> Sanctify
>  by AnnEldest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Into The Dark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Capper opened his eyes.
He found himself lying on the cold, hard ground. As his eyes came into focus, he saw that the sky was nothing but a rolling blanket of clouds, the exact grey of wet ash. When he sat up, Capper barely had time to register his surroundings when a wall of fog washed over him.
He squinted and analyzed his surroundings. Everything around him was covered in frost. Every blade of grass was frozen stiff upright, and the leaves over his head were tipped with frozen drops of water.
After he looked around at his surroundings, Capper examined himself. There were no marks on his body. No cuts or scrapes. No bruises or swelling. Not even a sore muscle.
“Well, that’s a small relief,” Capper thought to himself, as he stood up. “Now to find out where the heck I am.”
He shivered when the wind blew into his face. Flakes of ice pelted his cheeks, clinging to his paws and fur. His favorite red jacket did little to abate the cold. He needed to get someplace warm. And fast.
For what felt like hours, Capper wandered aimlessly. How much time had actually passed? Was it truly hours? Or had it only been minutes? For all Capper knew, he had been walking for half the day and didn’t know it. He had no way to orient himself. And it didn’t help that he was new to Equestria. That is, assuming he was still in Equestria.
Pulling his jacket more tightly around himself, he trucked on through the frigid fog, hoping to find any sign of life.
The wind picked up, forcing Capper to put up his hands to shield his eyes from the cold. Shards of frost blew from the leaves of the trees, sending them into Capper, who took cover behind a tree.
The frozen bark did nothing to help the cold against his back, but he was now safe from the freezing wind and the stinging flakes of ice.
“This must be the cold day in Tartarus that I keep hearing about,” Capper quipped to himself.
Not even his own good humor could help him feel better about his situation. The cold was closing in, and there was still no sign of life.
A bush swayed hard in the wind, revealing something in the distance that Capper had not seen before. A tiny light embedded in a darker shadow was somewhere ahead. Feeling as if his luck had changed, Capper quickly ran ahead, always with the wind to his back.
There was a steep bank ahead of him. Capper unsheathed his claws and dug them into the frosted bank, feeling the sting of cold against his digits as he climbed up.
He slipped and slid some feet back down the bank. Once he reclaimed his footing, Capper resumed his slow descent up the bank.
At the top, Capper scrambled up to the surface and found that he was closer to the light than he had thought. He could clearly see the shape of a small house. In its window, there was the unmistakable light of a fire flickering.
Capper pulled himself over the bank, ran to the house, and knocked loudly.
“Hello? Anyone home?” he shouted.
There was no reply.
Capper knocked again.
“Hey! Is anyone home?”
Still no answer.
Not about to take his chances with the elements, Capper grasped the doorknob and sharply turned it. It was unlocked. Against every good manner, he was taught as a kitten, he opened the door and let himself in.
From what he could tell, the house was very old. More than that, it was mostly empty. Whatever furniture was present was covered in dust, and pushed against the walls. And the floor was littered with odd pieces of trash. The ceilings and walls were covered with cracks, making Capper wonder how the place was still standing. Beneath his paws, the floorboards creaked loudly.
Capper looked down the hall. Any light that he had seen before had gone. Whoever was there, they may have gone.
He continued down the hall, looking for any sign of life. The next room that he passed by was a kitchen. Looking into the room, Capper saw nobody there. Nothing but a wood-burning stove and a table with a broken leg, but no chairs around it. Most of all, there was nothing in there that could have been making light.
The kitchen was a bust. Capper walked down the hall to the next room. The door was shut, and Capper quietly turned the knob. This door too was unlocked, and Capper peered into the room.
It was a foal’s bedroom. The only thing to make him think so was the foal-sized bed in the corner that he could see. Other than that, there was nothing in the room.
“Who are you?”
“Jeez!” Capper yelped. He jumped and shot his gaze to the corner nearest to the door. There, huddled before a single candle was a colt. Collecting his nerves, he answered the foal’s question. “I’m nobody, really. Just a cat who got lost out here. Got any room around that candle? I’m freezing my tail off.”
The foal didn’t answer but scooted to the far side of the candle.
Capper quickly walked to the candle but stumbled when one of the floorboards rolled loose beneath him. After kicking the loose floorboard back into place, he rubbed his paws feverishly and sat down, taking in the pittance of warmth from the tiny flame.
In the light of the candle, Capper could see the foal more clearly. The colt couldn’t have been more than twelve years old. Bangs of green mane fell over his puffy eyes, and tears streamed down his reddish brown cheeks. When the colt shifted, Capper caught a glimpse of his cutie mark--a hammer on a steel plate.
“Is everything okay? You look a little distressed,” Capper said.
The colt was silent.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to step on your tail. I just thought it might help to talk about it. But, if you don’t want to, I won’t press,” Capper said, huddling closer to the candle.
“You shouldn’t have come in…” the colt mumbled.
“I know it was rude to do without permission. But, I wasn’t about to stay another second out in that cold,” Capper said. “We’ll have a heck of a time explaining this to your parents.”
“My parents aren’t here...”
“You mean they’re outside somewhere?”
“No. Nopony’s here,” the colt said.
He didn’t know why, but Capper felt a sudden chill from what the colt had told him. If it truly was only him and the colt, how did either of them get there?
The wind howled loudly, and the colt looked out the window at the far end of the room.
“It’s still out there,” the colt said.
“What is?” Capper asked.
The colt whimpered and shuffled closer to the wall.
“The light monster…” he whispered.
“I’m sorry. I’m not following you. What light monster?” Capper asked.
“It only comes when it’s dark. When all the other lights are gone.”
Capper looked at the tiny candle and pulled his paws away from it as if he feared they would snuff out the flame.
“Did it put you here too?” the colt asked.
“I...don’t know how I got here. I just woke up in a grove somewhere,” Capper replied.
The colt sniffed and shuffled further into the corner.
“I did something bad,” the colt whispered.
“What do you mean?” Capper asked.
“I think I started this…”
Before Capper even opened his mouth to ask how the candle snuffed itself out.
All was quiet. The only thing that could have been seen as the last of the light reflected in Capper’s feline eyes.
“What’s happening?” Capper whispered.
“It’s here…” the colt replied.
All at once, every door in the house swung open as wide as they could go, shaking the walls of the house which rattled small pieces of the ceiling lose.
One piece of the ceiling landed between Capper and the foal, causing them both to shield themselves from the debris.
Footsteps were heard down the hall. From the front room, it sounded like. And they were slowly getting closer.
“There has to be a way out of here,” Capper quietly said. He rose to his paws and quickly walked to the window, ever careful to not make the floorboards squeak. He tried to jimmy the window open, only to find that it was stuck fast. “Come on, kid. Lend a hoof.”
“We can’t get out,” the colt said. “I let it in, and now I’m trapped here. I can’t leave this place.”
A light shone dimly from the hallway. And it was gradually getting brighter.
“Wait!” Capper whispered.
He frantically searched the floorboards, nudging each one, until he found the one that rolled loose.
“Come on! This way,” Capper said, as he pulled more floorboards loose.
The foal hesitated but was forcefully grabbed by his hoof and pulled into the open floor.
