White Walls and Perfect Acoustics
The ponies were all gathered around a large wooden table in the inner courtyard of Benjamina’s mansion. Twilight, Upper Crust and Octavia were sitting on one side, Rochette, Applejack and Spike on the other. It was late in the afternoon, but still sweltering hot. Twilight and Upper Crust were visibly bothered; the rest didn’t seem to mind much. They were surrounded by tall, exotic flowers that they had originally appreciated. Now those flowers were nothing short of annoying thanks to the incessant bugs they seemed to attract.
Twilight glanced up at the sky for the fifth time in the last ten minutes and finally sighed in defeat. “Alright, I guess Rainbow and Jimmy are gonna be late. Why don’t we start without them?”
“Might as well,” Octavia agreed. “It’s not likely they’ll have anything new to report.”
“Alrigh’ then,” Applejack declared, “why doncha go first, Upper Crust? You get anything else outta the big shots?”
“Not a thing,” the unicorn confessed sadly. “They’re tired, like all the other nilgiri around here. Everypony in the government claims to know nothing. Octavia and I are inclined to believe it.”
“What about in the books?” Octavia asked Twilight seriously. “You spent so much time in the national library, surely you found something?”
“Nope, dead end,” Spike answered dully.
“It really doesn’t make sense,” Twilight added angrily. “In all of Nildia’s history there’s never been any cases like this at all. I mean, the occasional tsunami, sure, but repeated incidents so close together?”
“You’d have to go into local mythology to get anything like that,” Rochette noted sagely.
Twilight slammed her hoof on the table. “I am not about to start thinking that some ancient god is causing all of this!”
Applejack and the Interior Advisor gave one another concerned looks. “Ah know it sounds a little odd, Twiligh’,” the orange mare admitted anxiously, “bu’ Rochette and ah’ve been talkin’ ta nilgiri all along the coast fer a week. They all keep talkin’ abou’ their dreams featurin’ this ancien’ elephant character.”
Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Please, Applejack, these waves are real! Why would some god from an old abandoned nilgiri faith come back now after nearly two thousand years? It doesn’t make sense!”
“But Twilight,” Spike noted worriedly, “it also doesn’t make sense for all the nilgiri to have dreams of the same thing all at once. Don’t you find that a little odd? I mean even you saw it in your dream the other night.”
Twilight groaned and dropped her chin to the table in exasperation. “I know, but it just doesn’t… fit. This god… what was his name…?”
“In the faith he was called Aśāṃt Jal-Kṣetra,” Rochette answered helpfully.
At Twilight’s annoyed expression Octavia added, “In Equestrian it translates directly as ‘Riptide’.”
“This ‘Riptide’ can’t be responsible for the waves,” the unicorn grumbled bitterly. “Why would he wait so long to get mad that nopony’s worshipping him anymore? There has to be a reasonable, scientific explanation behind this.”
“Don’ ask me, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied with a lost expression. “Ah jus’ know what the nilgiri have been sayin’, and they’re all stuck on this idea tha’ Riptide’s back with a vengeance.”
“I suppose this means we won’t be able to count on the local populace for help, after all,” Upper Crust noted unhappily.
“The nilgiri take spirituality seriously,” Octavia replied in her usual regal manner. “If they believe some presumed-extinct god from a near-forgotten faith is haunting their dreams, it would be hard to convince them otherwise.”
“Princess Luna said she was looking into this massive dream invasion,” Twilight reminded them. “She hasn’t contacted any of us…?” A quick glance around the table confirmed her suspicions. “We’ll just have to trust that she knows what she’s doing. I mean she is Princess Luna, after all. In the meantime we need hard evidence!”
“Well ‘hard evidence’ is proving very elusive,” Upper Crust stated.
Applejack groaned and sat back in her seat in a slovenly fashion, her frustration apparent. “Ah can’ believe we’ve been here a whole week an’ don’ have anythin’ ta show fer it!”
“This is easily the most frustrating task the Princesses have ever given us,” Twilight agreed glumly. “We need a break!”
“I think I can accommodate,” a voice announced from the humid, empty air. A flash of light later and Discord appeared, standing tall atop the table. Everyone let out a surprised shout, not because of his sudden arrival but because he was holding a very banged-up looking Jimmy Stone in his arms.
“Jim!” Octavia stood up in alarm. “What happened to him?”
Discord set the pegasus pony down on the table gently, appearing genuinely concerned. “Another wave hit,” he explained simply. “Our friend here got caught in it.”
“I’m gonna be okay,” Jimmy answered, raising his head to smile weakly through his mane. “Just a broken wing and some bruises.”
“Thank goddess,” Applejack muttered.
“Wait, where’s Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked.
Just at that moment the blue pegasus’ rainbow wake appeared high in the sky, curving down towards the mansion in a wide arc. She landed in the grass near the table, panting heavily. “Hey guys, I got back as quick as I could! Thanks for carrying him Discord,” she added to the draconequus sincerely.
