//------------------------------//
// Dreams and Nightmares 
// Story: Sanctify 
// by AnnEldest 
//------------------------------//

The air was cold and still high up in the air. The only sign of any life was the lethargic churning of the clouds from the breeze that hardly moved at all. Even if the clouds were not present, the land below would have been hard to make out at that height.
In the distance, there was the steady hum of a large propeller. A shadow appeared through the fog, and the clouds began to bulge as the shadow moved through it. In another moment, an airship drifted out of the clouds, sending the clouds into a laconic frenzy.
At the front of the ship stood a lone figure. His eyes gazed blankly at the vast expanse of nothing, taking in all of the emptiness and feeling as if it were filling him.
Capper shook his head sharply, feeling a sudden sense of lucidity.
“Scenery’s got to change soon. This gloom’s getting to me,” he said to himself.
“Capper. It’s been a while,” said a sudden intrusive voice.
Snapped from his quiet rumination, Capper glanced over his shoulder. Another grey silhouette walked toward him until it took a form that he recognized all too well.
“Chummer…” Capper muttered.
“So good to see you again, Capper,” Chummer said.
Capper turned his gaze forward again.
“Too soon,” he replied.
“Now, Capper, if you keep acting like this, I might not think you’re happy to see me.”
“Do I have any reason to be happy to see you?” Capper scoffed.
“Capper,” Chummer said, suddenly serious, “May I remind you that it was you who wanted to leave me.”
“Not you. I just wanted to leave that whole crummy life behind. For the both of us, Capper said, before turning to walk away.
There weren’t many places to go on an airship. But, Capper hoped that he could find some out of the way spot to avoid Chummer.
“You really believe that, don’t you? It’s almost funny that you can’t see how selfish you were really being,” Chummer said.
Capper stopped cold and lowered his ears contemptuously.
“Everything that you and I ever did together was because you needed somebody close by. Because if you didn’t, what would you do? Go back to being a lapcat for the aristocracy? You’re no lapcat, though. You wanted to keep up with the alley cats,” Chummer said.
Capper inhaled quietly before he gave his final word.
“I did it because I thought we were friends. A lot’s changed since we parted ways. Now, I know better. And I don’t need you stepping on my tail, reminding me of all my mistakes. I don’t know where you’re headed on this ship, but I’m out of here at the next port.”
He walked on, hoping that he would become just another indiscernible shape in the fog to Chummer and lose him for the rest of the trip. But, Chummer wasn’t done with him.
The unmistakable sound of claws unsheathing made Capper’s ears twitch.
“If you remember correctly, this isn’t how we parted ways the last time,” Chummer said. “You remember what I used to tell you: don’t start something that you can’t finish.”
Chummer was quiet after that. Too quiet.
Capper swayed his body to the side, just as Chummer dove over him, claws slashing.
Chummer landed and took another swipe at Capper’s middle with his claws.
Capper parried with his paw and shoved Chummer away. Then he turned tail and ran away.
He could hear Chummer chasing after him. As he ran across the foggy deck of the airship, he grabbed a small table and swung it in Chummer’s direction.
Chummer jumped from a deck chair, landed on the sliding table, and pounced again on Capper.
His foot connected solidly with Capper’s jaw, sending him spinning to the ground.
Capper landed on his feet and jumped upright. The moment he was upright, he dodged more of Chummer’s attacks.
He backpedaled as he parried each of his opponent’s blows until he was forced to jump on top of a deck chair.
Capper hopped backward to the ground, and Chummer hopped onto the chair’s seat to unleash more blows.
Capper blocked every blow until he grabbed the back of the deck chair and folded it hard to slam Chummer in his hip.
Chummer yelped and lost his footing, getting his foot stuck between the seat and the back of the chair.
Capper grabbed an umbrella that was set beside the deck chair and swung it at Chummer’s head.
Chummer blocked and countered.
Capper opened the umbrella and blocked Chummer’s claws. His claws caught in the umbrella’s canopy. Capper twisted the umbrella around, and Chummer’s arm along with it. He then closed the umbrella and jabbed Chummer hard in the chest.
Chummer fell over, freeing his foot by the time he hit the ground.
Capper leaped over the overturned chair and thrust his umbrella into the ground.
