Chapter 23- Dreams and Victory
Well now we approach the conclusion of the story. Just a heads up I prefer happy endings so don't expect anything depressing.
This was quite a confusing chapter to write, and it has made me truly appreciate what Christopher Nolan was able to do with "Inception" and all of the rules for entering dreams.
Also, I got to see Prometheus (enjoyable movie considering there were a lot of unanswered questions) and got my midnight screening tickets to "The Dark Knight Rises" (July 19th can't come soon enough).
I also would like to thank everyone for reading an reviewing so far. And a special thank you for kroeger562399Hallway, who gave me the idea for the helicopter at the end of the Chapter (you'll see what I'm referring to).
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this Digimon Season 2-like chapter :)
And I only own my OCs
"Where are we?" Rainbow Dash asked as all six girls found themselves in a plain, white hallway that was lined with six doors, three on each side, and two white walls at either end of the hallway. The corridor wasn't too long at all, only about fifty feet long from end to end. Fluorescent lights shone from above them on the ceiling. Not only that, but each door in the hallway had a single cutie mark on it; and not just any cutie mark, but a cutie mark that was specific to one of the six girls. The three doors on the left had Twilight's sparkle, Rainbow Dash's cloud and rainbow-colored lightning bolt, and Pinkie Pie's three balloons. The right side doors had Fluttershy's three, pink butterflies, Rarity's three blue diamonds, and Applejack's three apples.
"What are these doors? Fluttershy asked as she looked at the door with the three pink butterflies on it. She gulped nervously as she saw it, "and why do they have our cutie marks on them?"
"They lead to each of our partner's dreams." Twilight answered as she walked to the door that had her cutie mark on it, "if Discord really did use the same spell Princess Celestia told me about, the door with our cutie mark on it is the door to our partner. Not only that, but was soon as they see us, they will start to have their doubts about the validity of the dream."
"So they'll recognize us?" Applejack asked as she tapped at the door with her cutie mark on it, as if to see if it was tangible.
"Sort of. But if they're dreaming of a time when they were younger, their subconscious will recognize us and it'll trigger their memory."
"Do we just go in and tell them that they're dreaming?" Rarity asked.
Twilight nodded, "Yes, but don't expect all of them to accept it right away. Once they start questioning their fantasy, the dream will start to slowly disappear on its own. But we must help each of our partners understand that they're dreaming. Some will be more willing to accept reality, but…"
"Others will want to stay in their dream." Rainbow Dash interrupted with a slightly nervous tone. Twilight looked back at the other five girls, who were all standing in front of their respective doors, and nodded somberly, hoping that their partners wouldn't completely disregard them just because they were so into their own fantasy that they refused to accept the truth.
Twilight continued, "And also, they will be the only ones in their dreams that see us. We'll be invisible to anypony and anybody else."
"And more likely than not, while their one true wish will have come true, many other things will be in their favor. After all, Discord wants them to be in a complete paradise, so expect things other than their one true wish to be there. The more things that go their way, the harder it will be to get them to leave it. Also, before any of us wake up, all twelve of us must understand that we're in a dream. So it's all of us, or none of us. That's just how my spell works, got it?"
All five girls nodded.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's wake them up so we can beat Discord and have a BIG victory party at Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly.
The other five rolled their eyes at Pinkie Pie's excitement before they each sighed. Twilight used her magic to open all six doors, which all six of the girls entered before they shut.
They were on their own.
Louis
"Congratulations on your newest masterpiece Mr. Clarkson! The Met will surely appreciate your work when you send it there for the exhibit next week."
Louis smiled at the art critic that stood in front of him with his little, pretentious tuxedo and smug grin that he detested oh so much. To him it seemed like most art critics were simply failed art students who were so convinced that their failure was not their fault that they took out their anger on other artists. This resulted them in nitpicking the hell out of artists' work until they found a reason to give it a bad review. They then wrote seething articles where every last detail was stomped and spat on until the artist's self-esteem was shot, and that artist would then become a critic who does the same thing, with the same hatred of success.
And the cycle would continue on and on.
This critic was no different from the other snooty, obnoxious men that Louis hated to meet up with at his exhibitions. But, right now, this man was hailing Louis' artwork as a masterpiece, so he could live with it. After all, the more praise his work got, the more paintings he sold, and the more fame he brought to himself and Wilmont. Not to mention the better reviews he got now, the more publicity he'd get at his exhibition when it was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art the next week. The very fact that such a prestigious gallery had deemed such a young artist's work worthy of being presented was remarkable in itself.
"Thank you, sir." Louis said with a smile as he watched the critic nod and walk away with his wife who was clearly half his age. Louis wasn't really sure when the art industry become the equivalent of playboy, where young women married older "classy", well-known critics only for the money and fame they had. He could clearly see that was the case with that particular critic.
In this dream, Louis was in his mid to late-twenties, though he did not look much older than he did in the present reality. He was wearing a black tuxedo and he was quite clean-shaven, wearing very expensive cologne as he tried to keep up a respectable image in the art community.
He turned and made his way over to a wall that was adorned with beautiful paintings of nature, architecture, galas, and even some paintings of famous soccer players who had hired Louis to paint their faces. He even painted the image of a bustling Rio de Janeiro for the 2014 World Cup, people dancing in the streets in celebration after Brazil beat England in the quarterfinals to reach a semi-final match against Italy, which they lost on penalties.
It was truly a remarkable scene that seemed to just exemplify the cultural expression of an entire nation. At least that's what Louis told reporters who asked him questions about the painting. The truth was that he just painted it for his still-present love of soccer, nothing more. The answer he gave reporters was just superficial nonsense that he knew the reporters would eat up and help him create an image of being "deep" and "culturally suave", which was something every artist needed in the art community.
The media was so easy to trick like that.
While Louis continued to admire his works, occasionally sipping from a glass of wine he held in his left hand, he suddenly heard a familiar girl's voice come from behind him.
"Wow Louis, your artwork is quite impressive, if I do say so myself."
Louis froze in place as he immediately recognized who had just spoken to him. He slowly turned around to see Rarity standing behind him with a smile on her face and her blue eyes meeting Louis' own. She trotted over to his side and pointed to a painting that he had done of a woman in a beautiful, white dress that seemed to engulf her in its flowing fabric. The woman stood in the middle of a large, ballroom with red walls, wooden floors, and large, overwhelming columns. Her face showed a very serious smile, as if she found a compromise between ecstatic and serious.
"I especially love the attention to detail you put into this gown." She said, gesturing at the white dress. "I believe that I could make a good deal of money off of selling such a dress for the Grand Galloping Gala, if you don't mind helping me design it, of course."
She nodded at her proposal as if she was satisfied with what she said, but Louis was thinking about something more important than his painting.
"Rarity what…what are you doing here?" he asked, as suddenly he began to remember everything that happened at the City Hall. He still found himself trying to find a way to rationalize everything that was happening without admitting to himself that he was in a dream rather than in reality.
"Well I'm glad to see that you remember me, I was absolutely petrified at the possibility that you'd forget." She said with a smile before it fell, "I have come here to remind you to come back to reality, as we need you to defeat Discord."
"But…this is real…" He looked down at Rarity, who just shook her head.
