Cared About
Dream Runner's body felt heavy when he came to. From somewhere, he could hear muffled voices speaking to him. Fuzzy shapes filled his vision as he began to open his eyes. The voices started to become clearer at the same time his eyes adjusted to the light. In a matter of moments he saw three ponies standing over him with looks of worry stuck to their faces. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and a third pony he didn't know were peering down at him. Something didn't make sense. One second, he was walking with Twilight into the library, and in the next second, well, this. It was all so confusing, so he decided to ask, "What happened?"
Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but Pinkie Pie's mouth was a tad faster.
"When you came in we all yelled 'surprise!' for your Welcome to Ponyville Party, and you were so excited you passed out!" The pink pony exclaimed happily. "Then again, it's probably my fault. This is one of the biggest parties I've ever thrown! It's almost as big as the one I threw for—"
Pinkie Pie was muted out by a cupcake shoved into her mouth by the third pony in the group. "Here Pink, I think you need a sugar break."
"MMMMM!" She squealed with delight.
"Sorry Dream." Twilight gave him a hoof up. "I forgot about Pinkie Pie's eagerness to welcome new ponies. When we came in…well, you didn't even make it past the lights coming on."
Dream didn't say anything. He was too busy looking around at the army of welcoming ponies staring at him. He whimpered quietly.
The blue unicorn that had shoved the cupcake into Pinkie's mouth turned around to face the crowd. "Okay, everypony! Nothing to see here, go back to partying!"
They all obliged and dispersed into a swarm of disorganized chatter and socializing. Somepony pushed the play button on a stereo. A happy tune was thrown into the air. Many of the ponies started dancing to the music.
Dream, however, was one of the ponies that didn't move much. As a matter of fact he hopped around to the other side of Twilight and hid behind her. He gave the lavender unicorn a terrified expression.
And to think about all the progress we were making with his socialness today…She thought disappointedly.
"Twilight…" He said uneasily.
"Yes, Dream?"
"Since you're a unicorn, can you make me disappear please?"
To be honest, she didn't know whether to laugh or feel even worse for the colt. She answered with a frown, "Sorry, Dream Runner, but I can't."
"Oh…" He looked down sadly.
"Dream…would you like to meet some of my other friends?" Twilight tried. "I promise no pony will hurt you."
He nodded his head slowly. All of Twilight's friends were nice so far, so shouldn't the rest be too?
She smiled warmly. Looking around the library, she spotted Bon Bon conversing with Berry Punch and Roseluck near a nonfiction shelf. Dream looked over her shoulder and saw the trio of ponies laughing joyously.
"Follow me, Dream", she coaxed, trying her best to ignore his panic stricken face. She led the way through the crowd and to the three friends.
Dream followed as closely alongside her as he could. His whole side was touching hers. She didn't mind much, but Twilight knew he wouldn't be very sociable if he kept using her as a shield. She needed a way to get him to leave her side. You can't make friends if you're somepony's shadow.
"Hey, Twilight", Bon Bon greeted happily. She saw Dream Runner hiding behind the unicorn. "Aren't you the new arrival?"
He nodded meekly.
Twilight put a hoof to her mouth. "He's very shy", she whispered.
"Well, I have the perfect cure for that!" Bon Bon reached into her saddlebag and pulled three candies from it. They were blue, red, and yellow with different symbols printed to their wrappers.
She held them out to the jittery Pegasus. "Here ya go!"
Dream's ear twitched. He hesitantly took the treats from the Earth Pony and deposited them into his satchel. "…Thanks. Uh, I really like candy."
Twilight suppressed a giggle. "Dream Runner, I'd like you to meet Bon Bon, Berry Punch, and Roseluck. They own some of the most successful shops in Ponyville. Girls, I would like to introduce you to Dream Runner. He's an explorer."
"Ooh, tha's real intresting", Berry Punch stated. "I used to acksplore a tad bit meself. Never was very good…"
The Pegasus perked up a little. "Well…" Dream started, "I'm more of a cave and ruins explorer. Like a myth hunter."
"I think my cousin did something like that before botany", Rose contributed. "He went with archeological teams though."
