Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur usually involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, as well as a subject of philosophical and religious interest, throughout recorded history.
The length of a dream can vary; they may last for a few seconds, or approximately twenty to thirty minutes. People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase. The average person has three to five dreams per night, and some may have up to seven; however, most dreams are immediately or quickly forgotten.
But for Gehrman, the dream lasted longer than any dream should. He was awake during his dream. He wanted to forget his dream.
Now that he was finally free from his dream, he could live out the rest of his life in peace.
Gehrman felt a strange sensation course through his body. It felt like he was being tickled at first, but then it felt like someone or something was massaging his entire body. It felt really good. Closing his eyes and letting out a sigh of relief—something he hadn’t been able to do for a very long time, during his time in the Hunter’s dream. He felt a soothing warmth running through his veins, and for a brief moment he could remember those he held dear to him.
That was until the feeling abruptly ended. Opening his eyes, Gehrman almost jumped out of his socks. Why was he flying? And why was he flying over a humongous mountain and…was that Canterlot castle, in the distance?
“What in the name of,” Gehrman trailed of. Turning his head, Gehrman’s eyes fell upon a certain Princess of the Night. “Your majesty, what is going on? Why are we flying?” Gehrman asked, confusion written over his face.
“You will find out, eventually,” Luna replied, looking down at the ground which they were flying above. They would keep on flying like this, until they reached Ponyville. Luna had no idea if the spell had worked on him, but luckily it did. “Gehrman,” Luna began, turning to Gehrman, only for her to stop mid-sentence. Gehrman was-- for reasons unknown to her-- staring intentionally at the moon, which confused her. Looking up at her moon made Luna even more confused. There seemed to be nothing wrong with it, so why was Gehrman staring so intentionally at it?
Gehrman on the other hand, was thinking the complete opposite. ‘The moon. I do not sense its presence anymore. I can see it clearly, but it does not grant me strength. It does not control me anymore. I have been… unshackled.’
Turning gaze away from the moon, Gehrman turned to Luna. He raised an eyebrow at her. “Is something the matter, your majesty?” he asked, having noticed she had been staring at him for quite some time now.
Luna blinked a few times and then shook her head. “Nay,” she replied, clearing her throat. “We were just wondering why thou was staring at our moon so intentionally.” She admitted.
“It just… brought up unpleasant memories. That is all, your majesty,” Gehrman replied. This was no lie. It did bring up unpleasant memories, but what those memories meant, he would keep to himself. He did not want to bother others about his past. ‘Good hunter,’ Gehrman thought, closing his eyes and bowing his head in shame. ‘I cannot believe what you did. When I tried to unshackle you, you unshackled me. Why? I do not know. I do not understand why you would have my faith befall upon you. It was my mistake, and I should have been the only one to face its consequences!’
Opening his eyes again, Gehrman reached for his back. Grabbing hold of his Blunderbuss, he flicked the barrel downwards and a simple, unfired Quicksilver Bullet popped out of it. Grabbing hold of the bullet, he held it to the sky, letting the moons light shine on it. In the engravings of the bullet, he could see traces of a red substance running to those engraves. His blood. His own blood was in those engraves.
The bullet, however, seemed to have peeked the attention of Luna. “Pray tell,” she said, moving closer towards him. “What is that you are holding?”
“A Quicksilver Bullet,” Gehrman replied, never taking his eyes off the object. “An object meant to hurt and kill beasts.”
“Quicksilver? Wouldst thou care to explain what Quicksilver is?” Luna asked.
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm. Bullets damage the intended target by impact and penetration. The word "bullet" is sometimes colloquially used to refer to ammunition in general, or to a cartridge, which is a combination of the bullet, case or shell, powder, and primer.” Gehrman replied. Teaching those new hunters who entered the dream sure payed of.
“And what is a firearm?” Luna asked.
Gehrman showed her his Blunderbuss. “This is a firearm. A firearm is a portable gun, being a barreled weapon that launches one or more projectiles often driven by the action of an explosive force.”
“So these bullets go into a firearm, and then what happens?”
As a reply, Gehrman loaded his Blunderbuss and held it to the sky. Looking up, he pulled the trigger. A loud ‘bang’ could be heard, echoing through the sky. The Quicksilver Bullet was shot out of the Blunderbuss, a shotgun effect following soon after.
“That it was happens,” Gehrman replied, attaching his weapon to his back. “It kills. Simple as that.”
Luna gulped. Perhaps she should have asked, because her ears now hurt a bit, due to the loud explosion. Turning her head and looking off into the far distance, she saw a familiar town closing in on her. “Ah, it would appear we will arrive in Ponyville, shortly,” she said, turning back to Gehrman. “Art thou ready, Gehrman?”
“Ready for what, your majesty?” Gehrman asked, confusion clearly present in his voice.
“The reason we are flying. The reason we are heading towards Ponyville,” Luna replied, a wide smile appearing on her face. “We are going to show thee that dreams aren’t as bad as you think!”
“What are you getting at, your majesty?” Gehrman asked, a skeptical look present on his face.
“We are about to enter the dreams of our subjects. We will show thee that their dreams are pleasant. Thou seems to have a negative view of dreaming, so we decided to change thine thoughts by showing thee that dreams have no limits.” Luna replied with a cheerful expression. She was truly happy she got to share such an experience with someone. It was rare for her to allow someone to enter dreams with her. But she knew it would help Gehrman come over his fears. It would allow him to get a positive view on dreaming.
