Chapter 30
This one was a tough one—not fun to write at all. I think I wrote myself in a corner by setting up a divergent retelling of an actual episode, something I'm not eager to repeat. Also, I find it quite hard to keep the stakes up in dream chapters. Admittedly, they are a plot device I've used far too much.
Nonetheless, I hope the chapter is enjoyable.
Oh, one more thing: I had always expected this story to only truly appeal to the transformations group, but it ended up far more popular than I ever expected it to be. So if you're interested in answering, I'd like to hear from anyone who was referred, or found this story in an unconventional manner. I'm just curious about my base.
Thank you. Enjoy 
“Everypony, we must give our utmost effort, as it might be our last chance. I needn’t remind you of the damage the tantabus could inflict on the waking world,” Luna announced as I rode into the room.
“Hello, Princess Luna. Got room for one more?” Star asked as she trotted in. I noticed a bizarre circle of beds laid out in the room, and I used one to hop down from the bowl-shaped saddle Star was wearing.
Honestly, flying as a passenger hadn’t been so bad with the proper equipment. It certainly beat being held precariously between a pegasus’s barrel and the ground below.
“Star… and Alice?” Luna asked, surprised. “What brings you two here?”
Star gestured to me, and I spoke: “Well, last night I had a dream with Pinkie Pie, a test I hadn’t studied for and a blue smoke monster.”
Luna put a hoof to her chin. “I see. I must ask though: Pinkie Pie, why did you not mention Alice was in your dream?”
“Oops, I must have forgotten,” Pinkie giggled to herself. “Between the ice cream social and the cake monster, I forgot the part with Alice.” She bear-hugged me. “Sorry about that, Alice.”
“Are you sure that nopony else was there?”
“Lyra Heartstrings, Filthy RIch, Ditzy Doo, Mr. Davenport, Cheerilee, Scootaloo… Nope, I think everypony in Ponyville covers everypony else.”
“You must be positive,” Luna cautioned. “Anyone you dream of in a tantabus nightmare is vulnerable. It is much like a viral affliction, transferring from one pony to the next. As it does so, it grows more and more powerful. In any case, I am relieved that my sister caught your accidental involvement in this, young Alice. Now, shall we commence?”
“Wait,” I interjected. “A pony from my school was in my dream. I only know what you and Star told me about the tantabus, but wouldn’t she be in danger?”
As much as I disliked Annuity, I wasn’t about to allow a dream monster to invade her mind.
“Was this pony in your dream before or after the tantabus appeared?”
“Before,” I said, wary.
“Then there’s no cause for alarm,” Luna assured me. “When Pinkie’s dreamscape merged with yours, that allowed it through. However, anypony you dreamed of before that point could not be affected as the tantabus would have no conduit through which to invade their dreams.
“That’s good,” I said flatly. Although admittedly, I had harbored secret hopes of Star yanking Annuity out of bed in the middle of the night to bring her here.
“For the second night in a row, at least I know I’m gonna get a good night’s sleep—rotten apples or not,” said Applejack, yawning.
Pinkie popped up from under the covers in Applejack’s bed. “Are you kidding? Another sleepover!? I’m so excited I don’t think I can—”
Pinkie was out cold mid-sentence, beginning to snore the moment her head hit the pillow.
Applejack rolled her eyes while her remaining conscious friends snickered.
“At least that frees up a bed for Alice,” Twilight reasoned, patting it for good measure.
Following her cue, I made a running start and hopped up on the bed.
Star moved to follow me, but Luna caught her.
“Star Chart, you have already done well bringing her here. You may have the night off. I assure you nothing will happen to Alice under my watch.”
Star bowed. “Thank you, Princess.”
“There’s another bedroom three doors down the hall to the left,” said Twilight. “You can spend the night there.”
Star extended her forehooves. “I couldn’t, Princess. That’s okay. I’ll be fine on a cloud,” Star assured Twilight.
The junior princess smiled. “I insist. You’ve been working hard, Star.
“Thank you, Princess Twilight,” Star said after a moment of reluctance, bowing and vanishing around the corner.
“Let us try again then,” Luna commanded. “Turn off the lights.”
Rarity complied, and complete darkness fell on the room, save for the moonlight pouring in from an open window and Luna’s glowing horn. Tendrils of light extending from the alicorn’s horn appeared momentarily, vanishing once they made contact with one of us.
Spike glanced at at me nervously, rubbing his claws together. “So… you’re a filly now?”
I sighed. “Yes, I am.”
Spike looked away briefly before coming up with a determined expression. “This time I’m going to stay up all night watching out for you guys.”
I didn’t get the point of his declaration, but then I realized I didn’t know if Luna had to stay conscious to monitor our dreams.
“Thanks Spike,” said Twilight, causing Spike to get even more pumped.
Despite Luna’s calming presence, there was still a bit of tension we had to fight through to get to sleep. Applejack and Rarity joined Pinkie in slumber relatively quickly, while Rainbow Dash was halfway there. Spike, however, had dozed off within twenty minutes of his bold declaration. Tiphooving over to Spike, Twilight scooped him up onto her back, set him down on her bed and pulled the covers back over the two of them.
