//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? // Story: A Sparkle's Little Dusk III: Everlasting Family // by Mister E-Nonymous //------------------------------// Chapter 12: Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? Dusk was asleep in his bed. He was dreaming of his entire family going to an amusement park, all of them as humans, and Spike was a dog. They were all enjoying all of the games and rides. But then, all of that changed when some weird dark purple smoke came in and everything changed. He looked around and saw that he was alone. He then got scared. "Mom?" Dusk called out. "Spike? Nyx? Sam?" Then the sound of a woman's laughter came in, followed by another boy's laughter. "Who... who's there?" Then two giant sets of shadows came in, and Dusk looked down and saw them. He then followed the shadows to their origins, and saw two giants. One being Aunt Bonnie and the other being Devon, who was much older. "No! No no no no no no!!" Dusk said, getting scared. He then started running away from them. "You're not getting away from us this time, Henry!" the giant Bonnie said, about to reach an arm out to him. "You're in so much trouble for going into another world on our watch! Your parents should be ashamed of you!" Dusk jumped out of the way from the giant Bonnie's grab, and he headed into the wrecked up funhouse. He slid down a slide into the hall of mirrors. He looked around and tried finding a way out. "How do I get out of here?" Dusk asked. He then looked around and tried to find a way out. But every time he thought he found a way out, he kept walking into a glass wall. But then, he looked in a mirror and saw Devon standing there. "Hey, slave!" the dream Devon said, smirking. Dusk jumped back and he went into a mirror, the glass breaking and him falling into an abyss, and he landed back into a place he never wanted to see again. His aunt and cousin's apartment. He then got scared and headed for the front door, but when he was about to grab the door handle, his leg got caught on something, making him fall to the floor. "What?!" Dusk asked, looking back at what grabbed his leg, and he saw a shackle connected to his right leg. "You aren't going anywhere!" Bonnie's voice came. "Now, start cleaning up! You haven't cleaned the house since you died!" Then a lot of cleaning supplies came from above him, burying him in the stuff. Just then, Dusk woke up in the real world, breathing hard. He put a hoof to his chest and started calming down. He then looked around at his room in the Castle of Friendship. Then he saw his family photo of him and his family, Daylight Savings now in the photo. Dusk then sighed and said, "That... was one wicked dream." He then got out of bed and went towards his door, heading for the kitchen. When he got there, he saw Daylight in there. "Sam?" Daylight looked over at Dusk and asked, "You, too, huh?" "You had a dream that started off good, but then it went to something terrible?" Dusk asked. "Yeah," Daylight said. "It started with me and dad having fun on the cruise ship we were living on, then all of a sudden, some weird smoke came in, covered everything, and somehow, I ended up in a the middle of a desert with giant scorpions about to pierce me with their tails." "Yikes," Dusk said. "Maybe some warm milk should be able to help." Dusk then opened the ice box and got out the milk. He then poured milk into two cups and then he heated them up with his magic. He then levitated one cup over to Daylight and said, "Here you go." Daylight then lit up her horn, which glowed in a yellow aura, and took the glass of milk in her aura. She then said, "Thanks, bro." She then sighed. "Was it true of what Aunt Bonnie and Devon did to you? About taking you out of school to make you their personal slave?" Dusk sighed and said, "Yeah. I missed mom and dad ever since they left for Europe. Bonnie took all of my toys and gave them to Devon for him to keep, and I was left with nothing to do but clean up the place, all by myself." "You know, before Mom died, she told me that Bonnie was jealous of her because she was liked a lot more by Grandma and Grandpa," Daylight said. "Now, we won't have to worry about those two. Ever." "Yeah," Dusk said. Then the two of them yawned. "We should get back to bed." The two of them drank their milk, then Dusk took the empty glasses to the sink and rinsed the cups out. Daylight was already out of the room and Dusk headed out, heading back to his bedroom. The next day, at the Ponyville Schoolhouse, all of the schoolhouse foals were in Cheerilee's class as she was teaching them about Equestrian History. Nyx was wide awake, taking notes. Cheerilee then turned to the class and said, "Now, can somepony guess who was one of the greatest healers in Equestrian history?" A bunch of students were clueless on who to guess. Nyx, on the other hoof, had her hoof up. Cheerilee then said, "Oh, Nyx. I believe you