Songs of Innocence

Chapter 54: The Outer Rim of the Mind

Duppy Resort, Jamareca

Back with our main protagonists, they had arrived at their hotel just as the sun disappeared into the horizon. It had grown dark enough that they all agreed that they might as well try to get to sleep so that tomorrow could come sooner, and they could go out to see the sights. There was a bit of a problem, though... Or, three problems:

1, they all had to sleep in the same hotel room, thanks to a misunderstanding about who was paying for their rooms.

2, of course, everyone but Sun was on edge that Cozy could "try something" while they were all asleep.

And finally, the worst of all...

3, Pinkie was having a weird dream, and her sleeping self couldn't help but talk about it.

To everypony who heard her, it sounded like she was just unconsciously rambling about nonsense. But inside the world of her dream, she wasn't rambling about nonsense; she was talking to her sister, Marble.

In the dream, Marble had just awoken from a long slumber, and rose out of her bed. She was in an odd room, with glass walls that showed a larger room outside of it. Her surroundings were floors and walls of worn-out whites, sterile in the feeling it gave her, and everything was probably best described as looking like a hospital from purgatory. 

Just as soon as Marble got a feel of her surroundings (or, at least, a look at them), she heard a a disembodied robotic voice, speaking to her from a place she couldn't see. "Hello, and, again, welcome to the Appleloosa Science P.P.P.P.O.S.-aided enrichment center." it spoke in a monotone voice. "We hope your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one. Before we begin, please remember that your progress will be monitored by the P.P.P.P.O.S. - Perfectly Pink Party Pony Operating System - trademarked by the Appleloosa Science company, a subsidiary of..."

As the AI droned on about copyright specifics, Luna, who watched from outside their fields of view, groaned with impatience. 

"I would have thought that Pinkie Pie, of all ponies, would make for an interesting dream, yet here I sit, bored by her." the princess sighed. Over her years of watching other ponies' dreams, she'd seen everything. From mundane allusions to real life events to visions of ungodly resplendence and pleasure, she felt like she'd seen every kind of dream there was to see at this point. And she couldn't even appreciate that this dream was an incredibly forced Portal reference, because she didn't even know what Portal was... er, is.

How could this happen? How could doing something as fantastic as basically creating realities within ponies mind suddenly become so monotonous? Other ponies would probably sell a hoof to be able to do what she could. She felt a little ungrateful for finding her unique ability so disinteresting after all these moons. She could do anything, yet she felt like she wasn't doing much.

That was the moment where a thought entered her mind. If it's so boring, why doesn't she push her ability to the limit? Why shouldn't she try to go to the edge of the dreamlands, both figuratively and literally? She wanted to know what lay beyond the setting of the dreams she created, and she was going to start with this one. For the sake of your understanding, think of what she was going to do being like going out of bounds in a video game; going somewhere that you aren't intended to.

Deeply intrigued by the idea, she swiftly left the room, and started exploring this vast, labyrinthine facility. Occasionally, she'd catch a glimpse of Marble from the windows that separated the alicorn from her, and she'd usually be participating in some kind of test while her sister's robotic voice encouraged her.

Through cold, empty hallways, and dimly-lit desolate corridors, Luna eventually found an exit to the outside world. Actually, she didn't know if there was an outside world, since this dream didn't really feel like it would take place outside... But hey, that was for her to find out, right? That sentiment motivated her to open the door, and when she did... she saw nothing but darkness beyond the threshold.