Louis suddenly began to remember that he was in Wilmont City Hall, as well as his broken leg. He shook his head in a last attempt of denial. "Please tell me you're kidding."
Rarity shook her head, "Unfortunately no I am not. The only real ones here are you and I."
Just the words left Rarity's mouth, and Louis' denial failed, the dream began to slowly fade away. Louis returned to his normal age as he watched his artwork, all of the nicely dressed critics, the tables of expensive food that no one dared eat too much of for fear of seeming "uncouth" in the art community; all gone. As soon as the realization that he was dreaming hit him, the dream was gone, and he was left in a void of white.
Louis nodded with a small amount of disappointment before he scanned the once grand room that his work had filled, now completely gone, disappeared and replaced by white nothingness.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why was your dream to become an artist?" Rarity asked.
Louis closed his eyes and sighed, "That was only part of it. I've always been into art and painting more than soccer. I would never tell anyone about this before and just decided to focus on soccer and paint as a hobby when I found time. Unfortunately, soccer began to overtake every part of my life. The agility camps, the games, the practices, I had no time to just sit down and do what I loved…I couldn't even find time to paint a stick figure if I wanted too. My wish was to become famous and bring pride to Wilmont and my parents' memory; the art was just my preferred means of doing so over soccer. I never told anyone that…well…now you know."
"Then why aren't you doing that instead of soccer? After all didn't you tell me that you stuck with soccer because it was what everyone expected?" Rarity asked.
"I was doing soccer in real life because soccer was a more practical path. I mean; I'm good at painting…when I do it. It's so hard to find time," Louis said with a sad chuckle before he continued his explanation, "but I was always so good at soccer, and in reality it was easier to gain notoriety for that over painting. Especially considering I was one of the top soccer players in the state."
Louis let out a sigh. He was rather accepting of the harsh reality that he was in a dream rather than reality. After all, his dream was basically the direction his life was going anyway, but with painting instead, something that he truly wanted. But once he saw Rarity again, he realized that she was much more important to him than painting.
He watched as his tuxedo faded away, revealing the clothes he had been in when he was in City Hall, which was the clothing that Rarity had given him back at the hotel The clothes she had made him based on a picture in the newspaper.
He chuckled, "I still can't believe you made these clothes using only a picture as a reference, I'm still amazed by that."
Rarity blushed and gave a small, humbled laugh, "Oh it was nothing, really. I've worked on clothes for so long that making anything really comes as second nature, even if the information on the wearer is incredibly vague, as that photograph was."
Louis and Rarity both shared a small laugh before they hugged each other. They then pulled back and looked each other in the eyes and kissed.
Once they broke it off, Rarity leaned against him, "You know, you could always come live with me in Ponyville and help design clothes at the Carousel Boutique. Based on your love of painting, it might be right down your alley. That dress you painted in your dream was fantastic. I hope you can paint that well in real life so you can possibly come up with different styles."
"I'll try."
They both leaned in and kissed each other one more time.
Little did the know, that in the Mayor's office, both Louis and Rarity's Elements of Generosity began to glow as they remained asleep, waiting for the others to wake up before they too could.
Pete
A younger Pete was grinning from ear to ear as he started to unwrap a gift from his soccer team. He had just had surgery to remove his colon two days ago, and he was enjoying the company of his visitors. His parents were standing beside his bed, smiles on their faces; his father's hand on his shoulder. Three of Pete's teammates and the head coach were also in the room. They all stopped by to check up on Pete just because they cared about him, and wanted to see if there was anything they could do for their friend. He felt ecstatic to have people there with him, and couldn't imagine being alone.
"Thanks guys for coming up to see me, it means a lot." Pete said with a chuckle as he continued to tear the wrapping away from the spherical gift in his lap. He knew it was a soccer ball, but decided it was best to not tell them and act surprised once he finished unwrapping it. After all, it was more courteous to pretend to be surprised when a group of people expected it than to say something like "you failed to surprise me".
"No problem man, we're always here for one of our friends." Said a taller, brown-haired boy who was the coach's son. Pete finished taking the wrapping off of the ball and, as he predicted, he was given a soccer ball. But not just any soccer ball, it was a soccer ball that had been signed by the entire team, including the coach. All Pete could do was grin and look up at his parents, who smiled back at him warmly, his father continuing to grip Pete's shoulder and giving it a small pat.
Pete then turned back to his three teammates and coach, all of whom came to visit him on their own, "Thanks guys I…" Pete sniffled a little bit. He tried to hold back the flood of emotions that were trying to break through his otherwise stoic, smiling face, but it was difficult, so he settled for smiling at his visitors. He wiped away a stray tear that began to make its way out from the corner of his eye, "…I really appreciate this."
Pete looked back down at the soccer ball with a smile on his face. He was about to look back up when he felt somebody tap him on the left shoulder. He looked over to see who had tapped him. Once he saw who had done it, his heart froze. Standing right beside him was Pinkie Pie. Now, he was dreaming that he was younger than seventeen, so he hadn't gotten into the show yet, as "Friendship is Magic" didn't exist while he was sick. But that didn't mean the sight of a cartoon pony was any less shocking to him.
"Pete, that's a really cool ball you've got there." Pinkie Pie said with a smile. "Do you mind if I sign it? I brought my pen, let me just get it out!"
Pete didn't know what to say, so he slowly handed the ball to Pinkie Pie, her face and eyes seemed strangely familiar to the young boy.
While Pete was still unsure about this mysterious, pink animated pony's identity, his subconscious seemed to have an idea who she was, for it had not completely forgotten about her. As soon as he saw her wacky antics and goofy grin, he slowly began to remember everything. After all, how can anyone forget Pinkie Pie? Even if he was younger than he was when he first started to watch the show, it was impossible to completely forget about the crazy pony that had broken the laws of physics in Equestria, as well as in reality, proving that physics never applied to her, no matter where she was.
While his mind continued to try to remember whom the pink pony was, Pinkie Pie shook her mane and a black sharpie-like pen fell out of it and landed in-between her hooves. She used her mouth to pull the cap off and scribble her name onto the soccer ball with surprisingly good legibility, especially since she was writing with her mouth.
Once Pete finally remembered everything, he began to shake his head in denial, his eyes wide, "No…"
Pinkie Pie quickly re-capped the pen and tossed it into the air so that it landed back in her mane, disappearing in the pink mass of pink. She then turned back to Pete, grinning at him as if nothing was wrong. "No what Petey?"
Pete suddenly turned around to see that, while the room was still there, everyone else that had been in it besides him and Pinkie had disappeared. His "friends", his coach, and his parents were all gone, leaving him as alone as he had been when he was sick.
Not only that, but Pete reverted back to his seventeen-year old self. He didn't look much different from his twelve-year old self, though, because his illness made him appear two to three years younger than he really was. So he really looked closer to fourteen or fifteen than seventeen.
Even though the people disappeared from the dream, the hospital room remained because while he knew it was a dream, his heart kept trying to convince his mind otherwise; that he wasn't in a dream; that his friends really did care about him, that his parents were still by his side and hadn't disowned him. Unfortunately, that didn't help his visitors or parents stay in his dream, and he was now as alone as he was when he was sick in reality.
