Organised Madness.
That was all the princess of night could describe the Dream Realm.
Where once stars glowed, dream orbs flowed and the blue aura of slumber reigned supreme was transformed into black holes, consuming all pleasant thoughts and morals. Any dream orbs that weren't consumed by the darkness were being hunted down by serpent-like spirits with claws outwards as they tried to feast upon said orbs. The star-like road that the princess used to travel through the realm was changed to a violent void filled with phobias and nightmares.
But the horror of this chaotic place was not what the Princess of the Night can see. It was the fact that all of this derived from one Dream-Reaver, a being that the princess share the Dream Realm with.
Princess Luna stood atop of a hill of onyx, a symbol that the Dream-Reaver uses when infecting a dreamer's subconsciousness. She kept a straight face as madness, disarray and crudeness warred throughout the realm.
It has only been a week since Luna's return and her curse uplifted by the Elements of Harmony, her flowing enchanting mane hasn't fully been restored to its past glory. Her happy reunion with her older sister was cut short after seeing so many sleepless subjects afraid of going to sleep at night. They claim that their dreams dissolved into either blacken voids, derange imagery or having their worst phobias coming to reality. Night terrors ruled for a thousand years without a guardian of the night watching over them in their sleep. The thought alone sounded like something out of an old folktale, yet it was real and it was gaining strength.
So, after a thousand years apart from Equestria, Luna returned to her role as Princess of the Night. Her first mission was to remove these horrifying dreams and restore hope and balance within her subjects's minds as well as the Dream Realm.
Standing on the onyx hill, Luna glowed her horn and shot a bolt of cyan light into the air, exploding some serpent-like spirits and dissolving a entire black hole. For a brief moment, the dream realm Luna remembered blossomed above her head before it was consumed by the hungry nightmares of untold phobias. However, that blast should grab the attention of their master, seeing that his own magic was briefly dissolved.
A few moments passed until Luna could feel an icy foul presence running through her mind. As the feeling grew, she saw coming from the corner of her left eye a misty cloud with the colours of ghost and navy blue. It flew gently yet intimidating, like a lion ruling over his mighty pride. The serpent-like spirits that saw this misty cloud quickly bolted in the opposite direction and any surviving dream orbs that got close to the cloud was snuffed like a candle. The misty cloud descended down onto the onyx hill, facing just opposite Princess Luna.
"Luna Selene Faust, Princess of the Night" The misty cloud ghostly spoke, it echoed through the realm like a bat shriek in a cave as it said Luna's full name and title.
"Jedow Relnuvak, Lord of Night Terror" Luna strongly replied the cloud's full name and title, using her Royal Canterlot Voice to encourage herself as she glared daggers at the cloud.
Silence rang throughout the realm before Luna could hear a chuckle in the cloud's depths, a wave of cold, and suddenly Luna was stared at by a slim figure of ice and shadow. Two vortex eyes stared at her with a cold bitterness, and another chuckle pierced from his crooked mouth with terrifying intensity. A shadowy hood adorned his head which itself is covered by a mask filled with glowing tattoos and a darken toothy grin. A constant plume of smoke escaped Jedow's deep nostrils set within a paltry nose, coming out from under his mask to give a more frighting appearance. Jedow's bulbous head sat atop a thick, stringy body. Veiny tendrils wrapped around his torso and legs, but Luna doesn't wish to find out the probably horrifying specifics. The Lord of Night Terror stepped closer to Luna, his two legs elegantly carried his shadowy body with a harrowing energy.
Two ethereal wings extended themselves fully. Ghostly bones, and shadowy membranes stretched upward before gently lowering again. The lord's eyes still affixed on Luna, who didn't show any expression. Finally, Jedow conjured a cane made of spider's legs and abdomen as he used it for support as well as style.
