• Published 28th Sep 2020
  • 467 Views, 24 Comments

My World Is Empty Without You - McPoodle



Vinyl Scratch, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends are all trapped by a spell in Fluttershy's dream, a dream turned deadly by Fluttershy's pent-up frustrations.

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Prologue

Thought Experiments 6:

My World Is Empty Without You


A My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic

By McPoodle (and Fluttershy...don’t tell)

Prologue


The Glittering Caverns were located less than ten thousand strides west of Stalliongrad, but their existence was unknown to the ponies. Its entrance was a simple hole, concealed inside of a dense pricklebush in the Desolate Tundra. In the early days when the Dragon Emperor was making his plans and extending his control from his base in the caverns, access to and from that location was carefully coordinated to avoid the ponies noticing.

Now of course dragons could enter and leave the caverns with impunity, if they weren’t under strict orders to keep their distance. The ponies of Stalliongrad were under the Emperor’s complete mental control, and the border separating dragon conquests from the beleaguered pony homelands was located far to the south.

The reason the Glittering Caverns were off limits was because of the Emperor’s top-secret Final Stage, the plan that would give the planet forever to the dragons. At least, that was what they were promised by their master in his mental transmissions.

* * *

The central of the five Glittering Caverns was as big as the house of a well-off pony family, and twice as tall. Its walls were encrusted with gems of every shape, size and quality. A few of the gems were of the decorative variety that dragons hoarded and ponies fashioned into jewelry, but most of them were the far more valuable variety known as mana gems. These were capable of storing and discharging large quantities of magic energy. Ponies powered their artifacts with these gems; while for dragons, it was the only way for them to wield most of the magic they were capable of controlling.

The clearer mana gems in the ceiling were enchanted to glow, providing light. What that light illuminated was a group of seven crystal caskets. Six of them were arranged in a circle; they were each designed to hold an average-sized pony, and that is what each one contained. Situated in front of the other caskets was a significantly bigger casket, also occupied. Each of the caskets had a variety of mana gems embedded in them, enchanted to perform a bewildering variety of tasks. Bundled wires connected the caskets with each other and with a control panel located on one wall of the cavern.

The control panel was also made up of mana gems, arranged so they could be easily overseen by the juvenile dragon with the clipboard who was sitting on a crystal stool and looking them over. There was a small cluster of monitoring gems devoted to each casket. The flat surface of one flat gem in each cluster acted as a screen, showing the sleeping face of the casket’s inhabitant. Another gem pulsed in color with each breath of the subject, while a third gem monitored heartbeat.

The center of the control panel was dedicated to another large screen, this one showing a confrontation between two of the sleeping ponies: Rarity and DJ Pon-3, otherwise known as Vinyl Scratch. A grill under the screen provided the sound for the scene.

The world I have created is finally reaching its inevitable conclusion,” the voice of Rarity declared from the grill, in the manner of the villain from a spy story. This impression was not hindered in the slightest by the presence of a tiny dragon in a black trench coat perched upon her back.

The dragon sitting on the stool responded to this particular line by quickly finishing off his late-night snack of a sapphire cupcake and washing it down with water from a tall thin glass. His break over, he began to split his attention, paying special attention to one set of vital signs in particular, but every few seconds he would also spare some time to look at a smaller screen sitting on the desk beside him. This object showed signs of being added very recently: it wasn’t installed in the wall; the wires connecting it to the various caskets were imperfectly insulated and tended to spark every minute or so; and there were some knobs on the sides that constantly had to be fiddled with to keep the device working properly.

The output of this jury-rigged device was not audio or video, but colored text depicting an entirely different conversation than that taking place on the main screen:

Did…did you just topple Pony Civilization with a real estate scam?

Uh-huh. I wonder sometimes if I am always a force for good.

The color of the first line of text corresponded with that of the labels around Applejack’s monitor cluster, while the second line’s color identified it as belonging to Twilight Sparkle.

As the dragon watched, intently but dispassionately, the two off-white ponies on the screen argued, culminating in…a musical duet?

“I swear I will never understand ponies till the day I die,” the dumbfounded dragon swore under his breath.

The song, in turn, somehow managed to power the spell being generated by the DJ pony’s horn, leading to the utter obliteration of Rarity, and therefore the end of her dream.

Rarity’s free, she’s…

(This line came from Vinyl Scratch.)

The output stopped after the dragon tapped a large pink gem, which responded by slowly flashing on and off.

