//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 – Princess of Night, Knight of Dreams // Story: The Dream Guards // by Lusaminia //------------------------------// Some time earlier Ponyville was too quiet. It was one of the many thoughts storming through Applebloom’s head as she rushed through town towards Twilight’s castle. Sure, Ponyville certainly wasn’t that active at night, but Pinkie Pie’s mere existence in it made the idea of it being completely silent eerie. She didn’t see anypony, no one had noticed and asked what she was doing there so late at night. It was a ghost town. Even more worrying was the lack of nature’s sounds too. The only thing that hit her ears was the clip clop of her own hooves, not even the dirt she kicked up in her sprint making itself known. None of it made sense, but then again nothing had since Melissa had called her that morning. The world was being flipped on its head, and she felt like she was the only pony who knew that. Even worse, she was becoming more and more aware of what the booming voice she had heard earlier meant when speaking of compulsive words. She had no idea where the compulsion was coming from, nor what it was she wanted to say, but she had to say something. It frightened her what those words could possibly be, refusing to open her mouth in fear of what might come out. Didn’t matter how dry her mouth and throat got as she ran, she would not open them until absolutely necessary. The closer she got to the castle, the longer each second seemed to become. Time seemed to drag on, her mind in full panic, the words gaining strength. Once she got there, she knew she would be safe. Hoof after hoof made its way forward, never once looking back in fear at the creature that had attacked her. Then, finally, after an amount of time her brain was too tired to figure it out, she reached it. The door to the castle was right in front of her, and she quickly started to bang on it with her hooves. No one answered. Exhausted, tired, and not thinking clearly, Applebloom continued to beat on the door like a punching bag. The idea of opening it didn’t hit her. After minutes of banging her hooves on the door, she slid down to the ground and curled up, tired and afraid. It was at that moment she finally looked back, and for the first time since leaving the farm her mouth open. “I-I… I dream–“ She immediately closed her mouth, shook her head, and examined the ground closer. It might have been dark, but she knew what she was looking at. Specks of dirt were in the air, frozen still, as if Discord was playing the smallest, most ill-times prank she had ever seen. She shook her head again, unsure of what she was seeing. “Wh-what is–“ She clamped her muzzle shut once again. Those words might have been her own, but fear told her to stay quiet. Even still, the compulsion to speak grew stronger, very little holding her back. In the end, all it took was a few words to finally get the words out. “It is okay, young knight. You are safe enough to speak them now.” That was all Applebloom’s brain needed. She had been told to speak, her very being begged her to, and the shock at the time-frozen dirt had taken her off guard just enough. Without further need to keep her muzzle shut, the young filly spoke. “I dream a dreamer’s dream.” Such simple, seemingly unimportant words, and yet they caused a cavalcade of events around her. As if sound was finally catching up, her ears were suddenly filled with sound. Dirt getting kicked up, an ear-ring amount of thuds and bams on the door behind her. Applebloom groaned, forelegs going to her ears as she winced from the overstimulation. She did not notice the dirt fall back to the ground. What she did notice was a single voice. “Applebloom? Applebloom?!” Applebloom’s eyes went wide, doing everything she could to ignore her ringing ears as she focused her attention on Yolina’s phone. “M-Miss Melissa?” “Oh thank god you're okay,” Melissa replied, a sigh leaving her mouth simultaneously to her words. “Is everything okay?” “I-I don’t know,” Applebloom explained, looking around at the dark town before her. With the phone’s light shining on you, things suddenly felt far darker than before. “I fell off the roof and I thought I was going to die, but I didn’t. Then I thought the phone was broken and this strange voice was talking to me from seemingly nowhere and–” “Whoa, whoa, calm down Applebloom. This isn’t the time to–“ Melissa suddenly stopped speaking. Applebloom tensed up, worried she might have somehow broken the phone again. That ended when Melissa spoke in a far quieter, far more terrified voice. “You… you heard a voice?” “Y-yeah. It asked me where I got the phone, and then told me about these compulsive words and then, well,” Applebloom did everything in her power to calm herself before continuing, “I said them. Did they fix the phone?” Melissa didn’t respond, but this time Applebloom knew it wasn’t because of the phone. The call timer was going again, continuing from where it had been as if nothing had been wrong previously. It quickly hit Applebloom that she might have made a mistake, and her ears folded back. “I-I’m sorry, Miss Melissa. I don’t know what I did wrong but…” She wasn’t sure how to finish her statement. Melissa, in turn, gave her no opportunity to do so. “No, Applebloom. This is our fault.” Applebloom’s jaw hung open at her words. “The words this voice mentioned are “I dream the dreamer’s dream”, correct?” “Yeah!” Applebloom answered, nodding her head out of habit. “How… how did you know?” “I’ve spoken them before, as has Yolina. In fact, only a few of my friends haven’t,” Melissa replied, a half-hearted chuckle leaving her lips. It was impossible to not make out how forced it sounded. “Applebloom, what I’m about to tell you can’t be told to anyone. At least, not anyone you trust to keep a lifelong secret, understand?” While certainly confused at how the mare was acting, Applebloom still nodded. “Okay, got it. You aren’t a bad pony, right?” “No, and I’m… I’m not a pony. I’m something called a human.” Applebloom’s eyes went wide. She recognized the species name from eavesdropping on Applejack and the other element. “More specifically, I’m a Magral Knight, a person that fights nightmares and dreams that try to hurt people in the real world. You’re one of us now. Those words you said sealed that.” The crash of magic against a wall, the clash of metal against ooze. These were the sounds that filled Luna’s ears as she pursued the enemy nightmare. Dual sabers of pure magic floated around her, acting on her command and keeping her offensive. All the while her hooves danced, avoiding spike after spike the enemy through at her like a dancer.  