“You!” shouted the voice.
Twilight violently woke up in a sweat. She didn’t know when it was, she didn’t know what she had been dreaming of, she didn’t even remember why she was waking up and had almost no idea where she was.
Almost, because she soon recognized the familiar environment of her bedroom. The sight comforted her a little and her heartbeat began to slow down a bit. Still, there was something weird that was making her nervous. She just couldn’t quite put her hoof on it.
And then she noticed it, right there, surrounded by the shadows, in the middle of her bedroom:
There was a bucket.
Her body got immediately paralyzed. She found herself completely unable to move, no matter how hard she tried. And she didn’t try much, because she could feel a faint presence coming from the bucket. Something she couldn’t explain. Just like she couldn’t explain what a bucket was doing in her bedroom, or how it had come there. Unless it was sentient.
It would have explained a lot.
Twilight kept still, only observing in case it were to move. And she prayed it wouldn’t move. What would she do if it were to suddenly come to her? Would she have to fight it? Would she be able to run away? Or just scream helplessly before the bucket would get her.
On the other hoof, it was merely a bucket. Bucket usually didn’t attack ponies. And remembering having defeated Tirek, a bucket suddenly seemed like a lesser challenge. Still, she had to find out why there was a bucket in her bedroom.
She got up, which triggered no reaction from the bucket at all, and carefully went near it. Once again, it didn’t move one bit, proving it was just an inanimate object after all. Or a very patient pony eating bucket.
Twilight chased the ridicule idea away, in a corner of her mind in order not to think about it, and began her study of the bucket.
It was round from above, and formed a trapezoid from the side. It was seemingly made out of metal, very probably some iron and was filled with a liquid that looked like plain old water. Not that she was excluding the possibility the liquid was something else entirely, as only a chemical analysis could provide a certainty on the matter. For that, however, she would need her laboratory material.
She turned around and noticed she very conveniently already was in her laboratory. Satisfied by that turn of event, Twilight began a series of methodical analysis on the liquid, using chromatography, ionometry, centrifugation and diverse mix with some key chemical elements to try and trigger a reaction, but each and every one of her test ended up confirming she was dealing with water.
She decided to analyze the bucket itself and quickly found out it was truly made out of iron.
She was losing her time with a very ordinary bucket.
That had spawn into her bedroom for some reason.
This wasn’t making much sense…
“Come on…” Twilight said out loud. “You must be coming from somewhere. There must be a clue.”
This was frustrating. Maybe the answer was very easy. Maybe Spike had abandoned the bucket for some reason. Maybe she had forgotten she had put it there before going to bed. Maybe a pony had decided to come, put the bucket down and leave for some reason…
“Why are you here?” Twilight asked the bucket. “I want to know! What are you? What is it you want from me?”
“You!” shouted the voice behind her back.
Startled, Twilight jumped a bit and quickly turned to face Pinkie Pie.
“You do know you are talking to a bucket, right Twilight?” the pink pony asked.
“Pinkie Pie?” the alicorn replied. “What are you doing in my home?”
“Nothing.” responded Pinkie. “I can’t be doing anything in your home, because we are in mine silly!”
Twilight looked around and had to recognize she was in Pinkie Pie’s room, as there were decoration, balloons and confetti everywhere. She turned back and saw that the bucket was still there, patiently waiting, but for what Twilight had no idea.
“Something is weird…” the alicorn noticed out loud.
“Oh, you are experiencing something weird too?” Pinkie asked. “I’ve been through it myself.”
“Really?” Twilight replied, hoping to learn more about her current situation.
“Yeah.” Pinkie said. “There was that time when I took an ice cream cone, put a cucumber and chocolate into it, then put it on my head like a horn.”
“That… is weird.” confirmed Twilight. “Why did you do that?”
“Because I had to, or I would have had to pay for it. It felt very cold, but in the end the taste wasn’t bad at all.” Pinkie explained.
“Right…” responded Twilight, not sure how to react to those information. “And why are you talking about that right now?” she asked.
“I’m not talking about that.” Pinkie replied. “Didn’t you listen to what I said? You’re talking to the bucket.”
