Clockwork Dreams

by Dark0592

Friendship

Twilight had spent much more time at Applejack’s than she intended, she hadn’t realized how long she had been talking with the family until Applejack put the dinner plate in front of her. They were just talking about nothing over coffee! She did finally get the family to let her leave, pulling the ‘got a baby dragon to take care of at home’ line. In all honestly Spike could care for himself, and often cared more for Twilight than the other way around, but it got her out of dessert at least. She did take one of the offered pies and send it home with a note to Spike though.

The sun was still out, though it was just beginning its slow descent towards the horizon. Her note to Dash said that she didn’t know how long she’d be and where she was so the fact that the rainbow maned pegasus hadn’t come flying told her that things were alright at the workshop. She decided to go over to Fluttershy’s home and see if she was still up and about. She could spare a few hours until she really had to leave if she got into another elongated conversation with the shy pegasus.

It had turned into two hours of talking, though less about the EPC and more about their experiences with their animals and young dragon. Fluttershy enjoyed hearing of Spike’s adolescence and Philomena’s pranks while Twilight was fascinated by the vast wealth of knowledge on both flora and fauna the mare had. She had even shared a few tea recipes and tonics with her! By the time Twilight finally left it was nearing midnight. She didn’t fancy a walk through the countryside alone soshe simply concentrated and teleported back to the workshop. She was ready for the wave of fatigue to pass after using so much magic in one go, but was pleasantly reminded of her recently enlarged pool of energy by the fact that it barely gave her headrush.

She opened the door, teleportation inside was made nearly impossible by a series of protective glyphs, and was about to call out to see if Dash had indeed returned. Her call died in her throat and she couldn’t help but smile as she saw the mare in question on the mattress from the previous night. There was an empty mug next to her, and a now cold mug of cocoa next to the other mattress. The pegasus was fast asleep, though, the pleasant smirk from that morning replaced with a small smile.

“Oh Rainbow, you waited for me…” Twilight said softly as she quietly closed the door and trotted over. A quick spell comfortably warmed the cocoa and she slid into place next to the mare, their sides touching slightly, as she pulled the book over. She looked over as Dash’s good wing slowly unfurled and laid itself over her, though the soft snored told Twilight that it wasn’t a conscious effort. She watched Dash sleep for a little while before sipping her cocoa and turning to the book. She had to blink a few times.

“Honesty?” She asked aloud.

“You should turn the page back, I think you missed one.” She was startled out of her confusion by the now familiar voice of the Princess of the Night. She looked up, confused, to see her lounging on the same couch as before. “You fell asleep watching her, it’s rather adorable if I do say so myself.” The princess giggled. Twilight took a few seconds to process everything and, choosing to ignore the Princess’ comment, turned the page back.

“‘Kindness. Kindness is one of the more powerful catalysts of harmony. With it, war is turned to peace. Anger is turned to forgiveness. To truly show kindness is not to blindly give it whenever possible. One must know when to show kindness and when to withhold it. Most importantly, however, one cannot truly learn to show kindness if they are not kind to themselves. Some mistake insecurity or humility for na inability to be kind to themselves, but these are often facets of kindness or unrelated whatsoever. There are some who come to loathe themselves, sometimes through no fault of their own, in one way shape or form. To truly show kindness is to overcome this hate for oneself, or to allow others to pull it from you. Kindness is only ever shared, afterall, be it with the one you see down the road every day or the one you see in the mirror.’... That’s… That kinda sounds like Celestia…” Twilight read, finished solemnly. Luna raised Twilight’s chin with an extended wingtip.

“It also sounds like you. You were there for her were you not? Slowly pulling her out of her cycle of self loathing?” She asked softly. Twilight nodded and looked down as Luna turned the pages with the wing tip before folding it again.

“‘Honesty. Honesty is one catalyst of harmony, like many of the others, that is neither consistent or absolute. While the truth is important and should always be laid bare in time, it is not always the right decision to tell the truth. Again, like most of the other elements, Honesty is often mistaken for the lack of lies and the telling of full truths. In truth, one must be honest with themselves. To tell a lie that you know is a lie for the good of those who hear it may be harmonious, but convincing yourself that a mistake was anything but is not. Conversely, telling yourself that you are wrong even when you are clearly in the right does disservice to more than one element of harmony.’ I’m starting to sense a pattern here… It seems all of the elements prize the internal reflection of their influence rather than the external- what is felt rather than what is shown.” Twilight read and commented. Luna nodded.

