• Published 4th Oct 2020
  • 9,796 Views, 440 Comments

Prince of Dreams - ShadowStar_IMHP



A lucid dream is a dream during which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. What happens when a human with the ability to lucid dream finds his way to Equestria? Answer he becomes Morpheus the Prince of Dreams, the son of Nightmare Moon.

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Chapter 5

He had to wait three days, three days doing as little as possible with the magic at his fingertips. Or was that hooftips now? The time would be tedious and boring at the same time. What child didn’t try to move things with their mind or shoot fireballs? He wanted to try, he really did. However, the fear of what might happen if he did prevent him from experimenting.

No matter how hard he tried, his form in the dreams was invariably that of a pony. His usual mental discipline over the dreamscape didn’t seem to apply to it. Thankfully, to his great relief, except for the time he manifested as Twilight Sparkle, he always appeared as male. Another constant was that he was always an alicorn.

Wednesday night, he was a yellow stallion with a bright orange mane. His vision came into focus to see two blue eyes staring at him from the pool. He stumbled back, falling on his plot. “Argh… damn it, Pinkie!” He growled in frustration.

“I’m bored, David, it's going to be way too long if we don’t explore dreams. There is nothing to do on this island.” David looked around and saw that the island was indeed rather boring once you got used to the ever-shifting flowers. There was the willow tree, the pond, and that was it. It was indeed beautiful, but ultimately tedious. “You are right, Pinkie, it is boring.”

David stood back up. “Oh, I got an idea.” He walked over to the edge of the island, and, seemingly from the strength of his will, it started to change. To the left of the dolmen, the ground shifted and moved to form marble and granite steps. He went down the new staircase till he came to an alcove embedded in the rock. A set of oak doors with silver inlaid vines along the edges were set in the alcove, above were the elvish words Ennyn Durin Aran Moria. Pedo Mellon a Minno. Im Narvi hain echant. Celebrimbor o Eregion teithant i thiw hin.

Looking back, he saw Pinkie Pie behind him with a puzzled look on her face, her ears up and alert. Pinkie looked at the doors and spoke up, “Oh, you recreated the Doors of Durin. Sure hope Tolkien is not going to get upset you are ripping off The Lord of the Rings.”

David nodded. “It was either that or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” He patted himself on the back, before theatrically saying, “Behold, Pinkie, my game room!” He shoved the doors wide open, then stepped to the side and motioned inside of the brightly lighted room.

The room was large, about the size of a school gym, with white walls and wooden floors polished to a shine. To the far right was a bar stocked with an assortment of drinks, a DJ booth, and a dance floor with several small tables to drink at. Across from the DJ booth were billiard pool tables, as well other various games ranging from poker to arcade video games. Closer to the two was a concession stand complete with a popcorn maker and soda fountain next to an entrance with the words Movie Theater high above. “This room should provide plenty of things to do so we won’t be bored.” David smiled, impressed with the level of detail. On Earth, even his best lucid dreams weren’t as well-formed. Just another reminder he wasn’t dreaming in the normal sense of the word anymore.

Pinkie stuck her head into the theater, nodding her approval, and then pranced over to the pool table. Her face was serious as she walked into the game room. She eyed the concession stand, then the DJ booth. Finally, she sat down and moved her hoof to her chin as she thought. “Good, but it still needs something… Oh, I know. Behold the background ponies!” She clapped her hooves together, and the room was suddenly filled with ponies playing and dancing around. A lot of them seemed like characters from the show, judging by Berry Punch servicing the bar or Vinyl Scratch manning the DJ booth.


David looked at his cards, then asked, “Is it a hand if we all have hooves?”

Pinkie Pie, acting as the dealer, shrugged. “I don’t know, never thought about it before.”

Twilight Sparkle set her cards to face down and rubbed her chin in deep thought. “A very good question. It’s possible card games in Equestria came from the minotaurs. So, it could be considered a hand, given they have hands.”

Rainbow Dash yawned. “Who cares.” She pushed five bits forward.

“Well, sugarcube, that’s a little rich for me.” Applejack set her cards down, pulling her stetson downward. “I’ll be foldin’ this round.”

Twilight mumbled as she looked at the cards.

David looked over. “You aren’t counting the cards, are you, Twilight?”

“What? No, of course not.” She flustered, pushed five bits to the pot, and then added one more. “I match your five and raise you one.”

David looked at his cards and resisted the urge to smile, then pushed ten bits to the pot. “I raise it to a full ten bits.”

Rainbow Dash slapped down her cards. “A straight from two to six! Beat that!”

