//------------------------------//
// The First Equestrian Dream 
// Story: These Dreams of Mine 
// by Little-Miss-Minty 
//------------------------------//

	I was able and willing to be teleported to the land of Equestria, all I had to do was wait until a reasonable bedtime. At around 9:30 PM, I went into my bedroom, and started to prepare to lucid dream. It wasn’t that hard to do it anymore, but it did still take a little bit of time to prepare for a dream. I needed to be focused, I needed to be relaxed, I needed to know what I wanted to dream about, I needed to know what characters I wanted to dream about, and I needed to know the setting of my dream inside and out.

I started to lucid dream using the WILD Method-- Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming. The most vivid dreaming takes place during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) cycle, and that happens a few hours into your sleep. When trying to lucid dream using the WILD Method, you must wake up around five hours into your sleep, stay up for about 45 minutes to an hour, then relax, let your body fall asleep, (make sure your mind stays awake) and then you let your mind sort of… drift off into your dreamscape. It takes a lot of practice just doing this method, but I’ve successfully done it so many times that most of the time I don’t have to set my alarm for 4 in the morning, and I can relax enough while going to sleep at a more normal time. 

I got ready for bed; I brushed my teeth and got my pajamas on. I said a "Goodnight!" to my brother and parents, and snuggled into my bed. Because I really, really wanted to this dream to stay vivid for a while, I meditated for about 20 minutes, focusing on how I wanted to lucid dream, and how I wanted my dream to go.

Soon, I felt my eyes get droopy, wished myself good luck, and I drifted off to sleep...





"Quilla Nink... Quilla Nink..." Twilight cooed into my ear. I was napping under a tree in Ponyville, on a bench. Twilight was sitting next to me. Suddenly, I woke up from my nap, and fluttered open my --quite giant-- eyes.

I looked up, at Twilight. At my friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle! This was a dream come true!

"You know, Quilla, you really need to stop drifting off to sleep every time we sit down for more than 5 minutes! Have you seen a doctor about that? Maybe you should try to go to sleep earlier--"

I grabbed Twilight and hugged her. I felt her soft fur against my mine. Her mane was shining in the sunlight. "Oh, Twilight! It's you! It's really, really you!" I'm pretty sure this was the biggest smile I've ever smiled. Or maybe, it was just because I was a pony, and had a smaller mouth, so a human smile was a large smile for a pony. Or wait-- is a pony's mouth bigger than a human's? I'm not really sure... Anyways, the feeling was absolutely amazing.

Twilight giggled a little. "Yes, it's me. I'm Twilight Sparkle."

I let go of her and proceeded to look at my surroundings. It was an absolutely beautiful day, probably about 70 degrees, fahrenheit. The sun was shining, and ponies of all sorts of colors and ages and body types were passing by. I saw Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon sitting on a bench together, Bon Bon sitting like a horse, and Lyra sitting like a human. I giggled a bit at that. The stony pathways were a wonderful sandy color with tiny sparkles reflecting light, and the grass and leaves on the trees were a stunning bright green. The cottages had cute thatched roofs and brilliant pink doors. This was Ponyville.

Twilight was truly beautiful, too. Her fluffy coat was a brilliant lavender and her indigo, pink, and purple mane reflected the light of the sun. There were a few stray hairs poofing out of her bangs and tail, and her mane and tail bounced whenever she moved. Her ears twitched with each sound and her dark purple eyes had such beautiful detail in them; the sun shone off of them, as well.

"Well, we better get moving. We're meeting the girls in ten minutes, and we can't be late!" Twilight nudged me on the shoulder with her hoof and stood up.

"Oh yes, of course! I almost forgot!" I said, jumping off of the bench. "You may lead the way!" Even though this was my dream, I didn't know where everything in Ponyville was. Even if it was all so fantastic, I didn't really want to get us lost.

"Okay!" Twilight began to maneuver through the streets of Ponyville, and I followed her. I took in every detail I possibly could; all the sights, all the sounds, all the smells. Everything about Ponyville was so wonderful.

Due to my interest in everything, I was starting to lag behind, and I lost sight of Twilight. I ran around, trying to find her, but this made me even more lost. I muddered an "Oh no..."

