When We Stand Together
To Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare?
When We Stand Together
Author: Draconis187
I just stood there, looking at Uncle Norris with probably the most stupefied look in existence.
“Ayup. Ye alreight, lad?” He said, waving his hand past my face.
I shake my head and try to quickly gather my thoughts before I hug him tightly, “Uncle Norris…”
I felt him trying to pet my mane but it was ethereal after all so his hand ended up going straight through it, making me giggle a little. He just laughed as well. This was the sort of man he was: very funny – in the strange sense - and always tried his best to cheer you up and no matter how bad your day was, he’ll have you forgetting it before too long. Not too mention his accent was thick enough to cut with a chainsaw.
“Theear theear, lad. Ah cem 'eear ta see 'a ye wor doin,” He looked at me with that grin of his that should be trademarked, “Ya mam wor gettin’ worried, ye kna.” (There there, lad. I came here to see how you were doing. Your mom was getting worried, you know.)
I hang my head a little, “Sorry, I should have maintained a better line of communication.”
He chuckled, “It’s alreight, lad. 'a theur bin?” (It’s alright, lad. How you been?)
I smiled as I looked back at him, “Well, all things considered I guess it could have been far worse. I met a number of ponies in my travels, a few of them right here in Las Vegas and these ones… are the best friends I could have ever asked for.”
I pointed to Scott, Sugarberry and Tenderheart in turn as they smiled, waved and greeted Uncle Norris, “Gran' ta meet theur. Sa then, wha' theur doin 'eear i' Vegas asteead o' theear i' Yorkers?” (Nice to meet you. So then, what you doing here in Vegas instead of there in Yorkers?)
I chuckled, “Well… it’s kind of a long story.”
Uncle Norris petted my head again, not bothered by my mane anymore, “Well, ah getten orl t' tahhm ta 'ear it.” (Well, I’ve got all the time to hear it.)
Janice looked at us, “Sorry to interrupt this little reunion but this is not the place to have a long conversation. We still need to pack up. We did overstay our welcome after all.”
I nod my head, “Uncle Norris I’ll talk to you just now. I need to help with getting everything back into the bus. It’s outside in the parking lot, the huge as hell black one with the My Little Pony decals.”
“Alreight then, lad. I’ll 'od on fa theur theear,” He said as he left the room. (Alright then, lad. I’ll wait for you there.)
We set about doing exactly what Janice said. She could be quite the slave driver as she had us magically inclined ponies levitate the heavier things while Tenderheart and Scott carried far lighter things ranging from the sewing kit used for repairing the costumes to small props that were on the set.
It took us almost two hours to get it all in the bus’ lower compartments but we were done in the end. Uncle Norris did help me out a little as I tried to put in a collapsible counter that was for the Sugarcube Corner section of the set inside the bus.
After we had finished, Janice looked at me with that piercing glare. I returned it with a more villainous glare. She stopped in almost five seconds. ‘Round one: Dream wins!’
I chuckled to myself as she walked off. ‘Sorry Janice, you were fighting a former villain… or a half one at any rate. You lost this long before it started.’
“Sa ye ready ta nip on na' then, lad?” I looked at Uncle Norris before I realised something. (So you ready to go then, lad?)
“Uncle Norris… there is a lot I need to tell you so you had best sit down for this,” I said sadly.
He raised an eyebrow but nodded his head, “Ah see dis is eytin’ ye, lad.” (I see this is eating you, lad.)
I nod and look at the others, “I need a little time alone with my uncle. I’ll be back soon.”
Janice placed her hands by her mouth, making a makeshift megaphone, “Don’t take too long! We need to get going before the traffic piles up!”
I nod my head at her as she and the rest of the cosplayers walked off in the opposite direction. Scott, Sugarberry and Tenderheart walked up to me and gave me the synonymous ‘we are coming where you like it or not’ look… in triplicate. Eat your heart out Dolby.
