It was afternoon of Christmas Eve, and Ben was out in the cattle shed looking after a calf born the previous week. He was relieved to see that the little guy had turned spunky before today. The cold December blizzard made it too risky to let the heifers do their calving out in the open pastures of northern Oklahoma, so his dad opted to move the new herd inside from the gales of the winter until February. Although Ben didn't hold the passion for ranching like his folks, he still liked a good home-raised fillet mignon as much as the next fellow. Plus, cattle duty made decent personal therapy for him when he needed to take a break from working on instruments.
After seeing the little one hop around like a rodeo bull in the making, he figured it was time to head back to the family cabin. After all, there was one rule that was forever maintained on the Murdoch ranch: if it's Christmas Eve, it was practically required that you get back to the house and cleaned up before the 6:30 mass at St. Michael's, no matter what you were doing. If you didn't have everything wrapped up before you got to that, you better have a damn good explanation for the holdup. Sure, a cattle emergency would give him some leeway, but he was relieved that he didn't have to drive to the next town for a matter of over two hours just to find another Catholic church. It wasn't that he was the best example of a good Catholic man, but he did the best he could. His mom Eileen taught him everything about the faith that she could, and he definitely took it to heart, because God forbid that him and his dad could ever see eye to eye past the point of just getting things done.
He was just approaching the cabin when he noticed his stomach had involuntarily tensed up. Something is not right here! I just spoke to them two hours ago! Forgetting the mess of manure and snow on his boots, he ran the last fifty yards to the house to figure out what the deal was. As soon as he walked into the kitchen, what he saw would make his bones chill on a hot summer day.
Everything in the room was covered in dust, a sight that would definitely have never existed on a normal day. From his best guess, it looked like the room, along with the rest of the house, had been long since abandoned for more than 30 years. Out of terror, he moved into the living room with the fireplace. The embers looked like they had gone out several decades prior. The sofa was moth-eaten, the old oak rocking chair was splintering along with evidence of termite damage, making it brittle to the touch. The coffee table had dry-warped along with the frames of old family portraits standing on it. Though the glass was shattered, it looked like the damage was more from brute force than some random animal passing through and knocking them over. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the points of impact were directly over his own face. His gut tightened more. The mantle over the fireplace was also covered in dust and cobwebs. However, this is not what disturbed him the most. Looking at the mantle, the old figurines of the Holy Family and the crucifix had faded and were on the verge of turning to fine lime with the lightest touch. The statue off to the right was the family's all-too-recognizable statuette of the blessed Virgin Mary bowed in prayer.
There was one new detail that made his stomach drop: there were dried tears of blood flowing from all of their eyes.
After the shock of witnessing bloody tears (he heard stories about this unexplained phenomenon), Ben had screamed and backed away to the opposite wall, his entire being trembling at the possible implications. Then hellfire rose from the hearth. It blazed as an inferno for a mere instant, consuming everything it touched and turning it to black ash. After a moment, the entire cabin had turned to ash, yet the inferno only became larger in the face of the howling blizzard wind. The highest flames reached over 20 feet into the air. Then the inferno took on a form: a small horse, a mare that was alien to him, yet eerily familiar. It approached him, causing terror to flow straight through his heart. Oh no, this can't be what I think it is. This hell-horse then spoke in a shrill, raspy voice that could be heard for miles:
"Benjamin William Murdoch. Your soul has been tainted by your presence in that abominable world that calls itself Equestria. For indulging in its deception of delight, you are now cursed to an eternity in this presence. Your family went berserk when you were reported missing. After finding that you 'went native' they proceeded into total insanity, leading all to either depressed suicide or becoming committed to an asylum. Leaving your faith for empty promise, you shall spend the rest of eternity here, to be reminded of your sins in that depraved land. Your death has-
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!! BEGONE, DEMON!!!"
It was a good ten seconds before Ben had realized that the miserable blazing heat was now gone. However, he wasn't willing to open his eyes, as he did not yet comprehend that last line spoken by a different voice. He knew he had died and would spend the rest of his eternity with a reminder of the shame of his alleged actions in Equestria. Wait, Equestria…..
