He knew he wouldn't live to see the sun rise on the morning of tomorrow, but he still had a job to do.
His blood pooled beneath him as he dragged his body closer and closer to the well, a bundle of cloth clutched close to his chest, his magic creating a noise-cancelling sphere around the crying bundle.
He knew that his was the end for him, that even if he abandoned his duty and tried to escape, he wouldn't make it out of this forest alive. He didn't care.
He had a job, a duty, an order directly from Prince Cocytus Platinum.
He could feel the cold air behind him, blowing ice and snow around the yard as the Prince's fight with the Pony of Shadows raged on.
With a weak groan, he pulled himself onto the edge of the well, placing the silently screaming bundle of cloth on the well's edge, his own blood beginning to drip into the clear water below.
"The Prince's wish..." He mumbled into the well, his voice little more than a pained whisper, "It is time..." He breathed heavily, struggling to say his sentence, "Grant it..." Sparks of magic began to fly out of the well's water, the misty blood in the water clearing away to reveal a small whirlpool of magical light, pink and yellow sparks flying out like fireworks as the water began to turn a bright sky blue, shining with powerful magic, "Save the pride of House Platinum..."
And with a flash of bright magic, the bundle of cloth that the dying Unicorn carried disappeared, leaving behind no sign of its presence.
The unicorn let out a tired breath of relief, his muscles relaxing as he leaned into the well, watching his reflection in the newly cleared water once more begin to stain with the misty red of his blood.
His green eyes stared at his reflection in the water, watching the blood pool below, dripping from the newly opened scar over his nose.
"I did it... My Prince..." Shadow Lock, Majordomo of Platinum Manor and assistant to Prince Cocytus Platinum spoke, a tired smile spreading over his face as he stared into his bloody reflection's eyes, "You did it..." A soft chuckle escaped his lips.
"Prince Blueblood Cocytus Platinum... Son of Prince Xanthos Scamander Platinum... Grandson of Prince Cocytus Acheron Platinum..." He cough escaped his lips, muddying the well's water so his reflection could no longer be seen, as his eyes struggled to stay open, "Pride of House Platinum... Your Grandson..."
Shadow Lock closed his eyes as he let his body slump against the well.
"He will survive..."
And as the Butler of the manor died, not knowing the cruel fate that the Pony of Shadow's would give him, a pair of eyes stared at the scene intently, the unseen observer taking in as much information as he could glean from the sight in front of him.
For Prince Bramble Everfree could do nothing more than to observe.
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In the wee hours of the morning, the city of Thicket was as still as the trees it was built within, as the deer slept and dreamed under the protective embrace of the Everfree Forest.
That silent spring night was interrupted by the shrill cries of a yellow bird, flapping its wings as fast as it could as it flied in the direction of the castle.
"Wake up!" The bird chirped, "The Prince needs help!" He cried, "The King is missing!" He screamed.
And soon after, the Royal Guards of the Deer marched out of the city and into the woods, making their way towards the ruins of Platinum Manor.
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Sitting in the back of an old Cadillac, Tantabus was staring out of the car windows, watching the scenery pass her by.
She could recognize that the things she was looking at weren't actually real, what she was seeing was nothing more than a dream. If she looked closely, she could see the blurred edges of the objects in her vision, but she could still enjoy the colors.
"You know, I've been thinking," Blueblood spoke up from his spot as the driver of the car, "If you're my Dream Guardian Angel or whatever, and you can magic all the traffic away, why can't you just whisk us over to this magical exit from this dream and save us both this long ride?"
"It's complicated..." Tantabus mumbled, her head leaning against the window, feeling the vibrations of the car massage her face.
"Well, uncomplicate it then," Blueblood told her.
"It's a long story..." Tantabus tried to dodge needing to explain.
"I'm fine with long stories. We're still hours away from our destination, we've got time." Tantabus groaned at Blueblood's answer.
"Okay..." Tantabus took a deep breath before she began, "You know how I said this was a dream?"
