//------------------------------// // 292. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep - Part 3 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// The dreamers looked on in horror at this terrible nightmarish creature Twinken had become! The Tantabus seemed to have taken notice of the colt and now it had overtaken him, as the former colt, now in the form of a sinister stallion, held up his armored hooves, each ending in claws, and unleashed arcs of purple electricity that lashed out randomly. Ponies screamed as they ran to avoid the tendrils of energy but wherever they made contact with something, the object would shudder and turn transparent while giving off an ominous glow. “The power of everypony’s fears at my command...” snarled the monster with wicked glee, “I like it!!” “Twinken, no! This isn’t you, you’re not a monster!” cried out Midnight, a tear trailing down his face. “You’re absolutely right, big brother!” the creature snickered, “This isn’t ‘Twinken’. Twinken is weak! Worthless! A waste of breath... No! With this new power, I am something greater than even my pathetic teacher ever had the stomach to be! I am... FADING STAR!!!” “Restrain him but don’t hurt him!” Midnight yelled out to the others as Midnight manifested shadowy tendrils that lashed out, ensnaring the hooves of the creature calling itself Fading Star, who growled in vexation. “C’mon, everypony!” Twilight launched a chain of magic from her horn, which wrapped around Fading Star’s barrel, who snarled and bucked like an angry bronco. Applejack concentrated and became Power Pony mistress Mare-volous, using her lasso to catch Fading Star around his neck, as he snorted with contempt, “Release me, you foals!!” Thunderlane retook the form of Bronco Buster Apollomino of the Arcane Arrow and fired magic arrows that turned into lengths of rope to entangle Fading Star even more while Rainbow Dash and Soarin flew together, creating a rainbow line between them and flew circles around the sinister stallion, enwrapping him in a giant rainbow ribbon, to his humiliation! “ENOUGH!!!” Fading Star snapped as he unleashed an energy pulse, dissipating every figment of every dreamer around him! Thunderlane and Applejack’s hero costumes and gear vanished, Twilights magic chain came undone, Midnight’s shadow tendrils went up in smoke, and Rainbow and Soarin’s rainbow wrapping was torn to shreds while everypony else’s figments seemed to fizz like static before fading away. “I grow weary of playing pretend...” Fading Star declared wickedly, “So let’s get real!!” Fading Star raised his horn, manifesting a hurricane-like tempest, the howling gales blowing the buildings of Dream Ponyville right out of their moorings, ponies struggled to stand their ground while the pegasi flapped desperately against the wind screaming past them. But then! Lightning bolts rained down, and here and there did they strike random points where rifts were torn asunder and instead of light this time everypony could see what lied beyond them! “Is that Ponyville?!” “Equestria!” “He’s trying to escape to the real wor- AUUUUGGGHH!!!!” “AAAAUUUUUUGGGGHHHH” ”RRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!” “AAIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!” Everypony all screamed, falling to the ground and clutching their heads in agony. But even as their heads pounded with pain, many of them took notice as cracks appeared on their bodies, like statues fracturing under unassailable pressure! “Wh-what’s... going on?!?!” Blueblood cried out through clenched teeth. “UGH!!! He’s trying to tear this dream apart!” cried Luna as she felt the web of magic spanning the sleeping minds of Ponyville become shorn with gaping voids, “The destabilization is affecting everypony because this is a shared dream! If the dream falls, it could fracture everypony’s psyches!” “And it’s all thanks to you, my dear mentor!” sneered Fading Star, “After all, if you hadn’t created the Tantabus none of this would ever have happened!” “WHAT did he just say...?!” Midnight threw such a stink eye at Luna that she felt her heart sink even deeper. “It’s... it’s true,” Luna whimpered as she continued her struggle to maintain the shared dream despite the destabilization, “I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night. To punish myself for all the evil and harm I caused as Nightmare Moon!” “And because you couldn’t forgive yourself and forget the past,” Fading Star cackled, “I was able to feed on your guilt to become strong enough to escape you, and here we are!” Then Fading Star held out his clawed hoof again and slit a bigger rift while growing in size till he towered over all of Ponyville! “And now I have all the world to make