“You can’t leave us out of this I’m afraid, Dream. We’ve been through quite a lot together,” Scott said with a small smile.
I chuckle, “And this is why you are my friends. Thanks…”
“‘Dream?’ Dis is chuffin' goan be an interestin’ lahl conversation,” Uncle Norris commented. (This is going to be an interesting little conversation.)
I nodded, feigning understanding as his last statement left me a little baffled. His accent is thicker than gravy, “Tell me about it.”
Time: 16:23
Date: Siderday
Location: A hotel room at Caesar’s Palace
We all sat in Uncle Norris’ room in Caesar’s Palace. The place was quite nice but then again I haven’t set hoof in this place and all I knew about it was the fact it was a four star hotel. It as all primed and proper to suit its status but we weren’t there for the décor.
Uncle Norris sat on his bed, looking at us with curiosity, “Who’s fust then?” (Who’s first then?)
I look at the others and clear my throat a little, “Well I had best explain this from the very start but I’ll summarise as much as I can. It’s a very long story nonetheless.”
Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Just tell uz fra t' moa theur stopped contact.” (Just tell me from the moment you stopped contact.)
I chuckle nervously, “Alright. Well since my last message I had been chased out of a town, lost a friend as we all got involved in an accident and we also met the source of the world’s current problems, Frankenstein’s reject: Discord.”
Uncle Norris nodded his head as I explained my journey from the moment I woke up in the makeshift concentration camp to meeting Scott, who told us of his life leading up to being transformed. I know he said from the moment I stopped contact but he needed to know everything from to start to finish. I couldn’t paraphrase but I kept those parts as short as I possibly could.
We all took turns explaining our side of things until we reached the accident we were involved in before we got to Vegas. I looked away as we all recounted our thoughts when we regained conscious.
‘Charles…’ I couldn’t understand it. How the one who wore a seatbelt at the time was not able to survive when the ones the belts were not designed for did. The universe was just unfair.
I sighed as I remembered the dream I had earlier before I woke up today. What did it mean? Were Chris and Nightmare Moon gone? Did they just not want to talk to me? I just couldn’t feel their presence at all. No poking around my mind, no random thoughts of any kind that related to their personalities. Nothing… just emptiness.
“Dream? You aright?” I turned to look at Sugarberry as she and the others gave me a worried look. Even Uncle Norris looked slightly confused.
“Ye reet, lad?”
I shook my head, “Uncle Norris… I am not entirely Chris nor am I entirely Nightmare either.”
“Wha' doa ye mean?” Uncle Norris asked, looking even more confused.
“Well… how can I put this eloquently?” I placed a hoof on my chin, “How much do you know of this situation?”
“Ah kna mooar than most realise. Ah kna 'a' thy minds are mergin intoa 'un, cre-” He stops dead for a second but continues, “- that’s wha' you’re gerrin a' aren’t theur?” (I know more than most realise. I know your minds are merging into one, cre- - that’s what you’re getting at aren’t you?)
I nod my head, “There was a reason everypony called me ‘Dream’ instead of ‘Chris’, Uncle Norris.”
He just looked at me. I took a deep breath before continuing, “My name really is Dream. I’m the combined personality of Chris and Nightmare Moon. To an effect, I’m my own mare in body and most definitely in mind.
“It happened a few days ago in the hospital. It was the first time I woke up and it was… not the best place to gain consciousness. It was after a small riot from some PAPA supporters did we have to discharge ourselves and come face to face with Discord himself. He… made me an offer to join him.”
I looked at the others. They shifted uncomfortably as we all stared at each other. I hated this feeling of hopelessness I was getting from them. It was not their fault that Charles died nor was it their fault that Discord tried to use their health as leverage against me.
“Sa ah gatha ye sez, ‘no’ reet?” He asked, looking at me with a smile. (So I gather you said, ‘no’ right?)
I nod my head and smirk, “That I did and we all managed to get away from him.”
