Equestria's Ray of Hope

by The_Darker_Fonts

In the Face of Truth...

The Ponyville summer sun burnt brightly in the sky, but as with everything else in the town, the warmth was soft and welcoming, a gradual wrapping of heat and not a glaring spotlight. In spite of the river that ran smoothly past the outskirts of town, the humidity remained low thanks to the relatively open fields and streets of Ponyville. Little foals ran about happily in the midst of their summer break from school, and many mares and stallions spent time outside instead of indoors thanks to the beautiful weather. The streets, though slightly crowded by the amount of citizens enjoying the outdoors, remained clear for Ray as he attempted to casually walk through town.

It may have been months since the announcement of Ray’s true purpose, the reason such a strange creature had suddenly appeared. Though it put down the rumors that he was a tamed demon who had escaped from Tartarus, it only fed those that had supposed he was a secret monster. While in general, the public was only interested in him for the sake of knowledge of something that seemed relatively distant to them, the residents of Ponyville had lived with him for close to a year now. Though many just eyed him differently, they still held conversations with him and maintained their friendly attitude. In spite of that, their mannerisms had changed, a meekness overcoming them whenever he was around, as rare as it had become these last few months.

Now, ponies welcomed him with smiles but kept their distance at the same time, eyeing the gear he now wore, the thick tunic and belt that served as a multipurpose carrier. Most obviously was the way they flinched whenever he moved too quickly, a step back here or the flick of the tail nervously there. He had tried to ignore those minute movements, but with the streets so crowded, there was no way to. Whenever he smiled, they would nervously return the gesture, afraid of offending him in any way. He almost wished for those days when they had simply been wary of him in the beginning, but clearly those days were long dead.

With a soft sigh, he took a turn down the main street, past the town hall where Emerald Joy stood, silently watching the procession from the steps. She was the first today to give him a genuine smile, accompanied by an equally warm wave of the hoof. He returned it with his own simple smile and nod of acknowledgement, both retaining from speaking and drawing attention to themselves. Not that the attention would actually leave Ray so long as he was in town. It felt like the entire town had stopped whatever they had been doing to watch Ray go about the menial task of checking up in the drugstore for more sleeping pills.

Finally arriving at the store, he crouched and reached for the door, giving the townsfolk watching him one last halfhearted smile before turning the knob and entering. The cool air of the store within was somewhat of a relief from the sweltering gaze of the ponies, though as quickly as he entered, he wished he could leave. The store owner let out an audible gasp and the only other shopper dropped their basket as he closed the door. So much for the subtle reactions, he mused to himself, making his way to the little section in the back where he knew the medication was kept. The other two got back to whatever they had been doing before he had entered, the customer swiftly picking up her basket and rushing to the clerk to check out.

Whatever conversation they held was whispered as he could barely catch the sound of moving lips between the aisles. Casting aside the thoughts of their staring, he searched the small shelves for the pills, but soon realized that there was nothing there for him. Frowning, he checked again, but once again came up short. Letting out a slight huff of disappointment at the lack of having anything to show for his short parade through town, he made his way to the front desk. The clerk instantly stiffened up as he approached, his eyes darting around as if he hadn’t been staring at the human. Ray resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he rested his hands on the counter, hoping that by showing them the clerk wouldn’t get nervous about the weapons in his belt and on his back.

“Do you guys have any sleeping medication in stock,” he questioned as casually as he could with the poor shopkeeper sweating like a pig. “There weren’t any on the shelf when I checked.”

“Let me check to see if we have anything in the back real quick,” the stallion responded all too quickly, spinning around and shoving himself through the door. Ray sighed as the door slammed behind the stallion, shaking his head at the tentative clerk’s actions. He glanced out the window, catching sight of a pair of young foals who had been peeking through the shop window. As soon as they realized they’d been caught, they darted away with yelps that he could barely hear through the glass. He waited for a minute longer, staring out the window at a pair of teenage-looking ponies sharing a picnic under a tree in front of a two story house.