into a living nightmare! HAHAHHAHAAAHAHAA!!!!!” “Princess Luna! If the Tantabus inside Twinken is growing stronger because of your guilt,” Midnight yelled as he forced himself to stand and ignore the pounding in his skull, “then you have to let go! Overcome the guilt by stopping Fading Star!” “How can I forgive myself?!” weeped Luna as she saw her corrupted student begin to enter the rift, “I am no better now than I was then! And now my creation has warped my pupil into the same monster I turned myself into and is about to subject every creature in the world to a waking nightmare!” “But look at what you’re doing!” Twilight winced but kept talking, “Nightmare Moon would have wanted for what Fading Star intends to do, but you’re doing everything you can to stop him!” “Not everything!” Midnight dove into the energy sphere containing Luna and wrested control of the shared dream from her while forcing her out, causing her to panic as everyone felt a spike of pain and their forms fracture even more. “Midnight! What are you doing?!” “UNGH!! I can maintain the shared dream on my own for a while,” Midnight felt as though he bore the weight of the world on his shoulders while his horn screamed for mercy, “but you need to give it your all to stop Fading Star and save my brother! Don’t get me wrong, Luna, we’re gonna have ourselves a long talk when this is over! “But you’re not the same pony you used to be! Nightmare Moon is ancient history, and we have faith that you will save us now! But that’s not enough if you dob’t have faith in yourself! So tell me Luna!” Luna felt her heart skip a beat as Midnight, even in his agony and struggle, gave her a warm smile that had no doubts, “Do you believe?” Luna looked upwards to see the giant Fading Star was halfway through the rift he had torn through the fabric of the Dreamscape, then back down at everypony to see they too were giving her smiles that showed they bore no ill will, that they believed in her. It lit a warmth inside that she had not felt for a very long time- No... a desire. A desire she used to feel from way back when. The desire to protect her little ponies. With a smile on her face and fire rekindled in her heart, Luna declared, “I do!” Fading Star was suddenly ejected out of the rift, grimacing to find himself fully back in the shared dream, “What th- What is this?!” Luna took flight to meet Fading Star at his eye-level, “Twinken, you have to stop this!” “Why should I?! There’s a whole world out there just ripe for the taking!” Fading Star snarled, annoyed at being addressed as his weaker self as he tried to go through the rift again, only to feel numerous magical chains ensnare his hooves and he looked to see them anchored to the moon in the shared dream. “But if you destroy this dream you’ll break every sleeping mind here!” beseeched Luna. “So what...? I have the power now, and I refuse to be weak ever again!!!” roared Fading Star as he fired razor sharp shards of dream magic at the princess, who manifested a vast shield that shattered the shards upon impact. She made the shield vanish and called out again, “This isn’t the way, my dear pupil! I’ve experienced the power you feel, I’ve been where you are! I made the same mistake you’re making! I gave into my insecurities and just like you I underestimated the power they held over me! I thought I could use them to create a better world...” “That’s the difference between you and I, my dear teacher...” Fading Star sneered mockingly, “unlike you I can create a better world!” “You can’t and you won’t! No matter what you may believe, the Tantabus is controlling you!” insisted Luna, “It will use you to turn life itself into a nightmare and you’ll be alone and feared and hated! I know what that’s like and I wouldn’t wish it upon anypony! “But I’m done living with this guilt. I am done punishing myself when everypony else has forgiven me. And most of all, I am done giving into my fears!” Fading Star heard a clap of thunder and Luna began to glow brighter than the full moon, “I understand you, Twinken, and that’s why I am going to protect you and everypony else here!” Luna waved her hoof, creating a ring of energy beams that flew up, conjoining into a sphere of light that suddenly rained down a volley of beams! The beams came down, undoing the damages to the shared dream, closing up the rifts, healing the harm upon the ponies’ dream forms, causing everypony to cheer Luna on after the pain and fear suddenly disappeared! Fading Star groaned as he felt the power he’d fed upon, the guilt from Luna, the fear from everypony, and the damage to shared dream, all of it vanished, causing him to shrink back down to his original size. He glared viciously at Luna and charged, his