The Dream Catcher

by SilverOrion

A Perfect Day... Ruined

"No, please! Leave me alone, I don't w-wanna p-playmate!" Pipe Dream sobbed, screaming the words at the top of his lungs before burying his head in the ground, folding his hooves over his head to block out everything else. "Just p-please, go away! Go away! G-get away from m-me and l-leave me alone!" he shouted, not caring about anything else any more, just wanting all of this to stop. "P-please, just s-somewhere else, just go away! I don't want any of this!" Pipe Dream continued to sob, face soaking in the tears which were pooling on the ground, eyes red from his crying.

"I didn't ask for a playmate,

I didn't ask for a playmate,

I didn't ask for a playmate..."

Pipe Dream continued to sob, drowning out all of the sounds which were around him, until he felt a hoof touch his shoulder.

Oh no, not more. Not any more. Not from Phoebe, not anymore.

"No! No! Leave me alone! Go away, Phoebe, go away!"

"Pipe Dream-"

"No!"

In a fit of desperation, Pipe Dream lashed out at the source of the hoof, flailing violently, screaming in the process. He landed a hit, then another.

That oughtta show Phoebe, maybe now she'd leave him alone. Maybe now he could be safe. He imagined himself back at home with his mother, trotting around and playing in her garden. The sun shining. Everything happy, everything safe.

Safe.

- - -

The first thing Cheerilee noticed was the screaming.

Hoping it wasn't who it thought it was from, she searched the crowd of staring and shocked colts until she finally found the right one. It was Pipe Dream, again.

"Not in front of the other colts, not on his first day," Cheerilee thought to herself sadly.

Captain Green noticed the situation immediately, then spoke, "Alright, I'll need everypony leave the schoolhouse until me and Miss Cheerilee sort things out." After giving his command, Captain Green turned and faced his assistant, "Helping Hand, I'm going to need you to keep an eye on the colts while they're outside." "Yes, Captain." Helping Hand replied.

Maneuvering past the other colts as Helping Hand led them outside, Cheerilee proceeded to approach Pipe Dream to try and calm him down. "How could I tell the story of Olympus in front of Pipe Dream?" Cheerilee thought, blaming herself for the outbreak.

Finally standing beside Pipe Dream, she could see that his face was aimed down at the floor, his eyes tightly shut, as he muttered, "I didn't ask for a playmate, I didn't ask for a playmate, I didn't ask for a playmate." Cheerilee then placed a hoof on his shoulder to try and calm him down.

"No! No! Go away, Phoebe, go away!" Pipe Dream shouted. He sounded as if he had just been through a violent trauma, although he had only been inside the calm environment of the schoolhouse since his last outbreak.

Phoebe. Of course. Now Cheerilee felt it really was her fault. Cheerilee responded, "Pipe Dream-"

"No!" Pipe Dream cried.

Pipe Dream thrashed out, hitting Cheerilee square in the face. Cheerilee flinched from surpise punch, as the next punch landed on her side. Crying out from the attack, Cheerilee took her hoof away from Pipe Dream's shoulder, then got out of the way of Pipe Dream's flailing. Cheerilee felt a little blood trickle down from her nostril from the impact of Pipe Dream's punch, and she wasn't sure whether to be shocked at Pipe Dream's reaction, or to feel sorry for his reaction. She was a mix of emotions, and especially, guilt.

Then, for a brief moment, Pipe Dream stopped moving, and started taking deep breaths; it sounded as if he was about to pass out from the gasping noises he was making from breathing. Then he stopped breathing, holding his breath, as if he was trying to gain control of himself, before gasping once more and taking loud, uneasy breaths. He sniffed, then had a coughing fit. Cheerilee noticed that he was slowly beginning to open his eyes - then he opened them all the way, seeing he was in the schoolhouse. He sobbed again, this time as if he felt relieved, like something horrible was finally over.

Pipe Dream turned and saw Cheerilee standing a couple pony-lengths away from him. Throwing out his hooves, he cried out "Miss Cheerilee!" as he tightly hugged her, coughing several times again, before sobbing again, burying his muzzle in her fur like a foal who hadn't seen his mother for days.