Chummer rolled to the side, dodging the umbrella as he sprang to his paws.
Capper held the umbrella laterally and blocked another slash from Chummer.
Chummer grabbed the umbrella and tried to wrestle it from Capper, but Capper held firm.
Capper lowered his center and charged forward, pushing Chummer all the way to the side of the airship.
The rocking of the flying ship would make it all too easy. One strong, well-timed push and Capper would win.
He heaved against Chummer, but his effort was in vain. He pushed harder and harder, pressing the pole against Chummer’s neck. No matter how hard he pushed, Chummer didn’t even bend back.
Capper could take it no more. He punched Chummer in the face. The moment his fist connected, a surge of power flowed through Capper’s entire being. A power that he didn’t want to let go of.
He punched Chummer again and again, drawing more and more crimson from Chummer with every hit until it sprayed onto Capper’s fur. And then he stopped.
Chummer was smiling. That same devilish smile that he had known from years ago. The very same that chilled him every time that he saw it.
“What’s the matter, brother? Not strong enough to use your claws?” Chummer said. In an instant, he latched his own claws onto Capper’s chest, sending a surge of pain through him. “You or me, Capper! Do it!”
Capper’s fist shook as he held it at the ready. Slowly, painfully, it opened up and his claws unsheathed.
He stood at the ready. All he had to do was drive his claws down, and it would all be over.
Before anything could happen, Capper’s wrist was grabbed by a glowing, white hand. When he looked down, Capper was horrified to see that what he had pinned was no longer Chummer, but a burly, humanoid figure.
With little effort, the figure stood up, towering over Capper. For a moment, it stayed still, looking down at Capper with its insect-like wings fluttering in the breeze.
Capper swung his umbrella at it, but it did no good. He was lifted off the ground by his wrist and was thrown aside.
As it always was with cats, Capper landed on his paws and raised his umbrella to throw. He hesitated a moment, seeing the creature in full. Its imposing height. Its impressive muscles. But most of all, it's featureless face. Though it had no mouth or nose, Capper swore that he could hear it humming a soft melody. Or was the melody coming from all around the creature?
Snapping to his senses when the creature started toward him, Capper threw his folded umbrella at the thing.
The creature didn’t even flinch when it was hit and continued its advance.
Capper backpedaled, looking for anything else that he could use against the creature. Somehow, the deck had become suddenly empty, leaving him unarmed.
The railing at the front of the ship hit him in the back. Capper quickly hopped to the top of the rail and tried to outflank the creature.
The creature was too quick. It lunged at him and cut off his escape.
The entire ship rocked to one side when it landed, causing everything that wasn’t on deck before to go falling over the side.
Capper’s paws frantically reached for the railing, but it was too late. The next thing he knew, he felt the weightlessness of falling as the airship got further and further away from him.
He turned around in mid-air and saw nothing but the clouds and all of the ballast that had fallen with him.
“There has to be a way out of this. There’s always a way,” Capper thought.
Through the grey of the clouds, there was a single spot of blue.
“Bingo.”
Capper reached out for a crate that was falling and placed his paws on it. When he found his footing, he jumped to the next piece of ballast.
He continued jumping from each falling foothold until he was near enough to the light. One last jump and he was freefalling toward the light.
The clouds broke and Capper could now see the ground beneath himself. He had no time to appreciate the scenery when he was suddenly engulfed in a familiar blue aura.
“That’s the stuff,” Capper thought.
He was pulled quickly down to the ground, where he was placed gently on his paws by the owner of the aura. Her horn still enveloped in magic, Princess Luna released Capper and walked slowly toward him.
“You see all that?” Capper asked.
“I only arrived to correct your botched attempts at flying,” Princess Luna said. “For the moment, we have more pressing matters to discuss.”
“Like the light monster?” Capper said.
“Precisely. What do you know about it?”
“You mean you didn’t see that just now? When it heaved me off the side of that airship!?”
“The airship? Oh, I just missed it!” Princess Luna said, angrily scuffing her hoof on the ground.
“Too bad. I could have used your help with that thing. I knew it was scary, but the kid never told me that it was huge!” Capper said, spreading his paws in disbelief.
“What kid? The foal from your dream?” Princess Luna asked.
“Yeah. That’s the one,” Capper replied.
“Was he a colt of about twelve or eleven years?”
