//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Prince of Dreams // by ShadowStar_IMHP //------------------------------// Bridget sipped her coffee. As she looked out of the window, she spotted a tan and brown RV pull up, followed by Ms. Tanner’s car. “David, Mary, get our bags. Our transportation has arrived.” She set her mug down and looked at David. His head was down, and his long silvery-gray hair hid his face. “I will prepare your mother and the Coxs to face your latest changes.” David nodded and, with a voice that was a few octaves higher than it was yesterday, he said, “Thank you.” She headed outside to greet the new arrivals with a calm smile on her face. “Nathan, Gabriel, thank you for getting the RV ready.” Nathan smiled. “No problem, we got the items you requested us to buy along the way. Of course, we want to know why you need…” Bridget raised her hand. “I will explain why I had you buy those in a few minutes. And I will pay you back for the expenses.” Then with a calm commanding voice, she added, ”Margret, I need to warn you. David’s changes progressed. I’m here to try to soften the shock.” Margret sucked in a deep breath. “Is he… Did he become a pony?” Bridget looked at the house, then made eye contact with Margret. “No, he is not a pony. Though it does seem his transformation is complete. However, he isn’t truly human.” Margret didn’t wait any longer; she ran past Bridget and entered the house. She staggered to a stop once her gaze fell on the person on the couch. “Mom!” David ran to her and wrapped his arms around her torso in a hug. Margret looked down at the young boy. She gasped, then whispered, “David?” Kneeling down, she looked at the child before her. His face was more angular than she remembered, still, she could tell this dark gray, nearly black-skinned boy with long white hair was David. David blinked when she knelt down. “Um… yeah, it’s me, Mom. It’s kind of a shock, but at least I still have fingers, right?” She just wrapped her arms around him in a hug.  With bags in his hand, Nathan walked in. Seeing the two, he turned to Gabriel behind him. Nathan smirked. “Well, that explains why Bridget wanted us to buy some boy’s clothing.”  David broke the hug and looked at Nathan. “Not funny, I’m a kid!” Margret stood up again and looked at Bridget. “I thought he was becoming a pony? What’s going on now?” Bridget returned to where she left her mug and finished her coffee. “I said the magic was changing him to be a better host. What that turned out to be is a member of the fae. He is now one of the elven races.” Both Nathan’s and Gabriel's faces turned pale. Gabriel spoke up, “Any chance the fae could find out?” Bridget shook her head. “No, we should be safe from the fae courts. The majority of the ones we need to worry about stay far away from human population centers. The rumors place the largest population of elves in Iceland. Even those that could pass for humans avoid getting noticed.”  She made eye contact with everyone. “This is another reason we need to get to the cabin. Though the chances are low, there is still the possibility that David would be spotted by either a human or an agent of the fae court. So, let’s get our stuff loaded into the RV and get going, anything more can wait till we are on the road.”  David sat in the back of the RV, reading from the book of magic. Then he let out a huff and closed the book. “I’m bored, can’t I at least look out the window?” Bridget's seat swiveled around to face David. “I’m sorry David, the whole point of going to the cabin is to cut the risk of you being seen. It would be countered if someone saw you through the window.” Mary got up from her seat and went to one of the cabinets from where she removed a decorative wooden box. “I got an idea to keep the kid distracted.”  David rolled his eyes. “Mary, I'm twenty-three, not some kid.” Mary smiled as she sat down beside him. “So says the pre-teen Drow.” She then sat down the box and opened it, revealing an assortment of stones and crystals.  Mary nodded. “Grandmother already told you crystals, as well as other objects, can store magic. Now, the issue is not all crystals react to the same frequency of magic. If you try charging a crystal that is in opposition to your magic it would result in a poor or no charge. Today we will try to find the one that would be the best match for your magic.”  Margret moved from her seat to sit beside David. “Okay, Mary, what do we do?” Bridget looked over from her seat. “You want to learn magic, Margret?”  