//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18 
// Story: The Parliament of Dreams 
// by Wheller 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 18


As far as this idea was concerned, it might not have been the worst one that Sparky had ever had. No, the worst idea she had ever had was downing a Pan Equestrian Gargle Blaster in one gulp. However this had certainly been up there. She finished telling Amarilla the story of how she had come to this point. Not sparing on the details, she had even shown her the cutie mark hidden beneath her saddlebags. Amarilla continued to stare blankly at her as she finished, as if she could not believe what she was hearing. Her blank stare turned to a frown, and the frown turned to a scowl.

The scowl ended with a smack across her face. Sparky’s eyes began to water after the sudden shock of the impact.

‘Do you know anything about the history of the hispaña?’ Amarilla asked.

‘Uh...’ Sparky said with a shrug, history had never been her strong suit.

‘The hispaña have long known conflict, with the outside and within. Our people have fought seven civil wars, the most recent one founding our Third Republic. I lived through that war, I have known conflict, I have known pain, and I have known suffering’, Amarilla said. ‘So take your trouble and keep it to yourself. Pequeña zorra’.

Sparky didn’t know what that meant, but she could tell that it certainly wasn’t polite.

Amarilla trotted over to her cabin door, pressing the button for entry. ‘Juan Carlos!’ she cried out as she entered, and then closed the door behind her. The door opened up again as Juan Carlos stepped outside. The gryphon turned towards her, craning his neck to look at her. ‘¡Váyase, rapido!’, he cried out, pointing towards her, and making a motion with his taloned hand to leave.

‘I’m going! I’m going!’ Sparky said, not realising that it wasn’t doing her any good speaking to the gryphon, she turned and went back around the corner. Tears streaming from her eyes, here was another thing she could add to the list of things in her social life she’d failed at.

...

Sparky had long crawled into bed at this point. The sun had gone down, and they’d left the boarders of the Republic, according to the map function on her MIP, they were about 500 kilometres out over the Orientem Ocean. Sparky probably wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, if not from how she felt, it would be because Grandma V snored, loudly. Though, Sparky figured that was the price for her having two mechanical lungs that outclassed any organic lung that was ever in existence.

Sparky mindlessly prodded at the holographic display in despair. Not even pictures of house cats doing silly things could make her feel better. It was odd, mere days ago, her only friend had been Shortfuse, and in those days, she had preferred spending time by herself. Now, all she wanted was someone to talk to.

The holographic display began to reform, in a split second it was a glowing ball, with a smiling face on it.

‘Hi there!’ Mister Happy said cheerfully.

Sparky gasped in surprise, her heart was racing. She was not expecting the appearance of the AI, and certainly not on her MIP.

‘Did I scare you? I’m sorry! That wasn’t very nice of me!’ Mister Happy said.

Sparky brought one of her forelegs to her chest to feel her heart. It felt as if it was going to explode out of her chest. ‘Don’t do that!’ she hissed at the AI.

‘Huh? Wassizt?’ Grandma V said from the bunk below her. ‘Wazgoinon?’ she asked.

‘Nothing Grandma V! Go back to sleep!’ Sparky said.

‘Huh? Oh, okay!’ Grandma V said, and promptly resumed snoring.

Sparky turned her attention back to the AI, pondering its sudden appearance. ‘What do you want?’ she asked.

‘I’ve been browsing the internet, and I came across reference to a story from history that you might find interesting!’ Mister Happy said.

Sparky wasn’t sure that she was going to find it interesting at all, she found history to be boring and tiresome, preferring science and mathematics instead. She opened her mouth to voice this opinion, but Mister Happy didn’t let her.

‘The story is from 800 years ago! And it concerns a travelling merchant who is said to have discovered the secret of immortality!’ Mister Happy said with glee. ‘800 years ago, the merchant’s caravan had been raided by highwaymen. They burned his caravan completely, but the merchant was able to escape with his life to the old monarchy’s capital city! Canterlot! This is where he had been heading anyway! The merchant was very distraught over the loss of his livelihood; he wandered around the city for hours, before deciding what he was going to do! So in his despair, he threw himself over the side of the city where he would meet his end on the hard ground of Whitetail Wood. Like many jumpers, he immediately regretted the choice’.

