The Best Lesson of All

Dream Runner took one final look at his home before he had to turn to leave it forever. Ponyville stood quiet at the bottom of the large valley. The morning had only barely come with the sun's light reflecting off the snowcapped mountains. A tear fell to the frozen ground as he gazed upon the library. For the longest time Dream watched the branches shake off snow in the breeze. The light from the mountains eventually settled over on it, setting it ablaze in the middle of the town.

"Goodbye, Ponyville", he sniffed. "And goodbye Twilight. I love you…I just wish I could have told you that."

His hoof twitched. Yeah, yeah, I'm going…

Dream turned and slowly dragged himself away from his final glance of his old home. The falling snow would soon cover his tracks, making him untraceable as he walked through the small forest south of Ponyville. He scooped up the small vest holding the few supplies he decided to take with him. Pulling his cloak's hood far over his eyes, Dream disappeared into the wilderness. He was afraid to even think, for all thoughts always drifted back to Twilight and his friends.

As he walked along, he couldn't help but feel like he betrayed everypony he came to know in Ponyville. He had just arrived in their lives, and in much the same way, left them just as quickly. They'd hate him soon after noticing his absence. Just like the rest of the world…

He would have just flown away, but the dream he had last night wouldn't allow it. He assumed it was going to torture him with the false hope that maybe if Twilight wanted to go after him, she'd have a better chance of getting to him if he stayed on the ground. Even if the dream permitted him to fly, he wouldn't have been able to. His depression hampered his ability to open them.

"What did I do to deserve this?" he asked his hooves. "I've done nothing to have this fate come upon me."

He checked his Cutie Mark. The cloud encasing the map on his flank glowed in the darkness of the morning, proving that he was still indeed a Dream Chaser. Dream turned his head back to the road ahead. It was as foreboding as it was in his dream. Lonely and cold. He walked on regardless. It may not have been a recent condition for him, but it definitely wasn't a new one. He had walked the lands as an outcast before, and could do it again, no matter what lay in store for him.

His few potions clinked together now and then in their holsters. If Pinkie Pie was with him, the two would have made some sort of song out of it. He smiled in remembrance and occasionally tapped his bracers together in time with the vials. It was strange to smile on the road. Just because your whole world just fell to pieces doesn't mean there's not room to smile, he heard the pink mare's voice echo in his head.

He stopped in his tracks. "What?" Dream waited in silence for the voice to come back, receiving no positive results. "I must be going crazy."

Not necessarily, Rarity's voice argued, you are merely traveling with us in your heart now.

"So, that means…"

Yeah, dude, we're always by your side and stuff! Rainbow laughed.

You didn' think you'd jus' forget about us did ya?

"I wonder…" Dream brought out his remaining Emotion Orbs. Their light pulsed unlike anything he had ever observed from them. "What a reaction! The others must have some sort of…spiritual connection to mine! I am still with the girls, connected through the Orbs!"

His body jerked forward on its own. He quickly grabbed up his treasures. "I'll have to study the effect later. I might still get to be with Ponyville, at least through long distance."

With the newfound confidence firmly holding onto his subconscious, Dream proudly trotted along the path. He waited for the voices of his friends to come back enthusiastically. He didn't have a plan ready in case they weren't going to talk to him again, but that gave him a thought.

"If I don't hear them again, then I'll just go back to Ponyville", he said with a grin. "The second I follow today through, I'll just find somepony to Dream Scope and come back tomorrow! Heh, not even my curse can keep me from them!"

The urge to gallop ate at him, but he knew it wouldn't speed up the time he would get to have control of his life again. He kept his pace as slow as he could; the later he arrived at his destination, the sooner he would get to sleep again.

D

While Dream Runner happily marched along, he forgot about the note he left on his bed back in the library. Twilight reread the note again for the seventh time, hoping that she was reading it wrong.