The light in the hall was brighter now than it ever was before, and the steps that came with it sounded as if they were right outside the door.
Capper hastily replaced the floorboards and waited in silence. Through the cracks in the boards above them, all he could see was light. And whenever the light moved, he could hear a heavy step.
“This way,” Capper mouthed, pointing to the side.
They were in the foundation of the house, climbing over every pipe and lose rock that was down there.
The wind guided them. Capper moved to where it was coldest, and soon saw a broken grate that led to the wilderness beyond. He hustled the colt along, but the colt resisted.
“What are you doing? We’re almost out of here,” Capper whispered.
The colt shook his head and pulled his hoof from Capper’s paw.
Capper tried to go after the colt, but the sound of rapidly approaching steps stopped him cold. Overhead, he could see the light through the cracks getting closer. And it was glowing brighter.
“Don’t ever let it get you! No matter what you see, you can’t listen to it!” the foal said.
Capper reached for the foal again, only to lose it in the blinding light. Without any other reason to stay, he scrambled toward the broken grate and leaped out through the opening.
A pile of snow broke his fall. Capper ran into the woods, only glancing over his shoulder to see that all of the lights in the house were gone. He turned his eyes ahead, and the house was swallowed by the fog. Through it all, Capper swore he could hear the colt’s voice calling for help.
He was back to where he started. Lost. Disoriented. Alone. And without a clue of what to do next.
“I’d kill for that candle right now,” Capper thought, pulling his jacket more tightly against the cold.
The air was so chill that it hurt to breathe. Capper had to squint to keep his eyes from frosting over. Still, he carried on, hoping to find something safer than the house he had just been in. Eventually, he came across something that he never expected.
A set of hoofprints appeared in the frosted grass. After taking a moment to discern the direction that they had gone, and hoping that they didn’t belong to the light monster, Capper followed them onward through the fog.
He kept walking, following the phantom hoofprints. The more he walked, the warmer he felt. Slowly, the hoofprints became harder to make out as the frost on the grass melted away.
Capper pushed a wet branch out of his way, shaking the dewdrops loose and soaking his fur as he walked past it. And when he did, he gasped at what he found.
An orb of light floated in front of him. It didn’t move, and it didn’t change shape. And it certainly looked nothing like the light he had seen back in the house.
He walked up to it and stared at it for a moment. Just looking at it made him feel safe. All the worries that he ever had and the troubles of his past seemed to no longer exist. He reached out with his paw and grabbed it.





Capper opened his eyes.
He was lying on his back, looking at a familiar ceiling. After sitting up, he realized that he was back in his bedroom.
“All a dream. Thank goodness for that,” Capper sighed.
The sounds of humming reached his ears. A soft, sweet melody that drifted from somewhere in his house.
“Who’s there?” he called.
The only answer was more humming.
Capper didn’t like anything that was happening. Apprehension hastened his paw, as he reached out and grabbed a heavy candelabra from his bedside table.
He creaked his bedroom door open and peered into the hallway.
“Who’s out there?” he suspiciously called.
More humming was his answer.
Capper followed the source of the humming, feeling as if it were coming from all around him, but sensing that it was coming from somewhere nearby.
He treaded softly across the carpeted floors, holding his weapon at the ready, following the humming to its source. Down the stairs.
Each step was made carefully as if the stairs would break beneath his weight. Capper gripped his candelabra, anticipating an attack at any moment.
He reached the landing, hearing the humming from its indiscernible direction. But, it was in the parlor, he knew.
Capper opened the parlor door just a crack, and the humming stopped. He opened the door slightly wider and swiveled his gaze around, his feline eyes catching only trace reflections of light. Still, there was no sight of the intruder.
The door opened wider, and Capper stepped in. Carefully, he scanned the room, knowing the culprit was in there. Every shadow looked like a threat, waiting to jump out and attack.
There was a sudden sense of apprehension coming from one side. The culprit was there.
Slowly, Capper turned his head. Then there he was in the corner of his eye.
Capper lashed out and threw the culprit to the floor, bludgeoning him with the candelabra. After a moment, he regained his senses and saw that all was not as it seemed. There on the floor was Capper’s red jacket. Next to it, the rack that it hung from before.
Capper collected both items, stood up the rack, and examined his jacket. No harm had been done, but he put it on in case he would have to escape outside. And it seemed that time had come.
From all around him, the humming started again. As Capper looked for the source of the sound, he became aware of light from the corner of his eye. When he looked in its direction, he saw the cracks of the front door flooded with light. And there were heavy steps slowly approaching it from the outside.
The air grew cold as Capper faced the door, holding his weapon in his shaking paws. From somewhere unknown, a chill wind blew all through the house, knocking over anything loose. Capper even had to dig his claws into the carpet to keep from being blown over.
The light at the door was getting brighter. Whatever was out there was going to come in soon.
Fear consumed every fiber of Capper’s being as he stood his ground. Whether the whole house was shaking, or if it was just himself, he didn’t know. But his will began to weaken and the candelabra fell from his paw.
The door was hit hard and cracked down the middle.
Capper’s breath stopped in his chest, seizing his body with a painful tightness. Try as he did to breathe, no air came to him.
“This is it…” he thought.

I'm going to die

The door burst into splinters, and the world went silent as Capper blocked his eyes from the terrible light.
"It’s okay now. There is nothing to be scared about," a voice said.
Capper looked up and saw none other than the Princess of the Night herself smiling down at him.
"P-Princess Luna?" he asked.
"Hello, young one. It was brought to my attention that you were having a nightmare," Princess Luna said.
Capper noticed that everything was normal again. It was as if nothing had happened. It was just his ordinary, slightly messy bedroom.
"None of this is real," he said, only partly asking.
"A nightmare is only as real as you make it," Luna answered.
"Well, next time you could snap me out of it before the world feels like it’s ending," Capper chuckled, then sighed. “Seriously. That felt so real.”
“Dreams tend to,” Princess Luna said.
“I mean, I can tell when I am dreaming. I kind of usually play along with it or just watch it play out,” Capper explained.
“I can tell when I'm dreaming as well. Of course, it’s my duty to walk the world of dreams,” Princess Luna said.
Capper took one last look around his room and lost another relieved sigh.
“I’m just glad that it was a dream,” he said.
As Capper sat with his hands in his paws, Princess Luna noticed something different about the cat. Something, unlike his usual self.
“Something is bothering you, is it not?” Princess Luna asked.
“If you want to ask about something in my real life that’s bothering me, everything’s going fine. It’s just my dreams that are messed up these days,” Capper replied.
“I see. But, all nightmares have a reason to be. You’re sure there’s not something on your mind?”
“I’m sure.”
Princess Luna could hear the irritation rising in Capper’s voice, and felt it unnecessary to pursue the matter. Before she could ask anything else, she saw the way Capper smirked with one eyebrow raised.
“What about you?” Capper asked.
“What do you mean?” Princess Luna asked.
“It’s not often a lowly goon like me gets a visit from royalty. Especially not at this awful hour. And don’t think I haven’t noticed how flustered you look. Or did the royal mane stylist take the night off?”
Princess Luna touched her hoof to her mane. It was true. Her mane was frizzled out of its normal regal appearance. And she only then noticed the sweat that had soaked her hairline.