Twilight sighed in defeat and set her cards down, revealing three sevens, a two, and an eight. “I just had a three of a kind.”

David smiled and laid down his full house. “As you wish, Rainbow Crash.”

He looked over to see a plushie of Rainbow Dash slump over. It faded away into smoke. The others followed till it was just him and Pinkie Pie. “Guess it’s time to wake up, see you next time, Pinkie.”


Wednesday came and went. On Thursday David arrived on the island of dreams and was surprised at how large it appeared. It was now about fifty yards in diameter, the ever-present willow tree right in its center.

Spreading from under the tree to the edge of the island was lush green grass. David had to accept the fact it even smelled tasty. The scent of cool freshwater caught his attention, and he headed over to the water. The pool was no longer a small pond. On the northern edge of the pool was a set of rocks three feet high with fresh water cascading down into the swimming pool-sized body of water.

A stream from the pool flowed over the edge of the island in a waterfall that vanished once it reached the border of David’s control.

“What are you thinking, David?” Pinkie asked as she came up the steps from the game room below.

“Well, this pool is now large enough to do some swimming.” He smiled and stomped his hoof. Decorative stones formed around the pool, transforming the place into a proper swimming pool. At one end of the pool, he created a barbeque with a stove, a granite counter with a large sink, and a cooking area with a refrigerator.

A sound system came next. It had a fully decked out DJ booth with turntables, as well as various wireless speakers about the pool. Finally, he added some lounge chairs and tables.

“Okay, Pinkie go get the background ponies, we are having a pool party!”

“Oki, doki, David!” With that, she turned to the direction of the steps, smiled mischievously, and pulled out a megaphone shaped like a mouth that moved when she yelled, “Pool party!

David flinched at the volume. “Thanks, Pinkie. I’m sure glad this is a dream, or I think you would have just deafened me.”

“Oh, David, we both know you could have just summoned them with a thought.” Pinkie smiled as the ponies from the game room came up the steps.

First was Vinyl Scratch who headed to the sound system and lifted her shades, revealing her ruby red eyes. After she gave the system a once over, she looked to David and nodded her approval. Soon daft punk, as well as other electronic dance music, sounded across the island.

Pinkie Pie zipped back and forth from the food preparation area to serving tables that materialized out of nowhere. Snacks, drinks, and cupcakes were put on display, complete with balloons and streamers.

“Pinkie, you do know I can refill the snacks with a wave of my hoof,” David said as he looked at her work.

“I’m having fun, David!” Pinkie replied as she dashed by, heading to the drink table to fill the punch bowl.

“Let her do her party pony thing, darling,” Rarity spoke up from the lounge chair she lay on.

David cast his eyes away. Rarity was anatomically correct and on full display as she lay on her back. “I know my subconscious is teasing me, but I have no interest in experimenting with sex as a pony.”

Pinkie hopped over. “Sorry, David, it’s like a human body is alien to us now. I tried to make a human appearance, and it kept getting messed up. Last time the girl looked like a hairless gorilla.” She waved her hoof, and a monkey in a pink polka dot bikini appeared.

“Same with the annoying sky. How can a mare sunbathe without the sun?” Rarity chimed in.

David waved his hoof, and a large spotlight appeared over her. “Best I can do, Rarity.”

“Thank you, darling,” she replied with a happy sigh. He looked away as she moved a towel to cover her lower half. “You know, darling, you need to get used to ponies going nude. It’s our natural state.”

“I know, Rarity, just my human sensibilities,” David replied

The night went on. David was in the pool floating with his eyes closed when Rainbow Dash yelled, “Cannonball!”

David looked up just in time to see Rainbow Dash’s rear end come down right next to him. He went under for a moment, and panic hit him before he dog-paddled to the edge of the pool.

He saw Rarity spring to her hooves, dripping wet. “Agh! Rainbow Dash!”

David let out a laugh. A loud beeping sound suddenly chimed across the island. His vision turned blurry and the dream ponies faded out before everything went black.

Sitting up, he turned his head to look at the beeping alarm clock.


Friday’s dream took shape in his mind, and soon he stood on the island, traces of the last night pool party gone, including the food and sound system. Everything had reset to the earlier appearance.

“What the hell?” His new body sported butterfly wings, white fur, and blue mane and tail. “Fuck, why do I have butterfly wings? At least I’m not a changeling.” After a quick check, he sighed in relief at seeing he was still male.

His ears shifted when he heard voices coming from the direction of the dolmen. Walking past one of the flowering bushes, he spotted a stage with two podiums. For a moment David thought he was seeing double because behind the lecterns were two very similar ponies.