“Yes.”
“With a green mane and a reddish coat?”
“Exactly.”
“And his cutie mark was--”
“--A hammer on a steel plate.”
“How very interesting…” Princess Luna muttered, putting a hoof to her chin.
Just as things were becoming clearer, a dense fog rolled in, engulfing the two in its haze.
“Where did--” Princess Luna began.
“Sh!” Capper sharply interjected, motioning for Princess Luna to hush.
He turned his ears to his surroundings. He listened for a sign. For a warning. Anything to announce the coming of the beasts in the mist.
At first, there was nothing. Then came the sound of distant laughter. The laughter was distinctly from a foal.
Both turned to follow the source and walked carefully onward. Every few steps, they stopped to discern the direction of the laughter. When they looked around, everything looked the same as it had before, but the laughter got louder no matter which way they turned.
A shadow appeared in the fog. Whoever it was, they were very small. Foal-sized, it looked like. And prancing merrily as if they hadn’t a care in the world.
Capper and Princess Luna exchanged a glance. Neither had to say it. They found who they were looking for.
Princess Luna walked slowly forward, careful not to make any sudden movement. After every tree she passed, she swore she saw something moving. Something reaching out to her to drag her off into the unknown oblivion of the mists.
By the time that she was nearly ten steps from the prancing foal, she stopped walking. The foal stopped, looked at the lunar princess, and waved at her, giggling innocently.
Even though she was so close, the foal still appeared to be a shadow in the fog. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Capper far more clearly as he motioned for her to continue. It was her time to put her expertise of dreams to use.
“Hello, Iron Hide,” Princess Luna said.
The foal said nothing but stopped laughing.
“I’ve come to take you home.”
She took one step closer, and the foal took one step back.
Capper looked on and leaned forward slightly.
Princess Luna took one more cautious step, and the foal ran off into the mist.
“Iron Hide! Stop!” she cried out.
“Come on! We gotta catch him!” Capper said as he sprinted past her.
Princess Luna followed after Capper and Iron Hide. For as fast as they both were, the colt proved much faster and disappeared into the fog. And with him, Capper disappeared as well.
“Capper!” she called out to him.
He didn’t answer.
“Capper!!” she called more loudly.
Her shout echoed in vain.
The world around her was unfamiliar, with only the apparitions of the fog as her company.
Everything had gone wrong, but Princess Luna wasn’t about to give up. She carried onward into the fog, hoping for the best, but always preparing for the worst.
After her next breath, Princess Luna saw a cloud of frosted air issue from her mouth. A tiny fleck of frost fell upon her nose and was shaken off. Moments later, she became aware of how cold it had become.
She walked on through the fog and nearly walked into a tree that was covered in frost. When she looked around, she saw that she was surrounded by trees, all of them dotted with frost. A crunching sound beneath her hooves, and Princess Luna saw that the grass was frosted as well.
“What is this place?” she wondered aloud.
The sounds of rapidly approaching steps caught her attention.
“Capper?” she asked.
The sound of a gentle humming reached her ears. Her nerves bristled at the sound and hastened her forward. But, no matter where she ran, the humming was always somewhere behind her.





Capper ran through the fog, never aware that he had lost his alicorn companion. The grey of the fog slowly churned and became a blurred ocean of green, brown, and yellow that swirled together into an unfocused mess. Soon, the colors flashed, and Capper felt suddenly as if he had snapped out of a dazed and brutal dream.
He scanned his surroundings. Leaves of yellow, red, and orange drifted around him in a warm wind. The air flushed through the trees, carrying the leaves that fell from the branches.
The sky flushed with pink and orange, swirling like the leaves on the wind.
The sight sent an uneasy shiver down Capper’s spine, and the fur on his tail stood on end. Nothing was as it should have been. His back arched when he became aware of light just on the corner of his vision. He turned. And he saw it.
The light monster walked through the trees toward him, fading in and out of vision as it walked steadily through the curtain of tree trunks. He could hear its song in his head. And Capper could feel the woes of his past leaving him.
Capper shook his head lucidly and sprinted away from the creature, but he was strangely unaware of his legs moving. Any feeling of power he had when facing Chummer left him. He was a cat on the run from the most vicious animal there was. He wanted that power again. He wanted to find the blood.
Sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging them badly, drawing a single tear that streaked through his fur.
“Capper!”
A voice rang through the trees, which started dropping their leaves in droves. The leaves were picked up on the wind, which blanketed the world in a veil that hid most everything from view. The colorful leaves blew in harmony with the melody of the wind. The chill cool air flushed through the trees with grace and elegance. The trees danced as their leaves willingly fallen to the grown like paper in the wind.

Capper's attention was drawn to the sky. Its mystic flush of colors roared out and coated the land. The splice of orange mixed with pink left the trees in awe.

The cat's mind sent a shiver down his spine as all of his limbs twitched. His head jerked ever so slightly as he glanced to the side of him. Not daring to make direct contact, the cat's eyes were hidden by a veil of reluctance. His field of vision crept to the side until a distant figure faded into existence.

His spine arched forward as his arms stiffened. His eyes were frozen on the entity before him. The blurry image only revealed a human figure with white illumination. Cappers first twitched as if to repeat history, or perhaps his anger. For a moment he could almost feel the blood flow through his fingers.

The figure became transparent and faded in and out of view. Suddenly, like coming out of a mother's womb, his life had become apparent to him. He was a living creature and as a lonely cat, he could die. The chime of reason flushed through the wind as calmly and as naturally as the light of the heavens.

The cat's ears flew flat against his head as they took in the lullaby. His own body swayed to its enchantment. I'm not supposed to be here, he thought. This is all wrong. The rising of a bright white light became to envelop the trees. Capper took off in a dead sprint. He shook his head as he realized he was running. All four of his legs came to reason that his life was in danger.
“Capper!” the voice called again.
It was clearer now. Capper knew exactly who was calling him. Somewhere, Chummer was beckoning him forth, ready to finish their fight once and for all.
Something sliced through the leaves, cutting Capper’s face.
He felt his face and found his fur soaked with blood.
Another swipe came from the side and was barely blocked by Capper.
He could see nothing through the veil of leaves. All he could do was put his arms up, hardly deflecting any blow as his arms were torn apart by unseen claws.
“You or me, Capper!” Chummer’s voice said.
Capper blocked one last hit with his bloodied arms and backed off. He unsheathed his claws and lunged in the direction he knew the next attack was coming.
The cat leaped through the air and found once again that he didn’t stop falling.





The humming constantly dogged the steps of Princess Luna, who was running frantically through the forest.
She stumbled and rolled down a snowbank. Taking refuge beneath the overhang, Princess Luna waited for her pursuer to pass her by. Except, she could hear the humming growing louder.
The walls of the snowbank chilled her entire side as Princess Luna huddled against it, as though expecting to phase through its side.
The steps were growing closer.
Princess Luna ignited her magic, ready to do away with her humming pursuer.
Snow fell from the ceiling of the alcove.
She waited. There was no more movement, but the humming continued, somehow pounding her head as badly as her migraines.
A surge of snow fell from above, and something landed on the ground before her. Before she fired any magic from her horn, she recognized the figure.
“Capper?” she said.
The figure turned around with a start. True to her suspicion, there was her feline companion
“Princess! Jeez, thank goodness it’s you. I just--,” Capper said.
Princess Luna hushed him and turned her ears up.
For a moment, they both listened. The humming had stopped completely. As if its source had simply disappeared, the only sound was the wind rushing through the foliage of the frosted forest. They were safe. But, only for the moment.
“What happened just now? Where did you go to?” Princess Luna asked.
“I don’t know. But, I...I don’t know for sure, but I think the light monster almost got me,” Capper replied. He felt his face and found that it had not been cut as it had before.
They both scanned their surroundings, hearing nothing but the blowing wind through the foliage.
“What is this place? Why have you dreamed this?” Princess Luna asked.
“I don’t know a thing about it. I don’t know this place. All I know is when I met that foal before, he--” Capper hesitated.
“What, Capper?” Princess Luna asked.
“He asked me if the light monster brought me here too.”
The more Princess Luna learned, the fewer things made sense. If that monster had any kind of power to draw others into a dream, then she was dealing with something more powerful than anything she had ever encountered.
Lifting her head high, she lit her horn and pointed it skyward. After a moment, her eyes shot wide with terror.
