//------------------------------//
// Dreams And Nightmares 
// Story: One Wish For Nothing 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Eight: Dreams And Nightmares
~BlackRoseRaven

Morpheus slowly rose out of a swirling vortex, smiling coldly as he looked straight ahead at the doors of what could only be the treasure vault... and then he yelped as he was flung the rest of the way out of the portal to land painfully on his face a moment before the rift in reality slammed shut.
He awkwardly half-rolled forwards, toppling onto his back with a grimace and glowering moodily between his own legs at the vault doors. Then he carefully clambered up to his hooves and shook himself out, scowling over his shoulder at the ground and grumbling: “What an excellent piece of magic, really. That portal could have...”
Morpheus halted dumbly, then blinked slowly as he realized that portal could have actually taken him just about... anywhere, really. He rubbed awkwardly at this face, then shook himself briskly out and mumbled: “No, no, clearly... clearly she had no choice but to tell the truth, really. Not just because of my influential presence but because... uh... because.”
He couldn't even come up with a good reason why she hadn't just sent him to Tartarus or to the center of a volcano or something. Sure, he'd probably survive and make his way back, but it certainly would have bought her a lot of time. Long-distance travel wasn't one of his strong points, after all: his chain-teleporting exhausted him and he had to stop and rest every few miles.
Maybe she just... hadn't been smart enough to think of that. Maybe she was afraid of his power, since he'd killed the Killing Light. Maybe she had some secret backup plan...
Morpheus shook his head shortly, trying to ignore the strains of anxiety and odd excitement running through his veins as he strode quickly towards the vault doors. They were at the end of a bottlenecked hallway, massive and imposing and inset with the crests of the moon and the sun... and a shape that he knew could only represent the Elements of Harmony, although he didn't recognize the strange, hexagonal figure.
The stallion looked meditatively at this for a few moments, then he finally flicked his horn forwards and sent a bolt of black energy into the doors. But his magic only bounced uselessly off, both doors lighting up with a potent magical force, and the stallion grimaced a bit. “Old magic. Very powerful indeed... the architect was right about the vault.”
Morpheus stepped back, anchoring himself as he looked calmly ahead and smiled slightly, his eyes narrowing as electricity crackled over his horn. Smoke puffed up at his side, then quickly cleared, the winged unicorn easily catching the heavy marble shield as it fell towards him out of the vanishing smog. “Now, let's just hope he was right about this, as well.”
The stallion hefted the heavy stone shield in front of him, grasping the artifact carefully by either side as he faced it towards the vault doors. He took a slow breath as he focused himself, squeezing into the sides of the shield as he forced away his nervousness and apprehension.
He concentrated on pouring his energy into the shield, breathing slowly as he tried to keep the spiritual energy as pure as possible, not tainting it with either darkness or his own malevolent energies. Only pure energy, closing his eyes as he muttered: “Not good, not evil, only energy... this is just about making it work... get it powered up...”
He could feel it starting to activate: the shield was absorbing his energy, and he could feel the Elements of Harmony trapped inside it all linking together, as a humming filled the air. He gritted his teeth, clutching the shield tighter before his eyes widened in surprise as he found himself no longer pushing, but only struggling not to have all his energy dragged out of his body as whatever had been blocking his energies was completely overwhelmed.
The embedded gemstones lit up one after the other as the marble shield thrummed with white light, and then Morpheus yelped, nearly knocked off his hooves as a rainbow-colored ray of energy tore out of the shield and smashed into the doors. It squarely struck that hexagonal symbol in the center of the vault gates, and the stone lit up with unnatural radiance for a few moments before cracks suddenly ripped through the rock as the harmony sigil was blasted out of place, the doors slamming open and nearly tearing off their hinges.
A moment later, the rainbow ray vanished, and the shield lost its glow as steam poured up from the surface, Morpheus wheezing in surprise as he awkwardly tossed the now hot-to-the-touch artifact aside. He patted his front hooves quickly against his chest, blushing slightly before he shook his head hurriedly and muttered: “I... I knew I could do it. I was absolutely sure of it.”
The stallion bit his lip, and then he sat back for a moment: not out of tiredness, but trepidation that was only growing higher and higher as he looked uncertainly through the broken vault doors. He felt... well, it was hard to put into words what he felt. He was... afraid. It didn't feel like there was victory waiting ahead for him, it felt like it was just another inevitable failure.