The vital signs for Rarity showed clear signs that she was waking up. With an annoyed grunt, the dragon tapped an orange gem, causing it to start glowing.

In the casket behind him, a similarly orange-colored gas flooded into Rarity’s enclosure, causing her to stop moving.

The dragon nodded. “You stay put,” he told her. “The good part’s starting, and I don’t want to miss it dealing with you.”


The Dragon Emperor experienced the dreams of his victims differently than they or his dragon lackey did. It’s rather hard to put his experience into words, so I hope you’ll indulge me while I use a medium I’m quite familiar with:

WELCOME TO DREAM OS, V.1.0.0. SYSTEM: Fluttershy

YOU HAVE LOGGED IN WITH ACCESS LEVEL: COMPLETE CONTROL.

DREAM STATE: Not Started.

DragonEmperor: sudo "Fluttershy"

YOU ARE NOW "Fluttershy".

"Fluttershy": dream.exe -start

THE DREAM IS NOW STARTING.

"Fluttershy": A peaceful day in the little village of Ponyville is disrupted as day suddenly turns to night. But not just any night—a supernatural darkness which makes it impossible to see more than a couple of ponylengths in any direction.

SETTING "Ponyville" CREATED.

"Fluttershy": dream.exe -add $AllAvailableDreamers -location "City Hall" -radius 500pl

DREAMER "Twilight Sparkle" ADDED.

DREAMER "Pinkie^H^H^H^H^H^H^H NOT DEFINED. SUBSTITUTE DREAMER "Pinkamena" ADDED.

DREAMER "Rainbow Dash" ADDED.

DREAMER "Rarity" NOT FOUND.

DREAMER "Applejack" ADDED.

DREAMER Fluttershy: NOT APPLICABLE.

DREAMER "Vinyl Scratch" ADDED.

ALL DREAMERS LOCATED AROUND LOCATION "City Hall".

NO DREAMERS CLOSER THAN 500 PONYLENGTHS TO EACH OTHER.

"Fluttershy": From the Everfree, dangerous creatures of all sorts invade Ponyville, attacking at random. The ponies of the town cry in in fear and terror.

Applejack: I help anypony I can.

YOU FIND Lyra AND Bon-Bon, AND LEAD THEM BACK TO THEIR HOUSE.

Rainbow Dash: I can’t see! I land to try and see what’s going on.

SOME SORT OF LEATHERY CREATURE FLIES RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD AS YOU LAND.

Rainbow Dash: I fly back up and catch it.

Pinkamena: Is the ground stable? What do I smell?

THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF SEISMIC ACTIVITY. THE AIR IS HUMID, WITH A STRONG EARTHY SMELL.

Pinkamena: What does my Pinkie Sense tell me? (The interpretation, not the actual signs, please. I don’t have time to pull out my cheat sheet.)

PinkieSenseBot: FOUR TIMBERWOLVES ARE TRYING TO SURROUND YOU.

Pinkamena: I look down at the ground, trying to give the impression that I’ve given up. When the pack is in range I buck the closest one, followed by the others in clockwise fashion.

Fluttershy: This is my dream?

YES.

Fluttershy: I try to find the closest of my friends.

YOU EVENTUALLY FIND Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle: I summon Spike.

CONSTRUCT "Spike" HAS BEEN ADDED IN "Twilight Sparkle's" LOCATION.

Twilight Sparkle: I cast Harmony’s Light.

YOUR LIGHT SPELL PUSHES BACK THE DARKNESS.

"Fluttershy": Your spell also reveals the presence of Nightmare Moon, grinning cruelly at you.

CONSTRUCT "Nightmare Moon" HAS BEEN ADDED IN "Twilight Sparkle's" LOCATION.

Twilight Sparkle: Luna! What happened to you!

"Fluttershy": Nightmare Moon replies, “The Dragon Emperor has passed me, The Nightmare, into Luna’s weak and pitiful body. Now that I infect her once again, I will begin my revenge here, at the location of my prior defeat and with you, the architect of my ruin. Prepare for your doom, Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight Sparkle: I cast Shield, Level 3. Spike provides the mana deficit.

