Dreams have always been a strange thing for me, or at least that's how I remember them anyway. They had always been prophetic, but then again, the state of memories from my first life were vague at the best of times. Certain bits stuck out, like Aragorn’s speech before the battle of the Black Gate, and a lengthy weekend visit to an uncle’s farm.

The dream thing though, that I was fairly confident was not stolen from some book or movie I had seen. This fact felt real, tangible, and drawn from experiences that were my own. So it wasn't a surprise to me when I began to experience vivid hallucinations while my mind was traveling the endless void of unconsciousness.

The actual images themselves though, that was something I had never seen before, nor did I have any context to draw on. The only connecting fabric was that they were all paintings, hanging from a wall that slowly passed me by. Like a conveyor belt of art I watched as various pieces traveled in front of me in a slow, but deliberate motion.

The first of which was perhaps the simplest, yet the most obtuse in its meaning. For it was of the valley I found myself in, only it was almost cartoonish in its appearance, with big arrows pointing to random places. One directed my attention to the middle of the forest, the other to where I had seen the strange village on the cliff. There were others, but I didn't get a chance to memorize them before the painting passed me by.

Replacing itself with the image of a small chained pony working beneath the yoke of nearly a dozen masters. With a pickaxe in hoof, the unicorn struck the ground while bearing many wips upon its back while crying out in agony.

From left to right, there was a dark alicorn whose shadow had eyes of its own. Her opposite was close to her side, the bright white, imperious alicorn standing taller than her sibling. Next to her were a trio of creatures that were oddly similar in their demonour. Starting with a black dragon notable for the cruel sneer on its face, a humanoid dog whose whip was coiled at its side, and a minotaur who had no weapon at all but who gazed down with hate at the pony.

The last creature was a mere shadow with glowing purple eyes, orbs which promised death to all they gazed upon. Then the painting was gone, replaced by a small image of a crystal that spun slowly within its frame. That disappeared a moment later, along with the wall and nearly everything else, returning me to the void.

Thanfkully I was not alone for long, nor did I experience the awful sensation of having bits of my essence being bled away a second time. My company was only a voice, though it was joined by others not long after. Their words started off muddy, but as more people joined in, they became clearer, and more defined.

Even still, they never quite became as clear as crystal, but I could feel their intention. It was a prayer, one guided by the calming presence of Quick Quill. Some in attendance were desperate, others frightened, but what united them was their guide, and the undercurrent of hope they all had.

I gotta wake up. I thought to myself. My ponies need me.

With a powerful application of will, and more effort then I would have thought necessary, I lurched towards the light. Dragging my mind from the darkness, and towards the waking world like one may pull a teenager from bed in the morning. It was difficult, but not herculean, and after a bit of struggle, I felt something solid beneath my fingers.

I then opened my eyes, and gazed down at my flock, vision slowly clearing until I could make out what was happening. Only to immediately find myself so shocked that all I could do was stare down at the events unfolding before me. Quick Quill, had a knife in her hooves and seemed intent on stabbing the still form of Short Sale.

“That won't be necessary,” I boomed.

The dagger clattered to the ground, and all looked up at me.

“You’re… you’re awake,” Quick Quill muttered.

“What did I tell you about sacrifices?” I replied.

“That they werent needed?” the mare answered, wincing and looking away. “We were just… worried. Your body collapsed into a heap. We thought you were gone, and that the only way to bring you back was to give you what you gave to Short Sale.”

“So you thought you would go against one of my first commands?” I shouted, fingers balling into a fist. “That an insult would rouse me from my slumber?”

“Don't- don't take it out on her,” Short Sale muttered. “I volunteered.”

I grit my non-existent teeth and inspected the crowd closely, noting that nearly half of them flinched upon my gaze settling over them. As I inspected them each in turn, my anger turned to pity, as I beheld the desperation on each of their faces. I was a life line, their final salvation and I had vanished after what probably felt like a minute to them.

“How long was I asleep?” I asked.

“A day,” Earthbreak replied. “They- we, were growing worried.”

I hummed thoughtfully, my mind churning with thoughts as I tried to come up with some manner of convincing lie to tell them.

“I am still waking up so to speak,” I began. “Such an expenditure left me weak and forced me to slumber once more, but it was your prayers, not your sacrifice that roused me once more.”

“I’m so sorry,” Quick Quill muttered, the mare falling to her knees and sobbing. “I should have listened, I should have calmed everyone instead of panicking.”

“Fret not,” I interrupted. “You are in desperate times, and so we should forgive a desperate move.”