Suddenly, the door the clerk had vanished behind reopened, the stallion walking in with a much more collected expression than he had left with. The pony had a bag of something sparkling and blue in his hoof which he set on the countertop in front of Ray’s hands. “We didn’t have any of the pills left, but we do have a dissolvable sleeping powder that works a bit more effectively instead,” the clerk informed him with a nod. “You simply put a teaspoon of it in water or tea and mix it around until you can’t see it and take it before going to bed. Personally, it's the one that I recommend to my customers 'cause it’s a bit cheaper and more effective. Was gonna replace those old pills anyways.”

“Oh, thanks,” Ray replied with a smile in kind, grateful for the almost sincere conversation, as mundane as it was. With a sudden realization, he reached down to his belt for his bag of bits, asking, “How much is it?”

“I don’t know yet, actually,” the shopkeeper responded earnestly with a shrug. “I usually charge three bits, but prices everywhere are dropping, and I can get five pounds for two bits now. What you have is probably about a fourth of a bit, so if you have any coppers, I’ll take two for it.”

“Um, I’ve lived in Equestria for about ten months now and still have never heard of coppers,” Ray admitted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Is that like a subdivision of the bit?”

“Oh, of course, that’s my bad,” the shopkeeper replied, ducking under the counter for a brief moment before tossing a few of the coins onto the desk. “One Equestrian bit is equivalent to eight Seaquestria coppers. They aren’t widely accepted across town, but here I take anything. I’ll give you a few dozen in exchange for some bits if you need some.”

“Sure,” Ray agreed, prompting the stallion to reach under his desk and pull out a bag full of the coins. “Interesting that I never heard of coppers while I was with the seaponies training…”

Ray trailed off as he noticed the stallion’s discomfort at the direction his sentence had been heading, but he moved along quickly from it, commenting, “Well, with the Storm King’s invasion of their home, the value of their currency plummeted and many use the bit instead. Still the official currency of Seaquestria, but no longer the most used.”

“Huh,” Ray replied, recalling what the Apples had told them about that particular adventure. He dismissively placed a handful of bits on the table, the generous amount Twilight had claimed was payment for his time more than enough to live off of.

“Um, you only needed to give me five bits, six including the division of your sleeping medication,” the stallion pointed out, shoving the extra dozen bits back towards Ray.

“Consider it a tip for your helpfulness,” Ray replied. With a slight frown and a sideways glance at the shadows cast by another group of foals staring through the window, he added, “You’re one of the few ponies in town that still treat me like a citizen.”

He as turned to leave, the shopkeeper grumbled, “Ponville’s a strange place that accepts everything and everypony in their own way, but the ponies themselves are a superstitious lot. Zecora was once an outcast just because she was a zebra, and now everypony can’t think of the town without her. You’ll find your place here as soon as ponies realize you aren’t…”

“A monster,” Ray finished for him with a look at him over his shoulder. The clerk nodded, huffing slightly. The human smiled sadly, reminding the stallion, “It’s because they all know that I’m a monster that they don’t quite accept me, and the reason I need this sleeping powder is the reason I know I’ll never be able to accept myself here. Don’t blame yourselves. It’s only human to be afraid of the truth.”

Ray pushed open the door without waiting for the shopkeeper’s response, scattering the gathered foals like they were a flock of birds, all running with little shrieks as he slowly stepped out onto the street. He looked around at the small spectacle caused by the startled foals, but decided to not mind the stares, treading the path back towards the center of town. He intended to return home for a moment to either catch up with Otolo or have a lunch break. Instead, however, he found himself being yanked by the hand away towards another corner of Ponyville.

Yelping in sudden surprise at the abnormal strength and speed he was suddenly being dragged away with. The town blurred in his eyes, making him ever so slightly dizzy as a familiar bright voice squealed, “Ray, I’m so glad I could catch you on your first day of break!”

Planting his feet in the ground and bringing the dragging to a halt, he looked down with a surprised smile as he exclaimed incredulously, “Pinkie Pie?”

“In the flesh,” the pink mare proclaimed, extending her hooves for a hug. He stooped down and pulled the mare in with a chuckle.

