//------------------------------//
// I 
// Story: Devours Dreams from a Distant Dimension 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1


Dreams of Disturbance Dire


Canterlot Castle. An epitome of regality in the highest regard. Home to the regal sisters that control the celestial bodies that are the sun and moon. The exact place where the one known as Princess Luna had come to know the full extent of her powers of the night.

It was a bright afternoon as the Princess of the Night had decided to take a stroll through the streets of Canterlot. Sadly, she was in a state of mild disgust due to being accompanied by the castle's guards on mandatory issue. She sighed to herself at how much of a bother it was to deal with the many cons of being a princess 'We must remember to convince Tia to abandon this meaningless gesture...' She looked around to see the many ponyfolk of the city being kind enough to kneel in reverance to Luna's regal status. It was enlightening to know that the citizens gave her proper respect, but she was not too fond of how they were pompous to those lower than themselves. It was worse knowing that there were not much worthy candidates to converse with on mutual matters, save for a select few.

The princess of the night took a deep breath and looked up to the sun that was handled by her older sister Princess Celestia. She was reminded of how her own jealousy had drove her into becoming a monster that wished for nothing but eternal night, and she winced before she looked away. Though the scar had remained for almost two years since her revivification as Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon, she had her own priorities to tend to. A thought crossed her mind when she remembered something that brought utter joy to herself and others.

Dreams.

Part of Luna's umbral powers involved monitoring the dreams of her loyal subjects in and outside of Canterlot, a thought that brought a warm smile to her face. If there was anything that Princess Luna loved most about her power was being able to mingle with the many sleeping ponies and assure that they have the sweetest of dreams. She enjoyed the looks of precious foals dancing about in fields paved of candy, or spirited youths confronting vile criminals and emerging the victor. It was something to look forward to with each passing day of her ageless life.

She was so lost in thought, that she had not noticed how long she had trotted through the city with the guards guiding her along with their stone-faced expressions. She already had passed by the main gates of Canterlot itself with how far she had walked. Princess Luna cleared her throat "We have enjoyed our little stroll long enough. Guards, if thou would be so kind as to guide your princess back home, we would be most grateful!"

The guards replied with a firm nod and a simultaneous "Yes, Princess!" In their dutiful tone of voice. They guided Luna back to Canterlot Castle in no time at all and escorted her into the royal vestibule where they parted ways. Once more, it disgusted the princess of the night to be left alone behind castle walls and not outside of her home. She trotted up the main stairway and traversed through many floors to reach her own room - Her own sanctuary.

She looked around to see that many of her belongings were in proper order thanks to the stationed maids and servants that take refuge around the castle. Luna would remember to thank them properly with an abundant tip for their services. She trotted and leaped onto her bed where she gave off a deep and firmly-bottled sigh "And now we wait for news regarding royal business or predetermined meals..." She spoke in a bored tone. While she did have time to herself, it was still a tiring process to handle royal duties and discussing laws that ill-suited those who had to abide to them. On cue, a knock came from the door, prompting Luna to sit properly on her haunches in ample time "Thou may enter!" She called to the door.

The door opened to reveal her older sister Princess Celestia, who greeted Luna with her motherly tone "Good afternoon, Luna. Did you enjoy your little stroll today?"

Luna sighed "It was uplifting to obtain minor exercise out on the streets, but tell us, sister..." She looked at Celestia with a small glare "Is it necessary to have our own guards breath down our necks while we fancy ourselves a stroll in the city?"

Celestia closed her eyes "As much as I do not favor of it myself, we both know that there isn't much to be said when we have to live by our titles as princesses. In their defense, it helps to keep the guards on their toes in case of any impending danger, wouldn't you agree?" She smiled at her younger sister.

Luna shifted her eyes away in mixture of annoyance and comprehension "We suppose so..." She then looked back at Celestia "And what, pray tell, brings you to our room, Tia? Dost thou come bearing news of utmost importance?"

Celestia chuckled "If you count meetings with the nobles as utmost importance, then I should ask who you are and what you've done with my sister. Just be sure to get ready soon. I'm sure you're just positively thrilled to meet them!" She spoke her last sentence in a mischievous tone. Luna knows that Celestia could get this way around her and others in a good mood.

Luna rolled her eyes "Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm." She quipped sarcastically. Both she and her sister did not favor meetings with the snobbish nobles of the royal court 'Another meeting, hm? Hopefully we'll manage through this like all the others back then...' On a positive note, they last for hours, and that meant that she could go back and raise the moon and wait to perform the fun part of her duties as princess of the night.