“Are you okay?” Upper Crust asked, stepping down to study the pegasus swiftly.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” Rainbow answered, walking up to the table. “I was a mile or so off from the island and saw the wave coming. Jimmy didn’t see it ‘till too late, though. He was lucky: he managed to fly high and missed the bulk of the wave.”
Jimmy groaned and laid his head back down. “Nye’s gonna kill me if he finds out about this.”
“Fortunately for him I was in the jungles nearby,” Discord added seriously. “If I’d not been there to snatch him out of the water there’s no telling where he might have ended up. Smashed on some mountainside rocks, I’d wager.”
“You saved his life?” Upper Crust asked, amazed.
The draconequus gave her a dirty look. “Oh, look: Discord has a soul!” He reached into his chest fur and pulled out a big red cartoon heart. “And a heart to boot.” A big cowpony boot appeared in a flash of light to punt the heart out of the mansion amid cheers from nopony visible.
“Well I appreciate the help,” Rainbow reminded him with a glower at Upper Crust. “Getting Jim back here would have been a lot harder without ya.”
“This is just perfect!” Twilight snapped furiously. “Another freak wave hits, nearly killing one of our own and probably wiping out another settlement, and here we are chasing our tails because we don’t have a clue what’s causing them!”
“It’s a sea monster,” Jimmy announced matter-of-factly.
Everypony went silent, staring at him dumbly.
“I saw it in the waters,” he explained. “I didn’t really get a good look, just a flash of something huge and bluish. But there’s one thing I did see, and that was its scales.”
“Scales?” Spike asked curiously, glancing at his own scaled body.
Jimmy nodded weakly and took a moment to eye the table he was lying on. “It was… I dunno… one scale was maybe four times the size of this table I’m on.”
Another moment of stark silence. It was Twilight who finally snapped out of it, leaning against the table to look the wounded pegasus in the eye. “Jimmy… are you sure about that?”
He nodded. “Give or take a foot. Now can somepony please get me a doctor?”
“I’ve got it,” Rochette declared, disappearing out of the courtyard at a gallop.
“Well at least somepony finally saw somethin’,” Applejack noted, though she didn’t sound very enthusiastic.
“H-how are we supposed to stop something t-t-that big…?” Spike asked.
“I’m not sure we can,” Octavia noted hesitantly.
“Well there must be something,” Upper Crust muttered.
“You could appeal to Riptide,” Discord suggested simply.
“Not funny, Discord,” Twilight grumbled.
He raised his hands in a calming gesture, his face patient. “It’s not a joke, Twilight Sparkle. I did find the once abandoned temple to Riptide in my recent searches.”
“Once abandoned?” Rainbow asked.
He nodded. “Oh it’s quite the attraction, now. You wouldn’t believe how many nilgiri are visiting the place since those dreams started. They should start charging admissions.”
“I don’t see how visiting an ancient temple helps solve the current crisis,” Twilight noted sourly.
“It’s worth a look,” Upper Crust countered. “At the very least we might find a clue or two relating to the dreams all the nilgiri have been having.”
“That’s Luna’s area,” Twilight grumbled.
“But it migh’ be connected ta the sea monster,” Applejack threw in helpfully. “Come on, Twiligh’, we’ve exhausted all our other leads.”
“I can show you were it is,” Discord offered, a flash of light putting him in safari clothing. “Come on, you’re in Nildia! You might as well see the sights.”
“We’re not here to see the sights,” Twilight snarled, but after a few seconds of contemplation she sighed in resignation. “All right, why not? It’s not like anything else we’ve been doing lately is working. We’ll all go tomorrow, first thing in the morning.”
“Excellent!” The draconequus flew up into the air with a grin. “I’ll see you ponies then! I have a date with the President.” And he was gone, flying off beyond the mansion and their vision.
“Why do ah get the feelin’ the President doesn’ know about this ‘date’?” Applejack asked worriedly.
“He’s just being Discord,” Rainbow replied in a disinterested manner. “Let him have his fun now and again; gets it out of his system.”
“I guess,” Octavia agreed, her eyes going to the pony resting on the table. “Jimmy, are you sure you’re alright?”
“Oh yeah,” he answered sarcastically, clapping his hooves together before letting his front legs fall limply to his sides, “just peachy. But you’ll excuse me if I decide not to join you guys on your little day trip tomorrow.”
The palace seemed very familiar, even if Upper Crust couldn’t place it. She had no idea how long she’d been wandering its gilded white marble halls, but it felt like an eternity. They seemed to stretch on forever, both in front and behind. Pristine, clean, perfect. Great archways signaled new hallways, stretching on with equal infinity beyond her sight. High above, the ceiling was cleared with great windows that kept the world illuminated in a pure, almost holy light. And she just walked on, her hoofsteps echoing quietly in her ears.