"Yep," Blueblood said, eyes on the road.
"That was kind of a simpli- okay, it wasn't kind of, it just was me simplifying things." Tantabus rolled her tongue in her mouth for a moment. "This is a magical spell."
"Yeah, you said that already. This is a magical dream created by an evil wizard, that's why we're currently driving to Key West." Blueblood responded.
"No- what I mean is... Well, yes, this is technically a dream, but it's a magical spell first and foremost. That limits what I can and cannot do in here." Tantabus searched for the words to explain. "Think of it like this, A Dream is like a miniature model," She waved her hand and a small model of a city block appeared in her hands, "Everything is in place, it's compact, it's all there. And the dreamer," She poked a miniature pedestrian in the model, causing it to glow with a spark of magic before it began to move around, as if alive. "The dreamer is confined to the model; if he tries to leave the model, he'll get stuck. His path will be blocked," Tantabus pushed a miniature tree down, blocking the path of the figure.
"This isn't like that-" Tantabus waved her hands and the miniature panorama disappeared, "This is more like... if the miniature was able to freely leave the panorama, and walk around outside the bounds of the original dream. It's still technically a dream, but also not- How can I explain this better?"
"It's like... You have an old world map that shows you everything in a certain area, right?" Tantabus tried to explain, "In a regular dream, you wouldn't be able to leave the confines of what's shown on the map, but with this spell, you can walk off the map and explore the things that haven't been cartographed on the map you have. Am I making sense?"
"Yeah, This is like a video game where the objective we need to reach is in a part of the map we haven't unlocked yet, so we can't fast travel there, simple." Blueblood said simply before he pulled the car off the road and drove towards a diner, "Anyways, time for lunch, let's go." He parked the car and got out, waiting for Tantabus to follow.
"Sure, This is like fast traveling to a location you hadn't unlocked..." Tantabus mumbled as she got out of the car, "Stupid Blueblood." She muttered under her breath before joining the Human who has yet to turn into a Pony as they entered the diner for lunch.
"You know, I can just magic food for you," Tantabus pointed out as the two sat at the Diner's bar and picked up the menu.
"Sure, but I'm the one driving, and I'm going to take any excuse to rest my legs." Blueblood said, "Time might be moving differently in the waking world, but for me, I've just been driving for three hours straight, we're just outside Miami, and we still have close to four hours before we reach our destination." Blueblood said, "Now, did you pick what you're going to eat yet?"
"I'll have the BLT sandwich and a bottle of Coke," Tantabus said. "What're you getting?"
"I'm thinking of the hot dog and fries, a bottle of water, and the vanilla milkshake for dessert," He told her.
"What?! We can get dessert? Why didn't you say so!" Tantabus exclaimed loudly, her attempt to look serious washing away to be replaced with childlike excitement as she picked the menu back up and began to look over the desserts.
Blueblood, watching the scene unfold, couldn't help the small smirk that grew on his face.
"Heh~ Cute."
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Driving down the Overseas Highway is cool for the first few minutes, having your vehicle drive directly over the sea, watching the continental US grow smaller behind you as you begin to travel the Florida Keys, the blue waves of the wonderful Florida waters, especially during the summer.
And then, after ten minutes of the same empty highway with the same waves on the horizon, you begin to miss the trees and rocks you'd find on land. At least they had more colors than just more blue.
Blue and blue and more blue, as far as the eyes can see.
"This sucks." Tantabus complained, her head lying against the window of the car, lazily watching the waves in the distance.
"We're halfway done, we'll take a break once we reach Marathon to stretch our legs, don't worry," Blueblood told the girl. "Once we get there, it'll only be an hour of driving."
Tantabus groaned, beginning to feel sick, whether it was from stuffing herself with a bunch of different foods to enjoy her newfound ability to taste, or from sitting in a car staring at the same view for what felt like hours, Tantabus didn't know.