"Fluttershy": Nightmare Moon replies, “I cast Tartarus’ Might, Level 5, obliterating Twilight’s shield. Before she has a chance to react, I strike again, instantly ki

Fluttershy: ...infecting her. I did say that Luna was “infected” with the Nightmare, right? I always thought of them more as a symbiotic magical entity rather than an infection but I suppose it can work. So now Twilight has been infected, too, turning her into Nightmare Twilight! No, that doesn’t sound right. Nightmare Dusk? No. Dusk Dawn? No… Let me see...what should she be called? … …

"Fluttershy": ...Midnight Sparkle. If we...I mean “I” am going to do this, her name should be Midnight Sparkle. It’s not like I spend late nights fantasizing about what an evil Twilight Sparkle would be like or anything.

DREAMER "Twilight Sparkle" HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH CONSTRUCT "Midnight Sparkle".

Fluttershy: OK. I sure made up my mind on that all of a sudden. Which is a bit unusual, but I suppose sometimes I get lucky and my anxiety doesn’t pin me down until *after* I make a decision. Like… Midnight Sparkle, what would she even look like? Just dark fur and a corrupted cutie mark? Oh, definitely slitted eyes, those were cool looking, wearing a royal outfit. A silk cape with gold embroidery around the edges and a thin silver crown just sharp enough looking to bring claws to mind.

DESCRIPTION FOR "Midnight Sparkle" HAS BEEN UDPATED.

"Fluttershy": Dressed in black leather, and wielding a…

Fluttershy: Well! Since I’m talking to myself—and definitely not to someone who is in my head and able to control my thoughts, which would be so terrifying I may just give up on thinking altogether—that must mean I just learned something new about me just now. Something I really didn’t need to know. (Black leather, really?) So, where was I?

"Fluttershy": Midnight Sparkle! Nightmare Moon and Midnight Sparkle team up to continue their revenge. They see Pinkamena and…

Fluttershy: ...Pass right over her to corner Fluttershy. The poor pegasus doesn’t stand a chance.

"Fluttershy": ...That’s not right. Fluttershy would be too easy. She should be the last victim.

Fluttershy: No, definitely the first. She’s Grade-A victim material. No villain could possibly pass that up.

"Fluttershy": ...Couldn’t they warm up on Applejack? Or what about Vinyl Scratch? I almost forgot about her.

Fluttershy: Absolutely not! I’ve had enough nightmares on the subject to be more than sure that Fluttershy is just about to meet a grisly demise, probably be decapitated before her body becomes worm food. Right...about…n

"Fluttershy": ^C^C^C^C^C

THE DREAM HAS BEEN PAUSED.


Back in the cave, the Emperor’s technician sighed in embarrassment. Looking over the console, he saw that the orange tranquilizer gem’s glow had completely faded out, and Rarity was once again trying to get up.

“Oh no you don’t,” the dragon said, tapping the orange gem again to deliver another dose of knock-out gas. He then turned his attention back to Fluttershy’s screen, certain that his boss would succeed this time for sure.


"Fluttershy": dream.exe -charedit "Midnight Sparkle" -replacewith "Twilight Sparkle"

CONSTRUCT "Midnight Sparkle" HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH DREAMER "Twilight Sparkle".

"Fluttershy": dream.exe -charedit "Twilight Sparkle" -appearance -match "Midnight Sparkle"

DREAMER "Twilight Sparkle" NOW LOOKS LIKE "Midnight Sparkle".

"Fluttershy": sudo "Celestia"

YOU ARE NOW "Celestia".

"Celestia": dream.exe -resume

THE DREAM HAS BEEN RESUMED.

"Celestia": I appear in the clearing in front of Fluttershy, marked with numerous wounds and with a sheared pink mane. "Fluttershy!" I gasp. "Nightmare Moon has rendered me too weak to help you personally in your struggle against her and Midnight Sparkle. But I can send you this." I present Fluttershy with a horn blade. "With this weapon, you can render Midnight Sparkle powerless, unable to use her magic for weeks. Too bad it doesn’t work on alicorns."

Fluttershy: I stare at Celestia, the most powerful and terrifying creature in existence, before averting my gaze to stare at the floor.

"Celestia": “I need your help, Fluttershy. I can’t do this alone, and I know that you can, if you just try.”

Fluttershy: “Of all the ponies in the world, why would you pick the one pony destined to fail?” I ask, still staring at the dirt in front of me.

"Celestia": “What?! You’ve defeated countless enemies, you’ve overcome incredible odds! I know you can do this!”

Fluttershy: “No. I can’t. Maybe Daring Do could do this. Maybe Rainbow Dash or my friends, but… If I’m truly the last thing holding back the end of the world? Then the world is already lost. I can’t.” If Rainbow D— I mean Daring Do were here, then she could save the world. But not Fluttershy. No.