It was then that he opened his eyes. The cabin had returned to its former glory, no dust or stains to be seen anywhere. The fireplace was now in a state that it felt comfortable to sit next to it with a cup of black coffee. The ceramic figurines were good as new without the mysterious blood stains. However, this was all of minor note, as his focus was on something else: Princess Luna was standing in front of him. Her expression was that of a dear friend who wanted nothing more than to comfort him in his suffering, despite being on the verge of tears herself simply from what had just happened. He could only produce a single thought from all of this: holy shit, this whole thing was just a dream.
So why does it seem so real? "Luna, you know I've explained this before. It's not unusual for human beings to experience extremes in their nightmares. I can deal with this."
Luna, however, wasn't buying it in the slightest. She was well aware that Ben had a stubborn streak that outclassed the entire Apple clan put together by a country mile. Although he was no longer petrified, he was still trembling from the experience, breathing heavily. Luna proceeded to rush over to him and give him the biggest bear-hug she could muster, hoping it would settle his nerves. He needed to talk. Now.
"The realm of dreams tends to amplify the musings of the living mind, whether it be of mild bliss or of the smallest of worries. The level of detail in this dream clearly betrays your deception. Please, you need help." Her face and tone were imploring him to do so.
Ben, being the kind of guy who would take this as a challenge, immediately shot down such an idea: Luna had a better grasp of the workings of the subconscious mind than anyone alive. She was too experienced at handling troubled minds. There was no way out of this even if he tried to force himself to wake up. He was willing to bet that she could tell when someone was trying to do that, and could counter it for as long as it took to get the answers she was looking for.
He sighed. "Well there's no point in putting it off now. If it's getting this freaky, I shouldn't ignore it. Speaking of which, I don't remember falling asleep. Last thing I did.....was...…...ooohhhhhhhhhhh." He realized what had happened in reality (if he could call it that).
Luna interjected before he could even think. "Don't keep me in the dark: tell me what happened."
Ben went ahead and laid it out. "I was having a rough week. Rose has been bugging me for a 'good time' ever since I took Starlight's dare a couple months back. I guess you already heard about it through the Celestial rumor mill."
Luna would have snorted at the quip against her sister if she weren't so experienced with dream counseling. That joke was meant to distract her: a classic lead-in for a different conversation for the sake of avoiding the problem at hoof. Ben's mental state was too critical to even acknowledge the wisecrack. "Yes, we are well aware of your shenanigans. Focus please."
Ben continued. "Right. Anyway, ever since this 'Hearth's Warming' season started, she's gotten more persistent. I had to do something to put it to an end. Yesterday I told her that I'd had enough of the bullshit. I said just about anything that I could think of just to get her to go away, reaching the point of calling her a slut. I know that wasn't right, but she just wouldn't leave if I didn't get drastic. I'd meant to get to work on customer orders or just personal necessities to get past it, but all it did was make me more irritated. So I'd been trying to drink the whole thing off ever since."
It was a start, but Luna knew he wasn't telling her the real problem. Granted, his real-world behavior was not what she would consider 'gentlecoltly', there was definitely more to it. Either way, he'll have to answer for his boorishness later. "That still doesn't explain the nightmare. Am I correct to assume that this was your home on Earth?"
Ben was starting to tremble a bit again, but only for being nervous. "Y-yeah. I was raised on a Catholic cattle ranch. I wasn't crazy about doing it for a living, but it was a welcome break from my bread and butter job. Especially during Christmas." It was a moment before he realized that he hadn't given Luna any kind of context about the holiday. "Oh, umm, Christmas kinda resembles your Hearth's Warming, but its origin is very different." He paused, then considered something else. "It's connected to what you saw in the dream, but the history spans for thousands of years in my world. Should I explain?" I will if I have to, but I wouldn't put it past her to have the ability to extract that information nonverbally, considering her abilities. It would make this go much faster.
Luna, sensing a long lecture, spoke up. "Mr. Murdoch, this is the dream realm. Time is relative and malleable here: what seems like hours here only amounts to a few minutes in the waking world. We have all the time we need here. You need not concern yourself over being at a loss for words."
Ben was mildly intrigued by this notion. Huh, she has a point. I know it would be a lot to cover, but considering her age, she might be able to process it. "Alright Luna. I'll admit I may not remember all the details, but I'll go over the highlights about how this dream and Christmas are tied to my troubles."