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Having taken a short detour off the main road in the city of Marathon, Tantabus found herself sitting on a conjured beach mat, surrounded by the warm white sands of Sombrero Beach.
The place was empty of visitors thanks to her magic, giving her and Blueblood the beach all to themselves.
She hummed to herself, watching the waves wash up on the shore before pulling back into the sea, leaving a salty smell in the air.
She looked at her feet, her toes peaking out from the front of her white sandals. Her dress pulled up over her knees, leaving her pale lower legs to warm under the summer sun.
"You should probably magic up some sun screen," Blueblood said with a small smile as he sat down beside her before lying on his back, putting his arms behind him as a headrest, a pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun.
"It wouldn't do anything. The sun here isn't even real." Tantabus said, her eyes looking over at Blueblood, before she too lay on her back, a pair of sunglasses magically appearing over her eyes.
"You know, I was wondering." The comfortable silence that spread between the two was interrupted as Blueblood opened his mouth, "What am I doing? In the waking world, I mean." He clarified, "Like, I get that I'm fighting an evil wizard or something, but I was wondering what else I was doing." Blueblood said, "Am I saving Princesses from Dragons? Exploring ancient ruins? Defeating necromancers with my might and magic? I guess it's just fun to wonder what fantasy bullshit I'm doing over there."
"You're trying to run a shipping company," Tantabus said, causing the taller human to burst into laughter at the idea.
"I'm surrounded by magic, and I'm trying to run a shipping company?! Haha!"
"To be fair, you're running it fairly successfully." Tantabus said, "You've also fought a shapeshifting Insect lady, saved a time-displaced city from an evil phantom king, opened diplomatic ties with multiple nations, stopped a pirate crew from hijacking a cruise ship, and also got captured by a Moon princess." Tantabus paused for a moment, "It was not specifically in that order."
"Heh, Nice~" Blueblood smirked.
"..." Tantabus stayed quiet for a moment before, "Can I... Can I go into the water?" She asked, "Just dip my feet, I promise not to waste time." She ignored the heat in her cheeks as she asked that question.
"Sure, go ahead." Blueblood said simply, "You're the one who said time moves differently here."
"...Thanks." Tantabus took her sandals off before standing up, taking a deep breath before stepping off the mat and onto the beach proper, feeling the warm grains of sand slide between her toes, the heat prickling the soles of her feet as she made her way towards the water, feeling the soft grains of dry sand turn wet and cool, her feet sinking slightly into the wet sand, leaving small footprints.
"Eeek!" Tantabus yelped as a small wave finally washed against her, the cool water riding over her feet before pulling back into the sea.
Tantabus breathed heavily, her eyes wide at the many newfound sensations that came in such a short time frame.
"Heh," She breathed, a smile spreading on her face as she watched another wave wash close, deciding to jump over the wave, her feet landing in the water before the wave pulled back to leave her in the wet sand, "Hehe," more breaths left her mouth as she continued jumping again and again, enjoying the little stop at the beach.
For the first time in what could be considered her existence, Tantabus laughed.
And that Laughter, that Joy...
"Heheheheaaagh! Aaaahahaagh!" Tantabus smiled, enjoying the beach, the sensation of the sun against her skin, of the sand on her feet, and the water against her shins, trying her best to ignore the tears rolling down her face.
That Laughter, that Joy... It filled her with dread.
Knowing that once this dream was over, there was a chance that she might never again experience this feeling.
"..." Tantabus stopped laughing, her excited jumps ceased, she simply waved her hand in order to magically wipe her nose, hoping that the only other person on the beach didn't notice her crying.
"..." She stared at her feet, at the shallow water that she stood in, and at the wet sand below.
"...I hate Luna."
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The last hour of the drive was spent quietly. Tantabus spent it staring at the scenery, at the blue ocean, trying to put every cloud and every wave she could see into her memory. It was a boring view, Tantabus even complained about it a few hours prior.
But right now? So close to the exit from this dream?
That same boring view was the most beautiful thing Tantabus had ever seen.
