//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - The Dream // Story: A Unicorn's Dream, A Pegasus' Nightmare // by t_givlin //------------------------------// Twilight was running as hard and as fast as her hooves could muster, there was no doubt that whatever had been chasing her was still there, and she knew she needed to get away. As she came to the end of the forest line and into the clearing ahead of her, she spotted somepony on top of the grassy hill in the distance. Something changed inside, she was still running, but her purpose was different, she wasn't running away anymore, instead, she found she was running towards the mysterious pony standing above her. As she neared the edge of the small hill, she looked up to the pony she was running to. Standing tall, and strong, it was apparent that it was a stallion, strong and muscular standing at least 3 hands taller than herself, but the features of the mysterious stranger were covered by a dark hooded cloak, as Twilight arrived to the top, blushing through her lavender coloured coat, she looked up to the pony she had run so hard to meet, and began removing the cloak from his head..... Twilight awoke from her dream startled and confused. This had been the fifth night in a row the mysterious stallion had worked his way into her dreams, and she still didn't know anything about him. But just as worrying as the stallion was the unknown force that she had been so fearfully running from at the beginning. Twilight turned her head and looked at the alarm clock next to her bed. "Five in the morning??" she groggily left her bed and opened her window looking out onto the Ponyville landscape that she called her home. The darkness of the night was still looming over the small town, a slight autumn breeze pushed past Twilights mane. Sunrise would be coming soon. Twilight sighed "well, there’s no point in going back to bed now, I might as well get myself ready" She left her room and went to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast, ordinarily Spike would take care of that, but with it being so early, she thought that she might let the baby dragon sleep in for the day, after all, they had been up awfully late working on her research into her dreams. As with the previous few mornings, Twilight brewed a cup of coffee, and went right to work cataloguing the previous nights visions, being careful to remember everything she could, but something was troubling her as though she had been forgetting something vitally important. "BY CELESTIA!" Twilight screamed into the hollowed out tree, scrambling to her feet as she ran to her closet. "Twilight, what’s wrong, is everything all right" Spike entered into the room holding his blanket and rubbing his eyes, obviously startled out of sleep by Twilights outburst. "Oh, Spike, I am so sorry, everything's all right, I just remembered that today was the day I promised to help Fluttershy with her animals to prepare for winter, and I've been so busy with those dreams that I almost forgot, why don't you go back to bed?" Spike let out a large yawn, and turned to head back to his bed "If you say so Twilight, just remember there are a lot of ponies trying to sleep” the dragon climbed the staircase and headed back up stairs. Twilight packed her saddlebags with a small lunch for her and Fluttershy as well as a scarf in case the weather called for some colder weather. She pushed open her door and began to make her way towards the Fluttershy's cabin, magically carrying a quill and parchment trying desperately to keep them in her magic against the wind and writing everything she could about her dream. Before she had realized it, Twilights found herself bumping into the front door of Fluttershys cabin, hurting her muzzle in the process. Before she had a chance to knock, Fluttershy was standing in front of her. "Oh my gosh, Twilight are you ok? I'm sooo sorry; I should have had the door open for you" Twilight chuckled to herself "leave it to Fluttershy to apologize to me for running into her door" Twilight thought to herself "Its my fault Fluttershy, I wasn't paying any attention at all" Twilight smiled as she put her parchment and quill away. "Oh, ok, um, well, I know its really early and all, but, um, do you think we could you, know, maybe head up to the hill, and maybe watch the sunrise? I mean, if you want." Fluttershy's voice was almost inaudible but Twilight was able to hear no problem "You know what, Fluttershy? That sounds like a great idea!" Fluttershy blushed behind her pink mane, "oh, I'm glad you like the idea, Twilight!, I always get up early to watch it during the autumn, its soo pretty" Twilight followed the pegasus up the path and around the back of her cottage towards the small clearing on the outside of Ponyville. As the two neared the area that Fluttershy had in mind, Twilight looked ahead and froze in her tracks, looking