I wanted to keep the part about me meeting Discord again on the top of the convention centre under wraps for now unless it became necessary to reveal that titbit of information. They didn’t need anything else to worry about, me meeting Discord again being one of them.
“That’s gran' ta 'ear… lass,” He said. He seemed a little uncomfortable calling me ‘lass’ instead of ‘lad’ but it was to be expected in my opinion. I just hoped he wasn’t too angry at the fact I’m here and Chris is not. (That's good to hear, lass.)
I hung my head, “I… I can’t hear either of them anymore. Last night I had another lucid dream and there was… nothing. Just a dark, empty void. I felt so alone and I can not for the life of me explain why I dreamt of that of all things. I-I don’t think they’re around anymore.”
I braced myself and closed my eyes in preparation to getting berated by Uncle Norris but I got a far larger shock… my friends hugged me. I opened my eyes slowly and saw their sad faces looking at me as if I was a trauma victim that had opened up for the first time. I was unsure of whether to be happy or confused so I settled for both.
Uncle Norris looked at me with the same confused expression I had on my face, “I… see. Excuse uz, ah need ta call thy mam.” (I... see. Excuse me, I need to call your mom.)
Just like that he walked out of the room with his hand in his pocket, presumably the one his phone was stashed in. He closed the door behind him and walked down the passage if I heard his footfalls correctly as they faded away.
I looked at my friends and smiled, “Thank you…”
Scott scoffed, “Don’t sweat it, beautiful.”
I glared at him, “Scott…”
They all laughed at him and I, “Sorry, Dream. I just could not resist that little stab. Don’t think you’re beautiful? I’m sure there are a number of bronies that would testify otherwise.”
I rolled my eyes, “Scott, give us Jacqueline please… before I set your coat on fire.”
Scott gave a small giggle which sounded rather… odd coming from a stallion, “Sorry about him. He really wanted to do that.”
“Well… I guess as long as he keeps those comments to himself it’s alright,” I couldn’t believe I had just said that but there’s no taking it back now.
Scott was most definitely never going to stop that train of thought so I guess I shouldn’t fight that anymore. It’s all in good fun… right? I just know in the pit of my stomach my statement will come back to bite me in the flank sometime later though.
“How are you feeling though with your wings?” I inquired.
Scott gave them a few short flaps, “Well, they’re still aching every now and again but I may be able to fly properly soon. Can’t wait, I get anxiety attacks on the ground. I blame Scott.”
We all gave him a mixture of shock and confusion, “I never noticed, Scott. Girls?”
Sugarberry shook her head, “Not really, I don’t look at that in people… or ponies. Our lives have been a little hectic as of late.”
Tenderheart on the other hoof nodded her head, “I remember he seemed fidgety when we woke up in the hospital. I thought it was claustrophobia. Well, you learn something new everyday.”
“I guess that’s true,” I quipped.
“Dream… sorry to ask this but what are you going to do now that your uncle is here?” Sugarberry asked, “Are you going to stay with us or are you going to try get to New York?”
I stared at her for a second and smiled, “If I was going to try get to NYC, I’d insist on all of you coming with me. I couldn’t leave you all behind. Not after what we’ve been through together. I’d rather finish as a group or not at all.”
They all smiled at me. I felt an odd sense of pride inside as I said that but I meant every single word. We’ve travelled hundreds of miles together and have had too much fun together to just split up now, even if it meant fixing this mess with my mind and body. Although the latter is a moot point, I’m physically fine.
I returned their hug, wrapping my wings around us as best I could. It must have been a funny sight because Uncle Norris laughed at us as he got back. We all shared another good laugh as he sat down.