Pinkie Pie pounded her hoof on her podium. “We need to know what we can do. This is Equestrian magic, it can’t be bad!”

The other pony was Pinkie’s straight-haired, slightly less bright alter ego Pinkamena Diane Pie.

Pinkamena sighed and looked to her counterpart. “Pinkie, we saw the dark magic that pulled us through the door, and that was before Luna became Nightmare Moon. We felt how wrong that type of magic is. This isn’t Earth, Equestrian magic can be bad.”

“But… Magic. We have a chance to be special. All these stars, each a soul, we can see so much.” Pinkie Pie waved her hoof at the skies above.

With a sigh, he looked at the two. Once again, he had to wonder if he had lost his mind. “Let me guess, Pinkie Pie is representing my Id and Pinkamena my Superego, and I’m having an internal debate about exploring another dream.”

“Yup! Come on, David! I know you are curious,” Pinkie Pie called out from her podium.

Pinkamena tapped her hoof. “We can’t use magic. Just look around, we haven’t been doing anything, and it still affects us. The island has been growing, it’s surely due to the magic getting a stronger grip on us.”

Pinkie looked at her counterpart. “Is that bad? The magic we have now isn’t that nasty stuff that pulled us through limbo. For all we know, it’s the magic from the Elements that lets David return home when he awakes.”

David sighed and spoke up, “Pinkie, we don’t know, and that’s the problem. This magic might be protecting us, but we do know if it affects the real world around us. Humans aren’t meant to have that much power. Mama G is right, we really should not be using it.”

Pinkie Pie sighed. “Alright, if you say so, David.” Pinkamena and the podiums vanished in a puff of smoke.

“I’m just so bored!” Pinkie Pie said, then plopped down onto the grass with an audible huff. She rolled over, spread-eagle on her back. Her four legs spread in a way earth ponies wouldn’t be able to.

“I know, Pinkie. So, another game of Go Fish?” David asked as he sat down and looked up at the stars. He started to grasp what the dreams were just by focusing on them. Almost instinctively, he knew things about the dream and dreamer.

Bright lights were young, innocent life, children. Dimmer lights were older souls, some so dim that he feared they would blink out at any moment. Some were grouped in spiraling clusters. Why it was so, he didn’t know.

“What’s that?” Pinkie Pie’s voice was puzzled as she pointed to one of the specks of light above.

David looked up and saw a dark cloud of inky blackness obscuring a star within. It was as if he was trying to see a candle through the smoke.

The sense of wrongness gripped David’s chest. He felt it before, he saw the same thing when he was pulled into the void and through the doorway. David and Pinkie stood and spoke the same word, “Nightmare.”

Pinkie Pie looked over at him. “David, if we investigate, we could gain a better understanding of what’s going on!”

“I just decided that the risk is too great, Pinkie!”

Pinkie’s hair fell straight. “That’s a nightmare, we both know it. We can feel the wrongness.”

“Yeah, why do we feel it? That’s the magic. Besides, we can’t control others' dreams. I don’t want to get stuck in a nightmare! Lucky as I am, I would be a victim of some monster, I don’t want to know what being someone’s meal feels like.”

The nightmare star came closer to the island; no glow came from it. The area grew even darker as if the light was consumed. The star settled on the dolmen, and the gap between the stones became a void of darkness.

A high-pitched scream of fear came from the dolmen.

He lowered his head and turned to walk away, only to face a gray, sad Pinkie Pie. Tears ran freely down her face. “That sounded like a young girl. Are we going to abandon her? She’s so alone…”

“Mama G said not to.”

“David, can we ignore this?”

With the sounds of a child begging for help ringing in his ears, he could walk away. He turned back and headed to the dolmen.

Knowing full well he might be risking his humanity, headed into the black void into the nightmare.


The transition into the nightmare was disgusting. Just walking into it felt like walking into a slime-covered pond. His flesh crawled as it took a new shape.

Buildings of wood and stone lay in rubble all around him. Dark twisted plants consumed the debris of the former city. The air was heavy with the scent of smoke, blood, and death.

He heard a chorus of voices, screams of pain, fear, and anger fill the air. He dismissed them as soon as he realized they were just background noises of the dream. He focused on the only voice that was real, the filly in the distance.

A metallic scent filled his nostrils, evoking a sense of hunger. He licked his lips. Wait, I know that smell… His eyes moved to a pile of debris where a deep red liquid pooled under a blue-furred mass.

