//------------------------------// // Echoes Of A Nightmare // Story: Being Royalty // by Coronet the lesser //------------------------------// Luna felt like she was floating on a cloud. The world was quiet and the dark once more. The soft warmth surrounded Luna like a blanket. Yet it was not hostile in its current form. It was more like an endless sea upon which she floated, where thought was malleable and images were but conjuring’s of the thought. There was art to be found in the mind’s construction. It was a dream. Luna had fallen asleep obviously after she and Twilight participated in certain…activities. Luna was aware that she had been in need of catching up on her sleep but felt rather annoyed that it had occurred at such an inconvenient time. ‘I have duties to attend to, soon. Sleep should not be one of my priorities at this moment.’ Her thoughts lingered in the void. Normally the day was the time upon which she rested though she never really slept that much unlike her sister. It was ironic that Luna was passive towards sleep considering her realm was those of dreams. Luna guessed that the reason why she had never truly adapted to the sleeping methods her sister had developed over the years was a direct result of her ability to traverse dreams which acted as an almost second form of rest for Luna. In order to access a ponies dream, Luna was required to enter a meditative trance temporarily in order to shed herself of her physical form. When she was in her metaphysical or her dream form as Twilight had called it, she could access anypony’s subconscious dreams as long as they had no mental defences or charms in place. It was similar to the process in which bees moved from flower to flower. Luna could hop from dream to dream with free reign usually. Luna could also manipulate and change a dream if she so wished though she rarely did so. It would be an abuse of her position to interfere directly with the dreamer unless it was necessary or the dreamer wanted for somepony to intervene. Generally Luna could decipher what dreams were like before entering them. She couldn’t describe it in a true sense as it just had always been like that for her though if she were she’d compare it to gardening in a way. Dreams were like seeds of the mind that grew and developed into various plants. They flourished with careful management and subtle guidance but if they were left to their own ends they tended to grow wild and tangled like weeds. Theses weeds came in the form of ‘intrusive thoughts’ which were basically lesser nightmares that over time grew into larger ones. Where these negative influences came from was something Luna had never been sure of. While most of the time these thoughts came from real life issues that just carried over into the far less controllable dream world and thus manifested itself as a nightmare. Luna had her doubts in other cases. While not often, she had encountered sentient nightmares in the past. These versions of nightmares acted like viruses that over time travelled from dream to dream. They grew stronger over time by feeding on the negative emotions that ponies displayed much like a reversed changeling. Luna was well aware of that fact. Whether they were the creations of ponies or something else was a fact Luna did not want to know. Most were harmless and required only the barest amount of intervention to be rid of them. Often the dreamed expelled them before they gained any foothold but occasionally she encountered a practically stubborn one that required more decisive action especially when these nightmares targeted the easiest of prey, foals. Over the years during her absence Celestia lacked the skill to actually combat these nightmares and thus they had grown resilient and entrenched. Luna could only do her best to reverse this process. Though she had noticed a decline in the intensity of nightmares since her return. This was because modern ponies were less susceptible to superstition then the ponies that Luna cared for a thousand years ago. The once powerful nightmares had faded into mere malevolent shadows gnawing at the edge of the dream world. The age of mythology was giving was to a more modernised world. While Luna lamented the loss of this world, it made her job a whole lot easier knowing that she didn’t have to combat severe nightmares anymore…most of the time. Luna suddenly felt the tug of the dream pulling her in. Like the planet itself, dreams had certain gravity to them. Feeling like she could use the novelty of enjoying one her own dreams for a short while before court she decided to enter it. The dream from an outside perspective looked rather calm enough. ‘Perhaps it will be something romantic,’ thought Luna. The small flash of light that followed as she entered her own dream was similar to what happened when one teleported. Soon all Luna could feel was the magic of her own enrgy reforming her within the dream. Blinking to adjust her eyes to the new environment, Luna could not shake the feeling of sudden unease that followed. The dream had shifted in the moments before her entry into it. It was like the changing winds; Luna had only felt the calm before some sort of storm. In response Luna attempted to exert her mental control over the dream but suddenly found herself rebuffed by an intense headache. The dream had managed to supress her somehow. The feeling staggered Luna