Watching the two of them, I felt something unpleasant digging around inside of me. And as I glanced between the young drake and the duo of Pinkie and Applejack, it intensified. The remainder of Twilight’s friends managed to fall asleep over the next couple of minutes. I, meanwhile, grew increasingly restless. This grown-up’s bed suddenly felt too big for me, despite being smaller than what I was used to. Popping up from under the covers, I tried to smooth out some wrinkles in the comforter, but this activity failed to soothe me.
I kept staring as Twilight’s wing softly cradled Spike while he slept peacefully.
Ponyfeathers... I thought to myself.
I knew what I wanted, but I questioned its origin. Was it because I was small? Because I was a child? Or was this another pony thing that had invaded my mind?
It would have been easier to overrule if I were certain it was the latter, but there was something human about the instinct as well. My own mother had certainly been touchy regarding affection. The last time must have been when I was four.
Steeling myself, I took one more glance at Spike and tried to shut out the impulse. This time, however, my eyes met Twilight’s. She was wearing an enigmatic smile.
“Having trouble sleeping?” Twilight asked quietly.
“N—not really,” I whispered in response.
Twilight’s large, curious eyes seemed to radiate warmth as she looked me over. “If you want, I do have another wing.”
I flinched. She had seen right through me.
I expected myself to decline, but the words just wouldn’t come. I couldn’t get over how comfortable Spike looked, and I ultimately couldn’t bring myself to miss out.
Just this once… I thought to myself. Just this once.
And so we cuddled. I got the amazing sensation of being cocooned in a feathery blanket. Moments such as these sometimes made me a smidgen grateful to be a little pony.
I cracked the gigantic plasma screen with a thud after a savage strike. I was momentarily lodged in the crater I had created before I started to tumble downward towards the city streets. Waiting just before impact, I activated my casting seal to break my fall. Pulling myself to my feet, I hunched over, panting. My staff alone kept me from tipping over.
Hurting slightly, I mustered a wild smile. Wings, horn and pony ears aside, it was nice to be mostly human again. And at four foot-two, I felt positively massive. I wasn’t happy to be fighting in a frilly blue fur dress, but even in my dreams, I knew I couldn’t have everything.
“Wahaha! What’s wrong, Lure Blue? Can’t take a hit?”
I grinned, pulling the scrunchy out of my long pink hair. “I just want to let you feel like you have a chance.” I twirled my staff, stopping the motion when the staff’s blue orb was upright. “Come.”
“Lure Blue—or rather, Magical Filly Nifty Alice—you’ve always been a violent one. Why not take a break to hear my evil plan in full?”
I sighed. Apparently dream villains were just as stupid as their Equestrian counterparts.
“Go ahead….” I groaned.
“Haha. When my overhyped next-generation title launches, the salty tears of gamers will flow. Gamebreaking bugs, loot boxes with terrible odds, a huge day one patch that fixes nothing. And by channeling their outrage, I, Saltman Jack, will be the most powerful in the world!”
I raised my voice as I flew up: “As if I won’t pummel your face in first. Nifty Special: Tundra Explosion!”
The wind howled as a chill fell over the city. The wind picked up in intensity as ice crystals began to materialize around my foe, growing to the size of small knives. They hung in the air before all at once, hurtling towards him.
I grinned in triumph and lowered my staff. The mist died down, and Saltman began to cackle.
“Oh, were you expecting that to hurt,” he taunted.
I gasped and froze momentarily. He took advantage of this opening and fired his salt cannon at me. I tried to fly away, but for some reason I forgot I was dependent on my wings for lift( apparently this didn’t apply to him) and I got pinned against the side of a building.
He charged some energy around his fist, beginning to accelerate towards me.
“It’s over!”
I struggled in place to try and break free of my restraints. My dress tore where it was pinned, but escape appeared impossible.
I sighed and closed my eyes. It was a shame to lose out on such a cool dream, but thankfully dying here would do me no harm.
I heard a thwack, yet I felt no pain. Opening my eyes, I beheld a horned girl, much like myself. Somehow this didn’t surprise me in the least.
“Auburn, run! This is my fight.”
The filly smiled back at me, holding off the saltman with her wooden staff.
“Don’t be stubborn, Alice,” the filly said in a high, squeaky voice. “You need me right now, just as much as I need you.”
“Lure Brown, so good of you to show up. But you are too late. Even now, the hidden code I inserted into the programming is deleting hours of progress, and as the players’ anger reaches a fever pitch, my power will reach its zenith! Even two Lures will not be enough to stop me.
“What about three?” a childish voice asked. A second alicorn girl floated up to our height. She appeared to be wearing a teal-tinted maid’s costume, and her caramel mane was in a bun. Her staff had bristles surrounding the orb at its tip. She pulled out the salt grains pinning me to the building and the two of us raised our staves to strike.
“Green Tempest!” the third girl shouted.
“True Blue Strike,” I called out.