Well, even more alone now that his parents were gone. He suddenly felt himself become teary eyed and his sadness flooded back. He had never felt as vulnerable as he did at that moment. Not even the time he went in for surgery or when his parents kicked him out of the hotel for admitting his love for Pinkie Pie could compare to the feeling of dread at this moment. After all, how would it feel to you if you went from having friends care about you when you were sick, to realizing that it was nothing but a dream and those friends weren't actually there for you; to realize that almost nobody was there for you when you needed them?
"It's not real…it's not…" he muttered quietly to himself before he turned over onto his right side so he was facing away from Pinkie Pie as be began to silently cry.
Pinkie Pie just looked at the back of his head. Her grin was gone, replaced by a very sad expression. Her mane was still puffy, but she didn't carry the radiant, happy attitude that she did most of the time.
"Petey, I'm sorry." She said in a tone just above a whisper, which was very uncommon for her. "I really wish I could help you feel better, but even I don't know what to say, and I usually know exactly how to make everypony smile."
"Pinkie…why…" Pete mumbled through choked sobs as he could feel his tears running down the sides of his face and landing on the fabric of the bed, which looked slightly more transparent than it had before. But it was still solid enough for Pete to lie on without fear of falling through it and landing on the floor. "…Why did everything have to happen this way?"
Pinkie Pie looked down for a second before she quickly disappeared under the hospital bed. A few moments later, she popped up on the other side, right in front of Pete's tear-filled eyes so she could look at him face-to-face. She gently put her hoof onto Pete's hand, and leaned in so she was mere inches from his face and could get his attention easier.
He still wasn't looking directly at Pinkie Pie; rather he was staring off at the boring, white wall that behind her crazy cotton-candy mane, which she noticed. She let out a deep sigh and began to speak in a very un-Pinkie-like, serious tone.
"Pete, look at me."
Pete sighed and looked over at Pinkie Pie, their eyes meeting. Surprisingly, Pete couldn't help but feel a little bit better as he looked into her big, blue eyes that still had the same innocence they always had, even after everything that she had seen, after all of the violence and horror that she had witnessed in a five minute drive through a warzone that was once downtown Wilmont, she still had an air of purity that could only exist with either a young child or a cartoon character.
In addition to the innocence, however, there was something else. There was worry for the boy she cared about, the one who shouted down his parents because of the unconditional love he had for her, the one who she could count on to stand up for her when she was in trouble. The boy she loved.
As Pete continued to look into her eyes, he couldn't help but give a small smile. It was a small, but genuine smile. Nothing extravagant or over-the-top like one of Pinkie's expressions or smiles, but it was a sign that Pete was starting to feel a little better.
Pinkie just looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Petey? Are you…are you smiling?" Pete nodded and Pinkie Pie couldn't help but give a small chuckle, "I didn't even need to say anything to cheer you up, I knew I could make anypony feel better. I guess it doesn't even have to be intentional."
"Pinkie, just looking at your cute face; the one that always manages to make me happy…I feel much better. You don't ever need to say another word as long as you live…"
"You don't have to worry about that, I love talking!" Pinkie Pie interrupted with a grin. "I could talk forever and I've often wanted to!"
"I know you could." Pete just laughed some more before he continued, "As long as I get to look into your beautiful eyes, I won't ever feel alone again."
Pinkie Pie blushed, "Well if you're looking into my eyes, I'm with you so you're obviously not alone you silly…"
She didn't get a chance to finish, for Pete silenced her with a kiss. Her eyes shot open for a brief second before she began to kiss back. Pete could see that, even during their brief make-out session, she was smiling like she always had. Even as they kissed, both of them looked at each other with smiles on their faces. It only took a few moments before the entire hospital room, except the bed, faded away into nothingness. Pete slowly stood up and took a step away from the bed. Once he did so, the bed finally started to fade. Eventually, like everything else in the room, it was gone.
Pete now stared down at Pinkie Pie with the upmost seriousness, "Discord will pay. The fucker who tricked me and brought me back to my time in the hospital, and used my terrible experiences against me…he's going down."
Pinkie Pie squealed in delight before she wrapped her hooves around Pete and they hugged tightly.
"Oh I cannot wait to have a big party to celebrate Discord's defeat! I can make all sorts of food, put up all sorts of colorful decorations. Oh! And you can help me out if you'd like. I could always use a helping hoof!"
Pete laughed, "I'd like that a lot."
In the Mayor's office, both Pete and Pinkie Pie's Elements of Laughter were glowing.
Alex
Applejack walked through the dense apple orchard to find where Alex as. She could hear his voice in the distance, and began to follow it. The sun beat on the back of her neck as she slowly walked through the orchard to find out where Alex's voice was coming from. Every now and then she'd have the irresistible urge to buck a tree, just to be cured of the homesickness she felt. But she resisted and remembered herself how this wasn't any time for "horsing around", as she needed to find her partner as soon as possible.
But the familiar feeling that being in an apple orchard brought still resonated with her as she continued her search.
"It really does feel like ah'm back home though." Applejack thought with a smile as she slowly trotted through the orchard, the sunlight creeping through the trees as the sun began to set for the night, giving the sky a purplish-orange tinge that Applejack had to admit was quite stunning.
After about a minute of walking she finally came to a clearing where the voices were coming from.
Applejack slowly crept over to a tree and hid, peering around the trunk to see who was talking. She saw Alex picking apples from some of the trees with his father. Alex was still his seventeen-year old self, except there was something different, namely the lack of scars on his face from the constant beatings that he got from his stepfather; his skin was also tanner from working outside in the Texan sun.
But more than anything else, he had a huge smile on his face. A smile that she had never seen, a smile of pure bliss and joy.
He was wearing a worn-out Tony Romo jersey, a pair of jeans with a hole over the right knee, and the same Cowboy's cap that he had on when he first met Applejack. This hat had been his father's until he gave it to Alex when he was ten. Ever since, Alex had loved the hat, both in the dream and in reality.
Surprisingly, it still fit his head at age seventeen, but Alex didn't complain. After all, whenever he wore it, he was reminded of how much his father loved him, and when he wore it in reality, it made him feel like he was still with him.
Applejack also recognized the hat from their first meeting, when she was just the human girl named "Anna" who was from Tennessee, wherever that was. The girl that Alex had found an immediate attraction to, which increased when he figured out that she was really the sweet and honest country pony he always watched on Saturdays mornings when his mother was at work and his father was sleeping off his TGIF hangover.
"What's mom making for dinner?" Alex asked his father in a slight southern accent as he threw a few apples into a wooden bucket that was by his feet. He looked up at his father, who tossed in a few apples from a tree that he had just walked over from.
"Um…ah think pasta or chicken, ah'm not really sure though," Alex's father answered in his southern drawl as he took his own hat off, which was actually a Ranger's baseball cap rather than a Cowboys' one, and ran his hand over his head to get rid of some sweat and grime he'd accumulated from working outside, before he pulled the cap back on and smiled, "ether way, it'll be a reward for a day well spent out here in the orchard."
"Yeah. ah'm still nervous about the Cowboys being in the NFC Championship tomorrow." Alex said. "Do ya think they'll win?"
"They should, even if they're down Romo is such a clutch quarterback it shouldn't be a problem."
"That's true, no quarterback is better in the fourth quarter."
