Damn, that was an amazing finale! I chuckled to myself as I leaned back in my bed, watching the credits for the final episode of The Book of Boba Fett fade in and out across the TV on the dresser opposite my bed. I seriously don't know why anyone else seems to think it's not as good as The Mandalorian, I thought again as I grabbed my remote and began browsing through Netflix instead. "No…no…hell no!" I said aloud as I continued scrolling through some cartoons. The new ones just looked completely infantile. I much preferred older cartoons, ones that had a bit more substance.

Having just turned 30, one might have considered it unusual for someone of my age to actually still watch cartoons, but I didn't care too much about what others might have thought. I liked cartoons! That wasn't to say I didn't appreciate more mature media too, but even someone my age needed some kind of childish stress relief.

"Hello, what's this?" I muttered aloud, pausing on a particular title. "No way, I didn't realize they had My Little Pony on this thing!"

At work, I knew a couple people who were closet fans of the show, and I'd promised I'd never tell others about their love from the girl-oriented program. Of course, they'd asked me a couple times if I'd take the time to check out the show, but I'd never really actively searched for a way to legally watch the series. I looked closer at the series and to my disappointment, it said that the show would only be around for a few more days. "Ah well, I suppose there's no harm in checking it out," I said, clicking play.

Whenever I watch a new show, I always do my best to give it a fair trial. I watch the first few episodes at the very least before deciding whether or not to binge watch. However, it was later than I realized when the second episode was finished. I watched as Pinkie Pie began her Porky Pig-like outro, chuckling at her antics. Looking at the clock I noticed that it was just past 10:30 in the evening.

Despite being a day off from work the next day, I decided that sleep was a bit more important. I closed out of Netflix and began my nighttime routine of getting ready for bed. I shaved the parts of my beard I didn't want growing, showered, changed into a fresh pair of pajamas, and climbed back into bed, grabbing my latest book. I'd gotten into the habit of getting tired by reading a book instead of facing a screen.

The nightlight illuminated the pages of my novel just enough for me to see comfortably, but began dimming after approximately a half hour of reading. With the dimming of the light came the tiredness of my eyes. I tried to stay awake long enough to finish the chapter, but the words kept on dancing along the pages, blurring and zooming around everywhere. Eventually, I put the bookmark in and put the book on my nightstand, closing my eyes and drifting off into peaceful slumber.

I was flying. Flying over a peaceful and colorful looking landscape. A small town came into view ahead of me through a bank of clouds. The houses were all of a similar construction, and in fact appeared to be somewhat medieval in appearance. A shimmering blue river flowed through the center of the town. Nearer to me I saw a large red barn and an orchard of large delectable looking apple trees of different hues.

The moment a blue Pegasus with rainbow mane and tail shot passed me towards the center of the town, I smiled. I knew I was dreaming immediately. Lucid dreaming was always one of my favorite pastimes, whenever I did get the chance to dream. I flew down towards the town, making my dream self invisible as I landed at the edge of the little town. My smile grew wider as I saw various equestrian forms moving back and forth. "Never thought I'd ever end up dreaming about that Ponyville place," I muttered to myself as I walked past a few of the ponies.

Jumping up, I hovered slightly above the ponies in the town, watching them go about their daily lives. I was sorely tempted to start singing the beginning song from Beauty and the Beast, but refrained.

What astonished me the most, however, was that the world didn't even look like a cartoon. Instead, it looked as real as my own world. The sights, the smells, the sounds, everything was incredibly lifelike. The ponies, however, looked like a mixture between realistic and their cartoon forms. Their proportions were more realistic and they had the muscular and structure of real ponies, but their faces retained that childlike innocence that I'd seen in the first episode of the show. For some reason, however, it just looked right on them. I couldn't exactly explain it.

I didn't have much time to think about it before I was dragged away by some kind of unknown force. Ponyville drifted away and I found myself in the clouds, flying towards a massive colorful castle. It looked something like the palace I'd seen in the show, however it was built into the side of a massive cliff. Unlike the show, however, its dimensions seemed sturdier and more realistic. I actually received Rivendell vibes from it after seeing a large waterfall falling next to it which poured into a pool nearby. The pool itself drained out with a second waterfall that fell to the valley floor below.

