Stage 3 — Delta
Stage 3 — Delta
So, I guess I just write stuff down in here? Am I supposed to be writing everything I’m thinking? Why am I asking myself these questions and writing them down? Okay, I’m going to stop writing everything down…
Umm, so this entry is about the dream I had when Twilight did that sleep spell thing on me. Is this how I’m supposed to do it? Whatever, close enough.
It started with me, like, flapping my wings. That’s the first thing I remember clearly. After that, I was just, y’know, doin’ my usual thing and just flyin’ through the air and whatnot. Like I told Twi, I don’t remember where I was flying, or if I was even flying anywhere at all. I was just… flying. I do remember the sky being, like, really super clear though. It was just blue, and that was it. I couldn’t even see the ground, the sun, mountains, anything. I mean, it felt like it was just empty, y’know? But, I knew it was the sky, and not just, like, a blue vacuum or anything. I don’t really know how to explain it. Anyway, that part of the dream went on for a little while, then, as I was flying, I started to notice that things were changing. It was, like, just wisps and stuff at first, but I started to see clouds come in, and the further I got, the more there were. Then I saw the ground for the first time. It was weird, because it felt like I shouldn’t have been able to see it, like, it looked weird or something. I don’t know. Anyway, I was flying through some clouds or whatever, and then, totally out of nowhere, Twilight shows up. She just, like, flew right through the clouds and started flying next to me. She had wings now, but her horn was gone. I mean, thinking about it now, it sounds really weird, but it made sense in the dream, like, it just felt… right. I don’t know if that makes any sense. Well anyways, she didn’t say anything, at least I don’t remember her saying anything to me, she just kinda smiled at me and then just kept flying. So we flew. We flew for what seemed like hours until we came to this freakin’ huge mountain. I stopped because I couldn’t even see the top, but Twilight just smiled again and started flying up towards the top, waving for me to follow her. The rest of it gets kinda fuzzy here, like, I don’t remember how we got there, but I just remember suddenly being over the ocean. It’s like, I remember starting to follow Twilight, then the clouds just disappeared and suddenly I was being sprayed with ocean mist. I remember the smell. Is that weird to remember? Anyway, like I said, ocean, flying over it, y’know how it goes. Twilight asked me if the ocean was calm, which seemed weird to me. It’s almost like she knew it would be, or at least she knew that it wasn’t rough. I don’t know, maybe she read about it in her books or something. I guess it doesn’t matter. Like I told Twilight though, the ocean was calm… ish. It wasn’t, like, totally still or anything, but it sure wasn’t hurricane season or anything. I don’t really know what that means, if anything, but Twilight wasn’t talking if she knew. Oh well, she’s not the only one keeping secrets.
I’m not sure why I lied to Twilight about my dream… but, it just felt like the right thing to do. I mean, my first time trying to lucid dream, and I dream about flying with Twilight? Am I wrong, or is that weird? I don’t know, but do I know that I didn’t want to tell Twilight. Maybe eventually I’ll tell her, but I don’t think it’ll matter. I’m sure the next time I’ll have a normal dream without Twilight being there and then I’ll tell her everything I remember about that one. Anyway… I think I’m done with this entry. Hopefully I don’t dream tonight. Writing in this thing is such a pain…
Twilight blinked, looking up from the diary. Her eyes drifted to the sleeping mare. Just as usual, she looked so peaceful, a calm smile upon her face as her chest gently rose and fell in time with her breathing, completely oblivious to Twilight’s snooping.
“Why would she lie to me?” Twilight whispered. She bit her lip. “Why was she even dreaming about me in the first place? Is it because it was me who performed the sleep spell? If Rarity had done it instead, would Rarity be the one Rainbow dreamt of? No… that doesn’t seem right.”
Twilight frowned, her ears drooping. With her eyebrows furrowed, she followed the rhythmic cadence of Rainbow’s chest, her mind racing dozens of thoughts and conflicting emotions. Suddenly, her ears perked up as she heard a sound come from upstairs. The clatter of silverware against porcelain plates reverberated down the steps. Twilight snapped out of her stupor and quickly popped open Rainbow’s bag and stuffed her diary back inside just as Spike came into view. Quill in hoof, Twilight looked up as Spike entered.