They both grabbed the last bucket that was filled with apples before loading it onto the back of a pick-up truck, which already had a bunch of other apple buckets on it. They both shut the trunk of the flatbed and brushed themselves off in satisfaction from a good day's work.
"All right let's head inside." Alex's father muttered and Alex nodded. Just before he was about to get into the truck. He felt something clock him on the back of the head. It didn't hit him too hard, but hard enough to catch his attention and cause a small jolt of pain to shoot through his head.
"Ow! What the hell?" he muttered as his gaze drifted down to see a single apple lying on the ground. He bent over and picked it up. After examining it for a moment, he turned around to see Applejack standing in the dirt road behind the truck. She was tossing another apple playfully into the air and had a smile on her face.
"Boy howdy, y'all here have a mighty ineffective way of buckin' apples, if ah do say so mahself. Pikin' em one at a time? That must take y'all forever." She laughed a little bit before tossing the apple into the air, turning around and bucking it with her hind hooves so that it hit one of the nearby trees with a powerful force. It splattered onto the bark, leaving nothing more than a white mush with specks of red skin.
She nodded in admiration of her buck before she turned her attention back to Alex, who just stared at her before he managed to speak.
"A-Applejack?"
"Eeyup." Applejack said with a nod.
"What are you doing here?" Alex asked as his voice reverted back to his northern accent.
Applejack sighed and trotted over to Alex, "Ah am here ta wake ya up."
"W-wake me up?"
"That's right. Alex, none of this is real, this ain't the truth. It's all a part of a dream."
Alex shook his head, clearly in denial, "No…no this is real..." He could feel his eyes begin to fill with tears that he normally would have hidden from people, "It has to be."
Applejack sadly shook her head, "Ah'm sorry Alex, but it ain't. It's just a spell Discord put on ya."
"No, it's not a spell AJ. It's real; my Dad is really here in the truck. I can go get him if you want…I can show you that he's really here. Besides he'll really like meeting you."
"Alex yer father ain't really there." Applejack said sternly, "Deep down ya know this ain't true, even if ya want it ta be."
Alex's heart sank and he just stared at Applejack for a moment before he turned and bolted back to the truck, shouting "Dad!" at the top of his lungs, desperate to prove to Applejack, and himself, that his father was really there with him, and that he wasn't dreaming.
He sprinted over to the driver's side door and flung it open only to see exactly what he had feared.
Emptiness; no one was in the truck. He could feel his heart freeze as the sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He slowly backed away from the pick-up until his back was against one of the apple trees that lined the dirt road. He slowly sat down onto the grass as everything that was around him, the trees, the truck, the grass and even the buckets of apples, began to disappear into nothingness.
"No…please no." he whispered just as everything but Applejack disappeared into the white void that everyone else had experienced so far in their dreams. Alex put his face into his hands and began to cry harder than he ever had in his life. As said before, it was rare for Alex to cry in front of anyone, but now he couldn't hold back, and now Applejack got to see Alex's true emotions pour out in a flood of tears.
Applejack walked over to his side and put her hoof onto his shoulder, rubbing it reassuringly, "Alex, it'll be okay."
Alex shook his head, "I should have known. Nothing ever is this perfect in real life."
He continued to cry when he felt Applejack lean against his left side. He looked up to see her sitting beside him.
"It can be close ta perfect." She replied, "Ah know ya feel like ya don't have a family ta count on. But it ain't too late ta find one."
Alex chuckled, "Right, because I could convince my mother to dump my loser stepfather."
Applejack shook her head, "No, ya can live with me."
"And your family?" Alex asked and Applejack shook her head.
"Our family." She said, which made Alex look at her in bewilderment. He wiped some of his tears away.
She slowly took her trademark hat off and raked her left hoof through her mane. She began to nervously move the hat around in her hooves while she continued to speak, "Alex, ah already think of ya as part of mah family, ya know that. And ah know Big Macintosh, Applebloom and Granny Smith will see ya in the same way, especially when ah say we're in love."
"Won't Big Mac want to buck me in the groin when you tell him that?" Alex asked as he turned to face Applejack with a small smile.
Applejack let out a small laugh. "Eh, he may be protective, but he ain't unreasonable." She answered before looking up at Alex's hat. He noticed this and sighed. He reached up and took it off before looking at it with a sense of longing.
"You know, I always wore this hat to feel less alone. When I had it on, I felt like my father was there with me…like I had him and my mother back…the way it used to be." He sighed as he traced his fingers over the Dallas Cowboy's logo, which looked worn from age.
Applejack smiled and picked her Stetson hat up with her mouth, got onto her hind-legs, placing her fore-hooves onto Alex's shoulders to help her keep balance, and gently placed the hat on top of Alex's head. He turned to look at her, only to see her hop off of his shoulders and give him a smile, "There, now ya have a new hat to remind ya of our family, ta remember ya ain't alone, that ah'll always be there…that the entire Apple family will be there for ya."
Alex just stared at the Earth pony before he slowly reached up and felt the rough texture of the brim before he felt a smile grow on his face. He looked at Applejack and could feel more tears coming, but now they were tears of gratitude for her kindness. He hugged Applejack tight as she returned it almost instantaneously, letting out a small, happy sigh.
"Ah love ya Alex."
"I know you do.' Alex answered as he let his Cowboy's hat fall from his hand. It landed onto the white ground before it began to slowly fade away. "And I love you too."
They then kissed and, in the Mayor's office, the Elements of Honesty began to glow.
James
"Smile!" Patrick said cheerfully as James and his parents stood together for a graduation photo. Once the camera flashed, Patrick looked up at them and nodded, "Got it."
Patrick handed the camera back to his father while his mother hugged James enthusiastically.
"Congratulations James." she said with a big smile as he reunited with them after his graduation, "We are so proud of everything that you've accomplished."
James smiled as he stifled back his tears. His parents and Patrick all looked at him with a sense of pride. They were actually proud of everything that he had done, all of the hard work he put into school, instead of trying to find fault with it like they did in his real life.
He was beaming. Even though he was getting extremely hot standing in the sun while he wore his graduation cloak and cap, which made him feel like he was in a sauna, he was so happy that the day had finally come. The day that all of his hard work had been rewarded, and his family was right there with him, applauding him and saying how proud they were of him.
"Thanks."
The four of them all started to walk off to their car, passing other students who were talking with their parents, smiles on their faces; hugs and congratulations being given everywhere.
"And now the real adventure begins." James' father said with a smile.
"After about two and a half months of sleeping in." James joked as he took his cap off to look at the tassels he got, which were more than the average student since he was one of the top students in the class. James' parents started to walk off to the car, James and Patrick lagged behind so they could talk about college stuff that they would most likely get in trouble for talking about.
James looked up at Patrick, who had a look of extreme pride for his little brother's accomplishment. He patted James on the back with a small laugh.
"I cannot wait for us to get to Stanford so you and I can hang out more," Patrick laughed, "I know some kick-ass places to party, and with me as your big brother, the star soccer player, you'll have no problem getting access to any of them."
"Eh, I'm not big on partying." James said, "besides, how good are parties when you don't drink?"
