Continuity Disrupted

by Doug Graves

30 The Dreamland, Part One

The clip clop of hooves on the dirt path echo among the tall brown trunks. The sun shines brightly, the green leaves soaking up the warm rays and turning energy to delicious sugars. The cadence and timber of the steady march changes as the hooves crunch against the soft grass, slowing to a crawl and eventually a stop as the brown hatted figure nears the first of many, many trees. The suppressing sound of hooves no longer drowning them out means the air is filled with sounds of chirping birds, and the hum of bees, and the soft slither of the garden snakes. All had their place.

Apple Bloom smiles, tilting up her Stetson as she greets the real workers of the farm. She lightly places a hoof on one of the pock marks, the well-worn spots where her hooves have been meeting trunk for years. And will for many more. Apple Bloom closes her eyes, glancing up and basking in the rays piercing through the leaves. If only her sisters were here with her.

"Howdy, Apple Bloom!" comes the high pitched voice of Scootaloo, the lighter clop of the pegasus' hooves mixing with the rolling of wooden wheels and the scritch and scratch of empty baskets. "Ready to start work today?"

"Sure am!" Apple Bloom calls back, turning to smile at the approaching pegasus and unicorn. Scootaloo is pulling her wagon along the dirt road, a tiny pegasus foal along for the ride. Sweetie Belle levitates the baskets from the wagon to the surrounding trees, arranging them just so. Apple Bloom's question is nearly superfluous, "You ready, Sweetie Belle?"

"As long as I'm doing it with you!" Sweetie Belle returns, nuzzling Apple Bloom as she draws close. She gathers up the foal, a featureless stallion waiting at the barn for her return.

Apple Bloom smiles, glancing back at the blossoming apple flowers on her flank, and swings around to buck her first tree of the day.

*

"Hmm," comes the murmur in the dark cave, a single light illuminating the rock wall and casting shadows everywhere else. "Can't use too much, or the entire complex will collapse. A smaller charge would work, but it'll need to be cleared out afterwards, and then two more small charges to get the rest of the way." The gleaming new bit of the well-worn hoof-held drill taps against the wall, a throaty rumble as the pony decides what the best place would be. Two tries later and the crank is turning, pebbles and pieces of stone spiraling out of the drill. They bounce around the brown hooves, their clatter quiet against the grinding of metal on stone.

Applebaum pulls out a single stick of dynamite, carefully setting it inside the hole she has carved into the rock wall. There is space on either side for two more sticks, but it's easier on her to drill first and measure later. Not like it's that hard to make another hole, or a bigger one if her intuition is off. One hoof strikes against the sheet strapped to her inner foreleg. The shower of sparks lights the fuse, the mare casually walking just around the corner.

A loud explosion, complete with a shower of dust, blacks out the room, the small light on her helmet not enough to pierce through. She breathes through her respirator, watching the flickering shadows as the dust gradually settles around her. Another two charges and she'd make it through to whatever treasures lay beyond.

*

Pomarbo scampers along the dirt paths, eagerly prancing back and forth from one of the various apple trees to another. He loves the Red Delicious most, just like his dam! His hooves kick up the fallen leaves around him as he dances under the ripe fruit, a maelstrom of green flitting this way and that. The cheery chirps of birds echo nearby, their calling to each other a steady crescendo as his movements speed faster and faster.

Loud footfalls portent a rising storm, the pleasant wind howling a rowdy tune through the branches. All of a sudden the gale catches up, lifting him into the sky! The ground disappears beneath him as he soars, basking in the radiant glow, the whistling wind occasionally pausing for a breathy intake.

All of a sudden, his support drops out from underneath him, and he's falling! He giggles madly, grinning and waving his hooves as the ground rushes up to greet him! Just as suddenly the wind catches him, setting him gently back among the apple trees, leaving him to snuggle in the warm embrace.

*

"And, what do you think of this one?"

"Hmm, the color is nice, and I like the way it falls across my flanks."

"I'm sensing a but."

"But, I'm not going for nice. I'm going for splendid! Regal! I shall be the talk of the town! And I can't do it in nice."

"Yes, definitely, darling. How do you like this one? I have been saving it for just such an occasion!"

Sweetie Belle steps out of the breathtaking dress she had been trying on, grinning as she steps into the sparkling new dress her dam has crafted just for her!

Rarity smiles, "Oh, yes, that one is darling. You look absolutely marvelous!"

*

Rainbow Dash spreads her wings out, hovering briefly before she lands, knocking up a small cloud of dirt. "That was pretty awesome, wasn't it?" She preens her wings as she looks down at her filly, oozing coolness even as she straightens the single out of place feather.

"You bet it was! I can't believe I'm going to perform the same trick on my scooter!"

"You got this, Scoots! I'm so proud of you!"

Scootaloo braces herself, revving her wings. Despite their small size she kicks up a massive cloud of dust, a paltry amount compared to the sheer amounts of awesome she'll be! Her wings beat faster and faster, accelerating to her maximum speed before she settles down. "Okay, let's do this!"

She explodes from the point in space she deemed a starting line, rocketing towards the slap-dashed ramp! Her scooter rushes up to meet her as she impacts the first section, yet her legs push hard against the board underneath her. She leaps into the air just as her scooter launches off the ramp, her hooves flipping the scooter so she can hold it in one hoof! She spreads her forelegs, making a 'T' with her body, her wings taking over as she soars!

*

A solitary drop pierces the tranquil pond. Ripples spread outwards from the impact point. Slowly, but surely, they cover every inch of the placid pool, even as they fade.

Some rebound back as they reach the pond's edge. Others stop when they touch one of the ducks, the feathery fowl absorbing the waves like bread. Yet they remain still, serene, unruffled at the slight disturbance.

And the last of the ripples barely seem to notice the pegasus hovering just above the surface. Her hooves remain dipped into the clear water, yet nothing stirs. No waves are spread from her, the ripples that come pass right through her. Despite her wings slowly beating up and down, the water does not spread from her. She remains unflappable as she flaps, imperturbable as the water beneath her is disturbed, untroubled as her wings begin to protest.

And now, her quiet contemplation complete, a few drops spill from her hooves as she pulls away.

Her time is getting longer, Hedge notes to herself as she hovers back to the shore, the trickling drops making a whole new pattern in the water behind her.

*

"If one wishes to appear inscrutable, one must first scrutinize oneself. Then, and only then, will you appear enigmatic despite the overt, mysterious despite the obvious, and impenetrable despite being open. Then, and only then, will you truly be free to do anything."

Lemon asks, "But, oh wise sage, how can I do this?"

Pinkie Pie says, "Read. Sometimes plays, sometimes plays on words. Sometimes biographies, and sometimes bibliographies. Sometimes footnotes, and sometimes notes on feet. Much like a spoiler, all have their purpose."

"But where will I start?"

Pinkie Pie motions to the book sitting next to her. Then the books surrounding Lemon.

Lemon sits, pondering to herself as she reads through another book on psychology. Who knew there were so many different ways that ponies could get depressed about things? And where did these books keep coming from?

She takes another sip of the lemonade next to her. It tastes like knowledge. Sweet, sweet knowledge.

Eh, better not get too worked up on the details, she thinks, as she turns another page.

Her glass refills, as if the words dribbled off of the page and into her cup.

It's probably Twilight's fault.

*

Hunger.

Must. Consume. Essence.

Meringue stays low, her barrel nearly scraping across the forest floor. Her hooves silently propel her forwards as she stalks from one outcropping of foliage to another. The dense canopy makes sight nearly impossible, no matter the time of day. Or night. It is impossible to tell, and has no significance, and is thus meaningless. A distraction.

Navigating through the dark forest is much like the quest for perfection. Unattainable, for as soon as one grasps the layout of one clearing, one must journey onward to the unknown, as otherwise they may never find the way out. And yet such a path exists, and can be sought. Must be. And when one gains a brief flash of insight, much like a brief flash of light, one makes leaps and bounds that no amount of unfocused scrambling would ever provide.