As I flew towards it, I heard the unmistakable whistle of a steam engine. Looking down towards the sound, I saw a large set of dual train tracks and a multicar steam train riding along one of them. I flew towards it, looking into the cabins. Each one was full of excited little ponies, including some children. No wait…the show called them fillies, right? Yeah, that's it.

I flew above them, following the tracks towards the palace. I flew around the towers, looking at them in great detail. This dream of mind was pulling out all the stops, it seemed. The walls of the palace walls were a slight purple while the spires themselves were a pale yellow. I flew through the streets, observing the wealth and prosperity within the royal capital.

The ponies here were obviously rich, or at least well-off. It made sense, considering a place like this would be prime real estate. It was here I saw more signs of this being a more realistic world than the children's show.

Down one of the smaller streets of the city, I saw multiple business establishments. Curious at the raucous laughter I heard from some, I floated in. To my surprise, I began smelling cider everywhere. Different ponies were holding mugs of something and drinking it using their hooves or telekinetic magic. I floated over to one of the mugs which belonged to a pony who was lying face first on a corner booth. I dipped my finger in and tasted it. Apple Cider? I tilted my head curiously. That wasn't really something I'd anticipated, but perhaps my more realistic mind had begun conjuring up stuff like this to help me relate more. I silently flew away, dismissing the thoughts about a pony Red Light District.

I flew away from the bar street and wandered around the vast streets of the capital, until in an instant I felt myself being dragged underground cave. It was lit by a large fireplace which appeared to be decorated in an odd Greek style. The walls were covered in green moss. In the middle of the room stood a larger pony than the rest. Her pale white fur only seemed to accentuate the rainbow of her tail and fur. She had long wings which were at her side, and a large horn which was glowing. All around, books were flying towards her and opening of their own accord. She had some sort of shoes on her hooves, a golden necklace with an amethyst crystal on it, as well as a large crown on her head, similarly carved. I'd only seen her once, but this had to be the famous Princess Celestia.

"Where is it?" she said. Her amethyst eyes looked worried as her flowing mane flew in some sort of magical wind. "I know I saw it here! Where is that tome!?"

Tome? I wonder what she means, I thought as I floated closer. I only caught glimpses of the words on each page, but they appeared to be in English.

"No…no…NO!" Celestia sounded terrified. Whatever tome she was looking for, it was probably dangerous in the wrong hands. Just then her horn stopped glowing. Her eyes widened even more in horror. "No…it's in Twilight Sparkle's room!"

With that, I was dragged through the stone and was instantly in a large tower room filled with bookshelves. A large window looked out onto other towers. Next to said window was a large hourglass. There were two levels to this place, one more or less a living area and the second the library portion. I saw a purple-colored pony sitting at the second level desk, peering over a large and ancient looking book. She was alone in the room as far as I could see. Floating over to the pony known as Twilight Sparkle, I peered over her shoulder. I nearly chuckled when I saw how concentrated she looked. She probably wouldn't have noticed me even IF I was visible.

"Interdimensional magic teleportation spell," she muttered to herself. "The first in a long line of experiments by Star Aurora," she continued. "I think…I think I have that spell nearly finished." Her horn began to glow. A nearby paper, one I hadn't noticed before, began glowing. Black runic letters on the page began to glow.

Even in the dream, I felt my hairs standing on end. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. This spell just felt dangerous to even be messing with. Twilight began floating up, magic seeming to flow from her towards the paper. She winced, then screamed in obvious pain.

From behind me, the doorway burst open. A horrified Celestia froze as she witnessed this happening. Her pause was short, however, as she flew up and aimed her horn at the paper. It burst into flames, causing a vast quantity of magic to fly everywhere, sending books flying. She caught the now unconscious Twilight Sparkle and took her to her bed, looking her over. The little purple pony still had an expression of pain on her face, but Celestia's horn began glowing, as did Twilight Sparkle's body. The unicorn's painful expression eased.

Smiling, Celestia made her way back up to the second level and looked at the book. "I can't believe I left it up here," she said in a guilty sounding voice. Using that telekinetic magic, she grabbed a piece of paper and pen. I watched her write.