One wing unfurled, and he started to knead the feathers nervously between his hooves as he gazed uneasily into the vault beyond, not sure of what he should even be feeling. Where was the sense of victory? Why did this all seem too easy? Shouldn't someone be trying to stop him?
It was funny: he had reached the end of the long, desolate road, and he was scared of finishing this journey. The winged unicorn shook his head slowly, cursing under his breath before he gritted his teeth and hopped up to his hooves, quickly furling his wing back against the side. He took a breath, then strode towards the treasure vault, muttering: “No, I'll... I'll prove that my plans are superior, that I am the strongest in this world, I'll... I'll force everyone to suffer, to be excluded like I have, to... know darkness and loneliness!”
He growled as he strode quickly into the open vault... and then tripped stupidly over his own front hooves, falling in a sprawl and gaping in disbelief at the size of the room he walked into... and almost every inch of the massive storehouse was filled with treasure, gold and baubles stacked in enormous piles along the walls, and the walls themselves covered in walls and racks that held every kind of artifact, gemstone, and trinket imaginable.
There were totemic statues that were so tall, they stretched into the darkness above; there were large, rolling shelves stuffed with papyrus and scrolls and books. There were piles upon piles of coins and gems, and maps and suits of armor and weapons of every shape and size...
The stallion looked back and forth in awe as he slowly strode through the room, and then his eyes widened before he hurried over to two enormous sets of full plate mail. He studied them with fascination: they were Draekin armor, and one of them clearly had belonged to the Killing Light herself, while the other was smaller and had strange letterings and symbols over it: if the stallion had to guess, he would imagine it denoted Throna as a healer.
He studied them both with fascination, then noted that Stronghold's armor was missing a piece: that choker. Throna's, however, still had hers present, and the stallion studied it with interest before he reached up and touched it, murmuring: “I see. So that's what Throna meant by a 'Reconvertor:' it must be some kind of space-time magic, letting them assume their old forms... literally, become as they were in the past. That was why Stronghold became so weak after I destroyed it...”
He frowned thoughtfully for a few moments, then shook his head and stepped back and gazed almost yearningly over the heavy Draekin armor again. He was surrounded not just by treasures, but by pieces of the long-forgotten past, come to life... it was incredible.
Morpheus drew his eyes around the vault... and then stared at a statue, placed almost perfectly in the center of the room. He mouthed slowly at the sight of this before swallowing a bit and approaching nervously as he was reminded forcefully of what he was here.
It looked like a statue of Princess Luna... except the stallion knew that this was Princess Luna, frozen in stone for all of eternity. She looked frightened but defiant, her head held high, her forelegs crossed as if she had been refusing to give any ground in spite of how humble she seemed at the same time. She looked like someone who had been pushed into a corner, but then refused to be shoved any further... gods above and demons below, how well he understood that...
But what caught his attention most of all was the object cradled in her forelegs. It looked like nothing more than a simple stone tablet, with a completely blank, polished face, framed in gold. It looked like nothing special, maybe just some decorative plate waiting to be fitted with a crest or a name... and Morpheus laughed faintly before he reached forwards and silently lifted it free, gazing over it with a tremble before he whispered: “This is it. This is what I've worked to try and retrieve, my entire life... this is... the Tablet of Dreams.”
He sat back, studying the Tablet of Dreams silently, barely able to believe that he had it after all this time. He held it here, in his own two hooves, the stallion licking his lips slowly before he laughed weakly again and thrust it up above his head, trembling... but the pose was anything but victorious. It was almost fearful, as he stared up silently at the blank slate and wondered... what the hell was he going to do now?
Slowly, he lowered it down into his forelimbs, then frowned uneasily as he almost cradled it against his body, looking back and forth. He knew how to use it... or at least, he thought he did. The architect who had helped Stronghold make this had told him that the Tablet of Dreams tapped in to a power outside of their world: it was connected to some kind of cosmic energy that was capable of transforming their reality, literally rewriting the world.
The architect had been old and wise and... a very strange pony. Morpheus hadn't known what to make of him, but now he supposed he was going to find out the real worth of the ancient pony's words, one way or another. But yet, he was still hesitating, still worrying, still... so goddamn afraid. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go, was it? The bad guy wasn't supposed to win... but... he was the bad guy, why the hell was he thinking that?
Morpheus scowled as he shook the tablet... then stared in horror as he clumsily dropped the goddamn thing. It hit the ground with a thud and flopped over... and... it was perfectly unharmed. Yet as he stared down at it, it wasn't relief that he felt: it was a weird kind of disappointment, like he'd almost been hoping that... well...