Twilight,

If you're reading this, then you didn't wake up early enough to see me leave. I had a Forecast Dream last night that showed me leaving Ponyville. I probably won't be coming back. I left almost everything I own for you to remember me by. I don't know where I'll end up, but I'll be thinking of you wherever it is. Thanks for everything. You're a wonderful pony.

Thank you for the happiness. Goodbye,

Dream Runner

The tear-stained parchment trembled in her levitation spell. She couldn't believe he left. After coming so far into her life, he was gone. She dropped the note and collapsed onto Dream's bed. Her tears soaked into the blanket before they even fully came out of her eyes. Her muffled sobs woke Spike from across the room.

The sound of his favorite unicorn in grief was more than enough to call him to the duty of her number one assistant. The second he was in range, he was stroking her back. The only thing that clued Twilight in that it wasn't Dream attempting to comfort her was Spike's claws lightly digging into her fur.

He was just about to ask when she answered, "He's gone, Spike! D-Dream's gone!"

"What are you talking about, Twilight?" he asked, hiding as much of his yawn as he could, "He was here last night."

She held the note up for him to read. A quick scanned made everything clear. "Oh…I get it now…uh, he didn't leave because he wanted to, Twilight."

"I know, but I don't even know where he's going! If he just told me I could have gotten Princess Celestia to do something!"

Spike gritted his teeth in futility. "Maybe we can get somepony to track him down?" he tried.

"Applejack's in Manehattan and Thorny's in Trotledge. Besides, nopony could track him in this snow!"

Spike thought to himself. It looked like he was out of options unless he was going out in the cold to look himself. When Twilight's outbursts caused her to teleport to her bed he got an idea. He quickly shot down the stairs. Twilight didn't notice or care that he left. Her mind was too occupied with what to do now that Dream was no longer with her.

"Semita carmine dabam", she heard Spike say from the stairs.

She was mostly unfamiliar with the language, but she did know one of the words. "What kind of spell?" she sniffed.

"Arctic tracking spell", Spike repeated in translation. "You just need something to track him with. Guess it works like a—"

"Bloodhound's sense of smell!" Twilight exclaimed. She jerked the baby dragon to her and nearly crushed his spine with a hug. "Thank you, Spike! Thank you, thank you!"

He grinned. "Hey, you aren't the only one who liked Dream."

"Come on, Spike. I need you to get my snow gear!" she galloped down the stairs with Dream's satchel and the spell book in tow. "I'll get to work on setting up the spell!"

It took several minutes, and one avalanche of Twilight's closet-full of possessions before the Element of Magic was ready to brave the element of nature. "He didn't leave his scarf. I'm glad he didn't, but it would definitely have helped me."

"Your jacket won't be enough?" Spike asked, holding the very thick coat up for her to squeeze into.

"Nothing can keep you warm in a blizzard like this", Twilight explained. She briefly opened the door to show the dragon what she was talking about.

He shivered. "Can I please go out with you?"

"No", she said for the fifth time, "You're cold blooded and NOT an ice dragon. I'm not letting you freeze to death."

"And what about you?" he retorted, "You're not exactly a crystal pony. You'll freeze too!"

"My jacket should keep me warm long enough to find Dream. If not, I do know a heat spell or two."

Her explanation didn't reassure the purple dragon. He could do little to stop her anyway; Twilight was just too dead set on going out alone. "I guess I'll be waiting here", he sighed. Twilight managed to get a hoof around him before he walked away.

"I promise I'll be careful."

He showed her a fang in his half-smile before going back upstairs. With Dream's satchel secured at her side with a clip, Twilight powered up her spell and headed out into the blizzard. The wind nearly ripped her from the ground the second the door closed behind her. She took hold of the handle and anchored down until the gale passed. The spotlight cone of red energy that shone from her horn highlighted a set of hoofprints on top of the white snow.

