I walked for hours cradling her in my arms. I had found a narrow dirt path that led through the trees, beneath leaves that were turning orange, yellow and red. Sarah had regained consciousness and stared unspeaking at the beauty passing above her. A smile laid across her tired face and the plush was wrapped in her arms. I wish I could be as careless and happy like her, but I couldn’t. It was my duty to worry for the both of us and I prayed that this was all a dream.

My foot suddenly snagged on a rock and I tumbled forward and fell to my knees. I cursed silently and Sarah looked up at me in shock.

“Daddy, are you okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just stubbed my toe.”

In truth I wasn’t. My knees burned and I could feel blood drip down my left leg as I stood up. If this was a dream then it was the most painful one I had ever experienced. I pressed on down the path, ignoring the pain in my legs. Eventually I came to a crossroads and I sat Sarah down on a nearby rock as I secretly tended to my wounds.

“Which way do you want to go?” I asked her.

Sarah held up her plush and whispered the same question to it then looked over at me. “Pinkie says we should go to Ponyville.”

I smiled at her innocence. “Which way is that?”

Sarah pointed down the path that led away from the mountains and into a wide valley. I nodded, lifted her back up and followed the trail. It wasn’t long until the path widened and became a dusty, well trodden road.

“Look daddy,” Sarah chimed. Her finger pointed towards the distant mountains to the North. “Canterlot!”

I followed where she was looking and through the morning haze I could see a strange formation that looked very much like domes and towers sticking out of the mountainside.

“Wow,” I whispered. “It does look like a city.”

My daughter laughed. “It is a city, daddy.”

This was a dream, I assured myself, and that rock formation could very well be a city. I returned my attention to the road ahead and stopped short. We stood at the crest of a ridge and below us sat a happy looking town that reminded me very much of the places in fairytales. I had seen the place before, on TV.

Sarah let out a gasp of pure excitement. “Ponyville, daddy! Look-look! It’s Ponyville!”

It might have been a dream but her joy felt so genuine. I was going to milk the situation for as much happiness as I could.

“Lets go down and see if we can make friends!” I exclaimed. She clapped her hands and we both smiled widely as I proceeded down the hill.

We were drawing near to the town when the dream decided to take another dark turn. I was steps from the bridge when I felt a stream of liquid warmth drip onto my hand. I looked down at Sarah and blood streamed from her nose. Her eyes had rolled back and were glazed. I lifted up her head so the blood wouldnt go into her lungs.

“Damnit, not again!”

The sudden urge to throw myself off of the bridge and break my neck so I could leave this twisted dream rose up in my mind. A grim action but I was use to committing suicide in my many nightmares. Yet this time something pushed that thought from me. Instead I ran into the town seeking help but the streets were empty. Yet it felt like we were being watched as I pushed on.

“Can somebody help me?” I yelled at the emptiness. All the while the thought of forcing myself to wake from the dream pressed harder against my mind. “Please help!”

On the edge of my hearing I heard someone whisper. I looked in the direction of the source and a brightly adorned house with a pointed purple roof filled my vision. The murmuring stopped momentarily until a voice broke out through the building’s doorway.

“I'll help!”

Despite the conviction that I was in a dream, there still was a shock when a light blue pony with pink hair came rushing towards me. A similar pony with reversed colors ambled out reluctantly behind her. Both creatures hurried near but slowed down when they were mere feet away. Their ears barely came up to my waist and they looked up at me with mixed expressions of curiosity and fear.

“Can you help me?” I had no idea why I was asking cartoon characters in a dream for assistance. “I just need somewhere to set her down and wait until she regains consciousness. Also, I need a towel and water to wipe away the blood.”

They remained where they were but now looked at Sarah’s face and saw the condition she was in.

“Oh my,” the blue one cooed. “The poor thing’s bleeding!”

“Look.” I wanted them to stop gawking. “I need help now. This all might be a dream but I have no intention of letting it turn into a nightmare. So will you help me or are you going to watch my daughter die?”

I didn’t truly believe Sarah was going to die. Bloody noses and going unconscious happened often; though with increasing regularity. I expected her to wake back up any moment and laugh happily at the colorful ponies standing before us. If this wasn’t a dream then I would have actually worried more.

“Yes, of-of course,” the blue one stammered. “Follow us.”

The inside of the building smelled strongly of flowery perfumes. I set Sarah down on a couch and knelt beside her. The two ponies left to fetch water and towels.

“Hey, honey,” I whispered. “You'll never guess where we are. Wake up and have a look around.”