“It is true, I’m glad you came to this conclusion. The Elements of Harmony are catalysts of pure harmonic energy, but in order to be a catalyst yourself as a bearer of the elements- or at least an example of one- you must show them to yourself. As the book said, you cannot be truly kind to others if you are not kind to yourself. Your loyalty to your nation will always falter if you betray your own ideals. Your tongue is little more than a snake’s if you cannot share the truth even with yourself.” Luna explained. Twilight listened closely, though by the end of it she had looked over to Rainbow at a particularly loud snore nad was now watching her as she listened to Luna.

“She cares deeply for you, you know… Even though you told her it was not you who returned her dreams to her, she still sees you as the reason for it. And rightly so… She waited there for hours, reheated the beverage a few times. She slipped in and out of sleep near the end and finally succumbed. She feared beyond fear that lacking you at her side this night would lead to the nightmares again, but I made extra sure she would dream sweetly. I dare not enter it myself, however, she is a very lucid dreamer.” The princess said, Twilight looking back to see her small smirk.

“I mean… I remember I developed a really bad case of insomnia when I was younger. A growth spurt in my horn was causing some of the magic to mess with the sleep center in my brain and I physically couldn’t sleep until a medical unicorn fixed it, for two weeks my body rested but my brain was active the entire time. When I dreamed after the procedure, I felt like I could live my life again. I can’t imagine what years would feel like…” Twilight said softly, looking over at Dash again and gently stroking the sleeping mare’s mane.

“Ahh, known only for a few days and you’ve grown to care for her as well I see.” Luna said somewhat teasingly. Twilight flushed up but stuck her tongue out at the princess defiantly.

“She’s my first friend! Though that list is very quickly growing. I’m hoping you’re up there too, even if we can’t snuggle up and drink cocoa like I can with Dash.” The unicorn retorted. Luna stuck her tongue out in retort and stood.

“Says who? I believe your words were ‘We’re in a dream, aren’t we?’ or something of the sort?” She said with no small amount of sass as she sauntered over and plopped down next to Twilight and lifted her mug up to take a drink.

“Oh dear, whatever this is I think I’m going to need more of it. Do you think Cocoa beans grow on the moon?” The princess said after tasting it. Twilight just giggled and yawned wide. Luna looked down at her and her playful smirk fell to a soft smile.

“You are growing weary, I’ve kept your mind awake these past nights. I should give you the rest of this one to properly rest, loathe as I am to leave you early. I shall leave you with this to think about, however. I was honestly surprised to see what Rainbow Dash began to dream about. I had expected something to make even my sister blush, but instead what I saw as I warded her sleep from nightmares this night was something not dissimilar from the current scene. You are awake of course, but you are simply lying next to each other. Reading. Occasionally you’ll chat about your research and she’ll mention something in whatever she’s reading. Cozy is the word I’d use for it.” She explained Twilight’s ear flicked as she looked at the pegasus that still had a wing unconsciously around her.

“Do I detect a hint of jealousy in that tone?” Twilight said teasingly, though when she looked over her heart almost caught in her throat. She was hiding it well, but Twilight could see through even Celestia’s carefully crafted mask. Luna was jealous. She nuzzled into the princess’ shoulder.

“You’re both my friends, Luna… I’m starting to realize how important that is… I’ll figure this stuff out soon. Worst case scenario I perfect the Arcane Engine and use a dozen of them to power a teleport so powerful it’ll get me to the moon to sit with you in person.” The unicorn said softly, laughing softly as she said the last part. She could feel herself falling into a deeper sleep, however. She nuzzled a little further into Luna’s side and hummed, trying to push it away as long as possible.

”Well then, I’ll be anxiously awaiting the day my dear. Do remember to bring some with you, otherwise they’ll have to change the prophecy to ‘Mares on the moon’ rather than ‘Mare’. Twilight giggled weakly as she continued to fight the sleep. Luna leaned down and kissed Twilight on the head and started humming.