"Celestia": “Your former friends have turned against me, turned against Equestria, won’t you do something?”

Fluttershy: ...I will watch.

"Celestia": dream.exe -BatchExecute FinalScene.ds

DREAM SETTING: title-set EVERFREE

DREAM SETTING: environment DENSE-DECIDUOUS-FOREST

DREAM SETTING: environment NIGHT

DREAM SETTING: environment COLD

DREAM SETTING: environment HOPELESS

INVALID PARAMETER.

"Celestia": dream.exe -environment lifeless

DREAM SETTING: environment LIFELESS

ALL DREAMERS HAVE BEEN MOVED TO THIS LOCATION.

"Celestia": …Progress, I think?

THAT IS NOT A VALID DREAM COMMAND.

SYSTEM Fluttershy SETMODE SPECTATOR

CONSTRUCT "Nightmare Moon" HAS BEEN ADDED.

Fluttershy: Really… Why would Nightmare Moon even care about Twilight and her friends if a far more preferable target is available? Nightmare Moon stalks the shadows near Celestia, laughing softly to herself.

"Nightmare Moon": “Sister, sister, sister. How far you’ve fallen, crawling through the dirt of the Everfree, your apprentice and her friends scattered in the trees. You’ve lost. Truly and utterly, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

"Celestia": I bring the hornblade up to defend mys

Fluttershy: With a surge of black magic the hornblade explodes, sending shards of metal deep into Celestia’s cheek and neck, red blood further staining her once-pristine white coat.

"Celestia": I’m certainly too powerful to be hurt so easily!

Fluttershy: No, I already decided that Celestia was drained so much she was going to ask Fluttershy of all ponies for help, she must be near death for that to happen.

"Celestia": ”Sister, my allies will rise again! If you kill me before them, then you’ll never be able to stand against their retribution!”

"Nightmare Moon": “So you’ve learned how to lie, now? With Fluttershy already dead, and the Elements of harmony shattered—”

CONSTRUCT "Fluttershy’s dead mutilated corpse" CREATED

CONSTRUCT "Shattered elements of harmony" CREATED

"Nightmare Moon": “—You’re all I care about. The betrayer, the cruel sister who abandoned the other on the moon to rot.”

Fluttershy: ...

"Celestia": …^C

THE DREAM HAS BEEN PAUSED.

"Celestia": I'm getting a headache.

?SYNTAX ERROR.

"Celestia": I wasn’t talking to you.

?SYNTAX ERROR.


The technician face-palmed.

He looked at the board, and saw that Rarity was once again waking up. And also that the casket was out of tranquilizing gas.

Shaking his head, the dragon hopped down from his stool, grabbed a nearby stun-stick, and approached Rarity’s casket. Through the clear cover he could see her begin to thrash around. With a sigh, he pushed a button on the side of the casket, causing the top half to swing up, liberating a small cloud of faintly-orange tinted steam. As soon as she was exposed to the colder air of the cavern, Rarity froze up, her back facing the dragon.

The dragon sighed once again. “Alright, pony,” he told her in a rough voice. “You came through on your side of the Master’s bargain, now you need to get out and let me tie you up. Can’t have you interfering in the last dream—whenever it finally gets going. Now we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

He waited for a minute, but the pony before him failed to move.

“The hard way it is, then,” he concluded then prodded Rarity’s back with the sharp end of his stun-stick.

Rarity screamed out in pain, so loudly that the dragon nearly dropped his weapon. As he watched, the white unicorn tumbled out of her casket and onto the ground, gasping in desperation and clawing at a silver-colored circlet that surrounded her neck but had an open latch on one side. Her fur was matted with sweat and her face lined with running mascara. This was followed by choking sounds and flailing, her face turning blue. The dragon walked around to get a better look at her, while keeping a safe distance. She reached out her hooves towards him, silently pleading for his help. Instead he stepped forward and squeezed her flickering horn, snuffing out any spell she might devise to save herself from this unexpected reaction to his stick.

“Note to self,” he said out loud. “The combination of using the tranquilizing gas more than once plus using the stun-stick on the same pony more than ten times in the same day may lead to unpleasant side effects. Including death.” He smiled coldly as he watched her thrashing fade away. With a final rattle in her throat, she collapsed.

