Exiting the dream, I looked around the space between dreams again. Luna had to go, some kind of nighttime event for the entire ‘Hail to the King, Baby’ thing.
I was annoyed enough with griffons for taking up Luna's time as it was, but now they were interrupting dream time too?
Stupid birdcats.
Laying down on the not-ground, I stretched my wings with a frown.
Luna’s answer to my question about Twilight was ‘Don’t worry about it’.
I… I worried about it.
Sighing, I finally shook my head. Fuck it. I wasn't going to bother trying to figure it out. For now, I had a job to do and then I’d get some actual sleep.
Wonder what Sparky was… actually, she was asleep. I looked to the side, her silvery portal floating up next to me with a faint pink tint to it.
Happy dream which was nice. A really rather happy dream too from the tint of pink on the silver.
Smiling, I sent her portal away to join the rest before I shifted my wings while sitting up with a thoughtful frown.
Dreams gave a window into the inner world of ponies. Starlight Glimmer was still not talking. Maybe if I could understand her better I could help Sparks get through to her.
Was this an intrusion of privacy? Only if I actually told anyone what I saw. Going through dreams was literally my job.
…Well, hobby I suppose. I didn’t get paid for it. My job was writing books. And looking pretty next to Luna.
Smiling briefly at that thought, I tapped my hoof against the not-floor and pushed some will onto the dream world around me, making another portal shift up before me. Silvery with slow dark ripples moving through it.
Starlight Glimmer was having a nightmare.
Reaching out to touch the dream portal with the tip of my horn, I walked through it and out into the bright sunlight.
I paused and looked around. It looked like a peaceful neighbourhood. Nothing really looked out of place either, no rampaging monsters, no…
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Closing my eyes for a second, I felt the dream around me before I opened my eyes again and turned to move to the right towards the source of this world. If you focused, you could feel where it was flowing from, the origin point that built this world around itself.
It brought me across the street and into the open door of a rather nice middle class home and into a living room with two foals in it.
One I recognized as Starlight Glimmer. For an evil cult-leading Overlady, she was rather cute as a little filly. The other one I didn’t recognize. A little colt with a yellow coat and brown-red mane. He was currently building a tower of books on the table with his magic while Starlight was watching, looking impressed.
Clapping her hooves as he finished, she got up with a smile, reaching to take one of the books with her magic. I could feel the darkness of the dream intensifying. We were getting closer to the worst part of it and I could already imagine what would happen.
She would pull the book out and the tower of books would fall on her friend, killing him. That would explain a lot and would certainly scar her for life.
Nobody grew up wanting to be a villain.
With a look of concentration, Starlight Glimmer pulled the book out and as predicted the massive tower of books wobbled and fell… but towards her.
She barely had time to scream in surprise and fear as the books fell, but the stack was stopped just before they crushed her by a golden glow of magic.
I looked to the side, the colt had an intense look of focus on his face as he struggled to keep the… maybe fifty or sixty kilos of books floating.
The books flew away from her and towards him, starting to orbit the colt as he lifted them and himself into the air above the table.
He started to shine a bright gold colour, the books flying back into the empty bookshelf and the colt slowly lowered back down onto the ground as the shine faded away.
A spark appeared on his flank and formed into an cutie mark of a sun and sparkles.
It was kind of amazing to watch really, I had never seen one form before. The dream got darker and darker behind the surface as the fear and anger grew in the dreamer.
Blinking I looked away from the amazed colt to the stunned face of Starlight Glimmer. Her friend getting a cutie mark was her nightmare?
This was why she developed magic to remove cutie marks? Are you fucking serious!?
The colt yelled happily as he spotted his new mark and rushed out the door to what I could only assume was his parents and they left with him, leaving Starlight behind.
Slamming shut, the door locked, leaving her in a slowly darkening room. All alone.
I looked at the door and then back to Starlight Glimmer. Her friend got his cutie mark and she didn’t. The door closed and locked… he left her or pushed her away afterwards? Found new friends?