“This can’t be!” Princess Luna said to herself.
She pointed her horn up and focused her magic.
“What’s going on?” Capper asked.
“There’s...I can’t end this dream.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t force you to wake up and end this dream,” Princess Luna said, trembling slightly. "What the Hell is going on?"
Capper exhaled a cloud of frost into the air and pulled his jacket more tightly.
“I know I’m asleep. But…” he carefully picked his next words. “I don’t think I’m dreaming.”
The wind picked up and buffeted the two. With the gust, Princess Luna’s eyes gradually lit up.
“You’re not dreaming. But, perhaps somepony else is,” she said, before turning to Capper. “What did you tell me about your dream last night? That the foal told you he couldn’t leave this place?”
“Yeah. And now it looks like we’re stuck here with him,” Capper grimly replied.
The humming started again, closer now than ever. They had both played right into the beast’s game and realized what price they had to pay.
Princess Luna cried out when she felt a sharp jab in her side, which sent her flying into a nearby tree.
Before Capper could react, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and lifted to face a luminous, featureless being.
He tried clawing at the arms of the beast, barely making a scratch on its body as it hovered him closer to its face.
Capper’s mind raced and his heart pounded. But, he was barely aware of it. His mind began to drift, and his eyes began to roll. He felt afraid and comforted both at once. In moments, all he could see was light. And it was beckoning him to follow it.
He knew he wasn’t moving, but Capper felt like he was drifting after it. Closer to its source. Closer to where every fear, worry, and memory was going to slip away from him. The more it did, the more he wanted it to.
What felt like a strong blast of wind blew Capper’s senses back into his head. He fell to the ground and rolled to his knees, while the light monster staggered back from the blow.
Princess Luna’s horn was alight with magic and shot another blast into the light monster. This time, it was blown backward into the fog. She quickly collected Capper, and they both ran in the opposite direction of the monster.
The trees blurred as they ran, always keeping close to one another. Their minds raced for an escape. And Capper found one.
After passing a dried-up well, they came to a sluice that went down a steep hillside. Before Princess Luna knew what was happening, she saw Capper jump into the sluice, and go sliding down its length, aided by the fine gravel that was still in it. Not about to shred her flank, she opted to fly down at his side.
The descent felt like it had lasted forever, though it was only a few seconds. At the bottom, Capper landed in a water trough that had frozen over and slid across its length, until he rolled off the side into the icy grass.
“Are you alright?” Princess Luna said as she alighted on the ground next to him.
“Yeah. I’m just going to have trouble sitting down for a while,” Capper groaned.
They looked up the hill, and the light of the beast shone clearly through the fog. In moments, it dimmed into nothingness.
“We won’t lose it for long. Let’s get out of here,” Capper said.
He limped after Princess Luna, walking off the pain in his posterior as they looked for somewhere to escape.
They were on the shore of a lake, whose shore they couldn’t see the other side of. As they walked along the shoreline, they saw a building through the fog.
Capper’s eyes lit up at the sight. If they were going to find that foal, that’s surely where he would be. He rushed ahead, despite the protests of Princess Luna. They reached the shed, and the door was flung open.
Nobody was inside. Only shelves with meager supplies, a threadbare blanket, and a lamp.
“Nothing…” Capper groaned. He nearly shut the door, but the pain in his rear made him wince.
“There’s no sense going anywhere in your condition. Come. Let’s rest inside for a moment,” Princess Luna said.
Capper only minimally resisted as he was guided inside and sat down on the folded blanket on the floor.
Princess Luna took the lamp from its shelf and jostled it slightly. It was nearly full. She removed the glass housing and touched her horn to the wick, making a flame that illuminated the entire shed, casting shadows all around them that danced on the walls.
“This looks familiar,” Capper said, rubbing his paws together and settling closer to the pitiful flame.
In spite of his ambiguous tone, Princess Luna recalled that detail about the dream he had told her about. Two creatures alone in a ramshackle abode, with nothing but a small flame to abate the cold.
They sat in silence for minutes, careful not to let the flame go out.
“Capper,” Princess Luna began, “You’re sure that there’s no way to escape this place?”
Capper sighed.
“I told you that the first time I was here, there was this light that brought me to my bedroom. That even though I was dreaming, you still found me and were able to wake me up.”