Why did all of this seem so familiar? Had she been in this maze before? She simply couldn’t recall. She kept glancing out windows, but was always rewarded with nothing but the bright light of an unseen world, almost as if the sun where right there in her face. Sometimes she would turn down one of the hallways, hoping for some sort of change in the scenery, but it was always the exact same.
She had been amazed upon first arriving. Then, as time went on, she was annoyed. She gradually came to understand that she was totally and completely alone in this white, glimmering world. Annoyance turned to fear; where was everypony? Why couldn’t she get anywhere? Fear evolved into panic as she ran from hall to hall, window to window, seeking escape. She’d cried out, bucked the walls. Once she even tried jumping out one of the windows, only to land instantly on another solid marbled floor in another hallway just like all the others.
So now she just trudged along, feeling trapped in a massive universe of pearly hallways and blindingly-bright light.
There was no telling how long it had been. The complete absence of anything to focus on made the arrival of a new sound clear to her ears. It was a rhythmic, light thumping noise. Desperate for something new to grace her world, Upper Crust rushed after it, down hallways and around corners, praying that there might be some means of escape.
What she found startled her completely: it was an elderly pink unicorn mare with a purple mane. She was sitting in the middle of the hallway bouncing a large red ball under her hoof. Her attention seemed completely focused on the activity.
“Mom?” Upper Crust walked to stand in front of her, mildly amazed at the sight. “What are you doing here?”
“Hmm…?” The pony glanced at her, the ball still bouncing pointlessly. “Oh, hello Upper my dear. Just bouncing. You know how I love bouncing.”
The younger mare tilted her head at her mother in confusion. “But… how did you get here? Do you know where we are?”
“It doesn’t matter,” the pink unicorn replied, eyes locked happily on her ball.
Upper Crust didn’t understand. “Why are you bouncing that ball?”
“Because I love bouncing.”
She sagged, dumbfounded. “Mom, we need to find a way out of here. Come on.”
“Oh no, Upper. I have to keep bouncing.”
Now she was getting frustrated. “But why?”
“Why?” The elderly mare looked at her for the first time, the ball still bouncing steadily under her hoof. “There doesn’t need to be a why, the bouncing is why enough. Silly girl, don’t you know anything?”
Upper Crust was really starting to hate that thumping noise. “But it’s not achieving anything!”
Her mother smiled kindly and turned back to her ball. “It doesn’t have to achieve anything. We don’t have to achieve anything at all. Just be happy with the way things are, Upper Crust.”
She couldn’t stand it; she turned from her mother in a huff and trotted away.
“That’s a good girl,” her mother called ignorantly, “go and see your father. I’m sure he’s looking forward to seeing you.”
Upper Crust didn’t care. She just moved away from her, and from that horribly incessant thumbing sound! She trotted along, grinding her teeth in frustration until the noise finally abated and all she could hear was her own echoing hoofsteps once more.
Hours passed. Or maybe it was minutes. She had no way of knowing with that constant light. Regardless, eventually a new sound hit her ears. It was a voice, counting. She followed the sound, recognizing the voice but having difficulty identifying it.
And then, turning down a new hallway just like all the others, she found him: her father. He was a short yellow unicorn with a dark grey mane, sitting at a pure white table of the same marble as the rest of their surroundings.
“Five-seventy-three, five-seventy-five, five-seventy-nine, five-twenty-two, five-twenty-eight…”
“Father?” Upper Crust rounded the table and saw that it was covered in white feathers. They were in piles, and with each number a feather rose up from one pile and moved to another at random. “Father… what are you doing?”
“Five-oh-four, five-oh-six, five-oh-eight, four-ninety-nine…”
She stood beside him, waved a hoof before his tired-looking eyes. “Father, are you okay…?”
“Four-eighty-six, four-eighty-seven, four-seventy, four-seventy-four…”
She grabbed him and shook him. “Father, talk to me, what are you doing?”
“Four-seventy-seven, Four-seventy-nine…”
“Why are you counting the feathers?” she asked, glancing nervously at the table. “Father? What’s the point of all this?”
“Four-fifty-one, four-fifty-six, four-fifty-eight…”
Upper Crust ground her teeth in frustration and shouted right into his ear. “Pay attention to me!”
“Four-thirty-three,” His tired, mindless stare never faltered. “Four-thirty-nine…”
The mare let out a cry of frustration and raked her leg across the table, knocking the feathers into the air. They floated wildly and drifted down to the ground, and still the old stallion kept mindlessly on. “Four-ten, four-twelve, four-seventeen…” Feathers began to rise up from the floor to the table in quiet, pointless defiance.
Snarling in anger, Upper Crust turned away and stomped from the table: the old goat was dead anyway.
That thought hit her like a hammer, and just when it did the counting stopped. She stood perfectly still, listening to the silence, her heart pounding in her chest.
Her father was dead.
Slowly, fearfully, she turned around.
The table was still there, but it was empty. No feathers, no unicorn. Just a table, sitting without purpose in the middle of the hall.