Dream steadily became more interested in these ponies. Between the small amount of exploring and the sweets, he found that these ponies were quite the company. He even poked his head above Twilight to talk with them. Of course he did keep his unicorn shield between them. The five ponies managed to keep up the conversation for several more minutes before they were out of relevant topics.
Twilight then dragged Dream around the library in an attempt to meet more ponies. She couldn't get him to talk as much with them, and that's about when Twilight got an idea about how to separate herself from him from a while. He needed to be alone for a few minutes. He might even find somepony to talk to.
"Hey, Dream, I…have to go use the little filly's room", she said with an embarrassed smile.
The color left the Pegasus's face. "O-okay", he replied weakly.
Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. "Don't worry Dream, nothing is going to happen to you."
He put all of his might into forcing a smile for her. She smiled back and then left him in the middle of the library. Dream peered around. Many of the guests were paying him no mind as they enjoyed themselves. However, there was another Pegasus eying him from across the library.
Cloud was watching Dream Runner through the mess of ponies as he talked to Rainbow Dash, who was resting her head on the desert table. "You're saying you—" Cloud began.
"Yeah." Rainbow's voice had every bit of sadness in it.
"And that he's—"
"Yeah."
"And now you want to—"
"Yes, Cloud!" Rainbow cried. "I told you what happened. And that's that."
"Then go yourself. I think it'll mean more if you do", Cloud suggested. He sipped his punch.
"Cloud, you weren't there. You didn't see what I did to him." Rainbow sniffled.
No he wasn't there, but he knew that if Rainbow was feeling this guilty, then it must have been really, really bad. The black and gray pony sighed. "Rainbow Dash. An apology stinks if it doesn't come from the pony that needs to say it. Trust me. I'm pretty sure he'll forgive you."
The mare looked at her hooves. "I don't know if I can…"
Cloud put a hoof to his chin as he thought about a good threat to get her moving. He smiled evilly when one came to mind. "If you don't I'll tell the whole library about the hooficure you got yesterday."
Rainbow Dash's head jerked up. With a glare she said, "You know I would never, ever—"
"Yeah", Cloud laughed, "I know. But does everypony else, Miss Shiny Hooves?" His eyes watched her challengingly.
She backed down. "Fine", she sighed angrily, "you win."
"As always."
Rainbow growled at him.
Dream Runner watched as Rainbow Dash left the stallion's side and walked towards him. He seized up, having no clue what her intentions were. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew her—somewhat—he would have quit breathing. He saw her weave in and out of several ponies before breaking an eight feet radius from him. It was then he saw how sad she looked. Confusion now set in replacement of panic. Why…
She finally made it to him after what seemed like hours for them both. Then she just sat there for several seconds before speaking. "Uh, h-hey, Dream Runner…" she said to the ground.
"Hello again, Rainbow Dash", he barely whispered.
More silence ensued. Rainbow glanced at him between looks at the floor and the black Pegasus in the back.
When Dream finally chose to say something, Rainbow interrupted him.
"Look, about earlier", she said. "I just wanna say sorry…"
"Oh", he replied, "It's okay Rai—"
"No it isn't", she interjected quickly. "I want to make it up to you."
"You don't—"
"Yes I do", she interrupted again. She thought back to the scene. If that had happened to her, she would be completely destroyed inside. "What I did…it was so uncool. I mean, like, really, really uncool."
Figuring he probably didn't have a choice, he asked, "How could you make it up to me?"
Rainbow hesitated. "I…I want to teach you how to fly."
Dream froze. At that point he was sure he had a moment of delusion. "W-what?" he squeaked.
She changed her approach. "I'm going to teach you how to fly", she proclaimed.
The colt shut his eyes tightly in disbelief. "I-I don't believe you", he said queasily. Something was making him feel sick, and he couldn't fight it or the feelings it was bringing him.
"What? Why?" Rainbow stood up.
In angry sadness, he answered, "Why would anypony teach me something like that? What did I do to deserve such kindness?" Tears creeped from his eyes as he waited for her answer. "Tell me!"
Rainbow Dash was lost for words. What was happening here? Shouldn't he be happy? Did she do something wrong?