Celestia laughed at Luna's remark and made herself scarce for the sake of getting ready on her own part. The nobles are stingy with tardiness and try to chew the ears off of her and Celestia if they decide to arrive fashionably late. Luna snorted at the aspect 'It's at times such as this that I would gladly allow those nobles to gaze upon the entirety of flying feathers their princess is giving...' She then hopped off of her bed and decided to prepare herself for another boring venture into the world of politics.
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It was exhausting for poor Luna. Several laws that only drew major concern towards many large businesses and not towards the less fortunate. Basically they only provided more protection for larger factions of commerce while slowly chipping away most ponies' rights as individuals. She and Celestia were lucky to curb at least half of them for the sake of their subject's survival and care. The princess of the night often wonders where the future of Equestria would end up if more of these harsh and cruel laws were ever passed.

But now was not the time to dwell upon matters that would possibly arise at a later date. It was time to raise the moon and prepare for the night that she and others favored. Luna made for the balcony that stretched out of her room and stood firmly as she activated her long and majestic horn. It glowed bright with umbral luminescent beauty as it signalled the approach of the moon that took its rightful place in the sky in place of the sun. In time, the stars revealed themselves and added to the glorious visage of the night sky.

Luna smiled at her work, happy to know that the very sky at this hour was her canvas for any artistic thought she had in mind. What snapped her out of her daze was what chose to approach her in the night sky.

Flying in a haphazard pattern was a grey mailmare with eyes looking in two different directions bearing a large satchel full of mail, none other than the esteemed Derpy Hooves. She finally reached the railing of Luna's balcony and dug her head into her satchel, to which she fished out a letter for Luna. After Derpy presented it to Luna, who levitated the letter out of her mouth, she blurted out "Enjoy your mail!" before she took off in another faulty flight pattern. Despite the obvious clumsiness, she was perhaps one of the most dedicated ponies in her line of work.

Luna looked at the letter and noticed the hoofwriting was that of a prepubescent foal that she knew all too well. She smiled warmly when she opened it to show it was Pipsqueak who sent a word of praise to Luna from Ponyville 'The one who considered us his favorite princess...' She was thrilled to read the paper to herself in his adorable voice despite his developing penmanship

Dear Princess Luna,

How are you doing right now? I hope you got this message because I really do miss you ever since last Nightmare Night. Thank you once again for bringing another great night to my home! I never forgotten how fun it was to see you in my dreams every night, so maybe we can have another adventure on the high seas once we see each other again! Our time together will be so grand! See you later tonight!

Pipsqueak

Luna let out an ecstatic chuckle at the thought of having another fun time in the dream world before she retired back into her room and figured out a way to kill time before it was her own time to sleep. She decided it was best to enjoy a moment of calculation with her favorite abacus in order to get things moving. She levitated her letter from Pipsqueak onto the endtable next to her four-poster bed before she brought her desired item out of her chest to her forelegs and began to test her vast memory in arithimetic.

Time passed, and many ponies including Princess Celestia were already turning in for the night. This was the exact moment that Princess Luna was waiting for. Now she can finally rest herself and traverse into her favored realm of otherworldly splendor 'I shall be there soon enough, Pipsqueak! Just wait for me!' She shut her eyes and Luna awaited her departure to the dream world.
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The world of dreams was exactly as she had pictured it in her eyes: Timeless, creative, and so full of euphoria from many who slumber peacefully. The outer atmosphere was similar to that of her flowing mane that resembled the night sky, with many spheres that showed the dreams that were currently taking place. From romantic fantasies to the most abstract spectacles of any sort, there was naught but joyful bliss from everypony present in Luna's realm. Several different dreams belonging to other ponies could be seen by Luna as she took the time to scout out the exact spot where Pipsqueak was waiting for her. It was rather obvious to spot the young colt in his own finely crafted pirate ship sailing out on a vast sea of sarsaparilla and Luna could only smile 'Always the one for the high seas, aren't you, Pipsqueak?'

Pipsqueak steered the ship's wheel with minimal effort, and when he caught wind of Luna in the distance, he pulled out his trusty spyglass to get a better view "Shiver me timbers!!" He drew his spyglass back only to beam and wave at the princess of the night as he called out to her "Ahoy, Princess Luna!! Lovely weather we're having, aye?"

Luna gave a heartened laugh at Pipsqueak's use of pirate lingo while she flew towards him "Indeed an amazing spectacle, Captain Pip! Preparing to board!" Soon she reached the bow of Pipsqueak's ship and landed gracefully in front of him. The two then shared a warm embrace before they decided to move the dream along. Pipsqueak steered through the clashing and foaming waves that brushed against the ship's build, and it invigorated the young colt indefinitely. Luna was amused at Pipsqueak's desire for naval adventure and decided to entice his muse further "Where is thy ship headed this day, captain?"