Margret shrugged. “I might as well, after all this I know magic is real.” Bridget nodded. “Welcome to the Coven of the Three Moon Goddess.” She then looked to Mary “Mary, please continue your lesson.” “Of course, Grandmother. Okay, David and Margret, hold out your hand over a stone. Pay close attention to how your palm feels. Some stones would feel cool or even cold to you, whereas others might feel warm. You want to find ones that are cold, they are the ones that are responding to your aura and already absorbing your energy. Once you find a stone that works with you, go ahead and pick it up. Then we’ll proceed to the next step.” Both David and his mother held their hand over the stones. David scrunched his nose and closed his eyes. Then he lowered his hand and picked up a blue polished crystal. Soon after David, Margret picked a stone as well. Mary then took a breath. “Now the hard part, focusing and waiting.” She smiled “Look at the stone in your hand and focus your mind on it. Try to ignore everything but the stone, imagine your body warmth flowing into the stone, heating it up. Once it’s warm to the touch, it’s charged. To draw energy from the stone, try to visualize the warmth drawing into you. ”  Nathan asked as he drove, “What did David get?” Mary twisted in the seat to face forward. “He picked up the labradorite” Gabriel laughed. “I win, Nathan.” She turned and looked back. “Nat was sure he’ll pick up the smoky quartz.” Bridget chuckled and shook her head. “No, David’s magic is more in tune with dreams, smoky quartz helps promote sleep. Labradorite does fit David’s abilities far better. It is used in lucid dreaming and protects against nightmares.” She then looked to Margret. “What did you pick up?” Margret looked at the red stone in her hand. “It’s a bit of red jasper, I think.” Mary nodded. “Yes, that stone is strongly linked to awakening energy in a person. A good first stone when beginning magic or meditation.” Bridget spoke up again, “Well, back to your first lesson in using crystals. Hold the stone and just focus your mind on it, imagine it warming up, even getting hot. The more energy it has, the more it starts to repel your energy. Your body registers this as heat.”  David cried out as the crystal in his hand glowed, then shattered with a loud crack. He dropped the fragments onto the table and rubbed his hand. “Well, it got hot, almost burning hot.” Gabriel shook her head. “Sounds like David has overpowered the crystal. Bridget, you might need to teach him how to channel.” Bridget nodded. “It seems so. Unlike us, David has no problem with power. It’s control he needs to work on, and we can’t do any lessons on that till we are at the cabin.” Celestia let out a soft moan as she reached for another sheet of paper on the short table she used as a desk.  From another desk in the royal tent, Prince Platinum Shine looked over to her. “You need another willow bark tea, auntie?” “No, I’m sore, but I can manage.” Celestia then picked up the report. “Oh… no.” Platinum Shine raised his brow. “What’s wrong about that report?” Celestia looked over at him. “It seems the guards found a young foal, probably just a few months old. She was crying in the rubble of a building on the edge of the city.” She looked at the report. “That building was searched thoroughly before… she was abandoned.” He gasped. “Why would anypony abandon a baby?” She set down the report. “She’s been transformed during the event.” He shook his head, then picked up a quill. “I add it to the list of crimes against the changed. Perhaps we should think of moving the affected to their own location. It would be easier to protect them if they are all in one area.”  Celestia sighed and looked to the floor. “No, there are families where only one pony got hit by the dark magic.” She lifted her head. “I’m not going to rip anyone else’s family apart because of fear.” She rose to her hooves. “Let’s go for a walk, I need some fresh air.” Prince Platinum moved to follow her “We don’t have to force anyone apart, the sanctuary could be for volunteers only. The family of any changed would be welcomed to join.”  They walked out of the grand tent and started to head to the food carts. Four guards moved to protect the royals as they traveled. They didn’t get far when a pegasus commander guard landed in front of them. He saluted. “Princess! Urgent report from the civilian tent patrol seven. We discovered a murder.” Celestia's eyes widened. “Show me.” They trotted through the tents with haste till they came to the tent where two guards stood watch. Celestia stuck her head into the tent and flinched, seeing the body. Her gaze moved around the rest of the tent and landed on a smaller cot for a foal. She then noted the words written on the tent wall: ‘Sombra’s Slut’. She lowered the tent flap and looked to the pegasus guard that