Dreamquestria

by TheBBofC

Change of Plans

The Pegasi were the first to arrive by Stephen’s side. The sound of hooves thundering against the dirt behind Stephen told him the others were not far behind. “Where’d he go!?” Rainbow said while frantically shifting back and forth in looking for the thief.

As the realization that the culprit had escaped sank into Stephen’s mind a second time, anger boiled up inside him faster than he would have been able to contain it even under the best circumstances. “Oh come on!” he shouted, giving the ground a few hard slaps. Getting to his feet, he took a couple of calming breaths that sounded more like growls before turning back to his friends.

Applejack had regained consciousness and was getting herself upright with the help of Pinkie Pie. “Consarnit…I feel like I was on the wrong end of a stampede,” she muttered while holding her head and struggling to regain equilibrium.

Rarity turned to face Applejack, whose eyes seemed to be quivering and slightly crossed. “Are you going to be alright?” she asked.

“Yeah, you should probably sit down for a while,” said Rainbow.

“I’ll be fine as soon as you two hold still.” Applejack responded warily.

“Darling, we’re not moving,” Rarity said flatly.

“Oh,” Applejack groaned and followed Rainbow’s advice. Pinkie sat down with her. “Shoot, gals. I coulda sworn I had him.”

“It’s not your fault, AJ,” Pinkie placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

“Pinkie’s right,” Twilight said before turning to Rainbow. “But I do wish we had stayed together like we originally planned!”

Rainbow jumped and flapped her wings, hovering herself slightly higher than Twilight’s head. “Hey! Did you want me to do nothing while he grabbed the key!?” she asked, throwing her front legs into the air.

“Hold on, both of you,” Rarity interjected, holding a foreleg in between Twilight and Rainbow. “Now is hardly the time for arguing. We must simply dust ourselves off and proceed with plan B.”

Twilight sighed and Rainbow dropped back to the ground with a look of indignation. “You’re right,” said Twilight. “As soon as Applejack feels better, we’ll have to start walking back.”

“Do we have any supplies left?” Fluttershy asked.

“I think they all got squished when the ceiling fell down,” Pinkie retorted, rising back on all fours as Applejack set her front leg back over her shoulder.

“Then we’d better get moving so we don’t have to spend as long walking in the desert sun without any water,” said Twilight.

Applejack tried again to pull herself to her feet. She wobbled once or twice and winced from a headache, but managed to hold herself up. “Braeburn showed me how to look for water out here a while back. It ain’t a lot but we’ll be fine so long as we get back to Appaloosa today.” Once Applejack was stable, Pinkie let her stand on her own while still staying close.

“Applejack, you look like you’re still in pain,” said Fluttershy. “Are you certain you should be standing?”

“Don’t you worry none about me,” Applejack said, giving her left temple a small massage. “My head’s poundin’ but I’ll be fine.”

“Let’s grab our cart and head out then, shall we?” said Rarity.

The group walked until nearly high noon. At which point, on Twilight’s advice to conserve energy and hydration, they began riding in the cart. Taking turns at pulling in pairs, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie started first.

“So what happened, exactly?” Applejack asked shortly after she started riding.

“When I saw you had him roped up, I tried to set up a contingency plan just in case he tried running away,” said Stephen.

“How did that work out?” Applejack asked curiously.

Stephen lowered his eyes. “Not well,” he murmured and rubbed his crest in embarrassment. Several sharp stings pierced his neck, eliciting an agonized gasp that garnered Rarity’s attention.

“Oh my, are you injured?” she asked, coming over to his and Applejack’s side of the cart.

“I feel like there’s needles in my neck.”

Rarity merely glanced at Stephen and found the problem. “That’s because your mane is littered with cactus barbs and sand.”

Stephen let out small groan. “They’re probably from when I got thrown through a cactus.” He tried to brush the barbs out with a hoof, but only succeeded in stinging himself again.

Rarity pressed down on his back with a hoof. “Relax and allow me,” she commanded.