Satisfied that she would not struggle any more, he reached down to start dragging her towards the coat closet…only to be toppled over by a sudden sweep of Rarity’s rear leg. Before he had a chance to react, Rarity jumped onto him and used her magic and hooves to rip off her neck-circlet and attach it around his own neck. As soon as the latch was closed, he dropped into a deep slumber.

“Now that…” Rarity quipped between gasps of air, “is what I call ‘the hard way’.” After a few seconds of recovery, she dragged the dragon into the very closet he had intended to stash her body.

With this task accomplished, she restored her flawless looks with a quick spell and then made a survey of the room, verifying that there were no guards either in the other caverns or outside the main entrance. This revealed the existence of an entirely independent gem screen in another room, this one showing the Ancient rocket and waiting robot standing just outside the Everfree Forest. This was the reason for the Dragon Emperor’s entire dream trap chain plot: to prevent the ponies from interfering when he made his deal with the Ancients: a deal for infinite power, infinite riches…at the cost of the long-term doom of two universes. That last bit wasn’t slated to happen until after the Dragon Emperor died of over-indulgence, so he didn’t really care.

The trip also revealed that the time was a few hours after midnight. The white unicorn went to the caskets containing her friends and examined them with a growing frown—and a look of utter contempt for the Dragon Emperor in his casket—then looked over the dream control panel.

Once she thought she had a handle on the current situation, she retrieved her saddlebag from under her casket and put it on. She picked up the tall and narrow glass that the dragon was drinking from with her telekinesis, and she took it over to a secondary cavern, which had a stream of water flowing across one corner of its floor. She cleaned the glass and filled it half-way with fresh water, then added the contents of a small bottle labelled “shampoo” she took out of her saddle bags. Considering the complex reaction and magical sparks that resulted, it was probably not shampoo.

Bringing the filled glass back to the main cavern, she set it down on the control panel table and cast a spell on it, which instantly fizzled.

“Yeah,” she said out loud, “I didn’t think that would work.”

From her tail she removed a hexagonal gem, a shimmering red in color, and placed it next to the glass. This gem was the rarest of them all, for it didn’t even come from Equestria, but from the far-off home of the Ancients, made of a mysterious substance known as plastic. For the Ancients, plastic was a quite ordinary material, but when exposed to the magical fields of Equestria, its properties changed dramatically.

The gem was already wrapped in a net of thin copper wire. Rarity used her magic to partially unwind this net, and wrapped the newly-freed wire around the grooves of her horn. Bracing herself, Rarity raised a forehoof above the gem for a few seconds, and then brought it down sharply.

The gem responded by generating a powerful bolt of lightning, which traveled up the wire and into her horn. She shoved the hoof into her mouth to silence a cry of pain—genuine this time—as she converted the lightning into magic, which she poured into the glass of enchanted water. A beam of energy shot out of the water and through the southwestern wall of the cave.

Rarity looked down at the jet-black surface of the water. “Damsel to Whiskey Tango,” she said, directing her voice into the top of the narrow glass. “Damsel to Whiskey Tango. Over.”

A few seconds later, a distant voice emerged from the black liquid: “Whiskey Tango to Damsel. Go ahead. Over.

Rarity recognized the voice as belonging to Waking Terror, a dragon-but-not-really that acted as Princess Celestia’s War Minister. In reality she was a reformed spirit of corruption, the twin of Nightmare Moon. “Situation is currently stable. Request presence of Light Mother before giving my full report,” said Rarity. “Over.”

“…Roger, Damsel. I’ll go get Her. But if She’s cranky it’s all on you. Stand by. Over.” There was the barely discernible sound of the dragon’s claws on stone walking away, followed by silence.

Rarity took this moment to take another look at the caskets containing her friends. This was when she noticed that Pinkie’s mane was straight, and her coat color was significantly darker than usual.

Rarity looked nervously upwards. But her mind’s eye was focused not on the cavern’s ceiling, but at a space far, far above it. She prayed that no one up there was currently looking down at her.

Whiskey Tango to Damsel. Over.

Rarity raced back to the enchanted water glass. “Damsel to Whiskey Tango. Go ahead. Over.”

Damsel, Light Mother is present to receive your report. Over.

“Whiskey Tango, Light Mother, I need to ask you something very important before giving my report. Over.”

There was an obvious pause caused by the dragon and alicorn looking at each other in Canterlot Castle. “Whiskey Tango to Damsel. Go ahead. Over,” was the message that was finally sent.