led them. “Have you found anything?” The pegasus sighed. “Not much, it appears to be another hate crime. Her neck was crushed with magic, so the murderer is a unicorn. There were no reports of any sounds of fighting, and from the placement of the body, we think the killer knew the victim. It appears to be a sudden attack; the killer didn’t give any warning before they gripped her with their magic.” Celestia looked at the guard. “Any sign of the foal?” The guards at the tents shook their heads. The commander spoke up then, “There hasn’t been any sign of the foal. I have teams asking the civilians if they noticed anything.” Prince Platinum Shine glanced to the tent, then back to the pegasus. “Do we know who the victims were? Was the foal changed as well?” Then, after a few moments of thinking, he asked, “What’s your name, Commander?” The commander shifted his stance to fully face Platinum. “Commander Wind Shear, sir. As of now, we know only the mother was a bat pony. The victim's name is Misty Dawn.” Celestia sucked in a breath. She looked at the tent, then to Commander Wind Shear. “Bat pony?” Wind Shear’s ears lowered, and he shrugged. “It’s kind of what ponies are starting to call those who have been transformed.” Celestia nodded. “Keep me updated on what you find. I want to know where the filly is as soon as you know.” With that dismissal, she turned around and started walking back to the royal tent. Platinum Shine looked at Celestia, but kept quiet till they were out of hearing range of Commander Wind Shear. “You recognized the name and knew the missing foal is a filly. Mind telling me what you know?” Celestia’s head lowered. “Misty Dawn was Luna’s personal maid. Her filly Morning Dew was a bright sun in the castle, always trying to help and not just to get her cutie mark. One day she delayed breakfast because she tried to make me a cake.” She sighed. “I hope she is just away doing some chores.” Celestia looked to the setting sun. Her ears twitched and swiveled as she caught voices yelling to her left. She turned her head to look for the source of the disturbance and spotted the medical tents and the pens where the tantabus-infected ponies were being kept.  Platinum Shine followed her gaze. “Sounds like one of the sleepwalkers is being extra disturbed today.” Celestia started to walk in that direction. “I’m not sure, I can hear more than one pony yelling. It doesn’t sound like the ravings of a sleepwalker. ” Shine tilted his head and wiggled his ears. “Hmm, you are right. I can hear more than one voice.” When they got closer, they could see a blood-red bat pony struggling against two healers. “Sir, you have to calm down! You've been under a tantabus influence for a week, you need to rest to regain your strength!” The stallion growled. “It’s taking two of you to hold me down, and you're barely doing that. I got plenty of strength! Let go, I need to save her!”  One of the healers yelled, “We need a unicorn with a stun spell, stat!” Celestia’s commanding voice cut through the chaos, “Belay that order!” All three struggling ponies stopped, and Sure Strike stood at attention. Celestia pointed to one of the healers that requested a stun. “What’s going on here?” The healer looked to the other healer, then back to Celestia. “He was diagnosed with severe tantabus influence and was physically fighting when mobile, so we couldn’t get close to him till he collapsed. Only then could we get some broth into him. A few moments ago, he woke up and demanded to leave. He’s dehydrated, malnutritioned, and suffering from long-term tantabus influence. He needs treatment, but refuses.” Celestia moved to face Sure Strike. “Is there a reason you are refusing treatment?” She noted how he was standing. “Soldier?”  Sure Strike saluted. “As the healer stated, I was under the influence of a strong tantabus. I must confess my mental training slipped, and I wasn’t aware of it.” He squinted at the setting sun. “During the day, I was visited by Princess Luna.” Celestia stomped her hoof. “Stop right there. I assure you Princess Luna is gone, some other dream walker must have used her image to snap you out of your coma.”   Sure Strike’s jaw dropped. “But…” Celestia cut him off, “I said stop, soldier. Come with me, I want a full report of this imposter.” She turned and headed for her tent. Her ears twitched when she heard the two healers whisper amongst themselves. Platinum Shine followed silently behind her. “Princess Luna? Could she still be alive?” “You heard Celestia, it's obviously a fake Luna.” Sure Strike‘s eyes widened when he overheard the healers talking among themselves. Then, with a shake of his head, he increased his speed to catch up to the two royals.  