Cheerilee returned his embrace to comfort him. "It's alright," she said, "It's alright."

Having watched all that had been going on, Captain green spoke up,"Do you know who his parents are?"

Cheerilee shook her head no.

Captain Green looked back to Pipe Dream, who was still sobbing and out of shape. "Well... When he... Feels better, then we should probably ask him where his parents are. If he can tell us, it would probably be best to take him home to them."

- - -

Pipe Dream trotted out of the schoolhouse, Cheerilee trotting close beside him. Looking to the side, Pipe could see the other colts from the colt scout meet. There was Clean Slate, looking more disconcerted around him than ever. There were the other colts, just watching him. Maybe not all of them were watching him, but it certainly felt like it - the warm, uncomfortable feeling of stares drilled into him without mercy; Pipe Dream never knew what it was like to be stared at for being 'weird'. Now he did.

Trotting away from the schoolhouse, Pipe Dream overheard one of the colts say "Why did he do that?" with an answer from one of the other colts being "Because Pipe gets high, that's why." Pipe Dream could only hear snickers coming from those colts now. He didn't even know what the phrase "Pipe gets high" had meant, it still hurt. Pipe Dream could hear Helping Hand scolding the colts for that kind of talk until he couldn't hear anything from the school yard anymore.

"Don't listen to them," Cheerilee said, "they don't know who they're talking about."

Pipe Dream managed to make a small smile from what Cheerilee had said, but he didn't feel much better. Not after his first day away from home was ruined.

When Pipe Dream had finally calmed down earlier, Cheerilee asked him where his parents were. He said that they lived back at home in the mountains. In response, Cheerilee had told him that she was going to take him back to his family, and that she needed to know how to take him home. After telling Cheerilee that he could lead the way, they had left the schoolhouse to use the mountain trail that Pipe Dream had taken to get to the schoolhouse.

This time, it felt like a long trot back to his home, longer than it had taken for him to trot to the schoolhouse. The mountain trail seemed to keep swerving around trees and hills, as if it would go on forever. Fortunately, it finally ended, with a familiar cabin appearing in the clearing which Pipe Dream had always remembered since foalhood.

When he had those nightmares at the schoolhouse, he thought he'd never see his home again. It was a symbol of safety, a place that was secluded from the dangers of the world. Nothing could hurt him here, he thought.

Heebie was working in her garden, as always. Pipe Dream loved that garden more than ever now, galloping away from Cheerilee to dive into that garden. He wondered if there were any worms there. Safe worms.

Heebies stood up the instant that Pipe Dream dove into her garden. Then she noticed Cheerilee not far away. Heebie immediately knew something was wrong, trotting up to Cheerilee to ask her if anything happened to Pipe Dream. As Cheerilee explained, Heebie began to cry, feeling like a failure in keeping her child safe, that he had been forced to endure being so afraid away from home.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Heebie said to Cheerilee, feeling as if she might lose her composure. Cheerilee noticed how Heebie was feeling, and responded, "It's not your fault."

That was all Pipe Dream had heard which was said in their conversation together. Pipe Dream was too busy regressing in the garden, lying down on the ground, sighing with a couple tears of relief rolling down his cheeks. He stroked the dirt on the ground, happy. Safe. Everything was going to be okay.

- - -

"She said that Captain Green was going to find a psychiatrist... who will ask Pipe Dream a few questions tomorrow... to see if there is something wrong with him."

Jeebies, who was sitting at the kitchen table, looked back at Heebie as she spoke those words. She was looking away from him, leaning on the counter.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. We've known Pipe Dream ever since he was a foal, and we know nothing like this has happened before."

Heebie only half listened to Jeebies, thoughtlessly running her right hoof in circles on the counter.

"If he is suffering from what they think he's suffering from... would they take him away? Would they take him to the psychiatric ward?"

"Now Heebie," Jeebies intervened, "you and I both know Pipe Dream. He was just a little scared going away from home on his own. It was his first time."

"I know, but... what if he really does have..."

Heebie stopped talking for a moment, then began to cry. Jeebies got up from the table to go and put his foreleg around Heebie's shoulder. Even though he was trying to be brave by comforting Heebie, he too feared the worst for Pipe Dream.

"He keeps saying his dream catcher isn't working... and I don't know what to do..." Heebie sobbed, finally loosing her composure and falling into Jeebies' embrace. Jeebies patted her on the back, feeling badly for Heebie, and concerned for Pipe Dream.

"Everything will be alright," Jeebies said - to comfort Heebie, and to comfort himself.

- - -

"Schizophrenia." Pipe Dream stated, "that's what mom said I might have. Or at least, what everypony else thinks I have."

Sitting on the side of the bed, Pipe Dream and Loose Cannon gazed out at the starry night sky. Pipe Dream always thought of Loose Cannon as the older brother. He was always there to council him when he had problems, always there to support him, always there to cheer him on. He had a dark orange coat, and a brick red mane, which made him easy to pick out from a crowd.

Continuing to think about the problems he had that day, Pipe Dream thought about Phoebe. He thought back to when Phoebe told him not to talk to her, or ponies would think he was crazy. Now that he wasn't to afraid to think, he finally understood what she meant, because now everypony really did think he was crazy. "Wonderful timing," he thought.

"I wouldn't worry 'bout it," remarked Loose Cannon, "I've known you for a good while, and you never looked like the schizophrenic type."

"I know," Pipe Dream responded, "but that's not what I'm worried about."

Loose cannon gazed at Pipe Dream curiously. "Then what are you worried about?"

Pipe Dream looked down at the floor, feeling angry. "Now everypony thinks I'm crazy, that's what. And it's all because of-" Pipe Dream stopped himself. Remembering what Phoebe said, he realized that not only could he not talk to her in public, but he couldn't talk about her either. Not here, not anywhere, not to anypony."-and all because I freaked out at the colt scouts meet." Pipe Dream finished.

"Everypony gits scared, Pipe. Don't get down on yerself for it."

"I just can't understand why I have to be afraid of things. Why can't I just be normal like everypony else?" Pipe Dream thought back to the story of Olympus. Why couldn't he be brave? Why couldn't he be better?

"Bein' afraid of things is just a part of who you are, Pipe," responded Loose Cannon, "it's somethin' you've gotta accept. Even I get afraid of things like you do, Pipe, and I'm not too bad off."

Pipe Dream grunted, discontented with himself.

Loose Cannon lightly shoved Pipe Dream in the shoulder. "It could've been worse, Pipe. I mean, its not like you faced a life or death situation today."

Pipe Dream responded with a sarcastic chuckle. "Yeah, right."

"C'mon, Pipe, it'll all blow over soon."

"Really?" Pipe Dream responded, "did you even see me at colt scouts today? I freaked out so bad that I wound up punching Miss Cheerilee - two times!"

"Oh, now that is serious," replied Loose Cannon, "first day out and you're already choosin' the thug life."

"Ha ha, very funny," Pipe Dream replied. If anything was the case, there was no way this was all going to blow over soon, unless a miracle happened which suddenly caused him to walk into colt scouts next week with a cutie mark and a pair of shades. Cool, brave, and tough. Only then would he maybe, maybe, be able to let all of this blow over.

"I'm just tryin' to cheer you up, Pipe. You didn't have any control over what was goin' on, so it ain't your fault."

"Of course it was my fault. If only I was a little braver, then maybe this wouldn't of happened."

After a moment of neither of them talking, Loose Cannon spoke up, "you are who you are Pipe. It ain't somethin' that can be changed. Fate just works that way sometimes."

Pipe Dream looked away. For the first time in his life, he was humiliated for being afraid. He'd probably be humiliated for being superstitious, too - Belfry and Bats were always made fun of for that. He hated being afraid - hated being superstitious.

"What if there is no fate?" Pipe Dream finally asked, "what if I really could change myself for the better - change everything for the better. What if everypony could like me."

"I don't rightly know what to say to that, Pipe. Me, ma and pops, and Belfry and Bats all believe in fate. If you don't, that may be alright, but you may be lookin' for hurt in the future."

"Well, maybe the hurt would be worth it." Pipe Dream mumbled, before looking back out into the night sky.