Energy encircled our staves, adding an awesome power to our attacks. However, the villain was ready and deflected our attacks with his off-hand salt shaker.
“Foolish filly,” Saltman taunted. “You won’t win many battles announcing your attacks like that. Your sole advantage was the element of surprise, but you squandered that.”
“Noted,” came a cool voice from above. At the same instant, a flaming arrow rained down from above and hit the Saltman square in the head. He screamed as the projectile sent him rushing towards the city streets below.
I looked up, and I smiled at the sight of my sister. She was dressed just as I remembered, albeit with antlers. She had her index finger on the bowstring wrapped around her staff.
“Diane!” said the maid filly.
“Hello House Keeper,” Diane greeted. “Alice, Auburn, good to see you are all right.” Her expression then hardened. “Look out!”
A barrage of high-speed salt grains flew by us as we frantically danced mid-air to get out of the way.
Auburn dove, deflecting projectiles and bashed her weapon against the saltman’s. Her head-on attack did little, but this opened Diane up for another clean shot, which our foe dodged. House and I nodded to one another and jumped into the fray. There was no chance he could hold off all four of us. I grinned. I was going to enjoy this.
I jerked to a stop. House had extended her staff to stop me. Before I could even think to question this, I saw a blue rift open in front of us. A smoky blue tendril reached out from the abyss. A plague of distortion poured out from the wormhole, corrupting our surroundings. I felt my dress vanish as fur once more covered my body. Auburn and House Keeper morphed into mini ponies alsol, with the former sprouting wings as well
Our warped surroundings gradually started to untwist and I recognized the throneroom of Canterlot Castle before the distortion faded.
What is it doing? There’s nothing frightening here.
A tiny crown then appeared on each of our heads, with Diane’s awkwardly sliding down one of her antlers. Auburn laughed.
“Why am I the only one who didn’t become a little pony?” Diane asked.
“Beats me,” I replied. “Probably because you’re normally not a pony. Makes as much sense as anything else around here. Kind of like how you don’t question the fact that you have a sister named Alice in dreamland.”
“I’m blanking, but I have the feeling that this was explained to me before, in another, half-remembered dream… Oh well, I’ll just accept it here: you’re Alice, my sister. And besides, I suppose since this is a dream, I can be a pony too if I want.”
And with that, Diane morphed into a tall pegasus filly, maintaining her antlers. She also kept her characteristic red hair, while her coat was beige. As soon as she finished morphing, Princess Celestia walked into the room. She was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a sun hat.
“All right, junior princesses, I’m leaving Equestria in your hooves. Be yourselves, stay true to your hearts, and I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
House saluted. “Ma’am yes ma’am!”
Celestia smiled before teleporting away. It was a rather quick interaction, but it’s about what I expected.
“I don’t understand. What exactly are we doing?” Diane asked.
“Remember: it’s a dream. Just roll with it,” I assured her.
Two faceless guards appeared at the door, as if materializing as soon as I expected them to be there. They tapped their spears once against the floor, and two familiar ponies came trotting in.
“Ah, Rose Tea and Donut Dawn, good to see you two. I could hazard a guess, but please, tell us why you’re here.”
“Certainly, Princess,” said Tea. “The crux of this issue is that this thief is infringing my patent.”
“Ridiculous!” the stallion replied. “My machine is completely different!”
“Completely different? As if! All you did was make the iron mixing arm out of aluminium. It’s totally the same,” the mare sneered.
“That’s your fault. You included a needless limitation in your patent’s claims. I was smart enough to think outside the box,” said Donut.
“You used no imagination whatsoever; therefore, the doctrine of equivalents should cover the simple substitution of one material for another.”
“It shouldn’t!” the stallion insisted. “Your patent’s claims serve to put the public on notice. How am I supposed to know where your claims begin and end if their boundaries are so malleable.”
“And I say it’s ridiculous for me to be punished for hiring inexperienced counsel,” said Rose Tea.
“Pah. Whatever. I know I’m right,” he said. “Tell us, princesses.”
I got the sense that the dream was skimping on details again.
House laughed nervously. “I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“Me neither,” Auburn admitted.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this,” I assured them. “Princesses actually don’t have to do that much.” I cleared my throat. “Now, both of you raise compelling points. Rose should be able to fix her patent, but at the same time it would be unfair to her competitors if the boundaries of her claims were allowed to vaguely encompass logical equivalents. Therefore, I will request the House of Ponies write an appropriate statute encompassing this case. In the meantime, I will need a full accounting of facts from the both of you in order to decide the fairest course of action. Until then, I can make no decision.”
“Thank you.”
“Yes, thank you Princess.”
The two of them bowed and walked away.
I turned to my fellow dream princesses.
“See? There’s nothing to it.”
“Don’t we all have to agree on it first?” House asked.
“You did great, Alice!” Auburn praised.
“I’m a bit surprised, though,” said Diane. “I would have expected you to be more decisive.”
I felt a sudden chill. “What do you mean?” I asked my sister.
A thunderclap struck the ground and my father appeared. I recoiled in surprise.
