//------------------------------// // Chapter 03: Dream Catcher // Story: Falling Stars // by Ar0k //------------------------------// Maybe it was habit, nerves or both, but Twilight was up before the dawn. She unwillingly gargled on her drool before pushing herself up from what served as her pillow the entire night. ‘The book entitled Old Mare’s Tale’ was sparred the majority of Twilight’s drool, but many of her notes weren’t so lucky. Twilight groaned as she realized much of her work from her previous night was now stained with her saliva, nothing irreparable, but it was still a nuisance, not to mention gross. She noticed the absence of snoring and whispered out into the darkness. “Spike?” There was no response. She tried again but to no avail. Twilight comforted herself with the thought that spike had just left for the bathroom but she wanted to check his bed just to be sure. Spike set up his own sleeping basket on the ground by the foot of her bed. All Twilight had to do was peek over the edge to confirm her suspicion. As she moved to get off her bed she heard the fluttering of paper. Casting her light spell, she turned to catch the pages of Old Mare’s Tales, move. She tilted her head curiously and noticed that the book had turned itself to the short story about the Land of Twisted Metal. She blinked, trying to register what she saw. Twilight leaned in to inspect it further and caught a glimpse of the illustration, it was a crude drawing of jagged mountains and in the center of the jagged mountains was an insignia that looked like a closed eye. She blinked once and the insignia disappeared. She rubbed her eyes trying to make sure she was seeing correctly, but before she could take a second look, the sound of a basket being thrown across the room jolted her out of her bed. “Spike?” She cried out, her heart beating incredibly fast. She tried to increase the radius of her light spell, but the darkness around her was unnaturally thick and it only grew thicker. Twilight noticed that it was getting harder and harder to maintain the light spell and soon noticed that the darkness was pushing against her light. Very quickly the darkness became so heavy that it forced Twilight to her knees. “Don’t let them get me Twilight.” Shocked, Twilight looked up and saw spike looking out of the train car window. “Spike! Whats going on? HELP!” She said crying out desperately to her assistant. Spike’s head fell limp, and turned to face her slowly. His eyes were black and his mouth moved unnaturally. “Don’t Let the stars get me Twilight.” Twilight was at her limit. The pressure forced her to the ground and her light was reduced to a mere spark, barely brighter than a dying candle. Her chest could barely heave for breath “The stars are coming Twilight. They will tear us apart. They have no mercy.” Twilight could barely breathe, the pressure was so great. little by little she could feel herself being consumed by the darkness. A feint melody started playing in the background. “You have to stop them Twi...” The demonic spike froze, and Twilight could feel the pressure lessen to the point where Twilight could breathe. Spike now fully faced Twilight and placed both of his hands around his head. He screamed sounding very unlike the baby dragon Twilight knew and loved. It was foreign and demonic. The volume of the shrilling scream threatened to shatter windows, Twilight recognized the melody as a nursery rhyme her mother used to sing. Twilight realized that whatever it was that was controlling Spike was trying to drown out the melody. “Twinkle, Twinkle little star...” Twilight sang along, the pressure lifting from her with each verse. Twilight didn’t know where the music was coming from, but she didn’t care. “...how I wonder what you are...” Twilight couldn’t here Spike’s screaming anymore. It was being completely drowned out by the simple nursery rhyme. The music wasn't overpowering or loud, yet no amount of screaming from the demonic Spike could drown it out. Twilight was able to lift her head now, and her magic was now flowing abundantly from her horn, causing much of the darkness to shrink away. Twilight was able to catch a glimpse of the night sky outside her window. Hundreds if not thousands of lights streaked downward through the sky and somehow she knew what they were. Stars. At that moment she watched in terror as Spike threw himself out of the train. *** “NO!” Twilight yelled, sitting bolt upright. Her bed was wet, but not from drool. Fresh sweat and tears poured from her face and body. She saw the Old Mares’ Tales book sitting next to her closed. She yelled and kicked it off her bed with a violent stroke of her rear leg. Twilight then poured everything she had into her magic. The candles and lights in her room flared up like dragon fire, threatening to set the whole train ablaze. “Spike!” She called out, moving swiftly over to the foot of her