Figments

by Half Awake

Chapter 2

The sudden imposition of realistic physics took just a moment to register, and Luna's wings sprang open in a flurried attempt to keep her from plummeting to the city streets below. She couldn't afford to be jarred into consciousness right now, and even she, as practiced as she was at this, couldn't suppress all of her natural reactions.

“You have some weird dreams, Apple Bloom. Is that Manehattan? Sweetie Belle, find a rope and-” Luna slid the window closed without turning around. No way was that going to happen. These little breaches tended to be repaired in short order by one side or the other, but she didn't have time to hang around and make sure. The thing, whatever it was, already had a head start and was loping its way down the side of the building. If it hit street level, she'd lose it in the crowd.

She pitched herself into a dive, the office building floors streaking by as she ate up her prey's lead. The black wisp she was chasing looked back once, hooked a claw around a piece of molding and swung itself straight through a window. She flared her wings and made a shallow loop to bleed off some speed, coming to a stop just outside the offending office. It was easy to find – several discolored splotches on the otherwise well washed exterior gave it away. Apparently this was not the creature's first visit.

Luna pressed her face to the glass, but saw nothing inside. The office itself looked empty, both of ponies and of props that could be shadows in disguise. A touch of magic undid the latch and opened the window. When nothing jumped out and tackled her, she squeezed herself through the not-quite-big-enough opening, stumbling a bit as her back legs caught on the sill. Fortunately, nopony was around to watch the undignified performance.

It wasn't completely silent, as she could hear a conversation in the next room over. Nothing in here, though. The room was completely barren except for the carpet, which was typical of dream space that wasn't particularly important to its dreamer. Luna made a short circuit of the room, tested the door on the far wall. It was locked from the inside, though she supposed that an amorphous entity like the one she was chasing might have been able to squeeze underneath it.

Or maybe—

Luna's head burst up through the drop ceiling, horn lit up to throw dim blue light around the cramped space. A squeal from her right let her know that she had guessed correctly. Amidst the pipework and beams, the creature sat there surrounded by trinkets and baubles that looked to have come from a dozen different dreams. Its glowing yellow eyes were pointed straight at her, and still clutched the tree house doorknob covetously in its clawed hands. The silver cord, which had been just barely visible before, shone like a bright strand in this darkness.

She was ready for it this time. With a flash of magic, she wrapped it in a telekinetic grip strong enough to immobilize a yak.

It was like trying to hold onto slime. The creature oozed out of her magic field and zigzagged across the dusty space, wispy trails of shadow streaming behind it. She tried twice more, but the thing just wriggled out of her hold like a squirming cat.

Her shield bubble did a better job. Luna could see the flickering glow of artificial light poking up through the porous ceiling tiles as she scrambled to pull herself up into the confined space. She picked her way carefully to her captive, who was trying to break the shield with the doorknob it had managed to hold on to.

“Cease your struggles,” she hissed at the shadow, which ignored her completely. Luna needed to get the thing out of this mind – understanding its purpose could come later. The conversation she'd heard earlier was now directly below, and it would be better not to have any further impact on this dream. With any luck, whoever was down in the office space beneath her would never know she'd been there.

“So you see, profits in the self-esteem enhancement sector are up again this quarter.” The voice was very deep for a pony. Luna stepped cautiously in order to avoid breaking through the cheap tile. “Our analysts project that advancements in our catchphrase technology could boost our next quarter earnings by up to twenty percent! A strategic partnership between—”

“Well that's not Princess Luna.” Her hoof halted in midstep and she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that it would turn out to be some hallucination of her overworked mind.

“It's not my fault, you said she'd be in here! This looks like a... what kinda meetin' is this?” Apple Bloom's distinct accent eradicated her last sliver of hope that the situation could be resolved quietly.

“Your business employs these three underage folk? You failed to convey this the last time we spoke. Our people have very strict child labor laws, we'd sacrifice gains to the outrage it'd cause.”

New plan, then. Circle around and collect the crusaders while masquerading as a caretaker of some sort. Even in this rigid mind she should be able to shift into the guise of an office worker, and if she kept the shield bubble out of sight, she might yet salvage this situation.

“What? No, one of the accountants probably brought their kids in. 'If you want a foal to grow up right...' uh, no that's not the one.” His voice trailed off into a mumble.

The low ceiling was literally starting to press in on her, no doubt her own subconscious at work. She slunk forward, crouched, and put a tentative hoof down.

In a shower of drywall debris, Luna fell spread-eagle onto a conference room table, mane and tail trailing in starry streaks to splash into heaps around her. The blue sphere bounced down out of the crawlspace and landed solidly behind her, sending a crack through the cherry-colored wood. A dark puddle at the bottom of the cage slowly pulled itself back together and immediately re-engaged with its battle against the shield that surrounded it.

“Oh, there she is! See, I told you,” Scootaloo said smugly. The business lunch assembled around her looked too stunned to respond. An executive zebra and her aide, dressed in very expensive tea-spattered suits, were gaping at Luna speechlessly. Two goats stood guard at the door where three fillies were using the distraction of her entrance to squeeze their way inside.

At the head of the table, standing next to an easel with full color pie chart, was a blue minotaur in black pants and a tie. “This, um, this is—”

“It's hard to put words to this shameful display.” The stern looking zebra pulled her mouth shut and addressed Iron Will. “I think we've seen all that we need to. Good day.”

Luna, trying to regain at least a touch of dignity, rose to her hooves on the table top. She checked the bubble-cage to make sure it still held its prisoner and stepped down to the plush floor. Behind her, the aide began to stuff papers and writing supplies into his briefcase as his boss tried to brush the plaster dust from her vest. Iron Will just stared, dumbfounded.

“Come, children. I think we've caused enough trouble here.” To their credit, the crusaders had the good grace to look mildly ashamed.

“Sorry for ruining your dream, Mr. Will.” Sweetie Belle said sheepishly as the four intruders started toward the conference room door.

Iron Will's normally stern demeanor had crumbled. “Dream? Young lady, this is a nightmare!”

A sudden wave of nausea washed through Luna, and the blue bubble flickered. As if sensing her weakness, the shadowy being kicked off one side of its prison and smashed through the other, sending shards of blue force scattering in all directions.

With an un-princess-like cry of frustration, Luna rounded on the creature. Her horn flashed as she tried to recapture it, a task made more difficult by the crowded quarters. Iron Will's goats, at least, had the good sense to leap out of the way of the charging shadow. It reached the doorway and touched the frame with one of its clawed appendages. The scene beyond the door changed.

“It's gettin' away!” Apple Bloom, still a little green in the face, lept after the thing as in pulled itself through the portal. Unsurprisingly, Scootaloo needed no urging and charged after them. Sweetie Belle spared Luna one apologetic glance before taking off after her friends.

“Wait, that's not a place that—” Luna didn't bother finishing the sentence, as the fillies had already crossed the threshold. Unable to suppress a flicker of annoyance, the Princess dove after them. Though the crusaders would be in danger, she knew that at the very least the shadow creature would not be able to escape her in this dream.