“And you haven’t seen this light again?”
“No. The first time, I followed some hoofprints in the frost toward it. But, I haven’t found any signs that could lead me to it this time.”
They were silent again, mulling over their predicament. This was neither of their dreams, and they had no power to stop it. And if Capper was going to accompany her, Princess Luna knew that she had to divulge everything that she knew.
“Do you remember that foal? Iron Hide?” she began.
“Yeah. To be frank, you seemed to know more about him than I did. Care to explain?” Capper asked.
“I don’t actually know him. But…” she hesitated a moment from the memory. “About a month ago, he went into a deep slumber that nopony, not even myself, could wake him from. Since then, almost thirty other ponies have gone to sleep and never awake.”
Capper was quiet at first, then leaned back thoughtfully.
“Thirty ponies in a month. That’s not a very comforting figure,” he said.
“Indeed not. Iron Hide was the first to fall victim to this anomaly. Only, he differs as the only one who dreams.”
“...And, this may be his doing?” Capper said, indicating everything around them.
“Precisely. I don’t know how it happened, or where it originated. But, I promised all those ponies’ families that I would find out. Except that the more I learn and the more I see, the fewer things seem to make sense,” Princess Luna said.
“Okay. What do we know? One: a foal fell into a magical sleep one day. After him, more ponies started doing the same,” Capper said.
“Two: when Iron Hide fell into a slumber, he became the only one who dreamt. And this is what he came up with,” Princess Luna followed. “Three: it seems to coincide with the appearance of this light monster.”
“Yeah. The light monster…” Capper murmured. “Four: the light monster might just be what’s making all those ponies fall asleep.”
“Five: it’s strong enough to resist alicorn magic.”
“Six: it...I think it knows our dreams.”
“What do you mean?” Princess Luna asked.
“I’m just saying that it really knows how to get your whiskers in a knot. It’s already tried fooling me twice and almost got me both times. I guess I should have taken Iron Hide’s advice more seriously, and not believed anything that it showed me,” Capper said.
“I see,” Princess Luna said, not truly understanding. For a moment, she thought to herself, then stood up.
“Where are you going?” Capper asked.
“Staying here won’t stop the creature. We need to find it. Or at least find out what it is,” Princess Luna replied.
“Wait,” Capper said, quickly getting up. Too quickly as his haunches still ached. “We could look for a way out. I’m sure we could find that light again and go back home.”
“Then you’ll have to go by yourself. I made a promise that I intend to keep.”
Princess Luna opened the door, letting in the chill wind, and stepped out into the foggy beyond.
“Hold on,” Capper said, following after her, “You can’t face that thing on your own.”
“If I must, then I must. Go your own way, if you feel you need to, Capper. But, I’m going to find that beast and put an end to it,” Princess Luna replied. She took two steps forward, paused, then looked over her shoulder. “Well?”
Chummer’s words from back on the airship echoed through Capper’s head. He couldn’t be without anyone else and know what he would do with himself. Was it for Princess Luna that he was going to accompany her? Or was it for himself?
He picked up his paws from the frozen grass and walked after the alicorn into the mists.
“Look, I know you have an obligation to these ponies. But, you have to be smart about this,” Capper said.
“I know that it’s not the smart thing. But, it’s the right thing. I’m going to end this nightmare, or--”
Anything that Princess Luna would have said was drowned out by a sudden wind. As soon as the wind started, she cried out and put her hooves on her head.
Capper ran to her side.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“It’s nothing...It’s just the migraines,” Princess Luna said.
She clenched her eyes shut and held her head tightly.
Capper helped her up and allowed her to lean against him.
“Once this passes, we’ve got to get you home,” he said.
“I can’t--”
“I know you can’t let this go on. But, it’s like you said: there’s no sense going on in your condition.”
There was something about Capper in that moment. Something that Princess Luna couldn’t put her hoof on, but she knew had changed. Even though her head was pounding, she looked at him and saw something different from the aloof, carefree feline who had come to Equestria before. Perhaps now, there was something for him to care about.
Her eyes widened and her gaze shot past Capper.
“CAPPER! LOOK OUT!”
There was no time to turn around. Capper was struck on the back of his head. The world became a dizzy haze, and he fell to the ground. In moments, his fur became flecked with frost.