My dearest, most faithful student Twilight,

When you awaken in a few hours, the book you were reading will have disappeared. It is not a book meant for you, at least not yet. Had you cast the spell you were attempting correctly, your magic would have been completely drained. This kind of magic is dangerous due to its chaotic nature and unpredictability. Just know I am not angry at you, and am merely glad of your safety. We shall discuss this incident in person later.

Yours truly,

Princess Celestia

She left the letter, then took the book and walked downstairs. Just then I found myself flying out of the window back towards Ponyville. I was high above them as I flew past towards a large and dark forest. I flew through it, crossing a river, and appearing in front of a dilapidated old palace. I recognized it from the second episode of the show as the palace where those Elements of Harmony were.

However, that wasn't the only thing that caught my eye. Just before the bridge, I saw something glowing in the shape of a house. I floated towards it, seeing the vague green outline of a house on the side of the road. The trees within the outline began to fall to the side, leaving room for…

"That's my house?!" I shouted in alarm as I made my way towards it. My entire property line, which wasn't much considering I lived in a very small one bedroom one bath house, began to acquire more substance until the house and the resulting property, a small patch of grass and a garden he tended to, took full shape.

"The hell is this kind of dream?" I wondered to myself as I phased through the door. Looking around, I saw the house was dark as it normally was thanks to my windows being covered by dark shades. I floated down the small hallway to my bedroom. Nothing was amiss, even the electricity worked. I couldn't grab anything so I couldn't test the water. "Ah, what am I doing?" I chuckled. "It's my dream. Everything would be able to work just fine. Hell! Even the internet!" I imagined that everything would work as it should, and then snapped. I didn't even see my hand in front of my face. "Right, still invisible."

Closing my eyes, I regained my dream form. Floating through the house, I looked into places that my normal body couldn't normally. I saw the normal. Dust bunnies in places I hadn't cleaned in months, a couple pencils I'd dropped, but something I never thought I'd see again was a class ring. It was in the living room directly underneath my desk. I'd lost it about ten years ago. I'd lost it at my five-year high school class reunion, but even in my dreams, it was nice to see it again. It brought back pleasant and unpleasant memories for me.

I last went to my room, where to my surprise I saw myself sleeping in bed, a book lying on the nightstand beside me. I reached out and, to my surprise, picked up the book. Just as I was beginning to open it, I felt myself being sucked into the sleeping body-

Groaning, I opened my eyes. I slowly sat up and rubbed the cobwebs from my eyes and looked around the dark room. The clock said 8:34 in the morning. "Right…weekend," I said. I looked over at my nightstand to grab my book for some early morning reading before my day began, but stopped. "Hold the phone…where's the book?" I looked around briefly before finding it on the floor. "Ah, damn it," I said. "How'd you get there? I was sure I didn't leave you in a precarious position last night," I said. "Then again, I was tired. Yeah, that's probably it." I picked it up and turned on my light again, opening the book and backtracking to the last spot in the book I remembered.

After I finished the chapter and read the next one, forty or so minutes had passed. My stomach growled at me. Closing the book and placing it on the bed, I got out and quickly made it before heading into the kitchen.

My bank job salary was enough that I was actually able to afford the mortgage on the small one-bedroom house I'd purchased a few years ago. Before that, I roomed with a couple other people. Nice enough folks, but being somewhat of an introvert and having some social anxiety, I preferred my own company and the company of my favorite media. Not to say I didn't enjoy interacting with people. I was the manager of a bank, after all. My employees were, more or less, a competent bunch, and I tried my best to be fair. But being around them did drain me, and being around customers who would complain a lot was even more draining. Of course, being in the small town I lived in, I didn't get that many new faces, and the vast majority of the denizens of the bank were polite and understanding if something went wrong.

I made myself some sunny side up eggs and two pieces of buttered toast for breakfast, browsing through my phone. The weather for today was apparently sunny but with a ten percent chance of rain. After I finished eating, I went into the living room and turned on the main TV in there. However, to my surprise, the cable was out.

