Chapter 83 (Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?)
I was typing on my computer. I glared at the screen as my fingers pounded each button on the keyboard.
I’m starting to have second thoughts about working on Saturday.
There was nobody else nearby. No co-workers, no janitors, not even my boss was here. The silence was creeping me out. All that was missing was a British narrator talking about my life story.
My typing slowed down. I soon realized that I have experienced this before: working back at the office despite knowing I never came back from Equestria. I was dreaming. I lost count how many times I dreamt I was back in the human world. This had to be another one of those dreams.
Just when I was about to pinch myself, the phone rang, which nearly made me jump out of my seat. The caller ID indicated it was probably a spam caller. I let the answering machine get it.
“Hello, we’ve been trying to reach you,” The robotic message called out. “Are you sick and tired of the same routine? Well, you’re not the only one.”
I rolled my eyes. I was prepared to press the delete button when…
“Take David Smith for example…”
I put my finger down and raised my eyebrows. It couldn’t have been referring to me. I had the most common surname known to mankind, and anyone could be named “David” as well.
“Let’s look at his formulaic routine. It starts with a mundane event in Equestria. Then David encounters an event that reminds him that an episode is happening. He goes on explaining about what happened in the episode despite it being unnecessary. David explains how and why he wants to change the episode. The episode goes on as if David was reading an online transcript. Then he implements the change. The change ranges from being insignificant or significant enough to just change the one episode. David concludes with how he feels about the change followed by a witty sentence by either him or his friends. End formulaic sequence.”
I pressed the delete button quickly and forcefully. I darted my head around the cubicle. I shoved my cellphone into one of the desk drawers and checked the monitor for any hidden cameras.
I didn’t want to let the message get to me, but it did have a point. There were times where I would go through a certain process to change things. However, I did deviate from the formula before. There were times where I let episodes happen either because I was unable to or I didn’t need to change anything. There were also changes that were significant enough to last more than one episode, like how the library survived. Also, I don’t always have a witty sentence. Often, maybe, but not all the time.
I sighed. If this dream was to scare me into thinking I’ve been doing the same thing over and over, then it was not doing a good job. I was an office worker after all; doing stuff over and over was what I did for a living. It had its boring moments, sure, but given the state of the economy where I lived, I would rather have a routine job than quit and try to find excitement. That was what videogames, movies, and YouTube videos were for.
“To answer your question, phone,” I said. “No, I’m not sick and tired of the same routine.”
I continued my work as usual.
Suddenly, the lights around me grew dimmer and dimmer. I didn’t see a clock, but I knew it was too early for the sun to go down. Soon, only a few lights remained on. The rest of the office floor sat in pure darkness.
It can’t be nighttime already.
The phone rang once more. Thankfully, the caller ID indicated the call was from Mr. Johnson. I immediately answered.
“Hello, Mr. Johnson?” I asked.
“I need you in my office at once,” Mr. Johnson replied in a serious tone of voice. The dial tone followed afterwards.
I put down the receiver and exited my cubicle. As I followed the path that was coincidently lit by the remaining lights, I realized that it was not like Mr. Johnson to act so sternly. I remembered he only does that if someone missed an important deadline or if he has to fire them due to severe incompetence. Even then, he’d give a few fair warnings beforehand.
What was also unusual was the fact that I was sure Mr. Johnson wasn’t working today. I had no idea what the reason would be for him to show up on such short notice.
I swallowed right before knocking on the door to my supervisor’s office.
“Come in,” the stern tone of voice said from the other side.
I opened the door. Mr. Johnson was at his desk, staring at the papers he was holding like they were failed lottery tickets. The blue fog outside the window was so dense, I could not see any of the neighboring buildings.
“Sit,” Mr. Johnson commanded.
I sat in front of the desk.
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?”
The color drained from my face.
“That typo you’ve overlooked in this project has cost this company everything!”
“Mr. Johnson, I don’t understand,” I said. “I’ve double-checked every file, email, and letter to a T to ensure no mistake slips through. Even so, I would like to know why this mistake is making you upset.”
“This typo has caused our potential buyers to not only drop us, but to see to it that they disallow funding for everything! We’re going to be bankrupt in less than a week!”
My throat was drier than sand. It got worse from there.
Mr. Johnson shook his head. “I’m sorry, but after all this fiasco, the best course of action I have is to let you go.”
I jumped out of my chair in desperation. “Mr. Johnson! I have been one of the best employees of this company. Do you realize how hard it is to find a new job in this day and age?!”