answered enough questions. How about..." She then looked over and she saw Dusk and Daylight, trying their best to stay awake. "Dusk? Daylight? Are you two alright?" "Huh?" Dusk and Daylight said, being a little more awake. "Sorry, Miss Cheerilee," Dusk said. "Daylight and I had a bad dream last night, and we could barely get back to sleep last night." Then he yawned. "Sorry." "Oh, you poor foals," Cheerilee said. She then looked over at Nyx. "Have you been getting any nightmares last night, Nyx?" "No," Nyx said. "I've been sleeping fine." "That's... odd," Cheerilee said. "Or, Nyx could be the one who's messing with their dreams because she's Nightmare Moon!" Diamond Tiara's voice said, in a mean tone. "I knew she couldn't be trusted." Nyx turned her head towards Diamond Tiara and said, "Not true. Besides, I've never gone into another pony's dream. Ever." "That is true!" came another mare's voice. They all looked towards the door and saw Princess Luna standing there. "Luna?" Dusk, Nyx and Daylight in unison. "Pardon for my intrusion, but I need Dusk Shine, Nyx and Daylight Savings to come with me for something very important that concerns them," Princess Luna said. "Oh, of course," said Cheerilee. "If it's that important for you to come in, I'll let them. I just need for them to be signed out." Princess Luna nodded and headed over to Cheerilee's desk so Princess Luna could sign them out. Later that night, the Mane 6, Dusk, Nyx and Daylight were all in Twilight's room. Princess Luna and Spike were in the room as well. There were seven extra beds in the room for the rest of the Mane 6, Dusk and Daylight to sleep in. "So, why were we in Princess Luna's dream when that thing got out of her?" Daylight asked. "Maybe we were her captives for some reason," Dusk said. "That was the case," Princess Luna said. "Although, Nyx was not anywhere in that dream. It'd be best that she was not a part of the dream." "We've prepared everything exactly as you requested," Twilight said. "Good," Princess Luna said. "As you eight slumber here, I will pursue the creature into whichever of your dreams it infests." "Ooh! It'll be like a princess sleepover!" Pinkie Pie said, excitedly as she and the others were getting into their beds. "Speaking of princesses, aren't you gonna ask Celestia for her help as well?" Twilight said as she got under the covers. "There is nothing my sister can do," Princess Luna replied. "She has no power in the realm of sleep. Only I can move from dream to dream. I am afraid nopony can help me tonight." "Even us?" Applejack asked. "Especially you," Princess Luna replied. "You have all suffered so much because of me. You need only slumber while I hunt the Tantabus in your dreams." She motioned to herself with a wing. Just then, she felt a tugging from her mane. She looked down to see Spike and Nyx standing there. "I know you said nopony can help, but I'm no pony!" Spike said. "I'm gonna stay up and watch over you guys just in case!" "I might as well stay up, too," Nyx said. "Besides, there has to be some reason why I wasn't in the dream as well." "Thanks, you two," Twilight said with a smile. Applejack yawned and said, "One good thing about not sleepin' well last night... shouldn't be too hard to fall asleep now." She then turned to her left. Just then, Pinkie Pie appeared on the right side of the bed, surprising Applejack. "Are you kidding?!" Pinkie Pie asked, excitedly. "This is so exciting, I don't know how I'm ever going to..." She then fell asleep. The others got ready to sleep as well. Rarity had on a sleeping mask. Spike was sitting in Dusk's bed as he got to sleep. Nyx was laying at the edge of Daylight's bed. Princess Luna then started floating up in the air, then her horn lit up and eight lines went came from it, connecting to the foreheads of the Mane 6, Dusk and Daylight. Princess Luna entered their dreams. Spike then pulled out a book and started reading. Nyx noticed it and said, "I see you came prepared." "Yeah, there's not much to do at night, so I might as well do a little reading," Spike said. He then noticed Nyx giving a deadpanned expression. "What?" "You got a Power Ponies comic hidden in there, don't you?" Nyx asked. Spike chuckled and said, "You got me." He then revealed the comic book. "It's not enchanted." He then looked up. "I think. Maybe I should see before I read it." He then inspected the end of the comic, and sighed. "It's not enchanted. We don't want to end up as Power Ponies again, do we?" Nyx just shook her head, still giving a deadpanned expression. Spike blushed and said, "I'll... just put this away." Just then, the Mane 6, Dusk and Daylight woke up in shock. "What happened? Are you guys okay?" Spike asked. "That... that was terrible!" Fluttershy said, trembling and trying to cover up under the covers. "I-I never want to have that nightmare again!" "Me either!" Rainbow Dash said while shivering and rocking back and forth, holding