“What’s going on?” Capper asked knowingly.
“I...was investigating other dreams before I found yours,” Princess Luna said.
“So, you didn’t see mine from the beginning?”
“I only saw what I needed to see.”
“Then, you saw the foal? And the light monster?” Capper asked.
Princess Luna went dead silent.
“What do you know about that?” Capper asked.
“...Nothing. I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Princess Luna replied.
Over the minutes, Capper explained his dream in detail. Princess Luna listened intently, only asking an occasional question. When he finished, both were in mild disbelief of the recollection.
“Truly perplexing…” Princess Luna said, partly to herself.
“Tell me about it. I don’t know what could have caused a dream like that. Especially since my life has become better than it ever was since I came to Equestria,” Capper said.
Princess Luna sighed, and slowly paced back and forth.
“I suppose it could be nothing. But, then again, I should not let this matter slide,” she said, as she tapped her horn to the wall, opening up a portal for herself.
“Leaving so soon?” Capper asked.
“I have work I must attend to. You just try to live your life. If everything is truly fine, I won’t need to return to your dreams,” Princess Luna said, before disappearing into the portal, which closed behind her.
Nothing happened for the rest of the night. But, Capper did not sleep for the rest of the night.
> Unwakened
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day was dark and gloomy. Rain pounded the windows of Canterlot hospital, and the sky lit up with a flash of lightning. Thunder rumbled seconds afterward, seeming to shake the entire building, and making Princess Luna jump slightly from the sudden noise.
“Somepony could have told me that there was a storm scheduled for today,” she muttered.
“I think this storm came as a surprise to all of us,” said the doctor who was accompanying Princess Luna down the hallway.
It was true. As far as anypony she had made small talk with about the weather knew, the storm was completely unscheduled, and seemed spur of the moment. Whatever the weather pegasus was thinking, or if they were thinking at all, she could never know. Her realm was the night, not the weather. Besides, there were more pressing matters at hoof.
“Tell me, is there anything else that I should know about this patient?” she asked.
“There’s not much else to tell,” the doctor began. “She was found lying on the floor by one of her coworkers when she hadn’t shown up for work for a week. At first, we thought it may have been a stroke, or perhaps a severe reaction to some unknown allergy. But, all tests and diagnoses we’ve performed have come up negative. As far as anypony can tell, she just fell asleep and won’t wake up.”
It was an unusual case for certain. Medicine was not her forte, but Princess Luna knew much about sleep and dreamers. As she was led into the patient’s room, she hoped that she could be of any assistance.
“Right this way,” the doctor said, as he walked into the room.
They both walked in, and the doctor pulled back a curtain to reveal the patient.
There she was. A young, blue mare was lying still in her bed. Princess Luna approached the mare and carefully examined her. The mare was breathing in deeply, slowly and steadily, and exhaling just the same. Exactly the way any sleeper would do. She next placed her hoof on the mare’s neck and felt her pulse. It pulsed once. Seconds later, it pulsed again. The same amount of time later, it pulsed a third time.
So far, everything was fine. The mare’s breath and pulse rate were perfectly normal for an average sleeper. Just to be safe, Princess Luna checked the mare’s heart rate. It synced almost perfectly with the mare’s pulse.
“I don't understand. She seems perfectly healthy,” Princess Luna said.
“That’s how it seems to us all. Clearly, though, there’s something very wrong with her. We’ve tried medical treatments, and even a few magical solutions. But, nothing has worked,” the doctor said.
In spite of her brave face, Princess Luna felt a lump growing in her throat.
“How long has she been this way?” she asked, her voice croaking slightly.
“A week in her apartment, plus the three days here: ten days. It could have been longer,” the doctor said.
“Are there, perhaps, any conditions she may have had before?” Princess Luna asked.
“None that we could find in her medical history. We already tried to determine if she had possibly developed one in the last couple of weeks, but those tests were negative as well,” the doctor answered.
Princess Luna nodded slightly and looked over the mare once more.
“That’s not even the strangest thing about her,” the doctor continued, reclaiming Princess Luna’s attention. “She hasn’t eaten or drank in ten days, but she hasn’t shown any signs of malnourishment or dehydration. We usually put patients who have been in a coma on intravenous systems, but she was completely healthy when we examined her. Her organs haven’t failed or shut down. Her muscles haven’t shown any signs of atrophy. And she isn’t brain dead. She’s just...asleep. Very deeply asleep.”
“Just like the others,” Princess Luna whispered to herself.
She grabbed the mare’s hoof and held it tightly. There was surely somepony out there that was worried about her. Even if it was just her coworker who found her.
“Have you ever seen anything like this?” the doctor asked.
“Never. I can only conclude what you have. She’s just in a deep sleep,” Princess Luna agreed.
“Do you perhaps have some idea of what to do?”
“Hopefully, I can figure it out,” Princess Luna said. She shifted uncomfortably by the mare’s side and jumped again when thunder crashed in the distance. When she jumped, she felt as if every one of her innards jumped with her, creating a queasy, dizzying sensation deep within her being. “I’m sorry. I need some air at this moment.”
She hastily left the hospital, not even bothering to talk with the reception clerk who wished her a safe flight home.





The doors to Princess Luna’s balcony burst open, and in trotted the Princess of the Night, soaking wet from the rain. She magically shut the doors behind herself and rushed to her desk. She opened every drawer until she found the stack of notes that she had been compiling over the last few weeks.
She laid out the papers ten at a time, looking over them for pertinent information, but could find nothing that would help her. As the time passed, she groaned loudly, frustrated by her lack of any real progress.
The room lit up with a flash of lightning, and thunder banged loudly overhead.
Princess Luna jumped again, knocking over her papers and sending them all over the floor.
“Oh! For...Celestia’s sake!!!” she growled, unable to think of a different expression.
Once again, Princess Luna jumped. This time, the sound was a knocking on her door.
“Who is it?” she asked, trying not to sound agitated.
“It’s Celestia,” said a familiar voice from behind the door.
“Come in,” Princess Luna said, mildly relieved.
The latch turned, and in walked the elder princess, magically carrying a plate before herself. The moment she walked in, she realized she had stepped on something, and found it to be one of the notes that had fallen.
“Another case was reported, sister?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Yes...And it was the same as the last ones,” her sister sighed. “I’ve promised again and again that I would help those sleepers. But, no matter what I try, I can’t figure out what’s happening. Let alone how it’s happening.” She clenched her teeth and rubbed her hooves to her temples. “I don’t know what to do anymore…”
Princess Celestia saw the way her sister was holding her head and knew at least the answer to that trouble.
"Migraines again?" she asked.
"I feel like they're getting worse..." Princess Luna nodded.
“Well, that’s what the tea and madeleines are for,” Princess Celestia said, holding up the plate she had been carrying.
“Ma--Madeleines?” Princess Luna said, glancing up and seeing the platter for the first time since her sister had entered. Indeed, there was a stack of dozens of madeleines, with a pot of tea and two cups next to it. “Is there perhaps...melted chocolate as well?”
“And marmalade,” her sister said, turning the plate to reveal the dips she had brought for the cakes.