“Whiskey Tango, Light Mother, did either of you experience something inexplicable in the past few hours? Something involving a room with three sides? Over.”

How did you know about that!” a panicked Waking Terror asked. “There’s no possible—

He was interrupted by the voice of Princess Celestia, aka “Light Mother”. “Something like that may have happened, Damsel. Over.

“Have you spoken of this affair to anyone? Even to each other? Over.” Rarity made it clear from her tone that a great deal rode on the answer to that question.

Negative, Damsel,” answered the Princess. “Over.

“Oh, thank the Creator!” Rarity exclaimed, before realizing that ponies’ creator was in fact the individual she was currently speaking with. “Err…thank You.” The “over” that followed was barely audible.

There was an audible sigh on the other end of the line. “If you insist on bringing that fact up, Damsel, the least you can do is use the plural. My sister had an equal part in the matter, after all. Over.

“Of…of course, Crea…Light Mother. I must warn You that it is of vital importance that this matter never be discussed until we return to Equestria. Over.”

Acknowledged. Any particular reason for this directive? Over.

“Someone is being sought by a Higher Power,” Rarity explained. “We cannot allow this to happen. Over.”

I detect no ‘higher power’,” said Waking Terror. “Over.

“It’s none that you’re familiar with, Whiskey Tango,” said Rarity. “But care is essential. These Higher Powers can see and hear anything that They wish. And Their power cannot be stopped by anypony. Not even You. Over.”

There was a moment of silence. “Acknowledged, Damsel,” Celestia finally responded. “How do you know this information? We didn’t sense your presence at the time, only Purple Smart and Delta Juliet. Over.

Rarity steeled herself for the inevitable reaction before speaking. “I was told by the Dragon Emperor himself. In a dream. He believes, and I concur, that…They cannot see into dreams. Over.”

Acknowledged. And what has he done with that information?” a nervous Waking Terror asked. Over.

“That’s part of my full report, but suffice it to say that it appears to be reversible. Over.”

I am now ready for your full report, Damsel,” said Celestia. “Over.


Back in his casket, the Dragon Emperor worked to get his temper under control, fighting to keep from breaking out of his tight confines. And then he spent several minutes reviewing his mistakes. Finally, he returned to the dream:

DragonEmperor: status.exe

SUBJECT Fluttershy IS IN STANDBY MODE, REVIEWING MEMORIES.

DragonEmperor: dream.exe -observe

YOU ARE OBSERVING SUBJECT Fluttershy's CURRENT THOUGHTS.

Fluttershy IS CONTROLLING ALL CHARACTERS.

"Rainbow Dash": “That was pretty good, actually. I suppose with the low magic levels at high altitude, you’re actually better at this than I am.”

Fluttershy: “Oh, it’s nothing special. You’re so much better at everything else.” “Do you really think so?”

"Rainbow Dash": “Sure! I’m not so full of myself that I won’t tell you when you’re being the cool one, ‘Shy.”

"Rainbow Dash": “You know I’ve always looked after you. And it isn’t just because you’ve needed protecting. You’re special to me, Fluttershy. And I think it’s finally time to let you…

Fluttershy: ^C

THE MEMORY IS PAUSED.

Fluttershy: No, no, no! That wasn’t her, it was me! She’d never say anything like that. Let’s try this again.

?SYNTAX ERROR.

Fluttershy: memory.exe -i 87-43-15

THE MEMORY IS STARTING.

MEMORY.EXE: Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are hovering in the upper atmosphere, with Equestria invisible underneath a blanket of clouds.

"Rainbow Dash": “Thanks for keeping me company, Fluttershy. I figure increasing my endurance will definitely get me into the Wonderbolts, and with how weak magic is up here, this will be perfect!”

Fluttershy: “That sounds like a great idea! How can I help?”

DragonEmperor: ...

DragonEmperor: sysquery -i "how do your dreams normally start?"

Fluttershy: Falling. They always start with me falling down towards the Everfree.

DragonEmperor: sysquery -i "Who gets hurt the most in your dreams, after yourself?"

Fluttershy: My friends, especially Rainb Daring Do.

^C

YOU HAVE EXITED THE DREAM.

DreamEmperor: ...that gives me an idea. Maybe less control is more in this case...

?SYNTAX ERROR.

Author's Note:

This is undoubtedly the most-experimental chapter in the whole story, and potentially the most bewildering.

The next chapter should explain everything you need to know before things really start moving.