“Oh, the tea is ready?” she asked, using her quill to point at the tray.
Spike nodded. “Yup, just finished brewing it. It’ll need to steep a bit in, but that won’t take too long.” He set the tray on the desk, grabbed a cookie and took a bite from it. Using the half-eaten cookie, Spike motioned to Rainbow. “So, how’s she doing?”
“Oh, uhh, she’s doing good… she’s doing good,” Twilight said awkwardly.
Spike raised an eyebrow. “I kind of meant, what stage is she in?”
“Oh! Oh, right!”Twilight looked down at her notes, then realized she hadn’t taken any yet. “Umm…” she glanced over at the clock, then at Rainbow. “She’s in staaaaaaaaage, uhh, three!” She nodded. “Yep, stage three.”
Spike nodded slowly. “Uh huh. So, no REM yet?”
Twilight shook her head. “Nope, not yet.”
Spike took another bite out of the cookie, then leaned back, sighing. “Man, this always takes so long.” He shoved the rest of the cookie in his mouth then, after licking his fingers, poured himself a cup of tea. “How long do you think until she hits REM this time?” he asked, looking up at Twilight while hot tea poured out of the kettle.
Twilight looked out of the corner of her eye to make sure that Rainbow’s bag was securely closed, then said, “I don’t really know for sure. Maybe forty-five or fifty minutes? You know,” she said, fiddling with her quill, “You can always go do something else. You don’t have sit here the whole time.”
Spike eyed Twilight. “I know that,” he said. “I kinda like hanging out here though. It’s, well, a lot more interesting than I thought it’d be,” he chuckled. “I always love seeing Rainbow when she wakes up.”
Twilight laughed awkwardly along with Spike. “Yeah, she does look pretty funny when she wakes up.” She bit her lip. “Okay, well, umm, if you get bored, feel free to go.”
Spike’s eyes narrowed. “You’re acting a little weird, Twilight,” he noted. “Something up?”
Twilight quickly shook her head. “No, why would there be?”
He crossed his arms, sighing. “I don’t know, just the way you’re acting is weird is all. I guess it’s not that different from normal.”
Twilight bit her lip, looking over to Rainbow’s bag. She sighed under her breath. Grabbing her quill, Twilight quickly started to scribble down some notes. Periodically, she would look up to see if Spike was still there. He was. Every time. The rest of the afternoon followed this pattern. Twilight would take notes, look up at Rainbow, look over at Spike, then go back to her notes. When Rainbow first entered REM, Twilight didn’t meet it with her usual excitement, instead she felt an odd pit in her stomach, like she was falling. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of euphoria. They were some of the most bizarre butterflies Twilight had ever experienced, simultaneously falling and soaring.
When Rainbow finally did wake up, her description of the dream she had experienced was much the same as it had been since the beginning. Rainbow said she had been flying through a tunnel, alone of course, and that she was trying to reach a light at the end, but it was just out of reach.
“So you weren’t able to recognize that you were dreaming, then?” Twilight asked pointedly.
Rainbow shrugged. “Nope, guess not. Maybe it’ll just take longer for me than you were hoping,” she said, laughing. Rainbow sat up, did her usual stretch, then grabbed her bag and headed up the stairs. “Anyway,” she said, turning around at the foot of the staircase, “I’ll catch ya later, Twi. I gotta run. Rare’s waitin’ for me!” She bounded up a few more steps, then said, “Same time next week!”
Twilight watched her go, her heart suddenly sinking. “Yeah, same time…”
Spike’s brow furrowed as he looked at Twilight. “Something up?” he asked. “You look kinda… bleh.”
Noticing Spike staring at her, Twilight quickly adopted a smile and said, “No, of course not. I’m just a little tired is all.” She gave him a reassuring grin. “So, what else was on the agenda for today?”
Spike shrugged. “If you say so. Let’s see,” she said, tapping his chin, “you promised Pinkie Pie that you’d help her with some new recipe she’s working on, and then after that you agreed to give Mayor Mare a hand with the preparations for Nightmare Night.”