Gritting his teeth, he stood up too. "I thought so." He opened his eyes when he turned his back to her. In his way stood a bewildered, almost scared Twilight.
"Are you okay, Dream?" she inquired cautiously. He was apparently having a mental breakdown in response to Rainbow's offer. But why?
His realization of her presence cracked something deep inside of him. Dream Runner could feel his heart rate picking up. All of a sudden everything around him went blurry. Time slowed down as he gazed around the distorted library. The lights were running together and blending into everything else until he felt himself falling. For how long he was in the air he couldn't have been sure. An enormous boom echoed around him when his heavy body hit the floor. Somepony screamed something, but he couldn't understand what it was. His heartbeat thundered in his eardrums. The world around him faded away. He couldn't even begin to imagine what was going to happen next. Not even a single thought could make itself form. A second later, his mind was filled with darkness.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Dream Runner shot out of his sleep. His hooves flailed wildly in an effort get out of wherever it was he woke up. His body was then forced to freeze.
"Dream Runner calm down!"
The voice belonged to Twilight. Dream saw her standing beside the bed he was desperate to leave. Her horn was glowing with magic aura. Even though her shout was stern, Dream still sensed care behind it. When it appeared he was no longer hyperventilating, Twilight dropped the force field.
He slumped back into the bed. More tears filled his eyes. It wasn't long before he was crying hard. "T-Twilight I'm so sorry!"
"Sssshhhhh Dream. It wasn't your fault." Twilight held out a hoof to him. To her satisfaction, he didn't move away. He only gave her a look of sorrow.
"H-how could it not be my f-fault?" he sniffled.
"You had a mild panic attack. All of the stress of the party just compiled and got to you…" Twilight explained. "You really scared everypony. They'll all be happy to know that you're okay."
"T-they w-will? W-why?"
Twilight recoiled in surprise. "Well, because they all care about you Dream. I mean, who wouldn't care about a friend?"
He didn't reply. He only shifted uncomfortably.
Twilight didn't know what to say to make him feel better. She knew that he was very unstable and anything could set him off again. She looked down at the bed, feeling defeated.
"Twilight."
"Yes, Dream?" She raised her head to meet his eyes. They were red with crusted tears.
"How long have I been out?"
"About an hour. Why?"
"I want to help clean up the party downstairs." He scooted over to get out of bed.
Twilight stepped in his way. "You need rest Dream. Besides, Pinkie Pie would never allow it."
As if on cue, the pink pony popped her head up the stairs. On instinct, Twilight whipped around and threw a magic field over her mouth. She quickly crossed the room to the energetic ball of pink. "Pinkie, please don't be very loud. Dream is very sensitive right now." Celestia that was asking the impossible!
Pinkie Pie nodded comprehensively. Twilight let her go and they both trotted back to Dream. "Twilight's right."
"About…?" Dream tilted his head curiously.
"Under the Pinkie Pie Party Guidelines Chapter Eight Section Five Subsection Cupcake: parties are to be cleaned up by only the party planner—that's me—and not the party celebratee—that's you." Pinkie Pie explained happily.
"Are you sure?" Dream asked. "I mean, I kinda ruined it…"
"No pony ruins a Pinkie Pie Party!" she chirped. "Everypony still had fun! And they'll have even more fun when I tell them you're okay!"
With the way she was getting fired up, Twilight knew she had to do something. "Okay, Pinkie Pie, I think Dream Runner needs to rest now." The unicorn put her hoof on her fellow Element's shoulder.
"Oki Doki Loki! Nighty night, Dream!" She didn't wait for a reply before bouncing back down the stairs to finish cleaning.
Dream thought about what happened before he passed out. Hesitantly, he asked, "Twilight is Rainbow Dash still here?"
"No, Pinkie Pie was the last one here. It's just you and me now."
"What about Spike?"
"He's staying at Applejack's for the night."
"Oh. Well, anyway, could you tell Rainbow Dash something for me?"
"Sure thing. What is it?"
"I'll take her up on her offer. I mean, if she still wants to teach me how to fly…"
Inside, Twilight's heart nearly held a parade. She nodded vigorously. "I'll get right on it, Dream."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." She rushed down the stairs to deliver the message.