Life would be so much simpler with a guiding force. One who could see the forest from above, and direct her pursuits. Until then, she feels aimless. Like she will latch on to any imperfection, and work to improve it. With no regard to a grander design. So much wasted potential. Perhaps it is a solvable problem, but it will take a stroke of genius. A leap out of what she knows is possible. And so, she does what she can, in the now, to forestall that terrible conclusion. That there is nothing to improve, and yet what remains is still imperfect.

The mud covering her yellow coat and mane helps camouflage her as she draws closer to her next prey. Despite her intricately crafted mask the quarry is spotted and goes down like every other. The creature, now black and white and red all over, never stood a chance. And so it now provides another flash.

She can intimately taste the inefficient sequences as she devours. The poor strands. The imperfect core. Just begging to be remade. She could redesign this to... work harder. Better. Make faster. Stronger.

The screaming is illogical, of course.

She would give the leg back.

*

Nightmare Moon cackles over Doug's immobilized form, though his defiant look gives her pause. Her sister is gone, apparently banished to the Moon already. The farmhouse is otherwise empty of details, not even the extra chairs or other rooms the dream normally entails.

Behind the cobalt alicorn spins a blue and purple void, flitting from side to side, testing the walls of the new domain. It coalesces into a sharpened point, a cobalt dagger with a purple shine. It slips through walls, reappearing next to Nightmare Moon.

The cobalt alicorn grasps the dagger in her magic; it levitates menacingly as she sneers. "And your foals? Your mares? Would you see them cast away as well?" She slinks close, whispering, "I can promise you their return, and their safety. All you need to do is swear to serve me, and all will be forgiven."

Doug slowly nods, "I would like to see them, one last time."

Fourteen ponies teleport into the room, all chained to the ground.

"There."

Twilight Sparkle rises to her hooves, straining against the chains. Nightmare Moon raises an eyebrow, about to say something until Twilight Sparkle speaks.

"You thought you could destroy the Elements of Harmony? Just like that?! Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!"

Nightmare Moon gasps, a fearful glance to the six ponies now unshackled, their chains limply falling to the side. "What?!"

Twilight Sparkle grows louder and louder, "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" Her voice echoes around the farmhouse, shattering the chains on the fillies as the six mares rise into the air. A tiara with a six pointed star forms above Twilight Sparkle's head. Necklaces appear around the other five, each inscribed with an image of their cutie mark.

Nightmare Moon shouts, "Nooo!"

Twilight Sparkle continues as she and the rest of the Elements of Harmony glow bright, "The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!"

Nightmare Moon tries to flee, backing into the wall.

"It creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!"

A blindingly bright beam of light breaks from each of the six Elements, combining to form a rainbow of yellow, orange, red, blue, purple, and white. It shoots forward, disintegrating Nightmare Moon.

Out of the ashes steps Princess Luna, aghast at the paused image of the six mares.

"My dream ended... happily?"

Her face contorts to a scowl, "This cannot be!"

Comments

[Eclipse_Nova]

Is this the part where Luna decides to create Tantabus so her dreams will always have nightmarish ending?

[Doug Graves]

9374132
Luna did that in the previous Darkest Dream, but yes, essentially.

[chibilink]

A solitary drops pierces the tranquil pond. Ripples spread outwards from the impact point.

Nightmare Moon shouts, "Nooo!

Missing end quote.

I see we're doing a later episode much earlier on, sounds good.

[DarkPhoenixx]

That was kewl. Too bad Nightmare Moon hadn't been defeated like that had bc maybe Doug wouldn't be afraid of magic at this time.

[Claymore9]

She can intimately taste the inefficient sequences as she devours. The poor strands. The imperfect core. Just begging to be remade. She could redesign this to... work harder. Better. Make faster. Stronger.

I'm getting some serious zerg gene splicer vibes.

[Comet_Chaser]

11212991
Given that how she talks is literally how Abathur talks, unsurprising.