//------------------------------// // Chapter 33: Dreamwalking into a Nightmare // Story: The Side Character is a Deer // by Deergenerate //------------------------------// Luna frowned slightly as she wandered the depths of the dream realm, far beyond the dreams of her subjects, in the minds of those who lived outside Equestria's borders. It was a place she had previously promised herself she would never go. Intruding on the minds of non-equestrians wasn't something she ever saw herself doing, but now that one of them was directly threatening her subjects, in a manner far worse than any that came before, she felt it was her duty.  She hummed to herself as she wandered through the dreams of those sleeping in the lands south of Equestria, that's where the massive statue had come from, so it only made sense to her that her target must have been from here. Many of the glowing orbs around her, representing the subconscious minds of thousands of mortals, were those of ponies living in the jungles to the south, some others belonging to undiscovered tribes. But one particular clump stuck out to her. They were all rather dim and clustered together. A quick probing of the bunch revealed their alien nature. Changelings. Thousands of them, and their slavish devotion to Queen Chrysalis showed her that they clearly weren't of Thorax's reformed variety. Pushing through the lights, she eventually found herself at the center of the cluster, to one mind that was far brighter than the rest. Chrysalis. Luna stopped for a moment, rubbing her spectral chin. While she wasn't her main target she might be able to find something in there that was useful, maybe her dream contained some recognizable landmarks she could use. She took a step forwards, then paused.  No, if her enemy was smart, and he likely was, he'd be using Chrysalis as a mere pawn, especially if he knew how treacherous she was. While she might know his general location, she wouldn't know exactly where he was, and she definitely wouldn't be clued in on any of his plans. Still, it would be useful to figure out where she was. Even if she presumably wasn't as powerful as U'val, she was nonetheless a significant threat, especially with an army at her back. Even if Derek had cut a significant portion of it down during the battle of Ponyville, it still had enough manpower to threaten Equestria's south.  She made a mental note to double back around once she was done probing U'val's mind to track Chrysalis down. That done, she got back to searching. After a couple more moments of looking, she found another mind in the far distance.  This one was... eldritch. She felt uncomfortable staring at it, as it throbbed and pulsed irregularly, the signs of a nightmare. As she approached, she felt a chill go down her spine. While most dreamscapes took the form of a ball of white light, this one was a spiraling shape that shrank and grew like an amoeba, or maybe a fire. Every so often it would change colors, between a cyan that made her eyes hurt, and a platinum white that was so incomprehensibly pale, that it was almost see-through. For a split moment, she could have sworn it changed into something else, a color her brain couldn't even comprehend that seemed to lash out and eat at the world around it, simply erasing the dreamscape it touched before settling back down into its natural pale shade.  Yes, this was definitely it. And she wished it wasn't. She took a deep inhale. This mind... it was so hostile, and yet at the same time, it seemed to call to her. Tendrils reached out towards her as if they knew she was there, but that couldn't be the case. She was the only one who had any knowledge of this place and how to traverse the worlds of dreams... No. Luna took a deep breath and ignited her horn. She was strong, she was an alicorn. She could handle anything U'val threw at her. Just to be safe, however, she attached a mental line to the outside of the dream, and then wrapped the other end around her mind. Just as a safety rope, in case she needed to make a very hasty retreat. Steeling herself, she took a moment to lean back, and then she took the plunge, diving headfirst into the mind of a god. When Luna landed in the dream she found herself... somewhere she recognized! Luna quickly shot up, looking around her surroundings. She was in a nursery room in a castle. Her castle. The Castle of the Two Sisters. Her gaze passed over the room. She saw two cribs sitting against the far wall, and standing over him was someone she only vaguely recognized. A white alicorn, with an orange, yellow and red beard, tail, and mane all of which danced around like fire.  "F-father?" She asked, taking a step towards him.  "Ah, Luna... I think that's a good name for you," Solaris said, chuckling as he held a hoof above the crib.  "Naming her after me? Oh, that's so kind of you," Another voice said. Luna quickly spun around towards the door, seeing a silver alicorn walk into the room, grey spots filling her flowing and otherwise white mane that made her think of the craters of the moon.  "Well... it's hard not to think of her when I look at you. I think she has your eyes." Solaris responded, standing up and nuzzling against his wife with a content hum.  "Husband," Mundus chuckled. "I think we should leave the room, you know growing fillies need their rest." "You're right... you're right," Solaris sighed, turning back to them. "I just... I'm so excited my dear. I can't wait to teach them magic, to be there as they shape into the perfect mares." Mundus chuckled as she shook her head. "You haven't matured a day since we met have you?" "Well, I am immortal," Solaris said before letting out a deep laugh. His face quickly filled with remembrance. "The days we met... I haven't thought about them in centuries." "Neither have I. But... maybe we should. It would do Celestia and... Luna, some good to know about their family," Mundus smiled as she took a step closer to the two cribs. "If our brothers were still around... Well, you can't help but wonder how they'd feel." "I know Auream would be over the moon at the sight of them. He'd probably deprive himself of sleep taking care of them and standing watch to make sure they were safe," Solaris said, joining his wife as they both stared at their daughters. A sudden sourness filled his eyes. "As for the other two..." "Your Majesties... We have a bit of an issue." A third voice interrupted as a stallion stepped into the room. Luna spun around to stare at him, and her breath almost caught in her throat. He was a deep grey, with a black mane. Though he lacked the armor and his signature curved horn, Luna instantly recognized him, it was impossible not to. "Sombra?" Solaris asked, eyebrows raising. "What's wrong?" "Well, it's nothing too major, but some travelers arrived at the gate seeking audience with the King and Queen, something about a threat to Epona, I think you should see them," Sombra said with a quick bow of his head. "A threat to Epona?" Solaris growled. "What kind of threat?" "They didn't specify much. Only that someone, or something, was trying to unleash a... thing trapped in one of the Platinum Empire's old citadels. It seems very urgent." Sombra replied.  "No one threatens my kingdom on my watch. Come on Mundus, let's see what this is about." Solaris said, marching out of the room passed Luna. Mundus quickly followed passing directly through her future daughter. Sombra was the last out of the room, delicately shutting the door as he did. He paused just before closing it completely, taking a second to stare into the darkness, before he shook his head and pulled it shut.  Luna was left alone in the darkness for but a moment, before a pair of shining arcane mobiles both came to life above the two cribs, one depicting a crescent moon in a field of stars, and the other the sun on a clear day. They both spun and let out a calming lullaby that played in perfect synch, sparking a slight stir from both of the babies who awoke with a series of giggles and coos. Then there was a flash of cyan and they both exploded. Luna let out a gasp as shards of glass started to rain down toward her younger self and her sister. She almost rushed forwards, but she stopped herself when all of the shards were stopped in the air by a shimmering aura. She heard movement behind her, prompting her to slowly turn as a figure, taller than her, walked out of the shadows in the corner of the room. Two crescent-shaped antlers emerged from the sides of his all-black head as a single all-white eye pierced the shadows of the silhouette. She recognized him immediately, based on his previous descriptions.  "U'val..." She silently mouthed as he strode forwards, phasing through her to tower directly over the two cribs. Both of the fillies were crying now. She couldn't blame them. "Shhh shhh shhh," U'val said, a factitiously friendly tone filling his voice. "Uncle Platina's here."  There were three flashes of white fire as three creatures that matched the descriptions of Platinum Guard filled the room, taking up flanking positions on his sides. Luna grit her teeth, panting slightly as he slowly reached a hoof down into Celestia's cradle.  The filly still bawled, tears streaming down her face, but when she was offered U'val's hoof her tears slowed. She stared up at the chitinous appendage with a look of curiosity. Cooing slightly she wrapped her hooves around it, laughing as she did. It was something new to her and she was happy to have it. The alicorn babbled, a warm smile filling her face as she gazed up at the creature whose hoof she had grabbed. Luna was confused for a second. For a moment, she couldn't help but smile slightly, it was rather cute all things considered. That feeling was instantly shattered when her gaze locked on U'val's eye. His eye was twitching, filled with a flurry of emotions. Hatred. Disgust. Scorn... Malice. Luna didn't breath as he slowly lowered his head towards Celestia, his eye narrowing.  "Every instinct I have right now is screaming at me," He spoke slowly with a hiss that sent shivers up and down Luna's spine with every syllable. "Telling me to slit your throats right now and throw your lifeless carcasses out the window, and yet, I won't. No matter how far I fall, I can't bring myself to kill a mere nymph. I'm not your father."  Then several explosions rang out, causing Luna to almost lose her balance. Instantly all three of the platnium guard snapped their vision toward her. For a moment she thought she had been discovered. It was only when she heard a noise in the hallway behind her, that she realized they were merely looking at the door.  "The castle is under attack!" a voice cried in the hallway. "Quickly, we need to get the princesses out of here!" "Right!" Another said. The door to the room slammed open and three unicorn guards started to rush inside. They barely had a second to acknowledge what was going on before one of the platinum guards sprung into action.  "Hey! They're in her-" One of them started, but that was all they managed to say before the guard swung his halberd. Luna quickly averted her eyes. Blood splattered out from the door, coating the room. They reached as far as the cribs, splashing over Celestia and Luna. Both of the fillies screamed as they were lifted into the air by a cyan aura, the shards falling once they were out of the way shredding the blankets they had been sleeping in. "But, that doesn't mean I'm not going to kill your parents," U'val said as he stepped into the light of the doorway, a smile spreading across his face. "Say goodbye to mommy and daddy."  And in an instant, he was gone in a flash, just as Solaris and Mundus rushed into the room. Mundus let out a gasp, bracing herself against the doorway, while Solaris merely screamed in agony. Luna turned her gaze from them back to the cribs. She and Celestia were gone. The dream suddenly shifted, the first thing she noticed was that it was day, but the sky was a deep grey rather than it’s normal bright blue, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Next, she noticed the crying. Quickly turning her head, she saw her and her sister bound in blankets laying on a stone table. A massive cliff stood behind them, with two statues built into the rock face featuring two antlered changelings crossing a pair of halberds over a gargantuan stone door covered from top to bottom in magical seals and shields. Cracks were rapidly spreading up and down the door, as tendrils of pure blackness started to snake across the stone. But those weren’t the only things that caught her attention. No, more than almost anything else, it was the dozen or so platinum guards staring her down with halberds raised. They stood in a wedge formation antlers glowing and deadly still. Behind them stood dozens of changelings in tattered suits of light blue scale mail armor wielding random assortments of rotten and broken armaments, and at the very back, standing over the table the baby Luna and Celestia was a changeling in white robes, ranting in a language she couldn’t understand towards the breaking door.  “Do you understand what you’re doing?” she heard from behind her. She instantly spun around, coming face to face with her father and mother, Sombra and a veritable legion of guards in golden armor, hundreds of them.  Solaris stomped forwards igniting his horn, a suit of flaming armor slowly enclosed him. “The Araphel won’t stop with just us, it will corrupt and destroy everything on the planet! There is a reason your people sealed it away in the first place!” “What other choice did we have Eponan,” The lead platinum guard said, his voice reverberating through his helmet making it sound horrifically deep. Still, she could hear every inch of rage in the words he spoke.  “You shattered our empire. You took the life of our immortal Kes’Kel’Kes. You killed all of the gods and burned our cities to ash. Whatever we have been forced to do, it’s your fault, you-”  Just then there was a screech. In a second, all of the non-platinum guard changelings suddenly let out a scream of panic before they suddenly flopped over onto the ground, cold and unmoving. Then the door shattered.  Mundus screamed and Solaris took a fearful step back. The pony soldiers all stared on in pure horror as an amorphous blob of pure darkness slowly pulled itself out of the mountainside, tendrils of pitch-black darkness lashing out in all directions. The previously gray sky slowly turned black, the sun itself turning a dark grey as the creature started to morph and grow erratically, shooting upwards into the sky.  “The Araphel! It’s loose!” One of the pony soldiers cried out, and a rout broke out as they started to flee. The platinum guard instantly all turned around in perfect unison, dropping into a kneeling position as twelve rays of darkness shot from the Araphel towards them, stabbing them all in the chests in a single callous movement. The platinum guards all stumbled back for a second, before tendrils of darkness started snaking across their armors, consuming the blues and whites they wore until their armors had taken on a new look, black and dark grey.  Luna grunted as similar tendrils started making their way toward the table where her younger self and Celestia lay, their crying only getting louder as they did.  “Mundus! You handle the guard, I’ll deal with the Araphel! Sombra, get my children out of there!” Solaris cried, before rapidly taking to the air. Mundus nodded at him, horn igniting with silver magic before she rushed forwards, firing a beam of magic at the lead platinum guard. It easily and casually dodged out of the way in a blur of movement. Then they all leaped into action at once, charging towards Mundus so quickly that Luna couldn’t even track their motions. Mundus’s eyes widened for a moment, and all she could do was raise a shield before they were upon her.  Luna turned her gaze to Sombra, who rushed forwards, his horn shimmering with green magic as he ran towards Luna and Celestia, blasting away at the tendrils with his own minuscule attacks.  Luna’s eyes widened as one of the platinum guards rushed towards him from behind. She almost cried out to him, telling him to look out, before a cyan bolt of energy screamed down from the sky, striking the platinum guard in the skull and dropping him to the ground dead. Luna barely had time to parse this before Sombra reached the table, scooping up Luna and Celestia and making a run for it.  He didn’t notice one last tendril shoot out, and this time there was no bolt to stop it. Sombra was impaled clean through the chest by pitch-black darkness, which emerged out the other side. Luna barely saw the tendril lash against her, making a cut on her younger self's cheek that oozed shadows before Sombra fell forwards to the ground in a crumpled heap. The unicorn cried out in pain as his horn mutated and curved into a blade-like shape. The last act he could manage was tossing Luna and Celestia out of the way of the battle before he melted into a puddle of black goo, which formed into a shadow and slinked off into the darkness, a pair of neon green eyes forming inside.  Then the dream shifted once more.  Solaris was hammering the still-twitching blob of the Araphel with spell after spell. It noticeably shrunk with every strike until it had reached the size of a pony, flames, and fire lashing out at it as Solaris screamed in rage. Luna scanned the battlefield, she and her sister were still safe, and all but one of the platinum guards were laying on the ground still, wounds pouring black blood onto the ground. But one sight came to her vision that caught her gaze. Mundus. She was lying still on her back, gazing into the sky. Three separate halberds were impaled through her chest.  Luna inhaled deeply, taking a step back. Her mother was obviously dead… she had always known she had died, but now… now she had seen how it happened. Had she known her better she would have been bawling at the sight. She felt her eyes water for a moment, but instead, she shook her head, turning to stare at Solaris. Just as the Alicorn king was readying a spell to finish the beast off. The last platinum guard struck, shooting toward Solaris at speeds faster than the eye can see. Solaris barely had time to lock eyes with the platinum guard’s visor before he was struck in the chest by the halberd’s blade, making a vicious slash that dropped him to the ground screaming.  The platinum guard then raised his halberd as the Araphel started to slowly reconstitute before them, but just before he could, a new beam of magic struck the blob of darkness in the central mass, causing it to let out a screech of pain before a section of it split off, dropping to the ground as a puddle of blackness as the rest evaporated.  The guard cried out in pain dropping its halberd and stumbling forwards clawing at the sides of its head. Before it could do anything else, a second guard, this one still in cyan armor shot out from the shadows halberd at the ready. The black guard barely out time to cry out before it was beheaded, its helmet falling to the ground with a crash. “W… what?” Solaris whimpered as the sky rapidly turned back to its normal blue, the sun burning yellow once again.  “Brother… fancy running into you here…” A voice said. Luna quickly turned to see U’val step out from where the uncorrupted guard had previously emerged, a deep smile on his face.  “U… U’val… how…” Solaris tried to stand up, but a blow to the chest from the guard dropped him to the ground.  “How did I survive? That doesn’t really matter Solaris, now does it.” U’val said rolling his eye as he came to a stop next to Luna and Celestia. He sat down and slowly picked them both up, cradling them to his chest. “Shh shh shhh… it’s alright…”  “Put them down… now…” Solaris cried, igniting his horn. He barely managed to get a spell going before the guard lashed out with their halberd, instantly severing his horn, which fell to the ground harmlessly. The alicorn king screamed in pain, collapsing to the floor and grabbing at the stump emerging from his forehead.  “Whyever would I do that?” U’val said, lifting the two babies into the air with a levitation spell, allowing him to walk toward the king. “I need to get them back to bed.” There was a burst of white flame as U’val transformed, taking on the shape of Solaris, though noticeably wounded, covered head to toe in deep cuts, missing an eye and a leg. “Then I need to fake my, or sorry, your death and disappear into the night so I can get back to planning the downfall of your race. Yada yada yada work work work. So very tiring.”  “What do you mea-” Solaris started, but he was interrupted when U’val’s horn glowed, though rather than the normal cyan of his magic it was a color her brain couldn’t even comprehend, and with a single casual movement blasted him in the face. Luna let out a sudden scream as in a second Solaris was consumed by magic - or what she believed was magic - and completely and utterly erased without even a word. There was no body, there was no magic residue, no blood or ash, there was simply nothing left.  U’val instantly moved on, turning his gaze towards the new puddle of darkness formed from the death of the Araphel. “That’s unexpected… though useful. Remind me, what’s the name of that wizard Starswirl’s new apprentice?” “Stygian, my domine.” The Platinum Guard responded. “Ah, wonderful,” U’val started, clapping his hooves together. “Remind me in fifteen years or so to get him to drink from this. I’d very much like to see what would happen.”  “Of course, my domine.” the guard replied with a nod. “As for Sombra? Shall we hunt him down?” “What for? He’ll be a useful tool once he masters his new powers,” U’val stated, walking to the edge of the black pool. “Hmmph. The Araphel, an eldritch force that predates the very world itself… reduced to nothing more than a disposable pawn in a 'lesser' creature's plans. Nothing more than a mere footnote in the story. Hah, the irony is almost palpable. Between this and the upcoming end of Epona, I can’t help but feel incredibly giddy at this whole situation.”  The platinum guard remained quiet as U’val stared into Solaris’s reflection on the pool’s oily surface. “Once I have Stygian drink from this I will knock the ‘Pillars’ out of the equation and then it’s only a couple years until these two are of an age I no longer feel guilty curb stomping them at.” “And what of Epona, my Domine?” “With Mundus and Solaris gone, the last two Alicorns on the planet are a pair of babies without any knowledge of the past. Epona will accept the futility of their continued survival and disband as a nation, it will be Solaris’s dying wish after all. Then it’s as simple as burning books and assassinating historians until the… ‘Equestrians’ forget it ever even existed in the first place.” U’val smirked. “I grow closer to erasing Aeternum’s legacy with each passing day.” “Of course, my Domine.”  “Now then, one final loose end to deal with,” U’val said, with a smile, turning his gaze to stare directly at Luna. Instantly he dropped his disguise. “I know you’re there.” Luna couldn’t help but gasp, her face going white for a moment before the dream around her shattered, leaving U’val and her alone in an all-white void. “How-” “I knew from the moment you stepped inside my dear niece. You don’t exactly live as long as I do without knowing a thing or two about the inner workings of your brain,” U’val stated, eye narrowing. “Or do you want to insult my intelligence by implying you’re the only one who knew about dream walking.” Luna growled, frowning. She had to get out now. Her horn glowed as she reached for the strand of thought to pull her out, but the moment it went taught, she felt it sever.  “Ah ah ah, I’m not done talking with you yet. No need to be rude,” U’val hissed with a smile.  The void suddenly shifted, reaching out like a claw to grab her, pinning her in place. Luna desperately tried escaping it’s grip, but all the void did was squeeze tighter around her soul.  “W-why?” She screamed as U’val stepped closer to her. “Why would you show me all of this… Why did you kill my mother and father?” “It’s rather simple really,” U’val said, rolling his eye. “I just wanted to give you context for how long I’ve been gunning for you and your sister. As for your second question… They took something important from me.” “Your Empire?” Luna hissed as he leaned down to stand on her level. “Certainly not. I would have thought showing you how I dealt with those imperial revanchists proved otherwise,”  U’val smiled. “Besides, it was never my empire in the first place.” “Then what did they take from you, what was so important that you’d erase them for it?” Luna growled up at him.  He merely smiled. “It’s a variety of things, but most pressing for you right now, he took my eye. Do you have any idea how painful it is to have your eyeball melt out of its socket?” Luna didn’t respond, merely grunting and lowering her head slightly. U’val smirked, taking a moment to walk in a circle around the alicorn. “Tell me, for a while there after you came back from the moon, you made a habit of torturing yourself while you slept, correct?” Luna stayed quiet.  “Yes yes, I remember, you used a magical construct you created to give yourself nightmares every night,” U’val laughed, eye narrowing as his smile widened. “Well then, let me show you a real Nightmare, my niece.” U’val suddenly changed before her, becoming nothing more than a silhouette, the darkness of which rapidly started to morph and change, becoming squirming scribbles as he rapidly grew. Luna felt herself lifted off the ground before she felt herself fall toward his eye, piercing through it into another all white void. As she passed into it, however, she suddenly felt pain, more pain than she had ever felt in her life. Her left eye went blind as she felt burning in her eye socket. Boiling liquid poured out from the now-empty cavity scarring her face and melting the flesh.  All she could do was scream out into nothingness as she spiraled through the void, blazing a path deeper and deeper into nothingness. Claws made of nothing suddenly slashed from the darkness, ripping into Luna’s soul while millions of invisible voices all speaking in the same tone laughed in unison.  Words ripped through her mind just like the second claw that ripped through her. She didn’t understand a single one of them, not only were they in a different language, but they were seemingly both sideways and upside down at once. Images rapidly flashed through her mind, images of her sister, her friends, and her subjects all being brutally ripped apart in microseconds before another shaking and terrified pony take their place. Their screaming joined hers as the laughing face of U’val appeared in the void above her, a full maniacal laugh escaping his mouth as yet more claws ripped out from the dark, hooking into her and pulling her down deeper and deeper. There was nothing she could do to defend herself, nothing at all… but there was one thing he had overlooked by revealing himself. Channeling all of her mental might into a single point, Luna’s horn ignited, firing a small beam into the void towards the laughing changeling’s eye. It widened mere seconds before she struck, drilling a hole straight through his conscious mind into his subconscious. All the claws broke at once, giving Luna a moment of freedom. Taking to the air on her wings, she made a break for the hole healing in U’val’s mind. Blades of thought started shooting from the walls, trying to impale her. Each one barely dodged by a fraction of an inch. U’val let out a scream of rage as she broke through, escaping into the recesses of his mind. She didn’t have a chance to stay still as everything morphed around her, walls became eyes which became gnashing teeth which became blades and talons that reached out for her. She flew towards the edge of his Id, which shot out at her with screams and blasts, burning away at her now empty eye socket, towards the Superego. Just as she submerged herself in the temporal morality of the hateful god, she let loose another barrage of magic from her horn, smashing through the outer edges of his mind. With a cry, she broke through, back out into the realm of dreams.   She didn’t stop there, in her panic she put as much distance as she could from that horrific place, mind and soul screaming at her to reunite with her body, even as the wounds U’val had given her rapidly healed. Luna came back into her body and instantly collapsed to the ground, panting and wheezing as her eyes, both of them, rapidly focused and unfocused, pupils shaking. She could only whimper as she pulled herself into the fetal position, rocking slightly. With shaky breath she turned her gaze towards the stars, tears pouring from her eyes… it was all she could do at this moment. She thought back for a moment… seconds before she managed to escape, she pulled a single memory from his mind… one which burned into her mind like a branding. One which involved a deer.