Catching Dreams 02: Charms of Ivory

    The months came and went in the household of the three ponies, left to the uncaring truth of the world that accidents happened, friends and family passed on, and times were not always easy. Dream Catcher had not returned to school while Mirage himself dove into his studies to keep his mind occupied. Their father however, while keeping his job working for the local clinic in psychological studies thrust himself headfirst into the mind numbing pleasures of the drink.

    The nights wore long as the two awaited his return home, Mirage often making dinner for everyone while Dream kept himself busy with other things. He'd taken up drawing in his absence at school, their father deciding it best to keep him out of the education system for just one more summer before sending him back. Bright pictures of ponies playing and frolicking in the grasslands adorned the wall above his bed, while other more somber images of the family that had once been lay tucked away inside his pillowcase so when he laid his head on them, he dreamt of nothing but what had been. Happy memories of happier times.

    At present though, the young colt found himself walking amidst other young foals much like himself, wandering the halls of what appeared to be a recently constructed building. It wasn't surprising, given that Ponyville had only recently been founded as an actual town...and to say recent meant within the last twelve to thirteen years making the town not much older than he was. Unlike Cloudsdale or Trottingham which had undergone their own transformations over the years, Ponyville was still a young town, thriving thanks to the bustling business of the Apple Family Farm south of the town.

    Light shone down upon a hall full of beds and bedside stands, blankets of every shape, size and color of the rainbow adorning all but a few of them. In the streams of the soft setting sun that glimmered down through the large windows along one wall, Dream found himself staring at one bed in particular. Atop that bed sat a rather uninteresting young pegasus colt, aside from the fact that his wings were bandaged up and he seemed to have only just recovered from some sort of accident. As most ponies were in his dreams, this pegasus was a colorless form, no hues detectable in his coat or mane at all.

"Hello?" Dream asked out gently to the foal, knowing full well that it was a dream. He honestly didn't expect any reaction from the other pony, but to his surprise, the foal turned his head. Dream stumbled back slightly when he noticed something horribly wrong with the pegasi's eyes. Where there should have been two little round black pupils staring back at him, there was nothing. Nothing but the rest of the eyes shone in a solid grey circle.

    To top it off, it seemed as though instead of looking at him, the pegasus looked through him, as though he wasn't there. That was odd in itself. The other ponies sometimes knew he was there, especially if it was just him and another. But this young colt just tilted his head and smiled sadly, almost as if he knew something that Dream couldn't wrap his head around.

"Hello there friend." The pegasus spoke up. "What brings you here?"

"Oh!" Dream startled, half caught in a daze because of that blank stare. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just thought you looked a little lonely. I've never been here before, so maybe you could show me around?"

    The other pegasus colt simply chuckled at that.

"Don't you worry. There'll be plenty of time for you to see this place soon. But hey, that's not important right now."

"What is, if I could ask?"

    The grey pegasus ruffled his bandaged wings with a bit of a wince before standing up off the bed. He shuffled his hooves around, almost as if feeling his way to Dream before he put a hoof to his shoulder to pat him lightly.

"The future, my friend. This. Everything around you. That is what's important. Not the destination, but the journey."

    Dream Catcher stood there, stunned for a moment.

"I'm not quite sure I understand." He replied. The other shook his head with another sad smile.

"You will, all too soon I'm afraid to say."


**********

    The door slammed downstairs, throwing the startled colt out of bed. He hit the floor rather hard and rolled across it to the center of the room, gathering his wits. That slam could only mean one thing: Father was home. That in itself brought all new worries, problems in the dreamscape aside. Who that mysterious pegasus was would have to wait though, as the sound of drunken muttering reached his ears.

    Father was going to bed.

    There was a blessing if he'd ever known one. Mirage entered the room shortly after their father had closed his door, bringing two sandwiches with him. He set one down in front of Dream before returning to his desk to eat his and continue his studies in silence. His older brother had become rather distant after their father had taken up drinking at the local pub after work. It was almost as if both had become entirely different ponies since their mother had died in the freak lightning cloud escape at the factory. That had been a few months ago already.

"Is he angry again?" Dream ventured before biting into his sandwich.

"Just as miserable as always. Sometimes I wish the mares he brings home would actually do something for once. It's like they're not even trying to make him happy." Mirage scoffed as he flipped a page in his book without really looking at it, more focused on the notes in front of him.

    Dream sighed, taking another bite of his sandwich. It never used to be like this; it seemed only a few short days ago they were all awaiting their mother's arrival home before the family festivities would begin. Stories told around the fireplace, warm and happy dinner conversation. Getting tucked into bed by both parents before drifting off to his own little private world. Fond memories that would never be again if things kept up the way they were going.