“Only you could drag a human three times your size while pregnant,” he complimented with a shake of his head, patting her back and pulling away.

“Uh, correction, I’m not a pregger pony anymore,” Pinkie Pie replied with a raised eyebrow, pointing at her flat belly.

Ray slapped his hands against the sides of his head, eyes wide at the sight of the no-longer pregnant pony, sputtering in surprise. “Oh my gosh, Pinkie, I’m so sorry I missed it all! When did you give birth to your kid?”

“Oh, only three days, seven hours, eight minutes, and thirteen seconds ago,” the cheerful mare answered dismissively. “Besides, you just got back yesterday, and how were we supposed to know that the silly foal would come a whole week early. All you missed was a slimy little foal.”

“Yeah, I didn’t need that image in my head,” Ray grumbled, rubbing his forehead to try and force the imagery from his head. “I’m glad you were able to deliver so easily, and my, the recovery has shown. I mean, a few months ago alone, pulling me across the street would have been impressive alone, but I’m nearly one seventy now, which is crazy for you to pull!”

“Meh, I guess it’s just ‘cause I’m so darn excited to see you again after over a week,” she exclaimed, throwing confetti from out of her ever puffy hair. “And at the perfect timing too! I need somepony to help me catch up with all the baking I fell behind on while on maternity leave!”

“Wait, you're off maternity leave,” Ray shouted in surprise.

“Shhhhhhhh,” the pink mare hushed him, jumping up and wrapping her hooves around his mouth. “It’s supposed to be a secret! Cheesy will get all suspicious if he hears you talking like that! I mean, I gotta throw a birthday party for Lil’ Cheese and a ‘You’re a Father Now’ party for Cheesy. If he knows I’m cooking already, he’ll put a stop to it, and I won’t be able to throw him the bestest party in the world!”

“But, like, jeez Pinkie, you just gave birth,” Ray whispered with a wary glance around at the few staring ponies.

“Well duh, that’s why I need you,” she pointed out with a poke in his chest. “I mean, all this jumping around and celebrating has me aching like crazy, and a poor new mother can’t be able to bake twenty pies and a baker’s dozen of a baker’s dozen of cookies!”

Pinkie’s pupils eyes widened as a small pouty face was shoved into Ray’s face, her hooves pressed together as she begged him for help. Smiling at the slightly absurd expression, he asked, “Are you trying to play my sensitive side?”

“Maybeeeee,” Pinkie hesitantly answered, a sheepish little smile breaking her puppy eyes clearing. “Is it working?”

“Mmm, not particularly, but heck, I wouldn’t mind spending a few hours with my favorite pink pony,” Ray replied, attempting to mimic her cheerfulness. For the first time, he looked away from the ponies around them and at the buildings, surprised to find themselves in front of Sugarcube Corner. “Wow,” he breathed in disbelief. “How far did you drag me?”

“Only a few hundred pans across town,” Pinkie answered nonchalantly. She bounced to her hooves, prancing towards the door as she persisted, “Now c’mon, we gotta be real quick about all of this!”

“Alright alright,” Ray said, standing with a laugh and following the mare, glancing up at the sign over the shop one last time before entering. “Hey, what’s a baker’s dozen of a baker’s dozen?”

“Oh, that’s cookie slang for thirteen batches of thirteen cookies,” Pinkie responded keenly. “Really, you cook your own meals! How do you not know this stuff?”

“Just an amateur, I guess.”

“Well then, we have a lot more work than I anticipated us having after all! Grab an apron or four and open the fridge. Tonight, the ponies will eat cake!”

******************************************************************************************

Thirty minutes and a flurry of sugar, spice, and everything nice later, Ray found himself leaning against the counter, disregarding the small pile of leftover flour from rolling the cake dough. If he wasn’t a bit more used to hard labor, he would be panting immensely right now. He chuckled to himself at the thought that he counted the immense amount of baking he had just assisted Pinkie with could be counted as “hard labor”. Shaking his head a little, he glanced over to where Pinkie was gently closing the oven door on the last batch of cookies and cake.

