Post by Mal on Apr 6, 2016 20:51:56 GMT -5
Bygone Echo had decided to spend some time in his cart since both Luna and Dissy might not have been out at this point. But... then again he'd lost track of time so anything was possible! He was seated at a table in the cart with a half-size plush of Discord of all creatures laid out on the table before him like some bizarre frankenstein! The chest of said plush had been opened in order to insert the 'skeleton' that allowed him to try to animate it! His hat was hung on a cut-down coat rack near the door. No need to have it in the way! Upon his face was a pair of magnification goggles with almost comically large magnifying glasses attached! It was obviously a jewelcrafter's headpiece for a full size pony but By cut the strap to make it where he could wear it.
Princess Luna made her way out to the courtyard where she knew Bygone's cart to usually sit, now that she escaped the clutches of the drago- draconequus. There was nothing she could talk about with the changeling concerning his drifting time through Chaosville where nothing made sense, but she still wanted to talk to him. Just to see how Bygone was doing, even dreamwise; she sensed more than saw his dreams before Discord woke him up at the start of night. The princess approached the moment the cart came into view and sat down in front of its door, lifting a hoof to knock lightly.
Bygone Echo was in the process of working with a talon of the Discord plush whenever he heard a knock upon the cart's door. Who could that be? The little changeling hopped down from a stack of books and headed for the door. Unhooking the three locks he pulled the door open to be greeted with the sight of blue. Oops... He pushed the lense away form his eye and took in the sight of Luna! "Ooooh, Hiya miss Luna!" he smiled wide, glancing past the alicorn to check the 'time'. "Wanna come in?" he hopped to the side of the door and let Luna enter. The cart was dreadfully Dusty though... Especially since BY had been missing for over a months or two... with no dusting at all in the cart. And he didn't know the spells that would make the cleaning easy.
Princess Luna heard the sound of the locks on the other side of the door, and its opening revealed.. Oh. She didn't expect him to have magnifying glasses on his face. "Hello, Bygone." She greeted warmly. "Ah, will I fit in your cart?" She wasn't sure if there was enough room for her, but it wasn't as if she was as tall as her sister. Looking past him into the cart's interior, it was rather dusty, but it was much the same as before. Wait. Luna had to stare at the thing he was working on, needing a moment to be sure that it wasn't.. well. It was the likeness of Discord, but smaller, reaffirming that it wasn't actually him and there was something weird going on. "So what have you been up to?"
Bygone Echo perked his ears at that question. "Ooooh - you should. Hold on!" he bounced over to what appeared to be some sort of contraption in the corner. he blew the dust off of it and with a few tweaks the ceiling of the cart appeared to... move up? Ooooh - spacial expansion enchantments. He'd never thought to adjust it so miss Luna could enter his cart! He needed to do that... His attention turned back to the alicorn only to see her gaze peering directly at plush Dissy. "Ooh... Well, I had an idea in a dream and wanted to try it." he kicked his hoof. The dreams seemed to be at least somewhat accurate in a few ways. The enchantments to create animated plushies had tested positive when he tried it out a few days ago...
Princess Luna stuck her head into the cart in time to see the ceiling move. She gave the strange contraption a glance, impressed. "Quite interesting spellwork." She commented as she pulled herself into the cart proper, and with enough headroom too. Settling out of the way of the door, and the changeling, she could sit comfortably to watch. "Is that so?" Luna made a noise in her throat, something like an interested 'hm.' "What have you been dreaming of? I may not have managed to see any of them while you were in Chaosville, but some glimpses of them."
Bygone Echo smiled some. "Thank ya... I had to recreate little thingy over there to make it adjustable but it hasn't collapsed yet!" with that cheerful thought in mind he started to move back towards the stack of books that substituted for a stool next to his work table. However the question about his dreams brought the little changeling to a screeching halt. His cheerful demeanor plummeted for all of five seconds before he threw a smile back on and continued on again. "J-just stuff.. Things that were, things that are, and some things that haven't yet (and won't) come to pass. D-Dreams are fickle things that way; you'd know th-that best miss Luna, yes - yes?!" he'd ask with a few flinches as he brushed a hoof on the metal 'ribs' of the Discord plush and felt the hum of magic.
Princess Luna quietly observed the changeling's reaction, somewhat surprised that the question of dreams made him halt and stammer. "Indeed, they can be fickle. There is much more to even the strangest one, things dredged up from the subconscious of wants, of fears, and hidden messages that your subconscious is trying to make clear to you. Though interpretation can be quite hard." Luna brought up, eyeing the strange Discord plush that he settled himself beside. Was he going to try to make something like Unikrom? "What is the matter with them? Did you have nightmares?"
