Trapped in Slumber

by Megabrick

Ch. 4: Sleep Paralysis

For the first time that day, Twilight noticed Minuette with an expression of genuine concern. No mirth, no sly jokes. Just worry. Nopony said anything as Minuette moved over to the bed to get a closer look, leaving Twilight standing in the doorway awkwardly.

The frustrated, ivory-colored mare resting against the corner-wall broke the silence. “So, it takes falling into a coma to get Twilight Sparkle’s attention,” her voice was sharp and snide, her forehooves crossed and a scowl across her face.

“Hey, being upset doesn’t give you an excuse to take it out on anypony, Twinkleshine,” the yellow one - whom Twilight reasoned was Lemon Hearts - stood up straighter in her seat, then turned to Twilight and gave her an apologetic smile, though it soon faded as her eyes drifted back to Moondancer’s limp form.

Before Twilight could ask what she meant, Minuette changed the subject. “What’s wrong with her?” She asked, standing over the bed and not looking-away from Moondancer. Behind her, a dark sweater and glasses sat messily on the bedside table.

Twinkleshine’s expression didn’t lighten. “She wasn’t in class this morning, so I went to check on her. Lyra says she wouldn’t wake up, so we brought her here.”

“And then I came looking for Twinkleshine after she didn’t show up for class,” Lemon Hearts chimed in, her soft voice full of concern and tension. Minuette motioned for Twilight to join her side, and Twilight hesitated for a moment - but did.

“Where’s the nurse?” Twilight asked, curious to hear a thorough diagnosis.

“She went to get Princess Celestia as soon as Lemon arrived,” Twinkleshine explained.

Looking down at Moondancer, Twilight felt a small tinge of familiarity. Vague memories of obligatory group-projects returned to her, and she felt sympathy for the mare whom she worked with. She wasn’t… complete trouble. Twilight reached out a caring hoof.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Twinkleshine explained, prompting Twilight’s hoof to stop in mid-air.

“Why?” Twilight asked, withdrawing her hoof slowly.

“You’ll see,” Twinkleshine replied unhelpfully as she looked down at the ground with a frustrated expression. Twilight looked to Lemon, who could only shrug with uncertainty. Nonetheless, no one wanted to risk prompting a demonstration. Minuette and Twilight both took a step back.

Nopony spoke for a while, everyone but Twinkleshine looking at Moondancer. The room was quiet, and cold. Twilight was surprised to see Minuette was capable of taking things seriously. She was impressed.

“So why is she here?” Twinkleshine asked without breaking eye-contact with the very interesting floor tiles.

“Actually, we were gonna talk to Lemon,” Minuette retorted, chiding Twinkleshine’s tone, motioning for Twilight to follow her over to the seats against the wall. The two took seats beside Lemon.

Lemon Hearts looked sullen, but she tried to smile politely anyway. “Talk to me about what? I… could use a distraction,” she admitted uncomfortably, finally breaking her sight away from Moondancer. Minuette placed a hoof on Lemon’s shoulder. Twilight found it interesting, the care she showed reminded her of something. But what?

In a gentle voice that betrayed her more care-free demeanor, Minuette answered. “Are you okay with talking about your nightmare?”

Twilight could see Lemon shiver, her fur standing on-end in places. Minuette was quick to begin gently stroking her back; “Hey, hey, it’s okay, everything’s fine,” she comforted.

“I… I don’t know if that’s the kind of distraction I want,” Lemon admitted uneasily, glancing around the room with a new nervous energy. She must have had it worse with the fear, Twilight reasoned. It’s still affecting her.

“I know, but… the two of us have been looking-into it, we think it was more than a simple nightmare.” Minuette’s soft voice and slow manner of speaking reminded Twilight of…

… Of taking care of Spike, she realized with surprise.

She didn’t have to be as gentle these days, but only a few years ago she had to learn to be a lot more patient and caring for his sake. Naturally, she had taken inspiration from her old foalsitter, though she hardly compared.

Maybe… she and Minuette have a fair bit in common after all, Twilight reasoned in her mind. It didn’t mean much! But it is… something, she accepted.

“-Twilight?” She looked up to see both Lemon and Minuette looking at her. “...Do you want to explain?” Minuette was using that same gentle voice she had used on Lemon, whether because she had just spoken to Lemon or not, Twilight was unsure.

“Um, yes, I can.” Twilight cleared her throat and spoke in as matter-of-fact a voice she could muster. “I had a nightmare as well, and discovered that I wasn’t the only one. I have been able to confirm that approximately 14 other students have too, at the very least. And there was a common element.”