“Stop it. Just... just jitters. I mean, after I destroy the world and prove I'm the most powerful, evil pony in existence, I'm probably going to have to make some kind of... evil award acceptance speech. I've never been good on stage.” Morpheus mumbled as he picked the tablet up again, shaking it briskly once before he looked warily back and forth. “This feels almost like a trap, too. I... I should activate this and... get it over with.”
Morpheus breathed slowly, then he looked down at the Tablet of Dreams and gritted his teeth. He threw away his hesitation and his anger and his everything else as he looked down at it, before saying slowly and carefully: “Sleeping tablet, I call you out of rest... to grant a wish at my behest. I am your master now, so you must obey: awaken now, and hear what I have to say!”
There was silence for a few moments, and Morpheus shifted uncomfortably as nothing happened before he looked back and forth, mumbling: “Maybe Stronghold... changed the password? Or the architect was wrong or... uh...”
Morpheus looked awkwardly at the tablet, and then he shook it firmly several times. Nothing happened, and the stallion scowled before rolling his eyes and dropping it on the ground, muttering: “Well. This has been a grand waste of time after all, hasn't it? How delightful, really. I'm sure that Antecedes is going to get a big laugh out of-”
“I'm awake! I'm awake!” A voice blurted out of the tablet as it shot into the air, and Morpheus squealed like a filly and leapt backwards, staring in shock as the tablet floated groggily back and forth, the voice muttering out of it as it took on an eerie, colorful glow: “I was just getting to sleep, too... now... what do you want?”
Morpheus stared blankly at the floating tablet, and then he pointed at it and said dumbly: “You... you talk. And you sound... stupid.”
“Your stupid what.” snapped the tablet in response, and there was an awkward silence for a few moments before the tablet mumbled: “That wasn't the right response. But what did you expect?”
Morpheus only scowled, then he stepped forwards and grabbed the tablet out of the air with one hoof, yanking it down as it squawked before he said irritably: “I don't like being toyed with. I have a wish to make. Will you grant it?”
“If you're willing to pay the price...” the tablet whimpered, seeming to try and nod in his grip before the stone plate added uneasily: “But yes, I can... I can grant any wish you desire. I can do anything: nothing is outside my power, so long as the payment is good.”
“And how do I make this payment?” Morpheus asked moodily, shifting uneasily before he said slowly: “Can you simply... take life away? Or do I have to do it myself?”
“Well...” The tablet hesitated, and then it said finally: “The payment has nothing to do with the extent of my powers. The payment is so that those who make a wish understand the gravity of what they're dealing with... I'm a force of cosmic supreme power, you know. We don't do things lightly.”
Morpheus smiled slightly at this, and then he rubbed his hooves together as he let go of the tablet, allowing it to float backwards as he said pleasantly: “Excellent. And, Tablet of Dreams, is it true that you cannot affect the minds of those who have already been touched by your powers, but you can still affect them physically?”
“Yes, that's right! Gosh you know a lot about me.” the magical plate said thoughtfully, floating towards him and seeming to inspect the winged unicorn as it whizzed back and forth around him. “Have we met before? Except I really don't get out that much.”
Morpheus scowled at the the tablet, and then he swatted at it irritably before complaining: “Why are you acting like a foal? Look at me! I am pure evil, I am a terrible villain, so I act regal and cultured and... very posh. I know my character and I act perfectly naturally for it.” He reached up, calmly adjusting his coiffed locks and smiling pleasantly. “And look at you. All powerful and you sound like... like a child. A whiny child.”
“Hey!” the Tablet of Dreams exclaimed in an injured voice, and then it huffed and spun around once before floating up in front of Morpheus' face, declaring: “I am all-powerful. I can do absolutely anything I want. I don't have to pretend to be anything but myself.”
“Then why are you trapped here, taking orders from anyone who knows how to wake you up?” asked Morpheus irritably, and the tablet huffed and floated backwards to drop itself into Luna's petrified forelegs... but the aura around it turned to a pale pink, as if it was embarrassed.
“Because... well, everyone has rules, that's all. You have rules, I have rules, we have rules.” the Tablet of Dreams replied almost defensively, the stone tablet apparently trying to shrug as it wiggled back and forth on the spot. “I can only grant the wishes of other people. If I try to do anything by myself, without being ordered to, it'll kill me. Same goes for doing things without taking a sacrifice.”