That was true, in his fantasy James stayed clear of alcohol and partying. The main reason he got drunk so often in real life was because of Caroline and the need to escape the sadness he felt for her. Since she was doing so well and his parents and brother were treating him with respect in his dream, there was no reason to get drunk. Not just that, but having such caring parents made him even more determined to stay away from alcohol.
"Hey are you going to stop by Caroline's house?" Patrick asked, "I know she wants to see you since she couldn't make it to the ceremony."
James nodded, "Yeah she had a soccer game, and I was planning on stopping by her house, once I got out of these robes, I swear I feel like I'm in the Sahara."
James was so happy for his little cousin, that she had been able to do so much with her soccer skills. She was playing on a premier soccer team and had been in the newspaper quite a few times already. She was really upset that she couldn't make James' graduation, but he understood. In fact, he promised that he'd stop by her house once the ceremony ended and he had gotten his diploma.
They were both walking off when he felt something tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Fluttershy flying just behind him with a nervous blush on her face.
He froze and looked at the mare, shocked to see the cartoon pony standing behind him.
"Um…hi James. I'm really sorry to disturb your dream…but it's time to wake up…if you don't mind."
James just looked at her in shock before he turned and looked to his brother, who was just frozen in place, mid-stride. James' jaw dropped as he watched Patrick begin to fade away. But it wasn't just Patrick, it was everything else around him. James looked around, doing an almost 360 turn to observe all of his surroundings fading away right before his eyes.
"No, you've got to be kidding me, this can't be a dream." James muttered as he remembered how his family truly treated him, how they would never shower him with praise like they did in this dream; how his cousin had succumbed to cancer before she could become a star soccer player. His mind gave one last attempt at denial by turning to Fluttershy and pleading, "Please…"
"James, I'm really sorry but it is a dream." Fluttershy sadly muttered.
James couldn't help but fall to the concrete walkway and sob, slowly watching as the ground changed from concrete to white nothingness, just as everything else was. His graduation robe and cap faded away, leaving James in the same t-shirt and jeans he was wearing in real life.
James then went from being sad to laughing. But it wasn't a happy kind of laughter, it was the aggravated laughter that people did when they were pissed off.
"Great, just wonderful."
"Discord put a spell on you. He put you in a dream where your one true wish was true." Fluttershy said sadly, "but that's all it was…a dream…please don't be mad at me."
James shook his head, "Fluttershy I'm not mad at you."
Fluttershy seemed to calm down for a second before James clenched his teeth in anger, "But Discord that…that FUCKING ASSHOLE!" he stomped his foot onto the white ground, which made Fluttershy jump back a bit, though she did understand his frustration.
James' face was red and shiny from the tears he continued to shed. Fluttershy didn't want to say anything, but she had a question that she knew would keep nagging her until she got it answered.
"Um James…if you don't mind me asking, what was your one true wish, because I heard Caroline was still alive and your parents seemed to treat you better."
"That was it." James mumbled, "I used to always wish that Caroline was never sick, and that my parents treated me better. They were both my true wishes, I guess. So Discord must have made them both come true."
"James, " Fluttershy asked, "I really am sorry about everything, especially your sweet little cousin. But you shouldn't ever let your parents and brother get you down; ever."
"Why not?" James muttered as he looked up at Fluttershy for an answer as she hovered above him.
"Well, I may have only known them for a little bit, but I have to say that they seemed like the meanest, nastiest, rudest, most judgmental people I've ever met. And if they ever say anything bad about you again I'll teach them to learn to appreciate what a great boy you are!" Fluttershy ended on a shout, which made James jump back in shock. He was so used to her calm attitude, he completely forgot how crazy she could get when she was angry, and this time was no different. With each word that came out of her mouth, her expression changed from calm and sweet to angry and venomous.
Fluttershy, rather Flutterrage, then concluded by shouting, "Never let them get you down, they do NOT deserve you as a son!"
Fluttershy began to inhale and exhale deeply before she realized how loudly she was shouting and backed up with a blush on her face, "Sorry I…I think I may have gotten carried away."
James just stared for a moment at the embarrassed mare before he began to laugh. She looked at him in confusion as he continued to laugh harder. Finally, he calmed himself down enough to speak, "Oh God, Fluttershy. That's why I love you. You're the kindest, most timid pony ever, but when it comes to your friends, you do anything to protect them. Even if it's not in your nature and it involves you getting angry."
Fluttershy gave James a small smile, "Thanks James, you're really sweet."
"Not as sweet as you."
They looked at each other and leaned in to kiss. James felt all of the pain that had built up throughout his life dissipate into nothingness. Before he met Fluttershy, he'd drink and party to escape his misery, which was caused by Caroline's suffering as well as his family not caring about him. He was often moody and angry, something that he could only get rid of when he was either drunk off his ass, singing KISS songs; or when he was watching My Little Pony. Fluttershy had always cheered him up, both as a cartoon character and in real-life. With her showing her protective side, after such a wishful dream, James was done caring about what his parents thought of him. All that mattered was Fluttershy, and any doubt he had about that before was now gone.
As they continued to kiss, in City Hall, both Fluttershy and James' Elements of Kindness began to glow.
Ryan
As soon as Rainbow Dash entered Ryan's dream, her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in pure shock when she realized where exactly she was. She wasn't in a place that she didn't recognize, in fact, she recognized it all too well.
"Wh…why am I in my house?"
She was indeed in her large, cloud mansion that she hadn't been in for days. Even though she hadn't been there since leaving for Earth her house looked as though somepony had never left, for there was a stack of unclean dishes in the sink, a couple of the lights were on, and she could see that someone had just finished eating at the dining room table.
Rainbow Dash trotted around to see a slew of pictures that hung up on the wall, but it was who was in those pictures that grabbed her attention the most. She saw her own smiling, awesome face, but she also saw what appeared to be a male Pegasus with a dark blue coat and a striped yellow and light blue mane and tail. Besides his coat and mane color, he looked relatively similar to Soarin in body structure. But he was much smaller than most stallions, only about two inches taller than Rainbow Dash herself, very tiny for a stallion.
"Who the hay is this guy?" she muttered in confusion as her eyes scanned the pictures of her and this mysterious Pegasus flying together, relaxing in the park, making funny faces into the camera that included both of them doing the face Rainbow Dash made at the guards where she stuck her tongue out and shook her head to taunt them, and a picture of the two of them kissing in Twilight's library.
There was even a picture of both of them at a party, both looking irritated as Pinkie Pie jumped in front of the camera just as the photo was taken, blocking most of the stallion's face. She may not have known who the mysterious pony was, but it appeared that she was in a relationship with him.
As she kept looking at the picture, she heard footsteps approaching. She quickly turned around to see the same Pegasus that was in the picture standing behind her with a warm smile on his face, and a set of light blue eyes.
"Hey Dashie." He said in a familiar voice, a voice that Rainbow Dash recognized. the
Her jaw dropped in shock. "R-Ryan?"
"Who else would it be?" The blue Pegasus, Ryan, said with a small laugh before he walked over to her and planted a kiss on the forehead. He took a step back and smiled, his face blushing a bit. Rainbow Dash's eyes were wide in shock as she looked over Ryan's new form, the form of a Pegasus stallion.
"I was just talking to my parents with that magical device Twilight gave me to communicate with them. I'm just happy they're okay with me living dimensions away, we can still stay in touch." Ryan said with a small sigh of relief.