bed. The basket was empty. “Oh no.” She looked over to the window and noticed that it was closed and unbroken. She galloped to the door and almost rammed it open. She ran down the hallways and knocked on everyponys door. There was no answer. Her heart was beating faster and faster. She finally reached the luxury compartment and swung it open. “Spike? Anyone?” She yelled. “Twilight? Are you ok?” Asked a baby purple dragon sitting next to the car door. All of her companions were in the luxury car, including the two guards and Luna who were all looking at her with worry. Twilight looked into her assistants eyes. They were cute and kind and no longer the black terror she witnessed before. Sighing with relief, she hugged him with all her strength. “Yes...I’m Fine...just a terrible nightmare.” Spike kept trying desperately to break from her hug. “Eeeewww Twilight. You’re all wet and sticky.” Twilight released him and turned to assure her friends of her sanity, but by the look on everyone's faces she saw that none of them looked surprised. “Why are all of you up?” She asked. But deep down she already knew the answer. “Rough night?” She laughed nervously. All of her friends simply nodded in complete silence. *** It turns out everyone had a nightmare that night. They were each different in their own way, but they all held the same variables in common: A possessed loved one, the loved ones message about the falling stars, and the nursery rhyme Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star being played on what sounded like a guitar. Luna and Twilight were engaged in rapid fire discussion with Spike trying to follow along with his quill and parchment the best he could. “This can’t be a coincidence.” Twilight said to Luna, pacing back and forth. “The possibilities of all of us having dreams with the exact same parameters, even WITH extensive hypnosis or even seeing unintentional suggestive stimuli, the possibilities are astronomical Luna nodded. She looked calm, but her own dream nearly drove her insane. It had felt so real. A demonic Celestia with her coat slowly being burned off. She shook the image from her mind. “It had to be magically induced. We’ll send my sister this report immediately, Celetstia will know what to do. ” Pinkie Pie was unusually quiet. Never a good sign. She sat by the window, gazing up at the starry sky muttering something to herself. Rarity and Applejack were doing their best to sooth a weeping Fluttershy. Applejack tried telling her a story about how Big Mac lost a bet and had to stroll down Ponyville in one of Granny Smith’s old Girdles. This did nothing and Fluttershy continued to cry. Rarity gave Applejack a disapproving look and instead put both of her arms around the poor filly. “There, there...” She cooed. “Cry all you want. Were here for you.” Fluttershy leaned herself into Rarity, still not taking her fore hooves away from her eyes. Applejack frowned and joined Rarity in embracing the sensitive pony. Rainbow Dash sat down on a mattress in front of Garret and Gene. The two stalwart royal guard ponies seemed the least affected by the nights events. Their presence was comforting to her, but of course she would never admit it. She decided to start conversation with them to get her mind off of her own nightmare. “So.” She began, while hiding her nerves very well. “You two were the same ones at the get together for the Princess right?” There was a pause, before the guards nodded simultaneously. “That’s what I thought, It’s hard to tell you apart sometimes. All you Royal Guard ponies look alike.” The guards did not respond. “Did you guys have dreams too?” She asked not wanting to make eye contact. Once again no response. Dash was beginning to get irritated, and raised her voice. “Well? Yes or no?” “I nodded yes.” Rainbow Dash turned her head to look at Garret surprised. “Oh. Sorry. I wasn’t looking.” Almost immediately after Dash finished her sentence a thought struck her. “Hey! You talked to me!” Rainbow Dash smiled widely, perhaps the first pony on the train to give an authentic smile since the beginning of this chaos. Garret opened his mouth and then closed it again. Gene gave him a sidewards glance before sighing. Even if this was the only thing Rainbow Dash would get out of this conversation, it was still a significant improvement. Not to mention a significant victory for her ego. Feeling rather pleased with herself she stared at the two guards in what would soon become a staring contest. The guards remained stoic. It quickly became a game of who could move first and every time dash saw an eye twitch or even a chest rise from taking a breath, she called them out on it. As dash turned her head to look out the window, she noticed a deck of playing cards sitting at the corner of the table. “Say. Are you guys allowed to play cards?” As expected she got no answer from them, but she did get a response from a