Princess Luna magically fetched a chair for her sister to sit on. Once she was seated, Princess Celestia set down the plate, but barely had time to ask what her sister would like to start with when a half dozen madeleines were enveloped in a blue aura, dunked all at once into the saucer of chocolate, and stuffed into Princess Luna’s open mouth. After chewing thoroughly, she swallowed it all in one gulp.
“Thank you, sister,” she said.
“Think nothing of it.”
Princess Celestia looked at the saucer, which was already half-emptied of its chocolate. She opted to take a few madeleines for herself and pulled the saucer of chocolate closer to herself.
Once her share of the snacks was ensured, she used her magic to pour tea for her sister.
Princess Luna quickly downed her cup and offered it for more.
“Decaffeinated?” she asked.
“Certainly. I need to sleep tonight, you know,” Princess Celestia said, pouring a cup for herself first, then one for her sister. “Now, I can’t help but feel that something is troubling you.”
“Indeed,” Princess Luna answered, taking another madeleine and reaching to dip it into the chocolate. Her sister hastily dipped her own cake into the chocolate first, forcing Princess Luna to opt for the marmalade. She bit off the half that was dipped, before answering. “Strange things are happening, sister. Terrible things. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop them.”
“But, I’m sure you will,” her sister said, surreptitiously hoarding her own pile of madeleines as she sipped her tea.
“It’s not as simple as that. More creatures are falling into a deep sleep. And I’ve already promised the families of each that I would find a way to wake them. But, I haven’t even come close to finding a way,” Princess Luna said, dipping the other half of her madeleine into her tea, before eating it.
“I understand the burden that you bear. But, it seems too much for one mare to handle.”
“But--”
“Even if she is an alicorn,” Princess Celestia interjected. “Perhaps you should take a break from this endeavor for the time.”
Princess Luna pensively sipped her tea and stared pensively into it. Not even the clap of thunder roused her from her rumination.
“I can’t do that. I’ve made a promise that I can’t break to all those creatures. I’ve gone over the facts time and time again, yet I can’t make a connection between any of them.”
Both princesses sat silently, while the rain pounded the windows. Lightning flashed again, illuminating the room for a moment. For the brief moment that the room was lit, a small smile crossed Princess Celestia’s face.
“You know,” she began, “I think I remember mother once saying that if you were ever lost on a problem, you must start back from the beginning. From there, see what you have missed.
Princess Luna smiled next, mulling over her teacup.
“I do seem to remember that,” she said.
Thunder clapped again, making both princesses jump.
“This storm! Couldn’t we have been told it was scheduled!?” Princess Celestia said.
“I wondered the same earlier,” Princess Luna said. She downed the rest of her tea and poured herself another cup. “I’ll be working on this conundrum later, I suppose.”
“That’s the spirit,” Princess Celestia said. “In the meantime, I suppose I’ll leave you to your nightly work.”
She left the room after that, leaving the platter for her sister, but taking the stack of madeleines that she had hoarded earlier, along with the saucer of chocolate.
Princess Luna pretended not to notice and dipped another cake into the marmalade. As the madeleine was stirred, she magically collected all of the papers that were strewn on the floor and reorganized them in order.
“Alright...From the beginning…”
She closed her eyes and imagined herself back in Canterlot hospital. Back when she first received word of the case of a young foal who had suddenly fallen asleep and wouldn’t wake.
What did she know about the foal? His name was Iron Hide. He lived with his mother. His father was deceased, which was something that had taken a serious toll on the colt. And then he collapsed into his bed one day and never awoke.
“Could it be trauma? Some anomalous magical trauma that has seeped to other creatures?” Princess Luna wondered. “Was there anything odd about the foal?”
Nothing. He was just the same as the mare that Princess Luna had examined earlier that night. His breath, pulse, and heart rate were all as slow and steady as any sleeper’s should have been. And his eyes twitched as was to be expected if somepony was dreaming.
Princess Luna’s eyes slowly lit up, and her head rose from her papers.
“Dreaming…” she whispered to herself.
The foal had been dreaming. Unlike the other sleepers she had encountered, Iron Hide was dreaming. But, that didn’t add up.
Nowhere in Princess Luna’s notes was there a record of any of the afflicted creature’s dreams. Ever since they fell into a slumber, not one of them had a dream that she could enter or monitor. It was as if all of their dreams had stopped. Yet, Iron Hide was dreaming away when Princess Luna had seen him.
Her mind clicked when she remembered speaking to the foal’s mother. She had asked if Iron Hide was having any unusual dreams lately. His mother had told her that he always saw a light. A terrible, monstrous light that he was always running from.
“The light monster!” she said, remembering what Capper had told her.
That was her connection. That was her lead. Her sister had just told her that it was too big for one mare to handle. Now, she wouldn’t have to do it alone. She was going to enlist the help of a certain cat.
> Dreams and Nightmares
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The air was cold and still high up in the air. The only sign of any life was the lethargic churning of the clouds from the breeze that hardly moved at all. Even if the clouds were not present, the land below would have been hard to make out at that height.
In the distance, there was the steady hum of a large propeller. A shadow appeared through the fog, and the clouds began to bulge as the shadow moved through it. In another moment, an airship drifted out of the clouds, sending the clouds into a laconic frenzy.
At the front of the ship stood a lone figure. His eyes gazed blankly at the vast expanse of nothing, taking in all of the emptiness and feeling as if it were filling him.
Capper shook his head sharply, feeling a sudden sense of lucidity.
“Scenery’s got to change soon. This gloom’s getting to me,” he said to himself.
“Capper. It’s been a while,” said a sudden intrusive voice.
Snapped from his quiet rumination, Capper glanced over his shoulder. Another grey silhouette walked toward him until it took a form that he recognized all too well.
“Chummer…” Capper muttered.
“So good to see you again, Capper,” Chummer said.
Capper turned his gaze forward again.
“Too soon,” he replied.
“Now, Capper, if you keep acting like this, I might not think you’re happy to see me.”
“Do I have any reason to be happy to see you?” Capper scoffed.
“Capper,” Chummer said, suddenly serious, “May I remind you that it was you who wanted to leave me.”
“Not you. I just wanted to leave that whole crummy life behind. For the both of us, Capper said, before turning to walk away.
There weren’t many places to go on an airship. But, Capper hoped that he could find some out of the way spot to avoid Chummer.
“You really believe that, don’t you? It’s almost funny that you can’t see how selfish you were really being,” Chummer said.
Capper stopped cold and lowered his ears contemptuously.
“Everything that you and I ever did together was because you needed somebody close by. Because if you didn’t, what would you do? Go back to being a lapcat for the aristocracy? You’re no lapcat, though. You wanted to keep up with the alley cats,” Chummer said.
Capper inhaled quietly before he gave his final word.
“I did it because I thought we were friends. A lot’s changed since we parted ways. Now, I know better. And I don’t need you stepping on my tail, reminding me of all my mistakes. I don’t know where you’re headed on this ship, but I’m out of here at the next port.”
He walked on, hoping that he would become just another indiscernible shape in the fog to Chummer and lose him for the rest of the trip. But, Chummer wasn’t done with him.
The unmistakable sound of claws unsheathing made Capper’s ears twitch.
“If you remember correctly, this isn’t how we parted ways the last time,” Chummer said. “You remember what I used to tell you: don’t start something that you can’t finish.”