slightly. She had returned to a physical form within a dream and found herself not in control. While occasionally a dream overpowered Luna due to powerful emotions but rarely did it strip her of her powers to manipulate a dream that was almost unheard of. She was the master of this realm and if she had been overpowered by one of her dreams then it meant that she had to prepare herself for what she assumed would be a not so nice confrontation with whatever lied within. ‘This isn’t good,’ thought Luna. ‘I believe I may have been deceived. Hopefully my powers should return shortly or perhaps Twilight will wake me for court soon. Then again time is warped within this realm. ’ Luna steeled herself for what was to come. Eventually her surroundings settled after her failed attempt to manipulate them. She found herself in what looked like a mockery of the Canterlot throne room. The fountain based at the bottom of the throne was frozen and the metal that surrounded it looked corroded and worn out. The walls of the room were filled with an assortment of rather creepy looking glass like constructions that shifted the black pools of rippling liquid within them, occasionally. Luna swore she could hear the faint sound of pained whispers echo from them. She developed an instant distaste for them. Next she noticed the smell of the room. It smelled like sulphur in the air. Luna snorted in attempt to rid herself of it its stench though it was futile effort. She only then noticed the walls were donned with banners of a black crescent moon against a lighter blue background. They flowed slightly in a non-existent wind. In-between there were the famous stain glass windows to which Canterlot Castle was known for. Though rather than them be filled with the glowing warmth of the sunlight that filled the room with a wide array of beautiful colours, they were replaced by the subtle glow of a full moon that radiated the eerie blue glow onto the castle floors. The sickly light making the shapes of the images the windows they possessed. The windows were filled with images of triumphant conquest that Luna recognised as the art style of reunification period. The jagged angles, the violent images and the black write lettering all pointed to such. The images while incredibly detailed, made Luna feel more uncomfortable. While a necessary step within Equestria’s history, it was an era of racism, political divides and social stagnation and widespread poverty and disease. Luna also guiltily admitted to herself that she and her sister had not always been the paragons of peace and harmony during that time. In truth many would claim they were the aggressors and brought more unnecessary pain and suffering to an already bloody conflict. Luna turned her attention towards the throne. The change it had received was quite shocking. Gone was the gold and regal demeanour, replaced instead by a monstrous mockery of what it once was. Metal and iron twisted into some sort living weapon. Random spikes sprung from its crown. And it was raised to almost surreal yet intimidating proportions. The full light of the moon poured out from behind. The large celestial orb had never seemed so close. The shadow of the throne stretched out like a black hand towards Luna. “Beautiful is it not? You always had a most…interesting imagination dear Luna.” Luna jumped at the sudden intrusion. She looked around for the source of the voice but the sound echoed off the empty hall thus making it difficult to pinpoint its location. It sounded slightly feminine in tone but had a deep echo to it. Even though it was a dream, Luna still felt the need to shiver. The voice sounded sort of familiar, especially the feminine part. Luna frantically turned in a circle looking for anything but was instead faced with a thousand images of her via the mirrors. “Looking for someone?” the voice asked with a sing song tone. Luna spun around once more though she stumbled as the pain in her head increased. “Having trouble? It really shouldn’t be that hard after all. After all are you not the princess of dreams? Or has Celestia stolen that from you too, hmmm?” “Show yourself phantom. I am well aware that this is a dream,” countered Luna. “You have no power over me here.” “Then why not simply end it?” “Maybe I ‘m curious,” bluffed Luna still holding her ground. Her horn pointed outwards in a threatening stance. It was a pointless gesture considering she was still not in control of the dream yet. Luna could only hope that Twilight would wake her momentarily. “Hah! A likely excuse, but if we are engaging our curiosity here I suppose it would be discourteous on my part to not be present to indulge it." Luna took a look around one more time before facing the throne again. Suddenly the chandeliers that Luna had failed to notice above her flickered into existence bathing the spot she was standing on in soft light. She then noticed a figure slowly emerge from the throne. The shape looked liquefied in form but it twisted and turned as it slowly became a more familiar design to Luna’s eyes. The shadows were pulled from each corner of the room, pooling themselves into the mass of the shape. With disturbing gurgling sounds the liquid solidified until a large outline of a pony stood near the side of the throne. Two cat-like teal eyes rolled into existence as they narrowed upon focusing on Luna. The swirling shadows eventually subsided as the pony stepped out towards Luna. While the figure was of that of a pony the black that made up of what Luna assumed was its coat occasionally spilled outside of theses outlines forming temporary wisps of shadows. The whole image made the pony seem transparent, almost ghostly in appearance. The very familiar form of Nightmare Moon greeted Luna with a fanged smile. “It has been quite some time has it not little Lulu,” laughed Nightmare Moon. Though Luna was unfazed. Nightmares smile faded as she descended the stairs.