“NO!” Gehrman all but shouted. Grabbing hold of his Blunderbuss, Gehrman quickly reloaded his weapon and aimed it at her. “I am not going back into the dream. Even if it is someone else’s! I will not spent another second in that godforsaken place! I belong in the waking world!”
Luna’s eyes widened in shock. She stumbled backwards a little bit—even though she was flying. “L-Lower thine weapon, Gehrman,” Luna said, trying to sound as regal as possible; even though that proved to be a challenge, due to the fact she had the barrel of a gun pointed at her. “We just want to show thee how pleasant dreams can be.”
“Dreams. To hell with your dreams!” Gehrman retorted, tightening his grip around his Blunderbuss. “I will not go back to a dream. I have been in a dream for long enough! Leave me be,” Gehrman sighed. “I demand you bring me back to the palace and let me rest. I have no need to see your subject’s dreams.” He lowered his Blunderbuss, but kept glaring at her.
“Thou art not in a position to demand anything,” Luna retorted.
“You did not have my permission to take me on this little journey. I never gave you any permission to cast a spell on me.”
Luna was about to speak up, but Gehrman cut her off once again.
“I know you casted a spell on me. I am familiar with the Arcane and its effects. Though I must say that your Arcane level exceeds that of anyone I have ever met.” Gehrman kept on glaring at her. “Return me at once,”
“And what if we do not?” Luna asked.
“Then I will see to it that this will be the last time you ever take flight, your majesty,” Gehrman replied, tugging at his Burial Blade.
“Not even one dream? Not even that of a filly, or a colt?” Luna asked, looking at Gehrman with a hopeful, yet sad expression.
“…”
“Is that a yes?” Luna asked.
“I said NO!” Gehrman roared at her again. “Do you have any idea what you are doing, your majesty? I do not want to see, enter, or even talk about dreams anymore! I have had enough of dreaming! Dreams are supposed to last for a few hours, but try and live in one for over twenty years!”
He was panting. The First Hunter was panting. Not because of exhaustion. Not because he had just freed another hunter from the dream. But because realization hit him, again. He had been stuck in the dream for so many years. His friends, his family… they were either dead, turned beast, or suffered an even worse fate. He wasn’t there to save them. He wasn’t there when the ones he held dear were maimed by the beasts. He only cared about his own, greedy desires. Because he felt left out. Because he felt useless. Well, if he had decided to stay useless, he would have never lost the ones dear to him.
But he didn’t. He didn’t stay useless. He went from kind hearted and calm, to depressed and enraged. Enraged at himself. Enraged because of the fact his act of greed, cost him everything he held dear. he didn’t even remember who that doll was supposed to resemble anymore. Falling to his knees—which seemed impossible at first, hence the flying—Gehrman put his hands to his face and began sobbing into them.
He wanted to die. He so desperately wanted to be free from the dream. And now he was. But even now, in the waking world, people are still trying to take him back into the dream. As if he hadn’t suffered enough. Gehrman’s sobbing continued. He often cried himself to sleep, too.
Gehrman suddenly felt something drape around his shoulders. Taking his hands away from his face, Gehrman turned his head, his vision a bit blurry because of the tears in his eyes. Rubbing his eyes and shaking off whatever it was that had draped around his shoulder, Gehrman stood at his full height again.
“Please,” Gehrman whispered, looking down at Luna. “Take us back.”
Luna looked at him with a compassionate expression. This was not what she had in mind. She only wanted to show him how pleasant and how much fun dreams could be. But now she feared that Gehrman might have even more distrust for her, than he already had. “We are sorry, Gehrman. We will return thee to Canterlot. Our guards will escort thee to thine chambers,” Luna said, her voice full of sincerity. Turning around mid-air, the duo headed back for Canterlot.
‘Next time, Luna. Think before you act.’ Luna thought to herself. Taking a quick glance at Gehrman, Luna saw that he had once again closed his eyes. He seemed to do that a lot. For what reason, however, was unknown to her. Perhaps his eyes had trouble adjusting to the cold air? Perhaps it was because they were flying really high. Or perhaps it was because of the fact she brought up unpleasant memories?
Whatever it was, it was probably for the best to leave it be. Gehrman seemed absolutely devastated about the fact he was going to enter a dream. For others it would have been an honor. But for him it seemed more like a punishment of sorts. But why? Why did he had such a negative view towards dreaming?
Luna was at a loss. She was the Princess of the Night, but even she could not figure out what was going on in Gehrman’s head. She knew she couldn’t get any answers out of him, by just asking him what was wrong. And entering his dreams without permission seemed like an even worse idea... that is, if he still had dreams. From the looks of it, and from listening to his words, it would seem that he does not dream often. But no dreams would mean no sleep. And no sleep would turn one insane. He or she would lose their sanity and do reckless things. Perhaps that was his reason for pointing his weapons at her. Perhaps he was losing his sanity.
‘It would be wise to discuss this with sister,’ Luna thought to herself. ‘Lest I get the edge of a blade pointed at me again’ she shuddered at the thought.
The duo finally reached Canterlot after a short, but silent flight. Luna had teleported them back into the throne room, were she ordered two of her guards to take care of Gehrman, while she attended her duties as a Princess.
And now she was heading back to Ponyville. The soft wind brushing against her body, the cold air calming her mind. She did not have any ill intentions against Gehrman. Her act was not one of revenge. She just wanted to help him, that’s all. She wanted to be on good terms with him… perhaps befriending him. Yeah, that’s never going to happen now. She made a mistake. A big mistake. The least she can do is try and make it up to Gehrman.
And luckily for her, she had just the way of doing so. But she was going to need the help of her sister, and her protégé.