Chummer was quiet after that. Too quiet.
Capper swayed his body to the side, just as Chummer dove over him, claws slashing.
Chummer landed and took another swipe at Capper’s middle with his claws.
Capper parried with his paw and shoved Chummer away. Then he turned tail and ran away.
He could hear Chummer chasing after him. As he ran across the foggy deck of the airship, he grabbed a small table and swung it in Chummer’s direction.
Chummer jumped from a deck chair, landed on the sliding table, and pounced again on Capper.
His foot connected solidly with Capper’s jaw, sending him spinning to the ground.
Capper landed on his feet and jumped upright. The moment he was upright, he dodged more of Chummer’s attacks.
He backpedaled as he parried each of his opponent’s blows until he was forced to jump on top of a deck chair.
Capper hopped backward to the ground, and Chummer hopped onto the chair’s seat to unleash more blows.
Capper blocked every blow until he grabbed the back of the deck chair and folded it hard to slam Chummer in his hip.
Chummer yelped and lost his footing, getting his foot stuck between the seat and the back of the chair.
Capper grabbed an umbrella that was set beside the deck chair and swung it at Chummer’s head.
Chummer blocked and countered.
Capper opened the umbrella and blocked Chummer’s claws. His claws caught in the umbrella’s canopy. Capper twisted the umbrella around, and Chummer’s arm along with it. He then closed the umbrella and jabbed Chummer hard in the chest.
Chummer fell over, freeing his foot by the time he hit the ground.
Capper leaped over the overturned chair and thrust his umbrella into the ground.
Chummer rolled to the side, dodging the umbrella as he sprang to his paws.
Capper held the umbrella laterally and blocked another slash from Chummer.
Chummer grabbed the umbrella and tried to wrestle it from Capper, but Capper held firm.
Capper lowered his center and charged forward, pushing Chummer all the way to the side of the airship.
The rocking of the flying ship would make it all too easy. One strong, well-timed push and Capper would win.
He heaved against Chummer, but his effort was in vain. He pushed harder and harder, pressing the pole against Chummer’s neck. No matter how hard he pushed, Chummer didn’t even bend back.
Capper could take it no more. He punched Chummer in the face. The moment his fist connected, a surge of power flowed through Capper’s entire being. A power that he didn’t want to let go of.
He punched Chummer again and again, drawing more and more crimson from Chummer with every hit until it sprayed onto Capper’s fur. And then he stopped.
Chummer was smiling. That same devilish smile that he had known from years ago. The very same that chilled him every time that he saw it.
“What’s the matter, brother? Not strong enough to use your claws?” Chummer said. In an instant, he latched his own claws onto Capper’s chest, sending a surge of pain through him. “You or me, Capper! Do it!”
Capper’s fist shook as he held it at the ready. Slowly, painfully, it opened up and his claws unsheathed.
He stood at the ready. All he had to do was drive his claws down, and it would all be over.
Before anything could happen, Capper’s wrist was grabbed by a glowing, white hand. When he looked down, Capper was horrified to see that what he had pinned was no longer Chummer, but a burly, humanoid figure.
With little effort, the figure stood up, towering over Capper. For a moment, it stayed still, looking down at Capper with its insect-like wings fluttering in the breeze.
Capper swung his umbrella at it, but it did no good. He was lifted off the ground by his wrist and was thrown aside.
As it always was with cats, Capper landed on his paws and raised his umbrella to throw. He hesitated a moment, seeing the creature in full. Its imposing height. Its impressive muscles. But most of all, it's featureless face. Though it had no mouth or nose, Capper swore that he could hear it humming a soft melody. Or was the melody coming from all around the creature?
Snapping to his senses when the creature started toward him, Capper threw his folded umbrella at the thing.
The creature didn’t even flinch when it was hit and continued its advance.
Capper backpedaled, looking for anything else that he could use against the creature. Somehow, the deck had become suddenly empty, leaving him unarmed.
The railing at the front of the ship hit him in the back. Capper quickly hopped to the top of the rail and tried to outflank the creature.
The creature was too quick. It lunged at him and cut off his escape.
The entire ship rocked to one side when it landed, causing everything that wasn’t on deck before to go falling over the side.
Capper’s paws frantically reached for the railing, but it was too late. The next thing he knew, he felt the weightlessness of falling as the airship got further and further away from him.
He turned around in mid-air and saw nothing but the clouds and all of the ballast that had fallen with him.
“There has to be a way out of this. There’s always a way,” Capper thought.
Through the grey of the clouds, there was a single spot of blue.
“Bingo.”
Capper reached out for a crate that was falling and placed his paws on it. When he found his footing, he jumped to the next piece of ballast.
He continued jumping from each falling foothold until he was near enough to the light. One last jump and he was freefalling toward the light.
The clouds broke and Capper could now see the ground beneath himself. He had no time to appreciate the scenery when he was suddenly engulfed in a familiar blue aura.
“That’s the stuff,” Capper thought.
He was pulled quickly down to the ground, where he was placed gently on his paws by the owner of the aura. Her horn still enveloped in magic, Princess Luna released Capper and walked slowly toward him.
“You see all that?” Capper asked.
“I only arrived to correct your botched attempts at flying,” Princess Luna said. “For the moment, we have more pressing matters to discuss.”
“Like the light monster?” Capper said.
“Precisely. What do you know about it?”
“You mean you didn’t see that just now? When it heaved me off the side of that airship!?”
“The airship? Oh, I just missed it!” Princess Luna said, angrily scuffing her hoof on the ground.
“Too bad. I could have used your help with that thing. I knew it was scary, but the kid never told me that it was huge!” Capper said, spreading his paws in disbelief.
“What kid? The foal from your dream?” Princess Luna asked.
“Yeah. That’s the one,” Capper replied.
“Was he a colt of about twelve or eleven years?”
“Yes.”
“With a green mane and a reddish coat?”
“Exactly.”
“And his cutie mark was--”
“--A hammer on a steel plate.”
“How very interesting…” Princess Luna muttered, putting a hoof to her chin.
Just as things were becoming clearer, a dense fog rolled in, engulfing the two in its haze.
“Where did--” Princess Luna began.
“Sh!” Capper sharply interjected, motioning for Princess Luna to hush.
He turned his ears to his surroundings. He listened for a sign. For a warning. Anything to announce the coming of the beasts in the mist.
At first, there was nothing. Then came the sound of distant laughter. The laughter was distinctly from a foal.
Both turned to follow the source and walked carefully onward. Every few steps, they stopped to discern the direction of the laughter. When they looked around, everything looked the same as it had before, but the laughter got louder no matter which way they turned.
A shadow appeared in the fog. Whoever it was, they were very small. Foal-sized, it looked like. And prancing merrily as if they hadn’t a care in the world.
Capper and Princess Luna exchanged a glance. Neither had to say it. They found who they were looking for.
Princess Luna walked slowly forward, careful not to make any sudden movement. After every tree she passed, she swore she saw something moving. Something reaching out to her to drag her off into the unknown oblivion of the mists.
By the time that she was nearly ten steps from the prancing foal, she stopped walking. The foal stopped, looked at the lunar princess, and waved at her, giggling innocently.
