A Nightmare

by Moterius

Thelestral

The quick nightmare found itself in a small space, with the dreamer resting on something the nightmare did not know the name for. For a moment, it hovered there, not detected by the dreamer, but the small winged dreamer eventually looked up at it, giving a small smile.

“ᚥᚧᚿᚿᛩ ᛪᛩ ᛨᛩᛠ ᛙᛝᚧ ᚥᚧᛝᚧ” ㅤ

Confused, the nightmare hovered there, no way to indicate that it was not understanding the dreamer, but the dreamer then beckoned it to come closer. Then, the dreamer touched it, before repeating the weird sounds it made.

“Hello. So, you are here.”

Surprised by the meaning behind the previously nonsensical voices, the nightmare tried to ask a question, sending it through the realm.

“I felt something, but not enough. I cannot communicate like you, so please try to match my way of communication,” the dreamer then said, causing the nightmare to nod.

It understood that, and it was surprising how easy it could understand the dreamer.

It tried a few times to express different things in the way the dreamer used, eventually managing to bring forth a word.

“Wonder.”

“Yes, like that. You probably wonder why I talk with you?”

“Affirmative,” was the next closest thing the nightmare could say.

“Well, I am part of a race called thelestrals,” the dreamer said, extending a wing. It held none of the fluffy looking things wings usually had.

“We have a small chance to be able to dreamwalk, and I eventually spotted you,” she continued, drawing a nearly inaudible hiss from the nightmare.

“Presence!”

That word, that meaning, it could be conveyed perfectly.

The dreamer scrunched up its face.

“I do not know what you talk about. Something that also moves between dreams?”

“…affirmative,” the nightmare responded, deciding that the dreamer had probably no connection with the Presence.

“Death. Much, much death,” the nightmare then said, settling down opposite of the dreamer, noticing that it came to rest on the same sort of structure the dreamer used itself.

“I am not here to harm you – I want to help you. Somewhere in the last decade, I realized what you truly were, after sensing you time and time again near to my dreams,” the dreamer said, once again surprising the nightmare.

“Presence… not. We dead then,” it said, getting a shrug out of the dreamer.

“The world of dreams is quite mysterious, that much is true,” the dreamer said, smiling.

“But the world you cannot see is interesting as well. And I think that I know how you can live without having to fight.”

While skimming the energy of dreams gave them enough to survive, it did not allow them to increase their numbers. So, the nightmare was interested.

“Tell,” it finally said, getting the dreamer to smile.

---

Oh, what a joyous occasion! There were dreamers that enjoyed bad dreams!

The nightmare dared not to ask why, but this was wonderful news! And even though it did not ask, it still got explained!

If one defeated a nightmare, they overcame their fear! But if someone has a bad dream not related to fear, dreamers could learn from it, and nightmares could live from it!

There were many dreamers, many times more than there were nightmares! And only a few dreamers wanted bad dreams, but even that was a huge boon, again!

The real advantage was that this was something originating from the dreamers and nightmares, not from wherever the dreamers came from. That meant, those dreamers would not simply disappear, but stick around for thousands of cycles!

The wise nightmare was very surprised by this. It knew that dreamers sometimes did not fight their bad dreams, or the nightmares attracted by them, but always thought it was because it was of too much fear. It now started thinking again, eventually realizing the main difference between a dreamer that would fight a bad dream and one that would not.

A dreamer would fight a bad dream if it was off. How off was to define was hard to say, but the wise nightmare realized that things that were the same in many dreams were not off. So, the less off things a dream continued, the more likely it was that the dreamer would not fight the bad dream.

This did not tell them if they wanted to fight the bad dream or not, but it once again made their hunting easier.

The wise nightmare tried to talk with the dreamer that talked with the quick nightmare and eventually learned that the more fear a dreamer showed, the more they wanted to fight a bad dream. But if they had no fear within a bad dream, they would never fight the nightmares that came.

That was the last thing the wise nightmare did, and it would be remembered by the nightmares as the ‘white nightmare’, the one who had lead the nightmares into a golden age, and when it eventually became a dreamer, the energy it provided was slightly higher than that of other dreamers, showing how important it was even when it no longer was a nightmare.

For some three hundred and twenty thousand dream cycles, everything was good, and the nightmares became both stronger and more numerous. The quick nightmare watched as most of those that fought alongside it became dreamers themselves, but none was ever as good of a dreamer as the wise nightmare, now known as the white nightmare, was.

However, some time after watching the strong nightmare vanish that originally helped out the white nightmare, something happened.

Something terrifying.

Something unimaginable.

The Presence was felt again, if only for a moment.

Never having forgotten their history, the nightmares panicked, but the presence did nothing and vanished again. They thought it was just a scare. But then, three cycles later, the presence returned.

And it did with a vengeance.

A terrible, terrible vengeance.

Fearful, the nightmares hid. But the presence found them again and started killing again. One after another…

And so, the quick nightmare fled, too.

Comments

[Pete100]

“Presence… not. We dead then,” it said, getting a shrug out of the dreamer.

Why are they dead if Luna isn’t there?

Oh, what a joyous occasion! There were dreamers that enjoyed bad dreams!

So, the thelestrals enjoy bad dreams?

If one defeated a nightmare, they overcame their fear! But if someone has a bad dream not related to fear, dreamers could learn from it, and nightmares could live from it!

I don’t get it.

The real advantage was that this was something originating from the dreamers and nightmares, not from wherever the dreamers came from. That meant, those dreamers would not simply disappear, but stick around for thousands of cycles!

What does that mean?

A dreamer would fight a bad dream if it was off . How off was to define was hard to say, but the wise nightmare realized that things that were the same in many dreams were not off . So, the less off things a dream continued, the more likely it was that the dreamer would not fight the bad dream.

Confused

The wise nightmare tried to talk with the dreamer that talked with the quick nightmare and eventually learned that the more fear a dreamer showed, the more they wanted to fight a bad dream. But if they had no fear within a bad dream, they would never fight the nightmares that came.

How can you not have fear in a bad dream?

That was the last thing the wise nightmare did, and it would be remembered by the nightmares as the ‘white nightmare’, the one who had lead the nightmares into a golden age, and when it eventually became a dreamer, the energy it provided was slightly higher than that of other dreamers, showing how important it was even when it no longer was a nightmare.

Wait, is the nightmare turned into a dreamer, does that mean it’s a creature born in the real world, like ponies, dragons and other creatures?

For some three hundred and twenty thousand dream cycles, everything was good, and the nightmares became both stronger and more numerous. The quick nightmare watched as most of those that fought alongside it became dreamers themselves, but none was ever as good of a dreamer as the wise nightmare, now known as the white nightmare, was.

In what way is the white nightmare a better dreamer?