That would explain the beginning of her hatred of cutie marks. Still, it was a rather stupid reason, but if the trauma was strong enough and she was young enough, it could cause significant mental scars.
Starlight Glimmer didn’t need prison. She needed a therapist.
The dream shifted around me, resetting back to two foals building a tower of books. I watched it play out again the same way as I jumped up and settled down on the couch to watch and think.
Was this a memory or just a bad dream?
Must be a memory. It was too specific and repeated too exactly to be a random dream. Could I help her out of this? She may… no. She was not actually Evil. She was just wrong and alone.
Alone. That was the root of the trouble. He got his cutie mark and he left her alone. She removed the cutie marks of her cult so they wouldn’t leave her.
That’s it. That had to be it.
Right now, she was locked away the castle dungeons. Alone with an anti-magic ring around her horn. I watched the amazed filly that looked onto the tower of books being built. That that would turn out to be her fate?
What if…
The colt started to get his cutie mark and I started to wave my magic and will into the dream, shaping it.
The colt yelled in excitement as he saw his mark form and went to rush towards the door before he stopped and paused as a teal glow surrounded him before he screamed.
Older Starlight Glimmer stepped out of the shadows, a crazed look on her face, her eyes glowing as lightning flashed outside.
The background of the dream felt like confusion and fear as I kept it playing instead of allowing the shock to wake her up.
The colt's cutie mark ripped from his flank to form the Equalmark instead and Older Starlight Glimmer laughed, holding it into the air. “Yes! Now you will never be who you were meant to be! NEVER! You will be NOTHING!”
Collapsing the colt curled up on the floor and cried, whimpering as I shaped the Older Starlight Glimmer to grow more and more demonic, standing over her former friend.
Younger Starlight, the viewpoint of the dreamer, started to scream and I let the dream go and collapse, waking her up.
Last thing I did was to make sure she would remember it after waking up.
Thanks for the update!!
Well there's gray areas and then there's gray areas.
Was so hoping they he'd check out Twilights dream!
I suppose... In this case, it's one of those instances where someone really needs a bit of a kick to see where they were wrong.
Oh, my. Well we know her backstory in this story. Good job Hiver!
I just read the last chapter and then this popped up
Hah! While this might prevent things from getting worse with her. Where does this leave us for the remainder of the story?
Where are we going from here?
8044882 pink portal after they had a date with the owner of the portal, not something any smart dream walker wouldn't enter. Unless they want to see themselves doing things. ?
Well that was rather dark. Page needs to be careful with such power. I can easily see him driving someone insane by meddling with their dreams. Luna has many long years of experience with such power and I trust that she won't abuse it, but Page is young and fallible.
8044906 Well Sunsest was never there to help with the Sirens in the movie since she returned to Equestria...
"Now you dun fucked up. Now you fucked up. You fucked up now. You so damn screwed."
8044949 and Pagey, don't forget Pagey...
8044882 And then there's Grey Area, a Culture ship renamed Meat F*cker because he read people's minds without their permission.
Wonder how successful this dream/mind trick worked. Good chapter and as always, looking forward to the next chapter of this story.
8044949 Is actually a good thought for a darker turn....
Dream therapy method unlocked: Tactical Nightmare
Tactical nightmare has been deployed awaiting mission report to gauge success.
Hmm... If the dream made Older Starlight act in a way Younger Starlight didn't approve as soon as she got her friend's cutie mark, wouldn't it reinforce the 'Cutie Marks are evil' idea?
EDIT: If that is true, wouldn't it cause Starlight to reflect that her unequine acts were a decision influenced by her own evil cutie mark, and would work towards erasing her own mark first, before making any further plans to cure society from them?
8044882 then there are at least 48 more shades of grey areas
Edit: I'm sure you meant to hit the like button.
It's okay, I forgive you
8045108 >.<
Oh, what's this, someone was traumatized in their childhood? Let's traumatize them more! That should help!
While I see where he was going, showing how far she'd gone in another form of explenation, the Nightmare came across as mean. A form of torture on someone who's already in a bad situation.
8044906
Someone's gonna get their wings seen.