“I almost killed one of our own. How can I go on knowing I was ready to do that?” Quick Quill muttered.

I hummed a deep, vibrating hum, and gently plucked Quick Quill from the ground before bringing her up to eye level with me.

“Look down on them,” I ordered.

The pony obeyed.

“What would you give to protect them?” I asked.

“Anything,” Quick Quill replied without hesitation.

“Even a part of yourself that you could never get back,” I continued. “Though grim, your resolve is commendable, and your selfless nature is something to be praised. You must simply guide those urges into a more well thought out path.”

“I.. understand,” Quick Quill murmured.

“Do not hate the cornered wolf for biting you, hate the circumstances that brought you both to that point,” I finished, placing my hand back on the ground and allowing the pony to step away from my palm. “Now then, let us put this grim business behind us, yes?”

A murmur of agreement rose up over the crowd.

“Remember, it is your prayers, and your thanks that give me the strength to resist the siren song of sleep. Not rituals, or sacrifices, just words that come from the heart,” I exclaimed.

The ponies remained silent, each contemplating what had happened in their own way.

“Now then,” I interrupted. “Let's start rebuilding, hmm?”

“But what about our prayer? Shouldn't we keep praying?” shouted a random pony from amongst the crowd.

“Save that for the end of the week. Now let us focus simply on filling your bellies, and putting roofs over your heads,” I declared.

Another cheer went up and though this one was more subdued it was far more hopeful.

The next day happened to be Tuesday, or at least that's what I was told by a helpful child playing with rocks near the base of the mountain. The sight made me feel happy, as at least he was joyful enough to play, but the fact that the only toys he had left were stones was a bit depressing. Either way I made a note to remedy that little problem at my earliest opportunity, and directed my attention towards the main gathering.

Who were all standing over my discarded body which was still mostly intact, though small chunks had fallen off. Peering a little closer, I noted that a few of the ex miners were picking at what had been my chest cavity at one point. This was enough to spark my own curiosity, and I leaned down in order to find out what all the fuss was about.

“Don't tell me I struck gold by accident,” I remarked with a chuckle.

What few ponies didn't notice my shadow looming over them, jumped in surprise, and turned around to look up at me.

“We werent doing anything, we promise,” exclaimed a hasty young mare.

I held up a hand and cut off the flood of excuses, and apologies I could feel were coming.

“It is a mere hunk of rock now. Do with it as you will,” I declared. “I am merely curious as to why you all are so curious.”

“There are crystals inside of your old body,” offered a burly older mare with a grey mane. “Look mighty important too, like the kind you can use to grow a whole bunch of stuff.”

“Grow, crystals?” I asked, looking a little closer at the older mare.

Who nodded dutifully, unbothered by my focus upon her. “I ain't never worked with them myself but my grandfather used to tell stories about the pink crystal found in the valley of dreams. Supposedly you could cultivate these hearth crystals like wheat, and shape it into a whole bunch of different things.”

“What exactly could you use it for?” I asked.

“Tons of stuff,” replied the mare who gestured around her with a hoof. “Why we could grow whole buildings, or shape it into weapons, armor or even household stuff like furniture. Only trouble is how long it takes. That and it can't exactly be reused or nothing. Once it takes a shape it holds that shape until its dying breath.”

“Fascinating,” I muttered. “Well feel free to extract it and use how you see fit.”

“But what if it's tied to you somehow?” Quick Quill offered. “It was in your chest. It could be important.”

“I can sense that there is more of this stuff out there,” I replied. “So that will be a conversation for another time. Now then, what did you need help with?”

“We were hoping you could locate us some more berries, or something. We have enough food for a few weeks but if we find more of our wayward neighbors then we might be in trouble,” remarked an older stallion that I recognized as Short Sale.

The male was half laying on a rock, his front half propped up on the stone which had once been a part of my head. Now it was inert, though thankfully the male was not, and I could see that he looked surprisingly good. Not great, as he still didn't have any forelegs, but his color had returned and he looked to be on the mend.

“An excellent idea,” I commended. “And after that?”

“I’m not sure,” Short Sale muttered.

“It would be nice if we could build some rooms in the cave,” Earthbreak remarked. “The lack of privacy is a little annoying.”

I noted that the large male was glancing at Crystal Cadance rather longingly when he said that. His desire for a bit of space was understandable given the fact that the ponies were more or less sleeping in one giant pile at the moment. It was warm enough in the caves, but few areas had been properly cleared, leaving the place littered with stalagmites.

Or was that stalactites?