her hind legs. Nyx looked towards Luna and asked, "You didn't catch it, did you?" "I am so sorry, my friends," Princess Luna replied. "I failed. It will be back to infect your dreams the next time you sleep." "Oh, no!" Fluttershy said, pulling the covers over her. "Yeah," Applejack said. "I reckon I could live without seeing that thing ever again." "But you will," Princess Luna said, scaring Applejack. "Again and again, every night, until it grows powerful enough to infect the waking world! After what I did as Nightmare Moon, the fact that I am once again responsible for harming others is more than I can bear." "It'll be okay!" Pinkie Pie said. "Everypony makes mistakes!" "As long as none of you dreamt about another pony, the Tantabus remains confined to your dreams," Princess Luna said. "I still have a chance to catch it before it's too late." "Phew, that's good to hear!" Pinkie Pie said. "Although after you left, I did happen to dream that I was eating a giant ice-cream cone with all of Ponyville while taking a test we hadn't studied for. See, what'd I tell ya? Everypony makes mistakes!" That made everypony in the room look at Pinkie surprised. That made Luna bite her lip. "This is bad," Dusk said. "If Pinkie Pie has dreamt of all the ponies in Ponyville..." "...That means that the Tantabus could be turning every dream in Ponyville into a nightmare!" Twilight finished for Dusk. "It is far worse than that," Princess Luna said. "Infecting all those dreams gives it more and more power. Soon it will be able to escape into the real world and infect Equestria with its nightmare plague!" "Then you must let us help you stop it before that happens!" Rarity said. "But how? The Tantabus was able to escape Luna when it only had six dreams it could get to," Fluttershy said. "It is true," Princess Luna said. "With so many dreams to hide in, I do not know how I can catch it." "Well, it's not like you can merge every dream in all of Ponyville," Dusk said. "Like when how you gave my original parents to talk to me one last time." "I... can create shared dreams, yes, but for so many ponies at once?" Princess Luna asked. "I have never done anything like that. The amount of power it would take..." "Well, it is worth a try, isn't it?" Fluttershy asked. "Of course," Princess Luna replied. "I will do anything to end this, including accept your help. I cannot allow the Tantabus to escape into the real world. All of you must now go back to sleep and hope that I can create such a dream." "Me, too?" Nyx asked. "Afraid so," Princess Luna said. "Actually, I didn't see Nyx in the dream after Princess Luna left," Pinkie Pie said. "So, she's good." "I'm... not so sure about that," Princess Luna said. "I have a feeling that the Tantabus hasn't reached Nyx's subconscious yet for a reason. Now, sleep." Then everypony started getting comfortable, all of them falling asleep. Spike also fell asleep. Then Princess Luna lit up her horn, a magical barrier forming around her, and streams of magic heading out of there, connecting to the mind of every sleeping pony in Ponyville. Then in the shared dream, all of the ponies of Ponyville was in a shared dream the size of the town. All of the ponies had different dreams. Some big, some small, and some really strange. For example... "Princess Luna did it!" Twilight gasped. She looked around at all of the ponies. Everypony had different dreams. Dusk and Daylight were in human form. Dusk was how he looked in the other dimension, and Daylight was in her original form. "Wow," Dusk said. "You look good, sis." "You look good as well, bro," Daylight replied. "Although, the skin color is weird." "I know, right?" Dusk asked. "Although, there was one pony here that is obsessed with humans, so be careful." "Who?" Daylight asked. "HUMANS!! I KNEW IT!!" The group looked over and saw Lyra, who was conjoined with Bon Bon, running over towards Dusk and Daylight, Bon Bon's hooves trying to dig into the ground as she was being dragged by Lyra. "Whoa!" Bon Bon said as she was being dragged. Twilight then got between the four and said, "Lyra, stop!" Lyra then stopped, and then Bon Bon made her trip. "Sorry, Bon Bon," Lyra said. "I can't believe that there are humans here!" "Lyra, it's me, Dusk," Dusk said to her. "Dusk?!" Lyra asked. "Why would you...?" "I was originally a human before I ended up in Equestria," Dusk said. "Sam, now known as Daylight Savings, is the child from the original family I came from." "So, she was always your sister?" Lyra asked. "Yeah," Dusk and Sam said in unison. "Ponies!" came Princess Luna's voice. All of the ponies looked towards Princess Luna, who was still in a dome of magic. All of the ponies around her bowed to her. "There is no time for bowing, my friends! There is something coming, something terrible!" Just then, she went wide eyed. "No, it is already here!" She then pointed up over the town, and everypony looked to where she