Now by himself, Dream closed his eyes. He recapped the day's events. From meeting Twilight's friends to having a whole party thrown for him…it was almost as if he was in a fairytale. And even if he was, it was better than his old life. On the nightstand by his bed sat his satchel. He reached over and pulled it to him. To avoid injury, he only delved his hoof into it. He withdrew the four items he acquired in the day.
He first looked at the Emotion Orb. He removed it from its case. His gaze fell on the box as he searched its lid for the name of the orb. "Aha!" Engraved in the lid was a very odd marking. He flipped the box around so that the ancient language was right-side-up. He stared at the word until he deciphered it. "Huh…I was wrong." He placed the orb back into the box and snapped it shut. "What a coincidence." A mental note formed in his short term memory bank. From then on he would refer to that particular orb as the Orb of Compassion.
Now he focused his attention on the candies he received from Bon Bon. He wasn't in the mood to eat them, but just looking at them made him feel content. The fact that a pony had given them to him just to make him feel better was a new, wonderful experience. He smiled at his new treasures happily. Just as his satchel made it to the surface of the nightstand, Twilight ascended the stairs again.
She didn't say anything. She only walked up to him. He saw her troubled expression.
She sighed, "Dream…I was hoping I wouldn't have to, but I have a few questions I need to ask."
He stared at her blankly. "What questions?"
"About today." She slid a chair to the bed. "I'm very confused about your behavior."
"What about it?"
"Well, you keep switching from nervous and scared to happy and energetic. Like in the antique shop. Why is that?"
He thought about his answer. "I don't know really. Back in the shop all I could think about was looking for a rare piece of treasure. I didn't really think about being scared."
She nodded. "And in the meadow, why did you run away?"
He already knew the answer to that one. "Shame really. That and I'm used to running away from my problems. I didn't mean to, but instinct took over." He shifted uncomfortably.
"Okay, next one."
"What is it?"
"In the park. Why did you tell me why you can't fly? You barely know me."
He didn't answer immediately. "…I…I trust you Twilight. For some reason I know you won't laugh or be mean to me."
"Last one."
He nodded. "Earlier at the party. Why did—"
"I get mad", he interrupted. After she nodded, he explained, "I don't know…When Rainbow Dash offered I didn't know what to think. Something deep down just snapped."
Twilight didn't get it. Nothing made sense according to what she knew about basic psychology. If she wasn't so tired, she would definitely have gone down to research it.
"And Twilight."
"Yes?"
"Believe it or not", he said, "I'm trying my hardest not to be such a coward." Before she could ask why, he answered, "I feel like I can find courage here in Ponyville."
She remained quiet. She didn't know what to say as she tried to process everything. She decided to just sleep on it. It would all come together in time. Things like this usually did. Or at least that's what she had read before. Putting it to the back of her mind, she told him, "I think we could both use some rest. After all, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow with your first flight lesson."
"Okay, Twilight", he said drowsily. "I'm starting to get pretty tired anyway."
"Me too. It's been a pretty crazy day." Twilight giggled.
"That's right", he agreed. He lay back down with a yawn.
Twilight saw an opening and she took it. She pushed the blanket underneath the colt. She made sure to take extra care in tucking him in. Both of them were blushing madly by the time she returned the favor. Neither of them said anything for a few seconds; they only enjoyed the moment.
"Thanks." Dream said sheepishly. His now violet face was burning fiercely, but he barely noticed. He could only think about the happiness he saw in Twilight's eyes. It might have been his drowsiness, but he could have sworn that her eyes were twinkling.
Twilight looked right back into his. The warm brown held a new peace in them. Not like the first time she looked into them. Her smile grew with the time she stared into his brown eyes. Bashfully, she looked away. "Good night, Dream", she said giddily.
"Night Twilight." He watched as she walked to her bed and used her magic to turn out the lights. With a last glance at her darkened body, he lay back down. It's settled,, he thoughtonce again remembering everything that happened in the day, I'm staying. He waited until his drowsiness was getting the best of him before succumbing to sleep. Just before he entered the first stage, he quietly whispered, "Twilight."
