Marshmallow Dreams

by Halira

Chapter 86: A Little Stroll

"Hmmm, well, I think I can cross barrel riding over a waterfall from my list of fun activities. Some things shouldn't be tried once."

I laid on my back and held the brochure up above me as I continued to look over options.

"Paddleboat ride has to be safer, but it is tame—not something that will get my adrenaline pumping. Why does everything have to be such extremes? Isn't there something moderately exciting that isn't something that could also kill me?"

Bingo? Who came to Equestria to play bingo? Why do Equestrians have bingo? Is there some terrible force that spreads the evils of bingo between universes?

It didn't make things better that all my friends here were busy with their families. I didn't blame them. None of them had seen their families in the last month. They needed time to catch up. The date was fast approaching when we would know who would be the next Dreamwarden, and I knew waiting to find out had to be a stress that no one was showing but had to be feeling. The Dreamwardens weren't telling us our rankings either. I had been in first, but I had no idea where I stood now. For all I knew, I was running in fifth place. No one knew what they judged us by.

"Blanche has the take-charge leadership skills. Sunflower has gone from the timidest to the boldest, I think. And Roger…"

I set the brochure down and rolled over on my belly.

"They tell him all about plans they have to help save the world. They never tell me any plans, and I don't know anything about Jonathan yet. We all have abilities that could be useful to the Dreamwardens under different circumstances, so I don't think that will be a determining factor. What do I have going for me?"

Did it matter? They thought I was good enough for the top five, and I knew I had been in the lead for some time. I might still be in the lead for all I knew. I wanted the best candidate to win, and if that didn't turn out to be me, then that was okay. Not winning would make a lot of other stuff simpler—things like love life, school, future career, and constantly needing to be on guard about who finds out what about me.

"Not much longer, and I'll know," I told my pillow.

This trip would be much better if my parents were here, or better yet, Russell. Getting cuddled right now would be fantastic.

I got back to my hooves and gave myself a good shake. "I'm moping, and I need to do something. I don't need to have a plan. I just need to go up on deck and have some fun, and I will almost certainly end up hanging out with someone. Worst case, I can talk to the goats and that minotaur. They never told us a thing about intelligent goats back when they taught us about Equestria in school, and I think all that was said about minotaurs is basically they exist. I'm here to experience and learn about Equestria, so I can know if this is a place I would want to be. How better to do that than talk to the people the social studies books forget about? I'm the champion of the underdog and ready to meet some underdogs!"

I paused. I needed to be careful; otherwise, I could fall into being patronizing. I didn't want to be that pony. I don't know the truth about them yet. Just go up there and ask some questions. Keep an open mind. Maybe they weren't underdogs or outcasts in Equestria. I was the visitor here, not them, and I was the one who didn't have a clue.

I jumped off the bed and headed to the door. After opening it, I realized I had a problem; everyone else was out in the hall, getting their luggage put away. That narrow hall would be a nightmare to get through, especially with my bulk. I'd need to wait.

Or would I?

There was more than one way for me to get around. I wouldn't typically do it, but it wasn't like I would need to use it for long. I only needed it till everyone was dome down here and back on deck. After that, I drop the projection and go upstairs regularly. Was it a frivolous use of my abilities to get an extra few minutes out of the cabin? Yeah, it was. Would I do it? Definitely, it was a vacation, and I needed to live a little. It was my chance to let loose my abilities without a Dreamwarden looking over my shoulder—maybe the first and last chance to do so. It wasn't even like I was using them to hurt anyone, just have some conversations. The Dreamwardens might not have even disapproved of me using them this way, but it would be nice going out and knowing no one else was looking through my eyes for once; it would be only me.

After closing the door and retreating to my bed, I closed my eyes. I didn't want to waste what little power my phone had—nor did I want to go through the effort of dragging my phone out of my luggage. That meant I needed to do this without music; not an impossible task, but a harder one than I was used to.