Upper Crust fled, running as fast as her hooves could take her. Where was she, why was she seeing her dead father in this place? Was there some kind of escape? There had to be! Please oh please let this not be the eternity after death!
She galloped through the endless halls, crying out her frustration in short, angry screams. She had to find an exit, it had to be around here somewhere!
At last she couldn’t keep on running; she had to slow to a tired walk, her hooves aching and her mind numb. She didn’t care where she was anymore, or why she was there. She just wanted to go home. Ponyville, even Canterlot would be better than this…
At some point she realized she wasn’t in a hallway anymore. Blinking, wondering what horrible sight she might have to endure next, she glanced around.
She was in a vast room, its vast vaulted ceilings held aloft by pillars so wide she imagined it would take four Big Macs standing front-to-back to cover the diameter. Massive windows kept the place illuminated in that terrible bright light, and before her, raised atop a tall stairwell, was a pair of thrones. There was a pony on one of those matching seats, lounging comfortably. Upper Crust was halfway up the stairs before she recognized him: Jet Set.
He had a magnificent royal cape and a gold-gilded crown. He lazed on the thrown happily. Between the two thrones on a displaying plinth sat a big bowl of juicy purple grapes, which Jet was leisurely levitating into his mouth.
“Ah, Uppity!” He grinned at the sight of her, spreading his hooves wide in welcome. “Come, my beautiful queen! Sit next to me, enjoy the fruits of our labors.”
Upper Crust was finally at the top of the stairs, panting quietly. “Labors…?” she asked stupidly, “What labors?”
Jet laughed happily. “What labors, indeed?”
She stood before him, eyeing the other massive throne warily when he gestured for her to sit in it. “Jet, how did you get here?”
He smacked his lips on a grape and grinned. “Why, I belong here. Just like you, my dove.”
“I do?” Upper Crust couldn’t agree less. “Jet, what is this place?”
“Heaven, of course.” He laughed and winked at her alarmed expression. “What? We’re rich, Uppity. Isn’t that enough? Just relax and enjoy your just rewards!”
She took a step back, shaking her head in anger. “No… no! Jet this isn’t right. I shouldn’t be here.”
“Oh of course you should!” Jet shook his head at her as if she were a filly saying something obviously stupid. “Come on, Uppity, just take a seat. You deserve it, after all.”
“Shut up!” The mare stamped booth hooves angrily. “Why can’t you understand that this is wrong!?”
“This is not at all what I anticipated.”
Upper Crust blinked, startled by the new voice. She turned around to look down the stairs and was shocked to see, standing at the very bottom, Princess Luna. “P-Princess? What are you doing here?”
Luna smiled up at her kindly. “I could ask you the same question.”
Things began to click in her mind, and suddenly Upper Crust’s memory came rushing back. She groaned and sat, glancing back at her husband who was busy gorging himself on grapes and clearly hadn’t noticed the Princess. “Of course, I’m having that dream again.”
“Again?” Luna asked from the bottom of the stairs. “So you’ve been here before.”
The unicorn nodded dejectedly as she began to make her way back down the stairs. “Yes. While I’m having it I don’t remember anything, but then I wake up and I realize I’ve had this dream before. Then within an hour I forget all about it… until I have the dream again and the cycle repeats.”
The Princess nodded knowingly. “I understanding. That is not an uncommon pattern of recurring dreams.”
Once on the same level as Luna Upper Crust dropped into a proper bow, but only for a moment. “I hate this dream,” she muttered grumpily.
“I think I would, too,” Luna admitted, taking a moment to glance around at the brilliant white surroundings. “To be trapped within the illusion of perfection; it strikes me as very uncomfortable.”
“Illusion of perfection?” Upper Crust followed Luna’s example, head swiveling as she studied the area around her. “Yeah… I guess that does fit. I can never find the exit of this terrible place…”
Princess Luna smiled. “Perhaps the exit cannot be found by simply looking. Maybe you should make the exit yourself.”
For a second Upper Crust was confused by this answer, but just for a second. “I tried that,” she admitted sadly. “The walls are impervious, the windows just lead to more hallways…”
She went silent as the Princess set a hoof to her chest. She gazed up at the alicorn dumbly as Luna corrected, “Dreams are made from what’s in here, Upper Crust. You made this world, and so you can change it. If you but knew how, you could do anything you wanted, for this is your dream.”
Upper Crust sat, thinking on this. “I… don’t understand, Princess.”
“What is it that you dream of?” Luna asked gently. “I don’t mean this world. I mean when you are awake. What is it that you seek in life?”
A year ago she wouldn’t have had any idea how to answer. Now it was easy. “I want to do something amazing that will have ponies all across Equestria remember my name. I want to stand before my husband and have him be proud of what I’ve done. And when I’m old and have grandchildren I want them to see what I’ve done and be inspired. I’m tired of…” She hesitated before gesturing to the dream-version of her husband on his throne, “…that.”