The ponies returned and I took the items from them. I moistened a towel in the warm water, wiped away the blood and kissed her forehead. One of the ponies slipped out of the building but I paid no attention to her leaving. After remaining there next to her for a few minutes I heard the door open and the sound of hooves coming up behind me.

“Excuse me, uh, sir?” A familiar voice asked.

I turned and was met with the troubled faces of the main characters from my daughter’s favorite show. My eyes darted to each one. I didn’t know who looked more wary of the other; them or me.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” the one I remembered to be Twilight Sparkle spoke again.

“Uh, yeah.” In truth nothing came to mind. I looked back at Sarah’s peaceful face. I wanted to see her smile so badly. “Honey, wake up and see who’s here. You’ll never believe it.”

“Is she alright,” the one named Rainbow Dash loomed over my shoulder making me slightly uncomfortable.

In my mind I shot, ‘no, she hasn’t been alright in a long time.’

But outwardly I remained silent. Sarah moaned and I took it as a good sign. I stood up, causing the ponies to quickly back away, and sat down on the couch next to my daughter. My attention turned back to the ponies and I stared at them. They stared back.

“Who are you, and what are you?” Twilight inquired when she realised that I wasn’t going to talk.

“I’m a man trying to enjoy a dream yet it seems to be turning into a nightmare quite quickly,” I replied. “My name is Eric.”

“Hello Eric.” She held out a shaky hoof. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Hi.” I was already turning my attention back to Sarah, wanting ever more for her to wake up. I could care less about meeting the ponies. What I desperately wanted to see was my daughter’s joy in meeting them herself.

The room returned to a silence that lasted for several minutes.

Soon Rainbow Dash spoke. “Didn’t you say there was something we could do to help?”

“Yeah, yeah.” I was still too busy dabbing a warm towel across Sarah’s forehead, deep in thought.

Another minute of silence passed by before Dash spoke again. “Then what can we do?”

She snapped me out of my mind. I faced them again. “Huh, what?”

“You said we could help,” Twilight replied.

“I did?”

“Yes.” The purple unicorn nodded.

The yellow one, Fluttershy, peered from behind her friends and noticed my scraped up knees.

“Oh my! What happened?” The pegasus pushed closer to me and looked at my injuries before realising that she was now the nearest pony to me. She backed away slowly. “If you don't mind me asking.”

I had nearly forgotten about my knees. I was actually surprised that the dream had retained their existence. The amount of realistic detail in this place was starting to make me uneasy.

“I tripped.”

Sarah moaned and I returned my full attention back to her. A minute later her eyes creeped open. She looked up at me with a dazed and bleary expression. But soon the color returned to her face and she rubbed her nose then sighed. She looked so tired, so near fading away. I tried not to think about it.

“My head hurts real bad.” She clutched the Pinkie Pie plush strongly in her arms and started to look around. “Where are we?”

I chuckled, the sound seemed to startle the ponies near me, and helped Sarah sit up. “You won’t believe it but look who’s here!”

Her eyes went wide. “Wow!”

“Hello,” Twilight greeted. The perplexed look on her face almost made me laugh. “I take it that you already know who we are?”

“Mm-hmm.” Sarah nodded slowly. “You are Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie, you are my favorite!”

“It’s almost like she knows us personally,” Applejack stated.

“How do you know, or know about us?” Twilight’s face had only grown more twisted in confusion.

“We watch a show about you,” my daughter smiled widely.

Rarity stepped closer “A show? Like a play?”

Sarah yawned then giggled. “Sort of.”

“Are we famous where you come from?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You know, if they are making plays about us then we must be famous.”

I cut in. “Yeah, you could say that you are famous.”

Pinkie Pie noticed the plush in my daughter’s arms. “Oh wow, is that a stuffed pony of me!”

“Yep!” Sarah held it up and the ponies stared at it with mixed expressions of curiosity and excitement.

“Where are you from?” Twilight examined the plush for a moment before looking up at me. “How come you know so much about us but we know nothing about you?”

“The TV,” Sarah replied. Pinkie Pie had now moved close enough for my daughter to reach out and pet her. Pinkie giggled and Sarah squealed happily. “You’re so soft!”

“The TV?” The Twilight watched her friend interact with my daughter. She finally seemed to realise that we meant no harm. “What’s that?”

“It’s a glass and metal box that shows us things,” I replied. I too was watching Sarah and was enjoying every moment of her happiness.

