The Dream Catcher

by SilverOrion

A Walk to the Schoolhouse

As Pipe Dream continued to trot up one of the last foothills in the mountains, he saw Ponyville appear just on the other side of the hill, along with the signature Ponyville schoolhouse. The colt scouts were scheduled to meet today at the Ponyville schoolhouse for orientation and a story about one of Equestria's notable stallions.
Pipe Dream continued to trot along the path to the schoolhouse, taking in the scenery of being out of the mountains; being a country pony, being out in Ponyville was going to be a completely new experience. There were countless buildings out in Ponyville all scattered about, with light brown walls and wooden frames. It was nothing like the cabin Pipe Dream lived in back home, where the house was made up of tree logs all stacked together.

Pipe Dream got closer and closer to Ponyville until he finally reached the schoolhouse. The schoolhouse was fairly quaint, having light red walls and a red roof, with a chic white trim along the borders of the roofs. A smaller, seperate roof leaned out over the front of the schoolhouse just above the door of the building as well. When Pipe Dream got closer, he could see various patterns on the building, including heart shapes. Pipe Dream began to wonder if hearts were trendy in Ponyville as he continued to see more of them on the small building. Outside the schoolhouse, a sign reading "Ponyville Schoolhouse" stood by a small white fence running along the perimeter the property.

Pipe Dream stopped and took a deep breath. He'd never been more than fifty feet away from his family's cabin for his entire life, and it was only today that he was not only allowed to go to Ponyville, but to actually have the courage to leave for Ponyville as well. Pipe Dream began to feel uneasy; his stomach turning a little from the thought of where he was. Not only where he was, but how far he was from home - he had been trotting for a mile or so to get here.

Pipe Dream noticed that he was now breathing faster than he was before.

Not only that, but he didn't know what to do. Go inside the schoolhouse? What if no one liked him? What if he passed out and had another nightmare? If he passed out, Pipe was sure he'd have another nightmare since he left his dream catcher a home. Pipe couldn't help thinking about how much he wished his brother Loose Cannon could be here.

"Hello?" sang a cheerful voice, from right behind him.

Pipe Dream didn't move. Someone just said "Hello" to him. He'd have to get into a conversation with somepony - but what if he said something stupid? What if this pony would hate him?

Pipe Dream just stood there, muttering "H-h-hello," in a small, nervous voice, not turning to look.

The other pony - or mare - trotted up alongside Pipe Dream. She had a purple coat and periwinkle mane, along with a cutie mark of three smiling flowers. This is really all that Pipe Dream noticed until he had the courage to look up at her face, which was one of concern. "Oh no, she hates me already!" Pipe Dream thought, distraught by the apparent look of disapproval on the mare's face.

"Are you all right?" The mare asked.

"Y-yes ma'am, sorry ma'am, I-I'm new ma'am," Pipe stammered.

The mare gave him a slightly worried look now.

"You don't need to be sorry for anything. Now are you sure you're alright?"

"Y-yes ma'am," Pipe quickly said, still distraught.

The mare continued to eye him for a brief moment with a look of compassion in her eyes.

"Why, you must be here for the colt scout meet, aren't you?"

Pipe Dream quickly nodded, still feeling a little clammy.

"Well, I was just coming up to the schoolhouse to get some of my things together. Would you mind if I walked you inside? That's where the colt scouts are meeting..."

Not wanting to hurt the mare's feelings, and liking the idea of having an adult walk him inside the house, Pipe Dream nodded yes, without speaking.

The mare smiled and began to slowly trot forward as Pipe Dream managed to take some steps forward himself.

"So what's your name? You can call me Miss Cheerilee."

Pipe Dream took another breath. "I-I'm P-Pipe Dream," he managed to say.

"Pipe Dream, that's a nice name," Cheerilee responded, "I haven't met a Pipe Dream before."

Then it happened. As Pipe Dream and Cheerilee began to walk up the path leading to the schoolhouse, weird things, happened. The path began to twist and warp like a snake - Pipe Dream could have sworn he heard it hissing too. All the blades of grass suddenly stood erect, then quickly pointing in Pipe Dreams direction. Strangely, Cheerilee didn't seem to notice any of this, continuing on in her cheerful conversation with Pipe Dream.

"...I've always loved this schoolhouse." She said, eying the building with some nostalgia.

