Chapter I
The last few rays of sunlight began disappearing over the horizon, making the sky a beautiful purple color, signifying the transition between night and day. Ponies everywhere watched the sunset and the moonrise at the end of every day. Princess Luna loved it too.
“Easy does it…” The princess of the night thought as she focused on raising the moon. The glorious rays of moonlight began peeking over the horizon, bathing the land in its beauty. Luna continued raising the celestial sphere until the entire orb was shining down on Equestria. Luna smiled at her accomplishment. For being back for only a year, she still had it.
Luna gave a yawn as she looked forward to another night of dreamwalking. The week struck her as uneventful. A few nightmares to banish and a few prophetic dreams to create, but it struck her as very boring. Until tonight, that is.
“Good evening, sister.” A voice behind her said. Luna turned around and saw the solar princess standing there. “The moon looks very impressive tonight, I must say.” Celestia said.
“Why thank you, sister. It is winter after all. You know how I get during this time of year.” Luna responded.
“Indeed. Are you thinking about skipping tea tonight due to your… special case?” Celestia asked with concern.
“Ah, yes. That. I likely will. This is something that will take all night to solve. I apologize.”
“It’s quite alright, Luna. This is very important, not just for you, but for this pony and her family.”
“Thank you, sister.” Luna said with a confident smile.
“Just be careful. The dream world is very dangerous when it comes to night terrors, especially in a young colt.”
“Sister, I’m the one in control of the dream world. Nothing will happen to me unless I command it.”
“I know. But… Remember last time?”
Luna took a deep breath. “I do…” She trailed off.
“You, uh, don’t think it’s the Tantabus, right Luna?” Celestia asked.
“The Tantabus has been gone for months. If it were still here, I’d be able to tell with even the smallest clue. I don’t sense it in young Pipsqueak at all. I think we’re dealing with something a lot… different.”
“Just please be careful. Pipsqueak is a sensitive young foal. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him.” Celestia said.
“I will. Thank you, sister. And good night.” Luna said.
“Good night, Luna.” Celestia wished as she trotted to her bedroom.
Luna took one last look at the moon. It seemed to comfort her, and told her that everything would be okay. Luna gave a smile. She began trotting to her bedroom, the sound of her shoes hitting the carpet being the only thing breaking the eerie silence. She arrived at her bedroom door moments later, two castle guards on both sides. The guards bowed as she entered her bedroom.
For a regal princess, it was very modest. A few bookshelves riddled with old tomes, a crackling fireplace, a couple astronomy tools, and of course, a nice warm bed. She took off her shoes and got in the warm bed and stretched. She had done this for millennia, even when she had been banished in the moon. Dangerous cases like this were very rare. She first discovered it a week ago. She had heard Pipsqueak crying late at night. When she first heard it, she knew he was dealing with night terrors of the highest degree. She wanted to help, but there was no way she was mentally prepared for it. Now she was ready. She laid down in her bed and turned off the lights. Within seconds, she was fast asleep. Her mind connected to a dimension beyond. A dimension only she had control over.
She was standing in what appeared to be a hall. She was standing on nothing but the white light beneath her. Blue lights glowed from all sides, lighting the way. All along the walls of the hall, there were doors. Doors that seemed to stretch on to infinity. Each door had an assigned pony to it, and each door had a sort of “screen” playing their dream above it. Almost all of the dreams were normal. Twilight was dreaming of meeting Starswirl the Bearded. Octavia was dreaming of playing a concert in front of hundreds of important ponies. Pinkie Pie was… let’s just say she had too much cake today. Nothing out of the ordinary. But there was one pony she was worried about. Only one pony who she wanted to tend to.
She trotted down the hall, keeping a close eye out for Pipsqueak’s door. After a few minutes, she finally found it. Instead of the normal dream playing out on the “screen”, there was nothing but darkness. It gave Princess Luna a chill down her spine as she stared at it. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
Darkness. Complete darkness surrounded her instantly. The darkness was enough to make even the most courageous ponies shiver in fright. Even the night princess felt a sense of dread wash over her. The dread increased the longer she stood in that complete darkness.
Finally, she lit up her horn and cast an intense light spell. She seemed to be standing on a stone grey floor. It was very old and rotten. She looked around and saw that the floor and ceiling were exactly the same. She seemed to be stuck in this stone prison, no exit to be found.
“P-Princess Luna…” A young voice quivered.
She turned around and saw Pipsqueak curled up in the corner, his eyes watering. He was shaking and quivering with fear.
“Shh. There’s no need to be afraid. I’m here for you.” Princess Luna said in an attempt to calm him.
“How do I know you’re not one of them?” He asked.
“One of what?” Luna asked.
“Those shadow creatures! They’ve trapped me here! I can hear them laughing at me!”
Luna remained silent as she listened. She heard a terrible cackle. It sounded awfully hoarse, like somepony who has serious damage to their lungs. The laughter kept growing more and more louder and maniacal the longer she stood there.