Even though she was so close, the foal still appeared to be a shadow in the fog. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Capper far more clearly as he motioned for her to continue. It was her time to put her expertise of dreams to use.
“Hello, Iron Hide,” Princess Luna said.
The foal said nothing but stopped laughing.
“I’ve come to take you home.”
She took one step closer, and the foal took one step back.
Capper looked on and leaned forward slightly.
Princess Luna took one more cautious step, and the foal ran off into the mist.
“Iron Hide! Stop!” she cried out.
“Come on! We gotta catch him!” Capper said as he sprinted past her.
Princess Luna followed after Capper and Iron Hide. For as fast as they both were, the colt proved much faster and disappeared into the fog. And with him, Capper disappeared as well.
“Capper!” she called out to him.
He didn’t answer.
“Capper!!” she called more loudly.
Her shout echoed in vain.
The world around her was unfamiliar, with only the apparitions of the fog as her company.
Everything had gone wrong, but Princess Luna wasn’t about to give up. She carried onward into the fog, hoping for the best, but always preparing for the worst.
After her next breath, Princess Luna saw a cloud of frosted air issue from her mouth. A tiny fleck of frost fell upon her nose and was shaken off. Moments later, she became aware of how cold it had become.
She walked on through the fog and nearly walked into a tree that was covered in frost. When she looked around, she saw that she was surrounded by trees, all of them dotted with frost. A crunching sound beneath her hooves, and Princess Luna saw that the grass was frosted as well.
“What is this place?” she wondered aloud.
The sounds of rapidly approaching steps caught her attention.
“Capper?” she asked.
The sound of a gentle humming reached her ears. Her nerves bristled at the sound and hastened her forward. But, no matter where she ran, the humming was always somewhere behind her.





Capper ran through the fog, never aware that he had lost his alicorn companion. The grey of the fog slowly churned and became a blurred ocean of green, brown, and yellow that swirled together into an unfocused mess. Soon, the colors flashed, and Capper felt suddenly as if he had snapped out of a dazed and brutal dream.
He scanned his surroundings. Leaves of yellow, red, and orange drifted around him in a warm wind. The air flushed through the trees, carrying the leaves that fell from the branches.
The sky flushed with pink and orange, swirling like the leaves on the wind.
The sight sent an uneasy shiver down Capper’s spine, and the fur on his tail stood on end. Nothing was as it should have been. His back arched when he became aware of light just on the corner of his vision. He turned. And he saw it.
The light monster walked through the trees toward him, fading in and out of vision as it walked steadily through the curtain of tree trunks. He could hear its song in his head. And Capper could feel the woes of his past leaving him.
Capper shook his head lucidly and sprinted away from the creature, but he was strangely unaware of his legs moving. Any feeling of power he had when facing Chummer left him. He was a cat on the run from the most vicious animal there was. He wanted that power again. He wanted to find the blood.
Sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging them badly, drawing a single tear that streaked through his fur.
“Capper!”
A voice rang through the trees, which started dropping their leaves in droves. The leaves were picked up on the wind, which blanketed the world in a veil that hid most everything from view. The colorful leaves blew in harmony with the melody of the wind. The chill cool air flushed through the trees with grace and elegance. The trees danced as their leaves willingly fallen to the grown like paper in the wind.

Capper's attention was drawn to the sky. Its mystic flush of colors roared out and coated the land. The splice of orange mixed with pink left the trees in awe.

The cat's mind sent a shiver down his spine as all of his limbs twitched. His head jerked ever so slightly as he glanced to the side of him. Not daring to make direct contact, the cat's eyes were hidden by a veil of reluctance. His field of vision crept to the side until a distant figure faded into existence.

His spine arched forward as his arms stiffened. His eyes were frozen on the entity before him. The blurry image only revealed a human figure with white illumination. Cappers first twitched as if to repeat history, or perhaps his anger. For a moment he could almost feel the blood flow through his fingers.

The figure became transparent and faded in and out of view. Suddenly, like coming out of a mother's womb, his life had become apparent to him. He was a living creature and as a lonely cat, he could die. The chime of reason flushed through the wind as calmly and as naturally as the light of the heavens.

The cat's ears flew flat against his head as they took in the lullaby. His own body swayed to its enchantment. I'm not supposed to be here, he thought. This is all wrong. The rising of a bright white light became to envelop the trees. Capper took off in a dead sprint. He shook his head as he realized he was running. All four of his legs came to reason that his life was in danger.
“Capper!” the voice called again.
It was clearer now. Capper knew exactly who was calling him. Somewhere, Chummer was beckoning him forth, ready to finish their fight once and for all.
Something sliced through the leaves, cutting Capper’s face.
He felt his face and found his fur soaked with blood.
Another swipe came from the side and was barely blocked by Capper.
He could see nothing through the veil of leaves. All he could do was put his arms up, hardly deflecting any blow as his arms were torn apart by unseen claws.
“You or me, Capper!” Chummer’s voice said.
Capper blocked one last hit with his bloodied arms and backed off. He unsheathed his claws and lunged in the direction he knew the next attack was coming.
The cat leaped through the air and found once again that he didn’t stop falling.





The humming constantly dogged the steps of Princess Luna, who was running frantically through the forest.
She stumbled and rolled down a snowbank. Taking refuge beneath the overhang, Princess Luna waited for her pursuer to pass her by. Except, she could hear the humming growing louder.
The walls of the snowbank chilled her entire side as Princess Luna huddled against it, as though expecting to phase through its side.
The steps were growing closer.
Princess Luna ignited her magic, ready to do away with her humming pursuer.
Snow fell from the ceiling of the alcove.
She waited. There was no more movement, but the humming continued, somehow pounding her head as badly as her migraines.
A surge of snow fell from above, and something landed on the ground before her. Before she fired any magic from her horn, she recognized the figure.
“Capper?” she said.
The figure turned around with a start. True to her suspicion, there was her feline companion
“Princess! Jeez, thank goodness it’s you. I just--,” Capper said.
Princess Luna hushed him and turned her ears up.
For a moment, they both listened. The humming had stopped completely. As if its source had simply disappeared, the only sound was the wind rushing through the foliage of the frosted forest. They were safe. But, only for the moment.
“What happened just now? Where did you go to?” Princess Luna asked.
“I don’t know. But, I...I don’t know for sure, but I think the light monster almost got me,” Capper replied. He felt his face and found that it had not been cut as it had before.
They both scanned their surroundings, hearing nothing but the blowing wind through the foliage.
“What is this place? Why have you dreamed this?” Princess Luna asked.
“I don’t know a thing about it. I don’t know this place. All I know is when I met that foal before, he--” Capper hesitated.
“What, Capper?” Princess Luna asked.
“He asked me if the light monster brought me here too.”
The more Princess Luna learned, the fewer things made sense. If that monster had any kind of power to draw others into a dream, then she was dealing with something more powerful than anything she had ever encountered.
Lifting her head high, she lit her horn and pointed it skyward. After a moment, her eyes shot wide with terror.
“This can’t be!” Princess Luna said to herself.
She pointed her horn up and focused her magic.
“What’s going on?” Capper asked.
“There’s...I can’t end this dream.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t force you to wake up and end this dream,” Princess Luna said, trembling slightly. "What the Hell is going on?"
