This… was understandably weird. I’ve read stories and fanfictions of people coming to Equestria due to magic or spells, but never because they technically were a spell. I can’t even begin to fathom the concepts of what that means. First of all, am I my own being? I have my own memories, especially of this place being a kids show, and I can think and feel for myself. But since I’m part of a spell, doesn’t that mean I’m a part of Luna’s magic, and thus Luna herself? Or was my presence just summoned forth into Luna’s head by said spell?
“Ugh, all this is giving me a headache.”
“Huh?” Luna exclaimed looking around. Gotta remember that Luna can hear me. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”
But naught a soul was there to respond. Well, I was, but you know what I mean. Anyways, Luna searched for a while longer, going so far as to use her own magical senses to attempt to detect an intruder, but she found nothing. Certain that no pony was around, Luna left to continue on with her next important duty.
Which left me to sit in wonder. I rambled on for hours, curious of my own existence now that I was nothing but a spell. But are familiars spells? Or are they creatures summoned by spells? Now that was an inner debate that could've lasted whole night.
But soon my attention was drawn back to reality as Luna prepared for her last job of the night. The dreamscape.
Once again delving into the realm of slumber, Luna searched for any nightmares that were present, her magical senses searching farther than her eyes could see. Thankfully, everypony seemed to be resting well, which allowed Luna time to relax.
… I debated on whether or not I should reveal myself. But I still didn’t know exactly what I was at this point. I knew, or at least had reason to believe, that I was a familiar, but what did that mean? What was I now, and what was I to her? I also wondered if other familiars were like me, beings from other worlds, somehow brought here.
I almost did it. I almost called out to her, to let her know I was there, but something held me back. I was too afraid of what might transpire should I let myself be know.
Then, Luna gasped.
She began searching around frantically, then flew off in some random direction, and ended up at a dream orb I had never seen before. It was black, like the nightmares, but red cracks spread throughout it, pulsating like a heartbeat.
I would eventually learn that these were called black dreams.
There are bad dreams, there are nightmares, and then there’s these puppies. Black dreams are rare, but when they occur, they bring incredible danger. The magic that flowed throughout Equestria also flowed within the dreamscape, and that wasn’t always a good thing.
Sometimes, someone or something would have a dream so bad, a black beast is born within it. These are monsters of the dreamscape, and if left unchecked they could wreak havoc upon the inhabitants of the world, as they left nightmares everywhere they went. When Luna had turned into Nightmare Moon, these creatures roamed free for centuries, only to be quashed upon her return. Most gave up.
Some still struggled.
Luna quickly entered the dream, and happened upon devastation.
Everywhere she looked, she could see Canterlot, burning in red fire, colored crimson as though made of blood. The flames danced as they coated the sky in smoke, and the screams of terror of faceless ponies rang throughout the chaos. And in the distance, she could see it.
The black beast.
A giant monstrosity of a hundred heads, half of them eyes, half of them mouths, and from its body extended countless arms and legs, mismatched so you couldn’t tell the front of the creature from the back. And the dreamer was right in front of it.
“BACK MONSTROSITY!” Luna shouted in her royal voice, her war cry drawing the beast’s attention. It roared in rage, seeing its old jailor, and several of its mouthed heads flew forwards at her. But Luna nimbly dodged them all, sweeping in to rescue the dreamer, and fly away as fast as possible.
The dreamer was some kid, a young colt with and emerald coat, and a brown mane.
“Verdant!” Luna cried, flying quickly as the black beast began to give chase. “Verdant you must wake up!”
“Princess Luna? What’s-”
“There is no time my little pony! You must wake!” A shrill cry from the monster alerted Luna just before the creature puked a black substance that seemed to be acidic. She barely dodged it, and returned the attack with one of her own, firing back a beam of magic at one of the eyes. Fortunately, she hit her target, but that only seemed to piss it off. “It’s too strong to fight off! You must wake!”
“I-I’m trying!” The monster launched more of that black sludge. Luna attempted to maneuver out of the way, but she ended up being too slow, and the substance nailed her wing. With a cry, the lunar princess fell.
She crashed to the ground, tumbling as she wrapped herself around the colt, doing her best to protect him. If the pony died in his dream, the beast would be free.
Standing, Luna faced the monster, pushing the colt behind her.
“You must wake Verdant! We cannot let it get out!”
“I’m trying! I-I just can’t!” The monster roared, its quarry cornered. Time to get rid of the jailor.
Several of its arms and legs gathered up into some kind of tentacle, and made a rush for Luna and her charge. Without a moment to lose, Luna turned to protect the colt, and hoped for the best.
WHAM!
Luna waited for the force of the impact, and for the pain, but neither came. Opening her eyes, she saw the tentacle had been stopped…
By a hand of blue mist, coming from her shadow.
In my panic, I had reached out, wanting to stop the whip of flesh, and had done exactly that. My hand, formed from a dark blue fog, reached out from Luna’s shadow, and caught the attack.
The black beast made a grunt of confusion. I only smiled.
My turn.
Using an unnatural amount of strength, I used the tentacle as leverage to fling the dream monster up and over the two ponies and up into the air, where it sailed for a moment, before crashing down into the earth. I bent my magical arm low over Luna’s form, ready to protect her, and the colt, from any further dangers.
After all, I was her familiar.
“Princess Luna? What’s that?”
“That, my dear colt, is something I’ve been waiting for.” Luna stood tall, a lot more confident with my arm by her side. “Now try to wake up, I’ll keep this thing distracted.”
Without wait for a response, Luna shot into the air. Flying faster than I had ever seen, she soared high above her foe, before shooting down directly at it. She began to flip forwards, and almost by instinct I knew what to do. Helping her spin faster, we built up momentum until we were close enough, and Luna planted her front hooves into the monster, while I plunged into it with my fist. The black beast screamed in agony, and Luna lifted off as it began to spew more of the dark acid.
Sensing she wouldn’t be fast enough, I somehow formed my arm into an extra set of wings and used them in tandem with her own to boost her speed. Getting up into the air, Luna focused her magic into her horn, and I poured my own power into it, allowing her to release a blast of magic more powerful than any she could have created alone. The shot hit its mark, and the black beast was driven further into the earth, its screams practically music to my ears. But just before things could become more exciting, everything went white.
The dream was over. And although Luna may have been celebrating over the fact that she defeated a black beast, and got a response from her familiar, I had but one question.
How the fuck did I do that?