“Make it stop!” Pipsqueak shouted as he panicked. Luna lit up her horn, ready to face whatever came after them.
“Show thyself!” Luna shouted. She heard a raspy voice speak to her.
“Your power is worthless here…”
The voice struck her as… familiar. A dark cloud formed in the center of the room and began expanding. Pipsqueak’s panicking intensified as the cloud enveloped the room. Luna conjured up a blast of magic and fired it at the cloud. As the blast connected with the cloud, a loud roar shook the room. Pipsqueak screamed as the roar penetrated their ears. Luna conjured up a white magic shield around Pipsqueak.
“This will keep you safe, Pipsqueak. I’m going in.” Luna said.
“No! Princess! I don’t want to be alone!” Pipsqueak shouted.
“I’ll protect you, Pipsqueak. I promise…”
Luna braced herself as she galloped into the oncoming cloud and slipped away from sight. She was gone, and Pipsqueak was all alone. The cloud continued enveloping everything in its path as if nothing happened.
“No!” Pipsqueak shouted as he began crying. His only hope was gone. She was practically swallowed by the darkness. The darkness approached him and his shield. He prepared for the worst.
The cloud stopped when it hit the shield. Pipsqueak breathed a sigh of relief as he realized he was safe and secure from the darkness. A growl came from the cloud as it tried with all its might to break through, but to no avail. Pipsqueak couldn’t do anything but wait.
~
Again, absolute darkness. Luna was sensing a theme here. She again lit up her horn and observed her surroundings. The floor was dusty and white, with many large craters in it. It seemed to stretch on to infinity. All around her, she could see stars. Bright, twinkling stars.
She was on the moon.
Flashbacks from her millennium on this celestial sphere came flooding back to her. 1000 years of nothing but herself and the grey dusty wasteland of the moon.
“Don’t give in.” Luna thought to herself. “It’s messing with you. Trying to make you break.” If there’s one thing Luna learned while on the moon, it’s that you become desensitized to stuff like this if you bear it long enough. This was nothing more than a dream. Something used to trick her. And you can’t trick a princess.
“Enough of your pesky games! Reveal thyself!” Luna shouted, clearly unfazed by the dream. A deep rumbling occurred at her command. The same raspy voice spoke from earlier spoke to her.
“Oh, Princess. Don’t you realize what I am?”
She definitely heard the voice before. It was something she remembered from centuries ago. Something that had haunted her for years. Upon realization, a chill went down her spine. Luna experienced fead before, but this was on a different level. Something she had rarely experienced.
“Dorumant…”
She heard the familiar raspy laughter. “Ah, so you do remember. It seems like your feeble attempts to erase any memory of me have failed.”
“‘I’m not scared of you…” Luna said.
“Your attempts at hiding your emotions are failing, Princess. I can sense your fear. It’s eating away at your mind, decomposing you to nothing but a cowardly husk.”
“Why are you hurting an innocent foal, Dorumant?”
“I have no interest in the foal, Princess. He was just bait to lure you here, and you fell for the bait. All I want is to see you again. For old time’s sake. It’s been too long. I remember when you were still filled with jealousy for your sister.”
The words entered Luna’s heart like a sharp and rusty blade. “Don’t remind me…” she said.
“It’s not good to ignore your past. Sometimes you must look back on your sufferings if you wish to succeed.”
“Enough!” She channeled all of her magic and cast a bright light that enveloped everything. It was something she always used to cast out nightmares, and so far it had always succeeded. When the light disappeared, it almost seemed like nothing had changed. She was still on the moon, and she could hear the voice cackling at her.
“You fool! I'm the one in control now! Your magic has no effect in my world!”
Luna’s heart dropped. She was worthless. She had as much power as a pebble. She could easily wake up, but… Pipsqueak.
~
Pipsqueak was growing very anxious. How long it had been, he did not know, but it seemed like forever in the young colt’s mind. He had not heard back from Luna at all. The shield was still up, so he knew she was alive, but she was taking a long time for somepony who supposedly had control over dreams.
He knew this was just a dream. But it felt so real. And it hurt so much. He wanted to wake up, but something was preventing him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t wake up.
Pipsqueak’s anxiety began to grow with every passing second. The cloud was trying with all its might to break through the shield. The protective dome vibrated as the black smoke pressed against the shield. It was only a matter of time before it broke through. Pipsqueak sat on the cold stone floor, waiting for the inevitable to happen.
And then the shield began to crack.
~
No magic, no control over the dream world, and no way out. Luna tried to wake up, but it was no use. Dorumant was keeping her there like a foal with a new toy. Her mind was practically falling apart as he tormented her with flashbacks from her banishment. It was so real. It felt like she had never returned to Equestria. She had practically forgot about Pipsqueak at this point. All she wanted was for the torture to stop. It took a lot to break a princess, especially the mistress of the night, but Dorumant was trying as hard as he could. She could almost hear Pipsqueak’s cries for help. She wasn’t sure if it was Dorumant messing with her, or if Pipsqueak was actually in trouble.
