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Charmcaster grinned at lightening's confusion.'no, the dream will be about the attack. Princess luna has the power to walk into the dreams of her subjects. Using our memories as the place our dream takes us will show her what we saw in canterlot. This way, we find her quickly. We can easily show her what is going on in canterlot. You were at the wedding, right? In the world of dreams, we can control what happens. If we get hurt, it is only in our minds.' charmcaster sits back down and rubs her shoulder.
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"That makes more sense, I guess. But also sounds kinda creepy." Lightning Dust chuckled a bit sheepishly at the thought. "But That should work, I hope. But doesn't it have to be night time for that?" She looked up at the sky seeing it half day and half night. "It's almost dark out, but won't it be hard for the moon to rise with the sun still in place?"
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'it shouldn't . There have been times when the sun and moon existed together it the sky at once. Those times are known as eclipses. That is when the moon passes in front of the sun. Besides, this way we will get some rest, and we will be able to try to contact princess luna. And the hospital is the best place we could have come to. Most dream specialists are un the hospital. The pegasus we need is one named Dreamweaver. I haven't met him but i heard he is the most hansom stallion a mare could hope to meet with wings like moonlight.' charmcaster says with a sigh. 'well, that's what i heard. Giggle'
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Lightning Dust rolls her eyes. "RRRRight, so where is this Dream guy? I want to get this done asap, plus I could use the rest. *yawn* I've been doing a lot of the, saving our flanks, and I'm kinda beat." She flickers her wings and stretches out. "Ah, so lets find this guy and take a nap before I clock out."
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'this way.' charmcaster said as she trotted down the therapist hall. Soon, they come to a door with a plaque saying 'Dr. Dreamweaver pd. Dream doctor.' opening the door, they hear a silkyvoice that says 'well hello ladies. What do i owe the pleasure this wonderful visit today?' the chair swivels around to reveal a handsome stallion with a moon white coat and a dark blue mane. Charmcaster looks down suddenly feeling ten feet tall and clumsy. 'umm we need to participate in a controlled dream. There is trouble in canterlot and we need to warn princess luna. Please sir.'
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Firestrider walked over to the reception area and asked the receptionist, "Where is the Sleep Center?" The mare behind the counter smiled and gave him directions to the sleep center. "Thank you." he said. Firestrider looked over at Charmcaster and Lightning Dust and waved them along, "This way, ladies."
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Lightning Dust wasn't affected by the stallion, she looked unamused as she pushed in past Charmcaster. "Yeah, we need to sleep asap! Warning the princess is one thing, but getting a little shut eye so I can kick some flank later is also a good thing." She kicked in the air to prove her point, but she was a bit restless from the earlier events and almost out of gas, so to speak. But she kept her posture even though she felt exhausted on the inside, she was doing pretty well to stay alert.
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Dreamweaver smiled at us and pointed his wing lazily to a group of couches. 'lay down and relax.' charmcaster blushes and lays down on one of the couches. 'we need to have the dream in the middle of a battle' charmcaster says looking at Dreamweaver.
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Lightning Dust flew over to another couch, plopping herself down and kicking back. "Ah! Comfy! Take a load of Strider, they're pretty comfortable." She sighed and practically melted into the couch, making herself comfortable in it.
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Firestrider's expression had become quite serious. "This is of upmost importance, doctor. Is there a way to catch Princess Luna's attention in the dream?" He asked.
Dreamweaver shrugged, "I don't know, I'm not in control of the princess. But maybe if you did something that caused a big enough ripple in your dream, you might catch her attention."
Firestrider nodded, "Big ripple in the dream...I know how to do just that. He looked over at Charmcaster and Lightning Dust. "You too focus on resting, you need it with your injuries. I'll take care of warning Princess Luna. He got into a vacant couch and made himself comfortable. He yawned and began closing his eyes. "Just leave it to me."
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Charmcaster smiled at firestrider and nodded drifting off to sleep.
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Lightning Dust already had her eyes closed as she just waved a hoof in approval. "Sounds good *yawn* to me." She settle in on the couch and started drifting off to sleep, snoring lightly.
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Firestrider watched the other two fall asleep before closing his own eyes. He thought hard about the attack while he drifted off to sleep...
He found himself in Canterlot square. The barrier had just been broken, and strange bug-like creatures were swarming the city. They attacked mercilessly, imprisoning stallions, mares, even foals. He shivered as he watched a family get covered in a sickly green substance. He could see the young foal struggle against the goo, tears rolling down her face. He felt himself begin to hyperventilate. 'I could've saved them!' he thought. He almost forgot that it was all a dream, and that he needed to get Princess Luna's attention. He sighed and regained his composure. Casting one last glance at the dream family, he walked over to his fireworks cart and, with a single well-placed flame, set the whole thing off at once. The resulting blast caused quite the commotion in the square. When the explosion finished, Firestrider was hardly able to see through the smoke. The only thing he could make out was the silhouette of a winged pegasus trotting through the smoke in his direction.