“I know it’s difficult, but our jobs would be lost either way if we stay with this company. This is the better option, I’m afraid. Goodbye.”
Mr. Johnson pressed a red button on his desk when I noticed something off about his hands. But before I got a good chance to look, the ground below me disappeared, plunging me into the fog.
The blue-grey mist consumed me, draining out every last bit of light in my sight. I let out a shriek at the top of my lungs!
“HEEELLLP!!”
GASP!!
I controlled my breathing before gaining my bearings. The crystal structure and matching furniture told me I was back in Equestria. The peaceful sounds of the night outside were a relief compared to what I just experienced.
What a terrible dream!
I took a deep breath and tried to go back to sleep. But for some reason, I just couldn’t. My eyes laid wide open. Any feelings of being tired did not show up. It was like my body was preventing me from going back to sleep.
I checked the clock on the table next to me, and it indicated it was still the middle of the night. Despite that, I wasn’t feeling the least bit tired.
Maybe I should eat a snack or something.
I got out of bed and carefully tiptoed to the kitchen. Before I opened the door, I saw a low, flickering light peeking out from underneath the door. Somepony was in there.
I opened the door to see Twilight at the stove boiling something.
“Twilight?” I asked.
“AA-IEEE!!” Twilight jumped at least a meter before pulling out a wooden spoon! “Stay away from—oh, Spike. It’s just you. Don’t scare me like that.”
“Sorry, Twilight. Did you have a bad dream?”
Twilight sighed. “It’s that obvious, huh?”
“That makes two of us.”
“I’m sorry to hear about that, Spike. I’m boiling some milk right now. Do you want some?”
“Sure. Anything to sleep.”
Twilight added a dash of cinnamon to the pot.
“Do you wish to talk about your nightmare?” Twilight asked.
“Well…” I looked away. I guessed if I kept it vague enough, she wouldn’t get suspicious. “I made a mistake on something. I overlooked an important letter and didn’t notice the obvious oversight.”
“Yeah, we all make a few mistakes. I’d be lying if I said I never fell victim to it myself.”
“It’s not making the mistake or failure itself, mind you. I know mistakes are inevitable and I don’t mind if I fail at something.” I took a deep breath. “In my dream, when the mistake happened, it made it worse for everyone. That’s what frightened me.”
“Oh, I see.” Twilight hugged me. “The best advice I can give for that is to learn from your mistakes, and do whatever you can to atone for them. I’ll admit I made a few problems worse before, but I took that as a lesson as to avoid making the same mistake twice and look over everything carefully.”
“Thanks, Twilight. What was your nightmare about?”
“Books were outlawed and had to be burned. Also, they were selling free quesadillas.”
Once the milk was done boiling, Twilight filled up two glasses and handed me one. I took small sips to let the warmth and sweetness take over my body. Once Twilight and I were done, we put our glasses in the sink and returned to our respective rooms.
Unfortunately, despite the relaxation I got from my midnight beverage, I still remained wide awake. The nightmare was terrible, but I didn’t think it would be bad enough that I wouldn’t be able to sleep for the night.
I took a deep breath. I knew that eventually, my body would give in, and I would be asleep. I kept my eyes closed and thought calming thoughts.
The sound of birds chirping interrupted my train of thought. The morning light slipped through the curtains. I slowly sat up, and the exhaustion soon made itself known as I tried to move.
“Oh…man…” I yawned.
I was too tired to even do my morning stretches. I slithered out of bed and dragged myself over to the kitchen. I made myself some cereal before heading to the dining room. There, I saw Twilight slumping over and Starlight being the only pony in the room with the most energy.
“Morning,” I groggily said.
“Uh, morning Spike,” Starlight awkwardly greeted. “Wow, and I thought Twilight didn’t look so good.”
I rubbed my eyes. I sat down next to Twilight and ate my cereal.
“I thought boiled milk was supposed to help us sleep, not prevent it,” I said.
“It was,” Twilight replied. “Where was all this tiredness when we needed it the most?” She slowly sat up. “I’m sorry, Starlight, but I have to cancel the friendship lessons for today. I think I’ll head back to bed.”
“Hoo!” A familiar voice called out.
Owlowiscious flew in and landed next to Twilight.
“What is it, Owlowiscious?” Twilight asked.
“Hoo,” Owlowiscious replied.
“Oh, right. Our pony pet play date. I forgot about that.” Twilight put her head on the table. “I barely have the energy to walk through the castle, let alone join all my friends.” She stood up and yawned. “Oh, well. I think I can manage. Come on, Spike.”
I hopped on Twilight’s back.