revitalized Pink pony. “Omigosh did somepony say cards!?” Rainbow Dash raised the deck in her hooves smiling. “Care to sit in for a game of “E.R.S.” Pinkie Pie?” Pinkie bounded herself onto Rainbow Dash. The guards looked on unamused. “Would I?! Cards right now are the perfect thing to get our minds off of those awful-waffle dreams.” “Did ah hear someone say E.R.S.?” Applejack said walking up to the table. “Hey Fluttershy! Ya wanna sit in fer a game?” Fluttershy, who was feeling considerably better thanks to their comfort was about to exit the luxury car with Rarity following her closely. “Oh. No thank you, I think I’m going to go wash up in the bath car.” She looked pleadingly at Rarity. “Uhm Rarity...would you go with me? I’m kind of scared.” “Oh absolutely darling! A bath right now sounds perfect!” Rarity said following her. She stopped by the door and looked at Twilight, or rather smelled her. Out of all of them, Twilight was the most affected, physically by the nightmares. “Care to join us darling?” She asked, which sounded more like “You smell worse than a hydra bathing in tar.” For the first time Twilight was aware of how badly she needed a good cleaning. She laughed and replied. “Sure.” With a nod, Twilight left. Leaving Luna and Spike to investigate the ruckus at the table. “There ya’ll are! Come an sit!” Applejack said scooting over to allow Luna and Spike to squeeze into the already crowded table. “I don’t suppose ya’ll know how to play E.R.S?” she asked. Luna looked confused. “Uhm...E.R.S?” She asked. Pinkie cut off Applejack’s attempt to respond. “It’s short for Equestrian Rat Screw and its sooooooo much fun! Though It’s best to play with a stomach full of cupcakes. The sugar helps a lot and makes the game that much more intense!” Luna merely nodded her head unsure of how to proceed. This was the first time in over a thousand years that she played a game with someone other than her sister. Applejack and the rest of the group took turns explaining the rules and within minutes they were playing the game. Hooves struck the tables as the game went on through the night. Luna wasn’t very good at first but after she got the hang of it she was able to beat out rainbow dash and even Pinkie Pie in a couple of swipes for the pile. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were the reigning champions of E.R.S. Back in Ponyville. After everyone else was eliminated, they took the occasion to settle their rivalry for the E.R.S. throne. After several rounds of Pinkie and Dash going back and forth Dash finally found herself slipping up and eventually lost the title to Pinkie Pie. “I...hate...losing.” Rainbow Dash said out loud, putting on a sour face. Pinkie Pie suppressed a chuckle. “Oh cheer up Dashie! You’ll get me next time.” Rainbow Dash was sour. She turned away and looked at the guards in front of her. A plan formulated in her mind and the sour frown turned into a mischievous grin. “Hey Princess Luna?” Dash asked not taking her eyes off the guards. Garret and Gene only returned her gaze. Wondering what she was up to. Princess Luna was in the middle of being taught how to shuffle cards by Spike and Applejack when the voice of Dash reached her. “What is it Rainbow Dash?” Dash held her stare with the guards. “Didn’t Princess Celestia say these two gentlecolts have to follow your orders?” “Yes. Why do you ask?” Luna said unsure of where this was going. Rainbow dash gave the guards one last smirk and moved over to Luna’s side. She whispered something into her ear causing Luna’s expression to turn from confusion to the same mischievous smile as Dash. She cleared her throat in a very Celestia like way. “Gene. Garret.” “Yes your majesty!” The two guards said as crisply as they addressed the princess of the moon. “I order you two to loosen up.” The guards paused in their reply. “Your majesty?” They asked, again simultaneously. Luna tried to keep a straight face. All the ponies around the table knew what Luna and Rainbow Dash were up too. Pinkie Pie’s grin almost split her face in half. It wasn’t that they wished the guards any harm or embarrassment, but no pony could deny that with the guards being so stiff, it made getting to know them difficult, and even more difficult to befriend them. “You heard me. Take a load off and play a game of A.R.S...” Spike gave Luna a nudge and corrected her. “Sorry. I order you to sit down and play a game of E.R.S. with us.” Every pony at the table turned to see the guards reactions. Gene and Garret visibly adjusted their posture, as if unsure how they should be sitting. “Well?” Luna maintained the tone of command. It was Gene who responded. “At your command your majesty.” All ponies around the table cheered, Rainbow Dash looked especially pleased with herself. The guards shot her a dangerous look, to which she responded only with a grin. As Spike was dealing out the cards Pinkie Pie got an Idea. “I