was pointing, and there was the Tantabus. Everypony there got scared. "I am so sorry! I brought this upon you! But I will end it now!" Princess Luna then tried to use her magic to stop it, but she was having difficulty keeping the shared dream together and trying to fight at the same time. Then all of the ponies started running away from the Tantabus. "Princess, what's wrong?" Twilight asked as she, the rest of the Mane 6, Dusk, Nyx and Daylight came up to her. Princess Luna grunted and said, "It... is taking all my strength just to hold this massive dream together! You will have to stop it! I truly wish I did not have to ask this of you!" "Uh, guys..." Nyx said, looking up at the Tantabus. "Why is the Tantabus looking at me like that?" The group looked at the Tantabus and saw it looking at Nyx. Nyx then moved towards the right, and the Tantabus's gaze followed. Its followed as Nyx moved to the left. "Oh, no!" Princess Luna said. "It wasn't looking for a way to the waking world! It was after Nyx all along!" "Why me?!" Nyx asked. "I was originally Nightmare Moon, remember?!" Princess Luna asked. "If it's been after you this entire time..." "Then it will turn Nyx back into Nightmare Moon, personality, body, malice and all!" Twilight said. She then called out to the ponies in the shared dream. "Listen up, everypony! The Tantabus is after Nyx! We need to stop it before it binds with her, turn her into Nightmare Moon, and then try to take over Equestria!" "But how can we?" came Mr. Cake's voice. "We don't have any magic." "We're in a dream!" Dusk called out. "You can do whatever you can imagine in here!" Then all of the ponies looked at each other, nodded, and then they all started fighting the Tantabus with whatever they can imagine. So far, the Tantabus was only being delayed from reaching Nyx, but it was still on the hunt for her. Princess Luna couldn't hold the shared dream for much longer and said, "I cannot hold this dream together much longer! Equestria will fall because of me!" Then the Tantabus started enlarging. Spike, who was both riding a giant Derpy, and much bigger and wearing the armor of a knight, looked up at it and asked, "Am I crazy, or did it just get even bigger after Luna said that?" Twilight looked over at Princess Luna and said, "I think it's feeding off your guilt, Princess Luna!" "If that is so, then perhaps that is how it grew strong enough to escape in the first place!" Princess Luna said. "Say what now?!" Applejack asked from on top of a house, dressed as Mistress Mare-velous. "I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night..." Princess Luna said before panting. "...to punish myself for the evil I caused as Nightmare Moon!" "But why would you do that?!" Fluttershy asked while on top of a giant, monstrous Angel Bunny. "To make sure I never forgave myself for how much Equestria suffered because of me!" Princess Luna replied. "But it seems I have not learned my lesson, for now I have only made you suffer more!" The Tantabus was getting closer and closer to Nyx. "But that means you might just be the key to stopping all this!" Twilight said to Princess Luna. "Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said, dressed as Zapp. "If it gets strong because you feel bad about what you did as Nightmare Moon, then you just gotta stop feeling bad for what you did!" She grabbed Nyx before the Tantabus could grab her. "How can I forgive myself?" Princess Luna asked. "I am no better now than I was then. My creation is about to turn the world into a living nightmare, using Nyx as a vessel!" "But look at what you're doing!" Twilight said. "Nightmare Moon would've wanted the Tantabus to turn Equestria into a nightmare! You're doing everything you can to stop it! Don't you see? That proves you're not the same pony you were then! Everypony who knows you knows that Nightmare Moon is in the past! We all trust you, Luna! Do you trust us enough to believe we're right?" Princess Luna looked towards the group, and saw the Tantabus heading towards the group. She then started smiling, feeling better. "...I do!" Princess Luna replied. Then the Tantabus got off course and headed back to Princess Luna, the princess absorbing the Tantabus. "Thank you. Thank you all." Then a huge flash came up over the entire town in the dream. Back in the Castle of Friendship, the group woke up from the shared dream in Twilight's bedroom. "Luna did it!" Twilight said. Rainbow Dash yawned. "She sure did!" Applejack said. "Only... I'm not exactly sure what she did." "Luna created the Tantabus to punish herself!" Twilight said. "The worse she felt, the more power it had! But once she finally forgave herself for what Nightmare Moon did..." "Poof!" Spike said after she got onto Twilight's bed. "Shh!" Fluttershy shushed the group. She then pointed down in the middle of the room. There was Princess Luna, asleep in the middle of the room, having a peaceful dream.