Rainbow Dash shook her head to snap herself out of the shock that she was in before she spoke up, "Why are you a Pegasus?"
Ryan seemed a bit taken aback by the statement before he laughed nervously, "W-what do you mean Dashie? I've been a Pegasus ever since Twilight accidently brought me here when she messed up a dimensional spell."
Rainbow Dash just kept staring before she managed to speak up again, "You…you're one wish was…was to be a Pegasus?"
"Well, not just that," Ryan said with a smile, "after all I did always have a crush on the most beautiful, fastest, sweetest mare in all of Equestria."
"This was your wish?" she whispered, "This is your fantasy? To be with me?"
Ryan nodded and Rainbow Dash felt her cheeks turn red in embarrassment. She never felt such a mixture of embarrassment and pride in her life. Now she knew Ryan loved her, but this was something beyond love.
Ryan looked worried; "Dashie is something wrong? You're acting weird."
"Well…I…Ryan we need to talk." Rainbow Dash suddenly felt herself blushing, "Ryan…none of this is real. I am but…but we aren't really in my house."
Ryan looked down at Rainbow Dash with confusion, "What are you talking about sweetie?"
Now Rainbow Dash felt her entire face turn a bright red. Nopony ever called her "sweetie" before. Even Ryan had only called her Dashie, but he now called her sweetie and. Even with the given circumstances and her being the "tough-girl" who normally would hate pet names outside of "Dashie", she couldn't help but smile a little bit. But then she remembered her mission and the smile fell almost as soon as it graced her face.
She let out a sigh and spoke, "Ryan we're still in Wilmont City Hall, and this is all a dream. Discord put you into your perfect world, where your one true wish would come true, so it would be hard for you to accept reality and wake up."
"No, Dashie I've been here for a year. See those pictures?" Ryan asked as he pointed to the wall that was completely covered in photographs, "now how could I remember each of those days if this was a dream."
"Do you remember those days?" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically. "Or do you just think that you do?"
"Yeah of course I remember them." Ryan nodded and trotted over to the pictures and pointed to the one where Rainbow Dash was in a spandex blue suits and goggles. Rainbow Dash recognized as Wonderbolt uniforms, "That's us after…um after one of your Wonderbolt shows." He said after thinking for a second, like he didn't remember the event and just said an answer that made sense. Rainbow Dash was initially excited at the idea of her being on the Wonderbolts, but then reminded herself that it was just Ryan's dream.
Ryan then pointed at the picture of them at the picnic, "And that…was some picnic I …guess." He muttered with uncertainty. He looked slightly nervous that he couldn't quite remember before he looked at another picture, which was the one where both of them were at a party and being photo-bombed by Pinkie. "Well…I…don't remember that one."
He stepped back in shock as he looked at all of the photos, and realizing that he couldn't remember the events and days that they were taken at, as if they never truly happened and he just thought they did. "I...I don't remember any of them. What the hay, what's going on?"
Rainbow Dash sighed, "Look, Ryan. I wish this were real too. You don't think I'd like to be her in my house with you, together in a relationship that nopony has ever even tried to have with me? Not to mention being a Wonderbolt, the dream I had since I was a filly? It would be great!"
Rainbow Dash finished talking with a dreamy smile on her face as she looked at the image of herself in the Wonderbolts uniform before she let out a deep sigh, "But I'm not really a Wonderbolt, and you aren't really a Pegasus, and we aren't in my house. THAT'S why you don't remember any of these events, because they never actually happened. They're just what you wished for, not what has actually happened."
Ryan's expression fell into a state of shock. His memory suddenly came back to him and, slowly but surely, the entire house faded away. Ryan looked around before he looked down at his hooves to see them glow and transform into his human hands. It only took a few moments for the animated Pegasus to be replaced by the regular, realistic teenage boy that Ryan truly was. He sat down, looking at his hands and letting out a deep sigh in disappointment. He remembered that he wasn't living with Rainbow Dash, that he wasn't a Pegasus, and that his parents were not merely separated by dimensions, they were dead.
The only thing that made this news relatively easier to take was that he really was with Rainbow Dash. That she was real and they really did love each other.
Rainbow Dash and Ryan were now alone in the completely white dream as Rainbow Dash slowly walked towards Ryan with an inquisitive look on her face.
"Ryan, you're one true wish was to be with me? Even before we met?" Rainbow Dash asked with clear confusion.
Ryan nodded and let out a small chuckle, "You act surprised. You know I had a crush on you before we personally knew each other, hell all six of us guys did."
"Not like this though," Rainbow Dash said, "I didn't think being my colt-friend would be your one true wish out of everything else in the world. Over money, fame…"
"Well it was." Ryan snapped with slight aggravation, which made Rainbow Dash flinch. Once he saw her reaction, his expression softened and he buried his face into his hands and let out another sigh. He then looked up at Rainbow Dash, his eyes covered in some mist as he tried to hold back his tears, "Dashie…I didn't just have a little crush on you before I met you, I loved you. Every day since I started watching the show I'd wish that you were real, and that I'd have a chance to be with you, even if it was just as a friend. Hell, just to meet you would have been good enough for me."
"Some days I actually felt depressed because when I thought about you, I thought that you weren't real. I actually felt like crying sometimes…and I did. I did have a great life; even with the bullying I had two great parents who made a good amount of money and provided me with the best of everything."
"I know I probably should have wished for something like no more bullying or Lawrence being my friend, like I did when I was younger. But as soon as I started watching the show, I realized that if I could be with you…even if it was just as a friend, that my life would be wholly perfect. Of course my wish also included me being able to stay in touch with my parents even when I lived with you, which isn't possible now because they're dead."
Ryan then wiped some tears away as he continued to look straight ahead, his knees held close to his chest as he silently cried.
Rainbow Dash walked over to his side. "Ryan this might be a dream, but you really do have me, and I do love you, more than anypony else." She said with a reassuring smile, "We just aren't in my house, we're in the city hall."
Ryan nodded, "I know."
Rainbow Dash thought of something else, "Why were you a Pegasus instead of a human?"
Ryan looked up at Rainbow Dash as tears began to roll down his cheeks, "Because I wanted to feel like we were equals. That…that we could be together…that we could fly together."
Rainbow Dash walked over to his side and sat down beside him, "You know, I'm surprised you didn't wish for me to be a human then, if you like this whole "equals" thing..."
Ryan shook his head, "Dashie, I fell for you as the amazingly awesome and beautiful Pegasus that you are. I never would want you to change for any reason or anyone, especially not for me. You're a beautiful mare, Dashie, and never let anyone or anypony tell you otherwise."
Rainbow Dash turned to Ryan and gave him a small smile, which he returned.
"I don't want you to change either, though." She answered back, "even though you do make a very handsome Pegasus, just like I thought you would."
They remained sitting and staring into each other's eyes before they kissed.
And in the Mayor's office, Rainbow Dash and Ryan's Elements of Loyalty began to glow.
All that was left were the Elements of Magic.
Carl
"Is my dad going to be fine?" The twelve-year old Carl asked as he stood over his father's body as he tiredly looked up at his son. A large, bloody piece of gauze was hidden under his hospital gown, covering the gunshot wound. But, surprisingly, he was going to be all right; at least that what the doctor said.