“Twilight? What happened to your head?” I asked.
“Over here, Spike,” Twilight said behind me. “You’re looking at my tail.”
“Oh, sorry.” I quickly adjusted myself.
After we did our morning routine, we headed out to the Carousel Boutique.
“I hope the girls can forgive us for being so tired,” Twilight said.
By the time we arrived, everypony else was there with their respective pets. Surprisingly, they all had bags underneath their eyes just like Twilight and me.
“Hello, Twilight and Spike.” Rarity yawned. “Do come in, and we’ll start our pet-grooming session.”
I may have been deprived of sleep, but I knew that this was the episode with all those strange dreams. In the show, a creature called “the Tantabus" infects the Mane 6’s dreams, causing them to have nightmares. It ends with everypony in Ponyville having the same dream and Luna confessing that she made the creature to punish herself. I had a rough idea on what I could do, but I wasn’t sure it would help.
Everypony tried their best to stay awake while they groomed their pets. Sadly, like in the show, it didn’t go well due to everypony being tired. Even Pinkie was bouncing around at a fraction of a second slower. Rarity accidentally poked Opal with a comb, Applejack mistook Gummy for a brush, and Twilight got knocked into the bathtub. I could’ve prevented all of this, but I barely had the strength to stand.
It was revealed the girls had all suffered a horrendous nightmare, even those who slept early.
“Uh…only…you know…I didn't think mine was that scary!” Rainbow denied.
I rolled my eyes.
“Mine sure was,” Twilight said as she got out of the tub. “There was this blue smoke monster and...what?”
Everypony stared at her with their jaws dropped. As it turned out, everypony dreamt of a blue smoke monster.
Wait…did I do the same?
As much as I wanted to forget about it, I thought about that nightmare I had. Mr. Johnson called me out for bankrupting the company, and he was about to fire me. I saw his hands looked unusual...
That’s when it clicked. I remembered seeing some blue smoke coming out of his sleeves when he pressed the red button! It must’ve been the Tantabus!
It infected my dreams as well? But how? I don’t remember Spike suffering a nightmare in the show. Unless…
“Probably just a coincidence,” Rainbow said.
“That's an awfully big coincidence,” Twilight said as I handed her some towels.
“I don’t mean to pile on, but I saw a blue smoke monster in my dreams as well,” I said.
“So then, what could've given us all the same nightmare?” Rarity asked.
“Maybe Luna might know something about it.” I pulled out a parchment and quill. “We should tell her about this.”
“Good idea, Spike.” Twilight cleared her throat.
“‘Dear Princess Luna,
Last night my friends and I all dreamt of a creature made of blue smoke. I'm sure you're very busy, but when you have the chance, please let me know if you have any idea what it could mean.
Yours,
Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“You can leave out the yawns,” Twilight reminded me.
“I already did so,” I said as I rolled the scroll up.
No sooner did I send out the scroll did Luna immediately showed up.
“Which of you saw the creature of blue smoke in your nightmare?!” Luna shouted.
“Wow, that was fast,” said Fluttershy.
“We all did,” Twilight answered Luna’s question. “So you've encountered the smoke monster too?”
Luna nodded. “The Tantabus is a creature of my nightmares. It escaped from my slumbers yesterday.”
“But how did it get into ours?” Fluttershy asked.
“The Tantabus is like a parasite. My dreams must no longer be enough for it. Now it seeks others to infect and corrupt. It must have learned of you seven from seeing you in my dream.”
“Uh, so Smokey gave us bad dreams.” Rainbow shrugged. “No biggie.”
“I have a feeling it’s a big biggie, Dashie,” I said.
Indeed it was. Luna explained that it grew strong enough to escape her dreams, and it will continue to grow stronger until it escapes into the real world.
“Okay, okay, okay, I take it back! It’s a huge biggie!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“What are we going to do?” Fluttershy shivered.
“I would have to find the Tantabus and make sure it returns to my dreamland,” replied Luna. “To do that, I would have to access each of your dreams while you sleep. If it is possible, arrange yourselves to sleep in the same room so that it would be easier for me to infiltrate your dreams.”
“We could use my bedroom in the castle,” Twilight suggested. “Of course, I’ll provide beds for each of us so that we won’t have to share the same bed.”
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask,” I said to Luna.
“Proceed,” Luna replied.
“Was this Tantabus something you’ve created yourself?”
Luna took a step back and looked at the girls.
“I am unfortunate to say that I am responsible for this creature’s existence,” Luna replied. “However, my reasons for its presence are not relevant to the current situation at the moment.”