“What nonsense have those ponies been feeding you, Aron? A soldier does not hesitate. Deliberation can mean death. Decisive action is imperative; every wasted second invites death. I thought I raised you better than that.”
Another boom resonated throughout the room. This time, my brother materialized.
“I’m almost ashamed to call you my twin,” he scolded. “Such trifling matters don’t deserve consideration, let alone compromise.”
A wave of malaise and guilt overtook me. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but the words just weren’t there. It was true—I had acted in a completely Equestrian manner here—and during my Career Day experience too! Still, I hadn’t completely lost my senses, though, as it was clear that the tantabus was in control of this unconventional nightmare. Nevertheless, it still stung for targeting an area of insecurity.
“You’re more of a filly than a man at this point,” Lawrence declared.
“Indeed. Why, you’re more feminine than Diane,” Will added.
As my family continued to chastise me, my consternation grew. As I pressed my hooves to my face in distress, a blue haze started to rise from the stone tile floor. It coalesced into rays of light, which were absorbed into the tantabus’s body.
I felt a reassuring hoof on my back. Then another. And another.
“Deliberation isn’t weakness,” Diane stated. “I was wrong about a lot of things, and I’m still learning now, but it’s important to question what we thought we knew. Besides, you don’t have to sacrifice resolve or courage to be considerate of all aspects of a problem.”
“My dad is mean to me sometimes too,” said House. “Don’t be sad about it. Whether you’re a colt or a filly, you are still you, and you have a contribution to make.”
“Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with being a filly,” Auburn echoed.
Honestly, I would have been fine with just Diane trying to cheer me up, but the gesture was still appreciated from the other two. I obviously wasn’t about to accept everything they said, but they gave me the courage to look my father and brother in the eye.
“Apparently you haven’t seen how I live,” I said. “Yes, I’m a pony—a filly—but I’m still a Rhod as well. I enjoy combat sports, I hate singing, and I’m friends with Squirt the anti-pony—hardly a normal filly those make.”
I expected some jeering response, but as soon as I looked back at Will, he was gone. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my dad becoming coated in a bright light and phasing out. I then looked up with a smug expression.
Surprisingly, the tantabus was still present, and it emphasized this by roaring.
“Uhh… I expected it to vanish. Do you guys have any suggestions?”
“Maybe we can suck it into a giant vacuum cleaner,” House suggested.
“Any decent suggestions?” I asked.
“Well, this is a dream. Can’t we just wish the monster away?” Diane suggested.
I shook my head. “That won’t work. The tantabus is no product of our imagination. As such, it is immune any effect that would alter or erase it.”
Diane closed her eyes. A giant anvil appeared at ceiling height, just above the tantabus. It dropped, pulled by a force greater than gravity. Before impact, however, our foe touched the anvil and turned it into a packing peanut.
I smiled. “I like how you didn’t telegraph your idea of using something physical to inflict damage. Unfortunately, the tantabus is just as capable as ourselves when it comes to changing objects within the dreamscape.”
“Then how do we beat it?” my sister asked.
“As much as I hate to say it, I don’t think we can. We just have to hold out until Luna gets here.”
“Who’s Luna?” House asked.
“You don’t know?” I asked.
“I don’t know either,” Diane added, conjuring a shield to defend us from the dark energy pulsing from dream parasite.
“She’s the Princess of the Night,” I said rather unhelpfully. “I’d expect you not to know, Diane, but—Oh! There she... is?”
A rift appeared and Twilight popped through. She ignored the tantabus, dove down towards us and charged her horn. A blinding light filled the room. When I could finally muster opening my eyes, I found myself in Ponyville.
“Where are we now?” House asked.
“Cool it’s Ponyville,” said Auburn. “I love it here.”
“Ponyville? That’s a silly name,” said Diane.
“Who are these ponies, Alice?” Twilight asked.
“Well…”
A metal clanging distracted me, and I saw a pony I did not recognize flying on a pile of gold coins towards a much larger tantabus than I had had to deal with. Most prominent, however, was Luna flying high above. Her horn was glowing, and energy tendrils extended from it, draping over the dreamscape.
“What’s going on here?” I asked Twilight.
“This is the shared dreamscape that Princess Luna wanted to create for everyone in Ponyville. Something went wrong with your connection to it, though. I postulate it is because you have your own latent dream magic abilities.”
“I do?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me, since I have some too,” said Twilight. “Luna had to work around it to connect with me. At any rate, the tantabus split in two to access your dreamscape. I was able to vanquish the newly-formed copy with a special spell, but the original won’t go down that easily.”
“I shouldn’t keep you from doing whatever you need to be doing to help Luna. I just need to know what we should do.”
Applejack galloped by in a strange superhero costume. “Yeehaw! Howdy, Alice.”
Just when I thought that was odd, a red, male alicorn flew by. Before I could process this, a grown-up Spike in shining armor rode into battle on a giant Ditzy Doo, dodging blue tendrils while going after the main body of the tantabus.
“Well, we have tried to fight it, but it hasn’t gone too well,” Twilight explained. “You guys can jump in if you want. I’m going to talk to Princess Luna.”