A mare crushed by the rubble of a collapsed building stared at him with cold, empty eyes. Her back bent where the debris crushed her spine. Oh, god that’s too real… Ugh.

He wanted to throw up, to run away, but the nightmare was in charge. His host went closer. He could feel saliva drooling from his mouth.

Oh, fuck! No, not that, please goddess, not that! What caught his attention was his host appearance in the crimson fluid. Red, slit eyes stared out from two dark sockets of his skull-like head. His long and sharp teeth dripped with saliva. Bone spikes ran down his back, and his taunt, hairless skin revealed the bones of his ribcage.

His host lifted his hoof and crushed the skull with a sickening crunch of flesh and bone. Lowering down, his host ripped a still warm bite from the dead pony, fur and all. He gagged mentally. He could taste blood and raw meat.

Another scream echoed among the dilapidated buildings. This was a real scream one made by a living being and not the background sounds. The head of his host sprang up. He felt the overwhelming hunger for live food, fresh meat. He wanted to kill. His host started running in the direction of prey, the direction of the dreamer.

Oh, fuck no! I am not going to be the monster of this nightmare! he mentally screamed.

There, ahead of them, the filly came into sight. Her ears flat against her head, blue eyes wide in terror. Her yellow fur was wet with panic sweat. Her red mane and tail reminded him of Apple Bloom. Seeing him approach, she faced him, her hoof pawing the ground as she spread her wings wide to make herself appear bigger. Her bravery had quickly vanished when he walked out of the shadows. She turned and bolted down the cobblestone road.

Why didn’t she fly? he asked himself.

David, we need to stop this! I don’t want to hurt her! Pinkie shrieked.

The buildings and plants twisted and turned like a maze. Her hooves pounded the cobblestones as she ran. He could smell her sweat and fear as he chased after her. His heart beat faster and faster as he leaned down. No, no!

His teeth just missed her flank as she turned a corner. He followed her into what was once a park. The trees were now dark and warped and seemed to reach down, grabbing her mane and tail with finger-like branches. He continued the chase, breaking the branches that got in his way. She got a farther lead, but no matter how far she ran, he was always just a few hoofsteps away from catching her.

She was there… She was in the city when Nightmare Moon attacked. This nightmare is a distorted memory, Pinkie whimpered in his head.

It's worse than that. She saw dead ponies, I can see corpses in the tree branches, and that mare’s body was too real to be just made up.

David focused his will, forcing a change to the dream. He felt himself get hit from the right, his host flying into the twisted nightmarish trees.

“Run, I got this!” Shining Armor willed by David into existence called out to the filly. He stood ready to fight, his horn glowing. David’s side burnt, what little fur his monstrous form had smoked, and the dead flesh of his side sizzled.

Agh, that hurt! Keep it up, Shining!

David’s host grunted and stood back up, then spun to look at the attacker. Shining lit his horn again and cast another bolt of magical energy at the nightmare pony. The nightmare charged, shrugging off the magical attacks.

Shining rose and struck David’s host in the face. In response, David screamed and sprung forward, biting Shining’s neck. Warm blood burst into his mouth, as the nightmare ripped the flesh open.

Shining, no! David, we killed Shining Armor! Pinkie’s voice screamed in his mind.

Pinkie, don’t let the nightmare take you over! It’s a dream, focus, that wasn’t the real Shining. David felt the panic overwhelm him. Even if his rational mind told him this was just a dream, the flavor of fresh blood in his mouth was distracting.

The nightmare pony was still chewing on the warm flesh when it lifted its head. Tattered skeletal wings sprouted from its back.

With each wing beat, he rose higher into the air. His sharp predatory eyes spotted the filly running into another group of destroyed buildings.

“Help! Somepony help me!” Her voice echoed off the buildings as she turned into an alleyway.

His host landed and started to approach the opening of the alley. The landing itself knocked over a lantern, spilling its oil. It burst into flame and cast the monster’s shadow on the wall across the alley. His monstrous silhouette slid along the wall of the alley. He could hear the sudden gasp and scream of the filly. It was the classic trope, David was sure she came to a dead end.

I need to take full control, now! He felt the tingling silky sensation of his body shifting. With each step closer to the alley, he focused his will on his nightmare host. He felt his flesh twist and change. I will not be a monster!

Bones snapped and reformed, his body moved like clay under the force of his mind. Black fur grew on his body, and a silver platinum-like mane sprouted on his head. The twisted and tattered leather wings mended and shifted into the bat wings of a thestral.