There was a lot of noise; so many people were moving around, talking, joking; it was hard to find peace and rhythm to zone out to; it was discordant and distracting. Maybe I couldn't do this. Josie wouldn't be able to, and she was much better at this than I was; even she needed peace.

No, I need to just up my game. I'd been coasting for a long time on my candidacy status, and I needed to prove that I could grow. This might not be the personal growth that the others were going through right now, but growth in skills was still growth. Just because I was happy to accept someone else coming out on top didn't mean I didn't have an obligation to try to improve myself as well. I needed to zone out and drift. The typical harmonies of music weren't here, but there were others. These were the sounds of life, and life was a crazy chaotic thing, yet, beneath all that, life was order incarnate. There was a rhythm to it; you just had to listen more closely.

"These halls are really cramped."
"Ouch! You stepped on my tail!"
"Sorry."
"Barrel riding! Over a waterfall! Are they serious?"

Geez, they were noisy.

"Hey, when we get the kids to sleep tonight. How about we have some grown-up fun?"
"Quiet! They will hear you!"
"Mama! Mama! Look what I can do!

If I became a Dreamwarden, I would be opening myself up to all the dreams of everyone. That had to be noisier than this.

"So…are we going to have to sleep in separate rooms?"
"Nah. We can make this work. It will be just more cozy."
"I think you have a different definition of cozy than me."

Miss Seapony told me once that the early Dreamwardens, the primordial ones, didn't like the noise. They were creatures of order. They silenced the noise, either by forcing all to conform to their mind or by wiping out all the minds and themselves in the process.

"Mama! Papa! Am I getting a room to myself?!"
"It looks like it."
"Wow! A big room to myself!"
"I guess size is relative."

But the later Dreamwardens started imposing rules on themselves, the Oaths. The Oaths made it so minds could be free to do what they wanted, and so the perfect order was broken. With each new generation, there was more chaos introduced to the mix.

"Do you think he'll be alright by himself?"
"It's just the next room over. He'll be fine. It's not like these walls are that thick anyway. We'll hear him."

What was life if it didn't have that freedom to act on its own? It was dull, monotonous, not really any different than rocks. Life needed that chaos, as long as it didn't get too out of control. Perfect order wasn't living. Death was perfect order; life was a mix of chaos and order, always making the next moment unpredictable.

"I suppose we can make this work."
"Who knows, someone might get a little brother and sister after this trip is over."
"Hmmm, we'll have to see."

Life, as unpredictable as it was, was beautiful, entirely because it always brought about the unexpected.

I stared at myself. I was projecting and free to go where I wanted.

I quickly made sure I was invisible and silent and moved through my ceiling to the deck above. I rose above the ship, allowing myself to drift along with it instead of letting it leave me behind. Looking around, it seemed like we were still out in the frozen north. That wasn't surprising; we'd only been airborne for a little while. I wondered how long it would be until we were beyond the snow. I could see mountains in the distance in the direction we were going and a treeline, but it was too far for me to make out details.

Below me, on deck, a few people were wandering around or looking over the ship's sides at the scenery. Most of them were down below, putting luggage away as I expected. I spotted Roger's night pony mother, and I spotted Wild Growth surrounded by a sizable crowd which included the three griffins from a few minutes ago. It looked like introductions were going on. I watched as Jean hugged a human man and Roger—griffin Roger—finishing up doing the same with another human man before getting introduced to a woman carrying a baby. This had to be Wild Growth's extended family. The griffin chick and Phobia's three kids were staring at each other like they didn't know what to make of their relatives of another species. I wondered if Phobia's foals had ever met a griffin before today—probably not. There was a night pony mare there who looked like an adult version of Charlotte, except for a longer mane and lots of tattoos on her wings. She was standing off to the side slightly, along with Crystal. Was that Phobia Remedy's wife? I knew they said her name at some point. What was it?

"Watching the happy reunion, Rebecca Riddle?"

I jumped and practically backflipped in the air before seeing Luna watching me. Shoot. It seemed like I wasn't going to escape the notice of Dreamwardens after all.