“H-How… How are you still alive?” Luna asked.
“Did you really think you defeated me last time? I’m practically a god, Princess. And you can’t kill a god.”
“Please… At least stop tormenting the foal. You can mess with me all you want, but just let this foal go free!”
“I’m don’t care about the foal anymore. You’re mine now.”
Luna clenched her eyes shut and tried with all of her willpower to resist him. She may be stripped of her magic, but she still had what remained of her mind. Concentrating with all her might, she slowly felt herself driving out his presence from her head. She heard a loud growl.
“Very clever, Mistress. I see that you are still capable of fighting back. Good. Means I’ll have to put up a fight to gain control of you.”
“You’ll never gain control of me, Dorumant. Your magic may be powerful, but my mind is far stronger.” Luna said as she pushed him out even further.
“We’ll see about that, Princess. Your mind is very powerful. I must give you credit for that.”
She felt Dorumant wrap around her mind like some sort of net. He constricted around her mind, squeezing it and molding it. She was overcome with guilt and sorrow. The pain was almost unbearable. She gave a loud scream as Dorumant chuckled.
“You’re losing to your emotions, Madame.”
Gathering up all of her power, she tried to force him out of her mind. Her will wrestled with his, neither one of them giving in. It was an impressive display of psychic prowess. Every one of their mental attacks was countered with an equally powerful defense. The moon and stars began to warp as their battle raged on. Their minds twisted around each other as they tried to mentally outsmart each other. They dueled for what seemed like hours. Their sense of time was completely warped. Luna had practically forgotten all about Pipsqueak. She didn’t even remember why she was here. All she was focused on was defending herself.
“You seemed to have trained yourself since we last met, Princess. You used to be so easy to manipulate. So young and full of jealousy for your sister and anger for your fellow ponies.”
“I’m not the same pony from years ago. I’ve grown and realized that it’s not just me and my desires that I should be concerned with, but for others and what they’re concerned with.”
“And yet you’ve all but abandoned young Pipsqueak. I expected more from you, Luna.”
Pipsqueak...
~
Pipsqueak breathed heavily as the shield came close to collapsing. How could she lie to him like this? She said he would be safe. She said the shield would protect him. And now it looked like it would break any second now.
“Luna!! Help!!” Pipsqueak shouted.
He was answered by another loud growl. Pipsqueak began sobbing. He was alone again. He braced for whatever would happen.
~
Princess Luna was furious. Both with herself and Dorumant. How could she forget about Pipsqueak? The poor foal was probably scared out of his wits. Was her shield even still up? She knew she was being manipulated by him. He was trying to guilt her so he could gain the upper hoof, and it was working. He thrashed her mind about, so close to breaking her. Princess Luna still held on though. It hurt so much, but she had to hold on for herself. For her sister. For Pipsqueak.
Her fury was overwhelming. It boiled in her like a piping hot kettle of tea. And yet that pure anger was her weakness. It was distracting her from the battle at hoof.
“Even with your impressive strength, you’re still able to be manipulated.”
Her wrath kept bubbling up. How could she be so stupid to let herself be manipulated like this? She continued to hang on though as she held up her mental defenses that were weakening with every second that slipped away.
She concentrated as hard as she can as she tried converting her fury into mental energy. Instead of storing it within her thoughts, she attempted to use it to her advantage and release it. His mind was still twisting and turning with her’s.
She focused hard and released her wrath at him at an alarming rate. He gave a loud roar as she forced her anger on him. She quickly gained the upper hoof as the pain in her mind began to ease. She gave a smirk as she continued filling Dorumant with her fury. She could sense that he was struggling to match her power.
“You clever little princess…”
The moon and stars around her flickered and twisted at a rapid rate. His control over the dream world was faltering. She slowly felt her magic come back to her. She lit up her horn as she tried to wake up. She continued pushing him out of her mind. Eventually, her magic came back to her fully and she quickly casted the waking up spell. The moon and stars collapsed, leaving Dorumant by himself. As she began to wake up, she heard a voice echo in her head.
“This isn’t over, Princess…”
~
The shield broke.
What happened next, he had no idea. There was no pain and no Princess Luna to save him. He just… existed in a dark void. He was like that for a few minutes before he woke up sweating and panicking in his bed. It was noon.
~
Luna washed her face in the castle bathroom, still trying to cope with the events of last night. She would sometimes see glimpses of stars out of the corner of her eye. She had woken up in a state of panic around noon. Celestia was very concerned when she saw her disheveled mane, her messy bed, and her irritated eyes. She was a nervous wreck, and tried to come to terms with the fact that this was only the beginning.
Dorumant wouldn’t stop until she had broken her even further.