The filly faced the opening of the alley when that dreadful shadow wavered in the light cast by the fire. Then she gasped as a colt her age turned around the corner. He hoped his smile was friendly. “Hello, you called for help?” he asked.

He tried to appear calm, but inside he was struggling to reshape the nightmare around him. It was similar to how he lucid dreamt, but felt like he was fighting against another mind, one that was determined to continue the horror of the nightmare.

To gain an advantage, he narrowed the scope of the dream to the alleyway. No need to spend his attention on changing anything the filly couldn’t see, all that was needed was what was around them.

With each step, he changed the scene. The fires faded into cold ash. The dead bodies vanished, erased from the nightmare without a trace.

“You’re a-affected. One of the ponies that got hit by that nasty magic.”

He blinked. “Well, I do remember being hit by nasty magic.” It was the truth, he was hit by Nightmare Moon’s dark spell, after all.

The filly came closer, ears flat against her head. Her eyes wide, looking at every shadow. High above the sky grew lighter as David moved the time of day to morning. Soon they were in a peaceful daylit alley. He even added birds flying and singing.

“They… are they gone? The monsters?”

“You have my word of honor, they are gone. Nasty nightmares they were, but I banished them.”

She halted and tilted her head. “Nightmares?”

David nodded. “You were having a nightmare, I came to help.”

“Like… like how Princes Luna did before that bad pony took her away?”

So, that’s the story Celestia is going with. “Yes, I can enter other ponies' dreams, like Princess Luna.”

“I’m Morning Dew, what’s your name?”

Crap, I need a pony name! Pinkie, help! he mentally screamed.

Oh! Your steam login name! Just drop the numbers, Pinkie’s voice chimed.

“I’m Morpheus. A pleasure to meet you, my lady.”

“I’m not a noble… I’m the daughter of a maid.” Her eyes widened as she noticed the horn on his head. “You… you're an alicorn!” She bowed. “I’m sorry, Prince Morpheus.”

Her ears swiveled back, and her tail swished nervously. Her body shook slightly.

She was afraid, David realized, but this time it was him she was afraid of.

David, think of the medieval period, she’s a peasant and thinks you are royal. She believes you have the power to have her beaten or even killed, Pinkie’s voice chimed in his head.

“Don’t be afraid of me. I’m no prince.”

She looked up, puzzled. “The three alicorns I knew were all royals. There was King Cosmos, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.”

David was curious about this King Cosmos, but he shoved the question to the back of his mind. “It’s a secret, just you know I exist, no one else.”

“Oh! You're in hiding! I can understand that. Okay, Your Highness, I’ll keep your secret.” She lifted her head, and her ears perked up.

David sighed and looked around. “I need to get going, you should be safe now.”

“No, please, I don’t want to be alone.” Her tail laid low, clamped down near her rear. The wings at her sides twitched. He realized she was ready to bolt at any moment.

Aww, look at her, David. Do you want to leave her here? The nightmare could start back up again once we are gone, Pinkie pleaded.

David still felt the odd presence in the back of his mind, the one that fought against him. Was that Morning Dew’s subconscious or something else? If he left her alone, would the nightmare return?

“Alright, let’s go to a happier place.” He turned and looked at the exit of the alley and waved his hoof.

The dolmen appeared, free of the tint of the nightmare. The granite stones shone in the morning sun. “There, just walk through the stones, and you will arrive at my… um, home. Yeah, home is the best way to describe it.”

She looked at the strange stones that just appeared out of nowhere. She didn’t see his horn light up, so it wasn’t magic she knew off. However, it was not her place to question a noble.

He smiled and walked through the stones. She couldn’t see him after he passed through the stones. Stopping at the stone she looked at the strange veil of shadows between the stones. Fears fought in her mind, if she stayed behind she would risk seeing the monsters again, the ingrained fear of ignoring the orders of a noble, and the fear of walking through a shadowy doorway. He was royalty and so far seemed nice, so she closed her eyes and rushed through the dolmen.

In the back of the alley, shadows rippled and flowed like water into the center of the cobblestone path. The dark pool rose, changing its shape and form till a pony stood in their place. An alicorn mare with black fur, bat-like wings, and teal eyes. A predatory smile came to her face as she looked at the dolmen.

“How interesting,” Nightmare Moon said before her form changed into a blue mist. She passed through the dolmen just as the dream faded completely.

Author's Note:

This chapter was a real challenge for me. My respect for horror writers and those who write darker content has increased.

Yes, I killed Shining Armor! Don't worry it was just a dream or a nightmare. Wait we don't have a Luna emoji? :twilightoops: