Life Is But A Dream

by Cosmic Charlie

Chapter 11

“Why hello there, miss, what can I do for you today?”

“Yes, hello! I’d like to place a mail-order for item number 481-516234-2 in this catalog, please. If you have the time, I mean… and if you wouldn't mind.”

The elderly earth pony at the counter of Ponyville’s mailing center squinted through his thick lenses at the catalog Fluttershy had brought along. He brought his face right up to the paper. “Super de-luxe po… Hm. Are you sure that’s the one you need, young’n?”

“Oh, yes, please.”

“If you say so. Okay… I’ll get that order out right away.” He stamped a requisition form with his hoofprint and set it atop a precariously stacked pile on his desk.

“Thank you very much, sir.” Before Fluttershy flew away, she pulled her strange list from her saddlebags and mentally checked the second-to-last item. Just one more thing and she could go home, curl up in her bed and finally put an end to what had to be the longest day of her life.

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The forest only seemed to grow darker by the minute. Twilight couldn't find the sun through the thick canopy of the trees, and there was no indication of any sort of path to follow.

“What do we do, Twilight? I don’t see any way out of here…”

“We should keep moving, and preferably away from whatever is making those noises.”

The two carefully combed their way through the brush, Twilight guiding the way with her horn light, and Spike riding on her back and keeping an eye behind them.

Twilight perked up at a sudden idea. “I know! Spike, if you can climb one of these trees, maybe you can see where we are!”

“Are you serious? Who knows what kind of stuff is living in these trees?!” He hopped off her back and faced away with his arms crossed – the message was clear.

“Don’t worry. I've got your back from down here. Come on, please? I promise you’ll be fine.” Twilight took a step toward him. “When you've reached the top and looked around, just shout and I’ll bring you back down safely.”

Spike gulped and stared up at the nearest tree. “N-not this one… not enough branches.”

Twilight gestured at another tree. “How about this one?”

“Too many branches.”

“Spike!”

“Okay, okay, fine.” Spike sunk his claws into the bark and began to shimmy his way up the trunk, quietly trying to reassure himself there was nothing to fear from the darkness above. Meanwhile, Twilight inspected the area surrounding the tree for edible plants and magically scanned the soil for gems. She couldn't locate any gems, but she recognized vines hanging from the tree which bore edible leaves. She happily ate a few and continued her search for gems.

After a little while, Spike began to near the thickest part of the canopy. A bird suddenly ruffled its wings noisily somewhere behind the leaves, and took flight out above the tree tops. The noise wasn't loud, but it was sudden and near enough to Spike that it shocked him into losing his grip. He immediately slammed into a dead branch and knocked it loose with a sharp crack.

Twilight heard the noise and looked up to see Spike falling toward her, along with the large branch. She had to think quickly. In a split second she managed to form a protective magic bubble around Spike, but the branch kept falling. Twilight was determined not to let her concentration break while Spike was still so high in the air, so she couldn't risk teleporting herself to safety. She tried to move out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough.

“TWILIGHT!” Spike was terrified. As the magic bubble drifted down to the ground at a painfully slow pace, he strained to see if she had been hurt. “Please be all right…” As soon as he landed and the bubble dispersed, Spike ran to Twilight, tears already forming in his eyes. “Twilight! Are you okay?”

She groaned, and managed to laughed a little to calm him, now able to use her magic to lift the large branch. “I think I’m gonna be okay. Are you hurt, Spike?”

“Well, my foot is pretty sore, but I’m fine, thanks to you…” He gave her a tight hug and wiped a tear away.

“I’m so sorry for making you climb that tree.”

“Hey, forget about it. Can you walk?”

Twilight had now gotten up and stabilized herself. “Yeah. Let’s keep moving.” She gently lifted her dragon friend and placed him carefully on her back once more. Spike reached out and snapped a stick from the branch that so rudely assaulted Twilight, and began to sharpen one end with his teeth as they continued on into the brush.

After nearly an hour of uneventful walking, Twilight felt the strangest sensation – that she had been in this part of the woods before. They had entered a small clearing featuring a small patch of curious blue flowers. Twilight’s gazed locked onto them. They seemed oddly familiar.
“Is that-“ Twilight wondered, approaching cautiously for a better look. “Spike, it’s poison joke! That means we’re in the Everfree Forest!”

“Great... just great. That would explain the creepiness... and the spookiness.”

Twilight looked around carefully, trying to determine the best direction. She was trying to overlay her memory of the area on the landscape in front of her, but nothing was familiar enough to recognize. Every tree was a stranger.

“I would do just about anything to wake up in my bed right now.” Spike winced and gently rubbed his foot. “Ugh, it really hurts...”

“Ohh, I wish I had thought to bring Natural Remedies & Cures with me today, or at least 101 Common Ailments and Treatments. I’d even take Everfree Flora: A Guide at this point!” She scanned the area intently and spotted a plant with large, thick leaves. A sudden, unsettling screech from somewhere out in the darkness sounded too close for comfort, and it made her skin crawl. “All right... hold still, Spike.” She pulled one and magically fashioned it around his injured ankle, tying it gently but firmly. “There, does that help at all?”

“Yeah... thanks, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled, and picked a direction that felt promising. As Twilight kept walking, however, the trail she thought she had picked up on grew cold. She was just about to confess to being lost and recommend doubling back when another familiar sight came into view. It was the very same hoof-bridge she had crossed only a few days ago – at least that’s how long it had been for her. The bridge was better condition than she remembered. The ropes were much newer and the wood appeared yet unwarped by weather and time. It was the first solid frame of reference she had encountered since they had entered this strange world, and she was more grateful than she could express as she moved toward it.

“Don’t look down, Spike.” She began to cross very carefully – even if the bridge looked better than ever, she had an injured baby dragon in her charge and there was no room for error.

Spike’s curiosity overcame his judgment, and he looked straight down, to his immediate regret and horror. He clamped onto Twilight’s mane harder than ever and stared straight up at the sky in abject terror. “Twilight... I looked.”

She only sighed and shook her head with a grin as she safely touched ground. “Okay, Spike, it’s over.” He eased his iron grip and let out the breath he had been holding in.

The foreboding ruins were ahead, and Twilight felt apprehensive, though she wasn't sure exactly why. Spike had never seen them, something Twilight had forgotten until they came into view and he gasped. She was somewhat disappointed to see that despite the condition of the bridge, the ruins were as ruinous as ever.

“What is this place, Twilight?”

“This is the Withersford ruins... the ancient palace where the princesses lived over a thousand years ago. Well, over a thousand years before our time, at least.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean “our time?” Are you feeling okay, Twilight?”

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. In all the confusion and stress of falling into this world, she had completely overlooked the fact that Spike had absolutely no idea what had really happened to them. She had been keeping her secret with Pinkie Pie closely guarded, and for good reason. Now that Spike had been pulled into the middle of it, there was no use in trying to cover it up.

Twilight magically lifted Spike off her and placed him down in front of her. “Spike, there’s something you need to know.” Spike only looked at her quizzically.

“This will be hard to hear, and even harder to believe, but it’s true. When we left Fluttershy's cabin, I walked into the woods and we fell into a, uh... a sort of door between different times and places. Spike... right now we’re somewhere in the past. We've gone back in time, but I don’t know how far or...”

Or how to get home. Or if home is even real.

“It’s also a possibility that Equestria is... not what we think it is. But I’m thinking... hoping we can find some answers in the ruins.”

Spike’s jaw hung open in silence for a few moments. “Wow. I can’t believe it... this is...”

Twilight blurted an apology. “I know it’s a lot to handle, and I’m so sorry for getting you into this, I just-“

“...this is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me!”

“It... what?”

“Spike the dragon, time traveler, hero of the past, present and future!” He swung his sharpened stick around, fending off imaginary foes. “Why didn't you tell me sooner, Twilight?!”

“Well, I didn't expect you to react this well.”

Nearby, on the outer wall of the palace ruins, a gecko climbing up the wall suddenly vanished with a tiny zap. It happened to luckily catch Twilight’s eye and ear. Could this be a way home?

She magic-lifted Spike and plopped him on her back again, and moved with purpose toward the wall. “Spike, this wall... it contains a portal, like the one that brought us here. I'm pretty sure I just saw a lizard climb into this one, or I wouldn't have known it was here.”

Spike leaned down to pick up a small stone and chucked it at the wall. It vanished into wall without a sound. “Whoa, that’s creepy.”

“The problem is, I have no idea where or when we’ll come out if we enter it.”

“I trust you, Twilight. Besides, anywhere’s gotta be better than here. I say we go for it.” Spike was showing remarkable courage for the situation he was in, and Twilight found herself feeling immensely proud of him.

“I hope you’re right, Spike.”

Spike held his stick aloft like a sword. “CHARGE!” To Spike’s disappointment, Twilight merely trotted to the wall and carefully stepped inside.