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Lightning Dust was sleeping peacefully, her dream coming back to Canterlot when she was kicking Changeling flank."Aw yeah, you freaks don't stand a chance!" She smiled in her sleep, feeling that this rest way well deserved not just for her, but the others as well.
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Charmcaster dreamt of walking through canterlot with Dreamweaver. Soon, she found herself alone and lost. 'hello? Hello?' charmcaster realised that she had been deserted by Dreamweaver. Then, she started to gallop off looking for Dreamweaver. Suddenly, charmcaster is surrounded by a thick dark fog causing her to cry out. After what seemed like forever, fire burst out burning away the fog as firestrider walked up to her and nussled charmcaster making her smile in her sleep.
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I understand..." Firestrider had said to the Princess before she left. He watched her flyaway before feeling himself begin to leave the Dream Canterlot. He glanced over at the large wad of goo that housed the family he had seen earlier. The young foal's head was still out in the open, and she looked up at him, her eyes now looking black as midnight.
"You didn't save me..."she said to Firestrider, her voice seeming to echo across the whole dream.
"I tried..." Firestrider said before the dream faded.
Firestrider's eyes opened slowly and he got down from the couch. He looked over at Charmcaster and Lightning Dust, both of whom were fast asleep. "I guess I'll wait until those two wake up..." he said.
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Charmcaster woke up feeling happy and refreshed. She looked over at firestrider and frowned seeing the look on his face. 'what happened firestrider? Did the plan work?' charmcaster got up and walked over to him. She wanted to make him happy but was unsure of how to put a smile on his face.
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Lightning Dust woke up with a big yawn, stretching out with a sigh of satisfaction from the sleep she just had. "That did the trick, had the best dream to go along with it too." She chuckled and sat up, stretching out more still. "So how'd the mission go?" She asked without looking at anypony, too caught up in her stretching out.
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"Princess Luna needs some time to cope with what's happened. She was visibly upset." Firestrider said. He walked over to the window and looked in the direction of Canterlot, that foal's face still fresh in his mind. He bit his lip. 'Why couldn't I save you?' he thought to himself. He didn't even notice he had bit his lip enough to draw blood. He couldn't stop seeing that foal's scared expression...how she had reached out to him for help...and he just ran. He saw a faint reflection of himself in the window. 'The face of a coward... he said to himself.
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Charmcaster nussled firestrider and looked at him. 'firestrider what happened in your dream? Don't say nothing because you have bit your lip to bleeding. Please, you have to get past whatever you saw. All of us need our wits about us if we are to save princess celestia and the others. It's important, you're important.you make me feel like everything is going to be ok. The whole time we tried to get away, you told me everything would work out. Now it's my turn. You're no coward. Even the bravest warriors had fear. It's in all the pony tails. Even though the hero looks like he is strong, inside he is scared that he may not win. That he might not save everypony.' charmcaster said sitting beside him. 'it's ok to be scared because I'm scared too. For once in my life, i have no answers to give. My book learning and studying means nothing now, and i feel lost and scared.'
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Lightning Dust looked at the two and shrugged a bit, hopping off the couch. "Well I can understand she would be, but how can she help? The head of those Changelings beat Celestia. Luna more then likely wouldn't stand a chance."
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"Luna's freedom from the changelings is more about motivating everypony than it is having her defeat the queen. Hearts and minds win wars, and by having Princess Luna allied with resisting the changelings, everypony will be more willing to stand up to them. She'll help however she can, but this is more about liberating Canterlot and freeing Celestia. If we push them out from there, we may stand a fighting chance." Firestrider sighed. "It's going to be a tough job, but after the things I saw back in Canterlot...I know it HAS to be done." Firestrider wiped his lip. "There was a foal back in Canterlot...couldn't have been more than six years old. I watched as the changelings got her...she reached to me for help...but I ran. I was more concerned about myself than I was that little foal. I should be the one the changelings have...not her...not a kid..."
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"I'm sure she's fine Strider, I don't know what they do to them, but I know they need to keep them alive for them to feed off of. So they're still alive, just captive more then anything. I'm not sure how one feeds on love. But trust me, we'll clear out those buggers in a flash." Lightning put a hoof on Firestrider's shoulder to reassure him as she was confident overall. "You'll see, just have faith. Though, I can't help but wonder what happened to the other princess and the royal guard captain. They were the prime targets in all this."
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Charmcaster smiled gently at firestrider. 'firestrider, she'll be fine. From what my granny said in her stories of changelings, they don't hurt those they take love from. It's like setting fire to your garden before they plants have finished growing food. They will harm those that get in their way or harm them to capture them, but after they take control, they use magic to keep them under control. So, the little foal will be fine. Here firestrider....' charmcaster said putting a gauze from her bag up to his lip gently.
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Firestrider let Charmcaster put the gauze on his lip, but continued staring out the window. "Even so...a kid shouldn't have to experience a nightmare like this. She's probably so scared right now...wondering what's going to happen. All because I could take five seconds to pull her out." Firestrider sighed, he wasn't going to give up until he saw that foal safe. Once she was safe, the first thing he was going to say to her was an apology for running.