She set off in the direction they led, pulling her scarves up to her face for more protection from the torrent of cold. The rushing snow only made it possible to see the ground, which was the only thing she needed to track the yellow hoofprints. Thank Celestia he didn't fly…

She struggled to keep sure hoofing on the ground. The snow was so deep it nearly buried her alive as she walked through it. The nasty weather gave her a glimmer of hope. If Dream left out in this, then he couldn't possibly be making as much progress as her. The trail led her to Rickety Woods south of Ponyville. At the top of the hill Dream's trail stopped briefly. There was a large collection of yellow spots that suggested he paced around. She didn't have time to think about it before she saw the trail lead on.

The trees of the forest helped shield her from the walls of snow pounding against her. Visibility improved slowly the deeper she traveled. When the trees started to get bigger, Twilight removed the scarf from her face to hopefully get more oxygen to her lungs. "I should have brought goggles", she said to herself, "I can't see a thing in this blizzard."

Click!

"Huh?"

D

Dream Runner once again found himself in deep depression. The confidence that boosted him along the forest melted away as soon as the blizzard took over the forest. It may have started to let up, but that didn't bring back the courage he had before. I don't know where I'm going, and I forgot how weak I am. I'll just get beat up when I get there. And who could I Scope? I may not even be going to a town…

Forgetting just how bad being a Dream Chaser was hit him directly in the stomach with nausea. Twice he lost the junk food Pinkie Pie force fed him the night before. He wished his tactical vest could carry more potions, for he would surely have brought one that would have clogged his stomach. Instead he had to settle with two healing potions and four combat potions he brewed just before leaving. Applejack once said that appearing intimidating often kept ponies from messing with you, so he took heed to the advice by bringing along some of him exploring equipment. It was bulky, and he was hoping that it made him look muscular and bigger than he actually was.

"Ugh…time to get moving again…" He climbed out of the small hole in the snow he was using to rest just in time to hear an explosion echo from far behind him. "What in the world?"

A second explosion shook snow from the trees. Figuring he had enough time to investigate before having to move on, he backtracked his path. Explosion after explosion boomed through the trees. "Stay back!"

Dream's heart stopped. "Twilight?"

"I said stay back!" she yelled followed by another explosion.

"Twilight's in trouble", he gasped. He started to rush forward, but stopped cold after hearing maniacal laughter. It sounded way too familiar. I know that laugh. I have to save Twilight, but I'm no match for them. They'll eat me alive! But if I don't go, Twilight will…

Dream dropped to the snow. The two sides of his mind fought over control for his body.

Run, said one.

Save her! screamed the other.

It all swirled around in his head, consuming him with stress. The tug-of-war melted down his brain and molded it into shapes that not even Dietmare Damare could distinguish. He gritted his teeth as the pressure branched through his veins and pounded in his head. It went deeper and deeper into his body until it got too great for him to contain. At once, the nerve that had once snapped before, completely shattered.

D

Twilight fired off her final warning shot. "That's it! One more step and I'm aiming for your face!" Her Rainbow Dash façade didn't deter the bandits surrounding her. Running wouldn't get her anywhere. There were too many of them and her movement was extremely limited from her jacket.

"Ooh, this one's got more fight in her than I thought", the leader chuckled. "Just hoof over the satchel and we won't hurt you."

"Over my dead body!"

The pale orange pony sighed. "I was hoping it didn't come to that, but since you insist…"

His approach was the first to earn an exploding spell to the forehead. He flew back but caught himself from face planting. He glared at her from his scorched face. "Get her", he barked.

The eight other ponies all rushed her at once. Twilight managed to get two with a lightning spell, but the other six were too fast. They grabbed for her but never made contact. Three well-aimed explosions knocked them all off course. A burst of purple smoke concealed the unicorn from a counterattack. A cloaked pony grabbed her up and flew her off to a safe distance.

He flipped down his hood. "Are you okay?"

"Dream?" Twilight couldn't believe what she saw. Dream's eyes were gold! "Wh—"

"Hey, hero!" the bandit leader spat, "Don't start what you're not gonna finish!"

"I'll be right back." Dream left her to go deal with their problem.