In the realm of dreams, Dream walked on in silence. Only the echo of his hoofsteps kept him company. The blankness of the world around him wasn't unfamiliar, though it had been some time since he had gotten to experience it. He had always wondered why dreams had to come into focus instead of appearing instantly. It didn't make much sense to him. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the edges of the empty space around him began to change color.
The colors divided and spread as if somepony were painting a picture. Dream watched them mix until he found himself in a forest. Light shone through the treetops and littered the ground with specs of warmth. A warm breeze drifted in from behind Dream. He turned to face it. The wind barely ruffled his mane, but he didn't mind. It still felt nice to be in a good dream for once. A bit of joy found him and, with a skip in his step, he trotted his way through the forest.
He walked and walked without a care. It no longer mattered to him why he was there. It only mattered that he wasn't going to be a slave to his dreams this night. He only felt the slightest bit guilty when he remembered that he had entered another pony's dream without asking for permission. He stopped.
"Speaking of…" Dream looked around for the very pony he was dreamsdropping on. The dream had only been fully materialized for only five minutes, but he still should have seen her by now. He broke off into a run. Paranoia started to grab the back of his mind with thoughts of how he may have messed the process up. For every new thought that formed, about another two miles were added to his speed.
"Go Dream! You can do it!"
The Pegasus skidded to a halt. That outburst put his fears to rest, but now he was thoroughly confused. He couldn't see anypony. And even if he could, there was no way he could have been seen. That must mean…
"Sh-she's dreaming about me…" The words left his mouth in disbelieving amazement.
More cheers of encouragement floated through the air. Dream decided to follow them. He was curious to see exactly what was going on. The shouts got louder when he finally found where they were coming from. The trees started to thin out. He saw that they kept thinning until the forest opened out into a clearing. He immediately recognized it as the meadow from the day before. He spotted Twilight at the top of the hill they had sat when he met Rainbow Dash. She was looking up towards the sky when he saw her. Dream followed her gaze.
What he saw took every ounce of breath from his lungs. There were three other ponies in the dream. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were both in the air kicking a beach ball back and forth. The final pony was him. He was in the air as well, waiting for the ball to come his way. He couldn't believe it. He was flying.
He walked up to the hill and sat beside Twilight. He watched himself play the ballgame with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. He and Rainbow Dash competed for the coolest trick passes, while Fluttershy focused on just getting the ball to the next pony. Friendly laughter came from the four ponies. Dream watched how happy his abstract self was. How his smile wasn't forced…
"She must really want me to fly…" He thought aloud.
"Hey, Twilight!" The flying Dream called. "Catch!"
Twilight stood and readied herself for the ball. She dipped low and bounced the ball high off her head. It sailed over the three Pegasi. Rainbow flew after it and backflip kicked it back down to Dream. He put his hooves together and launched it to Fluttershy.
Now all four of them were enjoying the game. Dream watched in wonder. It was so weird seeing himself. Even more so since he was flying. The scene made him feel livelier. He felt his spirit soar beyond anything he had ever felt before.
"Twilight…" he said to the unresponsive mare. After that he didn't know what else to say. He didn't know where he wanted to go with his words, so he fell silent his gaze dropped to his hooves, but the smile never left his face.
"Dream Runner!"
He jumped. He looked up from his hooves to see himself flying down to Twilight.
"What is it Twilight?"
"I wanted to give you something", she said nervously.
He cocked his head to the side. "What is it?"
"I've been doing some research and…" she began.
"Yes?" Both Dreams leaned forward expectantly.
"I wanted to give you something as a celebration gift for earning your wings."
"What is it?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she reached behind her and pulled out of nowhere a silver case. She levitated out to the abstract Dream. He opened it to reveal a small, golden orb.
Both Dreams gasped. "Which one is it?" he asked excitedly.
"It's—"
Nothing else happened. Time stopped in the middle of Twilight's sentence. The dream around him started to fade into black. He didn't say anything in his disappointment. He merely witnessed the dream come to a close. The only sound now was his sigh. Morning was coming, but for once, he was looking forward to it.
Dream awoke slowly when morning crept through the windows of Twilight's bedroom. He felt completely relaxed, so he decided to close his eyes again and sleep in. No sooner were they closed did he feel something else land on top of the bed with him. He tried his best to ignore it. That became difficult after whatever it was started to move closer to him. Dream sighed and opened his eyes to find an owl was looking him directly in the eyes.