They were both smattered with a dusting of flour and blotches of different batters on their aprons. Noticing a couple chocolate chips stuck in the pink mare’s cotton candy mane, he reached over and carefully picked them out, jokingly asking, “How did we end up with enough ingredients when half of them ended up on us?”

“Oh, you think I would forget to add inevitable messes into the equation,” Pinkie retorted lightly. “C’mon, who do you think you’re looking at? You?”

“Okay, shots fired,” Ray replied, respecting the witty sting. The only time he had ever had someone over for dinner was Pinkie Pie, who randomly showed up with extras for him. He had invited her in because he was making dinner. Forgetting he was trying a new recipe, he had served the two of them the worst meal of their life consisting of too-dry noodles and over the top spicy sauce. Wincing at the memory, he complimented, “That was a good one, I’ll say.” After a moment of pause, glancing around uncertainly at the messy, but otherwise empty kitchen, he questioned quietly, “So what now?”

“Well, the Carrots always say that waiting for the goods to bake is the best part, but I mean, that’s from two married bakers, and who knows what happens during their freetime,” Pinkie pointed out.

“Did not need to be thinking about that,” Ray commented with a slight shake. “Don’t you ponies have normal talk-time or are you guys always so….”

“Carnal,” Pinkie guessed. “Nah, it’s just I’m the Element of Laughter, and by extent joy, and most ponies are the happiest when they're with their special somepony, especially under not PG circumstances.”

“Yep, okay, with that point, we are moving on,” Ray rushed with the slightest blush on his face. He blinked to himself, almost astonished by his own reaction to the pink mare’s words. He had faced off against people and ponies who had wanted to kill him, and heck he had killed. The whole reason he was even here was to kill and defeat, and yet, when Pinkie brought up the topic of romance and physical affection, all he did was stiffen up and attempt to ignore the insinuations. In only a couple short months he would be in the front lines of combat, and that prospect didn’t frighten him, but for some reason love had become a stinging conviction in his heart.

Maybe it’s because I know I won’t ever have somebody to share myself with, he thought to himself bitterly. A land full of friendship, friends even, and here I am, doomed to live alone even if I survive this war.

“Hey hey hey hey,” Pinkie cried, suddenly springing up in front of his face, clacking her hooves together loudly. “I see those sad eyes! Whatever happens in Sugarcube Corner, it isn’t sad eyes! There will be no pouting or self-pitying in this bakery while I’m around! Now c’mon, we have to do something while we wait so you don’t get your head all clouded up with stormy thoughts.”

Ray laughed dryly at Pinkie’s determinedness, finally nodding in agreement. “Alright, alright, no moping about while the stuff bakes. What’re we gonna do?”

“Well, you could meet Lil’ Cheese, but he’s probably still taking a nap,” she told him. “Then again, he hasn’t really opened his eyes all of the way yet, so he might not even recognize you later.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” he replied with a dismissive wave. “Your kid is yours, and it’ll be better if he meets me after the whole war thing goes down. Just makes more sense if he got to know me less as a general and more as an actual person.”

“Sure, I mean, I guess that makes sense,” Pinkie agreed, though she seemed more distracted as she stared at him.

“What, what is it,” Ray asked, patting his head for anything that might be in his hair. “Are there chocolate chips in my hair too?”

“No, it’s just…” Pinkie trailed off as she continued to focus on his hair. After a second of reconsideration, she said, “It’s just that you aren’t Ray anymore are you? You’ve changed so much in these past four months, and it doesn’t feel like you’re the same Raymond that arrived here.”

“I…” Ray began, caught off-guard by her sudden assault on him. “I don’t… think you’re wrong, but you… well you aren’t quite correct.”

“Huh, you’re actually owning up to it,” Pinkie wondered with slight pride. “The old Ray would simply shake it off, play it off like some sort of joke or something. You take the hits open faced though, don’t ya?”

“Yeah, I guess I’m changing for the better,” Ray replied with a shrug.