Minuette moved to wrap her shoulder around Lemon - who currently wore wide eyes and a slack jaw - then beckoned for Twilight to continue. Twilight hesitated, but nonetheless continued:

“Several of the dreams featured the Moon, and-”

Suddenly Twilight heard a loud thump behind her punctuated by a scream from Lemon Hearts. Twilight turned to see Moondancer twitching- no, thrashing on the bed. Her horn sparked and glowed erratically as her limbs flailed all around, nearly threatening to fall out into the floor.
More fear for the harvest.
“Not again!” Before Twilight could do anything, Twinkleshine jumped to her hooves and braced herself as her horn began to glow turquoise. Moondancer became wrapped in her magic, and Twinkleshine grunted as she struggled to keep her still. Twilight moved to help, and joined her magic with Twinkleshine’s. Once Moondancer was held, Twilight noticed her eyes seemed to flick-about under her eyelids, and her ears continued to twitch. Twilight carefully approached her before-

“Keep back!” Twinkleshine pointed a hoof at Moondancer, and Twilight noticed her horn was still sparking, threatening to send magical blasts all over the room any-second now. Twilight refocused her efforts on containing Moondancer’s magic, forming a small protective bubble over her horn.

Underneath, Moondancer’s horn shook and fizzled, then glowed intensely, until finally it unleashed a beam of magical energy. It nearly broke through Twilight’s magic immediately, but she held. Why is her magic so powerful!? Twilight could hardly contain it, straining with a quiet whine.

After a few more moments of struggle, Moondancer suddenly calmed and her horn fizzled out, returning to the unconscious, immobile state she was previously in. Twilight and Twinkleshine gradually ceased their magic once the coast was clear. Twinkleshine was breathing heavily, and Twilight dropped to a sitting position, holding a hoof to her aching horn.

“... Thanks…” Was all Twinkleshine said to Twilight. Now that the room was quiet again, Twilight could hear faint whimpering behind her. Turning to look, Lemon Hearts looked absolutely frightened, her eyes wide with tears and a shaking across her body. Minuette was holding her close, gently comforting her and whispering into her ear.

A part of Twilight felt bad that the poor thing had to see that at all. She turned to look back at Moondancer, but hesitated, almost paranoid that merely glancing at her would trigger another episode. She settled for a sideways glance.

Twilight had never seen anything like that before. As much as she tried to focus on thinking through what just happened logically, something inside kept her from being able to. It almost felt… wrong to distance herself from the situation and analyze it. Something nagged at her, but she couldn’t quite recall, the shock of the situation still over her.

“She’d... probably be glad you’re here,” Twinkleshine said in as-relaxed a voice she was capable of. As Twilight was broken from her thoughts, she quickly realized that in her attempt to partially glance at Moondancer, Twilight had been facing Twinkleshine the entire time. The two were sitting practically beside each other. Despite her voice, Twinkleshine’s scowl had softened.

“Who? Moondancer? Why…?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You mean you don’t know? Oh pony-feathers, I thought you had to be perceptive if you kept your head buried in books all the time, but... I guess not...” Twinkleshine chuckled quietly, emptily. It sounded forced. “Must be near-sighted, Celestia knows you don’t let anypony get close enough” she mumbled humorously. Twilight took exception to that.

“She practically adores you,” Twinkleshine explained. “Does her mane look familiar to you? At all?”

Twilight, with some effort, overcame the taboo of looking at Moondancer. Examining her mane, disheveled as it was, she could just make out something familiar. The even cut, the partition by the horn. Suddenly it hit her.

Moondancer’s mane… was exactly the same as her’s.

“But… why?” was all Twilight could say as she continued staring, squinting, as if trying to see a whole other pony on that bed.

“No clue,” Twinkleshine replied with an exacerbated sigh and a large shrug, her hooves upturned into the air for a short moment. Twilight tilted her head with a raised eyebrow. “She’s been like that ever since we were foals.” She once-again looked at Twilight. “... You really had no idea?”

“... No, no I didn’t…” Twilight’s confused expression gradually shifted. At first it was confusion, then a small smile. Pride, almost, her eyes turning glassy. Pride soon turned to guilt, her ears lowering and a downtrodden expression adorning her face. Glassy eyes threatened to become worried tears.

Twinkleshine let-out a mixture between a sigh and a groan, and spoke up. “Look, I won’t hold it against you. She probably won’t either. Just… stick around until she’s better, alright? For her?”

Twilight glanced up at Twinkleshine with guilt. “I… I can’t, I’m busy researching the…” the dreams. Wait a second… Suddenly, Twilight raised herself up. “She’s dreaming!”

“What?” Twilight turned to see both Lemon Hearts and Minuette facing her, Lemon wiping tears from her eyes.