Sighing, I turned on my Netflix account again, selecting the next two episodes of My Little Pony. I laughed at the simple lessons it was teaching about jealousy among friends and letting go of one's pride to accept the help of others when it was needed. I had to admit, the show was growing on me, but despite that, I could only take so much cutesy stuff at a time. I plugged my laptop in and began watching Star Wars. After watching episodes one through three, with a break for lunch and a snack, it was around four in the afternoon. Taking a break from that, I decided to play a few video games for a few hours.

I was so engrossed in my game that I almost missed the fact that it was past seven. I fixed myself a quick dinner, then prepared for the night. Being the manager of a bank might have had its perks but there were downsides, such as me having to be the first one there to unlock it for the morning employees. My day started normally around five and I would get home at around 1:15 or so. I wasn't much of a morning person, but I absolutely hated swing shifts even more.

By the time I was finished with dinner and my evening routines, it was just past 8:30. Despite having not done much physically, I was still pretty tired. By the time I hit the pillow, I was out like a light…

I was floating again. Only this time I was next to a small pond in the middle of what looked like Canterlot again. No one was around, but I still made myself invisible. Another dream, I thought to myself. Weird that it's about that pony show. But hey, it's been entertaining at least. I stuck my foot in the water. To my surprise, it wasn't too cold or too hot, but a perfect temperature for a foot soak. Of course, I made sure to keep an eye out for any interlopers. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't want to interfere in the events happening. Maybe that was why my dream house appeared in the Everfree Forest.

Just then I heard someone approaching down the pathway. I quickly but quietly floated up. A familiar looking purple pony with a horn was carrying a book using that telekinetic magic of hers. She placed it on the ground near a tree, and opened its pages. She opened the first page and began to read. "Let's see…the Book of the Moon. Chapter One…'Before the Banishment of Nightmare Moon, the Castle of the Two Sisters thrived. All Ponykind rejoiced and lived in harmony with one another underneath the benevolent rule of the two sisters.'"

No Once Upon a Time?, I thought as I listened. The story was essentially the same, but it read more like an entry in the Bible. When she reached the end, I watched as she looked up at the sky. "Hmm, Elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before…but where?" She looked up at the sky, a thoughtful expression on her face.

I smiled, knowing that this was the beginning of her journey into friendship. In a sense, I was a bit envious of her position. She was not only an extremely intelligent woman, or mare I suppose, but she was also about to receive five amazing friends. I hadn't had friends in a while. Not since…her. Not since I lost her.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled. Unfortunately, it was a bit too loud, since Twilight shot up and looked around. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Welp, time to make myself scarce, I thought, flying away once again, leaving a confused Twilight looking around. I flew once more around the city, exploring more than I had the night before. This is one very, VERY elaborate dream, I thought again as I continued exploring the city.

After flying around, I made my way towards the main castle. Once more phasing through the doors, I saw that I was in an elaborate looking throne room. The throne room was everything one would expect from one in a medieval fantasy. A gold dais stood at the end of a large red carpet. To the left and right were walls covered with stained-glass windows which most likely depicted the history of this land.

Sitting on a throne situated on the dais was none other than Princess Celestia. Standing before her was Twilight Sparkle. Between them, a very familiar book floated. Celestia was looking down at Twilight with a frown.

Twilight lowered herself, ears flat with shame. "Princess Celestia, I-"

"My faithful student," Celestia said, and her voice had a hint of kindness behind the frown. "I'm not upset at you. It was my own oversight that led to that book being in your room. It was my error that caused this, and I'm merely glad you're alright."

Twilight looked confused. "But…"

"Listen to me," Celestia interrupted her once more. "the spells within this book are both incomplete and extremely dangerous. Specifically, the one you chose to attempt. The only other time it has been cast it brought a dangerous creature from another world to Equestria. It took a mighty effort to defeat it." I saw behind her expression a hint of…grief? Regret? "And the way it was defeated…was…" she trailed off, looking down with her eyes closed. She quickly recovered from whatever memory she was reliving (she was ages old, after all, so it was very likely she and Luna were involved in whatever happened) and looked at Twilight. "I'm encouraging you to be more cautious in your studies. There are many secrets of magic that are simply too dangerous to study at your current level."