"Do you think dad will ever be happy again?"

    Mirage shrugged, lightly tossing a book into his bag.

"Who knows? I really don't care at this point."

    With that, Mirage slammed closed the book he was taking notes from before blowing out the candle and crawling into bed by the light of his horn. Dream watched as he shifted around, grumbling to himself in irritation until at last, Mirage fell asleep. It was still early, but dark enough out that without the light of the candle or Mirage's horn that it was tough to make out the shapes and contours in the room. The pegasus waited until his eyes adjusted to the low light a little. Once he could see relatively well enough again, Dream stood up from where he'd been sitting when Mirage blew out the candle and crawled into his own bed. With his eyes on Mirage, Dream slowly drifted off to sleep to the sounds of heavy drunken snoring coming from the next room over.

**********

"And that is why it is dangerous to attempt teleportation into an unknown territory."

    Dream found himself standing amidst a classroom full of unicorns, headed by a tall stallion of the same accord. Taking a look around, they all seemed to be deep in thought on the discussion at hoof, each one dutifully and meticulously scanning over the books before them. Some flipped pages and took notes, others took the brief moment to practice teleportation of the small objects before them.

    Out of the corner of his eye, Dream Catcher found Mirage sitting at one of the desks near the far side of the room. His brow was furrowed as though in deep concentration, but all around him, the scenery started to shift and change. The book on his desk flew up into the air and began to flap like its pages were wings, hovering angrily around his brother's head. Immediately, every pony in class turned and began to laugh at him, his brother cowering in his desk as though terrified of the fluttering pages that taunted and snapped at him.

"Mirage, control your magic! What do you think this is, Magic Kindergarten? Honestly!" The teacher huffed angrily.

"I'm sorry sir...please. It won't happen again, I promise." Mirage sunk further into his desk if it was even possible.

    Dream Catcher wandered over to his brother, looking up to the unicorn with a curious gaze. This was not the big brother he knew. Mirage wasn't afraid of anything! Well, except maybe father. But he'd never let some silly schoolbook get the better of him. There was no way.

"Big brother? What's wrong?" Dream asked out, placing a comforting hoof on his brother's shoulder.

    Mirage looked down to him, and all at once...the world faded away. The two stood there locked together in that gaze for what seemed like forever until a small smile crept across Mirage's face and the older pony left out a sigh.

"Thanks squirt. I needed that."

**********

    Dream shot awake, his brow brimming with sweat. He felt the pillow beneath him; that too was also soaked. But across the room, there came a contented sigh from Mirage, and somehow, Dream knew that he'd helped. He didn't know what he did, but there was something nagging at him that said Mirage would sleep good tonight.

    The young pegasus thought on the idea for a while before his eyelids began to droop again. There was no way he'd actually visited his brother's dream. That was just crazy talk. If he told anyone that...they'd think he was nuts! As he lay his head back upon his pillow, Dream tried to envision the pictures tucked away beneath his pillow on the other side of the pillowcase...

    THE PICTURES!

    With a start, he rummaged around inside his pillowcase to fish out the scribbled drawings he'd done. Fortunately, it seemed that the dampness had barely reached the other side of the cushion and the pictures remained relatively undamaged as far as he could tell by touch. He'd have to investigate further when the sun rose again, but for now...it was enough. Thinking to keep them safer this time, Dream placed them between the head of the mattress and the bedframe and slowly drifted off into the realm that existed only for him, just on the other side of his eyelids.

**********

    There wasn't much to be heard as the door closed behind him. All that Dream could make out were indiscernible voices yelling back and forth at one another until at last, there was a loud thump, followed by a tremor that shook the whole house. The mare screamed as another tremor erupted and the sound of shattering dishware echoed all around.

    Dream couldn't take anymore. He stood his tiny self up out of bed and slowly opened the door.

    It was dark downstairs, only a slight flickering could be seen...and to top it off, it was quiet.

    Dream made his way down the steps carefully, not knowing the extent of the fight that had gone on. He didn't want to make his dad angry though, and so as not to be seen, he pressed his muzzle to the bars that held the banister up, peering down into the darkened dining room. There was a strange white mare there, leaning over a smaller white body. Mirage's mane was draped across his face and his horn was slightly cracked...but at least he was breathing.

    Their father was no where in sight.

"Big brother?" Dream called down.

    The mare looked up to him, trying to put the best smile on that she could, and Dream saw that she too was a unicorn. A soft white glow enveloped her horn as she returned her attention to Mirage's prone form, though the smile never left her face. It only seemed to sadden.