“Sa, ah just getten off fra ya mam,” He said, raising his phone for emphasis, “Shi dunt kna 'a exactly ta respon' ta wha' theur just sez sa ah guess I’ll gi' ‘a eur rin lata. Ta uz, it dunt matta whoa ya are, lass. Thas still family 'n we orl stick togetha, neya matta wha'.” So, I just got off from your mom. She doesn’t know how to exactly respond to what you just said so I guess I’ll give her a ring later. To me, it doesn’t matter who you are, lass. You’re still family and we all stick together, no matter what.
I smiled broadly at him, “Thank you, Uncle Norris.”
He chuckled that infectious chuckle again, “Sa wha' are ye plannin’ on naw, lass? Wanneur try gerr ta New York?” (SO what are you planning, lass? Want to try to get to New York?)
“I’m not sure. What was the situation like when you left?” I could only truly make an informed decision if I had every possible bit of information.
“Well, 'em PAPA boys are blockin t' roads 'n av shut daahn t' airpoarts someha. Anyone can gerr art bur gerrin in… that’ll be t' problem, lass. Theear wor rights activists art by 'em blockades, tryin ta gi'o'a PAPA fra sealin t' city off but…” I didn’t like the look he was giving us. ( Well, them PAPA boys are blocking the roads and have shut dowh the airport somehow. Anyone can get out but getting in… that’ll be the problem, lass. There were rights activists out by the blockades, trying to keep PAPA from sealing the city off but…)
“They didn’t…” Scott said.
“Shot ‘em. Thee getten shot by PAPA. Figured ‘em ta be as bad as orl theur,” He said with a hint of anger, “They’re gerrin art o' 'an' naw 'n no one is stoppin it by t' luks o' it.” (Shot them. They got shot by PAPA. Figured them to be as bad as all of you. They’re getting out of hand now and no one is stopping it by the looks of it.)
“So not only have they sealed the city from outside entry, they also shot protestors figuring them to be as bad as us? What about local law enforcement?” I asked, afraid of the answer.
“They’re int' blockade, 'elpin t' gits. Pathetic if ye ax uz, lass,” He said, his temper visibly rising. (They’re in the blockade, helping the gits. Pathetic if you ask me, lass.)
I was unsure now. The PAPA blockade was more than likely lethally armed so getting in by road was out of the question. Flying in was out as only Scott and I could fly not to mention they would be watching the skies. PAPA wasn’t that stupid. We couldn’t take a plane as that would be just as stupid since it would make us a massive target. We may as well paint a giant dartboard on our heads with a sign saying: ‘Dead Meat here.’
There was one way but it was quite the gamble, “What if we toured across the rest of the country? Pick up ponies along the way and gather support so we can essentially invade New York?”
Tenderheart looked at me, “You think that will work?”
I just shrugged, “It’s probably our only shot to be honest. I don’t know any other ways to pushing past a blockade. They’ll be guarding it like it was the Crown Jewels of England. Tartarus, they had a concentration camp for the moon’s sake when Chris and Nightmare fisrt got here.
“If we get unicorns we can negate PAPA’s weapons by taking them straight out of their hands before they can open fire. Pegasi can keep an eye above and serve as an early warning system to the rest of us while the Earth Ponies make up the bulk and charge at them in an attempt to scare them. Although, we may want to think that last part over a little.
“I’ll come up with a more elaborate plan if we manage to do this right. It’s the only shot we got in my opinion and other than that… I got nothing.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Scott said with a grin.
Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Ah can tell theur are set on doin dis 'n ah ain't stoppin theur.” (I can tell you are set on doing this and I ain’t stopping you.)
“So how are we going to do this though? We’ll need one hell of a lot of transport like busses and vans for all the ponies if we’re to try and ‘storm’ New York,” Tenderheart asked, using her hooves to emphasize the ‘storm’ part. It’s kind of funny to see really.
I guess I didn’t think that part through. We’d need a lot of food, transport and lodgings if we are going to be going cross country again. In moments I had the proverbial ‘lightbulb moment.’
I grinned at them all, “We use the power of the internet.”
“What do you mean?” Sugarberry asked.