“Is it really that time again?”
He nodded. “Only a few weeks away now. I should probably start working on my costume,” he said quietly, his mind drifting off.
“Well,” said Twilight, looking at Spike. “I guess we better get going then, huh?”
He grinned widely. “You know it. Say, what do you think I should go as this year?”
“Why don’t you go as Balerion the Dread?” Twilight suggested.
“A dragon again? Nah,” Spike said, waving his hand. “I already did that last year. I’m thinking snakes this time.”
“How about Jormungand?”
“...no one’s even going to get that.” He sighed. “Oh well, I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
Twilight chuckled. “I’m sure you will, too.” Her chuckle turned somber when her mind drifted back to Rainbow’s diary however. Then, she thought again about those two words she had written in her notes about that first session. “Was I writing that about Rainbow Dash… or myself?” Twilight mused quietly.
“What was that?” Spike asked, cocking his head to the side.
“Oh, it was nothing.” Twilight smiled. “Just thinking out loud. Anyway, I’m sure Pinkie is waiting for us. Let’s not keep her waiting.”
By the time they had returned from all the errands, it was well into the night. Sluggishly making their way upstairs, Twilight and Spike headed to their respective beds and, after bidding each other goodnight, laid down for a good night’s sleep. Twilight, despite how tired she was, found herself strangely unable to sleep at first. Her mind kept leading her back to the diary and back to Rainbow’s sleeping form.
She stared at the ceiling, willing herself to fall asleep, trying her best to ignore the confusing thoughts floating around her head. Minutes crawled by on hands and knees as she stared at that wooden ceiling, unable to clear her mind enough to allow sleep. Finally, with a sigh, Twilight placed a hoof against her own forehead.
As her horn began to glow softly, she felt a familiar warmth flow through her. “So this is what it feels like on this end?” Twilight wondered quietly to herself. “It feels nice.” Only a few seconds later, and her horn started to dim as Twilight’s eyelids fluttered. A few more seconds and she had drifted into sleep, her hoof sliding off her forehead and landing gently on the pillow next to her.
When she opened her eyes again, Twilight found herself reclining in a lounge chair on the beach. The sun was warm and inviting, not too hot as she lay on her back, only shielded slightly by the umbrella planted in the sand next to her. With her hooves crossed behind her head, she stared up into the unbelievably blue sky, completely free of clouds or any disturbances. She really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day at the beach. Although, something kept nagging at the back of her mind telling her that it wasn’t quite perfect. Close perhaps, but something was missing.
Twilight sat up, her mane falling back over her shoulders as she surveyed her surroundings with a furrowed brow. Stretching as far as she could see to either side, the beach, its white sands as clear and empty as the sky, was only stopped by the lapping of the ocean waves. Behind her was nothing. The beach rose into dunes, but beyond that, she couldn’t see anything. She slunk back into the seat, frowning.
“Where is everypony?” she wondered aloud.
“What do you mean?” came a voice from beside her.
Twilight nearly fell out of her lounge chair from shock. She looked to her right and saw a familiar face. Where before there had been beach, Rainbow Dash now sat beneath an identical umbrella with a pair of dark sunglasses obscuring her face. She wasn’t looking at Twilight, her eyes instead staring up into the cerulean sky.
“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, squinting her eyes.
Rainbow pulled her sunglasses off and gave Twilight a smirk. “Expecting somepony else?”
“I wasn’t expecting anypony, to be honest,” Twilight confessed. “I thought I was alone on this beach. Where… where did you come from?”
Rainbow chuckled, swinging her hind legs around to face Twilight. “I’ve been here the whole time, Twi. If that was your idea of a joke, it was terrible.”
Twilight shrugged. “I must’ve missed you.” She smiled. “Well, what do you want to do?”
“Do?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “We’re at the beach, Twi. You don’t do anything. Ya just sit around and lounge in the sun. That’s what makes the beach so awesome! It’s nap time all the time.”