With that, Twilight took wing and went towards Luna.
House looked around with wide eyes. “Neato! I always wanted to be a superhero!”
“Meh, it’s overrated,” I told her.
But the filly wasn’t having any of it and dressed herself us as a masked vigilante before galloping off.
“Me too,” said Auburn, doing the same.
Diane turned to me and smiled. “I guess I’m off then.” With that, she returned to being mostly human and summoned a greatbow. Her wings resized to fit her body, and she flew up to aim her first shot.
I paused and looked around. Lots of ponies were charging headlong at the tantabus with some strange power or another. However, the longer I watched, the more I was convinced that it was futile. If anything, the creature was only growing larger. All the while, the mental strain on Luna, as evidenced on the night princess’s face, seemed to be growing.
I scanned my surroundings. The dreamscape replicated Ponyville faithfully, and I recognized I was in the east part of town. Ignoring my wings for the moment, I took a curvy street and came across a store for linens. Momentarily curious, I opened the door, only to find the store completely empty. Just as I started to back away, the shape of the room shifted. A front counter appeared, followed by a display of bedsheets, a rack of shirts, and some tablecloths.
It makes sense. It doesn’t need to be there in a dream until I expect it to be there, or need to be there.
I chuckled as realization dawned on me.
“That’s stupid. There’s no way that should work…”
And yet. it was fully consistent with the flexible nature of dream rules I had come to expect.
“I really expect to find a clue upstairs. That’s where a clue would logically be. Oh how I expect a clue will be upstairs,” I announced as I climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Rounding the corner, I found another mostly empty room. Other than my stated expectation, I couldn’t come up with anything obvious that would be there, and accordingly, I saw nothing.
Worth a try… I guess dreams aren’t that easy to manipulate.
I didn’t know what to do next, save for hoping there was another floor.
It didn’t work before, so why would—Really?
Sure enough, as soon as I turned my head to glance at what was previously a plain wall, I found my doorway and staircase. There hadn’t even been space for a third floor.
Okay, there has got to be some logic to this. Merely willing it into existence isn’t enough. What’s needed is some sort of blind faith—expectation rather. The expectation beyond a shadow of a doubt.
This was as tricky as it sounded, but I gave my best attempt, emptying my head of forced affirmations. Instead, I circumlocuted what I was after. I thought about why I needed to find a clue, what I would do when I found it and vague imaginings of the tantabus’s defeat.
As I took the last step up, I tried to smooth out my hope into conviction. I must have failed, however, as I came upon another empty room.
Save for the brown stallion at the center of it.
“Just about my luck…” I lamented. “I should have expected this, seeing how even normal dreams never seem to go my way.”
“If it’s at all reassuring, I don’t know why I’m here either. Normally I have my role as I try to help you adjust. But today I don’t know why I’m here,” said the stallion.
“I thought you didn’t know your purpose, or anything helpful. Now you say you want to help me adjust. What changed? And who said I needed help adjusting?”
He sighed. “I’m sorry. That’s just what I’ve inferred. I still don’t have the answers you desire.”
“But why—”
I felt an immense pressure and in an instant the roof was torn cleanly off. I braced myself against the wall and gripped the carpet.
I spotted Twilight flying among the debris, and her words resonated throughout the dreamscape: “The tantabus grew more powerful because of your guilt! You need to forgive yourself, Luna! That’s the only way.”
“I… cannot do that,” Luna said. “I caused so much harm; I don’t... deserve... forgiveness.”
“But, Luna, you’re determined to protect everypony here. That proves you’ve changed, Luna. You’re not the pony you were before.”
Luna shut her eyes, tears welling up. “If… it is the only way…”
The now massive tantabus roared and writhed. Its body itself seemed to be collapsing, as if nothing solid remained to support the smoky veneer.
“You did it. Yay!” said Fluttershy, who was riding on a gigantic monster bunny.
“Yeah, Luna, that was awesome!” Dash cheered.
“Yes, I suppose I did,” Luna said, with mixed emotion.
One of the detached blue tendrils seemed to stretch and thin moving towards us.
Huh… come to think of it, that one still looks like it could be after us. Surely it’s not—
“Look out!” I shouted.
I was too late; however, as the smoke tentacle suddenly wrapped around the brown stallion. I watched in horror as smoke covered his body, and the nucleus of a new tantabus formed, taking on his fur pigmentation in the process.
The creature roared as it’s body expanded to massive proportions.
“What’s happening!?” Twilight asked, alarmed.
“No! The tantabus has found a new source of power. And by the looks of it, it is just as powerful as it was with my guilt.
Realizing I was in a pinch unlike most known to Equestria, I reached out and felt for the power of the earth. Thinking quickly, I augmented my foot-speed with my geomancy. The brown tantabus raised a fist-like protrusion and tried to pile-drive me. I was now nimble enough to dodge, and I reflexively altered my enhancement to one of pure power and put it entirely in my right forehoof.
I should have listened to my reservations, as punching the new tantabus was like hitting pudding. Worse, I found myself unable to extract my hoof, as if it was resting in sticky quicksand.