Stephen sat down and looked back to Applejack while Rarity carefully sifted through his hair. “I think he saw us waiting for him after he took the first step into the lower chamber and then attacked us from there-Ouch!” Stephen gasped as Rarity’s magic glanced over a few of the needles in his mane. “Did anyone get a good look at him? All I saw were glowing snake eyes.”

“Sounds like what the museum security said they saw,” said Twilight.

“After that flash, all I could see was his shape,” said Rainbow. “It’s definitely a large stallion we’re dealing with.”

“I think he’s got a gray coat and his horn’s got a bit of a curve to it,” said Applejack.

“A curved horn?” asked Twilight. “This thief is starting to sound like King Sombra. But that can’t be right.”

Pinkie chimed in from the cart’s harness. “I thought that dumpy grumpy had a big fall.” Suddenly her eyes went wide and she gasped. “Oh! Oh! Oh! What if all the king’s horses in the Equestrian glen came and put Sombra together again? Only this time with green scary eyes instead of red scary eyes!”

Twilight raised a quizzical eyebrow at Pinkie. “I really don’t think that’s possible, Pinkie. Besides, I don’t think he was using dark magic. Otherwise I would have felt it while he was in the pyramid.”

Stephen wasn’t certain he wanted to know who or what they were talking about. “Ouch!” he suddenly winced again as Rarity tried to yank another spine from his neck. “Is there any way to do that less painfully?”

“It’d be easier if I had my supplies,” said Rarity. “And it doesn’t help that you have the thickest mane I have ever seen.”

“I can’t help what I was born with.”

Rarity resumed her attempts to carefully brush through Stephen’s mane with her magic. “Have you ever considered straightening it?”

“It would probably just poof right back out.”

“That sounds like what happens to me,” Pinkie stated with a giggle.

“There’s really not much I can do with it,” said Stephen. “Besides, I like my afro.”

“So do these cactus barbs.” Rarity mused and magically grasped another needle. “Do brace yourself, darling.” She yanked it from his skin, drawing another cringe from Stephen. “Bear with me, dear. I’m being as gentle as I can.”

Rainbow looked back to face the cart. “So does anypony have any ideas on how we’re supposed to describe who we’re looking for to the princess without knowing more than his eye and coat colors?”

“At this point, it’s still anyone’s guess,” said Applejack.

After a couple hours of hauling, Applejack dug up some water from under some desert plants before Rainbow and Pinkie switched shifts with Twilight and Fluttershy. This process repeated three times. About halfway to Appaloosa, they were happened on by a carriage heading from Dodge to Appaloosa. With perfect timing, as Stephen and Rarity weren’t able to pull much further, the passengers graciously offered to give the group a lift. They arrived in Appaloosa late in the afternoon. After a very big lunch and a restroom break, they caught the next train heading east that would make it’s final stop at Canterlot.

They were on the train for twenty relaxing and perfectly uneventful hours before they pulled into the Canterlot train station. At first, Stephen had to shield his eyes from the sun’s glare off the city’s many white buildings. Once his eyes adjusted, he couldn’t help but drink in the many brick buildings and towers, each topped with a painted gold or colorful roof. It was as if the mountainside fortress was comprised of many smaller castles.

Stepping down from the train, Stephen noticed the way that the streets were perfectly paved with green bricks. Making their way through the city, he couldn’t take his eyes off the various towers, spires and domes that composed each building. The smallest of which was still three stories tall. Each rooftop bore elaborate paint jobs or murals. Each structure was pristine, magnificent and unique as if the entire city was designed and built by thousands of master craftsmen with different visions.

Yet somehow through the uniqueness of each building’s design and decorative paintings, the entire city held a uniform color scheme of whites, purples and blues, all accented in gold. Stars, fleur de lis and diamonds were common themes in the city’s decorations. It all came together to add a feeling of perfectly harmonious collaboration between the thousands of genius designers and craftsmen that must have built this city.