“Not for the better of yourself,” Pinkie pointed out, her words poking through him. “Ray, I may be the Element of Laughter, but even I’m not always happy. It’s okay to be sad or disappointed. You don’t need those walls.”

“Why are you saying all of this,” Ray demanded, realizing how harshly that had come out.

Pinkie didn’t even flinch away from him at his raised voice, simply tilting her head to the side, the pony answered softly, “Because you aren’t happy with your own changes. Your hair is all rough these days, but they used to be soft, silky even, like everypony else’s mane a few weeks after you arrived. Now you constantly look haggard, like you’ve just been dragged through the mud and know you are about to again.”

“If you haven’t noticed, Pinkie, I have been and am going to be,” Ray rebutted, pointing a finger to the scar in his stomach. Her eyes briefly darted to the spot, knowing well what lay beneath his tunic. Then, without hesitation, she reached out and wrenched his knife from its sheath, holding the weapon up to him.

“This is not the Ray I know, a tall scary human that walked around with weapons on him in Ponyville of all places, even on a break,” Pinkie shot back with a slight glare. “Do you think nopony else has noticed? Obviously not, because you can see the way they all stare at you, unsure what you’re about to do because you aren’t the person we threw a welcoming party for. I don’t care if you think you’re doing this for our sake, because I and everypony else only cares about you.”

“And that’s the problem with you ponies, the fact that you care more for one single person than your entire race,” Ray exclaimed with a sweeping motion. “I don’t care about myself because beyond this war, what is there for me? Existing for everyone else to care about and feel bad for, that I had to suffer through war for them? I will not be pitied the rest of my world, looked at like a hero and a kicked puppy at the same time. There isn’t even another human in this world for me to fall in love with or even just befriend. I don’t care about myself because my one and only purpose now, and maybe ever, is to protect these ponies, ‘cause in the end, who gives a damn if I die. It wasn’t like I had anything else to live for.”

“That’s disappointing to hear,” Pinkie muttered, looking to the ground sadly. Wait, ground?

In a flash, he realized that he was no longer in the bakery, the walls and roof gone with the tiled floor that was replaced by dry dirt. Looking around rapidly, he gasped at what he was staring at. Everything around him was sinuous and smooth, clouds of what looked like space dust surrounding him. Gasping with realization, he pulled his kharamh out from behind him, using the hook to disarm the still present Pinkie, his knife landing in the dirt with a soft thud.

“No, not this place again,” Ray shouted, holding his weapon against the calm mare’s throat.

“I’m not what you think I am, Ray,” she said, her voice eerily not her own. There was a resounding tone of control and superiority in her voice, almost royal…

“Wait a minute, Luna,” Ray questioned, lowering his kharamh. The pink body of Pinkie Pie suddenly shuddered as the coat changed to a night blue and her body grew in size slightly. In only a few short seconds, the Princess of the Night was revealed to him, standing only chest high. The human shook his head slightly at the ruse as he softly muttered, “Another test then, Twi?”

“Yes, it was, and I’m afraid the results we found were lacking,” Luna informed him with a sad frown, her eyes meeting his. “Ray-”

“I’ve heard it all before, Luna,” Ray interrupted, raising a hand to silence her. “I know what everyone else’s thoughts of me and my choices are, and while I appreciate the concern, I know this is the path to victory.”

“Regardless of self harm,” Luna challenged.

“Regardless of myself,” Ray corrected. “Twilight sent me back to Ponyville only to be tested once again, didn’t she?”

“No, but she was concerned that even after your talk you would still not change your ways,” the Princess of the Night replied. “I find myself disappointed to see that her worry was correct.”

“Look, I listened to Twi, and even considered putting what she said to the test, but my ways won’t change so long as I think that my path is the path. So far, I haven’t found or had the time to find a different, better way to go about all out war than what my training has taught me. I know you are all worried about me, but I’m a singular person, who, quite frankly, is more concerned with hundreds of thousands more lives. My concerns outweigh yours, and if I have to sacrifice myself for those lives, then so be it. I couldn’t be happier with that ending.”