Twilight puckered her face up in contemplation. Eventually she exclaimed. “It’s a type of magical looking glass! Right? A tool that lets you see far away places and events?”

The conversation was growing tiresome and I just wanted the topic to change to something else. “Uh, yes. It’s a magical type of looking glass.”

“Wow.” Twilight whispered. I could tell that she was now wishing for her own TV.

The pain in my knees suddenly flared up again. The vividness of the dream was now wearing on the last of my nerves. The ponies had also left the door open and a soft summer breeze was blowing through. The smell of flowers and baked goods lingered in the air.

My stomach growled. ‘Great, now I’m hungry in a dream as well.’

Luckily Pinkie Pie and Applejack heard my bodily protests.

“Sound’s like you haven't eaten in a while, sugarcube.” The hat wearing mare trotted up and beamed at us. “Me and Pinkie here will fix that problem right away. Can’t have guest starvin’ now!”

“And we can put bandages on your legs as well,” Fluttershy added in a barely audible voice.

I nodded my head and I followed the six friends out of the building. I was startled to see the street filled with curious ponies wanting to see the two strange visitors. Sarah waved happily to them but I remained unresponsive as we pushed through. Since I was a great deal taller than the ponies it wasn't hard getting past the crowd.

The place we ended up was Twilight’s library. Pinkie and Applejack disappeared into the kitchen and I took a seat by the window with Sarah on my lap. Fluttershy fetched some bandages and was about to tend to my injuries but I politely denied her help and wrapped up my own knees. All the while Twilight asked more questions.

“What brings you to Equestria?”

I shrugged. “Fell asleep and now I’m dreaming. Though this is one vivid dream.”

“This isn’t a dream, dear,” Rarity stated flatly.

“Hmm.” I nodded. “I have been in many dreams where I wished it was real. Never have I had one that openly tried to convince me that it was true. Damn, I must be desperate to get out of the real world if my subconscious is trying to lie to me.”

A particular dream I continued to have popped into my mind but I quickly pushed it away. It was too painful to think about that memory.

“This isn’t a dream.” Rainbow Dash looked at me like I was crazy. In fact they all did.

“Rainbow,” Twilight sighed. “I think he is just having a hard time and is a bit weary. After lunch and a quick rest, perhaps, he will be fine.”

“Did somepony say lunch!” Pinkie Pie trotted in with a mixture of baked goods and salads.

Applejack followed behind with a tray full of pies. “I hope ya’ll are hungry because we made plenty!”

I was slightly wary of food that had been prepared so quickly but I instantly remembered that dream logic dictated that food could be prepared within such a short amount of time. Sarah laughed and talked with the ponies and I was content eating my food in silence, watching her. Twilight on the other hand wasn’t going to let valuable time be wasted that could be used as opportunities to question me.

“So, Eric...” she began.I looked at her with an expression that stated that I didn’t want to talk but she continued anyway. “Tell us more about yourself.”

I chewed slowly and thought for a moment. There wasn’t really much I could say to my subconscious that it already didn’t know.

I shrugged. “Not much to say. I’m a simple man that spends nearly all my time with my daughter.”

Twilight looked over at Sarah then back to me. “Speaking of your daughter; is she sick?”

“Yes,” I replied slowly.

“How sick?”

The pony was a little too nosey for my liking. “Very sick.”

“Have you taken her to a doctor?”

“I’ve taken her to twelve doctors,” I replied blandly.

“Twelve doctors?” Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “The doctors must not be very good where you come from. Perhaps I can recommend my doctor.”

I was getting angry. “They were some of the best doctors in the world. My daughter is too far gone though and there is no cure.”

“Maybe I-” the pony’s eyes went wide. “No cure? You don’t mean that-”

I leaned forward and my voice came out like a whispered growl. “Yes, my little girl is going to die and there is nothing to help her. I also think you have overstepped the limits in your questioning and is now prodding about things that you have no right to ask about on such a personal level. Understand?”

“I-I’m sorry.” Twilight’s head dropped down to hide her embarrassment. I noticed her give a mournful glance towards Sarah before entering silence.

My vision suddenly caught the faces of the other ponies staring at me. I looked down and caught Sarah’s shimmering eyes watching me. Apparently they had heard me and my heart dropped to my stomach. A tear slid down my daughter’s cheek and I suddenly wanted this dream to end more than I had previously.

“Sarah,” I croaked. “Sarah, baby, I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”

She buried her face into her plush and cried. This dream was now past its due and needed to end. I set my still weeping daughter down on the chair, stood to looked out of the window.