Morpheus grunted, and then he hesitated before asking curiously: “What did Stronghold Halfdragon sacrifice for her wish? And what about her sister, Throna?”
“Uh... well... I don't think that I'm supposed to discuss that, but... well...” The tablet suddenly popped up, blurting: “Stronghold sacrificed all kinds of ponies! She was nuts! Anyone who disagreed with her, whoosh, she would kill them right in front of me and then order me to do something for her. Apparently that counts as a sacrifice because. Well. It scared the hell out of me enough that I was willing to risk it, one way or another. Because I didn't want to get smashed.
“Throna was a much sadder case. It was really Stronghold who made the wish anyway, she sacrificed this perfectly nice pony... turned her to stone, as I remember. I wonder where she is.” the Tablet of Dreams mumbled, settling thoughtfully back into the forelegs of the very statue he was speaking of, and Morpheus winced before he awkwardly rose a hoof and pointed.
The tablet tilted oddly towards him, then floated up out of the statue's forelimbs and spun around before looking up and down it... and then it screamed loudly and rushed over to try and hide behind Morpheus, the winged unicorn staring over his shoulder in disbelief as the tablet wailed: “Oh my god, that's where they've been keeping me? They're sick! Oh, game over, dude, game over, this is just not cool, oh god oh god oh god...”
“Get a hold of yourself.” Morpheus grumbled, then he reached up and snatched the tablet out of the air before saying pointedly: “I have a wish for you. And it's going to cost a lot of people their lives, so you will take those as my sacrifice. Fair?”
“I... oh, oh come on! I... I really don't like killing people! Come on, dude, just... think twice about this, okay?” the tablet pleaded, glowing a bright, shocked multitude of colors as it tried to wiggle out of the stallion's grip.
Morpheus huffed at this, then he shook his head before saying sharply: “All my life, I've been... the bad guy, forced to play the role of villain, shunted aside for being... different, for being dark! I walk into a room and ponies judge me because... I have a dark coat and I like to take care of myself, so oh no, he must be pure evil, he must not fit in, let's judge him without even getting to know him... no, I won't stand for any of this, do you understand?”
The stallion shook his head vehemently again, then he looked down and muttered: “Enough is enough. Unlike the rest of the world, I've seen it firsthoof, I've... wasted my time trying to make friends and... being betrayed. I've seen the real face of the world...” Morpheus forcibly spun the tablet around, shoving it out to face the petrified, scared and defiant face of Princess Luna. “And behind the false faces are false rulers who are only concerned with their own vision of the world. Never once taking into account what might be best for their people... corrupting their country into... into a state of broken docility, where...”
Morpheus looked down, and he shook his head slowly before whispering: “This is for the best. I wish this entire world was gone... and I was finally alone. Like I've always been... Antecedes only cared because he wanted the world destroyed and his life ended, Neato Burrito only served me out of honor, not friendship... my whole kingdom of evil fled like dogs when...”
Morpheus halted, then he turned the tablet around and shook it violently, snapping: “Didn't you hear me? Take all their lives if you want, but erase this entire world, make it all go away! Destroy it all and leave me-”
The Tablet of Dreams flashed brightly, and Morpheus winced... before staring back and forth in disbelief as he found himself floating silently in... blackness. At first, he could swear there was nothing around him, just emptiness that stretched on for eternity... but then he frowned a little as he realized there were stars twinkling quietly in the distance, and... yes, he thought that was the moon up there, and to his back, the sun burned brightly so many, many miles away...
Morpheus breathed slowly in and out as he looked back and forth, and then the Tablet of Dreams floated in front of him and mumbled: “One world, sacrificed, you crazy bastard. Now, since all that is kind of... the sacrifice... you have one wish. Pretty much... anything you want.”
“I...” Morpheus halted, and then he scowled before putting his front hooves behind his head, kicking his hind legs to swim through the weightless, dark air as he muttered: “I made my wish already. I don't need it.”
“Well, you have it. I can't give you a freaking return or gift credit on a wish, you know.” the tablet retorted sourly, floating doggedly after him as the winged unicorn closed his eyes... and felt no sense of victory, no sense of triumph, no sense of... anything. It had all been so... anticlimactic, really. A flash, and poof. The whole world was gone.
The whole world was gone. Morpheus opened his eyes and rolled over, looking uncertainly back and forth as he hugged himself and... just... floated. After all, there wasn't a lot to do now but... float here, without any feeling of victory, with no Antecedes to gloat to, with no Neato Burrito to congratulate him, with no Toad to point out what a moron he was...