“Because then you wouldn’t have to face yourself afterwards,” Luna finished the unspoken sentence. “You’re afraid of the recompense for your own actions. You’re afraid that if you keep living, you’ll become something else to fear in whatever new world is borne from this war. You’re afraid of the you that will be borne from this war.”

“Because you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” Ray replied soundly. Luna shook her head slightly, closing her eyes with her head downward.

“We each have our own views on how this war will run and what your future will be, but unlike Twilight, I believe that we shouldn’t obstruct it, to force you to become something acceptable to ponies, because no matter what, you won’t ever be able to live as a true Equestrian. I know somepony just like you, lost in their difference and inability to change, their belief that they have the right path. I love them like they were my own child, but it is so painful to watch them stumble and struggle to find their own path. Especially when it comes at the cost of others’ lives. I don’t want you to end up like them, stuck in a circle of confusion and death.”

“A circle only ends when someone destroys it,” Ray answered darkly. “Luna, you and Twilight have different views but the exact same idea. You think that there are other ways than my death to secure Equestrian peace, while I think it is the only way. It isn’t about hating myself anymore, and you don’t understand that. It’s about accepting that I’ve evaded death for far too long, and that if my life continues without facing it, I’m going to destroy everything I want to protect. It’s why I fear it… why the Spectre is correct about everything he said.”

Silence overtook them as Ray stared distantly at the Dreamscape ground, the soft dirt that his knife knife lay in, impacted by his boot marks. He couldn’t know, for nobody had seen the land itself, only the sheer cliff faces and a few mile stretch of rocky beach, but perhaps this is what the minotaur’s land looked like. Dry, deficient of life itself. He would know soon enough though. No use worrying about it now.

“Ray, there’s a difference between you and the pony I spoke of,” Luna suddenly spoke up. “Only one, but it is a strong one. When you kill, you make peace with those who are affected by it. You may both see it as an answer, a cure-all even, but you know the effect it has on those closest to whomever you kill. Even my dear pony cannot see that.”

Ray stiffened up at what she had said. Memories, hidden from him, buried and expelled by the wall peeking through the cracks. The parents of Kaleb and Jackson in the hospital as he apologized for killing their sons. The mare kneeling in the field crying softly over Cohin’s grave as he begged for her forgiveness. He had even apologized to Pharynx and Thorax for destroying their mother, though the two didn’t have many harsh feelings for him.

“Yeah, I clean up my messes, but that doesn’t make me any less of a murderer,” Ray responded candidly.

“But thinking yourself as the villain, recognizing the action you have taken, that is what proves that you aren’t simply a mass-murdering machine,” Luna retorted with a slight lilt. “You realize your actions do have more than just the blatant outcomes and consequences of killing somepony, and that allows you to debuff the effects it has on your morality. Recognizing your mistakes shows the true maturity of your character. That is only heightened by the fact that you are finally being honest with us about your fears.”

“Us,” Ray questioned, looking around and expecting to find Celestia and Twilight.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve realized that nothing said here is truly private,” Luna explained. “I will tell everything I see fit to tell Twilight about in this dream of yours, but we are indeed very much alone here. Now, what exactly did the Spectre say to you that you believe is true?”

Hesitating for only a few seconds, Ray sighed and answered, “That I fear absolution. He’s wrong about why I fear it, but I… I can’t dare to think about it… to face it…”

“Well, the fact that you can tell the difference between death and absolution is an assurity of your insight. Perhaps it is the most godly of fears to have, the fear of the ultimate end, beyond death, beyond destruction, and beyond the end. I guess you simply were forced into that process of thought, considering your circumstances and all.”

“Yeah,” Ray responded hollowly, still looking around at the Dreamscape sky. “So was this the plan then, put me to sleep and then make me have a dream with Pinkie in it to lower my guard?”

“The part about having a dream with Pinkie, yes, but you fell asleep of your own accord, in the middle of Twilight, Celestia, and I’s meeting. I took the opportunity there and then to test Twilight’s theory.”