Behind me Rarity started to speak. “Perhaps the Princesses can help.”

“Yeah, of course they could help,” Twilight replied.

I wasn’t listening. I was trying to think of the quickest way to end this nightmare. The window was on the second floor, not high enough to kill me. But perhaps the fall itself and the pain would be enough to snap me out. The injuries on my knees though helped quell that idea. Pain and falling probably wouldn't be enough to pull me from a dream that wasn’t intending to let me go freely anytime soon.

“The Princesses could make me feel better?” Sarah asked.

I heard Twilight sit next to her. “They aren’t all-powerful but I think illnesses can be fixed.”

“Daddy,” Sarah called to me and I left my thoughts. “Can we go see the princesses?”

I glanced at her, then at the ponies and back to my daughter. Was the dream really trying to drag me further into it? Was my subconscious trying to show me something? I didn’t know and I now found myself in another dilemma. To end this dream now or see it through to the end.

That was when it hit me. Was this how I viewed my life? When Sarah died would I have anything else to live for? She was all that mattered after my wife passed away and with her gone would I just end it all? The more I thought about it the more I didn’t like the answer.

No. I wasn’t going to give up so easily on life or this dream. I had to push on as best as I could. It also helped that my curiosity was now spiked and I wanted to see what my dream had in store for me.

“Yes.” I sat back down next to Sarah and kissed her forehead. “We can go see the princesses.”

My daughter’s face lit up and I smiled too.

Pinkie Pie cheered happily next to me. “Hooray! We’re going to Canterlot!”

Twilight jumped up and started to leave. “I will go get the train tickets. I’ll be right back.”

“We’ll stay here with Eric and Sarah,” Applejack replied and the other’s nodded.

The lavender pony opened the door and was about to leave before she stopped and turned around. “Spike! Wake up! I need you to send a letter when I get back.”

I heard a tired groan from another room as Twilight closed the door behind her. I was still slightly hungry and I grabbed a cinnamon roll. It was also a measure of insurance to prevent the ponies from asking more questions. A full mouth is a valuable tool to protect oneself.

I was almost done with my third one, they were very good after all, when Spike came down the stairs. He noticed the five ponies watching him and he stopped.

“What are you guys doing here?” He quickly saw me and Sarah. “Who and what are they?”

“They are visitors from a far away land.” Rarity explained. “We are getting ready to go to Canterlot so the princesses can help the little one.”

“Oh. Is that why Twilight wants to send a letter to Celestia?”

“Yes.”

The dragon nodded. “Okay.”

The door opened and Twilight walked in. “Got the tickets.”

She magically passed a ticket to all of us except Spike. Twilight instead gave him a pen and paper.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” the pony began without hesitation. “My friends and I are coming to visit you, if you are not busy of course, and we will be bringing along two visitors who require your help. They are from a far away place and the younger one is very sick. Where they come from there is no cure but we believe you can help. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike scribbled down the last words and sent the letter on its way with a puff of green fire and smoke. I absentmindedly watched the air clear before looking at my train ticket. Once again my dream amazed me with its attention to detail. Unique numbers and words were printed comprehensively over both sides of the paper.

“Is everypony ready to go?” Twilight asked. I nodded while still reading the ticket.

“We’re leaving now?” Rarity gasped.

Twilight nodded. “I got tickets for the soonest train. Why?”

“I must pack some items for the trip, my dear!” The fashion pony was flabbergasted. “You know me, I can’t go on trips without being prepared!”

“But the train will be here in fifteen minutes!” Twilight rolled her eyes and stared flatly at her friend.

“I will meet you at the station,” Rarity said as she rushed to the door. “Don’t fret. I’ll be there soon!”

The station was crowded with ponies wanting to see us. Being in a better mood I waved to them and said the occasional “hello”. The train was pulling in when Rarity came running up with a large assortment of luggage. Why she needed all of it was a mystery to me. She searched for a place to store her stuff as the rest of us found our seats. Pinkie Pie sat down next to us and immediately started to talk excitedly to Sarah.

I noticed that my daughter hadn’t talked to her plush the entire time we had been here. I guess she didn’t have to since the real thing was with her. Well, as real as you can get in a dream. As the train lurched forward I allowed myself to relax and actually enjoy the passing countryside and laughter of my daughter.

Author's Notes:

I did my research on how cancer kills, primarily the type of cancer Sarah has, and I tried to make it as accurate as I could. This is a fictional story and I do not believe I have made it completely accurate to how someone would descend into a ever worsening state but I tried my best.