Luna cast her gaze up to Jet Set for a moment, her expression unreadable. “That is a good dream. If you continue to pursue it, then someday you’ll make your exit from this prison, of that I am certain.”
Upper Crust shifted anxiously, both surprised and embarrassed at once. “You… you really think so…?”
The Princess nodded, lowering her head to the unicorn’s level with a proud smile. “For what reason do we live but to pursue our dreams? All ponies in this wide world have something they wish to achieve. Often the only thing differentiating the successful from the rest is that they had the drive to fight for their dreams. So you keep on struggling, my friend, and you will achieve everything your heart desires.”
Upper Crust felt… warm… when she heard those words. She grinned and nodded, suddenly very happy that the Princess was here with her.
“But for now,” Luna noted, standing tall once more and spreading her wings wide, “let me give you a helping hoof.”
The alicorn’s horn glowed darkly, and within seconds long cracks began to form in the pristine marble walls. No sound came as the cracks grew, spread, and eventually encased the entire world like a massive webbing. And then, with the sound of shattering glass, the world erupted! Walls, pillars, floor and ceiling rose up into a starry night sky in jagged pieces, fading into the endless abyss.
And the two ponies found themselves standing in an endless field of tall, swaying grass. It had to be one of the most beautiful things Upper Crust had ever seen. She beamed up at her Princess, unable to convey her gratitude.
The alicorn smiled down at her kindly. “Someday you’ll be able to do that one your own.”
Upper Crust nodded happily. “I will, I promise!”
For a moment Luna’s wonderful gaze remained upon her, but then the Princess began to scan their surroundings. “It pleases me to see that this dream of yours remains untouched by the foul thing that has haunted so many others.”
The unicorn sobered quickly. “You mean Riptide.”
“Yes, Twilight told me that was the name of it, from ancient Nildean theology.”
“You saw Twilight recently?” The unicorn asked, surprised.
“I visited her dreams earlier this night,” Luna explained patiently. “I thought it was time to check on all of you. Celestia and I are growing concerned. Already I have visited Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Before the night is over I also intend to visit Octavia, but then I will have to rest. It is well into morning back in Equestria and I’ve spent the entire night chasing after that supposed god in the nilgiri’s nightmares.”
Upper Crust nodded, but was curious. “What about the others? Spike, Applejack, Jimmy?”
The Princess gave her another of those lovely smiles. “I will simply have to visit them tomorrow. I must go soon, but before I do: how have things been going for you in the waking world, Upper Crust?”
The unicorn blushed, astounded that the Princess was inquiring about this. She really seemed to be interested in her, which was… unexpected. “I’m happy to help the others in any way I can,” she admitted, for it was the truth. “I’ve been talking with government officials and the more elite ponies, trying to gather information. I’m afraid they have nothing of use, though. But,” she added hurriedly, “at least I’m making myself useful as a liaison between the team and the government! That’s… that’s something, right…?”
“Indeed it is,” Luna agreed pleasantly. “I am glad to hear that you are so positive. Do not worry, Upper Crust, things will turn around soon.” Upper Crust couldn’t help grinning at this praise.
“But I must continue on,” The Princess declared, spreading her wings once more and taking off into the air. She hovered for a few seconds, smiling down on the unicorn. “Be of good cheer, Upper Crust. Your dream is within reach! I will be watching with great anticipation.”
And then she flew a great circle and disappeared into the starry night sky.
Upper Crust sat in the field, taking in the pleasant sight of it. Princess Luna had taken the time to comfort and encourage her. It felt so… good. She felt at the grass beneath her hooves, delighted in the softness of it. For this one time, she was free to do as she liked in her dreams, free from those terrible marble hallways and blinding light. The darkness felt so much more soothing…
For the first time she truly felt proud to serve the Princess of the Night.
Otto Hooftavius. Amatrottus von Pony. Baron Hoofstoskie. Andrew Lloyd Clopper. Their music wafted, swam, and at times erupted through the night air over an audience so large the concert had to be held outdoors. The brass, the strings, the choir, every pony in the orchestra worked together to forge a perfect harmony of sound.
And at the forefront, guiding them in a state of bliss, was Octavia.
She knew this was a dream. She didn’t care. She was enjoying herself as she knew she never could in the real world. At least, not until she finally finished her own composition. So for now she basked in the music of the masters she had studied all her life, letting her mane wave in music so perfect it caused the winds to stir about her. It was all so… beautiful.
When the music at last died and the audience roared its approval Octavia turned about and bowed, her mind filled with pleasure. She gazed out over the crowds, proud of her achievement even if it was only in her mind. She saw her family in the front row, standing and clapping their hooves in joy. Her parents, her siblings, all so proud of her dream.
But nothing made her so happy as to see the last seat filled. That seat had been empty for years, made so by the eternal strife that had plagued her family. But in the past week the seat had finally been filled: Benjamina had come at last to see her little sister perform. The sight of her made Octavia so happy she could almost cry.
She’d had this dream so many times now that she was able to predict everything that would happen in it. So when the world began to shake and rumble, she took note, for that had never happened before.