Capper exhaled a cloud of frost into the air and pulled his jacket more tightly.
“I know I’m asleep. But…” he carefully picked his next words. “I don’t think I’m dreaming.”
The wind picked up and buffeted the two. With the gust, Princess Luna’s eyes gradually lit up.
“You’re not dreaming. But, perhaps somepony else is,” she said, before turning to Capper. “What did you tell me about your dream last night? That the foal told you he couldn’t leave this place?”
“Yeah. And now it looks like we’re stuck here with him,” Capper grimly replied.
The humming started again, closer now than ever. They had both played right into the beast’s game and realized what price they had to pay.
Princess Luna cried out when she felt a sharp jab in her side, which sent her flying into a nearby tree.
Before Capper could react, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and lifted to face a luminous, featureless being.
He tried clawing at the arms of the beast, barely making a scratch on its body as it hovered him closer to its face.
Capper’s mind raced and his heart pounded. But, he was barely aware of it. His mind began to drift, and his eyes began to roll. He felt afraid and comforted both at once. In moments, all he could see was light. And it was beckoning him to follow it.
He knew he wasn’t moving, but Capper felt like he was drifting after it. Closer to its source. Closer to where every fear, worry, and memory was going to slip away from him. The more it did, the more he wanted it to.
What felt like a strong blast of wind blew Capper’s senses back into his head. He fell to the ground and rolled to his knees, while the light monster staggered back from the blow.
Princess Luna’s horn was alight with magic and shot another blast into the light monster. This time, it was blown backward into the fog. She quickly collected Capper, and they both ran in the opposite direction of the monster.
The trees blurred as they ran, always keeping close to one another. Their minds raced for an escape. And Capper found one.
After passing a dried-up well, they came to a sluice that went down a steep hillside. Before Princess Luna knew what was happening, she saw Capper jump into the sluice, and go sliding down its length, aided by the fine gravel that was still in it. Not about to shred her flank, she opted to fly down at his side.
The descent felt like it had lasted forever, though it was only a few seconds. At the bottom, Capper landed in a water trough that had frozen over and slid across its length, until he rolled off the side into the icy grass.
“Are you alright?” Princess Luna said as she alighted on the ground next to him.
“Yeah. I’m just going to have trouble sitting down for a while,” Capper groaned.
They looked up the hill, and the light of the beast shone clearly through the fog. In moments, it dimmed into nothingness.
“We won’t lose it for long. Let’s get out of here,” Capper said.
He limped after Princess Luna, walking off the pain in his posterior as they looked for somewhere to escape.
They were on the shore of a lake, whose shore they couldn’t see the other side of. As they walked along the shoreline, they saw a building through the fog.
Capper’s eyes lit up at the sight. If they were going to find that foal, that’s surely where he would be. He rushed ahead, despite the protests of Princess Luna. They reached the shed, and the door was flung open.
Nobody was inside. Only shelves with meager supplies, a threadbare blanket, and a lamp.
“Nothing…” Capper groaned. He nearly shut the door, but the pain in his rear made him wince.
“There’s no sense going anywhere in your condition. Come. Let’s rest inside for a moment,” Princess Luna said.
Capper only minimally resisted as he was guided inside and sat down on the folded blanket on the floor.
Princess Luna took the lamp from its shelf and jostled it slightly. It was nearly full. She removed the glass housing and touched her horn to the wick, making a flame that illuminated the entire shed, casting shadows all around them that danced on the walls.
“This looks familiar,” Capper said, rubbing his paws together and settling closer to the pitiful flame.
In spite of his ambiguous tone, Princess Luna recalled that detail about the dream he had told her about. Two creatures alone in a ramshackle abode, with nothing but a small flame to abate the cold.
They sat in silence for minutes, careful not to let the flame go out.
“Capper,” Princess Luna began, “You’re sure that there’s no way to escape this place?”
Capper sighed.
“I told you that the first time I was here, there was this light that brought me to my bedroom. That even though I was dreaming, you still found me and were able to wake me up.”
“And you haven’t seen this light again?”
“No. The first time, I followed some hoofprints in the frost toward it. But, I haven’t found any signs that could lead me to it this time.”
They were silent again, mulling over their predicament. This was neither of their dreams, and they had no power to stop it. And if Capper was going to accompany her, Princess Luna knew that she had to divulge everything that she knew.
“Do you remember that foal? Iron Hide?” she began.
“Yeah. To be frank, you seemed to know more about him than I did. Care to explain?” Capper asked.
“I don’t actually know him. But…” she hesitated a moment from the memory. “About a month ago, he went into a deep slumber that nopony, not even myself, could wake him from. Since then, almost thirty other ponies have gone to sleep and never awake.”
Capper was quiet at first, then leaned back thoughtfully.
“Thirty ponies in a month. That’s not a very comforting figure,” he said.
“Indeed not. Iron Hide was the first to fall victim to this anomaly. Only, he differs as the only one who dreams.”
“...And, this may be his doing?” Capper said, indicating everything around them.
“Precisely. I don’t know how it happened, or where it originated. But, I promised all those ponies’ families that I would find out. Except that the more I learn and the more I see, the fewer things seem to make sense,” Princess Luna said.
“Okay. What do we know? One: a foal fell into a magical sleep one day. After him, more ponies started doing the same,” Capper said.
“Two: when Iron Hide fell into a slumber, he became the only one who dreamt. And this is what he came up with,” Princess Luna followed. “Three: it seems to coincide with the appearance of this light monster.”
“Yeah. The light monster…” Capper murmured. “Four: the light monster might just be what’s making all those ponies fall asleep.”
“Five: it’s strong enough to resist alicorn magic.”
“Six: it...I think it knows our dreams.”
“What do you mean?” Princess Luna asked.
“I’m just saying that it really knows how to get your whiskers in a knot. It’s already tried fooling me twice and almost got me both times. I guess I should have taken Iron Hide’s advice more seriously, and not believed anything that it showed me,” Capper said.
“I see,” Princess Luna said, not truly understanding. For a moment, she thought to herself, then stood up.
“Where are you going?” Capper asked.
“Staying here won’t stop the creature. We need to find it. Or at least find out what it is,” Princess Luna replied.
“Wait,” Capper said, quickly getting up. Too quickly as his haunches still ached. “We could look for a way out. I’m sure we could find that light again and go back home.”
“Then you’ll have to go by yourself. I made a promise that I intend to keep.”
Princess Luna opened the door, letting in the chill wind, and stepped out into the foggy beyond.
“Hold on,” Capper said, following after her, “You can’t face that thing on your own.”
“If I must, then I must. Go your own way, if you feel you need to, Capper. But, I’m going to find that beast and put an end to it,” Princess Luna replied. She took two steps forward, paused, then looked over her shoulder. “Well?”
Chummer’s words from back on the airship echoed through Capper’s head. He couldn’t be without anyone else and know what he would do with himself. Was it for Princess Luna that he was going to accompany her? Or was it for himself?
He picked up his paws from the frozen grass and walked after the alicorn into the mists.
“Look, I know you have an obligation to these ponies. But, you have to be smart about this,” Capper said.