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Tantabus stepped out of the car, took a deep breath, and turned to look at the concrete buoy that stood before her.
"The Southernmost Point of the Continental United States." Blueblood said as he exited the vehicle and locked the car, "Even though it's not actually the southernmost point. I mean, look over there," Blueblood pointed into the distance, a relaxed smile on his face, "It isn't even the southernmost point of Key West!"
Tantabus quietly nodded, her eyes still stuck on the concrete marker, and to the white glowing orb that levitated above it.
"...Not going to say anything?" Blueblood asked, turning to look at the girl.
"I-" Tantabus began before pausing and letting out a sigh, "I need to say some things, before you wake up."
"Go ahead," Blueblood said, moving over to sit down on a nearby bench, "What do you need to say?"
"I- I wasn't really forthcoming with you." Tantabus began, wringing her hands as she talked, "I-" She took a deep breath, "I'm not actually a Guardian Angel."
"Oh, I figured that out a while ago," Blueblood said, waving his hand as if to say he didn't care.
"Wha- But- Why didn't you say anything!" Tantabus yelled, startling Blueblood with her volume, "I was trying to think of how I was supposed to tell you this, and you already knew!"
"I mean, Yeah?" Blueblood shrugged, "Why would my Dream Guardian Angel take the form of a child? If I had to pick a guardian angel, it would either be me, but with an angelic halo, or a hot chick wearing an angel costume, like Reese Witherspoon in that one Adam Sandler movie. You know what, scratch the angel costume, just regular Reese Witherspoon will be nice- Ow..." Blueblood rubbed his shins at the spot Tantabus kicked him.
Tantabus glared at the man, before she slumped her shoulders and moved to sit beside him.
"I-" Tantabus began, "My name is Tantabus..." She took another deep breath, "I was created by Princess Luna in order to give her nightmares every time she went to sleep, to remind her of... of some bad things she's done." Tantabus looked down at her white sandals, "I'm a magical spell, a glorified alarm clock, and..." Tantabus frowned, "And I'm not even supposed to be here, in your head."
"..." Blueblood stayed quiet, letting the girl continue to talk.
"Af- After some- heh- Not too long ago, Princess Luna decided she didn't want to receive nightmares anymore, so she threw us away..." Tantabus let out a long and tired sigh. "We... I didn't know what was happening at the time, but I did know that if I let her wash me away completely, that would be it... I would cease." Her breath began to grow shaky, "I didn't want to... I- I ran away, leaving most of my... I guess you would call it something like a body, behind. I had to find a new mind to hide in, otherwise I would have..." Tantabus stared silently at her sandals, "You were simply the closest mind at the time. I latched on to you, and I couldn't let go. If I did, I would have..."
Tantabus stayed silent for a moment, her body going stiff for a bit as she felt Blueblood's arm snake around her back before his hand landed on her shoulder, pulling her into a side-hug.
"Look, Kid- Tantabus, I'm not really good with all this mushy emotional crap, but I think I understand where you're coming from." Blueblood told her, "Just know, you're going to be fine."
"I need to erase your memories of this dream..." Tantabus said quietly.
"If that's what you need to do, sure. At least you told me in advance~" Blueblood smiled softly at the girl.
"Are you- Are you not going to ask why?" Tantabus asked quietly, her head leaning over to rest against Blueblood.
"Do you want me to ask why?" Blueblood asked in return, "Look, I get that you weren't truthful and all that, but I've spent the last several hours with you, and I like to believe that I am a good judge of character, and you? You're just a kid."
Tantabus felt tears welling in her eyes.
"And what kind of man would I be if I couldn't even listen to a scared little girl?" Blueblood chuckled, rubbing Tantabus's back in an attempt to alleviate what she was feeling.
"I'm not even a real person..." Tantabus muttered.
"Your excitement at getting Dessert at that diner was real, wasn't it? Or your boredom with spending so long in the car? Or your joy at the beach? Was that not also real?" Blueblood asked her.