“What no shocked greeting? No, oh no she’s back kind of thing. Luna, I'm disappointed.” “If you were real perhaps. You are but an apparition of my dream, a face for some negative emotions I’m feeling currently,” shrugged Luna. “You were destroyed, the residents of Ponyville saw to that. The only way you could even be conceived as a reality would be if I had perhaps eaten upon the insane root.” “When you put it like that it takes away the whole dramatic aspect to it. Luna could only increase the intensity of her glare towards the spirit. Nightmare bellowed laughter. Come now Luna are we all not actors of the stage set to play our part before fading into nothingness. Drama is the spice of life." Luna still gave no response. “Perhaps I could be a chemical imbalance within your brain." The nightmare vanished as she appeared to Luna’s right by exiting one of the glass constructs."Or maybe I’m reality. Does it really matter? I’m here and so are you. So why don’t we talk? Take a seat.” Nightmare motioned to the throne. “Have a drink?" A glass of port burst into life before her. Luna pushed the glass away causing it to fall and smash into a thousand pieces on the floor. “You’ve been taking yourself too seriously lately.” Without warning Nightmare Moon was behind Luna and whispering close to her ear with the disturbing double voice that the dream had given to her. “You want my opinion, you need to lighten up.” Luna turned and swung her hooves full force at Nightmare but the shadow dispersed and simply reformed a few metres away in front of Luna. “That was most ill-advised!” snapped Nightmare Moon, her snake like tongue making a hissing sound as she did so. “Is that how you treat all you friends?” “You are no friend of mine you parasite.” “Bah, we both know that’s a lie. Where would you be without me?” Nightmare Moons frown turned seriously as she bored her eyes into Luna. Luna replied by forming her mouth into a fierce scowl. "A better place, no doubt,” spat Luna. "You took a part of my life away, a part in which I’ll never get back. You manipulated and tricked me when I was at my weakest. You turned me against my sister." Luna’s face grew dark as she spoke her next few words. "Everything wrong with my life is as a result of you." She then looked the spirit in the eye. "Now tell me again where I’d be without you." “You have a very selective memory Luna,” spoke Nightmare slowly as she circled Luna leaving a trail of shadows in her wake. “You were the one who took my help and you were the one that forced your goals onto me. The blood of those spilled on that day is equally shared.” “I do not deny my sins,” calmly replied Luna though she cringed on the inside. The felling of guilt began to build up like a noxious liquid under the skin. Luna could only swallow her distaste and reassure herself she had moved on. Nightmare didn’t look like she noticed Luna’s temporary distraction and if she did she said nothing. “I can only learn from them and know that one day I can make up for my past mistakes.” “Just words from a mare that is neither worthy of such sentiment or the forgiveness so kindly offered to her. What? Did your little purple toy give such nonsense to spurt out?” Luna’s eye twitched violently. “Don’t dare bring her into this discussion or you s-” “What? Regret it,” mocked Nightmare. She moved her hoof through her shadow like body displaying it to be incorporeal. “You may pander witlessly on about how I have no power over you here but you certainly have no power over me. You cannot destroy that which is without life.” “Then what purpose is there in bartering false words! Speak no more of your foul bile to me product of the insane root! Begone!" “The dream does not end until I say it does dear Luna so you may as well accept the position you are in,” laughed Nightmare. “Just because you tell a nightmare to leave you, does not mean it will. The pain you hide may be lost to you but not to me. Deep down you are still rattled by the insecurities that threw you into my hooves so long ago." “My demons are my own. I hide beneath no false faces,” said Luna as she scrunched her snout in confusion. “Then by all rights I must be on a casual visit eh?” harked Nightmare as she blew puffs of smoke from her mouth. The little clouds formed above the room into a whirling mass of shadow. The violent thunderstorm was increasing in strength. Luna could make out shapes and forms dance within its horrid mass. Black horses moving in a sea of fear, their eyes the most terrifying and brilliant shade of yellow. They whispered an echoing lullaby that could barely be heard over the foul wind that had seemed to sweep through the air. Luna briefly though she heard the boom of thunder in the non-existent distance. The peaceful night was changing. Nightmare just kept smiling. Her fanged grin spreading from cheek to cheek