Morpheus looked uncomfortably back and forth, and then he shook his head quickly before glaring over at the Tablet of Dreams as it floated up beside him, saying loudly: “Hey, I just said that you have a wish remaining. One wish remaining. You have to use that up.”
“Can I wish for you to throw yourself into the sun?” Morpheus asked waspishly, and the Tablet of Dreams halted, then spun around almost happily.
“Ha! So the architect was right! There would be someone someday who would wish for me to destroy myself!” the Tablet of Dreams said cheerfully, and then he spun around again before revolving in a slow circle around Morpheus, as the stallion looked at the stone slate blankly. “He told me that was one of the few wishes I should never honor, and I wouldn't be punished for it. So the joke's on you, you joker you! Although, you know, you still have a wish left.”
“Oh come on!” Morpheus groaned, slapping his forehead. “Can I wish for you to go far, far away then, and leave me in my misery here?”
“Well, yeah, but... hey, buddy, you know you could wish to be happy or something too, right?” the tablet said pointedly, and Morpheus opened his mouth... then slowly closed it, staring over at the stupid, loud piece of rock as he realized it might have a point.
He smiled, then leaned forwards... before frowning uncertainly, shifting uneasily as he looked down and muttered: “But... what makes me happy?”
He fell quiet, shifting into a sitting position in the weightless darkness before he scowled a little and looked back and forth, murmuring: “This didn't... and... why was it so simple, Tablet of Dreams? There was a pop, a crackle, and then... what did you do with the world?”
“It's gone, like you said. It, and everyone in it, gone, stuck in limbo, kaput, booshed. Zipped and zapped out of here. Poofed.” The tablet spun back and forth as it spoke amiably, glowing with a strange pride. “Like I said, I can pretty much rewrite anything. So what I did was rewrite all of it outside of reality, while I left you inside, in this bubble of atmosphere. And hey, you know, if you wish for happiness, I'll throw in a free blanket for you if you want. Because even if there's kind of a big air bubble still here, it's gonna get real cold soon without any... anything.”
Morpheus frowned uneasily at this, looking back and forth and shivering a bit before he asked finally: “So you mean... I'd have to wish for a planet to survive? I... I don't know what makes me happy, though. I don't... I thought that I'd be happy when I destroyed everything.”
“Seriously?” the tablet asked disbelievingly, and Morpheus blushed a bit and glowered moodily off in another direction before the stone slate asked irritably: “So like, just how the hell did you find out about me, anyway? You can't be that smart.”
“Hey! I am the supreme master of all evil, the most powerful villain in all the... land...” Morpheus' gesture slowed to an awkward halt as he looked out and reminded himself... there was no land anymore. No land, sea, or technically air. Just darkness and loneliness and... him, stuck in the middle of it all. Completely alone, completely triumphant... completely goddamn miserable.
He sighed a little, and the Tablet of Dreams remarked pointedly: “Guess that doesn't mean a whole lot when there's no world anymore, right?”
“Oh shut up. I... I just wanted you to destroy Equestria, anyway, I simply... misspoke.” mumbled Morpheus, looking grouchily down and twiddling his hooves together, but imagining... it would have been the same, wouldn't it? He'd be sitting here, alone... without... without all the people who'd gotten him this far.
He thought of Antecedes: a pony he respected enough to have rescued twice from Celestia, who had mentored him and helped him even when... even when he was hurting, and he, Morpheus, hadn't done a damned thing to help him. He thought of Neato Burrito, that silly little earth pony, so dedicated to honor that he had thrown his life away for him... the one pony in maybe the whole world who had really... believed in him. Sure, he'd come with him because he'd been rescued, but... what kind of self-pitying jerk was he to say that had been Neato's only reason for staying? And Antecedes! There were a thousand easier ways Antecedes could have found his 'peaceful death,' but he had always been there...
And Toad, his precious friend Toad... and... and those stupid ponies. Even Twilight Sparkle... what had she said? Right... that his wish wouldn't change anything. Even in the depths of pain and delusion and sorrow, she had spouted wisdom at him that he'd brushed right off, but was proving so goddamn true... he'd destroyed his friends, no his enemies. He'd erased all the light in the world... and left himself trapped in darkness, all over again. He was alone all right... and...
“And I couldn't even be right about Celestia... she turned out to be nothing but a lie, Stronghold Halfdragon's greatest mask. If only she had been real... maybe... maybe none of this would have happened.” muttered Morpheus, and then he sighed softly as he looked silently away.