Bygone Echo let out a small smile as the little changeling looked down at the plushie. He was indeed going for something akin to unikrom! But a jumbo-sized unikrom that looked like Dissy! of course to help the illusion he had to come up with ways to replicate things... floating - basic cantrips... what was a Dissy plush without a little Dissy? Alas the changeling paused at the question and shook his head. "No! Not at all... No nightmares." he'd say as his ears laid back an his gaze lowered. The magnifying glass chose that moment to slip down and nearly cause him to head-desk at the weight of it. "But nearly just as bad.." his shoulders sagged. How many times in chaosville did he wish he could just curl up and live in the dream?
Princess Luna was confused. He wasn't having nightmares? "Whatever do you mean?" A wing unfurled from her side, reaching across the space to touch the wingtip to Bygone's shoulder. He looked.. a little upset about something. If he chose not to talk about it with her, she would let it go and ask about the strange Discord plush. She was not one to push issues, especially upsetting ones. "I am the dreamwalker, certainly there is something I can do to help you with these dreams, if they are troubling you."
Bygone Echo took a moment to shove one of the thick metal 'cords' up plush Dissy's neck up towards the head. "Dreams that leaves on feeling worse than before, m-miss Luna... A nightmare scares a pony and leaves them appreciating what they have; but what about the dreams that gives a p-pony everything they would ever want? Only to wake up and find out it was all a lie? T-time and time again." his voice had declined in intensity as he took the opportunity to carve a few runes into the end of the cable as he 'tied' it to the enchanted 'ribs'. Since he was 'home' he was trying not to think about the dreams.
Princess Luna used her wingtip to pat the foal's shoulder, troubled. "What is it that you want?" Curiosity drove her to still ask him that, despite how crestfallen Bygone was starting to look. Sometimes, in a dream, small pushes were enough to make a pony face their fears, make them realize. Bygone already knew from the sound of it, but she had little idea of what, but if there was a chance she could find out.. She could help him, too, but Luna was also there to give him a hug if he just didn't want to talk about it.
Bygone Echo glanced at the wingtip that was patting his shoulder but his expression stayed the same. "I... " he'd start only to make a bit of a sound. "I-it is a bit of a selfish want, right? F-for a changeling at least it is." he'd say as his gaze focused on the plushy laid out upon the table. "I-I want a family. To feel the same love that I have felt being directed towards 0-others who have stopped at my cart for toys. Th-The envy I have felt...n-no...feel towards them.... Envy is a wrong th-though..isn't it miss Luna?" his ears laid back against his head. "I already h-have Dissy - I s-shouldn't still w-want more." at this point the little changeling was somewhat shaking.
Princess Luna lowered the rest of her body to the ground so that she lay on her stomach, putting her a little closer to the changeling. "It is not.. wrong to feel envy, as it is a natural emotion. I can understand, to an extent, why you feel the way you do. You are young, and you see the happiness that others experience, so you want to be a part of it." Luna held out her forelegs towards him as she withdrew her wing, loosely folding it. ".. A family does not necessarily mean parents and a child. My sister and I, we are family. You and Discord. You even have me. Close friends are as much family." Luna frowned a little. "I was quite worried when you were absent for so long."
Bygone Echo offered a bit of a shaky smile and nodded, tail flicking. "Y-yeah! I know, but..." The changeling hopped from his pile and to Luna's held out forelegs. "I'm sorry I worried you... He hated to cause trouble for his friends! And to make them worry! Alas the changeling didn't really say much more for a few moments as he settled. "With the... dreams... They involved me having a family like those I had seen. And all the love to.... Sweet hearts of love and magic...." He didn't know just how much the alicorn had seen though so he was keeping a good bit of it to himself.
Princess Luna curled her forelegs the moment the colt joined her. "It is of no issue. What matters is that you are safe, and back with us." She assured him. "'Tis natural to worry, too." The princess fell silent for a moment as she held Bygone, comforting, thinking of what glimpses she had seen. It was strange to piece together. "The princess of love." Luna didn't think she could make anything like that for Bygone, unfortunately. She squinted, teal eyes focused past him. "I must say, what little I saw.. Princess Cadance is nothing like that, truly. She is calm and patient, caring. Steady. To think we would ever squabble would be ridiculous." Luna smiled, eyes flicking back towards Bygone's face. "Mayhaps, sometime when she is not busy and she visits, you can meet."