“Are you alright, Stephen?” Rarity asked. “You’ve been unusually quiet since we arrived.”

Stephen dragged his attention down from a mural of constellations painted on the roof of what looked to be a theater. “Just taking in the sights,” he replied. “This city is amazing.”

“I know!” Rarity exclaimed. “Canterlot is home to some of the highest levels of fashion, food, culture, business and athleticism in Equestria. But you have yet to see the best part of the city.”

“What’s that?” Stephen asked. Rarity didn’t need to answer his question. As soon as Stephen looked forward, he was met with the sight of a white bridge leading over a moat filled by the mountain’s waterfall. On the other side was a tall, pearly white and gold wall, which gated the entrance to a giant palace done in the same style as the rest of the city.

“That, my dear, is the royal palace,” Rarity said.

“Wow,” was all Stephen could think to say.

“I remember the first time I saw it too,” Rarity trotted past Stephen with a small chuckle. Stephen lowered his eyes ahead of himself and followed the group over the bridge.

The palace halls were wide. The floor was a tile checkerboard of white and purple. A narrow burgundy carpet softened their steps as they walked through the hallways painted in pink and gold, which were adorned in colorful banners and tapestries. The enormous ceiling was supported by rows of white marble pillars and decorated with hanging flowerpots. After going up a small stairway, they turned right down a hallway with several elaborate stained glass windows which seemed to depict various events. Some of them appeared to bare likenesses to the others in the group. He was about to ask what it meant when Twilight approached two armored unicorns guarding a giant purple doorway.

“Good afternoon, sirs. May we come in?”

A guard nodded and telekinetically pushed the door open. Twilight and her friends followed the burgundy carpet into a gigantic, pristine courtroom with marble floors. Fifty foot purple pillars held up the ceiling and the walls bore stained glass windows featuring more stories or celestial bodies. All of these features lead Stephen’s eyes to the back center of the room, where two tall winged unicorns stood in front of a large red throne. One was white with a billowing mane simmering of many colors, the other was navy blue with a matching mane that also sparkled and flowed through the air despite the lack of wind in the room. These must have been the princesses that Twilight spoke of in her stories the night before.

Stephen suddenly found himself standing over the group when they gave a sudden and reverent bow. He quickly followed suit as to not risk insulting anyone. A low, yet soft and feminine voice prompted them to rise. “It is always a pleasure to see you,” spoke the blue princess. “Although we have been expecting some fateful news.”

“Were you able to protect the key?” the white princess asked.

Twilight lowered her head. “I’m sorry, your majesty,” she said mournfully. “We tried to ambush the thief, but he beat us to the punch and escaped with the key. We didn’t even get a good look at his face.”

The white princess’ expression never changed as she confidently strode towards the group. Stephen watched Twilight avoid eye contact until the princess reached out with a golden armored hoof and directed her head upwards. “I’m certain you did your best,” the princess said with a calm and sincere tone. “What’s most important is that you’ve all returned safely.” The white princess suddenly turned her attention to Stephen. Uncertain of how to hold himself in front of royalty, Stephen held perfectly still and hoped he was doing the right thing. “Is this the little Earth pony under the Spirit Traveller spell?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Stephen retorted.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” said the white princess as the blue one walked up to her side. “I am Princess Celestia.” She gave a gesture towards the blue princess. “This is my sister, Princess Luna.”

“Charmed,” Luna said, holding out a silver armored hoof. After a brief hesitation, Stephen reached out and shook with her. Luna rewarded him with a pleasant smile.

“May we have your name?” asked Celestia.

“My name is Stephen, your majesty. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

Celestia turned back to the group. “Now then, I’m certain you’re all tired from everything that’s happened. I’ll have someone show you to some palace rooms where you can stay and rest up from your journey.”

“But sister,” Luna interjected. “If the museum thief has the key, shouldn’t we act immediately?”