The Tablet of Dreams thrummed, then glowed brightly. The light made Morpheus wince, and he scowled over his shoulder at it, opening his mouth... and then staring in disbelief at the phantasm of an ivory mare that smiled down at him tenderly, one of her hooves reaching up to touch his back gently as Princess Celestia said softly: “You don't have to believe in me, Moonflower. I already believe in you.”
Morpheus mouthed slowly, and then the Tablet of Dreams hiccuped before saying in an uncomfortable voice: “So I'm kind of scared right now because I just threw up a ghost. Can someone please explain what the hell just happened?”
“Not every wish starts with the phrase 'I wish...' and not every wish made to you, Tablet, requires giving up a life. Especially not when someone's just calling back a sacrifice already made...” Celestia smiled softly, becoming a little more physical as she turned her kind eyes towards Morpheus. “But I don't have a lot of time. Yes, you've made a mistake... but that doesn't matter. I can't fix this for you: no one can. That's something that Stronghold Halfdragon never understood: you can't seize control of someone's life and force them to do what you believe is right. That takes away meaning, freedom, and every pony's right to determine their own future.
“Stronghold never realized that even with all the good things she taught the ponies of Equestria... she also took away their strength, their will, their ability to choose and decide things for themselves. She hated them, but she was the one responsible for her own hatred...” Celestia smiled faintly, shaking her head slowly. “But all you can do is guide your people. The answer is not executions, gulags, and strict law. And what Stronghold failed to realize was that Equestria, wild as it was, was never violent until the crusaders came and brought their war with them. She never realized that it was her own church that created the rifts that pushed the country into a bloody civil war. And she never stopped to think about it, either, when she unwittingly took the same side she'd always taken and assumed they were good... the believers, who wanted to crush out the ponies that still clung to their own gods and spirits.”
Celestia quieted, looking down and sighing softly. “But I never thought she'd go so far. It's ironic, but she used not just Draekin magic, but the help of the most powerful practitioners of pagan unicorn arts she could find. But I suppose by then, she had decided if God had abandoned her, she would abandon God...”
Morpheus looked silently up at the spirit, and the spirit of Celestia gazed back down at him before she smiled softly and said quietly: “But now, you can make things right, Moonflower. Take the Tablet of Dreams, and make your one wish. I believe in you.”
The ghost reached up and gently touched his shoulder, and the stallion dropped his head and shivered a little before he whispered: “But... you don't know me. I'm everything you're not, and... everything that you hate. I'm...”
“You're a pony.” Celestia said softly, and then she smiled at him kindly before saying softly: “That's all I have to know about you. You're a pony, just like me. Nothing else matters, really, Moonflower: without night, day would be meaningless. Without pain, you could never truly appreciate pleasure. Dualities are the basis of all things.”
She reached up and gently tapped under his muzzle, then smiled again before adding: “And I think that, secretly, Stronghold admired you. She was afraid of you, but I think she admired you all the same. I think part of her... knew that what she was doing was wrong, continuing the crusade her Order started a thousand years ago. But I can only hope. Just like I hope that you'll make the right choice.”
Morpheus dropped his head silently, not knowing what to do or say. He shifted uncomfortably back and forth... then finally sighed quietly before nodding slowly as he closed his eyes for a moment.
He took a breath, then looked up... but Celestia was gone. The Tablet of Dreams floated uneasily nearby, seeming to look back and forth before the stone whimpered: “Oh dude. Dude. I'm... I'm full of ghosts? Oh come on, I thought... sacrificed souls... I wanna be sick but I'm terrified if I throw up I'm going to puke out more ghosts and then it's going to be like when you throw up really hard you can't stop throwing up because it's so-”
“Tablet of Dreams, shut the hell up.” Morpheus said flatly, and then he straightened before gritting his teeth. For a moment, he felt a burst of emotion, of selfishness, of stupidity... but he stomped on this savagely in his mind before shouting: “Tablet of Dreams! I wish for everything to go back the way it was, before I made my wish!”
There was silence for a few moments, and then the Tablet said grumpily: “You don't have to yell at me, okay?”
Morpheus began to glare... and then there was a bright flash, and the stallion winced and stumbled backwards... before falling over and landing painfully on his side with a thump, the stallion blinking stupidly before he looked up blankly and realized... he was back in the vault.
He mouthed wordlessly, then stared at the Tablet of Dreams as it floated down to him and said loudly: “You're welcome!”
