my concerns, but broke into a huge yawn instead. "I am suddenly exhausted." Maybe it was the adrenaline crash after facing down the manticore or maybe... "Twilight, what time did you get to bed last night?" I had left her studying my watch, after all. "Um..." "Nevermind. I need a nap, badly. I'm going to to go crash for a while, because I'm about dead on my hooves. Is that going to cause you problems?" She shook her head slowly, looking slightly guilty. "Ok. You are all welcome to chill here for a while. Just try to be quiet." "So!" Pinkie said, scooting close to Twilight. "Tell me about this 'link' you two mentioned a minute ago." I retreated to my bedroom, and curled up on my now too-big bed, clumsily pulling the covers over my purple self. I lay there for a minute, trying to sort my thoughts out. The new uncertainty of my situation weighed at me. I'd been foolishly confident this was caused by the link and hadn't even considered what I'd do otherwise. Now, Twilight said it was something new. That was more unsettling than I'd have guessed. Maybe weird affected me more than I'd let on. Maybe I'd been in shock, just a little. Maybe changing bodies affected my mind. I pictured the Big Dipper, and thought of home for a while. Perhaps I was fixed on finding my way home because it had come to represent stability. On days like these, my very identity felt like it was quicksand. I had so little to ground me, that I was sometimes afraid I'd slip through a crack and be lost in the crazy. Having friends helped, but when they treated this as commonplace, I began to realize just how alien my culture was. Eventually, I fell asleep. I was still a human in my dreams. It hurt. I awoke to find a pink mane obscuring much of my vision. "Pinkie?" I asked blearily. I turned to find her snuggled up beside me. She opened her blue eyes, and gazed back. "What...?" "You were whimpering in your sleep," she answered softly. "I thought a hug might help." "Thanks." I yawned. "Did I bother you?" I could hear, in the other room, the sounds of ponies relaxing. Apparently it had turned into something of a party. "I don't think anypony else noticed." She rolled over onto the edge of the blanket as I tried to get up, effectively trapping me. "Was it a nightmare?" "Yes. Luna helps with them, sometimes, but she must not be on dreamwatch at four in the afternoon." "Tell me about it?" She gave me a serious look. "I don't think you want to hear my dreams..." I said slowly. I was glad Twilight wouldn't be afflicted with them, even though we'd swapped. I didn't want to burden Pinkie, either. "But I think you need to talk about it." "It's...not pleasant." "Lots of things aren't. Ignoring them isn't usually a good idea, either," she said. I sighed. "This is the most serious I've ever seen you, Pinkie. Are you feeling OK?" "I'm always serious, Wesley. But don't try and change the subject. Tell me your dream. It'll help, I promise." "Well...Ok." I gave in to her insistence. Maybe it would help. I paused for a minute, trying to organize the horror of shapes and shadows in my brain. I'd had this dream before, and recalling it wasn't too hard. "It starts with fire..." Pinkie listened seriously through the whole thing, which took a few minutes to tell. And, oddly enough, I did begin to feel better. In the bright afternoon sunlight filtering through the window, the whole thing began to look vaguely ridiculous. But that was always the way of dreams; while you were in them, they made very little sense but meant the whole world, though they evaporated in daylight. "...and that's the end of it." I gave a breath of relief at the end. "Thanks for listening. I do feel better, I think." "We're not done yet," she said. "Before I let you go, I want you to try something. You said the statues bother you particularly, so I want you to picture them smiling." "I don't-" "Wesley, I'm trying to help you here. Telling dreams gives you power over them; use that power to change them. Picture the statues smiling. Big goofy grins." I subsided, and did as I was told. In my mind, the grim figures of the Changeling stronghold slowly metamorphosed into Moai; big, cartoonish ones, with huge, cheery grins. It made the whole thing faintly ridiculous. I snorted at the image. "There." She tapped me on the nose, and rolled off the bed. "See, you still have smiles in you! Remember, laughter is the best medicine! Now, come on out, and join the party!" I stood slowly, and shook the blankets off. Of course it had turned into a party. Still, there was a bit more spring in my step as I followed. Maybe she could even carry laughter into my dreams. I was beginning to think there wasn't much this crazy pink mare couldn't do. And I was feeling much better; a long nap had refreshed me, and grounded me again. I'd managed to regain some of this morning's optimism, despite the continued uncertainty of life. A smile worked it's way onto my face. At least I wasn't alone in this. My friends were ponies worth knowing.