Bygone Echo made a bit of a face and nodded as he listened to what was said with about Cadance... "I.. found it funny that for a princess of Love... she was rather..." he drift off and wobbled his hoof a little since he didn't really quite know what to say! "I'd be happy to meet her." he'd say with a bit of an odd look. "Honestly... I-I'm rather happy with you and Dissy." he somewhat clung to a foreleg in that position. "I'm a weird changeling though, aren't I...." he let out a long sigh.
Princess Luna only ever managed to see glimpses of the dream, and some of them were just so.. strange! She knew that it was attributed to the possibility that Bygone never officially met her, to explain it. Maybe. Sometimes dreams and the ponies in them could act strangely. "Indeed." The lunar deity could agree with that. "You were not given a normal beginning as most other changelings were, unfortunate as it is, but you are.. unique. I would almost say that you have helped me understand changelings a little better. They are not so.. mysterious as they seem." Luna found an appropriate enough word and used her free hoof to pet Bygone's mane.
Bygone Echo flicked his ear. "Y-yeah... I don't know if I could even live in a changeling hive after living the way I have." he'd say with a bit of a face. The whole having somepony in his head thing made him SO uneasy! But.. on the other hoof it was like no changeling would ever be alone... With a shake of his head his ears perked. Luna was running a hoof through his mane? Felt rather nice! Thus Bygone shifted and buzzed... much like a purring cat? Maybe - the little changeling was quite the happy camper he was.
Princess Luna almost stopped petting him at the sound of that soft buzz. It was strange, that sound, but she continued to stroke his mane like anypony would to soothe another. "We are happy to have you too. The castle was a little too quiet with your absence, although we have been dealing with some trouble as of late. Somepony sneaking in and messing with the guards in the captain's position, the captain himself missing.." Luna grumped. Her trap had not yet been sprung. "Strife has made it clear to me that ponies in town are smuggling dark magic, and a bakery was destroyed too."
Bygone Echo made a rather strange look as he heard some of the recent events. "Huuuuh? That is strange." he'd say with a bit of an owlish blink. "Some of that weird schtuff was happening in my dreams! Like... ponies were acting strange and all... and there was a kitty in a few to. Apparently several times his dreams took on more surreal format at times! "A bakery? I...huh... I hope it wasn't mister blue's bakery!" The changeling was making a face at that.
Princess Luna's mouth dropped open a little and she peered at Bygone, confused. "It was?" She asked. Prophetic dreams weren't all that common, however, he was in Chaosville. Anything could happen. "I.. believe it was. The bakery that you received that book of dark magic from? It had much down in its basement which had been confiscated since it is a danger to Canterlot and its citizens. A danger to ponies in general." Luna lifted an eyebrow. Of the 'kitty' part he mentioned, she had absolutely no idea; something that was just part of his dreams?
Princess Luna made her way out to the courtyard where she knew Bygone's cart to usually sit, now that she escaped the clutches of the drago- draconequus. There was nothing she could talk about with the changeling concerning his drifting time through Chaosville where nothing made sense, but she still wanted to talk to him. Just to see how Bygone was doing, even dreamwise; she sensed more than saw his dreams before Discord woke him up at the start of night. The princess approached the moment the cart came into view and sat down in front of its door, lifting a hoof to knock lightly.
Bygone Echo was in the process of working with a talon of the Discord plush whenever he heard a knock upon the cart's door. Who could that be? The little changeling hopped down from a stack of books and headed for the door. Unhooking the three locks he pulled the door open to be greeted with the sight of blue. Oops... He pushed the lense away form his eye and took in the sight of Luna! "Ooooh, Hiya miss Luna!" he smiled wide, glancing past the alicorn to check the 'time'. "Wanna come in?" he hopped to the side of the door and let Luna enter. The cart was dreadfully Dusty though... Especially since BY had been missing for over a months or two... with no dusting at all in the cart. And he didn't know the spells that would make the cleaning easy.
Princess Luna heard the sound of the locks on the other side of the door, and its opening revealed.. Oh. She didn't expect him to have magnifying glasses on his face. "Hello, Bygone." She greeted warmly. "Ah, will I fit in your cart?" She wasn't sure if there was enough room for her, but it wasn't as if she was as tall as her sister. Looking past him into the cart's interior, it was rather dusty, but it was much the same as before. Wait. Luna had to stare at the thing he was working on, needing a moment to be sure that it wasn't.. well. It was the likeness of Discord, but smaller, reaffirming that it wasn't actually him and there was something weird going on. "So what have you been up to?"