“I...” Morpheus scowled up at the tablet, and then he shoved himself up to his hooves and snapped: “Well, you just granted me two wishes instead of one!”
“No I didn't! I didn't! You're a liar!” the Tablet shouted, and then it added threateningly: “And we're never going to talk about that lady showing up out of nowhere again or I'm going to make you disappear, you hear me?”
“Oh, I'm really so afraid.” Morpheus retorted, and then he reached up and punched the tablet, sending it zipping across the room to crash into a pile of gold coins before he frowned a little over at the statue of Luna, asking curiously: “Tablet of Dreams. When Princess Luna was sacrificed... did you take in her spirit as well?”
“I don't eat ghosts! I don't... they're... they just end up inside me, I don't know how!” the tablet whined as it rose up out of the pile of coins, and then it floated over and shook itself vehemently, adding grouchily: “But I don't think so. Why?”
Morpheus was already looking thoughtfully off in the other direction, however, tapping a hoof slowly before he asked finally: “And life. Must a life always be sacrificed, or for small things... say, reversing a wish... would blood suffice?”
“Uh...” The tablet did a remarkable job of looking stupid, which was very impressive for a piece of stone, before it said awkwardly: “No one's ever wanted to reverse a wish before. I mean, before you. You just did it, and it felt like... well... half a wish, really, and-”
“Then you still owe me half a wish. Now shut up.” Morpheus spun around, his horn glowing before he shouted loudly, his voice echoing through the treasury: “Throna Halfdragon! I, the Prince of Darkness, demand your presence!”
The tablet whimpered something about its nonexistent ears, but Morpheus was only hopping from hoof-to-hoof, grinning widely before he laughed loudly as a portal opened, and a scowling Throna  Halfdragon strode out of it. She glared at the stallion for a moment before saying irritably: “As nice as it is to see that-”
“Silence, the Emperor of Evil is going to speak.” Morpheus said imperiously... and then the mood was ruined slightly as he frowned a bit and asked awkwardly: “Wait, you can portal directly into the treasure room?”
“Yes, I can. Stronghold had it magically sealed and protected, but one time while we were visiting here, I snuck away and tossed a coin with a waypoint enchantment on it into the pile of treasure. Even Stronghold couldn't track it down in all this mess so I gained a way to come and go as I pleased... although then Stronghold decided to hide the Elements of Harmony and turned me into her personal pack-mule.” Throna scowled, then shook her head and asked irritably: “Now what-”
“The Lord of Darkness knows what wish he shall make.” Morpheus said clearly, and then he glared over his shoulder when the tablet mumbled: 'half-wish.' “Shut up and grant this half-wish, then. Rend Throna's glammer asunder and revert her to the shape of her past existence!”
“Can you repeat that maybe in a language I can understand? Not a dictionary here. Just a big flat piece of stone.” the Tablet of Dreams said sourly, floating over to Morpheus and clunking itself firmly into his head, making him wince.
He rubbed sulkily at his forehead, then looked with embarrassment over his shoulder at the staring mare before he quickly looked back ahead and whispered: “Look, just. Turn her back into a Draekin, the thing she looked like before you turned her into Luna. Can you do that?”
“Oh, yeah, right, easy. I don't even know if that counts as a wish, to tell you the truth, minor... aesthetic change and... okay, okay, stop glaring at me like that!” the Tablet of Dreams whined, and then it glowed brightly... but there wasn't even a flash before it declared: “Done.”
“Oh come on, you can't have...” And then Morpheus turned around and gaped in shock at the sight of the Draekin now standing behind him, looking over herself with shock. She had blue and white scales, and a mane that glowed like starlight, and hooves with small, nub-like claws. She was only a little bigger than him, and Morpheus mouthed wordlessly at the sight of her before he hurriedly pasted an evil grin on his features as the mare looked up at him dumbly.
“I... I mean, yes! See the power of the Tablet of Dreams? It is... powerful.” Morpheus stopped for a moment to stare at her a little more, then rapidly shook his head and cleared his throat before he thrust a hoof into the air and declared: “And this is only the first stage of my evil plan! Next is this!”
Morpheus' horn glowed darkly, and then he spun around and snapped it towards the statue of Princess Luna, which lit up with a strange, pale radiance... and a moment later, the stone gasped before dropping forwards as rock turned back to flesh, eyes blinking as her pale blue mane spilled over her face, mouth working wordlessly before Morpheus forced out as evil a laugh as he could. “Now Equestria will be thrown into political chaos and turmoil and... uh...”