"This is a dream... I don't even have a real bod-"
"So?" Blueblood interrupted her, "So what if this isn't your body? Who cares?" He moved a finger across her cheeks, "These tears feel real, are you saying that you're not actually crying right now?" He leaned down so he could look Tantabus in the eyes.
"This doesn't-" Tantabus tried to protest, only for Blueblood's finger to weakly flick at her forehead, "Ow!"
"You felt that, right?" Blueblood raised an eyebrow in expectation at the girl.
"That's not how- Ow!" Another weak finger flick, "Stop it- stop! Hey! Stop it!" The finger flicks found themselves replaced with Blueblood moving his fingers rapidly against the girl's sides, making her struggle to contain her giggles at being tickled for the first time.
Tantabus laughed loudly, struggling to slap the offending appendages away as she fell over, rolling in laughter on the stone bench, "Heheheheheeheeheehahahaaha! Come on, stop it! It's tickles! Hahahee!"
Blueblood complied, lifting his fingers from the girl's sides, her rolling giggles having caused her starry purple dress to pull up to her navel, revealing a pair of lilac blue shorts.
"Feeling better?" Blueblood asked Tantabus, the girl breathing heavily, a smile on her face as she stared up at the sky.
"Yeah... I'm better now." Tantabus sniffed, grabbing the hem of her dress and pulling it back down, covering herself.
"That's good to hear~" Blueblood stood up and looked at the white orb floating above the buoy, "So, I just touch that thing and I'm supposed to wake up or something?"
"Yea- WAIT!" Tantabus yelled, quickly standing up.
"What's the matter now?" Blueblood turned back to Tantabus, only to see her opening her arms, her face flushed a bright red.
"Can I-" Tantabus struggled to say what she wanted to say, her eyes averting from Blueblood's gaze.
"Sure~" Blueblood smiled gently, getting down on one knee and opening his arms in invitation, "Come here, Pinocchio~"
Tantabus ignored the nickname as she quickly dashed in, wrapping her tiny arms around Blueblood, burying her face in her chest as she gave him a hug.
"You're much nicer here than in the past..." She said, her voice muffled by Blueblood's shirt.
"What, did going to fantasy land somehow make me a grump?" Blueblood chuckled.
"Kind of..." Tantabus replied, cutting off Blueblood's chuckles.
"Oh..."
"I'm sorry..." Tantabus whispered, "But I need to erase your memories of this once you leave." She tightened her hug, "If your mind realizes that I'm in here, it'll activate safety measures and try to flush me out..."
"And you'll die if that happens, I know," Blueblood whispered calmly, slowly rubbing Tantabus's back.
After a few more moments, Tantabus slowly let go of the hug, allowing Blueblood to stand back up and turn to the exit from the dream.
As he placed his hands near the top of the anchored concrete buoy, preparing to pull himself up the marker, Tantabus spoke up once more.
"I-" She began, trying to find the words, "I don't want to cease." She said, "I'm going to find a way to get a real body... In the real world!" She stared at Blueblood, a resolute look in her eyes, "And once I do- once I get a body... We're going on another road trip!" She yelled at him, a smile on her face, "You hear me! Once I get a body, I'll make you remember this conversation, then we'll go on another road trip! A Real road trip in the real world!"
"You need to promise, okay!" She yelled loudly, tears once again welling in her eyes as she smiled at the Prince.
"Of course." Blueblood gave her a soft smile, "I'll make sure to take you on the best road trip ever, Pinocchio." He told her, before finally pulling himself up the buoy enough for his arm to reach the orb and-
--------------------------------------------
My eyes shot open as I bolted up, wide awake, looking around my surroundings.
The last thing I recalled was using my magic to create a makeshift barrier and-
"Took ya' long enough." Every bit of worry in me washed away as I heard Macaw's voice, "Enjoy your beauty nap?"
"Shut up," I told the hallucination as I stood up on my hooves once more, turning on my magic to give me some light, allowing me to spot Cosmos's shard on the floor a bit away.