"It has been awhile, hasn't it?" Jedow asked Luna, still chuckling as he looked upon the Dream Realm. "Enjoying my art I've given to the Mirror Dominion, it was easy when a certain fellow Dream-Reaver doesn't ruin it for some reason and goal?"
The Mirror Dominion was another name for the Dream Realm. It is mainly called that in human clans found in the Everfree Forest, after all Jedow was once a human before he became the Lord of Night Terror. But that was thousands of years ago, whatever Jedow was before was consumed over the many years trapped in the Dream Realm.
Still glaring daggers at Jedow, Luna took a brave step forward. "We hope thou has enjoyth thy thousand years of Nightmares, for it's time for thou to stop this beshrew upon the Dream Realm!"
"My my, you still vocalise in that ancient language?" Jedow narrowed his eyes before chuckling again. "Oh, forgive me, I forgot you had been banished by your own flesh and blood. The one you loved and admired for centuries and yet even now you still stumble in her shadow"
"Enow of thy poisonous tongue!" Luna bellowed angrily as she shot a bolt of magic at the Lord of Night Terror. Jedow simply stood his ground as his veiny tendrils slushed outwards and tangled the magical bolt midair. Luna watched in disbelief, seeing how quick Jedow acted as the tendrils began draining the flowing energy out of the magical bolt. The magical energy and veiny tendrils soon return to the Lord of Night Terror, transferring the potency into his own power.
"Touched a nerve, did I?" Jedow rhetorically asked the angered Alicorn with a sinister smile. "You know better than anyone that one should not fight a nightmare that is beyond controllable"
Luna regained her levelheaded mind and stood tall again. "Which is why We art here to find a way to make it controllable again"
"A solution to your Dreamers's delusional thoughts rather than my creativity?" Jedow questioned.
"Forsooth" Luna answered.
"How interesting"
The Lord of Night Terror raised his cane into the air and summoned three monstrous tentacles. Two of them held onyx thrones whilst the larger one held a ellipse shape table. They placed the furnitures down in front of their guest and master before slowly disappearing into the onyx hill.
"Please, have a seat" Jedow invited Luna as he sat on his throne. Luna looked at her offered throne, it was oddly shaped like her own throne back at Canterlot Castle. Nonetheless, she accepted the offer and gracefully sat on her throne.
The two Dream-Reavers eyed each other for a brief moment before getting down with negotiating a deal that they'll agree upon.
"Let's hear what you are proposing first and see how we'll go from there" Jedow spoke firmly, looking at the princess as one of his spirits devours a dream orb.
Luna cleared her throat before speaking. "We propose that thou shalt halt thy aggressive as we tryeth and restore balance within the Dream Realm"
"Hmm, that proposal seems very favourable for you. Unfair for me and my ever hungry Banshees, don't you think?"
"If't be true our memory is clear" Luna raised an eyebrow at Jedow. "Thou and thy Nightmare Horde hast rampaged throughout the Dream Realm for centuries at which hour we were banished by our jealousy to our sister?"
"I will not halt my creativity over your weak emotions and opinion to your sister, Princess!" Jedow growled angrily. "I shall continue with my work and you will just have to find another way of dealing with it!"
"If 't be true balance cannot be restored, 'twill affect our subjects!" Luna protested as she stomped one of her hooves against the onyx table. "At least slow down thy aggression, enow for us to regain our strength to defend our subjects's dreams!"
"My creativity has shaped many artists in your world! Like the Shadow King, a growing Queen and an ever determining Centaur! My art shapes the future of your subjects, your art only gives them a false sense of safety and impossible goals!"
"That is not true-"
"And most importantly!" Jedow interrupted the Alicorn as he slammed his spider cane onto the table. "My art showed you the truth. You were nothing more than a shadow and a puppet to your sister! You still are nothing more than a shadow and a puppet to your sister! Don't you remember the gift I offered you a thousand years ago?!"