Pipsqueak grinned up at Luna "Glad you asked, milady! For today, we shall make for the lost island of the Dragon's Tear! It's not only worth a great fortune, but is said that if you hold it in your hooves, you will be filled with undeniable courage! With it, I shall be the most fearless pirate in all of Equestria!"

Luna was always happy with Pipsqueak's creativity, and he has never disappointed her with each scenario he had come up with that was pirate related "Then we shall be at thy side throughout the whole voyage! We'll help to see thine quest for courage through to the end!" Suddenly, there was a rumbling on the ship as the waves in the sarsaparilla sea worsened. The two ponies were rocked along with the ship and tried to keep themselves stable "Ah! What is going on!?"

Pipsqueak looked around while he tried to maintain the ship's balance "I think we're...I think we're under attack!" He gasped when he looked ahead near the ship's bow "Look! Up ahead!" The young colt noticed a field of building foam that dispersed to reveal a creature rising from the highly disturbed sea. It gave a deafening roar as it beared many tentacles that swayed about in the water. Pipsqueak gasped at the sight "A kraken! All hoofs on battle stations!" He pulled out his gem-encrusted sword with his mouth and prepared for a fight.

Luna looked ahead at how grotesque the kraken appeared and had to think to herself for a moment 'I've seen nary a time where Pipsqueak would imagine this kind of situation...He only settled for rival pirates at best, but a kraken?' This was odd for Luna to come by to see Pipsqueak manage a dream where he could fight off a large monster.

Pipsqueak galloped past Luna with his sword in his mouth as he made for the kraken with determined eyes. The kraken gave another roar as it went to slam one of its massive tentacles onto the young colt, evoking shock from Luna "Pipsqueak! Watch out!" She was relieved to see Pipsqueak dodge the tentacle and leap for the kraken's enormous eye.

The young colt pointed his sword towards the kraken's eye, but then he found himself entangled by an unsuspected tentacle. He tussled with the tentacle and stabbed into it with his sword to free himself, but then he was caught by another one while a third slapped him across the face before he could stab the one holding him "My sword! Princess Luna, I require assistance!"

Luna gasped and took flight towards the kraken as her horn glowed "We art coming for thy aid, Captain Pip! Hang on!" When she reached the kraken, she saw fit to do Pipsqueak a favor and teleport the beast out of his dream. When she fired a beam at it, it connected with the side of the kraken's head, but nothing happened 'Wh-What!?'

This did not make sense. Normally, the beam she would shoot in the dream world would cancel out hindrances or obstacles conjured by her or her subjects. But the kraken in front of her refused to leave while it held a screaming Pipsqueak in its grasp. She tried again in hopes of her expected results, but she only succeeded in agitating it 'It cannot be!!' The kraken raised a tentacle to try and grasp Luna, but the princess of the night managed to avoid it, although she was still heavily baffled "Do not worry, Captain! We shall triumph over this beast soon enough!" Her only reply was that of a scream that was addled with fear of the highest degree. Pipsqueak's vigor had been drained completely with the occurence of the foreign beast of the deep.

The atmosphere around it had even changed. The rough sea had transformed from sarsaparilla into scummed waters teeming with pirahnas, the skies went from a peaceful blue to a disheartening deep purple, and the ship belonging to Pipsqueak was being slowly crushed by two of the kraken's tentacles. With a dream such as this escalating into pandemonium, Luna would have handled the matter easily, but it was as if it were out of her reach "I-...I-..." She feebly tried conjuring magic from her horn to ease the matter, but nothing was happening. her eyes widened to see the kraken open its sickening and bilge-infested maw to devour Pipsqueak, who helplessly struggled in the monster's grip as he screamed "No!!" And just like that, Pipsqueak's entire scenario had faded into nothingness, leaving only Luna in a blackened void. This signaled that the poor colt had woken up and is probably scared or crying. She hovered with a hollow expression that slowly turned into sadness "Pipsqueak, I-...But how?" This had bothered her greatly, and the princess of the night made her way out of the empty husk that was once a colt's dream.
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While she overseen many of the other dreams, Luna was wracked with confusion that was overpowered by her guilt for not being able to help Pipsqueak's dream 'But what could be the cause of it? I was unable to channel my dream magic into banishing that beast from his dream!' This puzzled the princess for too long until she noticed another sight in another dream.

She noticed a dream that belonged to Ponyville's resident party mare, Pinkie Pie. It basically contained her and her friend Rainbow Dash making cupcakes in her kitchen as if it were during the day. However, it showed that Pinkie had knocked out Rainbow Dash with a large mallet and placed her on a cold steel table where she was strapped and unable to escape 'Wha-...This isn't Pinkamena at all! Why is she dreaming this!?' Her own world almost crashed around her when she witnessed the same pink pony cutting open Rainbow Dash and tearing out her innards. She whispered in disbelief "Inconceivable..." Her eyes were wide as can be. Soon enough, the morbid dream had then faded into a black void that signaled the end of her dream that turned into a nightmare.