"Urrgh..." A voice from behind caused me to turn around after picking up the Cosmos's necklace, my eyes widening as I finally remembered what I was doing.
"Bramble!" I yelled, running over to the young Deer, who was slowly beginning to wake up.
"Werrrgh..." The Deer mumbled as he began to move, trying to mumble something in his still mostly sleeping state "Ish ina werrrrgh..." His eyes began to open, his face scrunching in discomfort before he too bolted awake.
"The we-" He tried to stand up, only to quickly turn around and empty his stomach on the ground. I had to hold him up with some telekinesis to stop him from collapsing into his own vomit.
I quickly wiped the boy's mouth clean with some magic before placing him on my back.
"Blueblood?" Bramble groaned weakly from behind me, "Did you... Did you also see that?"
"See what?" I asked the Prince.
"Oh... You didn't see them." He said weakly, "You would have known what I'm-" He had to stop speaking as his body began to heave, giving me enough warning to get him off my back before he threw up once more.
After finally making sure that he wouldn't throw up on my back, I once again picked up the tired prince.
"The well..." He said weakly, "They're in the well outside..." He groaned, a hoof moving to rub at his head.
"Just a moment, Bramble," I told the Deer before I let more magic course into my horn, "Venus!"
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In a flash of light blue magic, Prince Blueblood Platinum sealed most of his senses away, his magical power skyrocketing as a result of the limitations placed on him.
Constructing an image of his surroundings in his mind's eye, Blueblood was able to scan the Manor for the location of Aspen, admonishing himself all the while for not thinking of doing this sooner.
Quickly running deeper into the Manor, the two Princes found the old king, groggily trying to wake up from his own spell-induced slumber.
Deciding not to waste time, Blueblood picked Aspen up in his magic, levitating the old Deer behind him as he began to make his way out of the manor.
"We still need to check the well." Bramble said from his spot on the Unicorn's back.
"We need to find my Gaia!" Aspen added from his own spot behind the prince.
"No!" Blueblood yelled at the two Deer, "What we need to do is return to Thicket and come back here when we're more prepared!" Exiting the manor, Blueblood began to make his way towards the tree and the tent Aspen had made yesterday evening.
"I am the King!" Aspen raised his voice, "I say we go find-"
"We are not discussing this!" Blueblood yelled as he turned to glare at the old deer, "You could have died in there! Your son could have died in there! What were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking I would find Gaia!" Aspen yelled, "My Wife is in here somewhere!"
"YOUR WIFE IS DEAD!!!" Blueblood yelled at the Deer, "She's been dead for over one thousand years!!! She can stay dead for at least another day!!!"
"Why you-!!!" Aspen shook angrily.
"Eh, Guys?"
"Don't you Why You me!" Blueblood roared at Aspen, "We almost died because of you! All you had to do was wait for the morning, but nooo~ You just had to go alone in the middle of the night, didn't you?!"
"You take what you said about her back, you snake!" Aspen roared back, spittle flying out of his mouth and landing in his beard.
"Guys..."
"Take what back? That she's dead?!" Blueblood let go of Aspen, dropping the King onto the ground, "Am I wrong? Are you going to sit here and tell me that I'm wrong?"
"You blistering barnacle! You don't speak to my wife like-" Aspen tried to retort.
"GUYS!" Only for Bramble to finally snap the two men to attention.
""WHAT?!"" The Unicorn Prince and the Deer King shouted back.
"The tree is moving!" Bramble pointed at the tree Aspen made with the Heart of the Everfree.
"Huh?" Blueblood turned to look at the tree, and sure enough, it was visibly closer than where it was a few hours prior.
"Why would it-" Aspen tried to ask, only for his eyes to widen as the ground began to shake, "This isn't good!" He yelled.
"Oh, you don't say?!" Blueblood responded loudly before the ground underneath the three royals opened its earthly maw, dropping the royal trio into a sinkhole.