//------------------------------// // Soft Hearted Slumber // Story: Wake Up // by StarRibbon //------------------------------// "I-I'm sure you'll figure something, Twi," Spike tried to reassure, his eyes never leaving the book once. "You always have an answer in the end." Twilight hadn't responded, her mouth agape, staring at the book hopelessly. Rarity, however nodded, deciding to detach her view from the book. "Spike's right, dear, I'm sure we'll come up with something that could change this course." Twilight sighed deeply, frowning as she glares. She slumps over, her wings falling helplessly to the sides. "This could have been it, this really could have been what ended everything." Twilight muttered softly, more to herself than to anypony else. Rarity and Spike exchanged meaningful glances with eachother in silent agreement. "That can't simply be the only spellbook dedicated to dreams," Rarity urged. "Maybe we can find another one. It can't be..uh..too difficult." Twilight, however, turned slowly towards her, bursting forward with energy that was gone just before. "I can't just FIND another book on dream catching!" Twilight yelled at her, glaring before Rarity slinked back. Her form becoming small as she could as the distraught alicorn pelted her from anger. "It was hard enough to even find THAT one! How can I find one at this time of day? Or any day fr that matter?" Spike nervously walked to her, a claw pulling her down. "Twilight, isn't there a library in Canterlot?" Spike suggested, eyeing Rarity with worry. "I'm sure you could find it there-and now that you're a princess, I'm sure Celestia would even let you in the Forbidden Archives!" Twilight stared ahead, thoughts flying at high speeds. If a small town library had such a rare find, wouldn't a massive library such as that have such a find too? She paused as she went over the logistics of the possibility. The chances that it could follow her there are..she didn't know. She didn't even know what it possibly was. Was it worth heading over for a book that rare? She scrunched her nose. Ponyville could be forced into sleep by the time it was found there, and by that time it could be too late! "Is the risk worth it?" She mumbled as Rarity sighed in relief, picking herself up from the previous encounter. "Twilight..?" Rarity asked gently as she moved towards her friend. Twilight shook her head. "If we head to Canterlot now..." Spike tried again. Twilight shook her head as she glanced his way. "Its too big of a chance, Spike, "She reasons before turning back. With magic to her disposal, she pulls out a scroll, levitating it to view. "By the time we get there, who knows what could be of Ponyville? All for a book we might not find there in the first place. Its too big of a risk for us to take." "What are you trying now, if I may ask?" Twilight handed the scroll to Spike along with an ink and quill. Spike groaned. He knew the task before even getting the answer. "I may not be a student anymore, but my only option is to send a letter. Hopefully, Luna might know the spell or something close to it. Though..." She begun to doubt it. It was crafted after Luna's revolt- the ponies lacked protection within the night. Four unicorns acted as guards throughout the years, acting like a replacement for the dream wielding alicorn. "..it was made after her revolt.." "How so?" Twilight, using magic, projected the images with quality that only magic could offer. On the grid, four unicorns, two mares, two stallions, were at the center. "After Luna's revolt, ponies were lost. They were vulnerable in the night, lacking protection. As a result, the ponies began to become distressed. Plants wouldn't grow properly, the skies couldn't be cleared, magic couldn't fully be performed..." Twilight trailed off, demonstrating. "When plants die of disease or don't grow the correct manners, they can be susceptible to diseases of all kinds. The one that got to the ponies before all else happened to be the Cutie Pox. These years were considered the worst years by far and lasts about 20 years into the Celestia era." "The Cutie Pox destroyed towns, cities even. It created mass hysteria that ended up with ponies doing some...unsavory...things to others," Twilight shivered. She remembered hearing a story about the town in the Everfree-the cursed town that was forced to forever be in a party over a mistake they committed. An unholy mistake, but a mistake nevertheless. All after a little filly gained her cutie