But Pipe Dream did not love the schoolhouse after he gave it another glance. What was once a normal schoolhouse was a strange building which seemed to be breathing - through the doorway. A shadowy ooze seemed to sweat out of the pores and cracks of the wood on the building's sides and roof. Something gave Pipe Dream the feeling that the ooze was the same stuff he had seen from his nightmare.

"...Pipe Dream, is something wrong?" asked Cheerilee, sounding more concerned than before.

Pipe Dream had stopped trotting, Cheerilee having only noticed a couple steps ahead of him. As he looked up at the bell tower of the schoolhouse, he began to see that same shadow ooze emerging from the hidden depths of whatever was underneath that bell. Looking up even more, the sky began to change colors from bright blue to a hideous combination of dark indigo and blood red.

"Pipe Dream," Cheerilee said, sounding urgent, "are you alright?"

Pipe Dream took some steps backwards, not paying any attention to Cheerilee anymore. Holding a speechless gape at the schoolhouse, he could see other colts slowly emerging from the belltower - lifeless, grotesque - and spilling over the sides to the beat of some kind of heart-like pulse.

Unable to look at the schoolhouse any longer, Pipe Dream looked back, then finding himself staring face-to-face with the source of the hissing sound he had been hearing. It was the path, but somehow it had reared up and stood in his face with a snakelike profile, but with that shadow ooze slowly running out of its eyes and nose, and dripping from its mouth like saliva.

"You belong to me, Pipe Dream," the snake-thing gurgled.

"No, no I don't!" Pipe Dream shouted, panicking.

The snake-thing didn't speak, it just mouthed the same words back at Pipe, "You belong to me, Pipe Dream."

"Pipe Dream?" a very concerned voice shouted from behind Pipe, but he didn't care. The snake-thing slowly opened its mouth, shadow ooze pouring down onto the path before Pipe Dream. Pipe watched, eyes glued to the ooze with horror and disgust, as it began to transfigure and warp the ground into indiscernible forms.

"No, please, don't do this to me!" Pipe pleaded the snake-thing, but only fruitlessly as the ooze began to slowly slide towards Pipe Dream once more, just like it had in his dream.

"Pipe Dream!" shouted Cheerilee.

Cheerilee, of course! Pipe Dream was sure that she could make this stop if she was a grown-up. Turning to run towards Cheerilee in relief, Pipe Dream stopped in horror. Cheerilee was smothered in the shadow ooze, and her eyes were gleaming in hellish colors. The ooze dripped down from her mane and coat, along with her very self appearing to melt into the ground.

"Pipe Dream, what's wrong?" cried the new Cheerilee, in a sarcastically-sounding gurgle.

Pipe Dream stood paralized, gaping at Cheerilee, at the schoolhouse, at the lifeless bodies of other colts slowly sliding down from the bell tower.

Suddenly, a sickly, cold fluid began to grasp Pipe Dream's hooves. Pipe Dream managed to look down to see what it was; and it was the shadow ooze. Suddenly, he saw his hooves twist in unrecognizeable shapes, then, as the ooze crept higher and higher, it began to twist his legs. What was nice before is that he didn't actually have to see this process take place, but now that he did, not only did Pipe Dream see his own legs bending and morphing, but he also felt it. It was the kind of pain you feel from pressure - that's what it felt like. That pushing, twisting, bending pain which at best feels extremely uncomfortable, and at worst, can feel like your joints are leaving their sockets.

Pipe Dream cried out in pain, cried out in terror, cried out for somepony to please make it stop... Then he blacked out.

- - -

Phoebe felt the strength of Pipe Dream coursing through her now, feeling the energy from his fear.

It had been too long. After Celestia banned creatures like her long ago in the battle against she and Princess Luna on account of their taking Luna's side, they had been forced to rely on their... less than ethical ways in order to obtain sustenance. At least, if they wanted to stay in Ponyville. Otherwise, they'd have to leave to the country where the changeling empire rules - and no self respecting thing would want to live in that horrible place.

Most of her kind chose to leave out of respect for the Princess. However, Phoebe, along with maybe one or two more of her kind, preferred to stay in ponyville. Under disguise. Hidden from pony eyes. Of course, they couldn't go invisible or anything, they just had to find a hiding place. For Phoebe, that meant staying in the attic of some shack full of superstitious nutcases.

Well, the attic of a cabin is always better than living as a nomad in the changeling's country.