I looked down, at the beautiful ground, not knowing what to do. Soon, though, I heard a quite familiar voice.

"Oh, Quilla Nink, Darling, what's the matter?"

I looked up, and sure enough, Rarity was standing in front of me. Oh, she was as beautiful as Twilight-- no, even more beautiful. Her eyeshadow sparkled every time she blinked and her marvelous hair sparkled, too. Her pristine white coat practically glowed.

I smiled. "Oh, nothing, really. I was just following Twilight, and then sort of... lost her. I still don't know my way around Ponyville very well." 

Rarity smiled back, and said, "That's no problem! Let me show you the way to Town Square, where we're meeting everypony. Follow me!" Rarity started to trot away, but then looked back. "Just don't lose me like you lost Twilight, okay?" She laughed a little.

I started paying attention to where I was going, rather than to just the tiny details. I made sure to follow Rarity, and soon enough, we got to Town Square.

As soon as Twilight saw me, she bolted over, half running, half flying. "Quilla! I was so worried about you!" The rest of the Mane 6, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Apple Jack, and Pinkie Pie, followed.

Rainbow Dash flew over and bopped Twilight on the head. "And you didn't think about going back and trying to find her?" Rainbow then proceeded to crack up and say, "Some Princess of Friendship you are."

I laughed a little, and Twilight began to (try to) speak. "Rainbow Dash! And-- I've got a lot of things on my mind-- I mean, I have a lot of friends to worry about-- and if I did go back, then we would've been late! And I can't be late! I mean..." Twilight paused and took a breath. "I'm sorry Quilla Nink. Can you forgive me?"

I smiled, and said, "Of course, apology accepted, Twilight."

Pinkie Pie bounced up. Her hair was super bouncy, and a lot more curly than how it seems on the show. Of course, she was wonderful in her own way, too, and smelled sugary-sweet. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go to Sugarcube Corner, and I can make some sweets for everypony!"

"Sounds great, Pinkie!" Apple Jack said with a smile.

Fluttershy just added a small, "Yaaaaay!"

The seven of us trotted to Sugarcube Corner, and Mrs. Cake opened the door. "Oh, come in, girls! It's so nice to see all of you!" 

"It's nice seeing you, too, Mrs. Cake. How are the twins?" I asked. 

"Oh, they're doing wonderfully!" She responded.

I then heard Mr. Cake call out from the kitchen, "It seems like they're growing everyday!"

"That's great! I hope they stay happy and healthy!" I smiled at Mrs. Cake. Her hair was a magical sight to see; honestly, it was kind of breathtaking.

"Oh, you're such a nice girl. Thank you, Quilla." She smiled at me, and then Mrs. Cake ran into the kitchen to aid her husband in whatever he was doing. They're such nice ponies, and quite a wonderful couple.

We all took our seats, Apple Jack, Fluttershy and Rarity at one table, and Twilight, Rainbow Dash, me, and eventually Pinkie Pie at another. However, the tables were close enough so we could easily all talk to each other. We were the only ones in the sweet shop anyway, so the volume of our conversation probably wouldn't have been much of an issue. 

Pinkie came over to our table, first, to take our orders. "What would everypony here, like?" She asked.

Twilight went first. "I'll just have a vanilla cupcake, please."

Pinkie looked a little disappointed. "Just vanilla? Twilight, you're so boring sometimes!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and giggled a bit. "Okay Pinkie, surprise me with something. Whatever you want."

"Really?" Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up, and a bit of a smirk grew on her face. "Okie dokie lokie, Twilight Splokie! What about you, Rainbow Dash?"

"I'll have a big milkshake, chocolate please." Rainbow Dash smiled cooly. It seemed like she had the answer to everything.

"Great!" Said Pinkie. "What about you, Quilla Nink?"

Lastly, it was my turn. "Hmm... what's today's special?" I asked.

"Well, today is the first of a combo thing we're sort of starting." Pinkie smiled widely. "You can get a slice of strawberry shortcake and a small strawberry milkshake for a really low price!" She then whispered to us, "But I'm not charging you anything, so it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Sounds delicious! I'll have that!" I smiled widely; I'd finally be able to eat some of Pinkie's famous desserts!

"Your orders will be out soon!" Pinkie Pie said, and then bounced away to the other table. 