As Pinkie Pie had pointed to the bucket while saying those words, Twilight instinctively turned her head back, but when she turned back again to continue the discussion, Pinkie Pie was gone, and so were the decoration of the room as well as the room itself. There was nothing left, but the darkness and a strange mist.
That and the bucket.
“What is going on?” Twilight asked, becoming slowly angry.
But no response came. There was nothing there but her and the bucket.
“Buck it! This is ridiculous.” Twilight said to herself.
She began to trot away, leaving the bucket behind and trying to find a way out of wherever she was. But she not only quickly found out she was completely lost: she could hear a storm forming over her head and see and feel the first drops of rain.
The idea of finishing soaking wet in the middle of nowhere was the cherry on top for Twilight. The last thing she needed was to catch a cold. She looked around for a shelter, but found none.
And then:
“You!” sort of shouted a voice in the distance. “I’m so happy I found you.”
Twilight saw Fluttershy trotting to her with and umbrella in her mouth, just in time as the rain was beginning to pour down.
“Here!” the yellow pegasus said, deploying the umbrella above both their heads. “The rain won’t reach you now.”
“Thanks.” Twilight told her with gratitude. “I can’t believe how lucky I am you were here with an umbrella.”
“I’m sorry…” Fluttershy replied. “It’s not luck. I came because I had to. Sorry.”
Twilight tried to find in what universe that apology would make any sense, but couldn’t find any. It just wasn’t logical at all. It simply made no sense.
“I came to guide you.” Fluttershy explained, beginning to move and taking Twilight with her.
“But why?” the alicorn asked.
“Because I had to.” simply responded Fluttershy. “Sometimes, we have to do whatever it is we have to do. And when the time comes, we can only do it, or pay for it.”
Twilight felt a shiver running through her spine, but decided to ignore it. She was confused enough as it was.
“Alright, so you have come to guide me. But where to?” she asked.
“You have already arrived.” Fluttershy cryptically replied.
“We have arrived.” Instinctively corrected Twilight, as she was looking around to find out where she was.
But when the alicorn turned back to Fluttershy, the yellow pony was gone. Twilight was the one holding the umbrella. And it wasn’t raining anymore.
Because she had arrived.
To the place where the bucket was waiting for her.
“No…” just said Twilight, before running away.
But she hadn’t run more than a few meters that she stumbled upon the bucket once again. So she fled in another direction and once again found the bucket on her way. And once again, and then once again, and one last time, before Twilight felt she had had enough.
“What is going on!” the alicorn shouted. “Come on! I’m tired of this game!”
And just as she had said those words, the whole sky suddenly lit itself with millions of stars and, of course, the big pale moon in the middle.
A very big moon.
An even bigger moon as Twilight was feeling.
In fact, a moon that was becoming bigger by the second, rushing through the sky to fall down right where Twilight was standing, like one giant rain drop.
Understanding that the impact of the huge celestial body was near, Twilight tried to close her eyes, but only achieved to blink. It was too fascinating to see that mass about to crush her not to look at it.
And then the big drop finally came to its destination, in the bucket, making a little splash and mixing with all the other drops of water that were already in there under Twilight's unbelieving eyes.
“You.” said a voice behind Twilight’s back.
Startled again, the alicorn immediately turned back only to face another alicorn.
“I challenge you.” told her Luna. “Do you accept my challenge?”
“What?” Twilight asked, now completely lost.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Luna grinned, as her horn lit up with magic.
Twilight understood only too late as the bucket full of water found its place right above her head and suddenly poured all of its cold water onto her.
She screamed.
The bedroom was very quiet. Twilight looked around, but saw nothing unusual. She was sweating a bit, and breathing quite heavily, but, to her surprise, wasn’t soaked at all, which was quite a relief. It took her a bit of time, but she simmered down eventually and regained composure.
It had been a weird dream.
And it wasn’t quite finished.
She turned her head to the right and saw Luna.
“So, who do you challenge?” the princess of the night asked with a grin of complicity.
Challenge? Twilight’s mind caught on. She hadn’t understood everything that had happened, but one thing was clear now: she wouldn’t be the only one. With a diabolic grin, Twilight began to think of all the ponies she knew.
This whole thing was suddenly looking like way more fun than she had imagined…
THE END