“If it ain’t a secret, what did you dream of that made this Tantabus turn to us?” Applejack asked.
“If you really must know, I went under the transformation of Nightmare Moon, and you six mares used the Rainbow Power to defeat me.”
“Wait, then where was I?” I asked.
“The girls arrived via riding on your back. You were in your ‘greed-induced bigness’ form but with added wings.”
“How did you know about my greed-zilla form? I don’t remember seeing you when I was fighting Tirek.”
“Twilight informed me of your transformation when my sister, Cadance, and I returned from Tartarus. I must say, it is a rare sight to see a dragon your age using their greed to their advantage.”
“I guess I’m a rare dragon.”
By the time nightfall came, Twilight had just finished putting the last bed in her bedroom. The rest of the Mane 6 and I were waiting outside.
Rainbow yawned. “Can’t we just sleep now? I barely kept my eyes open all day!”
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight replied as she fluffed the pillows, “but we must wait for Princess Luna to arrive so that she can get this Tantabus effectively. It shouldn’t be long now.”
“I don’t see why we have to do it so late. And why can’t we just sleep on your bed, Twilight? I’m sure it can fit all seven of us.”
“Oh, hush, Rainbow,” Rarity said. “While some of us don’t mind a partner, there is a limit on how many ponies can sleep on the same bed at once while still feeling comfortable.”
“Okay, I’m back.” Starlight came in holding a tray with seven mugs. “Here’s the warm milk you requested, Twilight.”
“Thank you, Starlight.” Twilight levitated the mugs to each of us. “This will ensure we sleep quickly and long enough for the princess to find the Tantabus.”
“What? No cookies?” Pinkie asked.
“Sorry, Pinkie, but we can’t risk a sugar rush.”
“Oh, that’s just a myth.”
The sleepy seven of us drank our respective beverage, complimenting on the warmth and the hint of cinnamon. After our milk time, Luna arrived.
“Is everything ready?” Luna asked.
“Yes, it is.” Twilight entered the bedroom. “We've prepared everything exactly as you requested.”
“Good. As you seven slumber here, I will pursue the creature into whichever of your dreams it infests.”
“It'll be like a princess sleepover!” Pinkie exclaimed as we got into each of the beds.
“Speaking of princesses, aren't you gonna ask Celestia for her help as well?” Twilight asked Luna.
Luna shook her head. “I’m afraid there is nothing my sister can do. She has no power in the realm of sleep. Currently, only I have the experience to move from dream to dream. I am afraid no one can help me tonight.”
“Not even us?” Applejack asked.
“Especially you. You have all suffered so much because of me. You need only slumber while I hunt the Tantabus in your dreams.”
“So we can’t just try to take on the Tantabus ourselves?” I asked.
“You may attempt to do so, but I’m afraid it would be futile.” Luna looked at everypony. “There’s no telling how powerful the Tantabus is, or what it can do if you attack.”
“Hey, if this Tantabus infects dreams,” Starlight said. “Would it be safe to assume that everypony should avoid dreaming of any outside parties?”
“That would be recommended.” Luna looked down. “No, it would be essential to avoid such an act.”
I stealthily smiled at Starlight.
“Say, Luna,” I said. “Just out of curiosity, can the Tantabus travel to different worlds? Like for example, if I dream of Sunset Shimmer, would the Tantabus be able to infect her dreams then?”
Luna scratched her chin. “No. Unless Sunset coincidently visits this world, there’s no way for the Tantabus to harm her dreams.”
“Alright, thank you.”
“Is there anything I could do to help?” asked Starlight.
“You are welcome to stay and watch over us just in case,” Luna replied.
“I can do that.” Starlight pulled up a chair and sat down.
“One good thing about not sleepin' well last night,” Applejack put her hat away, “is that it shouldn't be too hard to fall asleep now.”
“Are you kidding?!” Pinkie exclaimed as she suddenly appeared next to Applejack. “This is so exciting, I don't know how I'm ever going to—” She fell asleep immediately.
The rest of us did the same. I closed my eyes and hoped to dream as soon as possible.
Ring! Ring!
“Sknx! Huh?!”
I sat up and looked around. I was back in my office. The beige cubicle walls, the black monitor, and the sound of chatter was enough to convince me I was at work.
Ring! Ring!
I saw the phone ringing. I quickly answered it.
“Hello?! Hello?!” I panically asked.
“Woah, take it easy, son,” Mr. Johnson said on the other side. “I was just calling to let you know that I’ve noticed a typo on the project you sent me.”