Luna took a seat, embodying the definition of patience. "Please, begin."
Ben started. "Well, it starts with the creation story at the root of Christianity and the fall of mankind altogether....."
Ben had explained everything he could recall about Catholic teachings, ranging Genesis 1 to the Virgin Mary's heavenly coronation, church dogma, the sacraments, and other strange phenomena that had been determined to be of divine origin after thorough investigations by the Earth's best scientists. Explaining all of this had left him winded, as though he had just carried a newborn bull for half a mile. Luna was only silent. He was a bit concerned, still uncertain if the dream pony avatar had processed it all. Any normal person would be overwhelmed or dazed at his just by the amount of information that was just processed, human or not.
Luna spoke gently to him. "Ben, that is a lot to take in. So explain this: where does this tie into your behavior and the nightmare?" No mortal could make up stories like that on a whim: habitual liars usually follow a pattern in their storytelling. She now noticed that Ben was starting to shudder again, and it wasn't anything to do with the Dreamscape. It doesn't matter what your species, adults are always fearful of revealing any personal flaws. "Please, Ben, do not be veiled. I only wish to help you."
Ben could tell that she was being genuine, something that he had forgotten long before he ever got to Equestria. "Luna, the bloody-teared figures of the Virgin carry symbolic meaning. They are not 'trick novelties' for Halloween- uh, Nightmare Night I mean- for the sake of scaring people. They're always made from a solid material. It normally occurs when a grave sin has been committed, and is meant to be taken as a call to penance." Ben's hands and speech were shaking at this point.
One would not think that Luna was moved in the slightest by looking at her, but one look into her eyes would tell otherwise. Luna could relate to this need for penance on a deep level: the Tantibus was too fresh in her mind. She only hoped that she was wrong about this.
"Ben, I must know one thing. The hellish mare had sentenced you to eternal misery for 'going native' in our land after spotting the bloody weeping. What did she mean by that? Have you committed this sin?"
He couldn't take it anymore. Ben, in all of his effort in holding it together, finally broke down and started weeping, as it was at the heart of his hurt. "Luna, the only reason that I act so snarky is because I've been severed from partaking in the gift of Christ's sacrifice and grace as we were instructed. It's been eating away at me since I found out I was stranded here for good. The reason that the issue of going native is so punitive is because of the legacy of Adam and Eve. Human beings were never meant to have spiritual bonds with other species: it's a violation of nature for us. To commit such an act would not only destroy the human soul that has committed the act, but it leaves a black mark on those around us as well: it's an act of dishonor against the family unit in the eyes of the Lord. While Christ had sacrificed himself, being pure as he was, as the means to salvation, to commit the sin would still be the same as spitting on his face for it. That sacrifice is why Christmas is even a major feast day to Christianity in the first place.
"Also, as you've seen, I raised animals so that others might have food on the table: such a relationship is not even natural to me on a personal level. You equines, sentient or not, aren't held to that standard. Does this make any sense to you at all?"
The torment that this man was enduring was palpable to Luna: she was shaking as well. Out of sympathy, she rushed to hold him tight again. Luna let him succumb to her embrace for a minute to let it all out. "Ben, while an interspecies relationship being dishonorable is unheard of for us, I understand why you're in such pain. I have also done things that I take no dignity in being responsible for. Don't entertain the notion that we do not understand nor care about the consequences of our actions."
Luna went silent again to let him process those words. It was necessary that he knew one thing: just because he wasn't equine did not mean that his well-being mattered any less to them. "It is regretful that such pain can even exist in a single being, and that one of our own may have only served to exacerbate your struggle." Ben had stopped shivering again, thus Luna released him. "Still, you have done a great disservice to your friends by leaving them in the dark about this. I can see how they would not understand what you have explained to me, but you cannot take that for granted. Also, you owe somepony else and apology."
The cabin began to disintegrate into nothing, and Luna began to back away into the fog that was forming. It only meant one thing: the dream state was ending. Luna then offered him a sendoff. "For understanding to exist, one must relate their concerns to their friends! Have faith in your friends!!"
With that, Ben started to return to the waking world.