“Simple, we use social sites like Twitter, Facebook and even YouTube to get the message about our anti-PAPA plan. We organise meeting points where we stop on our way to the West Coast of this country and work our way back east to New York.”
I received an ‘oh’ from my pony friends while Uncle Norris chuckled, “You sure about the whole ‘Chris might not even exist anymore’ thing?”
He just shook his head, “Doubtful we’d be able ta change it reet naw ta be 'onest. Best move on 'n figure art 'a' problem a' eur lata stage.” (Doubtful we’d be to change it right now to be honest. Best move on and figure out the problem at a later stage.)
I couldn’t fault his thinking there. Neither of us have any way of truly knowing what is happening, only speculation and besides, for all my magical abilities as an Alicorn I had no knowledge in this situation to even try to fix it, let alone understand it.
I shake my head and clear my thoughts, “Let’s tell Janice the plan and see where she’s off to next. We can organise the first meet-up there and see if we can’t gather momentum to continue towards the West Coast.”
The group nodded their heads. Scott looked at me with a small grin, “Since when did you become some commander?”
Before I could respond, Uncle Norris interjected and hijacked the conversation, “That’ll be fra Chris’ gamin. If it ain’t fleight simulators, it’s war games. Usually space themed ones.”
I blinked, “‘Flight simulators and space themed games?’”
I looked at my left flank. The differing Cutie Mark seemed to make more sense with the FALKEN and the moon now. I should have known Chris was making up what he said that night. He just couldn’t say he didn’t have a clue in Tartarus what it meant or the fact he was a gamer, could he?
So one part of me is the bringer of the Eternal Night and a villain in the eyes of most while the other… is a gamer? Just peachy…
I soon noticed the group were looking at me with odd expressions. I must have spaced out again as the explanation I was given just got turned on its head.
“Sorry about that. Uncle Norris, is there anything Chris is good at?” I asked. Something had to connect better than him being some gamer.
He rubbed his chin in thought and shrugged, “Soz. You’d need ta ax ya mam. Shi nos wee Chris betta than uz. ah'm just t' uncle.” (Sorry. You’d need to ask your mom. She knows Chris better than me. I’m just the uncle.)
I sighed. Great, now I had to call Chris’ mother to find out. How can I even speak to her since she knows I’m the reason Chris might not even exist anymore?
“Question,” Sugarberry said, gaining our full attention, “How are we going to go cross-country? I’m sure Janet is not going to be very pleased with the idea of even more ponies. She seemed less than pleased with us so I can only guess how she is going to react when we tell her we want to find more.”
“Janet… I’m not sure. Maybe Annette can convince her again?” Scott offered.
I shake my head, “As far as I understood it, she barely managed to convince her and Janice was fuming. Doubtful she’d allow it. But… no harm in trying, she may just surprise us.”
Time: 17:58
Date: Siderday
Location: My Little Pony tour bus
Janice was quiet as she looked at us as we explained my plan to get to New York. She was so quiet my ears didn’t even hear her so much as even breathe and it was a tad unsettling. I swear this woman is not human and please for the love of Faust let it not be Discord again. I doubt my heart could take another encounter with him. Once was enough and twice was overkill.
“You want to use my bus as some form of stupid command centre for you ponies to ‘rally the troops’ and get past PAPA in New York?” She said finally.
“Well… that’s one way of putting it I guess,” I replied with a small giggle but I stopped as nopony else was laughing with me.
“I thought you ponies were all ‘love and tolerance.’ What happened to that?” She inquired in a matter-of-factly tone.
“You have a point there I’m afraid but you forget the ponies have taken the bodies of humans. They may want to stop at nothing to return to normal or stay that way for whatever reasons they may have,” I replied.
“But as far as the rallying is concerned we may want to be as subtle as possible otherwise PAPA will catch on,” I warned, “If they figure out what we are trying to do… they may resort to extreme measures. Well, more extreme than what they have already been doing.