Giggling, Twilight nodded. “All right, lounging it is then.” She leaned back against the chair, a smile upon her face. Just as her head hit the little pillow however, she suddenly felt water splash her face. Jerking upwards, she looked around. She was in the middle of a stormy ocean, floating only because of the lounge chair. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found.
Twilight looked around frantically, but the only thing she saw were the swells rocking her chair relentlessly. The sky was filled with black clouds, and lighting lanced down at regular intervals, piercing the sky with a harsh bolt. Thunder rocked the sky, shaking Twilight as she tried her best to hold onto the only thing saving her life. Half her body had slipped off the chair and now hung in the ocean. It was cold, freezing cold, and the salt water kept washing into her mouth making her gag.
Twilight started to panic, kicking her hind legs as hard as she could, paddling towards where she was sure the beach must be, but she wasn’t making any progress. She could feel herself being pulled out further and further into the ocean, and it was only when she looked behind her that she realized why. A massive wave, at least thirty or forty feet tall towered over her, sucking her in as it rose higher. Her eyes went wide just before the wave crashed into her. She tried to shield herself, but the wave never hit.
Twilight blinked, bringing down the hoof she had been covering her face with. Rainbow Dash gave her a questioning look, one eyebrow raised.
“Ya okay there, Twi? You were, uhh, kinda freaking out a bit.”
Twilight looked around, her eyes scanning a familiar room. She was in her bed again, and it was dark. It must’ve been the middle of the night. Rainbow was in the bed next to her. Twilight mumbled something unintelligible, then looked at Rainbow.
“What was that, Twi?” said Rainbow cupping a hoof over her ear. “I didn’t catch that.”
Twilight sighed. “I said, this is a dream. You aren’t real.”
“I’m not?” said Rainbow. “That’s pretty lame.”
“You’re not, at least not here.” Twilight frowned. “I just can’t figure out why you’re here though.”
Rainbow shrugged. “I’unno. Must be something to do with your subconscious, or whatever, right?”
“Well, that is how dreams work, but still…”
“But you still don’t know why I’m here, right?”
“Right.”
Rainbow hummed, bringing a hoof to her chin. “Hmm, it’s an interesting question, isn’t it? I mean, why me and not Rarity, or Fluttershy, or even Applejack?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight confessed. She shook her head. “I really don’t know. It doesn’t make sense.”
Chuckling, Rainbow said, “You mean, it doesn’t make logical sense, right? This makes perfect dream sense, I’ll tell you that much.”
Twilight laughed mirthlessly. “Maybe that’s true.”
Rainbow grinned. “So, I keep showing up in your dream. I’m in your bed right now, and you don’t know why. Twilight, do you… like me?”
Twilight blushed fiercely, though she didn’t really know why. She didn’t have any reason to be embarrassed by that, or did she? “I… I don’t know,” she admitted. “Is that what’s going on here? Do I… like you?”
Rainbow shrugged. “You tell me. I’m not the one having the dream here, remember?”
Twilight massaged her temple, squeezing her eyes shut. “I mean, I’ve always sort of admired you. You’re fast, strong, brave, loyal to a fault, and you’ve never let me down when I needed you. But admiration isn’t the same thing as love, is it? What is love? How would you even define it? Is it something that can be defined?”
“Whoa, Twi. You’re getting a bit too heavy for me,” said Rainbow with a chuckle. “Who said anything about love? I was just asking if you liked me.”
“Of course I like you, Rainbow,” said Twilight. “I like all my friends. But when does that like become something else? When does liking somepony becoming loving them?”
“I think those are questions you better ask yourself, Twilight. You won’t find the answers in any book. It’s just something you gotta figure out.”
Twilight frowned. “Do you like me, Rainbow?” she said, looking over to the mare sitting in bed next to her. “Do you… love me?”
She held up her hooves. “I think those are questions you should ask Rainbow Dash, not me.”
“But you are Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow tilted her head towards Twilight, giving her an accusatory look. “You know what I mean.”
Twilight sighed. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I am. I’m Rainbow Dash!”
Twilight giggled, giving Rainbow a smile. “All right, I think I know what I need to do now.” She leaned over and gave Rainbow a hug. “Thanks for your help.”