Out of practice though she was, the movements and thought process of being a knight came back to her like the snap of a griffon’s claws. Where Celestia was the politician, playing mental chess games with nobles and ambassadors, she was the warrior. It was through her that the griffons had come to respect Equestria’s might, and through her the army of the nation grew mighty. Shining Armor was a spectacular captain, but the guards she had returned to after being freed from Nightmare Moon was a sign her sister wasn’t half the military mastermind she was. In the same way the nightmare had played with Yolina, believing an injured opponent was an easy one, she now did the same to him. None of her strikes were meant to kill, merely pester. It was easy, especially with how his attacks grew less and less calculated as she continued. She would dodge one way at slash at the shoulder, then the other when his next attack missed. The way he snarled at her actions brought her a sense of joy. Yet at the same time, she knew this couldn’t continue forever. They were in a hospital after all, and she had to assure the safety of the patients. “Why. Won’t. You. Fall?!” The nightmare roared, completely overtaken by fury. Each word was met with a spike jutting out from the ooze, none landing their mark as Luna spun with playful elegance. “You know your fight is futile. You will be hers again, so why do you resist? Gah!” “Because I am not a fool who believes everything is absolute,” Luna said, slashing at the nightmare’s back with both sabers. “Nightmare Moon believed herself undefeatable, and yet twice she has fallen. Can you truly say that parasite will win, knowing that?” “She speaks of victory, of justice for the nightmares you continue to refuse life!” The nightmare replied. The spike that ended his sentence was destroyed by a simple shield spell. “Every night you kill dozens upon dozens of nightmares before they are allowed to gain life. You treat us with misery and disdain while propping dreams on a pedestal. Why do you hate us? Why do you hurt us alone, when dreams are no different?” Luna answered not with words, but with an attack. Jumping towards the nightmare and spinning around, a hindleg connected with the underside of its jaw. The creature stumbled back, unable to recover as Luna spun yet again and kicked again, hitting the side of its face. Her sabers took action after that, one spearing it through its exposed core while the other went for the eye. It cried out in pain, the walls vibrating as if in response. All it took then was for Luna to use her front hooves to pin the creature to the ground. Her magic gripped it’s core, refusing to let it squirm away. “Every night, my ponies are assailed by their deepest fears and worst memories, twisted diabolically to torture them,” Luna explained to the nightmare. “I have seen how your kind act if given the chance to live. I have seen the pain, fear, and terror that you strike into others. You ask why I destroy your kind,” she removed the saber stuck in its core, “that is why?” The saber plunged back into the core, and it immediately began to crack. Those cracks quickly became bigger and bigger, and more formed off of them like branches on trees. Knowing the inevitable was coming, the nightmare looked into Luna’s eyes one last time. “As long as you live, as long as the tear in vale between realms exists, you are not safe,” he told her. Then, he rest his head back and closed his eyes.  “Long live her majesty, Nightmare Moon.” Then, the core shattered into pieces, and the body the nightmare had made itself collapsed. The face melted into the ooze, which quickly grew more and more opaque before vanishing all together. While Luna should have felt satisfied with an easy victory, her body stayed tense. The nightmare may have been an evil thing through and through, but it was right about one thing: she was in danger. The way into the realm of reality had been brought about by Yolina’s violent entrance to her world. The very creature that had taken control of her years ago could come and leave as it pleased. It was only a matter of time until Nightmare Moon tried to reclaimed what she thought was hers. “Forgive me Yolina,” she whispered to herself, “but I fear your return home is no longer my greatest concern.” With a swish of her horn, the magic-made saber disappeared into nothingness. She took a brief look around her at the hospital. Their were cracks in the tile floors and dents in the wall from the battle. It was an easy fix, but she’d have to do it after getting the thestral back to her hospital room. “Damn it, I missed the finale.” Luna turned around at the voice that had penetrated the sudden silence. A hoof immediately went to her face, Yolina had literally dragged herself to the princess, bulava in hoof. She managed to hold a chuckle inside; no doubt she was just as reckless before Nightmare Moon had taken her over. Desperation for attention caused ponies to do dumb things. “I believe I made it clear enough you should stay still,” Luna said, not fully able to hide her amusement in her tone. Yolina shrugged. “People tell me lots of things, and I’m not the best at listening. What makes me so dangerous.” “To the nightmares, or yourself?” “The nightmares, obviously,” Yolina replied. She brought her free home up, showing Luna the thread connecting herself to Tenderheart. “I wasn’t in any real danger when you saved me. I can be a real menace, even like this.” Despite herself, Luna smiled at the reckless words that left the human-turned-thestral’s muzzle. She had no idea what the thread meant, but she was aware of the strange powers Magral Knights tended to have. A way to level the playing field against creatures with powers most unpredictable. “Well, let us hope that next time we see each other, you don’t need to be so reckless,” Luna said, lifting Yolina in her magic as she made her way to them. As soon as she was over the Luna’s back, the thestral was plopped down on top of the princess. “Though this is certainly not the last time we will be fighting together. You’ve caused a bit of a problem when you crash landed, you see?” Yolina blinked slowly, tilted her head, and raised her brow. “You mean other than causing a farmer a good bit of money in damages.” “Yes, and don’t worry about that.” Luna smiled, unable to contain her amusement at the thestral’s worries. “Knowing the apple family, they likely repaired it themselves a few days ago.” The smile faded immediately after finishing the sentence, a sigh escaping her. “The real problem lies in the fact that, as of three days ago, a certain mare accidentally punched a hole in the vale that separates our realms.” It took Yolina’s brain a couple of seconds, but as soon as she realized who the mare was she put on a sheepish grin. “Oh, hehe, whoops.”