Suddenly, the abdomen on Jedow's spider cane began to open slowly. Soon, coming out of the cane like a worm burrowing out of the muddy soil was an aura of stars and darkness. This aura was all too familiar to Luna.
As soon as it came out and brought foul memories to the princess of the night. Jedow recalled the darken aura and closed the cane's spider abdomen, grinning eerily at her.
"You know what I had offered you" Jedow whispered to Luna in a sinister tone. "What can you offer me that'll help your subjects's sleep? What can you possibly give to me that I already gave to you?"
Luna, still having those foul memories of the past, found herself stumbling for words. Wherever she liked it or not, Jedow has a point. One thousand years ago, when she was still jealous of her elder sister, she fell into a deep depression. Her subjects not admiring her work, her sister claiming all the love and loyalty and making her younger sister feel like her moon was the lesser light. In that state, her worst enemy offered her a chance of vengeance and making her subjects love her night regardless of their opinions. That same enemy became her ally and when the offer was accepted, became her master. That offer did grant her chance of vengeance, but that chance transformed into her banishment and leaving her enemy in charge of the Dream Realm without any resistance to his creativity.
She felt guilty, selfish, shamed and responsible for her subjects's night terrors that plagued them for a thousand years. How can she ever gain their love again? How can she ever gain their forgiveness?
But these feelings gave her a idea. One that'll solve this nightmare crisis and leave both Dream-Reavers satisfied.
"We have one thing thou can have from us" Luna said emotionlessly.
The Lord of Night Terror did not say anything, only gave Luna a pondering look.
"In exchange of halting thy aggression 'gainst our subjects. We giveth thee Us to practice thy 'creativity' onto"
This caught Jedow by surprise. "My hearing must of gotten bad for a moment. Did you just offered yourself to my work in return I halt my creations on your subjects?"
"That is what we hath said to thee"
"Are you sacrificing your own subconsciousness to me? To be plagued with my creativity so that your subjects can sleep in peace and harmony?"
"... Correct"
This offer was extremely tempting to Jedow Relnuvak. He could continue with his work on thousands of mortal beings, claiming their fears, phobias and paranoias for his art. Or he could have the one and only Princess of the Night, to claim her fears, phobias and paranoias for himself. Such an offer may only come once in a million years, perhaps even his immortal lifetime.
"Your offer is accepted" Jedow grinned wildly as he got up from his throne of onyx.
As Luna's head nodded sombrely, the Lord of Night Terror placed a hand on his veiny tendrils on his chest. A dark aura covered his hand as the tendrils twitched and turned violently. Soon, coming out of Jedow's chest, came a dark purple energy filled with fear. It moved like a ball of fire, yet it was cold and bitter to whoever holds it. It contained within the same foul powers like Jedow's, but only lesser than its master's. Jedow held it with pride as he walked up to Luna, who had her head lowered in shame.
"This is Tantabus, my greatest creation yet" Jedow coldly said as the princess of the night looked up at him. "It is nightmare incarnated. Whoever contains Tantabus within their soul, shall forever be hunted with their worst failure and shame. Only when the being infected by Tantabus overcomes their failure, shame and fear will Tantabus release them and return to me...It is now your turn to be Tantabus's plaything, just as it is mine as well"
Suddenly, Jedow threw Tantabus into Luna's chest, sending a wave of pain through her body. She fell off her throne, falling onto the hard onyx hill as Jedow laughed. Luna got back onto her hooves and glared hatred at him.
"Now honour our deal, villainous worm!" Luna growled at Jedow, who only respond with more laughter.
"Oh don't you worry, Princess! I shall halt my creativity for awhile. After all, I got something more worthy to toy with now"
Without say anything else, Luna turned away from Jedow and expanded her wings. She then took to the sky and flew far from Jedow.
"But remember, Luna!" Jedow whispered through her mind thanks to Tantabus. "As soon as you overcome Tantabus, two Dream-Reavers shall clash once more and this time, it will not be stopped for another thousand years"