Chuckling, Rainbow said, “Look, I won’t say no to hugs, but I didn’t do anything. I’m just a piece of your subconscious, remember? All I did is tell you what you would’ve told yourself.” Suddenly, she looked up as if she had heard a sound. “Oh, look at that. What perfect timing.”
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“It’s time for you to wake up now.”
Twilight opened her eyes. The wooden ceiling she had seen while falling asleep loomed over her, and stray beams of light poured through the curtains into her room, segmenting her bed with their lines. She slowly sat up and looked to her right. Rainbow Dash was gone, and the room was empty. She glanced over at the calendar hanging next to her bed.
“Only six more days,” she muttered.
The rest of the week passed without incident. Though, Twilight noted, she had three more dreams involving Rainbow Dash, though she had not achieved lucidity in any of the others. Despite being occasionally busy with helping her friends, or Mayor Mare in one case, Twilight still found herself thinking about what Rainbow Dash had told her during that dream. She found herself anxiously awaiting the week’s end with an uncanny amount of anticipation.
When Rainbow finally showed up again, Twilight did her best to hide her eagerness, welcoming her in the same fashion she always did.
“Come in, come in!” she said, waving her hoof, motioning for Rainbow to step inside.
The long-awaited mare casually strode inside and immediately headed for the basement steps without waiting for Twilight. “We’ll have to make this one kind of quick,” said Rainbow. “I have to meet Rarity again, but this time to pick up that necklace. I was a little late last week, and even though she didn’t show it, I could tell she was a little mad. So, I guess it’ll have to a be a short dream this week.” She strode down the steps, closely followed by Twilight, until she reached the bottom where she made herself comfortable on the sofa she had become so accustomed to.
Twilight, careful to not bump into Rainbow, scooted around her and took her usual place beside the mare. “Umm, before we start, Rainbow. I was wondering about something.”
Frowning, Rainbow bit her lip. “Can it wait until after, Twi. I really can’t be late to Rarity’s again.”
Twilight’s heart raced. It felt like it was trying to beat its way out of her chest. “Uhh, yeah… yeah, it can wait.” Her hooves shaking, she placed them over Rainbow’s forehead. “So, should we go ahead and get started then?”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, now would be great.” She closed her eyes and waited for Twilight to begin.
Not wasting any time, Twilight’s horn flared to life and magic began to seep down through her limbs and into Rainbow’s head. Almost instantly, the mare became sleepy, her breathing softened, and slowed down to a steady pace. Within a few more seconds, she was fast asleep, well into stage one.
Twilight, her heart still fighting its way out of her chest, calmed only slightly when she removed her hooves from Rainbow’s forehead. She cursed under her breath.
“Shoot, now I have to wait to talk to her. Although,” she mused quietly, “perhaps it’s better this way. I don’t really know what I would’ve said.”
Twilight sighed, calming herself down a bit, then walked over to her desk and sat down. She went through her usual routine and pulled out a quill and paper to take notes, but she found herself unable to write anything. She kept staring at Rainbow’s face, watching her mouth move slightly as she breathed.
“I wish there was some way I could see your dreams,” Twilight muttered softly. “Maybe that would clear some things up.” She sighed, grabbing her quill again. She set it against the parchment, in a vain attempt to start writing something, then stopped suddenly. Her eyes shot wide open and she dropped the quill. She looked over at Rainbow, then got up and hurried towards the stairs. As soon as she had cleared the last flight, she ran right into Spike who was carrying his usual tray of tea and cookies. Rather than drop them though, the dextrous little dragon managed to keep them firmly within his grasp. He let out a sigh of relief, then gave Twilight a confused look.
“Jeez, Twilight, where’s the fire? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Twilight backed up, careful to avoid knocking over the tray. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Spike. I was coming up here to look for a book, and I didn’t see you there.”
He raised an eyebrow. “A book? What for? Isn’t Rainbow here already?”
“Yes, she’s asleep downstairs, but I need a new book for… something.”
