"So The Grand Galloping Gala is happening this evening," I say after the character I was playing got thrown off the ledge of the platform he was fighting on, Cosmos's character struck a victory pose and the scoreboard popped up.
"That's the fundraiser to keep orphans warm in winter, right?" Cosmos asked as she levitated an illusion of a soda bottle towards her mouth.
"Yep," I respond as I stretch my back and replace the illusion of the video game with that of a tropical beach, laying down on the soft sand of this dream/illusion.
"And all the rich ponies are going to be there?" Cosmos asked as I levitated her off the sand before placing her gently on a folding beach chair facing the setting sun.
I wouldn't be able to do such complicated illusions outside of this dream prison for a long while, it's only thanks to me being asleep and technically dreaming, that I can interact with these illusions as if they're real.
"Yep, All the rich people are going to be there," I took a sip of coconut water straight from the source as the green nut levitated in my magic, a straw piercing the meat of the fruit.
"What's your plan?" She asked as she too took a sip from the coconut, another straw piercing the other side of the fruit.
"First I need to wait for everyone to be there, And for that, I'll arrive thirty minutes after opening," I said, "That will both make it so that the ballroom will be filled with enough ponies to start a conversation, and I will not look like I hurried to get there, even though I live in the Castle."
"And then?"
"After arriving, I'll make a talk with Chancellor Neighsay, and get some sort of schedule ready for my Nautical Science exam," I told her, already imagining how much money I'll make once my future shipping Company is all up and running.
"Then, I need to get speaking with Raincloud Dazzle, she's the chief manager of the Cloudsdale weather factory, so she definitely has a ticket,"
"What does the weather factory have anything to do with the plan?" Cosmos asked as she looked at me from the corner of her eye, her head still facing the false sunset.
"It's not her job at the weather factory that I'm interested in, it's her husband, the head of the shipwright designer club. I could get in touch with him or the club on my own, but having her recommendation will make working with them much easier in the future. They will be the ones who will help design the cargo ships using the technology of modern Equestria, Trying to make an Earth Cargo-ship will be a massive waste of resources, and also an incredibly expensive task that would require the creation of several new types of engines."
Cosmos hummed in acknowledgment, "And then what?"
"To be perfectly honest, those two are the only ones I need, everybody else at the gala will be a nice bonus," I chuckled lightly, "I mean who knows? Maybe the Fillydelphia golf association might come in handy in the future,"
"Heh, maybe," Cosmos also chuckled, her eyes still glued to the setting sun.
The soft sounds of the waves splashing on the beach filled the empty space of the dream prison as the two of us sat in silence.
"Blueblood,"
"Yes, Cosmos?"
"Do you miss being a human?"
Hearing her question, I sat silently in thought before quickly reaching a conclusion.
"I miss Human culture, I miss Human food and Human television, Human Games and Human science," I said, my eyes now also staring at the false setting sun, slowly lowering into the fake ocean.
"However," I added, "I don't miss sleeping on a ratty couch, I don't miss spending days without sleeping in order to get ready for a College exam, I don't miss having to work several jobs in order to scrounge enough money to eat something that wasn't dorm room slop, I don't miss bouncing from foster home to foster home, from city to city,"
I stopped talking, silence returning to the two of us.
"...I'm actually happy I'm here," I whispered, before quickly correcting myself, "I'm not happy I have hooves and Walk on four, I'm still a Human through and through.
But here, as Prince Blueblood?"
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling the air and opening my eyes once again.
The fake sun has set, and the beach is now illuminated by the endless sea of stars and nebulae that were all around the dream-prison.
"I have a warm and comfortable bed," I said, not even sure if Cosmos was still listening, "I have good food and an entire source of information in the royal library, I can cast magical spells that would have been seen as nothing more than fantasy back on earth, I have enough money to never need to scrounge through several jobs at the same time ever again."
I crack my neck, Stretch my back, roll my shoulders, And stand up from my beach chair.
I lift my arm high above my head, my fingers making bone-snapping sounds as I stretch them for the first time in a month, My bare feet leave soft indents on the sandy beach.
I stretch my legs as I crouch down, my khaki shorts covering my white skin, and a blue and white Hawaiian shirt wrapped around my torso.
I moved my golden-blonde hair to behind my ear so I could see better before looking down at the dismembered head that lived inside of a crystal shard.
"As Prince Blueblood, for the first time in my life, I have people I can consider friends," I smiled down at my dream companion with my icy-blue eyes.
Cosmos simply stared up at me silently, before smirking to herself and letting out a whistle.
"Look at you," She smiled as she looked at me, or at the Human-Blueblood me, "Handsome devil you,"
"Hey," I exclaimed as I held my arms crossed in front of myself, "Hands off the merchandise, You can look but you can't touch,"
"Hahahaha!" Cosmos laughed, soon joined by my own laughter.
And the two of us laughed on the fake beach, until I woke up, leaving Cosmos alone in the dream-prison, waiting for me to go back to sleep.
----------------------------
"Starlight Glimmer, You will be joining me at the entrance to the Ballroom," Princess Celestia told the Unicorn Mare in front of her.
"What?! But I'm supposed to-" Starlight wanted to argue, only for Celestia to shut her down.
"I will not allow you into the Gala, Blueblood's Bodyguard or not, I will not allow a convicted criminal near the other guests." She told her, "You will be staying with me, outside, Greeting the guests for the entire evening," Celestia smiled at the mare.
"I hope you enjoy standing outside doing nothing, you'll be doing a lot of that tonight," And for the millionth time since Starlight Glimmer struck that deal with Blueblood in the caves of Yakyakistan, Starlight Regretted her life choices.