"Hoot!"
"Wah!" He jumped and fell off the opposite side of the bed. He owl hopped over and peered down at him curiously.
"How did you get in?" Dream asked, a little annoyed.
"Hoo?"
"You. How did you—" He stopped. "I'm talking to an owl." He shook his head. "And now I'm talking to myself."
He stood up and was about to shoo the bird away when he noticed a letter clutched in its talons. Owlowiscious held it out to him. He took it and unfolded the paper. To himself, he read:
Good morning, Dream,
I take it you've met Owlowiscious. I hope he didn't scare you with his way of sneaking up on ponies. I woke up and didn't want to wake you, so I'm already downstairs waiting. I have a surprise for you so hurry!
Dream folded the note up and put it in his satchel. He slipped it on and quickly made the bed. He glanced back at Owlowiscious. "Uh…here boy?"
"Hoot!" He flew across the room and landed on Dream's back.
Dream shrugged and made his way downstairs. It wasn't as bright as the first morning, but that was only because he had opened all of the windows the day before. It also seemed a little colder.
"Hey, Twilight!" he greeted brightly upon seeing the unicorn. Owlowiscious flew from Dream's back to his perch near Spike's writing table.
She smiled brightly and hopped off the reading chair to cross over to him. She giggled.
A blush crossed Dream's cheeks and nose. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing", she laughed, "…Bedhead!"
"Huh?"
Twilight continued to laugh as she levitated a mirror up to the colt. He knew why she was laughing when he saw that his mane was now sticking out every which way and now the pink strip in his mane had somehow managed to turn and was now running horizontally. He sighed. "It always does that", he sighed. He lifted a hoof to the top of his head to straighten it out.
"Here, I'll get it." Twilight levitated her brush from upstairs. Before Dream could object, Twilight pushed the brush into his messy mane. He blushed deeper with every stroke. He doubted Twilight could right his mane out with the brush, but letting her brush it was strangely relaxing. She even took the time to brush the back of it.
"There you go!" She held up the mirror for him to see.
He gasped at what he saw. Twilight had played a trick on him. His mane was fashioned to look just like hers! Pure red overtook his face when Twilight started laughing hysterically at his shock. Alarmed, he frantically ruffled his mane and shook his head fiercely. It only took two seconds for him to get his mane back to normal. Meanwhile, Twilight had nearly laughed herself to hiccups.
He mumbled uncomfortably, "…Good one."
"I'm sorry Dream I couldn't help myself", she chortled.
"It's okay. I appreciate a good laugh every once in a while. If I manage to stay long enough you might get to see my humor." He smiled, his blush now faded into a cute pink on his cheeks.
Twilight grew her own blush as she thought about adorable he looked. They both stood there in awkward silence.
Dream broke it. "So, uh, you said you had a surprise?"
"Oh", Twilight said in realization, "Yep, I made you breakfast!"
With a warm omelet in his stomach, Dream grabbed his satchel from the back of the chair he sat in. "That sure was good!"
"Thanks." Twilight levitated his plate into the kitchen sink. "Spike usually does the cooking, but I like to make a meal or two when I can."
"Thank you, Twilight, you're a really good cook", Dream complimented. He climbed out of the chair. All of the kindness he was receiving gave him a new feeling, but he didn't know what it was. It was so weird, feeling it for the first time. Almost as if…he thought.
"You ready?"
He flinched out of his thoughts. "Huh?" He looked back to Twilight, who was getting ready to leave. "Ready for what?"
"You have a very big day ahead of you", she answered with a huge smile.
"I do?" What was she talking about?
"Yup, today is the day of your first flying lesson!" she cheered.
Mixed emotions hit Dream like a tidal wave. At first he felt panic as he thought about who would be teaching him and her expectations. Then he felt joy at the thought of finally learning to get in the air. And finally fear when he thought the possibility of still not being able to fly even with somepony to teach him.
Despite what he was feeling, Dream smiled for Twilight and nodded.
As she lead the way out, he thought, If not for anything else, for her…