straight ahead at the grassy hill. "i..it cant be" Twilight whispered under her breath as she threw down her saddlebags and buried her muzzle into their pouches. Fluttershy looked back to her friend and seen that she was not following behind her. "Twilight, if we don't hurry, we will miss Celestia’s wonderful colours on the autumn trees, I mean, if you still want to that is" Fluttershys words fell on deaf ears, as Twilight continued her search for her journal "I know its in here somewhere, if only I hadn't packed so much" Twilight was speaking to herself out loud, unaware of her friends continued prodding. Fluttershy floated by her friend’s side as she continued her search. "Please Twilight, we only have a few more minutes” Fluttershy seemed impatient, and even to Twilight, who wasn't paying that clear of attention, knew that something wasn't right "Fluttershy, what’s wrong, you're not usually like this” Twilights eyes were wide with worry as she looked up at her friend. Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane, blocking Twilights view of her increasingly blushing face "Keep it together, Fluttershy" she thought to herself "it's not like you had anything like this planned" her thoughts were making her worry even more. "Twilight, I just reallllly want to see this." Twilight felt embarrassed. "I’m so sorry Fluttershy, I guess I just didn't realize how important this was to you, so let’s get going" Twilight magically packed all her things, and started at a gallop to the top of the hill and Fluttershy flew after her. As they finally reached the top of the hill, the sun was just beginning its ascent into the autumn sky. The rays of the suns light danced across the trees in the area, causing the colours of the fall leaves to project their colours along the ground dancing along the tree line and creating a wonderful light show, which appeared only within the confines of the small clearing. "Fluttershy....This, This is AMAZING” almost as soon as the unicorn finished her sentence, the light seemed to fade, and the sun was above them. "Wow, Fluttershy, that was incredible, I know why you were in such a hurry, not even in Canterlot have I seen anything like that" Fluttershy's canary yellow coat couldn't hide her blushing cheeks, " oh, Twilight, I'm just glad you liked it, and I am sorry that I was so persistent, but it only happens once every year, and only for a few seconds" Fluttershy had a hard time getting her sentence out, but Twilight was still in awe of what she had just seen. "Fluttershy, its ok, I understand completely, that was just incredible, and I am so glad that we got to see it." Twilight was so amazed at the event, that she had completely forgot about her journal and was staring at the trees, still in shock of the beautiful show she was just witness to. "So, um, Twilight what did you think?" Twilight was at a loss for words; she just smiled at her friend and turned back towards the trees. "Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it, but, um, is it alright if I asked what you were looking for in your bags, it looked like it was important" Twilight was brought out of her trance, and immediately returned to looking through her bags. "I'm looking for a journal I had brought with me. This hill could be something from this dream I've been having, and I just wanted to check." Twilight let out a triumphant "AHA" as she produced a small green book with the outline of a golden unicorn on the front, and she quickly opened it to the page she knew it was on. Fluttershy looked down onto the page and seen the most detailed drawing of a green grassy hill, and looked to Twilight "Wow, Twilight, this is amazing, I had no idea you knew how to draw." Twilight blushed a little "I only draw for my experiments and my research, it helps me to identify things that I think might be important later” Twilight reviewed her journal and confirmed her suspicions. "So, this is the hill from my dream, but what could it mean?" Twilight was deep in thought, but if the hill was an actual place in Ponyville, then perhaps the stallion was a resident, and that meant that she could very well solve this mystery. Twilights thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the shy pegasus' voice. "So, Twilight, um, should we get started with getting the animals ready? I mean, only if you still want to of course" Twilight gave her friend a smile, "Of course, Fluttershy, Where do we start?" Throughout the rest of the day and into the early evening the two ponies worked together to help all of the animals prepare for their winter customs. Fluttershy helped all of the birds get ready for their long journey to the south, while Twilight helped the squirrels and other ground critters gather nuts and food stores for the long hibernation ahead. By the time dusk came around, both ponies were worn down and beyond tired. "Phew" Twilight