Twilight fired a magic beam at the brown blob, but the creature flew out of the way, dragging me into the air along with it.
“Help!!!” I yelled, starting to get vertigo from the creatures aberrant flight pattern.
“No power should be stronger than guilt or self-judgment,” Luna said. “Self-judgment? Wait, that could be it! Alice, is there anything that’s been bothering you? Anything from which the tantabus could feed?”
“Not that I can think of,” I shouted back.
Applejack tossed a lasso onto my back hooves and started tugging me down. “I reckon you should think of somethin’, sugarcube.”
“It can be anything, Alice,” said Twilight. “A confession might work too.”
“All right then. Tantabus, I actually like being a pony.”
My words seemed to hang on the air for several awkward moments.
“Really?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Ummm… I have a crush on Squirt,” I tried, as the tantabus started to pull me free of the lasso..
“You do?” Rarity asked.
“No and no,” I replied. “I’m just telling it what I think that blasted stallion might want to hear.
“Maybe it is guilt. Try and forgive yourself,” Twilight counseled.
“But I don’t have anything I’m guilty over.”
“Yeah, well you better figure it out fast, or we’re all in big trouble,” said Rainbow.
Confused, I closed my eyes and tried to tune out all outside stimulus—extremely difficult as the tantabus was swinging me around like a tethered rag doll.
Guilt… shame… have I felt them recently?
Somehow as I imagined the impact of these emotions, I recalled them in the not-so-recent past.
Twilight flew by and tried to arrest the spin-cycle I was being put through. “Can you think of anything else, Alice?”
“I… I really don’t want to…”
“Alice, I beseech you: do it for Equestria. I didn’t want to forgive myself either. If it’s any consolation, your bravery will surely earn our forgiveness—for whatever it is,” Luna implored
I sighed. “This thing can escape and turn the waking world into a nightmare?”
“Yes! Hurry!” said Luna.
I took a breath, ready to belt out a speech. “Fine… these last few weeks I have noticed myself changing, adapting to this world, acting more like a pony. I like to think it was the world itself doing this to me, but the reality is I’ve been complicit—accepting even of some of the changes. And that might be okay.”
Did it work?
My answer came immediately as the brown tantabus imploded suddenly and instantly. I found myself falling fast towards the hard ground below. I flailed helplessly in the air, closing my eyes to brace for the impact. Fortunately, somepony had the sense to will a mattress into existence underneath me.
I should have thought of that… or simply remembered I have wings.
Blinking to reorient myself, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the was brown stallion stepping into a rift, presumably leaving the dreamscape.
Twilight stroked me with a wing. “You did well, Alice. That was a poignant declaration.”
“Yeah… thanks,” I muttered, still dizzy.
“Although… you didn’t have to say all of that out loud.”
I slunked. “Ponyfeathers…”
After awakening under a warm wing, I was once more praised by Twilight’s friends for my contribution. I did my best to dismiss their congratulations, but in Pinkie’s case, this made her all the more effusive. I had to be emphatic in acknowledging her to get her to stop. Eventually, after more mutual laudiing, Twilight parted with her friends, and they returned to their daily lives.
Star yawned and stretched entering the room. “All right, I feel refreshed and ready to go. And given that the world is still here, I presume you saved it just fine. Let me get the saddle on, and we’ll be ready to go, Alice.”
“If I could have a moment with her first, Star.”
“Okay, but—”
“Thank you,” said Luna. “Alice, last night’s events confirmed my earlier suspicions about the brown stallion. Indeed, the tantabus would have been unable to possess him had they not been of similar composition.”
I got the impression that there was bad news to come as well.
“That’s great!” I said, hopeful. “Does that mean you know how to fix it?”
Luna shook her head. “Were he an actual tantabus, confronting the source of your guilt would have vanquished him completely. As that was not the case, we can rule out that outside possibility.”
“Yeah, he did get away,” I said, sighing. “Avoiding you as usual probably… He’s very hard to trust considering he’s sneaking around all the time.”
Luna nodded, concerned. “In any case, what I can tell you for sure is that it is an some sort of artificial dream creature planted in your subconscious by somepony—most likely you yourself.”
“I—I don’t think so,” I offered weakly.
“Truly? Hmm... it could perhaps have been one of those other presences with whom you had dream-synched?”
“So the others really were there? Hmm… in that case, can you tell me who the other two are? I know my sister, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never met Auburn or House Keeper.”
“You don’t remember the second filly’s name?”
I raised an eyebrow. “I told you, they were named House Keeper and Auburn.
“Wait, you mean there were three fillies in your dream?” Luna asked, surprised.
“Uh.... yes?” I experienced an unease sensation in my stomach. This wasn’t shaping up well.
“Hmm. That is somewhat concerning. Including you and Twilight, I only sensed four distinct magical signatures arriving at the shared dreamscape at that moment.”
“Does it really matter?” I asked, somewhat nervous. “Wouldn’t that just mean I made up a filly named Auburn or House Keeper on my own? Why is that a big deal?”