“Sleep now, love. I’m not going anywhere.” She whispered softly. It took another few moments as she hummed, but the dreamscape finally faded into the darkness that followed deep sleep.

Twilight opened her eyes again to the sound of the door opening. The familiar thump and clicking of talons on the floor signalled that it was Spike and it was probably morning.

“Aw man, you’re having slumber parties over here!” Spike whispered, seeing that Dash was still asleep. Twilight pulled him over with her magic and caught him in an embrace, snuggling into him and the pegasus next to her at the same time.

“Hush you! How was the pie?” She whispered back.

“Probably the best dessert I’ve ever eaten. Chef Krahe heard me singing its praises halfway through it on a dinner delivery nearby and demanded he be the test of that. Last I heard he was putting in a massive requisition for apples.” Spike replied. “What’s with all this by the way? I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” He continued. The noise Twilight made in response would have made a dog flinch.

“She’s not my girlfriend! You were there when we first met! She… it’s a long story…” Twilight grumbled. Spike was trying to stop from cackling at that.

“Anyways, I got a message from the Princess. She said any time today she’d love to hear about your progress with the Arcane Engines and anything else you may wish to share. I’ll be around the workshop all day, closed up the office, so I can send her any letters you want!” The dragon said, changing the subject. Twilight let out a sigh of relief as the dragon wriggled himself free. She looked over to her current cuddle buddy and debated the pros and cons of getting up. Ultimately, writing a letter to the Princess was pretty important and she needed to get up anyways.

“Dear Princess Celestia…” She started after finding a nice scroll of parchment and a pen. She wrote of her progress with the engines, as well as her new friends and the deal she made with Applejack. She gave vague allusions to making some progress on her ‘research project’ but said she hadn’t found anything concrete yet. She decided to leave Luna out for now, that’s something they’d have to talk about in person. As such she left out the part where she asked Luna to protect Rainbow Dash’s dreams. She finished by wishing the Princess good luck in her endeavors and to return home safely and having Spike send it.

She yawned and started the coffee machine with actual coffee beans today, though she didn’t mind the cocoa powder still left in the filter, as she entered the workshop to clear space for the tractors. An hour later found the task complete and Twilight was at an impasse. She didn’t want to just go get the tractors and get to work with Dash still sleeping, but at the same time she didn’t really want to wake her up. After a few more moments of deliberation she decided that she could stand to read some more.

“You know, I know that whole girlfriend thing was a joke, but in all seriousness is she?” Spike asked, poking his head in from the workshop. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Spike, I’ve known her for three days. For some reason her being here abates her nightmares. She’s too terrified to sleep in her own home for fear of them coming back. And besides, she’s super comfy.” Twilight replied, snuggling into her spot. The wing extended over again and tightened slightly.

“So are you.” Dash’s groggy voice came. They both looked down at the waking mare and Twilight snickered.

“It’s pretty easy when you can keep your coat perfectly clean with magic.” She said. Dash slowly sat up, yawned wide, and then booped Twilight on the nose.

“You came home so late last night…” She mumbled. Spike was poorly keeping back laughter at the interaction, Twilight was currently doing a good job at ignoring him.

“I’m sorry, after I took a look at Applejack’s tractors they invited me in for lunch. I hadn’t realized how long I’d been there until the lunch table turned to dinner table. Then I stopped by Fluttershy’s at around dusk and lost track of time there as well. You have some incredible friends.” The unicorn explained. Dash grumbled a few things as she leaned into Twilight heavily, obviously fighting the urge to go back to sleep. Twilight just giggled and gently shoved the pegasus back into proper stature.

“You’re no fun!... But yeah, they’re a cool bunch. Pinkie is even better! Rarity and I don’t exactly have the most in common, but when we do hang out she always has funny stories and she has like the most generous heart you’ll ever see- nobody really knows how her business is so successful when she gives so much.” The pegasus retorted.

“Speaking of, weren’t you going to go grab those tractor things and bring them here?” Spike asked. Twilight nodded and stood, Dash grumbling about not having the unicorn by her side. Twilight snickered and ruffled her mane, the tired flailing protest ineffective against the assault.