as she slowly bobbed her head from side to side. Luna tried to back away before she felt herself being slightly pushed back into the centre by something of dire cold. “Feeling anxious Luna. As you said this is all a dream. You have nothing to fear when you are with a friend.” The tone Nightmare took was almost motherly in quality, though the deep voiced echo could only offset Luna further. Luna’s eyes flashed towards the mass above them. Nightmare looked up and smiled. “Oh I wasn’t lying when I said you have the most extraordinary mind Luna. Night mares. Get it,” laughed Nightmare Moon. Luna’s sense of disturb was increased greatly. The chandeliers shook and their candles faded in the sentient dark. Luna felt as if Nightmare’s eyes were not the only eyes fixed upon her. “Just speak and then go,” replied Luna though the confidence she radiated at the beginning of their conversation had faded. The increasingly tense situation compiled with a rising anxiety and fear was stretching Luna’s composure slightly. While Luna was experienced in the art of dream work she was also a pony. A pony that had natural fears. Fears that extended into the dream world. She was no less susceptible than any other pony. She just usually had the power and experience to act against it. Without it, Luna felt naked before the ferocity of her own nightmare. While Luna in a sense was always naked she almost felt that Nightmare could see past skin and flesh into Luna’s soul and her knocking heart against her ribs. Luna’s breathing rate increased. “I always liked your hair when it was that short navy blue,” sighed Nightmare. She had managed to appear in front of Luna within almost a second. She caught the end of Luna’s hair and gently caressed it. Luna tried to pull away in disgust towards being in close proximity to such a…thing. “Maybe you should go back no doubt it would drive Twilight crazy.” “So much like Celestia.” Nightmare’s eyes hardened. “Even now you refuse to step out of her shadow. Always trying to emulate perceived perfection but knowing deep down that you can never achieve it. It sickens me.” Nightmare pulled away. “After everything that has happened you still are blind to how little has changed for you. If it were not for my efforts it would still be a status quo ante.” “You keep referring to what you have done for me but have I already not proven the opposite. Must I list more examples? If this is some pathetic excuse to justify your existence then you are obviously not as strong as I previously thought if thou must explain itself.” Luna’s tone was more annoyed then afraid. "If you think about it Luna everything you have now is as a direct result of me," hissed Nightmare. The shadows descend downward from the ceiling and began forming large circles that floated around the two ponies aimlessly. Soon they lit up with bright images of what Luna recognised as scenes from the day of her return to the present. Most were happy moments in the company of friends or her sister. “This is the fruition of our work Luna.” Suddenly Nightmare pulled over a rather large shadow. Its outer shape framed like a heart. Within it lay a sleeping Twilight.” She is the result of our work.” “Twilight is not mine because of your deeds.” “When did little Twilight become yours to be exact?” Nightmare questioned with a raised eyebrow. Luna blushed at her statement. Nightmare crushed the image between her hooves as it dissipated into a vaporous gas that floated to re-join it’s brethren above them. “Getting possessive already little Luna.” Nightmare moved forward one step and Luna matched her movement except in reverse. “Still a child in a way.” Nightmare put her hoof under Luna’s chin. “Holds so tightly onto a toy for the fear that it may slip from your grasp.” Luna pulled away violently. The images surrounding them faded into nothingness. “I will not be treated like a child in my own dream fiend.” “Then stop acting like one and use that skull of yours to actually take in what I’m saying,” snarled Nightmare. Luna withdrew from her. “Were it not for me you still be lying in your bed each night crying yourself to sleep. If it were not for me you would have faded into the shadows. Isolated. Alone. Nothing but a shadow forever beneath your sister. I gave you a chance to change that. I saved you from your own weakness. I exposed how weak your sister is, how undeserving she is of everything she has. Yet even when given the chance to act you slip back to what you once were. The lapdog of a weakling.” “If I and my sister are weak then let it be celebrated because it separates us from the likes of you.” Luna felt the harsh smack of metallic against her face as she crumpled to the floor in a heap. She touché the side of her cheek feeling it sting slightly where Nightmare had struck her. "Your weakness is my weakness Luna. Have you learned nothing! You and I are no different. Look around you." Luna raised herself to find that the glass construct around despite the dim lighting. Only one mare. Her. Neither nightmare nor the shadow s was present at all. Instead Luna sat almost perfectly serene in the middle of the throne room. The low light of the moon shining through her ever flowing mane. “Can you not see that we were made for each other,” whispered Nightmare. “Only I can truly understand you Luna.” “No!” screamed Luna. “No you have nothing to do with me. I am not you