Once all three were inside the royal tent, Celestia’s horn lit up as she cast a spell. “That’s a level three security spell, nopony outside will hear what we discuss. First and foremost, what’s your name, soldier?” Sure Strike once again saluted. “Corporal Sure Strike, of the 14th Unit, Your Majesty. Permission to speak?” Celestia’s ears dropped when she heard the stallion’s name. She quickly turned to move behind her desk, taking the opportunity to hide her emotions from Sure Strike. Once she sat down, she addressed him again. “You may speak openly, Corporal. I believe there are many questions you want to ask, and there is much to tell you about.” Prince Platinum Shine settled down beside Celestia and started searching among the papers on the desk for a specific report. Sure Strike closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then replied, “Your Majesty, what were the healers whispering about? How could they think Princess Luna was dead?” Prince Platinum spoke up before Celestia could, “Hundreds of ponies are missing and presumed dead, Princess Luna is among those. No one has seen her ever since the destruction of the city.”  Celestia then softly told him, “I can honestly swear she hasn’t been seen in flesh and blood for a week. So I’m very interested in hearing about this dream Luna you met.”  It took several minutes for Sure Strike to tell them about his dream. Then he looked at Celestia. “As they left, the alicorn colt called her mom.” Celestia sighed. “That only proves it’s a lie. Everyone knows that neither Luna nor myself had any foals.” Sure Strike nodded. “I had standard mental training to recognize when there is another awareness affecting my thoughts. I do admit I do not have any knowledge of Princess Luna’s previous visits to my mind. However, due to the strength of the dream walker, I was sure that it was the Princess.”  Platinum tapped his chin with his hoof, then leaned forward and spoke, “You said the colt mentioned that Morning Dew was his only friend and given his appearance, he must be one of the changed. I think he’s a very lonely pony and could have manifested a mother figure that looked similar to himself. The Princess Luna you saw could have been nothing more than his creation.” Sure lowered his head. “That… makes sense.” He then lifted his gaze. “But it doesn’t change the fact I was tasked to protect Morning Dew. So, if there is nothing else, I’m going to find her tent.” Celestia sighed. “I have bad news, Sure Strike. Misty Dawn’s body was discovered earlier today. I saw her remains myself. The guards are still searching for Morning Dew.” Sure Strike's nostrils flared. “When her father died, I swore to protect her. I have no choice but to go to the Silver Bar estate and question this Astral Beacon.” Celestia nodded. “Sure Strike, it’s already night, and you are still recovering from the tantabus. As of right now, we believe the murder was a hate crime. There is no evidence that Morning Dew is at the estate, and the word of a dream walking colt is not enough to charge Astral Beacon of foalnapping.” She took a deep breath, then continued, “However I’m not going to ignore your worry. Tomorrow at dawn, I will go to the Silver Bar estate, and you are welcome to come along.” Prince Platinum leaned forward. “Your body has been transformed by the corruptive magic you were exposed to. You have new wings and need to relearn how to fly. Rushing into battle is unwise.”    She deactivated the security spell. “Sure Strike, we will do everything we can to find your niece.”  She then rose up and stuck her head out of the tent to address the guards outside. “Guards, would one of you please lead Corporal Sure Strike back to the healers so he can get something healthy to eat and a good night's sleep? Make sure they know I expect him to be ready for a trip tomorrow morning.” Sure Strike looked up to Celestia. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” He then started walking back to the medical tents with one of the guards. Celestia closed the tent flap and recast the security spell.  Prince Platinum Shine spoke up as soon as the spell was stable. “Do you think he bought it?” Celestia turned and sat down with a sigh. “If he doesn’t, he will be leaving as soon as he can. If he does, believe me, he will be with us in the morning.” Platinum picked up the report he got out earlier. “This is the second tantabus-infected pony that woke up. The first case was a unicorn mare named Lilly Belle. She woke up yesterday. Her report also mentions a colt named Morpheus. There are some differences though. Nightmare Moon didn’t disguise herself this time, nor was there any pink foal.” He looked up at her. “Could she be gathering undiscovered dream walkers?” Celestia shook her head. “I have no clue what Nightmare Moon is doing. I… I banished her to the moon with the Elements of Harmony. There shouldn’t be any possibility for her to come back.” Platinum looked at the paper. “Princess Luna was the best dream walker ever recorded, most need to be in physical contact or know the pony personally to enter the sleeper’s dreams.”  