said while pouring herself and Fluttershy some tea "That is a lot of work. Do you do this every year?" Fluttershy nodded her head "Yes, but usually I have to do it all by myself, and because the weather team is bringing in the snow early this year, I had less time, I do hope you didn’t mind Twilight." Twilight shook her head. Fluttershy sat down on the couch and took a moment to breathe "Come on Fluttershy, you can do this" The yellow pony thought to herself "its only a dinner invitation, its not like you’re going to tell her how you really feel.....yet" Fluttershy looked to her friend who was deep in her own thoughts with her eyes closed "Gosh, she looks so peaceful and pretty" Fluttershy continued to remark to herself. Blushing heavily, the pegasus took a deep breath "Hey, um Twilight, how would you like to get some dinner, I mean, I know its been a long day, so I just, you know, thought it would, um be nice, if the two of us, could go and...." Fluttershy trailed off, the rest of the invitation was completely inaudible, coming out as mild squeaks not dissimilar to the ones she had made when they first met. Twilight opened her eyes and looked to her friend. "Fluttershy, not that I don't want to go to dinner, but is everything alright?" Fluttershy dragged her hoof on the ground. "Everything is fine Twilight, if you don't want to go, I'll understand, I just waned to thank you for helping me" Twilight gave her friend a large smile "Of course I'll go to dinner with you Fluttershy, just let me get back to the library first, and I'll meet you there in ten minutes?" Fluttershy nodded in agreement and once again began to blush heavily; Twilight left the cottage and began to make her way back to the library to freshen up after such a hard day of work. Fluttershy could almost not contain her excitement "Oh my, I'd better get cleaned up" She thought aloud to herself "Twilight is the kindest, most helpful pony, and she’s so beautiful and confident, what if she gets mad, oh maybe I shouldn’t tell her" Angel bunny looked to Fluttershy with a look of impatience "Oh, I know she’s a good friend, Angel, I just don’t want to lose her" Angel gave Fluttershy a disapproving look and pointed to the calendar where Fluttershy marked the day down in a big red circle. "I know I said that I was going to do it today, but maybe waiting is for the best." Angel kicked the pegasus lightly on the leg, and gestured for her to leave towards the bath to clean up. "Oh, you’re probably right” Fluttershy went and cleaned up as Angel stood nodding triumphantly. Not long after, Fluttershy was standing outside of the library, wearing a dress that she had purchased from her friend, Rarity, at the Carousel Boutique waiting to find the courage to announce her presence. Nervously she knocked on the small doors "Come on in, Fluttershy, I wont be too much longer” Twilight announced from her room, getting ready for the evening. As Fluttershy entered the library and sat at the table she seen Spike was in the kitchen mixing up some jewels in a large bowl. "Oh, hi, Fluttershy, are you the reason I get the night off from cooking tonight?" The baby dragon inquired "Oh, yes, I thought I would treat Twilight to a nice dinner to thank her for all the help she gave me earlier today" Fluttershy answered sheepishly, averting her eyes from the dragons own, hoping spike didn't notice the crimson red appearing on her face. Spike paid no attention as he gleefully returned to his cooking. Twilight came down the spiral staircase and spotted Fluttershy in her dress "Wow, Fluttershy, you look amazing, give me an extra minute, I didn't realize that I should have dressed for the occasion." Twilight looked slightly embarrassed, as she turned to head back up the stairs. "Oh, no! It’s my fault, Twilight; I should have picked a different restaurant instead of springing it on you" Twilight waved her hoof dismissively at the thought "Fluttershy, there’s nothing to be sorry for" she said while using her magic to dress herself up for the dinner "So where are we going?" "Oh, um, if its ok with you, Twilight, I'd like to leave it a surprise, unless of course that would make you upset.." Fluttershys voice was trailing again, and Twilight almost couldn't hear it "Oh, not at all, Fluttershy, I like surprises, well, good surprises anyway” Twilight had finished her sentence as she had descended the staircase once again. Twilight was dressed in the gown that Rarity had made for her for the Grand Galloping Gala, and as she descended, she was using her magic to hold up the excess fabric above the ground. Fluttershy didn’t think she could blush any harder than she had been, but she was wrong. her face felt like it was on fire, and her friend standing in front of her, bathed in her familiar purple magic aura while draped in such a wonderful dress was almost too much for the timid pegasus to bear.