I could hardly contain my excitement. "Oh, I can't wait to eat that milkshake and shortcake! It sounds a-maz-ing!" It felt like I was almost on a sugar high despite not actually eating any sugar yet.

"Yeah, Pinkie Pie is a great baker... and makes awesome milkshakes, too!" Rainbow Dash smiling. "I'm sure that you'll love whatever she makes."

Very soon, Pinkie was done taking orders from the other table and ran back into the kitchen. Not five minutes later, she came out, balancing two platters full of cakes, milkshakes, pastries, and cookies-- one on her left forehoof, and one on her back. She placed a light-colored cupcake with white swirled frosting on the top in front of Twilight; a large, fizzy chocolate milkshake topped with whipped cream and a cherry in front of Rainbow Dash; a small slice of pink cake layered with oozy strawberry filling and whipped cream, along with a small strawberry milkshake in front of me; a chocolate croissant in front of Rarity; a plate with a few oatmeal-raisen cookies in front of Apple Jack; and a fruit-filled tart in front of Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie then put a slice of chocolate cake with blue and yellow frosting and some lemon-lime soda on her place, put the platters away, and returned to sit down.

"Eat up, everypony!" She yelled happily. 

I took the fork in my light pink magic aura, which was a tiny bit of a struggle at first, but I soon got the hang of it. I stabbed it into the cake and ate the bite. It was absolutely marvelous! The cake was so moist and delectable, and the strawberries were so fresh! The whipped cream was light and airy, and certainly not over-whipped. I took a sip of the strawberry milkshake and found that it was just as divine as the cake.

As I looked up from my dessert fantasy, I saw that Pinkie had almost finished her slice of cake, and well as over half of the soda.

"Pinkie," I said, "This cake is wonderful! It's the most delicious cake I've ever tasted! And the milkshake is great too!"

Pinkie took a sip of the soda, swallowed, and then said an elated "Thanks, Quilla Nink! I'm glad you like it!"

Rainbow nudged my arm. "See? I told you that it was going to be awesome!" She chuckled and took another sip of her milkshake. 

Twilight hadn't even started her cupcake yet. She was slowly unwrapping it with her magic. She removed the wrapper, placed it on her plate, and took a bite of the small cake. As she swallowed, her eyes went wide.

Suddenly, two very cartoonish flames shot of Twilight's ears. "PIIIIIIIIIINKIE!" She screamed. "YOU PUT JALAPEÑOS IN MY CUPCAKE!"

Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were cracking up, and I had to admit that it was pretty funny. I giggled a little, and soon, Rarity and Fluttershy were laughing with me, too.

Apple Jack, however, got up, grabbed a soda that was behind the counter, and handed it to Twilight. Twilight quickly unscrewed it and drank almost the entire thing in one gulp. When she was finished, she smiled and said, "Thanks, Apple Jack."

"You're welcome, sugarcube." She then turned around to Pinkie, with an angry scowl on her face. "Ya can't just do that to ponies, you know."

"Oh come on, AJ, it was just a prank," Rainbow Dash said, still laughing a little.

"And Twilight doesn't mind, does she?" Pinkie asked, smiling slyly towards Twilight.

Twilight then burst out into laugher. "Okay, so maybe it hurt a little... but it was still very funny." She continued to laugh.

Apple Jack smirked a little. "Alright, if you say it's fine, then it's fine. Everythin's settled." She then looked over to Pinkie. "But don't try that on me." 

Everypony laughed for a long while. My dream started to fade away, but I didn't really try to continue it. It was already amazing enough, and I let it end where it ended. I silently said goodbye to my pony friends and drifted away from Equestria.





Suddenly, I sat up in my bed; It was 12:04 AM. I had done it. I had really just visited Equestria in my dreams! I was so excited. I immediately grabbed my dream journal and scribbled down every detail I could remember-- the feeling of Twilight's fur, the feeling of my fur, the way Pinkie smelled, Rainbow Dash's cocky laugh-- I tried to write everything in as much detail as I could.

The experience was absolutely wonderful. 

It was about 1:30 when I finished writing everything down. I reread it twice, and with happy thoughts in my mind, drifted off into a deep, wonderful sleep.

If only I knew then that I would be visiting Equestria many, many more times.