Twilight bowed in respect, looking slightly relieved, but still guilty. Celestia made her way out of her throne and down to Twilight. Putting one of her front hooves on her student, her warm smile returned. "Don't be so upset. I said I'm not angry with you, merely safe that you're alright. Now, go ahead and run along."

Twilight bowed and rushed out, running out of the main hall. I watched as Celestia took her place at her throne. Her expression turned somber. She looked at one of the nearby mosaics. Her somber expression turned sad. "Dearest sister…" she lowered her head, a tear falling from it.

As much as I wanted to, I knew I shouldn't go hugging her, especially since I was still invisible. Flying out of the throne room, I flew back towards my dream house location. When I reached it, the sun was still high in the sky, but beginning to set. I landed in front of the disturbed forest where my house sat, nestled in the forest near the half-destroyed rope bridge that led to the ancient ruined palace. Turning myself visible, I took a closer look at it. Unlike the palace at Canterlot, this ruin was dark, consisting of twin spires on either side. I saw scorch marks from where I sat although some were overgrown with ancient looking trees. The stone doors were shut, however anyone could get in by climbing over the walls. "Must have been a darker time in history?" I wondered aloud. "Eh, it's a dream. I wonder if…" I raised my hand. Stones began moving from the palace towards me. Holding out another hand, I undid the rope bridge and set it aside nearby.

Over the next half hour or so, I constructed a wide stone pathway. As I cleaned, I realized that the darkness on the stones was actually the result of ash. "Must have been a big fire," I muttered as I finished the bridge. It looked sturdy enough, but I would never be able to tell. "Ah screw it!" I said, hand outstretched again. "It's my dream. It's as sturdy as I want it to be! It should last for ten thousand years!"

The bridge glowed a bit, the rocks tightening up around each other until I couldn't even see the creases between each rock anymore. I nodded in appreciation, then as a side node, used the wood and rope from the former bridge to create handholds on each side. "Not that anybody, or anypony, I suppose, would need them," I muttered.

I looked up at the setting sun, then noticed the moon starting to rise in the other direction. I saw a dark unicorn shaped maria in the moon. I inhaled the crisp evening air and smiled. Returning to my house, I noticed how it stood out as looking much too modern in the location it was. "Right…let's see…ah!" I raised my hand and watched as the air shimmered around the house. Soon, the area around my house blended in perfectly with the surroundings. In my dream, I knew no one could detect the type of magic I used. Walking through the magical hologram, it shimmered as I passed through a scene that resembled a dense brush. Looking up, I smiled wistfully. "It's a shame I'm going to miss the stars here. I much prefer the night than the day," I said, not sure what possessed me to talk like this. "Don't get me wrong, I enjoy both thoroughly, but I prefer the night. You could call me a night owl." I bowed towards the moon. "Maybe I'll see you soon, Princess Luna."

I began hearing an alarm ringing softly…then it grew louder as the world around me swirled into nothingness…

The alarm on my phone blared incessantly around me. Blearily, I reached over and turned it off, sitting up. My phone read 4:02 AM. "Damn, I slept through that?" I muttered to myself as I swung my legs out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom to brush my teeth and dress up in my work clothes. I walked down the small hallway and entered my kitchen, turning on the light. Outside, it was fairly dark save for some early morning moonlight coming in through the small bits the shades didn't cover. I threw a couple pieces of bread in the toaster and the last four slices of microwave bacon. While I was waiting, I looked at my phone app. The weather once again said it was gonna be a nice day, only this time with ten percent chance of…

"What the hell?" I frowned at the weather app. "Ten percent chance of eternal night?!" I groaned. "Someone really screwed up over there," I said as I opened my book and began reading. Five minutes later the toaster released perfectly toasted bread. After buttering them and pulling out the bacon from the microwave, I quickly ate.

It was just past 4:30 when I finished, so I threw on my jacket and went out to my garage. As the automatic door was opening, I remembered something. "It's trash day!" I exclaimed. I normally didn't roll my garbage out to the curb until I left the house. I walked out into the early morning air.

And froze. My neighborhood was gone, replaced with a dark outline of a forest against a sea of stars.

"What? The? Fuck?"