He went to set the tray on a nearby nightstand, saying, “What book? I’ll help you look for it.”
Twilight quickly held up a hoof. “No! I mean… I’ll get this one myself. It’s no problem. In fact, I need you to get something else for me.”
“Okay, what is it?”
Twilight wracked her brain to think of something that would send him far away, distract him for a couple of hours. “Umm, I need you to go to Sweet Apple Acres and see if Applejack has any of that Zap Apple jam left. It’s for an, uhh, experiment I’m doing.”
He gave her a suspicious look. “An experiment, huh? Why didn’t you tell me about it before?”
“Well, I just started working on it,” Twilight explained. “I’m trying to see if Zap Apples can be used in concert to create an alternating current with their innate electrical properties.” She grinned awkwardly. “It’s kind of a side project type thing.”
Spike shrugged. “Whatever you say, Twilight. Sure, I’ll go get you some Zap Apple jam, but only if you give me enough extra money to buy myself a pie too.”
“That’s fine,” said Twilight hurriedly. “You know where to find the money, right?”
He nodded. “Yup, in your dresser. Same as always.”
“Good,” said Twilight. “Then off you go. Take your time, no rush.”
He laughed. “Sometimes you are so weird, Twilight. All right, well, I’ll be back in a bit. See ya!”
Twilight waited until he had gone into her room, collected enough money to buy what he needed, and left the house before returning to her search. She made her way to the library room and began searching through the thousands of books there. As she tore through shelf after shelf, digging further and further towards the back, she began talking to herself.
“I know I saw it somewhere around here,” she said, biting her lip. “If I remember right, it should be right behind this—Aha! Here it is!”
Extricating herself from the pile of books she had created, Twilight held her prize aloft. With a massive grin on her face, she quickly made her way back downstairs and to the desk. With a quick glance at the clock to confirm the time, she calculated that she had about an hour and a half to two hours before Rainbow woke up. Taking a deep breath, Twilight placed the book she had so recently unearthed in front of herself. The title spilled across the book in large black print. It read: The Dreamscape: Entering and Leaving Dreams Through the Use of Magic.
Stats
Page generated in 0.021 seconds
Total duration
672 users online
824,392 hits today, 2,073,628 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
What are you up to, Twilight?
And Rainbow is trying to hide things...
Also... I've been meaning to read that manga, but can't find them anywhere...
~Skeeter The Lurker
Time for a little inception.
Don't go around saying things like "What is love" all willy-nilly Twilight, you might cause unwanted headbanging sequences.
I completely lost it.
I cant wait to see where this story is going
3316474 Lol me too
3316474
Heh, glad to know the humor wasn't lost on everyone. That joke was very intentional.
Twilight's dream is kind of cute. I like how the feelings develop as a result of her hoping that Rainbow Dash is dreaming about her. Adorkable Twilight overthinking her way into having a crush.
Well, this will probably end in tears.
>shipping
>13k
>no warm 'n' fuzzies yet
Do you understand how this genre works?
3321222
3321222 He is setting it up well, IMO. He isn't just rushing into "and then they banged." It's about the journey leading up to the relationship just as much as the relationship itself.
TL;DR chill out and be patient brofasa.
3323242
Good on you for leaving a thoughtful reply to my troll comment. As a rule, though, I leave nothing but troll comments on alexmagnet's stories. That's just the way it is.
However, I can tell you for a fact that this story is gonna be like ninety percent dream interpretation with like ten percent shipping tacked on for the sake of completeness. Have you read this man's blogs?
i need MORE I REQUIRE MORE AND I REQUIRE IT NOW
My little grammar: adverbs are magic.
Why that little... His dragon costume idea is too special to dispense with! It pays homage to the species he was born from while its status as a fabricated mantle sets him apart from the dragon archetype. It's a subtle yet powerful statement that only he can make, one that illustrates his unique situation as the only dragon in pony society: associated with both, yet also too different from them to truly fit in.
Snakes... Why did it have to be snakes?
Going psycho-diving now? Twilight, I don't think this is going to end well for anyone. Treading on her dreams won't earn you any favours...
3434475
I see what you did there.