Bygone Echo perked his ears at that question. "Ooooh - you should. Hold on!" he bounced over to what appeared to be some sort of contraption in the corner. he blew the dust off of it and with a few tweaks the ceiling of the cart appeared to... move up? Ooooh - spacial expansion enchantments. He'd never thought to adjust it so miss Luna could enter his cart! He needed to do that... His attention turned back to the alicorn only to see her gaze peering directly at plush Dissy. "Ooh... Well, I had an idea in a dream and wanted to try it." he kicked his hoof. The dreams seemed to be at least somewhat accurate in a few ways. The enchantments to create animated plushies had tested positive when he tried it out a few days ago...
Princess Luna stuck her head into the cart in time to see the ceiling move. She gave the strange contraption a glance, impressed. "Quite interesting spellwork." She commented as she pulled herself into the cart proper, and with enough headroom too. Settling out of the way of the door, and the changeling, she could sit comfortably to watch. "Is that so?" Luna made a noise in her throat, something like an interested 'hm.' "What have you been dreaming of? I may not have managed to see any of them while you were in Chaosville, but some glimpses of them."
Bygone Echo smiled some. "Thank ya... I had to recreate little thingy over there to make it adjustable but it hasn't collapsed yet!" with that cheerful thought in mind he started to move back towards the stack of books that substituted for a stool next to his work table. However the question about his dreams brought the little changeling to a screeching halt. His cheerful demeanor plummeted for all of five seconds before he threw a smile back on and continued on again. "J-just stuff.. Things that were, things that are, and some things that haven't yet (and won't) come to pass. D-Dreams are fickle things that way; you'd know th-that best miss Luna, yes - yes?!" he'd ask with a few flinches as he brushed a hoof on the metal 'ribs' of the Discord plush and felt the hum of magic.
Princess Luna quietly observed the changeling's reaction, somewhat surprised that the question of dreams made him halt and stammer. "Indeed, they can be fickle. There is much more to even the strangest one, things dredged up from the subconscious of wants, of fears, and hidden messages that your subconscious is trying to make clear to you. Though interpretation can be quite hard." Luna brought up, eyeing the strange Discord plush that he settled himself beside. Was he going to try to make something like Unikrom? "What is the matter with them? Did you have nightmares?"
Bygone Echo let out a small smile as the little changeling looked down at the plushie. He was indeed going for something akin to unikrom! But a jumbo-sized unikrom that looked like Dissy! of course to help the illusion he had to come up with ways to replicate things... floating - basic cantrips... what was a Dissy plush without a little Dissy? Alas the changeling paused at the question and shook his head. "No! Not at all... No nightmares." he'd say as his ears laid back an his gaze lowered. The magnifying glass chose that moment to slip down and nearly cause him to head-desk at the weight of it. "But nearly just as bad.." his shoulders sagged. How many times in chaosville did he wish he could just curl up and live in the dream?
Princess Luna was confused. He wasn't having nightmares? "Whatever do you mean?" A wing unfurled from her side, reaching across the space to touch the wingtip to Bygone's shoulder. He looked.. a little upset about something. If he chose not to talk about it with her, she would let it go and ask about the strange Discord plush. She was not one to push issues, especially upsetting ones. "I am the dreamwalker, certainly there is something I can do to help you with these dreams, if they are troubling you."
Bygone Echo took a moment to shove one of the thick metal 'cords' up plush Dissy's neck up towards the head. "Dreams that leaves on feeling worse than before, m-miss Luna... A nightmare scares a pony and leaves them appreciating what they have; but what about the dreams that gives a p-pony everything they would ever want? Only to wake up and find out it was all a lie? T-time and time again." his voice had declined in intensity as he took the opportunity to carve a few runes into the end of the cable as he 'tied' it to the enchanted 'ribs'. Since he was 'home' he was trying not to think about the dreams.
Princess Luna used her wingtip to pat the foal's shoulder, troubled. "What is it that you want?" Curiosity drove her to still ask him that, despite how crestfallen Bygone was starting to look. Sometimes, in a dream, small pushes were enough to make a pony face their fears, make them realize. Bygone already knew from the sound of it, but she had little idea of what, but if there was a chance she could find out.. She could help him, too, but Luna was also there to give him a hug if he just didn't want to talk about it.
Bygone Echo glanced at the wingtip that was patting his shoulder but his expression stayed the same. "I... " he'd start only to make a bit of a sound. "I-it is a bit of a selfish want, right? F-for a changeling at least it is." he'd say as his gaze focused on the plushy laid out upon the table. "I-I want a family. To feel the same love that I have felt being directed towards 0-others who have stopped at my cart for toys. Th-The envy I have felt...n-no...feel towards them.... Envy is a wrong th-though..isn't it miss Luna?" his ears laid back against his head. "I already h-have Dissy - I s-shouldn't still w-want more." at this point the little changeling was somewhat shaking.