“Philomena love, have you had breakfast yet?” Twilight called down one of the pipes. An affirmative caw was her reply. “Good girl! Could you please bring us around the town near the orchards? We’ve got some heavy machinery to pick up!” She continued. Another affirmative caw and the house practically shook as the boilers started running at full and the hydraulics in the moving parts groaned into life.

“In the meantime let’s head into town for breakfast. I owe you for making you wait so long.” Twilight said. “Any recommendations?” She asked. Dash grinned and started singing the praises of a place called Sugarcube Corner.

It was an… interesting building to say the least. It looked like a foal had decided to make a building out of sweets, and an architect went ‘sure, why not?’ and turned it into a bakery.

“Hi! Welcome to- OH Hey Dashie! Oh wow who’s your new friend? I don’t know her and I know EVERYBODY!” The pinkie mare behind the counter practically explained in a single breath.

“Pinks, this is Twilight. She’s the one who helped me with my dreams. Twi, this is Pinkie Pie. There are no words that can describe this pony so we’ll just let her do it herself.” Dash introduced them.

“OHMYGOSH You helped Dashie? That makes you one of my bestest friends in the whole world because she’s one of my bestest friends in the whole world and she was having so much trouble sleeping every night but you helped her and she said she can sleep all nice and stuff and that’s SUPER important!” The pink mare rattled out so fast Twilight almost couldn’t comprehend it. Almost.

“I’d be happy to make more friends! Yes, I was the one who helped it along. Yes, it is super important to sleep soundly.” Twilight replied. Dash looked impressed. “What?” She asked upon seeing the mare’s expression.

“Twilight I STILL can’t understand everything she says half the time, that’s impressive.” Dash said. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Oh, you’ve never heard silver tongued nobles try to fast-talk their way through uneven tax reforms and business ventures. Well Pinkie Pie, I was told you have the best pastries in the country. What do you recommend for breakfast?” The unicorn replied and asked the pink mare. Pinkie hummed a bit as she looked at everyone.Twilight looked a little concerned when a few extremities started twitching.

“Well, Dashie’s favorite breakfast is the coffee cinnamon danish. My tail frizzed up and my left forehoof twitched left then right, so the little dragon wants the rock candy muffin. My back right hoof and my nose both twitch all the way around so that means you want the cinnamon honey rolls!” The pink mare listed off, like her involuntary movements were some sort of published chart. Dash saw the confusion on her face and snorted.

“We call it her Pinkie Sense. Don’t question it, the best doctors in the country couldn’t figure it out.” Dash said before nodding to the pink mare, who immediately rushed behind the counter to apparently make the pastries fresh.

“Wow Twi, in three days you’ve made four cool friends. I’m impressed.” Spike said. Dash snorted and Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Well, Nobody had ever come to the workshop like that… And Applejack was far too kind for that to stay strictly business. I have a feeling even if all of this wouldn’t have happened the way it did I would have met the lot of you through her at the very least.” Twilight explained. Dash nodded, though Spike scratched his chin.

“The question is, would you have been able to see it as more than business if you weren’t already making friends?” The young dragon retorted. Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but the words caught in her throat. He was right, she probably wouldn’t have thought of Applejack’s friendliness as more than just ‘sucking up’ or at the best just being a good business mare.

“Well that’s not how it happened, so seems like fate decided you were getting some cool friends.” Dash said. Twilight smiled and nodded and Spike shrugged.

“Once Rarity gets back we can introduce her to you too! And then I’ll have to throw a new best friends forever party!” Pinkie exclaimed, causing the two that weren’t used to her ways to jump out of their skin and scales respectively. They hadn’t noticed her appear between them and were pulled into a big hug.

“That sounds… nice…? When is this Rarity coming home?” Twilight asked.

“She’ll be in university for the rest of the year, but their first major break is supposed to be sometime soon. I don’t know too much about that stuff though.” Dash answered. Twilight nodded and Pinkie was suddenly behind the counter again, their orders on a nice platter.

“Well, since this is your first time at Sugarcube Corner, and you’re one of my bestest friends now, this one’s on the house! Though i can’t do it every time or Mr and Mrs Cake will get mad at me and make me clean the ovens again, even though I already clean them every week!” Pinkie exclaimed as she pushed the platter over.