"Hey, I remember you!" the leader laughed. "You're that little weasel we caught outside the Everfree Forest. I thought that satchel your girlfriend was wearing looked familiar. What are you going to do? Cry again?"

Twilight's face turned red with fury. She tried charging another attack, but her magic energy was too drained to get a good one going. She could only watch helplessly as the two stallions sized each other up. The other bandits were too injured to stand back up. At least it would be a fair fight. Fair? Who am I kidding, Dream's never been in a fight before!

As if he could read her mind, Dream threw his cloak aside, revealing his tactical vest underneath. She saw the exploration equipment he got for his birthday, but what really caught her attention was what he drew from the sleeve in the back. "He's going to use the Dusk Sword?"

Dream drove it into the snow in front of him. Placing his hoof on top of it, he calmly stated, "This is your only warning. Leave now and leave in less pain than if I have to make you leave."

"Ha! A little rat like you, hurt me?"

"I will not tell you again", Dream said darkly.

"No you won't because you'll be out like a light!"

Dream readied his sword, angling it broadside out toward his opponent in his mouth. The bandit grabbed a mace from one of his downed associates along the way to Dream. The Pegasus stood his ground. When the mace came down upon him, he turned his sword and deflected the attack to the ground. He followed up with a counterpunch, aiming for the orange nose of the bandit. It landed with enough force to knock his attacker off-balance. Dream wasted no time in chaining a series of broad-sided strikes with his sword together on the leader's body.

Twilight watched Dream deliver blow after blow, wondering if the Earth Pony's skull was too thick to get any damage through. His hoof came up and caught the attacking sword, which slightly threw Dream off. However, now his weight on just one front hoof, so Dream rotated the hilt around and snatched the sword away to let the bandit hit the ground.

The bandit leader looked up to see the glowing tip of the Pegasus's blade right between his eyes. "I hope you're not expecting me to surrender."

Dream smiled. "I'm glad you're not."

Twilight's heart almost exploded when she saw Dream raise his sword execution-style. The incapacitated pony cowered, but was surprised to be met with a final punch instead of cold steel. With all threats thoroughly put out of commission, Dream sheathed the Dusk Sword. He returned to Twilight just in time to show her his eyes fade from gold back into the warm eyes she loved to stare at.

"How are you?"

The unicorn blinked. "F-fine…Where did all of that come from?"

He shrugged. "It's never happened before, but I know that I wasn't going to let you get hurt on my watch."

That was all it took. That one sentence sent Twilight's emotions right over the cliff. She launched herself at him, and before either of them knew it, she was kissing him. Dream recoiled slightly in shock, but closed his eyes and accepted what, until now, he could only wish for. Their lips stayed together until Dream broke the kiss.

His head whipped around to investigate the warm sensation on his flank. The cloud that surrounded his Cutie Mark slowly faded from around the treasure map. They gazed on in bewilderment until the cloud was no more. Dream moved his stare from his Cutie Mark to Twilight. "I-I'm cured. I'm not a Dream Chaser anymore."

"It sure looks that way", Twilight agreed. "I guess that means you'll stay in Ponyville, right?"

"No."

"What?"

Despite the terrified look on her face, Dream grinned. "I'm staying with you."

A giggle escaped her mouth as she kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly. "I love you, Dream Runner!"

"I love you too, Twilight", he replied more calmly, "I love you so much."

I love a happy ending, don't you? Fortunately there's more to come in the next chapter or two.

Ugh, sorry again for the delayed update. I don't really know what happened this time. However, I will be releasing (hopefully) an update tomorrow to make up for it.

Chapter Trivia:

This whole chapter had been planned since the first. That's how far I plan ahead.

And speaking of heads, I didn't have to write any of this down; I simply wrote it from memory.

Dream shares my quick changing emotions, except that mine are far more subject to change. I use this to my advantage when I right by exposing myself to different stimuli to help create the right mood for myself when I right particular scenes.

Dietmare Damare is the pony counterpart of Dietmar Damerau, an abstract sculptor from Germany.