Princess Luna lowered the rest of her body to the ground so that she lay on her stomach, putting her a little closer to the changeling. "It is not.. wrong to feel envy, as it is a natural emotion. I can understand, to an extent, why you feel the way you do. You are young, and you see the happiness that others experience, so you want to be a part of it." Luna held out her forelegs towards him as she withdrew her wing, loosely folding it. ".. A family does not necessarily mean parents and a child. My sister and I, we are family. You and Discord. You even have me. Close friends are as much family." Luna frowned a little. "I was quite worried when you were absent for so long."
Bygone Echo offered a bit of a shaky smile and nodded, tail flicking. "Y-yeah! I know, but..." The changeling hopped from his pile and to Luna's held out forelegs. "I'm sorry I worried you... He hated to cause trouble for his friends! And to make them worry! Alas the changeling didn't really say much more for a few moments as he settled. "With the... dreams... They involved me having a family like those I had seen. And all the love to.... Sweet hearts of love and magic...." He didn't know just how much the alicorn had seen though so he was keeping a good bit of it to himself.
Princess Luna curled her forelegs the moment the colt joined her. "It is of no issue. What matters is that you are safe, and back with us." She assured him. "'Tis natural to worry, too." The princess fell silent for a moment as she held Bygone, comforting, thinking of what glimpses she had seen. It was strange to piece together. "The princess of love." Luna didn't think she could make anything like that for Bygone, unfortunately. She squinted, teal eyes focused past him. "I must say, what little I saw.. Princess Cadance is nothing like that, truly. She is calm and patient, caring. Steady. To think we would ever squabble would be ridiculous." Luna smiled, eyes flicking back towards Bygone's face. "Mayhaps, sometime when she is not busy and she visits, you can meet."
Bygone Echo made a bit of a face and nodded as he listened to what was said with about Cadance... "I.. found it funny that for a princess of Love... she was rather..." he drift off and wobbled his hoof a little since he didn't really quite know what to say! "I'd be happy to meet her." he'd say with a bit of an odd look. "Honestly... I-I'm rather happy with you and Dissy." he somewhat clung to a foreleg in that position. "I'm a weird changeling though, aren't I...." he let out a long sigh.
Princess Luna only ever managed to see glimpses of the dream, and some of them were just so.. strange! She knew that it was attributed to the possibility that Bygone never officially met her, to explain it. Maybe. Sometimes dreams and the ponies in them could act strangely. "Indeed." The lunar deity could agree with that. "You were not given a normal beginning as most other changelings were, unfortunate as it is, but you are.. unique. I would almost say that you have helped me understand changelings a little better. They are not so.. mysterious as they seem." Luna found an appropriate enough word and used her free hoof to pet Bygone's mane.
Bygone Echo flicked his ear. "Y-yeah... I don't know if I could even live in a changeling hive after living the way I have." he'd say with a bit of a face. The whole having somepony in his head thing made him SO uneasy! But.. on the other hoof it was like no changeling would ever be alone... With a shake of his head his ears perked. Luna was running a hoof through his mane? Felt rather nice! Thus Bygone shifted and buzzed... much like a purring cat? Maybe - the little changeling was quite the happy camper he was.
Princess Luna almost stopped petting him at the sound of that soft buzz. It was strange, that sound, but she continued to stroke his mane like anypony would to soothe another. "We are happy to have you too. The castle was a little too quiet with your absence, although we have been dealing with some trouble as of late. Somepony sneaking in and messing with the guards in the captain's position, the captain himself missing.." Luna grumped. Her trap had not yet been sprung. "Strife has made it clear to me that ponies in town are smuggling dark magic, and a bakery was destroyed too."
Bygone Echo made a rather strange look as he heard some of the recent events. "Huuuuh? That is strange." he'd say with a bit of an owlish blink. "Some of that weird schtuff was happening in my dreams! Like... ponies were acting strange and all... and there was a kitty in a few to. Apparently several times his dreams took on more surreal format at times! "A bakery? I...huh... I hope it wasn't mister blue's bakery!" The changeling was making a face at that.
Princess Luna's mouth dropped open a little and she peered at Bygone, confused. "It was?" She asked. Prophetic dreams weren't all that common, however, he was in Chaosville. Anything could happen. "I.. believe it was. The bakery that you received that book of dark magic from? It had much down in its basement which had been confiscated since it is a danger to Canterlot and its citizens. A danger to ponies in general." Luna lifted an eyebrow. Of the 'kitty' part he mentioned, she had absolutely no idea; something that was just part of his dreams?
To be continued.