I stood up. “Mr. Johnson! Wait! I-I can fix that for you! Hurry and send it back before we go bankrupt!”
“Relax, relax. It’s just a typo. I already fixed it for you. Papertinc isn’t going to go belly-up just because of one simple slip-up.”
I sat down. “I’m sorry, sir. I just had this dream that I made a mistake, and we went bankrupt and were all out of the job…”
“That’s only a dream. You won’t lose your job just for one mistake. Alright, I'll let you get back to it. Just try to relax once in a while.”
“Thank you.”
I sighed as I hung up. That’s when the realization hit me.
Wait a minute…I’m dreaming, aren’t I? But how can I tell without pinching myself awake?
I remembered that there was a movie where the characters had something to determine if they were dreaming, such as a top or a pair of dice. While I didn’t have either, I had something that might work. I pulled out a quarter and flipped it three times. Three times in a row, it landed on its edge.
Now I know I’m dreaming.
I had to check to see where the Tantabus was. I kept watch as I sipped my coffee and deleted the 500-page document of Z’s.
“Hey!”
I nearly jumped to see one of my co-workers slamming his hand against the cubicle wall. He had short but messy blonde hair, and a goatee that was obviously out of place. This was Alex, my…least-preferred co-worker.
I sighed in annoyance. “What’s wrong now, Alex?”
“You sent me a file that completely destroyed my computer!” Alex retorted.
“Huh? I don’t remember that. The last thing I sent you was a word document.”
“I don’t care what you sent! Now my computer’s useless and all my work is down the drain!”
“Just call a technician to fix it.” I shrugged, wishing this conversation would be over soon so that I could find the Tantabus.
“I already did, but you’re gonna do my work until it gets prepared.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I’ll accept your punishment and finish off what little projects you had.”
“You’d better, Spike!” He then walked away.
My eyes widened. I stood up and caught up with him.
“Excuse me,” I said sternly.
“What now?” Alex turned around.
Punch!
I swung my fist straight across his jaw, knocking him downwards. A few gasps echoed throughout the room. While he was still dazed, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tossed him against one of the cubicle walls. I was about to knock him out, until Alex got up and lunged at me. I grabbed both of his arms as we struggled to get the upper hand.
I could hear the co-workers' comments during our fight.
“Oh my gosh!”
“What’s going on?”
“Finally, something interesting is happening!”
I quickly grabbed the closest object I could find, which was a vase with flowers. I swung the ceramic pottery straight across his face. He released his grip and tumbled down. Wasting no time, I grabbed him and put him in a headlock position.
“Luna!” I shouted. “Luna! I got him!”
That’s when Mr. Johnson came into the scene. He looked like he just witnessed a car crash.
“David, have you snapped?!” He shouted. “Why are you attacking a co-worker?!”
“I’ll take it from here, sir,” Luna’s voice said.
A dark-skinned female co-worker with silver hair showed up. Like a scene out of Mission Impossible, she removed her face to reveal Luna’s head. She then removed her outfit to expose the rest of her alicorn body. If my co-workers weren’t shocked before, they were now.
“Is that a talking horse?!”
“Everybody is seeing this, right?!”
“I knew that mayonnaise tasted funny today!”
“It came to no surprise you would choose this as your dream, David,” Luna said to me. “Now to take care of the Tantabus.”
“Forget it!” The Tantabus shouted as it morphed into its blue, misty form. “You won’t catch me!”
The Tantabus elbowed me in the stomach, forcing me to release my grip. It then escaped into a portal that appeared out of nowhere. Luna followed after it.
The office stood in silence for a long time. Not even a phone rang. Everyone was trying to figure out what just happened.
“David...” Mr. Johnson tried to say. “W...what was that?”
“If you don’t mind, sir,” I said as I undid my necktie, “I’m going to take my vacation now.”
I hurried out of the office door and into a flash of light.
I immediately woke up. Judging by the reactions around me, everypony woke up as well.
“Huh?” Starlight opened her eyes and sat up. “Oh! Is everypony and non-pony alright?”
Fluttershy shivered. “That... that was terrible! I-I never want to have that nightmare again!”
“Me neither!” Rainbow rocked in her bed.
“I take it the capturing didn’t go well for the rest of the pony’s dreams?” I asked Luna.
Luna sighed, “I am so sorry, my friends. I did my utmost best, but I failed. I do praise Spike for attempting to assist me by temporarily restraining the creature.”
“I had to do something. It’s hard enjoying your dreams when you know that they’ll turn into a nightmare.”
“I am afraid it will be back to infect your dreams the next time you sleep.”