“That is certainly a possibility. Although, speculation does leave me to wonder if this third presence could a malicious actor of sorts—though evil or not, tampering with your dreams would be a concern in any case. Most importantly, if you didn’t create this stallion yourself, perhaps…”
“Perhaps she created him,” I finished.
Luna nodded. “I will set-up some more wards around your dreams. With luck, we can smoke out this intruder.”
“Wouldn’t you be able to tell me if it were House Keeper, though?” I offered. “After all, you were able to count how many ponies dropped into the shared dreamscape.”
Luna shook her head. “That would certainly narrow it down. Unfortunately, I can only count consciences within a dream when I am inside it as well; I observed from the outside when House Keeper appeared in your other dream.”
“No, it wouldn’t just narrow it down; it would prove that it’s Auburn,” I insisted. “I just know my sister was really there.”
Luna seemed unconvinced. “When dealing with dream parasites and related creatures, I’ve found that they can be very crafty. Creating a stallion familiar to stoke your fears, disguising itself to observe you. These tactics are all very possible.”
I nodded, somewhat in distress. I was convinced it was Auburn, but it really wasn’t that simple after all.
“Umm… Princess,” Star said, uncharacteristically meek.
“Yes, Star?”
“I don’t mean to interrupt your important discussion, but Alice should have been in school a few hours ago.”
“No worries. All I had left is to say you should think about it Alice. Trust your instincts, and see if you can work it out yourself. If not, we can change tactics later.”
I grit my teeth. I already had an obnoxious dream stallion, but now I had to deal with an intruder, a parasite, or even an imposter. This all added up to be very bad, but what irked me the most was how innocuous this invader’s actions were, as if expecting courtesy would exonerate her for defiling my mind. Despite a whole flight to Canterlot to process these details, I barely inched closer to any sort of answers.
And so, I arrived at school just in time for music class. My day had barely started, and it already felt like a long one.
Diane rubbed her eyes, awakening in her new underground home. It finally felt like it could be called a home, as resources had finally been allocated for her dwelling. She rolled out of her floor-level mattress and stretched like a cat. Despite her new lifestyle, she had retained most of her rituals to maintain a strong body. Today, halfway through her routine, memories of what she dreamt the night before bubbled up to the surface.
How strange. Aron became a little pony named Alice...
Somehow that didn’t seem strange—as if she had seen it before.
She couldn’t quite piece together a complete picture, but she did have half-remembered scraps: combat, transformation, a hopeless struggle.
And there was also a girl—a girl searching for the draconequus known as Quarrel.
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I dont lieke dream chapter. They are so confusing.
Ahhh an update.
I would agree that the chapter was rather awkward to the flow of the story, especially with trying to adapt a show episode to you story felt forceful, and felt a disconnect to the rest of the story where it could be a stand alone story arc by the feel of it, especially sense there were a completely different set of characters from the rest of the story, which I feel their involvement would have been better then having the Mane 6 in it, as there is no real reason for Alice to have even been with them in the first place and there wasn't any links to the last chapter's event. I feel that it might have been better that you did a story with just something similar to a nightmare Tampa-thing and involve her friends in it. Still, it was nice to see that you were trying to explain the issue that I had in the previous chapter and use it as an element of how her mind is really changing now. Sorry for being so negative on the chapter.
Good writing does that!
Okay, just finished and the chapter wasn't bad at all for a dream chapter. I usually find those kinds of things boring; not so here. See? Your writing can even make dream chapters bearable!
What a chivalrous dragon!
One of the things I like is that it features a character who is becoming an alicorn but isn't an OP dick about it. Because Aron is such but has not become affiliated with a cosmic concept, his personal identity isn't being overshadowed too quickly. Even the premise behind the way the story starts is easy to follow, with Celestia's actions being logical in light of the individual worth of each alicorn over the long term, rather than it being a story about a character who has undergone ascension as a function of being a mary sue.
As far as dream chapters go, I like the various pop culture references, and its difficult to find stories with good dream chapters, so no problems there.
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It is like good writing makes obscure things better! Now if only the gaming industry and other outlets would follow >_>. Oh snap i think my salt levels are making saltman stronger
Fun fact for those who didn't knoe: Tantibus = Latin for Nightmare.
This is a Magical Girll parody, i suppose.
"It is such a quiet thing, to fall. But far more terrible is to admit it."
I understand why you weren't happy with the chapter, but the moments with Diana and Alice were great. That family really needs some heart to heart moments, since it forms such a strong component of her personality.
I wonder at what point will Alice admit to Celestia and Luna that she wants to talk to her family again, or at least her sister. Or if it will remain in dreams due to Alice's growing dream powers as Luna suggested.
What I would do would be to have those who can't fight lend their strength to Princess Luna, so she could strengthen the walls of the dreamscape.
I must say, this chapter was grreat!
Loved it. I'm also excited to finally see the story getting back to Quarrel and the going-ons of Rhod. Despite how interesting that scene was, my favorite was probably the tiny part where Alice cuddled with Twilight.