It did not stop there either. Luna looked around to see several other dreams begin turning into nightmares fraught with fear, suffering, and torment that also ended before things grew even worse "This cannot be happening!!" Luna finally blurted out. She darted her head around to see many nightmares left and right grow out of proportion without pause. It wasn't long until there was nothing left but her "What is causing this massive disturbance!?" She looked around the now-empty reaches of her realm, until she noticed a new sight.

It was like a sudden stain of blackness that ebbed and flowed in a ethereal smokescreen. Luna stared for a moment before she finally decided to venture nearby and investigate. She heard an ominous whisper that grew and was then intermingled with a moan in a deep masculine tone as she drew closer and closer. After she stayed within an acceptable distance, she called out "Hello? Is anypony there??" All she heard was the same whisper mixed with the deep moan while she stared into the impending darkness. Luna was slightly irritated "We demand that thou showeth thyself and answer for thine presence here at once!!" She was only met with the same sounds as before. Luna was now angered with the results and she finally found a reason to use the Royal Canterlot Voice as she bellowed in fury "YE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN THE BILLOWING DUSK, HEAR OUR CALL! WE DEMAND THAT THOU SHOWETH THINE TRUE FORM TO US AND EXPLAIN THE MEANS OF OUR SUBJECTS' UNREST!!"

She was met once more with a whisper and moan, but the darkness moved about faster as a faint swirling pattern appeared in the center of it.

"You..."

Luna felt the deep voice ring in her head as she snapped out of her anger "Huh? Who goes there!?" She looked around in confusion.

"You...You are the one that monitors dreams around here?"

The voice that spoke sounded neutral, but with nothing around the vast space but her and the patch of ominous darkness, she drew to the conclusion that the voice called out from no other place "Yes! Art thou the being that is lingering inside the hazing shadows? Show thyself! We demand answers!"

"I see...I am sorry..."

The voice sounded hollow, but Luna detected genuine remorse "For what exactly? Was thine act of wreaking havoc upon another pony's subconscious unintentional? Explain to us!" She snapped

"I...cannot entirely control it...my power..."

Luna craned her head back with a raised eyebrow before she slowly leaned forward to try and distinguish the figure lurking in the darkness. So far she saw nothing but the faint swirling pattern "Will thou be willing to explain the means of thine power with inflicting nightmares onto our subjects?" She inched out a hoof to try and poke at the darkened smog.

Tendrils of smoke passed through Luna's hoof as it made its way to the source, and before it almost connected with it, the easily distinguishable darkness inched away

"Not here...I do not want to cause more suffering towards your people..."

Luna was befuddled at first, but understood the tone of his voice "Much obliged for our concern, mysterious stranger...But we must ask thy name if we are to converse with one another on a proper scale!" She found herself straying away from the familiar reach of her realm and finally caught up with the ominous abyss as it stopped in its tracks "Well?" She took a step near the darkness with her hoof stretched out "What is thy na-" When her hoof touched the fog, several visions came and went into Luna's eyes. All of which were too familiar and unneeded for her memory. She could even hear words from each vision.

"But our night is-...-hy are we not loved for i-...-his isn't fair!!!"

"We refus-...-e demand that the ni-...-rypony will love us like it or not!!"

"Sister, I-...-'m so sorry!"

"Tis a lie!! Thy ba-...-ateful whelp!!"

Luna quickly drew back her hoof and raised it to her temple "What is..." When she regained her composure, she glared at the darkness "What is the meaning of this!?"

"I told you...I cannot control it...It is vast here..."

The princess of the night paused as she stared at the darkness "You haven't answered our question...Who art thou and what is it that thou art referring to in terms of lacking control?"

The darkness was silent as it moved about with the smoky patterns and the swirling vortex. Then an irregular silhouette managed to slowly come into view. Luna tried to distinguish it thoroughly before it could come into full view 'What manner of creature would do this?' When she was nearly close to seeing it, everything blacked out.
_____

Luna rose from her four-poster bed and darted her head about "Wha-!? Where-!? Huh!?" She then cursed herself "Argh! Confound my stimulated curiousity! I've snapped myself out of mine own dream!!" She pouted to herself for her own loss, but then her pouting turned into deep thought over the mysterious figure that lurked in the darkness. When she noticed a light, she looked out her window to see that dawn was stretching just over the horizon to greet Equestria with a new day 'Tia must be moving the sun right now...' Luna was discouraged to not get better acquainted with the one responsible for the many nightmares that plagued her realm, but perhaps she'll have a second chance later tonight. She got up with a determined expression 'We shall meet with thee soon enough, harbinger of nightmares...'


End of Chapter 1