Disappointment and fear spread across the room. Even Starlight had the cold shivers running down her back.
“As long as none of you dreamt about another pony, the Tantabus remains confined to your dreams,” said Luna. “I still have a chance to catch it before it's too late.”
Pinkie widened her eyes. “Uh, oh.”
“What’s wrong, Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.
“I might’ve accidentally dreamt of some other ponies in my dream.”
Luna rubbed her forehead. “Who, praytell, did you dream of?”
Pinkie bit her lip and said rapidly, “The rest of Ponyville?”
“WHAT?!” Everypony shouted.
“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight shouted annoyingly.
“Hey, you try fully controlling your dreams!” Pinkie retorted.
Dang it, Pinkie. Starlight was trying to prevent this. I’d thank her for the effort if I could.
“That means the Tantabus could be turning every dream in Ponyville into a nightmare!” Twilight exclaimed.
“And getting strong enough to escape into the real world!” I added.
“Then we must help Princess Luna stop this before it happens!” Rarity declared.
Fluttershy asked, “But how? The Tantabus was able to escape Luna when it only had seven dreams it could get to! Even with one of us trying to hold it down.”
“It is true,” said Luna. “With so many dreams to hide in, I do not know how I can catch it. Nor can I convince the ponies to restrain it before it’s too late.”
“What if we all had the same dream?” I asked.
“You took the words right out of my mouth, Spike,” Twilight pointed out.
“I... can create shared dreams, yes, but for so many ponies at once?” Luna looked out the window. “I have never done anything like that. The amount of power it would take...”
“Well, it is worth a try, isn't it?” Fluttershy asked.
“Of course. I will do anything to end this, including accepting your help. I cannot allow the Tantabus to escape into the real world. All of you must now go back to sleep and hope that I can create such a dream. I’d advise you to do the same, Starlight Glimmer.”
“But I don’t have a bed in this room.”
Twilight shifted herself to the side. “You may rest here with me.” She then handed Starlight a bandana.
“Thank you.” Starlight tied the cloth around her mouth.
Once everypony got comfortable, we went back to sleep.
When I opened my eyes, I noticed the girls and I were in the middle of Ponyville.
“Are we still dreaming?” Fluttershy asked.
I didn’t need a coin to answer her question. Around us, ponies were of different sizes and forms compared to their real-life forms. Berry Punch had a balloon head, Derpy was a giant pony who meowed like a cat, Big Mac was a unicorn, and Lyra and Bonbon were combined like they cameoed in CatDog. It was like seeing Discord taking over Ponyville again.
“Princess Luna did it!” Twilight shouted with excitement.
“Ponies!” Luna’s voice shouted.
We all hurried to see Luna in a transparent orb and white strings coming out of her horn.
“Princess Luna!” everypony exclaimed as they bowed.
“There is no time for bowing, my friends!” Luna warned. “There is something coming, something terrible! No, it is already here!”
The Tantabus appeared from the horizon, already the size of the town hall. For some reason, it reminded me of a furious Bowser in a game trailer I saw once. Just like in the show, Luna tried to stop it, but between holding the dream together and restraining the Tantabus, it was a struggle even for an alicorn.
The girls and I took over saving the Ponyville dreamworld. The Tantabus turned a few houses into monsters, and we saved the ponies inside. Fluttershy even turned to Flutterbat briefly, and Big Mac ripped a scene out of Sailor Moon and transformed into an alicorn.
“If that Tantabus thing turns any more of this dream against us, we'll be too busy saving ponies to catch it!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “And it'll grow powerful enough to escape into the real world!”
“How are we even gonna know when it's able to escape?” Applejack asked.
I pointed to the sky. “Does that answer your question?”
The Tantabus struck the sky, cutting a hole to reality. Twilight shot a magic blast at it, and Luna quickly patched the hole.
“Please, we need your help too!” Fluttershy said to the citizens of Ponyville.
“But how can we help?” Mrs. Cake asked. “Nopony in Ponyville has your magic or your speed!”
“But this here isn't Ponyville!” Applejack reminded the town. “It's a dream!”
“And not just any! This is your dream!” Twilight added loudly. “Anything you can do in your dreams, you can do now!”
I looked at the Tantabus and realized it was time it fought someone its own size.
“Everypony stand back!” I shouted. “I’m gonna grow!”
I soon turned into my greedzilla form. My size matched the Tantabus.
“If you’re gonna dream, you have to dream big!”
I charged at the Tantabus, but I went right through it. I then blew fire, which thankfully hurt the being.
