Sleep Tight

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Chapter 02
Waking Dream

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"Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

The purple alicorn in question cowered at the anger-laden words spoken by the pony she most admired. She was in the Canterlot Castle's throne room. Before her were Equestria's three other princesses, all of them glaring at her. Celestia stood with Luna on her right and Cadance on her left.

"I-I-I," she stumbled as she tried to defend herself.

"Silence!" Celestia hissed. "I have never been as disappointed in anpony as I am with you. Six ponies died before I received word of the plight in Ponyville!"

"Their blood is on thy hooves, Twilight Sparkle," Luna barked.

Cadance couldn't even bear to look at Twilight. "All it would have taken was a single letter, but you were too stubborn to ask for help," she said, her voice thick with disappointment.

Twilight was openly crying as she tried desperately to respond to her dressing down. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"I should never have allowed you to become a princess!" Celestia condemned Twilight. "You are hereby banished to the Everfree Forest! For all eternity!"

The distraught alicorn watched in horror as Celestia used her magic to rip the crown from Twilight's head and callously dumped it on the floor in front of herself. Celestia then stomped on the crown, shattering the element of magic.

Suddenly, Luna's eyes glowed a bright yellow as she reared up. "Twilight Sparkle!" she shouted. As her front hooves pounded the floor a magical shockwave erupted. Celestia and Cadance were blown out of existence as the wave of magic blew through them.

Twilight's tears dried up as she was overwhelmed by shock. Did Luna just kill Celestia and Cadance!? She looked slack-jawed to the Princess of the Moon unable to form a cogent thought, let alone vocalize any words.

"Twilight Sparkle, hath this plague reached even thou?" Luna asked.

The purple alicorn looked around, thoroughly confused. "P-plague?" "The citizens of Ponyville hath fallen victim to nightmares that even I cannot dispel," Luna explained. "It is as though another force is working against me."

As if on cue, the windows exploded inward as a horde of changelings stormed the throne room. The doors burst open behind Twilight, eliciting her to whirl around and come face-to-face with the changeling queen herself.

"Queen Chrysalis!" Twilight snarled as she assumed a fighting position.

"Do not become distracted!" the Princess of the Night warned as her horn glowed, sending out another shockwave. This one annihilated all of the changelings, even Queen Chrysalis. "I cannot keep thy nightmares at bay for long," she explained. "I beseech thee, Twilight Sparkle. Dost thou know what vile force hath befallen Ponyville?"

"Nightmare? This…this is a nightmare? I'm dreaming?" Twilight Sparkle spoke her thoughts as her memories flooded back to her. "The bedbugs!" she suddenly remembered. Without a second thought, Twilight cast the spell she had just learned. This time a purple sphere emanated from Twilight's horn. The magic permeated everything, eliciting a piercing howl. The monstrous wails quickly petered out and, as the sound faded, the dreamscape began to come unraveled.

"Thou dost know!" Luna's voice echoed as the dream faded out of existence.

Sitting up, Twilight rubbed her eyes as she looked around. She was back in her library. The spell worked! It purged the bedbugs from her dreams and brought her back to the waking world. She would have to remember to thank Princess Luna for helping her.

"Twilight! You're awake!" Spike practically shouted. The baby dragon was at the lectern, penning a letter.

"Yes," Twilight acknowledged as she stretched and got up. "I must have been bitten and fallen asleep, but the spell worked!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" Spike gushed as he set the letter aside. "I got back and found you asleep and having nightmares and I couldn't find the other letter so I started writing a new one and—"

"I know, Spike," Twilight ceased his rambling. "Did you get the ingredients?"

"Yeah," the purple dragon pointed a claw at the fully loaded wagon.

Twilight nodded in approval. "Good! Start mixing up the powder," she ordered with a confident smile. "I figured out how to do the spell right. We can get started on waking Ponyville from this endless nightmare!"

Turning back to Rainbow Dash, Twilight lowered her horn near the cyan pony's sleeping form and cast the spell. Dash muttered something and managed to roll over, but she didn't wake up. The newly-crowned princess noticed that while she stopped moaning the anguished look on her face lingered.

"Maybe it wasn't strong enough?" Twilight wondered. Putting more effort into it than before, she recast the spell. Again the purple energy passed though Rainbow Dash. This time, it didn't do anything.

Twilight shook her head. "It's not working," she resigned as she sat down and began to break down and analyze the problem to deduce just what was wrong. It had just worked for herself. Wait. Did it? She looked to her wing and quickly decided against that route. Instead she gave her foreleg a tentative nibble. A small pinch of pain reminded her that she was, indeed, awake.

There had to be another reason why it wasn't working. What was different? Twilight's eyes widened as she suddenly realized the problem. She had cast the spell in her dream! That's where the bedbugs were!