Once again Hiver...you missed an opportunity to punch Starlight Glimmer in the face! WHEN WILL YOU MAKE MY DREAMS COME TRUE?!?!
8044968 yea, but the event that made the sirens aware that there is equestrian magic never happened. So things won't happen the same way.
The only sad thing is that the wonder colts will loose the games to cristal prep.
Nightmare-therapy? Page has some interesting ideas.
I think sending a dungeon therapist in the morning would help. She'd need to talk to someone about the dream.
a vary interesting approach to this problem / dream.
but now how will Starlight Glimmer react to this??
interesting idea of introducing them together earlier, I don't think that he will become Flurry Heart's Crystaler with how things are going so far. But, I don't get that Starlight was ever given as Twilight's responsibility to "reform" in the first place.
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHahaha
Well, that might not end well, what with the person already being mentally unstable.
I actually like what Page did there. Sometimes people don't quite realize that their good intentions are leading them astray, and it takes a slap in the face for them to break out of old thought patterns and realize they dun goofed. Hopefully Starlight will take the glaring, obvious, "YOU ARE BEING TRULY EVIL" hint.
Hopefully he uses this power sparingly. It's one of those potent things, to be stored away in a dark bunker, protected by concrete doors and armed guards, forgotten with time. Until some day in the future when the relics of a bygone age, an age of savagery and war, will be called upon again to do their terrible deeds to prevent a greater horror. And on that day... Lord Page shall be waiting.
With NOOGIES.
8045302 that and the girls never would work out their problems and not be friends.
8044882 I think the slight pink on the portal meant that the dream was not a "wet" one, but perhaps a romantic one. I wonder with whom, though...
8044930
8046569
Exactly! Might answer the whole did Twilight think it was a date question.
Page doesn't really understand much about cutie marks and it's affect on social order yet huh. Like an analyst brony mentioned, Applebloom stopped being friendly with Twist after she got her cutie mark. So with the whole blank flanks ostracization, Starlight Glimmer's issue actually kinda makes sense and might even be pretty common. Other ponies probably either got over it eventually or didn't have the immense magical talent to enact their plans like she does.
BLASPHEMY.
...the correct term is "catbird."
8210177
"Birdcats" makes more sense, since the bird part is the front part of a griffon and the cat part is the back.
media.giphy.com/media/4WHkXdDx8wjS0/giphy.gif
I don’t know how I feel about Page using an artificially Nightmare to manipulate someone. That sounds villainesque, even if it’s for a cause.
8688727
We are manipulated and manipulate others all the time in our lives...No matter if we admit it to ourselves or not.
8735136
Besides that he just shown her exactly what she has become and that scared Starlight, which is a good thing.
9157756
Sometimes you need someone to show you your mistakes.
No not sometimes.
EVERYDAY
A little brutal, but some people needs to see what they are becoming
That is so evil.
Twilight: *dancing in a certain consort's legs* "Mmh, this is nice."
CC: "Yes it is."
Twilight: "I am happy she is ok with this."
CC: "Yeah, surprised me too."
Twilight: "Now if only this were real."
Previously Mentioned She: *pops up out of nowhere* "IT COULD BE!!!!"
Twilight: "Squawk!" *falls out of bed in surprise* "Damnit, dreams, stop getting my hopes up."
It's not bird cats it's cat birbs. Like sheeeesh get it right. XD
While it is manipulative it is better than having her fuck up time... While i rather see her dealt with permanently... its always better to redeem if possible...
Dreams are your princely duties. You think Celestia and Luna get paid to raise and lower the Sun and moon?
Sooo I guess Sunset used a knock out spell instead of punching Starlight Glimmers lights out?
How mutch has Harmony to do with this? There are stories that indicate that good and bad guys are decided by the Tree of Harmony. Discord was busy being a statue after all.
8048002
He doesn't get on the same level someone born a pony does because he got his when he came to Equestria. Most ponies get their marks and soon start learning more about the thing the mark is about. The only thing page had to worry about was dumb publishers who don't know talent. Luckily Luna saved the day there.