“The convulsions! The trigger word, it all makes sense!” How couldn’t she have seen it before? “She must be stuck in a nightmare!” Twilight proudly declared, before apologetically grinning, realizing she had gotten a bit too excited about the situation.

“That sounds horrible!” Lemon Hearts interjected, finally standing up from her chair and leaving Minuette’s hooves, her face adorned with worry.

“That’s a start,” Twinkleshine admitted. “But what do we do about it?”

“Why were you and everypony else able to wake up when she couldn’t?” Minuette asked.

“I don’t know…” Twilight replied thoughtfully, then looked to Lemon Hearts. “It could really help if we had some more information to check against, Lemon Hearts.”

Everyone looked to Lemon Hearts, who shrunk a little under the pressure. “I-I don’t know-”

Minuette spoke-up first. “Everything’ll be fine, Lem, we’re here for you. Just please tell us about your nightmare,” Minuette insisted as gently as she could.

“If it could help Moondancer, I insist,” Twinkleshine added roughly, earning a short glare from Minuette.

“... Okay, okay, I’ll… do it.” She turned, and took a seat in her chair again. Minuette joined her side, while Twilight and Twinkleshine watched from in front, Twilight listening intently. With some difficulty, Lemon worked up the courage to speak-up.

“I… was in some sort of old castle. I was trying to put together a puzzle, but it was… it was like I had two different sets of pieces, and I couldn’t figure out which ones went with each other...” Lemon Hearts gestured with her hooves.

“A puzzle of what, exactly?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know! … Equestria? Someplace else? That’s what it felt like, anyway…” She continued. “But I knew I… I had to make them…. fit. Somepony was in danger, and putting this puzzle together could save them! So… So I made the pieces fit.”

“You made them fit?” Twinkleshine tilted her head.

“I tried to. All I had left was… one piece, a… a piece that didn’t… feel right, it felt… it felt, it felt warm, hot, and… when I put it in … all the others shifted. So I squeezed them back together.”

“What happened when you finished it?” Minuette asked, a hoof around Lemon Hearts’ shoulder.

“I I thought I had finished it, but… then I noticed pieces were… missing. I checked everywhere, but I couldn’t find them! And that’s when I saw…” She shivered, and Minuette lightly patted her shoulder. “I saw this… face, in the…” she leaned close and whispered… “Moon! There was this unicorn… in the craters. And I felt so cold! So I shut the curtains.”

Twilight shivered. Minuette noticed.

“When I looked back at the… at the puzzle, it… the pieces, they started moving around by themselves, rearranging. I tried to… tried to fight them, I tried to get the pieces to stay in the right places, but I couldn’t! And then… one of the pieces flew through a door, and out into a hallway, so… I chased after it.”

Lemon Hearts was shaking a little bit. Twilight was unusually patient and sympathetic as Minuette took the time to calm her down.

“... But there was… something in there with me. A shadowy monster… It was… looking for the piece too. When it saw me, it…-”

Twilight interrupted with a polite voice. “... What did it look like?” Minuette raised an eyebrow, but Lemon Hearts gestured apologetically.

“It was… tall. Dark. Glowing eyes. That’s all I could see. Anyway, it… it chased me. And I ran. I turned, and closed a door behind me, I was trying to hide… but, the window was open. I started to freeze, the moonlight, it was just… just so cold…”

“I… I had to leave the room in a hurry. I nearly…” she whined, “I almost bumped into her… the- the monster…” she clarified with a worried glance at everyone else.

“I ran, and… and I finally found the piece. And… and the puzzle was there too, it wasn’t where I left it. When the piece fell into place, there was a flash of light, and the piece disappeared- it… it turned into a pony. A unicorn, I think.”
I was that piece.
“Do you know who she was?” Twinkleshine asked.

“No, no… I can’t… I can’t remember,” Lemon Hearts explained. “But she started to float. She started to change, and she… she went… through the ceiling.”

“Like… she destroyed it?”

“No, no it wasn’t like that… she just… phased through it. I didn’t… I didn’t have much time… time to look, because I turned around, and… I saw… her. The monster. She stood there, looking at me, with this… this awful smirk…”

Lemon Hearts wrapped her front hooves around herself. “There was… it was like there was this… stormcloud above her, this… swirling energy. Three different colors… purple, black, and… and… I didn’t even recognize the last color… it felt evil.”

“And she… she-” Lemon Hearts began to tear up, burying her head in her hooves.

“That’s alright, Lem, that’s… you don’t have to say anything else.” Minuette comforted. Nonetheless, Lemon Hearts looked up from her hooves to say one last thing.