Princess Luna – the real Princess Luna – looked up and silenced him with a glare before striding over to the stallion and slamming her hoof into his face, knocking him in a stupid sprawl as she shouted angrily: “Thou art nothing but a stupid git! Cease thy wretched acting and speaking, for 'tis like adders' venom in my mind! Now, knave, cease such preaching to yon maiden-Draekin and I, for my sleep in stone hath left me with ears wide open!”
The Tablet of Dreams attempted to float casually down beside Morpheus before it asked in a whisper: “So uh. What did she just say?”
“She sayeth shut the buck up.” growled Luna, and the Tablet of Dreams squeaked and hurried behind Morpheus before Luna shook herself out roughly, then sat up and slammed a hoof into her other, glaring imperiously back and forth. “Now that I am free of my prison, I shall set about making Equestria right! In the name of my sister, who I loved so dearly, we shall turn the tide of-”
Then black lightning sizzled over Luna, and her eyes bulged before she toppled onto her side, twitching weakly. And Morpheus sighed, relieved that his spell had worked as he crawled up to his hooves and then walked over to her, leaning down into the glaring, paralyzed winged unicorn's face before he said mildly: “Only I'm allowed to make the speeches, okay? That's the rules. Evil talks. Good shuts up. Evil brags. Good stays 'humble,' which is another word for 'silently embarrassed because Good never does anything cool.'”
Morpheus spun back towards Throna, who was still looking at him dumbly, and the stallion grinned. He was actually enjoying himself... actually really enjoying himself, as he pointed upwards and declared: “And now, I shall demonstrate the other half of my evil plan!”
His horn glowed with dark magic... and then it fizzled out, and he scowled up at the spire before Throna said dourly: “There's a block on all teleportation magic here. Only Draekin portals work.”
“I... well. Then. Portal us up to the highest tower of Canterlot.” grumbled Morpheus, and when Throna gave him a childish look, he rolled his eyes before asking grumpily: “Please?”
“Only because you asked so nicely.” Throna said ironically, and then she smiled despite herself as her unicorn horn glowed brightly, asking almost teasingly: “Shall I take the Princess as well?”
“No, leave her here. She's much more dangerous than I thought.” Morpheus mumbled, rubbing at his jaw as a glowing blue portal slowly formed. He paused, then looked lamely over at Throna Halfdragon, adding lamely: “Thank you.”
He skittered through the portal like a foal, and Throna smiled despite herself as she followed, the Tablet of Dreams hurrying after them as Luna gurgled on the ground and glared furiously at the portal. But a moment later it slammed closed as the three emerged onto the highest rooftop of Canterlot's highest tower, Morpheus' horn already glowing with green light before he shouted: “And now, see my greatest work of evil!”
He pointed his horn outwards and released a thrum of energy from the spire, and Throna frowned as she looked out over the world... but nothing seemed to be happening. She looked dumbly back and forth, but the deep night was still and silent apart from...
One large, horse-like ear twitched, and her eyes widened slightly as she looked down and saw lights were flicking on, all throughout the city. She could hear screams and yells, and panic... and then Morpheus laughed. But even as she looked at him with surprise, she sensed... something less than malicious about him, as declared: “You fools and your love of tacky outdoor ornamentation... it has been your downfall! I've sent hundreds of my minions, disguised as harmless lawn toys, to be sold in gift shops all around Canterlot! Now my army awakens, and you will rue the day that you ever tried to battle Lord Morpheus, Prince of Darkness! This... this was my true evil plan all along!”
Morpheus laughed again... and then he turned beet red when Throna leaned over and kissed his cheek gently, the mare murmuring softly: “Thank you, Morpheus, for making the right choice.”
Morpheus glared at her, and then he flung himself off the roof, flapping his wings wildly and veering slightly to the left as he sailed off into the night, howling over his shoulder: “I'm evil! Evil! And there's nothing you can do to stop me! Stupid ponies, why would I destroy the world when I can take it over?”
He cackled as he sailed off into the night on his slightly-tilted course... and Throna sighed and shook her head slowly before the Tablet of Dreams said wryly: “What a doof. But I'm gonna miss him.”
“Oh, he'll be back, tablet. Now come, we have... much to do. And you have a story to tell me before we find a safe place to keep you... a place where no one will be tempted to abuse your powers.” Throna said softly, smiling over at the stone slate, but she paused to give one last warm look into the skies, whispering: “Thank you, Moonflower.”