"I wasn't going to use the information in the waking world. I promise!" I quickly assured her.

Luna laughed. "Fear not, Rebecca Riddle. I understand some of your Dreamwardens take a different stance than I do about using such powers, and my interpretation is absolute here and not subject to a group vote. Our Oaths are all in our interpretation, and even then, I have fewer Oaths than any of them. Actually, the vote on how such powers are viewed is narrowly divided among their number, and if you become Dreamwarden, you may find yourself the tipping vote to change it. It wouldn't just help you—I'm told Josie Woods has run afoul of the Dreamwardens' views in this area before, too, even while trying to aid my student."

"Your student, singular?" I asked in confusion. "I thought you instructed all the original Dreamwardens."

"They were all pupils of mine, yes, but that was a different relationship," Luna clarified with a smile. "I have a personal student who I spend more extended periods instructing. You have met her, Sunset Blessing. I am delighted with her progress. Her personal growth has been gratifying to see, and while she may never match Twilight Sparkle in magic due to shortcomings in her power, she still possesses a mind just as sharp and an equal thirst for knowledge. I have not spoken it to her, as it would be taken poorly, but I see her as the true heir of Sunset Shimmer, one who has set her darkness behind her where her forebear could never let it go. She is what Sunset Shimmer should have been."

"You seem pretty proud of her," I said, stating the obvious. "So, um, I'm not in trouble right now?"

Luna shook her head and looked around. "Not unless you have some malicious intent. I admit, it has been a long time since I have utilized this sort of ability myself, and it has been many years since any of my subjects manifested the ability. It has its charms. I was merely checking in on you after noticing you doing this, but I must get back to other duties now. I would advise not popping in on Wild Growth's family just yet. This is the first full reunion, minus Phobia, they have had in nearly eight years, and much has changed for most of them in that time—marriages, births, changes in careers, fillies and colts growing into young mares and stallions, even changes in species in the case of Jean and Roger Martinez. Let them have their time to relearn about one another."

"Can I ask you, why are they griffins?" I said in reference to Jean and Roger.

Luna nodded. "I can answer in brief. Jean was needed to be permanently transformed, or else her resonance would break down. For reasons I won't get into, she was utterly opposed to taking a permanent pony form since it would likely result in her being transformed into a crystal pony. Twilight, in her mercy and with forethought to our strained relations with the griffins, revised the spell to make her a griffin instead. Roger Martinez was insistent on joining his wife in whatever route that she took. I think they have taken to their new species well and are among the more pleasant griffins I know—although some frustrating griffin habits have leaked through into their thought processes and even more so with their chick. However, those are not anything to be concerned about. You can't ask a griffin not to be a griffin, and although the thought processes might be different, it is only different, not anything fundamentally wrong."

"I was actually going to try to talk to the goats about their culture," I replied and gestured to a goat on deck.

Luna stiffened. "You will not get any reply if you do. Goats rarely, if ever, speak with ponies. Further, you may upset Iron Will if he feels you are harassing his goats. Minotaurs and goats have obligations to one another that go far deeper than any contract. A minotaur will do whatever it takes to protect their goats if they believe they are threatened in any way. If you wish to learn more, I advise that you go straight to the bull himself, so he doesn't interpret anything the wrong way. You do not want to be on the wrong end of a minotaur's temper, and that can be very sensitive in this matter."

I had a nervous shiver. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," Luna replied. "Enjoy the rest of your stay in Equestria. I shall see you again at Mountainshade!"

And with that, she vanished.

Author's Note:

Hope everyone is having a good day. Today is my birthday—41st one. I'm getting old.

Comments

[badninja]

Happy Birthday! I will be the same age later this year.

[theoldenbrony]

Happy Birthday! You still have 10 years to catch up to me!

[Numinos]

Happy birthday!

Nice to be the youngest yet in this thread at 34 : )

Nice chapter, and interesting tidbits about minotaurs.

[harts fire]

i really like the talk with Luna it fits the hole story really good.

[RMWarPony]

happy hatching day