"Yes he will, he just needs to stay here for a few days so we can keep an eye on him." The doctor said happily as he walked out of the room to talk more with some of the doctors. Lauren went over to Carl's father's side and sat down in a chair that had been pulled beside it. Lisa walked over beside Carl, who was beaming at the entire scene. His father was going to be all right, and once he left the hospital, he would be living back with Lauren, Carl and Lisa.
Their family was back together after the separation. A separation that Carl thought was far too long to being with. He knew his father and mother loved each other, and now it was shown that even death couldn't stop their love for each other.
"How are you feeling Dad?" Carl whispered.
His dad gave him a reassuring smile, "Fine."
"Dad, are…are you going to be able to get out in time to see my last few soccer games?" Carl asked and his father nodded.
"Yeah, of course I will."
Carl grinned and hugged his father back. He could feel his eyes filling with tears as he hugged his father tightly. It felt like the hug could last forever, and he wished it would. After such a scary occurrence, where his father was almost killed, it was wonderful to feel him hug back.
Unfortunately, reality always makes its presence known. In this case, reality came in the form of a violet, animated pony.
"I knew this was going to be your wish."
Carl looked up and turned from his father to see Twilight lying on the foot of the bed like a dog would, with a sad smile on her face and her caring eyes looking right into Carl's own.
He just looked at her in confusion. He knew that he saw this pony somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. Just then he looked back at his father, and saw that he was frozen in place. "Dad?" he asked as he nudged his father. When he saw that he wasn't moving, he nudged him a few times, "Dad!"
When his father failed to stir, Carl backed away before looking up at his mother and Lisa, and noticing that they were frozen as well. He then looked directly at Twilight with fear in his eyes, "Who…who are you? What did you do to my dad…and my mother and Lisa!"
"I didn't do anything, your subconscious is starting to recognize me, even if you don't." Twilight answered.
"What are you talking about, I've never seen you before."
"I shouldn't be too surprised that you don't consciously remember me yet, after all the show wasn't around when you were twelve."
Carl began to feel like something was wrong with this entire scene, like it was only a projection of some kind. Suddenly, the entire room began to slowly fade. The young Carl stood up in shock as the image of his father became more and more transparent. In fact, everything was becoming more transparent except for Carl and the violet mare that hopped off of the disappearing bed and trotted to Carl's side as he just looked down into her eyes, his own showing the fear that he felt.
"Why is everything fading?" he muttered in a way that suggested he was afraid of the cartoon pony.
"Carl, none of this is real, you're in a dream."
"How…how do you know me?"
Twilight sighed, "Carl, my name is Twilight Sparkle…"
"Twilight Sparkle?" Carl raised an eyebrow and let out a nervous chuckle, "That's…that's such a girly name."
He may have just insulted Twilight to seem tough, but he was really scared as hell.
"Well in your world I come from a show associated with girls, even if my version…the one that actually exists in another dimension… isn't really gender-specific. In a few years there will be a show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a show that you will become a huge fan of."
Carl scoffed, "My Little Pony? Pfft…that's for girls'. Why would I watch that stupid frou-frou stuff? I don't even watch it when Lisa watches it."
"It's different than the My Little Pony from when you were twelve, and you…" Twilight closed her eyes and let out a sigh, "…needed an escape…especially after your father died."
Carl's face froze in shock and confusion about what Twilight had just said, "What do you mean? My…my dad isn't dead."
"Yes, Carl." Twilight answered sadly, "He is. He didn't survive the gunshot wound."
"Yes he did, he was alive just a few minutes ago! The doctor said he'd be all right!"
"Please accept the truth Carl, I know it's hard but you've got to understand that he's gone."
"No…no he was fine." Carl muttered as he pointed accusingly at Twilight, "he was until you made him go away! Until you took him from me!"
"Carl! Please stop living in the dream, stop with this denial." Twilight pleaded as she got onto her back-hooves and stood up so she was up to Carl's level. In fact, when she stood on her back-legs, she was a little taller than the younger Carl. "Carl look into my eyes and remember everything that you won't let yourself. Remember me, please."
Carl looked into Twilight eyes and began to lose his sense of denial, and began to realize that he was really asleep in City Hall, put under a spell from Discord. Slowly, Carl began to go from being the young boy he was earlier in his dream to his normal, teenage self.
He could feel his sadness growing within him, the sadness that he had held deep within his soul ever since his father died.
"Carl…" Twilight began, only to see Carl break down in tears. She hugged him and started to console him; doing everything she could to make him feel better, but it wasn't working. With Carl, he was more upset than the others were, and it was clear that it would take him longer to completely accept reality.
Wilmont City Hall
While Twilight tried to comfort Carl and bring him out of his dream, Obscure made his way up the stairs to the sixth floor, where Discord had gone to after trapping the six boys in their perfect dreams. As he walked, he was being persistently followed be a familiar colt.
"What are you doing?" Crescent asked as he followed his older self.
"Redeeming myself." Obscure answered bluntly as he approached a large, oak door that had formed on the sixth floor. It had not been there until that night, since Discord had made it his second, more luxurious room upon transforming back into his Draconequus form. Upon entering the room, he could see Discord, as usual, looking outside at the city. Obscure could feel his blood boil as he realized how much Discord was enjoying the destruction, and how much he enjoyed it himself. He shuddered a little bit as he turned to Crescent, who nodded to him; as if to give Obscure his blessings to continue into the room.
"Sir?" Obscure called out, making Discord turn around to look at him, sliding his the sunglasses that he wore down the bridge of his muzzle to get a better look at Obscure.
"What is it Obscure, can't you see I'm busy watching the show?"
""The show"? That's a fitting thing to call a war where people mutilate each other." Obscure growled.
This grabbed all of Discord's attention. He froze in shock at his assistant's sudden outburst.
"What was that?" he asked as he slowly turned around to face Obscure, who was staring him down.
"Is this really what you wanted?" Obscure hissed, "death and destruction that would cause anypony in Equestria to go mad in fear? Sir we've taken this too far."
"And what is too far to you Obscure?" Discord mocked, "after all you did kill others for me, what gives you the right to criticize what I do when you were the one who helped me do it? Must I need to bring up Mr. Hanson and Bright Illusion? You knew what you were getting yourself into when you joined me."
"You tricked me."
Discord growled and teleported himself right in front of Obscure so he was mere centimeters away from the unicorn's face.
"Only by bringing your true wishes to fruition!" he growled, "if you didn't truly envy them, I wouldn't have been able to control you in the first place."
Obscure tried to say something, but stopped himself. A sudden wave of guilt flooded over him as he realized that Discord was right, it was his envy that had made him turn against Princess Celestia, against Bright…hell it led him to kill Bright.
But then he felt rage; for while he believed that he deserved blame, he also knew Discord did as well. He felt his heart rate increase as he glared into the God of Chaos' yellow eyes, a seething hatred radiating from them, "You still made me do everything, and you deserve the blame as much as I do."
Discord growled, "What are you getting at Obscure?"
Obscure charged up his horn and smiled, "It's time for me to end this, once and for all."
He blasted a beam of magic at Discord, knocking him back into his desk, effectively crushing it beyond recognition. Discord quickly got up and laughed, "Little overconfidence I see?"
