//------------------------------// // Traditional Tools // Story: Bad Dreams // by Synthetic Soul //------------------------------// The morning came with the sun as always. Twilight opened her eyes gently, taking in the new day. She sat up from her bed, and yawned, stretching her body. When she did, she climbed out of bed and made her way to Spikes basket. “Spike, it’s time to wake up,” she said as she nudged him. Spike’s eyes opened, and he too yawned and stretched. He then exited the basket, and stood before the mare. “Morning Twilight!” greeted the drake. Normally, he’d beg to sleep in, but with the news of the new villain, he had changed his tune. He didn’t want to sleep more than he needed too. Even with the spell Twilight had cast, he was still nervous about the whole situation, but he tried to do his best to stay in a positive mindset. The two made their way down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Spike spoke. “Well, I’ll get started on breakfast.” With that, Spike made his way to the kitchen. Twilight watched him go, sighing. She had decided last night, that she needed find a way to protect the town from Noah. With no options, she decided to do one of the things she did best: Research. So, she went to the bookshelves, and started looking through the books. Twilight found the book just as Spike announced that breakfast was ready. She used her magic to levitate the book out of the shelf; She turned it over, and looked at the cover. It was titled; Oneirology, the Study of Dreams. Twilight opened the book and looked at the table of contents. While she’d normally just read the entire book, today she decided to search for a specific section of the book. Time was a factor, and she needed a way to defend ponies from this new danger as soon as possible. Twilight scanned the table of contents of the book, stopping when she found chapter 7: Nightmares. Twilight then flipped to the appropriate page, and began reading. Nightmares are dreams in which the dreamer is subjected to terrifying and horrific experiences. They bring to life a dreamers fears, often causing distress. Nightmares can be caused by a number of things… Twilight continued to read the book. Even when Spike called to her, telling that breakfast was ready, she didn’t stop reading. While her reasons for reading the book were to save others, she did find herself enjoying it. She was a scholar at her core. She was actually worried that even if she found a solution, she would be to enthralled to stop. She did crave knowledge after all. But she pushed that thought aside, and sternly set a rule for herself, that she must stop once she found what she was looking for. The Alicorn Princess was about halfway through the chapter when something caught her attention. There have been many attempts to stop the flow of nightmares. Behavioral therapy and medication have been found to be helpful in preventing nightmares. Avoiding things like drugs and alcohol have also proven effective. Some ponies… As Twilight read, she thought to herself. ‘This isn’t helpful. A malevolent being is causing these nightmares. He’s the one causing the bad dreams, and all he needs is one chance to drag some poor pony into his realm.’ Twilight was about to dismiss the chapter, when she came to a part that looked to be exactly what she was looking for. In Zebracan society, it was a common belief that evil spirits caused nightmares, and that they entered a beings dream through the head. The Zebras thus created a charm that they believed to effective in preventing the dark spirits from entering the mind. The object is called a Dream Catcher. Dream catchers are made from… Twilight’s eyes widened as she read the passage. “This looks like what I need! But the question is, does it actually work?” Twilight continued to read, researching if this method would actually prove useful. In the book, it stated that the charms were created from wood and string and that the Zebras would perform rituals in order to enchant them. The book made the claim that modern science had dismissed the idea as superstition, that nightmares were a result of brain chemistry, not evil spirits. Normally, Twilight would agree. But not this time. This time, it was a malevolent being who was causing these dreams. And these dream catchers were apparently able to capture the bad dreams, and block them from entering a pony’s mind. Twilight shut the book, and stood up, with a look of determination on her face. “Alright, it looks like these dream catchers may just be what I’m looking for. They’re Zebracan, so if anypony has one, it’s Zecora!” said Twilight. She then galloped out of the library, heading for the Everfree Forest. Twilight finally came to the hollowed out tree that served as Zecora’s hut. She made her way to the front door, and knocked. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a familiar striped equine. “Ah Twilight, what a surprise! What brings you before my eyes?” “Hi Zecora. I was wondering if you could help me with something…something important,” said Twilight, letting in the severity of the situation in on her tone. “Hm, it seems that something is wrong. Come in and tell me the story, no matter how long.” Twilight nodded, and stepped into the hut. Zecora led her into the main room, offering Twilight a seat. She made her way over to her cauldron, where she filled two cups with the liquid contained within it. She made her way back to Twilight, and offered her one of the cups. “Have some tea of jasmine. It’s something you’d like, I’d imagine.” Twilight gratefully took the cup, and took a sip. “Mmm, this is delicious!” praised the pony. “I thank you for your praise, though we should suffer no more delays. You came with a solution to find, so please, tell me what is on your mind.” “Well, it requires a bit of explanation. It’s something I’ve been keeping secret, due to me not wanting to cause a panic. You see, a new threat to Equestria has emerged. He’s…he’s like Nightmare Moon. Except, he doesn’t want to create eternal night; at least, I don’t think he does. He’s turning ponies dreams into nightmares, and abducting them into the dream world.” Zecora’s eyes widened a bit, but she did not interrupt. “Right now, we have no way to stop him. I want to tell ponies, and warn them of the danger, but if I do, everypony will be too afraid to go to sleep. And that would just cause problems. I need a way to protect ponies, while allowing them to be able to rest at night. I was researching for possible protection methods, when I came across something. The book said that the Zebra’s created something called a dream catcher that was supposed to be able to block out nightmares. I was wondering if you had any? If we could give one to everypony in Ponyville, we may be able to protect the town!” Zecora was otherwise silent as she took a sip of her tea, before she stood up, and made her way out of the room. A few moments later, she returned, with an object held in one hoof. “The object you seek, I do possess. Though I only have one, to my distress.” Zecora brought the object over to Twilight, passing it over to her. Twilight took it in her hooves, and examined it. The dream catcher was a thin wooden ring, with string woven in between it, kind of like a spider web. There were beads strung along some of the strings, as well as some assorted feathers hanging from the bottom. “Does it really work?” questioned Twilight. “For me, it has never failed, for only good dreams have prevailed.” “Is there any way to make more of these?” “More of them I could make, though how many would it take?” “One for everypony in Ponyville.” “Hoof made that would take much time. Even then it would be hard, producing much sweat and grime.” Twilight frowned, turned and started pacing back and forth, trying to think of a way to make as many dream catchers as she needed. Then, she thought of an idea. “Wait, what if you showed Ponyville how to make them, and then they could each make their own? Would that work?” “Hmm, perhaps that could be a solution. I could then enchant them, solidifying their absolution. “ “Ok, good! We can go to Ponyville, and I can call everypony together, and tell them about what’s going on! Then, you can help them make their own dream catchers! This just might work!” “Then it seems we have no time to waste. Quickly now, we must make haste!” “You’re right. Let’s go!” And with that, Twilight and Zecora dashed out the door, making their way to Ponyville. Hopefully their solution would work.