Regardless, I was already thinking up a plan on how to cordon off a few of the side tunnels into family homes. It wouldn't be perfect, but in time they would be able to hew what stone got in their way and turn it into a true house. That would take time however, for now I focused on how exactly I was going to turn that dank cave into something more livable.

I shook my enormous head, dismissing the notion.

“Right then, let's look for something you can forage,” I muttered half to myself.

Wednesday rolled around fairly quickly, with the rest of the previous day being occupied by assisting in any way I could. The ponies lacked the tools necessary to harvest the crystal in my discarded body so I had reanimated it. This time I had focused on creating a much smaller, more densely compacted form that could fit into the tunnels. It ended up being roughly six feet tall which put me a full head and shoulders above even the biggest pony.

“Hey what are those things on your chest?” asked a curious voice.

I looked down, my armload of stone and musings temporarily forgotten, washed away by a sharp eyed child. She was one of the foals I had saved from that bear thing, and also one of the few who viewed me without fear. It was almost a little annoying to be honest, the kid was an endless barrel of questions and curiositiy.

This was a good thing, don't get me wrong, but ask any parent what their most hated word in the English language is, and they would reply with “Why”. Either that or “Treat”, honestly it's a toss up.

“These are called breasts, and they serve the same purpose as your mother’s teets do,” I replied, choosing to avoid subtlety in hopes of eliciting fewer questions. “Though obviously mine are made of stone.”

“Oooh,” she muttered. “Hey, why don't you look like a pony?”

I paused, and thought about it while staring down at the filly.

Her fur was almost white, though it had a pinch of yellow that made her stick out of any crowd like a sore thumb. Her eyes were a deep pink, and her hair was the same shade as a blueberry that was ready to be picked. Tied into a tight braid, her hair was long, nearly reaching her knees, and matched the tightly bound tail that swung back and forth.

Damn she is cute. I wonder what her cutie mark is going to be? A big question mark probably. I thought to myself. Hopefully she doesn't grow up to become the riddler.

“Hey are you okay?” she pressed.

“Err yeah. Sorry about that. I was just staring off into space,” I replied.

“But you were looking down,” retorted the child.

“It is simply the form that is most efficient for the job,” I answered.

“Wouldn't an extra set of arms be even more efficient?” asked the filly, who wiggled her forehooves at me.

I sighed, and was about to come up with some other excuse when Crystal Cadance appeared.

“Nigma, what are you doing here? I thought you were helping Earthbreak haul stone,” exclaimed the mare in a slightly disapproving tone.

“Aww but that's boring,” whined the foal. “Do I have to?”

“We’ve all gotta pull our weight around here,” Crystal exclaimed.

The filly groaned. “But I don't wanna do that. I wanna play with Gaea.”

“Tell you what? If you manage to clear all the rocks Break needs to get rid of I’ll bring you berry picking tomorrow,” Crystal Cadance offered. “How does that sound?”

“Can I eat as much as I want?” asked Nigma, the filly, her eyes glowing brightly.

“If you do a good job,” Crystal Cadance replied.

“Yesss!” screeched the child as she sprinted back towards the cave like a bat out of hell.

I chuckled as I watched the kid run. “You know you’d make for a wonderful parent.”

Crystal’s features tightened, and I could tell that she was doing her best to not let her pain reach her expression. Not like it mattered though, as these ponies werent exactly very good at hiding their emotions. Sure it may work on one another, but their faces were just so large that even a twitch of pain was like a grimace for someone who grew up as a human.

“I wish that was possible,” Crystal Cadance muttered, a hoof going to her stomach. “But some things just aren't possible.”

“You werent always quite so pretty, were you?” I asked, doing my best to be subtle for once.

Crystal chuckled. “I guess you could put it that way, yes.”

“You never know,” I remarked. “The future might be a scary, dark place but it holds wonders beyond imagining.”

“I suppose,” Crystal murmured.

The pony looked up at me with a curious expression as if attempting to read the almost completely blank stone that made up my face. Without facial muscles, or anything other than two dots for eyes it wasn't like she could divine much anyway. Not like that was even possible mind you, as I myself was unsure if I could actually help in this regard.

Despite all that I had hope that as time passed and I explored my powers, I would be able to help.

A part of me said that doing so would be a good way to secure their loyalty, but that was secondary. Their faith may fuel me but I was already looking forward to the day that it was no longer necessary. That was not a conversation I wanted to have, but worrying about such a talk at this point felt a bit silly.

I had nearly a hundred ponies to look after and this was a very dangerous place.

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