The euphoria was short-lived. Twilight had figured out the problem, but she didn't have a solution. Entering another pony's dreams was no simple matter. The magic required to do something so complex was beyond what Twilight knew. In fact, the only pony she could think of that was capable of such a feat was the very pony that had rescued her from her nightmare: Princess Luna.

Looking about, Twilight found her number one assistant mixing ingredients trying to make the banishing powder. "Spike, I think we have a problem."

"What's wrong, Twilight?" the tiny dragon asked as he looked up from his work.

Twilight hung her head in shame. "I can't do the spell right," she guiltily admitted. "It has to be cast inside the dream to work. We will have to send Princess Celestia a letter after all."

The alicorn brought out the letter she had put away earlier, but on second thought she decided to discard the letter. It didn't properly explain things. Twilight knew now exactly what was wrong and exactly how to fix it. She just couldn't do it herself. It wasn't a complete failure on her part, and she found solace in that thought.

Using her aura to retrieve a blank scroll and quill, Twilight floated them over to Spike. "Take a letter," she used her trite line as she organized her thoughts.

Those thoughts were scattered before they could form as a powerful set of knocks announced a visitor to the library. Normally, Twilight Sparkle would be a bit irked by the interruption, but right now she was just glad she wasn't the only pony left awake. "Coming!" she announced as she abandoned Spike and the letter to rush to the door.

Twilight eagerly opened the door to find what pony besides herself was still awake. The sight before her knocked her for a loop. The dark blue alicorn with a magical, flowing mane offered Twilight a small, respectful bow.

"P-Princess Luna!" Twilight sputtered. She couldn't believe the serendipity. This was just what she needed! "Please, come in!"

"I thank thee, Twilight Sparkle," Luna politely accepted Twilight's offer. The first thing she noticed was Rainbow Dash lying in the middle of the floor. She frowned at the sight. "Tell me, dost thou know what force hath beset Ponyville? Thy and thy alone seem capable of banishing the nightmares."

Twilight emphatically nodded as she grabbed the book in her magic. "I do," she affirmed as she opened the book in front of Luna and opened it to the proper page. "Magical parasites called bedbugs seem to have invaded. Spike is making a powder to ward them off and this book has a spell to purge those that have already escaped into everypony's dreams. This is the spell I used before."

Luna tried to focus as Twilight turned the page to reveal the spell, but the text seemed to blur as she struggled to focus. The lunar princess swayed a bit as a powerful drowsiness afflicted her. "Wh-what sorcery?" Luna muttered as she struggled to stay standing.

"Oh no!" Twilight recognized the symptoms. Princess Luna hadn't even been there two minutes and she'd been bitten! Worse still, she was the only one Twilight could think of that could actually save everypony!

"Spike! Do you have that powder ready?!" the purple alicorn desperately urged.

The baby dragon grabbed a small pouch and held it out in his claws. "Only one batch."

In an instant, Twilight grabbed the bag in her aura and dumped it on Luna. The fine powder quickly spread over Luna and expanded out into the room. Everypony was caught in a coughing fit until the dust subsided.

Luna shook her head as her mind was suddenly completely free of the somnolence. "What…was that?"

"Bedbugs," Twilight quickly explained. "Their bite causes ponies to fall asleep. Then they enter their dreams and cause nightmares." She then pointed a hoof at her number one assistant. "I got a recipe from Zecora on a powder that banishes them. Spike here is making it as we speak."

"Glad to be of service!" he proudly beamed.

Twilight then motioned again to the book. "There is a spell here that you can use to purge everypony's dreams of the bedbugs," she continued to rehash the explanation. "It has to be cast inside the dream to work. So only you can do it, Princess! If you get the bedbugs out of everypony's dreams then Spike and I can get rid of any that still linger in this world with the powder."

Luna let the whole situation sink in as she studied the spell in question. Once she was confident that she was able to cast such a spell, she set it to memory. "Thou hast done well, Twilight Sparkle," she praised as she turned to her fellow alicorn.

"Um…" Twilight Sparkle stumbled. "Thank you, Princess, but…I mean, how can you not know about bedbugs? Aren't you supposed to know everything about dreams?"

The alicorn in question shook her head. "I still hath much to learn, just as thou doth. When I was banished a thousand years ago no such spell existed. I know not even if the existence of these 'bedbugs' was known."

As fascinating as talking with The Princess of the Moon was, there were more pressing matters to attend to. "I will help Spike with the bedbug banishing powder if you can handle getting the bedbugs out of everypony's dreams," Twilight suggested the next course of action.

Luna walked over next to Rainbow Dash and sat down. She then turned back to Twilight, "Come hither, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the unexpected request, but didn't question it aloud. Instead she plodded over and sat next to the larger alicorn. "Yes, Princess?"