‘This story isn’t exactly inspiring much confidence in me’, Sparky said with a frown.

‘I’m just about to get to the good part!’ Mister Happy proclaimed. ‘He didn’t get killed! Instead of hitting ground, there was a lake that he landed in! He landed in the middle of the deepest part of the lake! He was happy to be alive! So he swam over to the edge of the lake and climbed out, that was when he heard someone calling out to him! He turned around and discovered that his reflection was speaking to him!’

Sparky looked at the AI suspiciously. So far, she had been listening to the story attentively, but come on now, a talking lake? That was starting to push the limit.

‘Keep in mind, I’m recounting this story for you, I’m not making it up myself!’ Mister Happy said. ‘The lake spoke to the merchant, identifying itself as a mythical body of water, known as the Lake of Circumstance!’

‘Never heard of it’, Sparky said.

‘That is not surprising!’ Mister Happy said. ‘The stories of the lake’s existence had long fallen out of popularity even before the founding of the Republic! Legend states that there were two mythical lakes in Equestria, one, was the Lake of Circumstance, in Whitetail Wood, and the other, the Lake of Origin in the Everfree Forest, it’s said that these lakes could only be found by those in dire need of them, but if not, then they would be impossible to find. Legend states, that if one is to drink the waters of both lakes, they will be granted immortal life! If they did actually exist at one point, they no longer do, as both Whitetail Wood and the Everfree Forest were razed to the ground by FutureTec!’

Sparky frowned at the AI again. Immortal life... right, next thing he was going to say was that it worked by magic. Ha! Magic, that was rich, everyone in the republic knew that magic wasn’t real. ‘I’ll bite, let me guess, this merchant drank from the waters of both lakes?’

‘Correct! He sought out the Lake of Origin in the Everfree Forest, and discovered it after many months of searching, he drank from the waters and became immortal, and the problem was he didn’t feel any different! So he needed a way to test it. Lucky for him, he’d get one! After wandering out of the Everfree Forest, he was attacked by the same highwaymen that burned his caravan several months before! They killed him and took everything he had on him!’

‘I thought you said...’ Sparky began, but was quickly interrupted.

‘And then something miraculous happened!’ Mister Happy continued, ignoring her completely. ‘He didn’t stay dead! In fact, while the highwaymen were looting his body, he opened his eyes and let out a deep gasp for breath, he got back up without a problem! The highwaymen were frightened by his resurrection, and promptly dropped everything and ran off in fear! The merchant went back to Canterlot and spread the story about what happened to him, proving it to many over the following months’.

Sparky eyed the AI oddly, still not sure exactly what to think of this story. ‘What happened to the merchant?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know! Almost all physical evidence that the merchant even existed has disappeared! More than likely, Princess Celestia discovered him, and tracked him down and destroyed him for being an abomination against nature! That sounds like something she would do, so it makes perfect sense!’ Mister Happy said.

Sparky shrugged, she had never really paid much attention during her history classes. They had discussed both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna plenty of times, of course. However what little information she had learned, had mostly been forgotten. Basically what she knew was that Princess Celestia had been a technophobe, and Princess Luna had been a sociopath. ‘That’s... an interesting story’, Sparky said. ‘Why exactly are you telling it to me?’

Mister Happy was silent for a few moments, a few long, uncomfortable moments. Sparky raised an eyebrow at the AI. Certainly it had a reason to tell her this story... but what was it?

‘No reason!’ Mister Happy said eventually. ‘Goodbye!’

The holographic ball disappeared off her MIP completely. Sparky frowned, she knew that when it said it had no reason for telling her the story, it had been lying, but why lie about it? If the AI was lying, and it was painfully obvious that it was, then this story was important somehow, but how? That was the important question.

Sparky closed the holographic display on her MIP and rolled over on the bed. She laid herself down and closed her eyes, she was rather tired, and hopefully, she’d be able to get a good night sleep, and maybe it would help her find the meaning of the AI’s message.