//------------------------------// // Dreamland // Story: The Nightmare in the Corner // by Kaffeina //------------------------------// I was a brony, long time, so when I finally watched ‘Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep’, I was ecstatic. I could see my costume for the next con. I would be the humanoid tantabus. I would bring the nightmares to the land! Ok maybe I wasn’t that dramatic, but still. I already had a deep blue body suit, don’t ask. So all I had to do all the ‘stars’ or whatever you want to call them. It should’ve been generally fantastic. When I look back now, it was a very bad idea. And, I don’t mean that like, ‘it ended up terrible,’ no, I mean it in the eternally FUCKED way. Returning from the tangent, I finished the suit and it looked fantastic. The con was even more fun, at the beginning, when I first entered. The compliments made me very happy, especially when people requested pictures. That was the first part of the most horrific ride of my life. I had been scanning the booths, particularly anything with Luna merchandise or anything similar. When I finally came across a necklace, the man at the booth frowned, “I can’t sell that, not to you that is.” “Why not?” I asked him. It was weird, I was even offering a little more than he requested, and he still wasn’t going for it. “It’s reserved for another customer,” the man said, frowning towards me. I raised an eyebrow before speaking again. “I assume you have more?” I asked him, putting emphasis on the word more. “Well, of course I do, but-“ he started, only to be cut off by another man, one who was dressed as Rumpelstiltskin from OUAT, stepping out and glaring at him. “Why don’t you go ahead and sell it to him,” Rumpel said, smiling, “dearie.” The man in the cloak flinched and nodded, “Alright. Go ahead,” he said stepping back for Rumpel to step forward and grab the amulet, a half sun and moon made in silver and gold. “Here you are dearie,” he held it forward, “But first. Do you vow to become who you must? To forge ahead with your power?” I was puzzled and then I realized, they were roleplaying, “Of course. By the power of the sun and moon I vow.” He passed the amulet to me and I put it on, fastening it around my neck. It fell to my chest softly and my words began echoing through my mind. “By the power of the moon I vow,” I heard myself say, over and over again. Eventually, my vision went black all except for a moon and a sun which appeared before me. I saw something split from myself, a darker silhouette with dark orange sparks inside of him, and then I began falling towards the moon. When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a strange land. A young looking foal, a young horse, was shivering backwards from something. It looked like a nightmare. The poor little filly was cornered by a weird shadowy creature. I know that sounds vague, but that’s my best way to describe what I was seeing. A weird, rather large creature that had massive claws of shadow and tentacles out of its back. It lunged towards the pony, and I, on instinct, blocked it. The filly screamed, but when the creature didn’t get her, she looked up. “Hiya kiddo!” I said to her, smiling, “Want me to get rid of the nightmare?” I asked, referencing the creature in front of me. She nodded rapidly and I smiled again, “You got it.” I turned around and started singing, “Bad dream, bad dream, go away. We don’t need you here today. Bad dream, bad dream, you sleep all day, so this time I’ll make you go away!” I sang as I grabbed it, and suddenly felt the world begin to change with the little filly’s laughter. The beast shrunk down into my oddly colored hands, dark blue with specks. Interesting, though, I was more concerned with the filly at the time. She seemed a lot happier. I grinned back at her as she pulled up a table, “Tea party?” She asked, getting a larger smile from me. “Don’t mind if I do,” I said, grabbing one of the cups, “What kind might the tea be, miss?” “It’s Zebrican Herbal, one of my favorites, just like my mommy,” she said, pouring some tea into the cup. “Where is your mommy, little one?” I asked her, sipping at the tea. “I’m not really sure,” the filly looked troubled, “But she’s gone.” “Well, I could help you search for her!” I said, flexing my muscles, “I’m big and strong you know.” She giggled happily, before shaking her head, “No, I can do it. Mommy told me I was special,” she said, puffing out her little chest. Downright adorable. She stopped, “So I have to do it with my dreams.” “And you’re here for that?” I asked her, peeking past the tea cup, hiding my frown. Something was off for this poor little filly. She nodded heftily, “Mhm. I was looking for mama when the monster came, but then you saved me!” She squealed. I grinned and hugged her, “Well, I’ll be here then. If you ever need me, just shout, okay?” The little filly nodded again, “Okay! But, who are you?” I pondered for a minute, deciding to give her my real name, “I’m Dave.” The filly smiled wide, “Okay Mr. Dave, I’ll call you if I need you.” I smiled back, “So, who are you then?” The filly began fading, “I’m Woona!” The filly said, before disappearing completely. I gaped as the world shifted once more. I had just met my favorite pony princess as a filly, and they were exceptionally adorable and fluffy. I found myself deep in another nightmare, this time with a young colt. I pushed my thoughts about the Woona, and made my ways towards the young colt and the demonic nightmare in front of him.