"Well I was the top student at Princess Celestia's academy, as you know." Obscure said brashly with a smug smile.
"Oh I do," Discord said as he brushed off some dust from his shoulders, "but last I checked, you might be a top student…but I'm a GOD."
And with that, he used his own magic to lift Obscure into the air and slam him into the wall. Obscure fell to the ground, only to be lifted up again and slammed into the ceiling. He was then released and collapsed onto the floor, letting out groans of pain.
Carl's Dream
Carl was still in tears while Twilight continued to comfort him. She felt bad for Carl, but at the same time knew that they had to wake up. He couldn't continue to sob like he was, he had to let the memory of his father go, even for just a brief moment, so that Discord could be defeated.
"Carl, please calm down, I know that you're upset, but we don't have time for tears. Not while Discord is still causing havoc." Twilight said in a tone that was mix of sympathy and seriousness. Her eyes didn't look sad or angry; they looked almost unemotional as she tried her best to show Carl how vital it be that they both wake up to defeat Discord.
He wiped some of his tears away and looked at Twilight, "It's…it's just so hard to see your father one minute, alive and well, and the next realize he was never alive and it was only a dream."
"I know it is Carl, and normally I'd be fine with you expressing your sadness instead of holding them back," Twilight said with a sigh, "but not now. Not while you're under Discord's spell. Not as he destroys your world."
Carl buried his face into his hands to brood over his predicament for a moment before he looked back up at Twilight and gave her small nod. "I know."
"Carl, when this is done, I want you to talk about this with me." Twilight said, "but we don't have time right now. I wish we did, but we don't."
"Twilight, don't worry about it." Carl said. "I…I know I need to put it behind me but, it's…it's just so hard. I've held onto my emotions for five years, and to suddenly stop expressing them now is hard."
They two of them continued to sit there for a few more moments before Carl spoke up, "Why does it seem like the better person you are, the worse luck you have?"
Twilight shrugged, "I don't know, usually the nicer ponies have better luck. After all look at Flim and Flam. They cheated and it wound up biting them in the…"
"I'm talking my world here Twi." Carl answered with a sniffle; "your world may have good karma for those who deserve it, and bad karma for those who need to be taught a lesson. But here it's almost the opposite. The more shifty and manipulative you are, the better life you have."
Twilight nodded, "That I can't explain, I'm just as baffled as you are."
Carl and Twilight looked at each other while Twilight continued to talk, "In my short time here, I've managed to see a world that is completely different from mine. I have seen horrors and misery here that would never happen anywhere in Equestria."
Carl looked down, knowing how horrible the entire experience must have been for her. The explosions, the death, everything people tried to escape in this reality by watching a show about fictional ponies that always managed to defeat evil or learn valuable lessons about life and friendship. Lessons that people in our world could often stand to listen to and use to better themselves.
"But I also saw good." Twilight answered, "Just because this world is prone to chaos, doesn't mean it all is. Through my experience with you and the others I've seen the bad side of humanity, but also the good. You are a good person Carl; your friends are good and your family is good. Just because you've lost someone close to you, doesn't mean you're alone. You still have them, and you still have me."
Carl nodded. "I know I do. And I hope that I always will."
Twilight smiled and blushed a little bit, which made Carl crack a smile.
He and Twilight looked at each other one last time before they slowly leant closer to each other and kissed.
And just like that, in the Mayor's office, the last two elements, the Elements of Magic, began to glow. Slowly, the room became engulfed in multicolored brightness from the elements, all of which were glowing from each kiss. Slowly, they became engulfed in a white light as a massive portal began to form to teleport them up to Discord's other office.
Upstairs, Obscure was being flung around like a rag-doll. Discord was almost enjoying his time with his one-time second in command, who was now was nothing more to him than a traitor that needed to be punished.
"What did I tell you Obscure, a God always wins."
Obscure slowly began to get up, his eyes angry and a growl emitting from his throat, "My name…is…CRESCENT!"
Obscure quickly turned around and lunged at Discord, not really a smart move for the supposedly brilliant unicorn student. Discord simply teleported out of the way so that Obscure went straight for the window that Discord had been looking out of before. He tried to stop himself, but it was no use as he skidded into the glass, shattering it and falling over the edge.
Fortunately, he managed to press his hooves into the floor as a means of keeping himself from falling to the city streets below as he scrambled, kicking the air below him in an attempt to hoist himself back up. As he struggled to get up, Discord walked over to him with a smug grin on his face. "Oh how the mighty have nearly fallen."
Once he was where Obscure was hanging, he bent over and grabbed him by the hoof and lifted him to eye-level, so that Obscure was still dangling above the city, but now could look directly into Discord's eyes.
Suddenly a bright light shone into the room as Discord looked up to see a news helicopter flying by. Discord laughed, "Look Obscure it's the news. I sure hope I look good for primetime." Discord combed where his hair would be with his free hand, which was his eagle's claw, and looked down at Obscure with a sadistic smile.
"I do sincerely appreciate all of your help, Obscure. But I do think we've taken this partnership as far as it can go."
Obscure sighed as he prepared for Discord to drop him when, suddenly; there was a bright flash from behind Discord, which made him drop Obscure in shock. Fortunately, Obscure managed to get a hold of the ledge again and kept himself from falling.
Discord turned around to see that all twelve elements were floating behind him, their eyes were all closed, except for Twilight and Carl's. Their eyes were open and glowing as they hovered in front of the others. Each and every necklace and crown was also glowing, as they floated in front of Discord. Obscure's jaw dropped at the sight of them.
Discord just stared in shock and shook his head before he uttered one last phrase that seemed to show acceptance from the Draconequus, "Well played elements, I am impressed."
Just then, the elements sent a multi-colored blast at Discord, causing him to scream as his body began to encase itself in stone. Obscure couldn't help but smile as the light enveloped the entire room, including him. He didn't know why, but he could feel all of the corruption he had within him slowly start to dissipate as he became engulfed in the white light.
A few moments later, Discord was completely stuck in the same stone prison his other half was stuck in. But just because Discord was defeated didn't mean the light coming from the elements dimmed. In fact, the elements continued to grow brighter and brighter until there was a great flash and everyone and everypony was gone, including Obscure.
All that was left was a office in shambles, and Discord, now confined to his stone prison yet again.
The news team in the helicopter could only stare in shock as the six cartoon ponies, one cartoon unicorn, and six teenage boys disappeared in a flash of light that nearly blinded the pilot.
The news reporter who had taped the whole thing summed up the public's reaction perfectly as they watched the event live from their homes.
"What was all of that?"
"It looked like...ponies. Cartoon ponies." answered the cameraman in shock as the camera continued to film the destroyed second office of Mayor Christopher Drocsid, who was now nothing more than a statue.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I actually think that this was my longest one so far. I also hope my grammar is getting better and if not, don't be afraid to let me know.
Also I am not done writing about Wilmont and the aftermath of the war. That will be covered soon.
So thanks for reading and, as always...
Go Giants! Go Rainbow Dash!
Now, if you excuse me, I need to beat myself to forget that I said the Cowboys were in the NFC Championship. Even if it was Alex's dream, I still feel dirty for saying such a thing.