Suddenly, to her alarm, the audience in the center aisles began to disappear into the earth. A massive hole was forming, swallowing up everypony. Octavia could only stare in shock as her beautiful dream world was consumed in screams of terror. But Octavia didn’t cry out or flee, not even when she saw her family plunge into that inky black abyss. She just barely noticed the alicorn flying up from a seat in the back and disappearing into the night sky.
And then it appeared: Riptide. It arose from the darkness, massive and towering, its eight thin arms waving majestically and elephant head glaring down at her with angry pink eyes. Its trunk arose high into the sky, it took a long deep breath… and then it uttered a great trumpeting noise. The force of the sound sent a great, putrid wind against the stage, making Octavia stumble back at its force.
And when it was over she merely glared up at the thing in anger.
“How dare you,” she snapped, not bothering to shout. “So you’re the beast I’ve been hearing so much about. Have you no sense of privacy, of decency? Invading the dreams of others, hmmph! You’re no god. I don’t know what you are, but you’re no god.” She could say it easily, because she believed it.
The great multi-armed creature leaned back, seeming startled by her obstinate manner. It squared its mighty shoulders and glared, clearly intent on teaching her a lesson.
She didn’t wait to give it a chance. She reached to her side, grasping the cello that hadn’t been there a moment ago. She glanced back at the orchestra, at all the ponies there, and gave a firm nod. They all understood, and immediately the entire orchestra played a single note as one. The force of the tone literally flowed out from the stage in a visible wave that knocked the being Riptide back.
It shook itself as if to shake off water and glared, clearly furious at Octavia’s blatant refusal to be afraid. It let out another menacing blast of noise, but this time the cellist stood her ground. Once the thing was finished she set bow to string, eyes locked with the beast’s proudly. “This is my dream, and I will not let you soil it with your filthy presence. Let me show you what I can do!”
With that, she began to move the bow violently against the strings, a high-pitched scratching set of tones that made the thing cover its massive ears in pain. She ended it with a single long note, another visible wave flowing from her cello, but a soon as the sound died the orchestra began to play, hard and fast and loud!
The sheer force of the shockwaves sent Riptide reeling, it’s face shocked at this musical resistance to its presence. It recovered, pushing against the soundwaves with fierce determination, and let out a series of trumpeting noises, its own waves flowing against the orchestra’s. An acoustic battle was waged, a sea god furious against the rebellion of Octavia’s stubborn, powerful orchestra! She led the battle with her cello sounding loud and hard against the great beast’s animalistic, rhythm-less braying.
No matter how angry it looked, Octavia would not relent: she was the master of this dream, not it! Somepony had to stand up to it, and she was truly angered at the monster for its disrespectful intrusion into this private fantasy. She wasn’t scared of this thing, no matter what it was.
This was her world!
It seemed like ages, but the great Riptide at last showed signs of weakness. Its trumpet calls grew desperate, its anger was diminishing to frustration and strain. Octavia wasn’t even breathing hard. How could she? She wasn’t actually doing anything: this was all just a dream. She could go on forever, if need be.
Riptide, it seemed, was not so fortunate. It stopped making its calls altogether, covering its ears and grimacing against the endless bombardment of music. Tiring of the struggle, it changed tactics and went for something more physical: a single arm reached forward, pushing hard against the constant strikes of the orchestral soundwaves. Octavia ground her teeth in frustration and mentally urged her fantasy orchestra to play harder, louder, faster! Still that massive hand kept coming, struggling against the force of her music.
It was going to reach her. Despite everything, it was actually going to do it! But the cellist refused to relent; she played even harder, her music battling fiercely against Riptide’s clawing fingers. She would stop this thing, here and now! She screamed out in defiance as a long gray nail lowered down, just about close enough to crush her under its mass…
And then there was a flash of black across the thing’s wrist. Riptide reared back, jerking it arm away even as its hand disconnected and fell into the black abyss below.
Octavia paused her playing to stare in shock even as her orchestra continued to play its violent, angry melody. For a moment she wondered what had just happened… and then she sensed movement at her side. She looked to her right and was surprised to see Princess Luna standing beside her, regal and proud and gazing darkly at the great beast. The Princess turned her head to the cellist and nodded, as if encouraging her. Octavia needed no further urging: she played her cello and watched.
Riptide, still under an acoustic barrage, let out a furious screech that, to the mare surprise, sounded amazingly feminine. It clutched at its wounded arm with two hands, covered its massive ears with two more, and swayed from blow after blow of soundwaves. At last, casting one final angry glare at the stage, it sank back into the black abyss from whence it came, retreating from Octavia’s dream.
The music died, and Octavia let out a long, relieved sigh. She’d actually managed to ward off the beast that had been haunting the nightmares of so many. Her dream was safe! For a tender moment she basked in the silence and the victory.
And then she remembered the Princess.