“I… I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was… it was Nightmare-! She was just… just horrible!” Minuette stroked Lemon’s back while Twinkleshine sighed in frustration, holding up a hoof to stop Lemon Hearts, and then motioning toward Moondancer.

“Nightmare...," Twinkleshine looked at Twilight. "I mean, "you-know-who… the Nightmare Night pony?” Twilight asked.

“... Except she’s not just the Nightmare Night pony,” Twinkleshine explained. “Lemon Hearts, me and her were researching Equestrian royalty, and she was one of them.”

“What?” Minuette asked.

“She used to be a ruler, her and her sister. She got upset because her sister took all the credit, so she tried to take over Equestria, and she was banished you-know-where by her sister.” Twinkleshine crossed her hooves. “ …What’s with the looks?”

Twilight and Minuette turned to share a knowing glance. “The Mare, from the prophecy.”

“What mare?” Lemon Hearts wiped her eyes, looking between them both.

Twilight went on to explain, “It’s a prophecy about somepony imprisoned... there, who's supposed to return soon.”

“Soon!?” Lemon Hearts whimpered.

“We thought she was a myth,” Minuette added. “But I guess she’s… Nightmare… ”

“Mare in the… wait! The face, the one we saw on the surface of... y'know, in our dreams! It has to be her!”

“You think she can cause all this?” Twinkleshine motioned toward Moondancer, unconscious on the bed. “Nightmares?”

“Well, it is in the name,” Minuette added with a shrug.

“And for good reason.” Everypony turned toward the doors to see Princess Celestia enter, a dire expression on her face as the nurse squeezed in, past her, as all but Twinkleshine bowed. “She is indeed real.”

“How is she?” The nurse asked, approaching Moondancer’s bed and beginning to check-up on her.

“More convulsions, but we took care of her,” Twinkleshine nodded in Twilight’s direction before moving to assist the nurse.

Twilight stood up to get Celestia’s attention. Once Celestia turned to face her, she bowed. “Princess, we think sh is stuck in a nightmare.”

“That’s unlike Nightmare M-", Twinkleshine waved at a hoof, then shook her head. ".. but I previously thought the same about these attacks,” Celestia explained somberly.

“Attacks?” Lemon Hearts asked with a shiver.

“The nightmares everypony has been having,” Celestia clarified. “She is targeting everyone. Why, I am not sure… nor why she would trap one of our subjects in the dream realm…” Twilight’s ear twitched.

“So what can we do, Princess?” Minuette stepped-up, chest pushed-out in a sense of duty.

“I believe the only way to rescue your friend is to go into her dream directly. I have a limited understanding of dream magic, but I can at least make the connection,” Celestia explained.

“She’s not doing well, Princess,” the nurse began. “Her heart-rate is dangerously high, it’s only a matter of time before the stress gets to her.”

Celestia nodded, and turned back to everyone else. “I cannot ask you to do this, but we’re short of time. I fear your friend may not make it out safely if we do not act soon.”

“W-won’t it be dangerous?” Lemon Hearts asked.

“No, it is still only a dream: you won’t be harmed. And I will put up barriers to prevent the rest of you from getting trapped the way she has. Will you go in and rescue her?”

Twinkleshine was first to step up, faster than Minuette. “I’m in.”

“Me too,” Minuette added with a confident expression.

The two looked to Lemon Hearts, who looked back between them. “I-I… I care about Moondancer,” she explained. “I’ll… do it.” She nervously stood next to the others. Minuette and Twinkleshine looked at Twilight.

“Well?” Twinkleshine asked with an impatient wave of her hoof.

“We could really use you, Twilight. Moondancer would be thrilled to see you.” Minuette held out a hoof. “And I’d be glad to have you.”

Twilight looked between the three of them, and then Moondancer’s unconscious form. Guilt welled in her heart. How could she not? And she hated to admit it, but the three could use her help. Was she willing to face more nightmarish threats to save somepony else?

To save a friend?

Yes, she was. Twilight took Minuette’s hoof. “Awesome!” Minuette said, pulling her to the rest of the group. Twinkleshine nodded in approval and Lemon Hearts looked up from her own hooves.

“For what it’s worth, she’ll be glad.”

“... Thank you, Twilight …”

Celestia nodded to each of them. “Then we shall begin.” She motioned toward the other beds. “Once you are comfortable, I will bridge the connection.” Her horn lit as she prepared. Twilight, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine all laid down on the other clinic beds. Lemon Hearts shook a little, but Minuette reached over and gave her a confident hoof, after which they closed their eyes. Twinkleshine turned to Twilight, and with a respectable nod, closed her eyes. Twilight followed shortly after.

With a warm feeling of magic against her horn, she knew it had begun.