and you are not me. I don’t need you anymore. I have never needed you.” Nightmare stepped back under such intensity displayed by Luna who was now pushing her way forward to Nightmare. “I don’t care what you say. Your words are poison and I am not the once prideful foal I was before. You don’t understand me. You don’t get me. I’ve outgrown you and your lies.” “Outgrown!” roared Nightmare. The walls of the room shook as dust fell from the ceiling. The shadows struck out in every direction as glass shattered and ash filled the air. Luna felt herself being restrained in her movements as a black fire surrounded Nightmare Moon. “You’ll never outgrow me foal. You sold your soul to me for your own selfish desires. You did not think of the consequences bar for yourself.” Nightmares voice had lost all if the feminine values it displayed earlier. The second voice ringing true and unblemished in its booming tone. “Now you prance around as if you’re a pony reborn. How wonderful and willing you are to accept change. Never has there been such a lie. As if you’ve repented your sins and some reincarnation of the divines themselves." Nightmare Moon laughed cruelly as the chamber continued to shake. Little interweaving webs began forming on the floor. Luna noticed that they were signs that the dream was destabilising. “How you bemoan your suffering at my hooves yet are unwilling to deny the resentment you still hold. You may criticise how your sister wears a mask in court but you wear a mask every minute of every day, hypocrite. You’re nothing more than a spoilt child. Unwilling to accept her place in the world. You believe that the universe owes you a debt. It does not. While you and that tyrant of a sister play pretty princess and exclaim how wonderfully everything is going between you. You know the truth you will always resent your sister for everything she has done for you. How her nobles mistreat you. How Twilight cares for her more than you." “No, that’s not true,” proclaimed Luna though her sentence caught off into a yelp as the shadows began to creep around Luna pulling at her legs and holding her place. Nightmare gave no reply to Luna’s defiance except to shake her head in disapproval. “Oh but she does. How she fawns over Celestia?” “Stop.” “How she’s always looking for her approval. How she nearly breaks down in tears at the slightest hint that she may have disappointed her?” “I said-” “How her eyes sparkle and she buzzes with that certain glow that she never seems to have around you when she’s given praise?” “No it…I” "Perhaps she only views you as seconds. A compromise on what she can never truly have. A watered down model. The knock off version. The-” “ENOUGH!!!” Luna’s horn roared into power as the shadows were instantly repelled and Nightmare Moon shrieked in fury at the blinding light. Luna’s magic tore into the sad parody of her court room, shredding it with precision and skill that only the lady of dreams could possess. The walls collapsed into white light and the floor shattered like glass and dissolved like sand before the wind. Like a horrid spider the images crawled away into the deep bowels of Luna’s subconscious mind where they would stay as harmless spirits of doubts. They left only the image of Nightmare Moon before Luna who was cowering at the display of power before, occasionally hissing as the light struck her eyes once more. "You are the one that is wrong Nightmare. I have outgrown you, I will never fall for your manipulation again!"shouted Luna as her magical grip shook Nightmare. The vision began to melt like heated metal before Luna’s eyes as Nightmare looked on with surprise. Her hooves slowly dripping down onto the floor underneath as her wings shed feathers to reveal their skeletal structure. One side of Nightmares face began to pull down as she felt herself collapse under Luna’s power. "You think you have everything now Luna but be careful," spoke Nightmare as her voice distorted along with her body. She managed to give Luna a hateful gaze. "You'll find how easy these things slip away from you. You will not be able to protect her in the end." “I can and I will. Now begone. Go to the void that awaits you." Nightmare Moon managed to chuckled one last time as her form finally decomposed down to little more than a skeleton. “Your hubris will lead to her hurt. Besides you will never be truly free of me." Luna was unable to reply as blinding light above her grew and all of a sudden everything went to black. “Luna it’s time to get up sleepy head,” sang a voice. Luna blinked as she opened her eyes to see Twilight with a towel on her head. “Wha-Twilight?” asked a groggy Luna. Twilight giggled as she gave a light peck to Luna’s cheek. “Just thought I’d mention that you need to freshen up for court soon. It starts in an hour or two.” “Oh yes the court. How long was I asleep?” “Discounting the time I was asleep with you about an hour and a half.” “Oh I suppose I should get ready then.” Luna lifted herself out of the bed revealing a great deal of sweat covering the mattress. Twilight seemed confused. “I know we went at it but I didn’t know we went that hard?” Twilight turned her gaze to Luna who was standing in place and lightly touching her cheek. “Hey you okay?” “Oh I’m fine Twilight, “said Luna touched her cheek and recoiled as she felt a light stinging pain. Luna stared at her hoof. “Just a bad dream.”