She turned to her and bowed deep. “My thanks, Princess Luna, for your assistance this night.”
“No need to be so formal,” Luna responded pleasantly. “And you are very welcome. That was certainly a performance I’ll never forget.”
“You saw the entire thing?” Octavia asked as she rose, suddenly very happy.
“I did,” Luna confirmed, turning to face the cellist properly and sitting. “It is a true shame that you are not a unicorn, Octavia. You might have been so amazing as to put Celestia’s prized student to shame.”
Octavia blushed and grinned. “Thank you, but I don’t know about that…”
The Princess smiled in delight. “Modesty, so rare in a pony with so many gifts! Be proud, Octavia: it is very uncommon for any pony to grasp the laws of dreams, but only the truly gifted are able to use those rules in defense of their fantasies. Had you but been a unicorn, you probably would have been capable of traversing the dreams of others as I do.”
“Really?” Octavia considered this for a few seconds, but finally shook her head. “I wouldn’t dare. Dreams are the private realms of a pony’s mind, perhaps the most private. I would feel as though I were intruding.”
“Is that so?”
“Don’t get me wrong,” the cellist added quickly, “I’m glad you came, and I wouldn’t question your presence! I mean, you visit dreams to help ponies in their times of need, unlike that thing.” She cast a glowering glance into the great pit before the stage.
The Princess chuckled at the hasty words. “I took no offense, Octavia. I am simply impressed with you, that is all.”
The cellist glanced away nervously. “I’m not all that impressive…”
At that the Princess’ light manner faded. She studied the cellist critically, making Octavia not just a little worried. Had she said something wrong?
“Do you always put yourself down in such a manner?” Luna asked seriously.
Octavia winced at her tone. “Well… I don’t… I suppose…”
“Why?”
The cellist bowed her head submissively. “…I just… don’t want to be seen as arrogant. Besides, if I was truly capable I’d have a song of my own by now, or at the very least be an elite. I mean, I didn’t go to music school, I have no professional endorsements, and I barely make enough to get by on my high-brow appearance. Look at my sister Benjamina: she’s got more money than the rest of the family combined. Even my lazy big brother Chalk has led a successful, happy life doing what he loves. I try to take on the look of a high-class important pony, but what am I really? Just a simple mare from Trottingham…”
What was she doing? She’d not shared these thoughts with anypony before, not even in her family, so why share them with Princess Luna? Was it because of who she was? Octavia was suddenly ashamed, and quietly wished she’d never said anything at all. What would the Princess think of this horrible display?
She felt Luna’s hoof on her chin, and let it guide her to look up into the Princess’ warm face. “After all this time, I finally understand. Everypony thought you were overqualified for my team, Octavia, but Fine vouched for you. At last I know why.”
This had Octavia entirely bewildered, but before she could say anything the Princess went on. “Has it ever occurred to you, my little pony, that perhaps you are the reason you’ve not achieved your dream?”
This didn’t make things any more clear. “Isn’t that what I just said?”
Luna shook her head, an amused smile on her lips. “No, Octavia, you misunderstand. You doubt yourself. You put yourself down. You’ve done it for so long that you have actually come to believe your words.” The Princess set a hoof to Octavia’s shoulder, her expression kind. “You are one of the most capable ponies I have ever met, and I say that with complete sincerity. But so long as you don’t believe in yourself you will never achieve your dreams, Octavia. You must stop putting yourself down like this. You know what you can do, the battle you just had with Riptide is proof of that! Be proud of your talents, display them for the world to see.”
“But… I don’t…”
“Octavia,” Luna interrupted proudly, “what I just saw you do astounded me. At your age I never could have done it. I want to see you grow and succeed! You deserve it more than any pony I know. But getting there is entirely up to you. Do you want to achieve your dream?”
The cellist, amazed at what she was hearing, could only nod feebly.
“Then do it,” The Princess ordered firmly. “You can make all of Equestria proud if you just set your mind to it.”
Octavia’s heart was skipping around in her chest. To be so praised by the Princess of the Night… She’d never been so pleased with herself. She was happy, she was proud… she was eager! “I’ll do it,” she answered in a whisper, grinning euphorically. “I promise, Princess, I’ll make everypony proud.”
“I have no doubt,” Luna declared happily. She closed her eyes and seemed to be thinking. “It is growing late in the morning in Equestria. I must return. Goodbye, Octavia, it has been a true pleasure.” She turned aside and spread her wings, but before taking off she cast one more thoughtful look at the cellist. She sighed pleasantly. “It is truly a crime against the world that you were not born a unicorn. The possibilities!”
And at last she was gone, disappearing into the starry night skies of Octavia’s dream.
Octavia sat on the hard wood floor of the stage, out of breath but so indescribably happy. She wanted to succeed so much more now than she ever had, for herself and for the Princess. She cast her eyes about the night sky, examining the beautiful stars. Despite all her previous doubts, she felt as though everything was going to go perfectly.
At long last she understood why Fine was so loyal to the Princess of the Night.