“I know that it’s not the smart thing. But, it’s the right thing. I’m going to end this nightmare, or--”
Anything that Princess Luna would have said was drowned out by a sudden wind. As soon as the wind started, she cried out and put her hooves on her head.
Capper ran to her side.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“It’s nothing...It’s just the migraines,” Princess Luna said.
She clenched her eyes shut and held her head tightly.
Capper helped her up and allowed her to lean against him.
“Once this passes, we’ve got to get you home,” he said.
“I can’t--”
“I know you can’t let this go on. But, it’s like you said: there’s no sense going on in your condition.”
There was something about Capper in that moment. Something that Princess Luna couldn’t put her hoof on, but she knew had changed. Even though her head was pounding, she looked at him and saw something different from the aloof, carefree feline who had come to Equestria before. Perhaps now, there was something for him to care about.
Her eyes widened and her gaze shot past Capper.
“CAPPER! LOOK OUT!”
There was no time to turn around. Capper was struck on the back of his head. The world became a dizzy haze, and he fell to the ground. In moments, his fur became flecked with frost.
> Woken Up By Darkness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Capper woke up in pain, his head throbbing and achy. He sat up and allowed himself a moment to hold his head and let the pain subside.
When he got his bearings, he realized that he was no longer outside in the cold, winter storm that he remembered from before. Instead, he was in a very small room with walls made of iron bars, and a small, flickering light that looked distant, but bright enough to illuminate the corner of the cell that he was in. There was no doubt in his mind that it was a cell. But, who had put him there?
Somewhere in the distance, Capper could hear the soft, steady plink of water falling drop by drop into some larger pool. Perhaps he was somewhere underground.
He tried to get a grip on what had happened before. No matter how he tried, all he could remember was being chased. Some creature of light that had been with Princess Luna.
That was it. He was with Princess Luna before. The two of them were following after some unknown source of light until she yelled out to him. After that, he remembered feeling a heavy impact on the back of his head. After that, nothing.
Capper exhaled quietly.
“Oh, Capper. What have you gotten yourself into?” he said to himself.
“Ah. You’re finally awake, I see,” said a voice from behind him.
Capper turned around to face the voice’s owner. In the dark part of the cell where the light just barely reached, he saw the silhouetted form of another figure. When it walked into the dim light, he was greeted by a familiar face.
“Looks like they got us both, huh, Princess?” Capper said.
“Unfortunately so,” Princess Luna said, as she leaned against the bars. “I don’t suppose you have an idea of where we are?”
“No, I was kind of hoping you did,” Capper replied. “One thing’s for sure: this isn’t the hotel Marriott.”
“With these accommodations, I’m not so sure,” Princess Luna said, scuffing her hoof against the tattered blanket and dingy pillow that were laid on the floor.
Capper thought for a moment, then came up with the most obvious solution.
“Here’s a thought: why don’t you use some of that alicorn magic of yours to get us out of here?” he said.
“Had I the means, I would have already done that. But, as you can see,” Princess Luna sighed, as she tapped her horn.
Capper had to squint to see what she was indicating. Against the princess’s dark blue horn, he could see a pitch-black ring that had been affixed around her horn.
“Well, at least it goes with your color,” Capper sarcastically said.
He stood up from the ground. The moment he stood, his head began swimming badly, forcing him to hold onto the iron bars to his side. Once he was on his feet, the vertigo and lightheadedness began to wane, and the strength felt like it was returning to his legs.
With his hands on the bars, he could feel just how old and worn they were. Dirt and rust had caked around them from years of neglect, and their bases wobbled loosely. He gripped the bar nearest to him and jostled it lightly.
“It won’t do any good. I’ve already tried breaking us out while you slept,” Princess Luna said.
“If you can call that sleep,” Capper muttered, jostling the bar next to the one he was just holding. “Did you at least see how we got here?”
“No. I was unconscious, as you were,” Princess Luna said. “I tried to fight them off and save ourselves. But, to no avail, I’m afraid.”
Capper sighed too quietly for Princess Luna to hear. He jostled bar after bar, taking his time with each one, feeling the give of each. From where he was, he could see a small hallway beyond. The hall was just as aged as the cell he and Luna occupied, weathered with rough grooves and chipped in many spots as if the walls had simply broken away from the ravage of the years. Down the hall in either direction, he could see other cells that were as dilapidated as his own. Wherever they were, he wondered how the structure was still standing.
“You mentioned ‘them’ just now,” Capper said to Princess Luna, as he jostled another bar. “Who exactly are ‘they?’”
“I’ve not the slightest idea. They weren’t exactly courteous enough to introduce themselves as they were abducting ourselves,” Princess Luna said, watching Capper as he futilely jostled each bar.
“Hrm…” Capper murmured. “One thing’s for sure: the only way out of here seems to be that door down that way.”
“Yes. I’ve seen it. However, there’s not much that we can do to reach it,” Princess Luna said.
“I suppose that depends on whether or not you’ve actually tried,” Capper replied, jostling the next bar down the line.
“Do you not think I’ve tried?” Luna said incredulously. “I have thrown myself at each of these bars. I’ve tried time and again to get this dampener off of my horn. I’ve even tried digging out by chipping away at the stone floors. As far as I can see, it is a hopeless endeavor to escape.”
“You make it sound so bleak,” Capper said.
“What about our situation is not bleak?” Princess Luna said. “You know that the creatures we are up against are powerful enough to stop an alicorn princess. And now here we are, foalnapped, stuck in an unknown place for an unknown reason by unknown captors. Must I say more, Capper Dapperpaws? I believe deeply in the bleakness of our situation.”
“No need to get so upset, princess. Don’t let this cool cat demeanor fool you. I’m freaking out too. But panicking and arguing isn’t going to do us much good,” Capper said, working on the next bar.
Princess Luna furrowed her brow and looked thoughtfully at Capper jostling the bars. He seemed fixated on the one bar that he was holding and rocked it more curiously than the others that he had just held. Perhaps he was on to something.
She strode over to the bars and started pushing and pulling against them.
“Working all those bars at once isn’t going to do any good, Princess,” Capper said, as he walked back to the ratty blanket on the floor.
“One of them must be a weak link,” Princess Luna said, as she strained against the bars.
“Exactly. We only need to work on one of them,” Capper said, as he folded the blanket lengthwise and twirled it around. “Lend me a hoof here.”
Luna watched as Capper looped the blanket around one of the bars and held it firmly to one end. The other, he offered to her. She took the end of the blanket in her teeth and snorted from the aged, musty scent it exuded.
“Good. Now, let’s pull,” Capper said.
He and Princess Luna both pulled as hard as they could against the center of the ancient iron bar. The twisted blanket held up against the force of their pull, staying taut in their grips. From the corner of his eye, Capper thought that he could see Princess Luna wincing as if some twinging pain were bothering her. He guessed it was simply the strain of trying to break the bars and put one of his paws against them to give more force.
Moments passed, and it seemed like nothing had happened. Finally, they could feel the worn iron begin to bend towards themselves. Slowly, the metal bar was beginning to give. Even in the dismal light, they thought that they could see the bar starting to crack in the middle where the rust was most prominent.
A sudden sound overhead stopped their efforts. Capper and Princess Luna both looked up at the ceiling. Somepony’s hooves were thumping the floor overhead.