Celestia shook her head. “Don’t forget, Luna, Stephen is essential to whatever plans he may have. There’s not much to worry about as long as he is with us. Besides, everypony looks exhausted from their travels and it wouldn’t do any good to confront the thief if they’re tired.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Luna conceded. “Then I shall send word to the Crystal Empire and request that Shining Armor join us with a squad of his best guards.”

Twilight’s ears perked up. “We’re calling in my brother?” she asked.

Celestia nodded at Twilight. “This unicorn has four very powerful relics in his possession. Luna and I felt a little extra precaution would help. But I want you all to relax and enjoy the rest of today. We’ve got a long flight south first thing in the morning. Then we’ll take care of this once and for all.”

“Understood, Princess,” Twilight said confidently.

Celestia and Luna escorted the ponies to the door of the court and instructed one of the guards to find each a room for each of them. Stephen was about to follow the armored unicorn when he felt a horseshoe on his shoulder. “We’d like a moment to speak with you, Stephen, if you’re not too tired,” said Celestia.

Stephen’s eyes, head and hooves felt like lead weights. He had been “too tired” for over a week. But he also knew that no matter how hard he tried, no real sleep would come to him as long as he was here. Bearing that and his desire to avoid the risk of insulting a princess in mind, he simply nodded his head and followed the princesses down the hallway.

For about an hour, Stephen toured the palace with the princesses. Celestia was happy to tell him the stories behind all of the stained glass windows in the hallways. Once they were outside the palace walls, they walked around to the back. “So tell me a little about yourself, Stephen,” Celestia asked, a small smile on her face.

Stephen thought for a moment and drew a blank. “I’m not sure what to say. What would you like to know?”

“Let’s start with where you’re from then.”

“I live in a country called America.”

“What’s it like there?” Celestia asked curiously.

“It’s alright, I guess. It’s far from perfect but it’s hardly the worst place to be either. It just depends on where you live and who you know.”

“Is it peaceful?” Luna asked.

“Sort of. Again, it depends on where you are.”

Celestia’s expression became slightly more neutral. “What about where you’re from?”

“I live in a nice neighborhood. The people around me keep to themselves for the most part and the crime rate is pretty low.”

“What about the rest of the world?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t know. America’s median standard of living is better than a lot of other places but it still has a lot of rough cities. But most other countries have good and bad parts in them too. There always seems to be a war of some kind going on somewhere. But I don’t want anything to do with any of it, so I just mind my own business and try not to think about it.”

“What do you think of Equestria?”

“It’s a very different world that works a lot differently from my world.”

“Really? How so?” Celestia asked curiously.

“The existence of magic, mostly. Since my first night here, magic has been both cause and answer of several questions. So everything seems to happen randomly at first glance. Although I’m realizing that ponies simply have a higher level of control over physics than I ever thought possible. However, our days seem to be the same; such as if I come here during the day in my world, it will be the same time of day here. But then I look up at night and see a completely different moon and everything feels off again. There’s also the issue with learning to use a completely different body and-”

“Pardon me,” Luna interrupted.

“Yes, ma’am?” Stephen replied.

“You said that our days were the same but the moons are different. Pray tell, how is this?”

“Well, my world’s moon has a cycle and a full moon only appears for a few days every month. Firstly, the moon here is much bigger and brighter than the one at home and it’s been full every night for at least as long as I’ve been coming here.” Stephen paused for a moment before speaking again. “Actually, I think that’s something I prefer as opposed to my planet. Apart from just being beautiful, it’s really helped me work my way around the in the dark while I’ve been here.”

Celestia leaned over to her sister. “Perhaps you’d like to show him how that works sometime,” she said with a smirk.

“But of course,” Luna replied with a smile coming to her face. However, she held a hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat. “What is your occupation?” she asked, her tone returning to a collected yet serious nature.

“Up until three days ago I worked in customer service for a construction company.”

“Did you enjoy it?” Celestia asked.

“Not at all. It was a real pain in the neck. But it was tolerable and I could live off it.”