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Lightning Dust sighed. "Look Stirder, I know we ran off and I don't like it much either. But it was best we live to fight another day sometimes, much as I'd have rather stayed and fought. We're the only ones that can save Canterlot and more likely, Equestria." She sighed again, feeling the burden was heavy for just the three of them to handle alone. "This is, big. And I mean, BIG. There's only 3 of us and Luna to give us some support. First thing we should do is try and see if we can rally some troops to help! Question is, most everypony was at the wedding, so chances are we might be the only ones to get the job done, but I'm up for the challenge, no matter the difficulty, I wanna know if you both are as well?" She gave a serious look to both of them, she had no fear about the situation at hoof as she was confident they could pull it off.
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Firestrider closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, all doubt was cleared from his eyes, replaced by a fierce look as he gazed in the direction of Canterlot. "I'm going to take these bugs down." he said, "I won't let them have their victory easily."
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Charmcaster took the gauze away satisfied the bleeding had stopped and looks at her friends thoughtfully. 'what we need is information.' charmcaster says as she looks down. 'knowing your enemy is part of the fight. So, what do we know so far? They need their captives for their love. Love gives them power. Do they keep a close eye on their captives or do they lock them up? If we can take away most of their food source, we take away most of their power. Can the changelings be deceived into believing we are three of their own pretending to be ponies to trick the captives into giving out more love?'
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Lightning Dust chuckled. "Good, now that's the spirit I wanna see!" She shrugged to Charmcaster's question. "I'm not sure it works that easily, they mostly stay unchanged. They only shapeshift when facing an opponent, it's a confusion tactic. I'm not sure how exactly we can infiltrate without causing commotion."
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"What if we got caught on purpose and then used the confusion of them copying us in order to confuse them?" Firestider suggested. It was a long shot, but it was the only suggestion he had.
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Lightning Dust shrugged. "That could be difficult as well, Changelings don't exactly stay in shape if you get what I mean. They don't stay morphed all the time. It would be about timing, which I might be able to do, I dunno if you guys could keep up with me." She pondered for a moment then got an idea. "Ok how about this, we each need to find just one and get it to turn into us. We knock it out then drag our copies along like we've been captured only it's the Changelings that are really captured."
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Charmcaster looked at her friends and thought about their suggestions. 'that won't work lightening. From what i saw watching you fight them, they turn back to normal if they are knocked out.'
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Lightning Dust rolled her eyes. "Well we can't risk getting captured, we wouldn't be able to get away if we did. Well maybe I could. But I don't know how we could get in without being spotted, maybe we could, but not for very long. Those things are EVERYWHERE!" Lightning sighed and paced around, anxious and frustrated as she tried to think of something else to do. She stopped after a moment and put her hooves on her head, gritting her teeth and growling low in frustration. "Grrrrr, this is so difficult! We should just go in there and kick their copy cat flanks!" She wasn't too much for thinking, more a mare of action.
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"I honestly don't have an idea on how we can sneak in. Charging in is suicide...I don't know what to do." Firestrider said.
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Charmcaster looked down and thought about the situation. 'maybe a bad idea to charge in, but what if we drew them out? We could ambush them. The more we lure away and trap, the less that are in canterlot.' charmcaster Said getting up. She tested her front leg to see if the pain from her shoulder wound had subsided and smiles. 'but before we do anything, we need to eat. We can't fight on will alone.' then charmcaster thinks a minute. 'well, maybe lightening dust can.' and charmcaster giggles.
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Lightning Dust puffed her chest out, looking brave. "You're darn right I could!" She flinched as her stomach made a loud growling sound, she smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with a slight blush, fleeing a little embarrassed. "But I guess I burned up all my gas, hehehe..."
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Firestrider smiled, "Food sounds good." He got up and began to leave the hospital. The image of the filly flashed through his mind once more. 'I'll save you,' he thought to himself, 'one way or another.'
-
Sketchi flies forward and crashes into the small group of ponies and stands back up shakily, clearly worried "BLACK .BUG.PONY.THING!"" she yells but regains control again "Oh ... my, I hope I d-didn't scare you ... are you three ok?"Sketchi says, putting these strangers infront of herself "I-I'm Sketchi ..." Sketchi stutters and looks at the group with her crossed eyes.
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Lightning Dust nodded in agreement with Firestrider. "Right! So let's go..." She stopped being cut off by the random mare who seemed to be in a panic. She blinked a few times, trying to register what the mare was going on about, tilting her head to one side feeling slightly confused. "Er, yeah we're fine. Why wouldn't we be, we're out of Canterlot so I'd say we're good."
(( :facehoof: I did it again, ah well. Not paying attention cuz tired :shrug: ))
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"Wait...Sketchi, was it? I heard screaming about a 'black bug pony thing?' Was that you? What was that about?" Firestrider asked, concern evident on his face. If the changelings were suddenly spreading out of Canterlot, then things were about to get that much harder. 'I hope we can beat them.' Firestrider thought. 'Otherwise we might be seeing the end of Equestria as we know it.'