know how to make this game even more interesting.” Pinkie Pie said slyly. “The winner gets to give each loser a single dare and they have to do it no matter what.” Rainbow Dash gasped. “That’s brilliant Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of this sooner. She knew that this could be the chance of a lifetime to humiliate these guards, and get a big laugh. Maybe she would make them do funny poses? Or perhaps sing? The possibilities were endless. *** It was a slaughter. No pony could have predicted the power and skill the guards possessed in the game of E.R.S. When it was announced that dares would be given to the losers of the next round. The guards gave each other a look and nodded. They knew what was at stake: Their pride. Their honor. Their dignity. All would be taken away if they did not at least make sure that the mare with the rainbow mane was soundly and swiftly defeated. Their reflexes were superb and their ability to work together without communicating and memorize the different patterns of cards was second to none. They were trained for combat after all, and what was a game of E.R.S. but another medium of battle? Spike was the first to be eliminated. Then Applejack. Then, to everypony’s surprise, Pinkie Pie, then Luna. Garret fell to Rainbow Dash, but it was of little consequence. Shortly after, a swift white hoof defeated the Rainbow maned behemoth sending her packing and leaving Gene as the victor. The Look on Rainbow Dash’s face was priceless to any pony who was watching. Every muscle on her face was defiant and she refused to look at the guard who claimed victory over her. The price of her loss was to “put on a dress and act like a lady for the rest of the night.” “Hey! What is that supposed to mean!? Rainbow Dash said taking offense that they didn’t even consider her a ‘Lady’ It was only too obvious that Gene was enjoying this. He wore a smile that gave everyone a the glimpse into the crack of the Royal Guards shell. Everypony else tried to hold back their laughter as they watched Rainbow leave the car and comeback in the only dress she could find: a mare butlers outfit, complete with a saddle apron and a head dress. Gene exercised his self-control for everyone else. Pinkie Pie who was noble in their struggle was asked to sing “I’ll never be your beast of burden.” In the most stallion sounding voice possible. Applejack was asked to speak like a Manehattenite to which she had no problem doing (much to everypony’s surprise). Spike was ordered to wear applejack’s hat and Garret was ordered to clear his throat. “HEY!” Rainbow Dash yelled flying upwards almost slamming herself on the ceiling. “What kind of a dare is that!?” “I don’t think your being very lady like miss Dash.” Gene said looking at her with satisfaction. Pinkie Pie only nodded and maintained her deep stallion voice. “Now now Rainbow Dash. It’s da’ rules.” “That it is darling. Surely you wouldn’t mind entertaining our victorious friends who beat you at your own game.” Said Applejack causing Rainbow Dash to gape in awe at the Applejack turned Rarity. She returned to her seat and sat in the most lady like position possible. Lastly it was Luna’s turn to receive a dare. She and Gene made eye contact for a brief moment. Gene smiled and trotted around the table to the Princess. Everypony watched in anticipation. Luna was nervous. The dare couldn’t be that bad could it? I mean I am a princess and the Royal Guards are sworn to protect us. Gene wouldn’t abuse this power of a dare. “Your majesty.” Gene said after clearing his throat. “I apologize sincerely for this, but I dare you...” Everyone leaned in curious all except Rainbow Dash who knew the guard wouldn’t dare a Princess to do anything stupid. Gene cleared his throat again. If she didn’t know any better, Rainbow Dash would say that the guard was nervous. “I dare you to extend your hoof.” There was a slightly audible groan of disappointment filling the room. Princess Luna felt relieved and extended her right hoof. “Like this?” She asked. “Like that.” Gene responded. In one motion he held her hoof and kissed it. The groan of disappointment turned to silence as everyone, including Garret, stared at Gene and Luna with jaws open. Luna was bright red as Gene released her hoof and trotted back to sit next to Garret who wore so much expression on his face that he almost looked like a different colt altogether. Gene coughed awkwardly. With that, their terrible dreams were forgotten. As the sun rose and filled the train cabin with its natural warm glow, a new day had dawned and everyone exchanged their faces of shock for other reactions appropriate to the situation. Such as teasing. In Appaloosa. A lone unicorn mare walked the dusty and deserted streets, looking for the grey colt who dared to challenge her. She knew full well what was at stake and this grey colt could be the key to fulfilling her mission.