Celestia tilted her head up. Her ears lay flat against her skull. “Could that be it? Is she still able to dream walk all the way from the moon?”  Platinum stood up and faced her directly. “I’m more concerned about the colt. Sure Strike heard him call her mom. I hate to imagine the uproar that would cause.” She shook her head. “It’s not true, it can’t be true.” Platinum sighed. “It doesn't need to be true, the nobility will manipulate any rumor they can. If they cast doubt on you now, we could be facing the start of a rebellion.” Celestia closed her eyes and spoke softly, “Do you remember Luna was ill a few months after we defeated Discord? We discovered Luna was two months pregnant a short time later. She was so happy.” She sighed and looked to the floor, her eyes glistening momentarily. “One day she collapsed to the floor screaming in pain, The foal didn’t make it. Luna had a name and everything picked out. Her name would have been Snow Drop.” Platinum grunted and slammed his hoof into the ground. “That's all they need, he’s the right age. Has shown to be a powerful dream walker.” Platinum nodded. “The unicorn nobles still remember when they ruled with King Bullion. If Morpheus is an alicorn then I can see them proclaiming him the rightful heir. Once that’s done, they may set up a regent to rule, cast you aside, and turn the crown prince into a puppet king. Celestia, we need to find this colt before they do.”  Celestia covered a yawn with her hoof. “I agree we need to find this Morpheus before he’s found by the wrong ponies. Get some rest, Platinum, tomorrow we begin the search.” Platinum nodded. “Good night, auntie Tia.” With that he exited the tent, leaving Celestia alone. She moved to one of her trunks and opened it, revealing a simple wooden container within. With a sigh, she lifted the lid and peered at the Elements of Harmony. She touched the now powerless Element of Magic. “You still refuse to respond to me. Is it because Luna was telling the truth? Did I betray her without knowing? Please, I need your guidance.”   David held his hand up as he gazed into the lightly glowing crystal within his fingers with awe. Loudly, he cheered, “This one didn’t shatter!” Bridget smiled. “Good work, David. Now that you learned to store magic, you always have a back-up.” Mary chimed in, “Not that he needs it.” Gabriel smirked. “Sounds like someone’s a tad jealous.” Mary blinked and looked to the elder witch. “Jealous? Of being turned into an elf and having enough magic only legends spoke of?” Nathan laughed, joining in the merriment as he pulled into a stone driveway. “I think being cooped in this RV is getting to everyone. Good news, we are finally here.” The RV pulled into a private gated lot. Lush trees and bushes surrounded the lot, providing a natural fence. Unseen from the road stood a large three-story log and stone cabin with a wrap-around porch.  Margret smiled. “It’s beautiful.” Bridget took a deep breath of fresh air, then headed to the cabin while withdrawing her keys from her purse. “Okay, let's get our bags inside, and I'll start dinner. I had Frank Walker stock the place up, so we are set for a while.” David got up from the seat, grabbed his suitcase, and exited the RV. “Yeah Mom, Jennifer loved coming here.” He frowned slightly and wiped his eyes. He looked at the building again and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Gabriel moved up beside him and gently squeezed his shoulder.  “You, okay there, David?” He nodded. “I’m okay, Mama G. Just a little melancholic. Oh, I forgot my crystal on the table!” He let go of his suitcase and turned and ran to the RV, then staggered. He gasped for breath and grabbed his chest. “Priestess? Something feels wrong.” His heart raced, and he watched, wide-eyed, as his hair rose up with electrical spark flashes.  Time seemed to slow down as he slowly turned to face his mother. He reached out to her as a shimmering purple and blue bubble took shape around him. He opened his mouth in a silent cry. Then with a flash and a bang, he was gone. Margret gasped and ran to where David vanished. “David!” She dropped to her knees, her gaze locked on the ground where he last stood. Gabriel somberly came over and hugged her as she cried.