mark. She briefly glanced at her own, thankful. "This was when four unicorns stepped up, crafting spells that would help protect the ponies from further harm. These ponies created the dream spells. That's why Luna has such poor grasp on them. She only knows the spells she mastered and made. It didn't help that entering dreams was a surprisingly difficult concept to grasp, only those that have the talent dealing with it-and by extension, magic, would be able to even cast the spells. Take into consideration that unicorns were losing their magic abilities, the fact that unicorns make only a third of the population, and that it was even rarer for a pony to have such a talent in the first place." "Why write to them then?" Rarity asked, giving a sheepish grin. "I didn't mean to sound rude but-" "Its a perfectly valid reason," Twilight nodded. "I...I might get more information from her. Its worth a shot, isn't it?" Spike mumbled softly, finally done with the letter at hoof. He smiled and checked it over once before placing a seal with Twilight's mark on it. He took a big breath of air, his chest puffing out, and shot his dragon fire at the target. "Its been sent, " Spike confirmed with a smile. However, the smile disappeared with a belch replacing it with a scroll simply popping out. He gave out a cry of pain before collapsing in a huff from the letter being sent. Rarity gave him a worrying glance before peering over Twilight's shoulder, eager to see the message that was just given. "Well, go on! Read it!" Rarity urged. "Did she-" Twilight concentrated for a moment, glaring at the page. "Shush, I'm trying to!" Twilight shushed. Dear Princess Twilight, We have received your note regarding the concerns of the citizens of Ponyville. We used everything at our disposal. However, nothing looks promising at this point in time. Our dream spells have little effect on the ponies. In fact, it states no ponies are sleeping! Its rubbish! Through this, we gained many useful and key information that we shall state eye to eye. Its a matter of high importance, we can not simply write in quill and ink for this. This phenomenon became the concern for princesses, and as such, we shall meet you in the palace at three. We shall see you soon. Sincerely, Princess Luna, Ruler of the Night and Equestria. Twilight glanced at the page, looking towards it as if she hadn't read that right. Surely, she hasn't read it right. Just how great was the impact? Was there other places suffering from the same ill fate? Her stomach drops again a few stories, unsettled just by the notion. "Do..you think...there are other ponies like this?" Rarity asked the inevitable. Twilight simply glanced her way, her face forming into one of sorrow. "I...I don't know Rarity.." She admitted, placing the scroll down where she originally got it. "I don't know anymore..I just thought it was here..." Spike worriedly shot her look before hugging his mentor. He knew she would act like this and he knew the remedy for something like it. "We both know you'll figure out the answer," Spike said, reassuring the purple alicorn. She sniffled a bit before frowning. "I..I don't have the answer this tim-" Spike instantly shot up at that, frowning at her. He'd heard this before, but this time, it wouldn't last as long. Rarity shot in a glance filled with worry at the action. He waved her off, nodding and knowing. "Remember when Discord turned everypony against you?" Spike asked, lifting up her chin. She tilted her head, her eyes staring into his, perplexed. "You came home, ready to pack your belongings and leave to a new place. Do you know what happened next?" "Celestia gave me letters..." "She gave you a reminder, Twilight, like we are trying to do. In the end, you found the answer. Remember when you thought the same way at the Crystal Empire? Canterlot Royal Wedding? The time when you swapped around everyone's cutie marks?" Twilight paused, frowning. "Yes but-" "You solved everyone of those problems," Spike's voice grew determined. "You ALWAYS came up with an answer for those situations, and they aren't nearly as horrible as this one. If you could beat Chrysalis, Discord, Sombra, and even out perform Star Swirl, you can't possibly suggest you can't beat this!" Twilight started smiling again, getting up as her spirit recharged. "You're right, Spike, I can't give up! We have to find the answer!" Twilight's voice grew confident as she spoke. "Thank you for reminding me." "Its nothing really," Spike blushed. "I'm