"It's okay. He's all right, just a bit scuffed up. You should be proud of your brother, little one. He's quite a tough little man."

    All at once, the world around him shifted shape. Dream felt the disorientation setting in before he could find the ground with his hindquarters. Stumbling just to keep his balance, he ended up finding it with his face. As he sat up and the feeling wore off, he found himself back in the long hallway of beds standing next to the bed where he'd seen the gray pegasus before. Still as death itself, a form hovered next to the rack on four tall, grey spindly legs. The pony propped atop them was old to be sure, wrinkles just visible under her pale coat. Her long blue mane was tied back into a braid, as was her tail, but even there, it had been done in an attempt to corral the unruly strands of silver that clumped together, giving away more of her age.

    The most interesting part though, were the two pendants hanging on a thin chain from her neck. Both seemed to be elegantly carved, and made of an ivory material. They depicted two ponies rearing towards each other, but at the center...their muzzles met in a gesture of love.

"Well, what are you doing out of bed, my little Dream Catcher?"

"Who are you, and how do you know my name, ma'am?" Dream stood up and stepped back unsteadily, his footing still not all that great after the nosedive he'd taken.

    The elderly mare looked on in shock past the glasses on the brim of her nose. She pulled a multicolored blanket off the bed and moved to wrap it around him gently, tucking it in around his neck as she left it waft to the ground.

"Come now Dream, surely you know me? I know you can't see me, but you know this old voice by now, don't you?"

    Dream shook his head.

"But...I CAN see you. I just don't know who you are...or where I am..."

"Shhh shhh shh...it's all right. Here, let's get you tucked back into bed. Poor thing, you must still be shaken up from the accident." The elderly mare gently nudged Dream into motion, persuading him to crawl into the bed where he'd seen the gray pegasus. "There, all nice and cozy. Don't you worry deary, your brother should be along shortly. He's just out running an errand for me."

"Mirage is here too? What happened, Ma'am?" Dream's head was spinning with all that was going on.

"It's fine, don't you worry. Now, get some more rest, okay? Those injuries won't heal properly if you don't let them."

    The second the words left her mouth, Dream felt his body catch fire in pain. It rolled over him, forcing his eyes shut and his body to stiffen horribly. It was like every muscle was screaming out at him to just lay down and die. A pulsating feeling beyond any he'd ever known rocked his wings and one of his rear hooves; he couldn't tell which by that point as everything hurt beyond all recognition of the senses.

**********

"Dream! Dream! Wake up little brother! Father, Quickly!"

    Dream's head was pounding again as the world around him came into focus. He felt the mattress beneath him, though now it was just as soaked as his pillow had been. The blankets were gone, an icy cold draft brushing across his body in their absence.

    And the world hurt.

    Everything hurt.

    It was painful just to keep his eyes open in the dim light cast by Mirage's horn. Something made them burn, casting his vision into a haze of red. But through that, his older brother had a look of deep concern on his face that was plain as day to see, even in the low light of the room. That didn't frighten Dream any less. He could barely breathe; the pain was that intense. Every time he drew a breath, the stabbing pain in his chest threatened to force it back out of him before he could blink.

"Dad? Brother? What's going on?" He whimpered weakly. Even the sound of his voice was riddled with torment.

"It's all right squirt. Dad's coming. We're gonna get you checked out...DAD! Where Are You?!" Mirage's head whipped around as he stormed out of the room, practically knocking their father's bedroom door down by the sound of things. The older stallion was roused to his great dismay, but he grudgingly followed Mirage back into the room. The look that crossed his face served only to frighten the young pegasus even further.

"Dear Celestia boy...what's going on?"

"I don't know...I woke up and heard him crying, so I came to check on him...and this is what I saw! What's going on, Dad?" Mirage was panicked. Oneiric didn't seem to be in any better shape.

"Who can say...let's get him to the clinic, now. Hurry!"

    Dream felt himself lifted out of bed in the powerful grip of his father's magic, and before he knew what was going on, all three ponies were out the front door and down the road. Ponyville's clinic, while small and staffed by only Oneiric and a few others was the closest medical facility outside of Cloudsdale's sprawling hospital. It wasn't too far, but even floating down the streets, Dream couldn't imagine a worse pain.

    On top of that, he was cold. So cold that even on a warm summer night, he was shivering violently. He could feel something wet streaming from his eyes and could only assume he was crying...but everything else was a blur of red by that point. He was sick. He had a fever. That explained the cold beyond cold feeling. So why was everything tinted red? And why did his eyes sting so badly? Nothing made sense. He just wanted the pain to stop.