“Well, that explains the suddenness of this testing,” Ray muttered. With a small smile, he told her, “You have a spot-on Pinkie impression.”

“Thank you,” Luna replied with a grateful nod. “I do think I’m a better actor than my poor older sister.”

“Well, I’m missing a bit of context for that joke to stick, but I’ll take your word for it,” Ray responded, causing the Princess of the Night to chuckle.

“Yes indeed, it’s a much more mundane and funny story than most of the ones concerning her, truthfully.” Luna agreed. “You’ll have to have Twilight tell you the story sometime.”

Ray nodded, about to add something else when he started with realization. “Wait, was that you in the shop as well. Were you the kind shopkeeper too?”

“I’m… not sure what your talking about, frankly,” Luna said uncertainly, giving him a confused look.

“Oh no, then that means,” Ray began, before the Dreamscape suddenly began to shake.

“Hm, you’re waking up now,” Luna noted calmly as the ground broke and the sky fell. “Sorry for interrupting your nap. Hopefully it will be a long while before I have to-”

Ray woke up on the ground, covered in dirt and surrounded by the sounds of distressed ponies. Opening up his eyes sharply, he hastily shoved himself up from off the ground, reaching to his knife. Feeling it there, and not stuck in the Dreamscape, he sighed thankfully, glancing around at the startled townsfolk. They all gasped at his rapid actions, stepping back as their muttering grew louder.

“Oh for Celestia’s sake ponies, haven’t any of you heard of a power nap,” a familiar pink pony cried as she shoved her way towards the standing human. As Pinkie Pie came to Ray’s side, she whispered to him, “Though this wasn’t exactly the best place to take one.”

Too many different emotions filled his head and heart for his mouth to move, so instead he simply laughed, nodding. “I guess I’m just a little bit tired,” he managed to choke out through an overpowering smile. He wasn’t so sure why he was so happy, but looking down at one of his oldest friends in this world, he couldn’t help himself. Kneeling down, he scooped up the mare in a big hug.

“Oh, okay then, well, glad to see you too,” Pinkie accepted, wrapping her own hooves around him and squeezing hard.

Smiling cheerfully, Ray asked, “Hey, do you need any help baking?”

Comments

[ShortCaveman]

Nice can't wait to read the next chapter

[The_Darker_Fonts]

11292412
Thanks! Couldn't write an author's note cuz of a time crunch, but lets just say hopefully it comes before I'm distracted by anything else!

[paladinwolf]

I don't know, but I would feel pretty violated if Luna just popped into my dreams to 'test' me. Maybe they need tested.

[The_Darker_Fonts]

11293282
Well, y'know, it happens a few times in the show and has happened a few times here. Also, from her perspective it's her helping do her duty, though it is pretty invasive. Also also, Spoilers of future chapters.

[paladinwolf]

11293713
Oh, I think ya misunderstood what I meant! I don't mean any bad if she was to help with a bad dream, or lets be honest here just a chat would be cool. What I mean was how she messed with his mind, impersonated a close friend, and 'tested' his loyalty. The biggest problem I would have, is that now I would question everyone and everything, cuz who knows Luna might be 'testing' me again. Then would come paranoia, what is real and what's a dream?

Though this is all a personal feeling. My mind is the only thing they can't take... but Luna can... I don't like being afraid of best princess!
i.pinimg.com/originals/4a/a6/b1/4aa6b1f14ef0d65bef99de496a00186a.png
I would rather think of her like
i.pinimg.com/originals/a8/87/57/a887576a7a993dcac22229a2879e84b6.jpg

In any event, fun story. thx for sharing and hope to read more soonish.

[The_Darker_Fonts]

11293810
Well, considering the last time he dealt with someone in his head it was the Spectre, Ray isn't too paranoid about the Princess of the Night who is virtually harmless. See, her test was to find his true thoughts. The Spectre's was to possess forcefully and gode him with his fears to admit his weakness and that he needs the power of the Spectre. I can't say more, but I assure you, all actions have their consequences in this story.