As for how I found this story, I found it because I love reading stories of humans turning into alicorn foals and ending up in Equestria. Making this better is when the alicorn foal in question ends up being taken care of by Celestia and Luna with copious amounts of feel-good affection/cuddling involved as the alicorn foal struggles to cope with the change, which the story delivers on excellently.
A little confuse at Luna and Alice's conversation.
In that time, there are 4 ponies and a human into the ponyville dreamscape. ( Twilight , Diane , Alice , House Keeper , Auburn )
But Luna said there are only 4 distinct magical signatures arriving at the shared dreamscape at that moment,
Who did Luna think the 4 distinct magical signatures are? ( Twilight , Alice , and .. who? )
And Alice thought they are Twilight , Alice , House Keeper , Diane ? ( And she thought intruder is Auburn ?)
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A fair sentiment.
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You're fine. I appreciate your feedback, especially when it's negative
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But I'd be lying if I said I didn't love praise too.
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That game. It was so ambitious, tantalizing you with all the build-up. And then you reach the end, feeling like you only got half of a game. I remember downloading mods to patch in the cut content.
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I was quite happy being able to throw that in there.
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Both ponies and humans have magical signatures detectable by Luna. Twilight, Auburn, House Keeper, Diane and Alice should all have magical signatures, so the conclusion is one of them isn't a real human/pony.
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I know that, I mean.., I want to know Luna and Alice think which one is not real ?
Who did Luna think the 4 distinct magical signatures are? ( Twilight , Alice , and .. who? )
And Alice thought they are Twilight , Alice , House Keeper , Diane ? ( And she thought intruder is Auburn ?)
8845716
Luna thinks the one without a magical signature could be any three of Alice's dream companions.
Alice thinks House and Diane were real and Auburn was fake.
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Thanks for answer
Ah, another chapter of this great story!
It’s always so hard to find decent stories in some of my favorite genres, Gender Bender and Age Regression, but every now and then I find one that does both pretty well! Thanks for writing this!
Wow. Just found this as a recommendation of another story and I am hooked!
Read it over the last week and I love the universe you have built. All the character interactions and self doubt realy draw you in to caring about your OC’s:
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I found a similar challenge in finding such stories, so I made my own
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Hearing that you care about my OCs is quite high praise
I for one like this version of the CMC, it's very realistic, and the other character around as they seem to be more like real kids, something that some fics don't really catch... Are we going to see more of the CMC in the future?
P.S: Very good story
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Stardust and Style weren't certain, but there were suspicions that Alice was a filly. However, by joining them at a filly sleepover, Alice sort of tipped them off.
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Thank you for the feedback. I can't feign ignorance of this issue. At the outset, I wanted to create a story that was as morally watertight as possible. This was a challenge, as the transformation is rather invasive, so I attempted to pin it on a indiscriminate force.
As for Aron's early characterization, I think you're absolutely right. I probably went too far in the jaded direction without enough character to balance it. Regarding the, I tried to balance their sympathy for what Aron's going through with ignorance of his predicament. Another point is that if I wasn't careful the whole story would be Aron's angst. I tried to avoid this for obvious reasons, even if it would be realistic.
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The CMC won't be back soon, but they will return.
I feel like the universe(s) of this story need a designated deity or angel thereof going door to door with a large trout, and giving everyone they find a fish-induced concussion. But it needs to travel through time to just before (or after, depending on the needs of fate) they do something horrendously stupid.
Like, it needs that more than most other universes.
Despite your animosity with how this chapter went, I think you did a fantastic job. I enjoyed how the dream sequence played out and your writing doesn't seem to have suffered due to your animosity. Keep up the good work! I'm still enjoying this series and I can't wait for the next chapter!
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Thanks for the kind words. You helped brighten an otherwise gloomy day
When's the next chapter coming out?
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I can't really give a timetable at the moment. It seems like it will be easier to write though.
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I certainly made mistakes with this fic. Most of all, I think I made things needlessly complicated. I hope you can enjoy it nonetheless
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Fortunately, numbers are said the same. Unless I write them out in Arabic numerals, I should be okay. Then again, see needlessly complicated above.
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You should put spoilers on that. just in case
When can we expect the next chapter
I'm thoroughly enjoying this story, can't wait to see what happens next
Hey, any news on the next chapter? :p
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Sorry to take so long to respond. I'll have time to write this holiday weekend, so I hope to get it out this coming week.
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I'm glad
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I have to admit I questioned how interesting the alternate universes were.
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.
You're the first to object. I'm not saying you're wrong though
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I hope to find time to write this three-day weekend.
Hey there me again I know i've probably already asked this of you but when will the next chapter be released i'm on pins and nitals waiting for it to come out.
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And yes i know i misspelled nitals.
So no one is talking about his confession that he is giving up.
His actions are not like accepting an eventuallity it is like a person giving up treatment for a terminal illness.
out of all the dream sequrnces i like the Cookie Court the most. i may have to use it
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Feel free. It was fun to write and I still smile looking back on it.
It's a good thing exercising magic inside the dream doesn't actually affect her outside...