“Come sit and chat with us Pinks, at least until someone else walks in.” Dash suggested. The pink mare nodded enthusiastically as she carried the platter over to their table for them and set out the plates. There were two extras however. Pinkie sat at one of the empty spaces, but the other one- an apple danish- was empty.

Just before any of them could ask about it, Applejack walked in looking out of the door.

“Holy Hay Twi, I didn’t realize that thing walked! Half the town’s all up in a huff about it comin’ so close! Took Mac an’ I ten minutes to convince the militia it wasn’t a threat.” The farmer said as she turned to see Twilight sitting there with Dash and Pinkie. She walked over and Pinkie patted the seat the danish was in front of.

“Oh I’m sorry, I forgot to let you know I was sending her over… Once we’re done here we can head right over and I’ll get to work.” Twilight said before sampling her pastry. The look on her face caused Dash to snort and almost choke on her own breakfast, causing the rest of the table to break into laughter.

“Y’all are adorable you know that?” Applejack asked with a little snort. The little smirk on her face caused Twilight and Dash to look at each other. Twilight hadn’t even noticed Dash’s wing around her shoulder, and Dash didn’t even notice how the unicorn leaned into it. They both flushed up.

“Twilight insists you’re not dating but you’re really starting to make me wonder.” Spike said. She dodged the telekinetic swipe at his head like he was expecting it and stuck a forked tongue out in retort.

“We’re not! At least I don’t think we are… Are we dating? I don’t really know how it works to be honest.” Twilight said, her face turning red as she turned to the pegasus. Dash had only sunk further into her seat.

“Uh… I mean… I kinda want to…” Dash almost squeaked. The table went silent at that.

“Oh… Is it normal for two ponies to date even though they’ve only known each other for a couple days?” Twilight asked, looking around the table.

“I mean, some ponies go to bars at night and come home with a partner after an hour.” Applejack said, rubbing her chin.

“Twi, I can’t really say I know you all that well to be honest… but you’ve seen me at my worst. And you fixed my worst… You took care of me when I needed it, and you’ve been putting up with me being super clingy… I’d say you know me better than anyone else except for those at this table right now- minus one Rarity. I kinda wanted to date you since that night you let me stay with you.” Dash explained softly.

Twilight took in the pseudo-confession and thought about it. She looked around the table, even Spike seemed to be smiling about it. Dash looked hopeful of course and she couldn’t really form words at the moment.

“It’s totally ok if you don’t want to do the whole dating thing… You said you’re new to the whole social interaction thing. As long as we can still be friends, and I can still hang around your place, I’ll be happy.” Dash explained. Her eyes fell a little bit at that but she still looked determined. She was telling the truth as far as Twilight could tell, not just trying to lower the tension that had formed. Twilight took a deep breath and looked over at Dash.

“I… I can’t promise it’ll last, since I have no idea what I’m doing, but as long as we’ll still be friends either way I don’t see the harm in trying it out.” She finally got out softly. he was suddenly suffocating under a pile of pony and dragon as they all seemed to be trying to crush her in a massive group hug.

“I’m proud of you Twi! Making friends and getting a hot date!” Spike said. Twilight was too stunned to get him back for it- for now- and just relished in the warmth her new friends provided.

“Wait for it, one more on the way!” Pinkie whispered. They all looked around a moment to see that Fluttershy had entered, apparently hearing the last few things. Dash smiled and opened up a wing, to which the shy pegasus quickly joined the group hug.

“I’m so happy for you two!” She said in her softspoken voice. No more words were needed after that. They stayed like that for a good minute or two before Twilight was actually having trouble breathing. They finally disentangled themselves and chatted about their plans before they finally dispersed.

Fluttershy was going to head to Canterlot for her committee meeting, and was delighted when Twilight offered her magic door as a shortcut, and would return with Rarity in four days. Dash was going to head over to the weather outpost in the town to see if they needed any help to earn some bits on the side, her military pension only went so far afterall. Pinkie had to run the shop all day but promised to come say hello and to see the workshop during her lunch break in a few hours while Applejack and Twilight headed over to the orchards to get to work.

“So I know you got all that fancy magic and stuff to help you with the heavy liftin’ stuff, but are ya sure there aint nothin’ I can do t’help ya up there?” Applejack asked as they came to the clearing where Philomena had settled the workshop and Mac had rolled the tractors over. He nodded to them when they arrived and he left to presumably go work on a different area of the farm.

“Hm, I can’t really think of anything at the moment, although another pair of eyes to keep track of the stuff you do know never hurts. Philomena love, could you open up if you would?” Twilight replied and called out to the workshop. A little affirmative whistle from the main smokestack preceded the large hangar-like door to the workshop proper opening wide.

Twilight hopped onto one of the machines as began lifting them up in her magic. Applejack took some coaxing but she followed suit and they were working together to align the machines on the racks the now disassembled tank prototype previously sat on. Turns out having another set of hooves as strong as a hydraulic jack did in fact come in handy as they worked on the machines.

They continued working for hours until they were interrupted by Spike belching a spout of green flame to reveal a letter. He handed it off to Twilight’s telekinesis as Applejack opened a bottle of apple cider she had brought along for that very reason, hoofing another over to the unicorn.

“Anythin’ important sugarcube?” Applejack asked. Twilight shook her head.

“Just an update on the state of things. According to this she should be able to return to Equestria in two weeks’ time, right before Black Week. Turns out the Griffin Rebels are getting more aggressive, even to their own kind, and Celestia personally stepped in to assist the civil war going on to gain the trust of the Griffon Republic.” Twilight explained.

“Bet they’re glad we’re on their side.” Applejack said with a smile. Twilight nodded and looked over their work. They had successfully implanted the Arcane Engine Prototype into one of the tractors and managed to keep it from exploding, which was always a good thing.

“Wanna keep at it and see if it’ll turn on or would you rather wait until tomorrow?” Twilight asked. Applejack hummed.

“While I’ve been glad to help out ‘round here, I really should be gettin’ back to Mac. It’s almost dinnertime and Granny’s already gonna talk my ear off fer missin’ lunch.” The farmer said. Twilight nodded.

“Not a problem, we made a lot of progress today! Tomorrow we’ll see if it works as intended. If it blows up I’ll make you lightning talismans to power the other two as recompense so you can still use them.” Twilight replied. Applejack grumbled but nodded. She left the workshop proper while Twilight cleared some of the detritus that had formed around before heading into the living area. Dash was lying upside down on a chair with a book in front of her.

“How do you like it?” She asked, closing the door behind Applejack and twisting it to glow blue. Dash looked up and her expression fell immediately.

“It’s awesome! but you’re leaving?” She asked. Twilight smiled softly and walked over to nuzzle the pegasus.

“Only for a little bit. I need to be at my office sometimes too, and I have a few reports to write up in order to keep my stipend from the university. I might pass out doing it again, so don’t wait up for me again. If I’m not back in the morning Spike said he’ll be over here to make sure Philomena gets some exercise.” The unicorn replied. Dash hummed but quickly kissed Twilight on the nose.

“‘Kay… As long as you come back.” She said with a little smile. Twilight was a little stunned by the kiss, but smiled and pecked the pegasus on the nose in return.

“I wouldn’t dream of leaving you behind, don’t worry.” She said before heading through the door. She sighed and turned and opening it again to reveal the old tower and her office. She hadn’t been back here in three days. She certainly didn’t remember to grab the book sitting on her mattress open to the page that read ‘Laughter’.

Author's Note:

So I must really be on a roll lately, these are coming out like crazy. Hope you enjoy!

Comments

[Commander Darklight]

encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTaGM9rJt0Qban-azQpOOKCIdpvz61JvZLo1eXMipCyoP4ZmbJN

not sure if twidash, twiluna or twilunash

[Dark0592]

8897739
Accidental Twidash, we'll see where it goes from there XD

[LostArchivist]

alone soshe simply concentrated

so she

Some mistake insecurity or humility for na inability to be kind to themselves

na? I am not sure what that is supposed to be.

She dodged the telekinetic swipe at his head like he was expecting it and stuck a forked tongue out in retort.

I think Spike is male. You may want to change the first pronoun.

Dash was going to head over to the weather outpost in the town to see if they needed any help to earn some bits on the side, her military pension only went so far afterall.

Semicolon!

Also, do I detect a hint of TwiDash? :D
And she likes Luna, too...
That is either going to end with NMM taking over or with something rather adorable.