Ponyville did their fair share of keeping the Tantabus at bay. Scootaloo grew giant wings to flap it away. Filthy Rich turned into a superhero and shot coins. Rainbow and Applejack turned into Zapp and Mistress Marevelous respectively and used their superpowers.
There were even ponies who I didn’t see in the episode helping out. Moondancer, instead of Twilight, sent books out from the library. Button Mash donned diamond-plated armor and shot explosive arrows. Rumble, who was dressed as Sticky Hooves, carried Button on his back as he flew around the Tantabus. Starlight rode a pony-lifting kite and fired magic beams in the shape of shurikens. Everypony who was anypony tried to keep the Tantabus in the dreamworld.
I didn’t know how much energy a Tantabus can have, but it was clear it was more than any of us. I was out of breath from breathing so much fire. I could barely stand.
How can someone be out of energy in a dream?
I still remembered that I could do anything in a dream, and I had one more ace up my sleeve. I didn’t want to make this reference, but anything at this point had to help.
“Alright, Tantabus! It’s time I showed you my own darkness!” I then struck a pose.
“ゴゴ「Night Fury!」ゴゴ”
On cue, a titan-sized Night Fury appeared from behind me. It gave a mighty roar that shook the dream sky!
“What kind of dragon is that?” Rainbow asked.
“Must be from one of his comic books,” Twilight said. “He dressed like one during a previous Nightmare Night!”
The Night Fury charged at the Tantabus and snapped its jaws upon the spirit’s back! Like a dog with a shoe, the dragon jerked the Tantabus away from the hole to reality!
“At least it’s helpin’ us!” Applejack pointed out.
The orb around Luna and the strings soon flickered like a dying lamp.
“I cannot hold this dream together much longer!” Luna cried. “Equestria will fall because of me!”
Luna should not have said that, because the next thing I knew, the Tantabus grew three times its size.
“Luna, I think your guilt made it stronger!” I called out.
Luna replied, “If that is so, then perhaps that is how it grew strong enough to escape in the first place!”
The Tantabus took the form of a giant pony. It ripped a hole into reality with its horn. The Night Fury chomped on its tail to slow it down.
“I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night,” said Luna, “to punish myself for the evil I caused as Nightmare Moon!”
Just like in the show, Luna explained that she couldn’t forgive herself for her actions when she was evil, and the Mane 6 convinced her that all that negative emotion was what made the Tantabus stronger in the first place. As emotional as the scene was, I wished Luna would hurry up and forgive herself. My “stand” could only restrain the evil spirit so much.
“Everypony who knows you knows that Nightmare Moon is in the past!” Twilight shouted. “We all trust you, Luna! Do you trust us enough to believe we're right?”
Luna looked at the Tantabus and then to the girls. The tears disappeared and a smile appeared on her face.
“I do.”
Those two words from Luna was all it took to defeat the Tantabus. It shrunk down to Luna’s size, escaping my Night Fury’s jaws. The Tantabus then disappeared into Luna’s collar.
“Thank you,” Luna joyfully said. “Thank you all.”
I finally woke up after all that dreaming. I never thought I’d miss being well-rested for so long, and it was only one night of unrest. Everypony around me woke from their slumber as well.
“Luna did it!” Twilight exclaimed.
“She sure did,” Applejack said as she put her hat back on. “Only...I'm not exactly sure what she did.”
“Luna created the Tantabus to punish herself! The worse she felt, the more power it had! But once she finally forgave herself for what Nightmare Moon did…it just disappeared.”
“Shh!” Fluttershy hushed before pointing to Luna, who was resting comfortably upon a couple of pillows.
“I guess we should let her rest,” I said.
As everypony exited the room, I was relieved about how this episode turned out. Even though some aspects and the outcome of the episode was still the same, it was nice to add my own powers and twists to the dreamworld.
“I wonder what Princess Luna dreams about,” Twilight said.
“Magic sheep?” Pinkie replied.
“That was rhetorical, Pinkie.”
End formulaic sequence.
Stats
Page generated in 0.042 seconds
Total duration
920 users online
380,854 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I read the Titel:
Chapter 83 (Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?)
And I ask myself:
Do Magic Sheep dream of Princesses?
Stanley parable
I have a story taking that concept.
Pinkie Pie loves to derail my script...
O come on! Spike missed the biggest time related incident with Starlight Glimmer! After Discord informed him about time related loops?!
Who else see the problem?!
Where is that episode?!
11370450
Chapter 68 (Twilight’s Kingdom)
11370451
Thank you! I have to re-read it asap!