Tazel Wyrm sat in the manner that any creature with the lower body of a snake could; wrapping her tail into circles and resting her cat-like upper torso within. She was surrounded by darkness, quietly rubbing her arm and trying to imagine not having a paw. Tall bricks covered in vines surrounded her, and she could hear bats in the ancient ceiling above. Such a drab place… but at least the locals kept bringing food; she snatched a few lychees from the bucket she’d nabbed upon returning and devoured them greedily.
You seem annoyed.
Tazel glowered at the wall. “Shut up, Silma.”
Such frustration! What happened, Tazel?
Damned pony. Tazel knew she would have to answer eventually. “I just got my hand cut off, and it wasn't very pleasant. So if you’ll excuse me I’m going to take a break from terrorizing ponies for a few hours.”
Cut off your hand? Clearly you mean in the dreams. How?
The creature raised her orange paw, turning it around a few times as if seeing it for the first time in ages. “I’m not the only one capable of manipulating dreams, Silma. You should know.”
…so, you met her again. The Princess of the Night.
Tazel grimaced and grabbed a mangosteen, using her claws to force it open so she could rapidly devour the fruit inside. “Yeah, I met her,” she grumbled after a few bites, “and she’s the one who did it. What really annoys me is that pony friend of hers.”
Pony friend? You mean you weren’t in a nilgiri’s dream?
“Not this time,” she answered angrily, chunking the empty shell into the darkness. “Some musician pony. Don’t worry, I didn’t leave Nildia this time.”
You mean a pony other than Luna gave you trouble? Really, Tazel?
“Would you just leave me alone?”
I can’t. We’re bound together, you and I. Where you go, I go. Unless you’re in their dreams, of course.
Tazel sneered and turned away, not that there was anything visible to turn away from. “Then just keep quiet! I wanna brood.”
…very well, Tazel, but do not expect to remain like this for long. Tonight only. Besides, Mane Archon and I have made great headway in controlling the creature lately. Soon it will begin its search of the Life of Earth.
“Wish you’d hurry up,” the creature grumbled, sulking. “I hate having you in my head.”
If it’s any consolation, I hate being here.
Tazel huffed and clapped her hands lightly. A puff of white clouds covered the floor beneath her, and when it faded she was sitting on soft grass. She rested down on it and turned to glare up at the ceiling. Her aching paw opened and closed over and over again, as if she making sure it was still there.
Dreams. Why did those stupid mortal things have to have dreams? She never did, and it annoyed her to no end. She kept entering the minds of these creatures, nilgiri and ponies and even the occasional griffon, and they all had some sort of hope, something they could achieve. Even if only in their minds. And every time she saw such hopes achieved it infuriated her.
Dreams were pointless.
Especially for a bastard creature like herself.
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5324885
Octavia was a mixed bag, really; she's awesome from the get-go and can do great things like fight Riptide, but the caveat is that there's very little character development for her throughout the series. As to Lightning Dust, her presence here was intentionally minor because I knew even way back when writing this that she'd get that side story. I just had to put up with one or two complaints about it in the meantime.
Wat
This one threw me through a loop, and not the fun roller coaster kind. Pointlessness is a very important topic to me and I still don't know how exactly to handel it, and it was only a small part of the chapter but it's definitely the part that stuck with me. Through three phases in fact. First I was confused, then frustrated, then tired. Two out of three of these I feel pretty often, but frustration (or maybe anger) is rare for me, probably not something I have felt in this magnitude for a few years.
Simply put I spent a while thinking about the whole concept of pointlessness then, as always, failed to come up with a conclusion I'm satisfied with. The difference this time being that I had no immediate way to distract myself with some game afterward since I'm currently in Spain without access to my computer or the internet 80% of the time, further worsened by being on a crowded train and without earbuds so not even music could distract. So instead of stopping my train of thought with some mindless activity it just kept going, and going in a bad direction. What followed was one of the worse couple hours I've had in a long time. It's strange looking back, not wanting to respond to even the most common of gestures, people being friendly became an annoyance and I probably only said 10 words over the course of 3 hours, all the while I notice my hands were clenched in my sleeves and terrible thoughts were going through my head. I'll spare the details but what really scares me is that at the time all these thoughts seemed true.
Somthing a bit more in the spirit of things mlp though, thank god I have good friends. Probably would have spent the whole night like that if they haven't noticed something was wrong and made an effort to cheer me up. So that's good at least.
And all this sparked from a couple hundred words. I both love and hate your writing for this reason, it gets to me, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Today was bad, and I'm honestly a little scared to pick up each of these chapters. It may just be my overactive brain more than anything else, but really, this messed me up.
Edit:
It's been bugging me all day that I pretty much just went on a giant complaining spree in this comment, I really ought not do that. Granted I did have a bad day, but that's no excuse to be rude. So anyway, coming back with the value of hindsight to apologize for that, if I want to complain more I'll just start a blog.
I see where she's coming from