horn literally burning with the intent to kill! Luna responded with a charge of her own, and as soon as their horns locked, a pulse of power forced them apart and they shared a glare of opposition before both charged their horns and fired! The beams met in mid-air collision, sparks and embers burning out from the clash of powers, and for a moment Luna faltered as she hesitated in harming her student. Sensing his power was overtaking hers, Fading Star cackled yet again, certain he would vanquish his pathetic excuse of a teacher- “Twinken!” That voice! Fading Star looked out the corner of his eye and felt his heart waver as the colt he truly was inside felt his heart hurt to see the worry on the face of the pony who’d just called out to him, “Mommy...?” Sensing he was distracted, Luna finally gave it her all and focused her magic to turn the tide against Fading Star. He flinched at his error and screamed as he was engulfed in Luna’s power!!! In a fleeting timeless moment, somewhere in the Dream Realm, the Princess of the Night gazed upon her dear pupil as he clutched the Tantabus to his chest as though it were a blanket, shying from his teacher’s eyes, his own full of shame and sadness. “Give me back the Tantabus, Twinken. You don’t need it to be strong. What you need, you’ve had all along.” Then he saw them appear around them. His friends, his neighbors, his family, all of them giving Twinken a warm and welcoming smile. No judgement. No blame. Only smiles glowing with love and support, as Luna held out her hoof, inviting Twinken back. He hesitated, a wisp of shame halting him. But then, he gave in and let go of his negative feelings and embraced all that those he cared about offered and felt such a relief to let the Tantabus go. Twinken’s eyes fluttered open just in time for him to see his teacher absorb the Tantabus back into herself, and he noticed he was being held. “Baby?” Twinken saw it was his mother, Faerie Tail, causing him to gasp a little as he noticed Midnight, Twilight, Applejack, Big Mac, all the rest of his friends and family gathered around him, all looking worried and concerned. “M-Mom...?” Twinken uttered before he teared up and hugged her tight, which she was happy to return as he whimpered, “I’m sorry! I’m so-so sorry, I- i don’t know what happened! I couldn’t control myself!” “Shh-sh-sh-shh-shhh, it’s okay, sweetheart,” assured Faerie Tail, as she lightly rocked Twinken back and forth a little, “Everypony is okay.” “Indeed,” Everypony turned and made way for Luna as she approached Faerie Tail and Twinken, who nervously looked up at his teacher, only to sigh in relief when she caressed his cheek in her hoof as Luna said, “We all make mistakes. But when we own them, we become stronger for it. And now, I bid you all a good night.” Luna lit up her horn and returned everypony back to their own individual dream, making sure everypony in Ponyville had sweet dreams to make up for all they had been put through this night. As for Luna herself, for the first time in over a thousand years she slept well.... ...until she was given a rude awakening and found herself being jolted out of her blessed rest and gazing up at a contemptuous Midnight. Luna grimaced but kept her composure as she stood up and faced the younger alicorn, who was just a hoof taller than her now. "I know why you are here, Midnight Blaze, and I am prepared to face any punishment you deem fitting for me." "I warned you, Luna, when you took Twinken on as your apprentice..." Midnight brought up, "if he ever suffered on your account..." "I remember and as I just said, I will accept whatever punishment you intend to give," Luna nodded and bowed her head, waiting for Midnight's wrath, just a little afraid of whatever he was going to do. "The Tantabus," Luna gazed up at Midnight, surprised as he said, "give it to me!" "Wha- You want the Tantabus? Why?" Luna was baffled. "Let's just say, I don't trust you with it..." Midnight said with a soft growl and his eyes narrowed in contempt. Luna took a deep breath and conjured the Tantabus, contained within a magical glass prison, along with a stack of papers, "This is all my notes regarding the Tantabus, so you know what you're dealing with." "Very good," Midnight enveloped the notes and the Tantabus within bubbles of his turquoise mana before tapping them, causing them both to pop out of existence. "They'll be kept safe in my Alicorn Dimension." Midnight turned to take his leave, his cloak appearing over him in a shroud of black as he harrumphed, "Sleep well, Princess..." and vanished, leaving Luna to shamefully go back to bed, knowing she'd lost some of her fellow alicorn's trust and respect and could only hope she might earn it back.