“Have you ever tried to seek an occupation geared towards something you enjoy?”

Stephen turned with the princesses and walked through an arch made of hedges. He took a moment to think of an answer while observing the rather large garden they were walking in now. “Where I come from, most things that are fun are more expensive than they are productive. People very rarely land a career in something they like doing.”

“One never knows unless they try,” Luna interjected.

“Exactly,” Celestia nodded. “You could try to find a line of work that goes with the grain of your talents.”

“That might work if I had any to speak of,” Stephen replied.

“Everypony has a special talent,” Celestia said sagely. They walked a few more feet before stopping to sit down under a blossoming cherry tree.

Stephen sat on the grass with the princesses and watched a couple of butterflies flutter about in the garden beyond while he thought of his answer. He didn’t necessarily agree with what Celestia was saying. But he didn’t want to directly oppose her either. “I’ve heard that a couple of times since I’ve been here. But I’ve also been told that if I had a talent, I’d have something on my hind legs to denote what it was.” Stephen pointed at his own flank. “I think Fluttershy called it a cutie mark.”

“That’s quite right,” said Celestia. “However, a cutie mark only appears when you realize what your special talent is. It’s the sign of a pony who’s discovered a path to using their talents in a way that makes them happy and helps those around them, or is already doing so. Finding your mark is the hardest part. But it’s something that everypony goes through.”

“I think I would have found it by now if it was there.”

Celestia put a hoof on Stephen’s shoulder. “When did you start looking?” an understanding smile came to her face before she followed up with, “Did you ever stop?”

Stephen wasn’t certain how to answer that at all. He rubbed under his muzzle while he tried to think of an answer. Just before his silence became awkward, he confessed, “I don’t know,” with a sigh.

“Let’s start here then,” said Celestia. “What do you do in life that you love doing?”

“I never really thought about that either,” said Stephen. “I’ve always had a few different groups of friends. Whoever I end up hanging out with, I just go with the flow of what they’re doing. As long as it’s not dangerous, I’m okay with doing anything.”

“What of those activities did you enjoy the most?” Luna asked.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps any time someone wanted to build something. I had a lot of fun putting together a zip line track one time when I was a teenager. There was also last week when my girlfriend taught me how to play a game that involved physics puzzles. Doing that with her was loads of fun.” Selena’s parting words from a few days ago echoed in Stephen’s mind, causing his heart to sink. “But she’s not around anymore anyway,” he murmured. “Between that and losing my job, I don’t have anything to go back home to. That’s why I just want to get to the bottom of why I’m here and do whatever is needed to fix it or get it over with. That’s the only hope I have for regaining my normal life back home.” There was a long pause and Stephen watched the princesses exchange glances before speaking up again. “Besides, I don’t see how zip lines and video games can be special talents and I certainly can’t make a career out of them.”

Celestia rose to her feet. “Perhaps things simply work differently where you’re from, Stephen. But I’m sure it will work out if you put your mind to it.” Her attention turned towards her sister. “Luna, may I speak with you for a moment?”

“Certainly, sister,” Luna rose and followed her Celestia away from the cherry blossoms.

A moment or two after the princesses left, Stephen glanced around the garden again. A muscular gray unicorn stallion with a red mane highlighted in white, brown cargo vest and black ankle-covering horseshoes happened to be passing by. They made eye contact and the unicorn’s expression lit up before he casually trotted over to Stephen.

“Good afternoon, sir,” the unicorn said in a deep, yet pleasant voice.

“To you as well,” Stephen replied, glancing over the unicorn again, trying to place this character in his memory. It finally clicked for Stephen when he saw the divider compass on his flank. “Oh! I remember you. We met in Ponyville a few days ago.”

The unicorn nodded. “That delightful young mare, Pinkie Pie introduced us.”

Stephen remembered just how exhausted he was when he couldn’t get more than the unicorn’s first letter in his mind without it freezing. So he guessed, “You’re Earl, right?”