“I was mulling it over on the way back here and I think maybe we should try a different approach to what I just said. We split up. No, we ponies are staying together,” I said as I saw the expressions of my friends, “What I mean is that Janice and the cosplayers help garner support for ponies as they travel. I don’t really want to drag them along with us and dictate their work. If they can’t do their shows, they lose their bread and butter so to speak. Then there’s the fact they would become a target if we travelled with them.
“We on the other hoof go off and find as many ponies as possible. We set up meeting points as we go. I know this is the opposite of subtly but we have little option here. For all PAPA knows, we are trying to meet up with others and as long as we do not mention our plan, we should be safe,” I said.
Annette piped up for the first time in the conversation while the others spoke amongst themselves, “We’ll help as much as we can.”
“Of course we are!” Annabelle cried out. Her fist was high in the air as she gave us a grin that was a typical Rainbow Dash-like move, “You helped make our show so much better so we owe you one as I see it.”
The rest of the cosplayers nodded and voiced their support, one by one. Janice sighed heavily and facepalmed, “Looks like I don’t actually have a say in this. Fine… I’ll talk a little about it before and after each of our shows. A little.”
I laughed, “Oh, Janice you’re too kind.”
Janice shook her head, “Whatever. Get some sleep. We’ll get going tomorrow morning. The traffic is murder at this hour and I’m too tired to drive right now.”
I nodded my head and turned to Uncle Norris who just listened to us explain, “Sa you’re orl set then?” (So you all set then?)
“Honestly? I’m shaking like a filly in Winter without so much as a stitch of clothing. I just pray to the Divines above to help us out on this one. If it fails… all the humans and ponies will never see the end of this madness and that is something I do not plan on letting happen,” I said with determination.
I couldn’t fail… I won’t fail. I may be the combined personalities of a strange human that just might end up being some ordinary gamer and an Alicorn that got banished to the moon for a millennium all because she wanted to keep the sun from rising a few more minutes.
Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Reet. I’ll 'elp theur fowa art 'n ferry theur lot ta whereva theur need ta nip on.” (Right. I’ll help you for out and ferry you lot to wherever you need to get to.)
“But what about your job?” I asked.
“T' whole papeur thin made wee cancel t' meetin i' new york sin thee closed t' bloody airports 'n aren’t lettin anyone i',” He said with a hint of anger, “Eur numba o' jobs are ridin on dis sa while we manage ta av it, we’re orl on temporary leev. May an' orl 'elp art.” (The whole PAPA thing made us cancel the meeting in New York since they closed the bloody airports and aren’t letting anyone in. A number of jobs are riding on this so until we manage to have it, we’re all on temporary leave. May as well help out.)
I smiled and hugged him, “Thanks Uncle Norris.”
I felt him stroke his hand through my mane as he chuckled, “Gi'o'a, you’re makin uz blush, lass.” (Stop it, you're making me blush, lass.)
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seriously that was a very thick accent I had some real trouble figuring out what he said could you maybe put translation in italics/parenthesis next time?
Well, if you lead your siege with pegusus, you can literally take New York by storm.
Lesson you need to learn about accents...
If your reader can't understand them, you've totally fucked it up. I only understood maybe a third of what the uncle said. You need to edit it to where we can actually read and comprehend what's being said.
3313816
Really? That would be so awesome!
OH NO WHY ARE THERE LIKE 15 NIGHTMARE BUCKING MOONS OUTSIDE MY WINDOW!!!!!
^.=.^ SMELL ME!!!
That was indeed a very tick accent.
So NYC has been taking over by pseudo-terrorists, and the armed forces aren't doing anything? Why?
(I can tell you are set on doing this and I ain’t stpooing you.) XD 'stpooing'? Was that intended?
4653678 No it wasn't. Wonder how I missed that...
isn't his/her mane sub-zero? how did his hand not freeze?!
6510060 oh you forget he is chuck Norris and can survive space????