going to help you. You're my friend." "What you did really means a lot, Spikey," Rarity smiled, proud of the baby dragon. His blush intensified at the compliment. "A-Aw shucks!" He couldn't form even a sentence after that. Twilight chuckled at the interaction between the two before trotting off to the conference room where 7 chairs were situated around a desk. She pondered for a second, wondering if she can add an additional 3 more. After all, her friends were bound to come with. "While you two do that," Twilight chuckled again, smiling. "I'm going to set the conference room up for the arrival, then send out letters to the other elements. They must show up to this meeting as well." Spike just nodded, hearts flying as he just stared at the white mare. "Do you need any help?" Rarity asked. "I could lend a hoof, you know." Twilight turned her way, nodding. "Maybe it'd take less time if you sent the letters out." Twilight offered, handing scrolls out. Rarity exchanged her own smile as blue magic engulfed the letters easily. "Certainly, I can do that-" Rarity felt a harsh breeze blow against her styled purple mane, tangling it. She cried out a little at the prospect of her mane being damaged in some way, shape, or form, before narrowing her eyes at the source of the breeze. The breeze came from a prismatic mane that flung by her at high velocity. The owner had a cyan coat, her eyes of violet hues. "You certainly know how to make an entrance, Dash." Her words said through clenched teeth. "Sorry Rares," Rainbow frowned, saying apologetically before she turned towards Twilight. Twilight normally saw a cocky grin on there or perhaps a more laid back tone instead. However, replacing both those faces was one of pure terror and panic. "We're in BIG trouble, you guys! You gotta come quick!" "Calm down, Rainbow, what is it?" Twilight asked, worrying for her friend. "I never seen you like this before. I can't go if its anything small. I have to prepare for the princesses arriving to discuss-" Rainbow, however, barely calmed down. She stopped her flight as she sat down on her hunches, sighing out. "This ain't nothing 'small', Twi. Its bigger than big, its HUGE!" Rainbow tossed her arms up. "I decided to check out the school house-not because I was looking for Scootaloo or anything, I'm totally not worried. However, nopony was there. Turns out that Cheerilee...." Rainbow shook her head, tears forming at the base of her eyes before she quickly brushed them off. While Applejack and Rarity barely paid heed to the disappearance, there was no dispute that Rainbow took it harder than most of the others. Twilight briefly considered a search party, but, judging by the harsh tones Applejack and Rarity gave to the notion, she decided against it. She had little knowledge of the events, ponies refused to tell her such. Spike gave her a worried glance. Twilight knew the look-Spike must feel it too. "Why worry about a petty thief?" Rarity huffed at the notion before she instantly regretted her words. Rainbow's glares were nothing but filled with pure rage. "You barely even KNOW her," Rainbow's face contorted with the rage, nudging the unicorn mare. "There has GOT to be a reason behind that your REFUSING to see." Rarity bit back, knowing the result of the confrontation already. Twilight, however, refused to let that occur. She already witnessed physical altercations between Applejack and Rainbow Dash from it, there was no reason she had to get Rarity involved. "Back to the topic at hand," She coughed uncomfortably. "Cheerilee fell victim, correct?" Rainbow just nodded. "But that's not my main concern..." She glanced down. "Big Mac's been helpin' her. I'm sure she'll be okay. Right after that, I went to Fluttershy's cottage to get a kit for Big Mac. She fell hard before she...fell victim." She cleared her throat. "I went over to get the kit...but.." Rainbow's breaths became shallow as if she refuses to believe herself. "I got..distracted..." Twilight's eyes widen. It dawned on her suddenly why Rainbow Dash came in, panicking at the last minute. Rarity backed off, eyes filling to the brim before she fainted. Spike thankfully caught her before she fell. "You can't possibly mean.." "Fluttershy fell under the spell too." Her words had a sudden finality to them that hadn't changed a bit or faltered. Suddenly, the room became soft and quiet. Twilight could only wish the silence could be filled with something, anything other than this. If only she knew how.