Yep, that had done it.
*Black--Soul is rolling laughting on the ground*
More
Now that was awesome.
For a moment I thought David would be in his form instead of Spike.
Wonder what comes next?
David forgot to tell Luna not to create the rants us, or he just let this event happen.
only six episodes left to season 6, the season that I'm personally been waiting for. (it is six right?)
I love the JoJo reference you did for this chapter. I really hope we can see more of Spike/David Smith's stand in the future of this story.
Well, a little like the original, somehow after watching Tantabus talking with Spike I was expecting them to reform 'It' or something... Maybe even create a Nyx, but your idea was good.
Was that A Jojo reference?!
11370451
I wonder if you can give spikey a stand in real life
Not entirely what I was expecting, but it's decent.
I thought that was Discord at the beginning of the chapter.
I'd be down for the free quesadillas. Books being outlawed and burned, on the other hand? No thank you! I already saw enough Fahrenheit 451, mind you!
11370737
Yeah, at least I was able made a Bowser's Fury reference.
11370752
It's better than nothing.
Good thing he didn't use the same dream in the shared dream. Otherwise, everypony, mostly Lyra, would be asking where David would be in the waking world.
It just occurred to me. If magic sheep represent Luna's happy dream, why didn't she just create a herd of them to combat against Tantabus?
Wait when did Luna find out when David was human
11370963
Re-read chapter 45. That's when Luna found out.
Ey, a Bowser's Fury reference!
PLOT TWIST: Sunset had indeed chosen this exact time to visit in order to apologise to Princess Celestia, and then unknowingly carries the Tantabus back into the human world afterwards, thereby drastically raising the stakes!
Can Luna save both Equestria and the human world from perpetual insomnia? Find out next time on Disney XD!
11370963
It has been SO many chapters that she did, if I am not mistaken, it was in one of the first dreams of David.
great and awesome chapter!!!!
11370752
Yeah, when did David disappear to Equestria exactly? I assumed it was within the first few months of 2020, when you started the fic, and it might limit the references you'd be able to make beyond that time. (The first announcement trailer for Bowser's Fury popped up in September, I checked.)
And then I just remembered you did establish the time frame back in the very first chapter when you said it was about one year since the series end (making it at least late 2020). So ok, you can make that ref.
Good chapter
I don't know why but I cant help but imagine what I would dream up with if I was a part of this episode and out of all the things I could think of, due to a few YouTube videos I saw recently I would imagine turning myself into a certain anthro pig wearing a red royal robe with a crown on my head, charging into battle with a firework on my left hand, a dark green pearl on my right and the song 'Legends never die' playing in the background.
I know, it's weird...
11365216
Sounds like a awesome story deviation
11359711
Game, set, GOOOOOOO
Whoa, two episodes in 2 weeks, NICE.
Also, nice JoJo reference.
11376397
i mean with the portal being a thing it can get worse. like 2 or more worlds
preview.redd.it/85mzk4v490t81.png?width=696&format=png&auto=webp&s=032d3ebc83acc3586dabd346048668b92ae3331f I REGRET NOTHING
11376415
Damn...
Sorry. It's been quite awhile since I read the beginning or binge-read this, but did David ever find out just how it was that he ended up in Spike's body or what ever happened to Spike? I don't recall any of his discussions with Discord or Luna ever addressing that. And are Luna and Discord even aware that each other is aware of David?
At some point, I would think the three of them should have a private chat about his involvement, especially as the countdown for Grogar/Discord's actions involving the series end still seems to be on a parallel timeline track.
11376716
we still don't know who or what caused David to become spike yet, but we do know spike is still inside David, we get that explanation in the Dragon Quest chapter. And neither Luna nor Discord asked what happens to spike, but David does talk to Luna about how he fell asleep and woke up in Equestria in chapter 45. and I don't know about discord but Luna does know Discord is aware of David
hope it was helpful.
11376870
It sure was. It's sometimes kind of hard keeping track of so many different stories, each with the same characters all having different interactions. Thanks!
I've got enough still yet to be read without needing to refresh from scratch on everything I'm supposed to be caught up on.
Now we return to the waiting game.
The update will be worth it again 
Thanks for the chapter and the truth is that I'm a great song...
Despite the fact that Spike felt the fear in his dreams and, well, he solved himself too much. In part of the chapters Pinkie Pie always gets into a lot of trouble.
Lost a chance for the ponies to discover Spike's secret
"...about your car's extended warranty."
Ok... What exactly would happen if it get to the real world anyway? Is has no real body after all...