The unicorn chuckled with an elderly bass in his voice. “Very close, my friend; Earnest Stalwart. Pleased to meet your acquaintance again.”

Stephen shook hooves with Earnest with an apologetic grin. “I’m sorry. My mind hasn’t been working very well lately.”

---

When the princesses rounded the hedges at the garden’s entrance, Celestia turned to Luna. “What thinks you, sister?” Luna asked.

“He seems nice but I’m not completely certain of him yet,” Celestia replied.

Luna turned her head as if she was trying to gaze upon Stephen through the hedges. “Do you really think he would be so dangerous? He seems just as any other Earth pony to me.”

“But he isn’t really an Earth pony. Whoever’s casting the Spirit Traveller spell is simply giving him the form of one. There must be a reason the museum thief chose him.”

“He does not seem the type that would go with the thief’s plan willingly. Isn’t that all that matters?”

“What concerns me is that he said he’d do anything to fix his situation back home. That prospect could easily convince him to turn the key.”

Luna sighed. “Perhaps we can appeal to his good nature? If we told him what the thief wants with him, he might see things our way.”

“It’s worth a try, Luna,” said Celestia.

“Shall we?” Luna asked.

Celestia responded with a confident nod. With that, they wrapped back around the entrance to the garden and walked over to the cherry tree, where an old unicorn stallion had sat down with Stephen. “Did you ever find what you were looking for?” they heard Stephen ask.

“Indeed, I did. I’m glad you asked. Would you mind if I borrowed your company for a few minutes?”

“Actually, I’m in the middle of something at the moment.”

The unicorn noticed the princess’ presence and bowed on a front knee, “Your majesties,” he said with a refined tone. Stephen turned around as well.

Luna had never seen this stallion before. But he seemed happy to see them. She waited for Celestia to bid him at ease, but it never came. Remembering to reign in her voice, she gently commanded, “Rise.”

The unicorn rose to his feet and straightened his posture. “Princess Celestia, it has been much too long since I’ve seen you,” he said softly. “And you, Princess Luna. To see you in person is an honor and a wish come true.”

“Thank thee, sir,” Luna replied with a smile and a small nod.

The unicorn turned to Stephen. “Is this what you were in the middle of?” he asked. After Stephen nodded, the unicorn turned back to the princesses.

Celestia blinked a couple of times before gaining a curious expression. “Earnest Stalwart, is that you?” Earnest answered with a small bow, which he held. “But how?”

“My sister has been quite helpful over these many years, your majesty,” Earnest raised his head. “But would you be so kind as to excuse this gentlecolt for a minute? I shall return him momentarily.” The unicorn turned around and placed a hoof on Stephen’s shoulder.

“What’s going on, Earnest?” Stephen asked.

Everything clicked in Celestia’s mind and she reached out towards Stephen. “No, wait!” she cried out just as they disappeared in a burst of green sparks.

Luna nudged Celestia with a wing. “Sister, is something wrong?”

Celestia set her hoof down and gazed into Luna’s eyes with a serious expression. “Message Shining Armor immediately. I’ll gather the girls.”

Comments

[Aburi]

Something just occurred to me...

Time seems to match between Equestria and earth in this story, and while Stephen is in Equestria his body acts like it's asleep... So to the rest of the world it looks like he's in a coma right now.

The human body can only survive for three days without water, so unless he is found his body will die soon.

[Leila Drake]

2487967

The same thought occured to me. But what happens to his spirit body also happens to his human body so maybe if he eats in Equestria, he will survive on Earth...?
Otherwise, yes, he'd be screwed.

[DerpedRainbow]

3363949 Maybe that means instead of one body needing nutrition, they both need it. One for the body, and the other for the soul/mind/pretty sure soul.

[Benprodemo]

Earnest is the bad guy? Yep... Saw this coming...

[SuperSuit12]

3619013 Ditto.

[Godiswithus3]

Holy crap, I completely forgot about him! Great foreshadowing from earlier.