"This is Rainbow Dash, one of the Elements of Harmony and thy precious friend, is it not?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Twilight felt compelled to answer anyway. "Yes, it is," she somberly confirmed.

"Then thou must possess a powerful connection to this one," Luna asserted. "Close thine eyes." Again, Twilight Sparkle didn't question the princess's wisdom and followed her instructions. "With thy mind, try to reach Rainbow Dash's. Do so by thinking of her personality, feel her fears, and seek her dreams."

Twilight followed Luna's instruction as she kept her eyes closed. At first she couldn't make sense of what Luna was talking about, but as her horn sparked to life she felt something. It was as if Rainbow Dash was more than just sleeping in front of her. She could practically see Dash standing there—still awash in fear and anguish—staring back at her intently. Twilight could almost feel Rainbow's distress and it seemed as if she were silently asking for help.

"Good," Luna softly praised as she felt the connection. "Thou can sense her mind now. Be gentle and expand her mind until it envelops thine own completely."

It took Twilight over a minute and dozens of approaches before she figured out how to do what Luna asked. Very gently, she allowed Rainbow Dash's presence to envelop herself. As it did, Twilight saw a flash of light.

Suddenly, Twilight was no longer in her library. She was in an alleyway that appeared to be in Ponyville, but something was terribly, terribly wrong. She couldn't feel anything, smell anything. Everything around her seemed distorted as well. It was as if everything was lacking in detail.

Violent screams tore the alicorn's attention away from her marveling, urging her to run out of the alleyway. Twilight could recognize those voices anywhere—her friends were in trouble. Dashing out into the street, she found Sugarcube Corner engulfed in flames. Up at the top of the shop were the Cakes, their twins, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and even the Cutie Mark Crusaders all out on the terrace. The roaring flames were below them and behind them, threatening to roast them alive.

Down on the street below, Rainbow Dash was sprinting back and forth helplessly as her friends shouted for her to fly up and save them. Rainbow's wings appeared to be fine, but somehow Twilight could sense that, for whatever reason, the pegasus was absolutely unable to fly.

This is Rainbow Dash's dream, Twilight realized with a tinge of horror and sympathy. No, it's her nightmare!

Not enjoying her friends' agonized screams any more than Rainbow Dash, Twilight started to the cast the spell to banish the bedbugs. Just as her horn started to glow, a sudden hoof on her shoulder halted her. She looked over to find Luna standing next to her.

"Allow me to cast the spell, but before that thou must know to exit the dreamworld," Luna urged as she withdrew her hoof. "When last thy cast the spell, the dream collapsed. Remaining within a collapsing dream is a very dangerous situation."

Twilight nodded, "I understand, Princess."

"I shall guide thee out," Luna announced as her horn glowed with a blue aura. "Prepare thyself!" she roared as a sphere of magic burst out from her horn.

The screams of her friends were replaced with the squeals of the bedbugs as they were cast out. The magic not only banished the bedbugs, but also seemed to destabilize the dreamworld. Everything started to fly apart and even the ground beneath Twilight's hooves started to give way. The next thing she knew, Luna had her forelegs wrapped around her torso and was pulling her to safety.

With another flash of light, Twilight was back in her library. She blushed a bit as she realized Luna's legs were still holding flush against the bigger alicorn. "Umm…Princess?"

Luna blushed as she released Twilight and stepped away. She cleared her throat before speaking, "Dost thou now understand the basic dreamwalking spell?"

"Yes, Princess Luna," Twilight said as she stood and gave a small bow. "Thank you very much for teaching it to me."

"It was the least I could do. Do not forget that thou hast taught me a spell as well," Luna reminded Twiligt as she gave her a bow in return. "And please, just call me 'Luna'."

Twilight smiled, "Okay, Luna."

"Wha-what's going on?" Rainbow Dash muttered as she sat up, her head still in a sleepy fog.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight joyously hugged her pegasus friend. "You're awake!"

Dash worked to pry the ecstatic alicorn off of herself. Only after she pushed Twilight away did she start to realize what was going on.

"Yeah, oh…OH!" she exclaimed as she suddenly remembered. "It got to me! Did you…save me?"

"Well, sort of," Twilight dismissed as she pointed to Luna. "Prin…uh, Luna is actually the one you should be thanking."

Luna offered a smile and a wave as Rainbow's gaze fell on her.

Rainbow gave the dark blue princess a nod. "I guess you saved me, thanks."

"Think nothing of it, Rainbow Dash," Luna graciously replied.

"Umm," Spike spoke up as he set another pouch aside. "Are you girls forgetting that Ponyville is still full of ponies trapped in their nightmares?"

Twilight didn't appreciate Spike interrupting the friendly atmosphere, but she had to admit that the bedbug crisis took precedent. "Spike is right," she reluctantly agreed.

Luna nodded. "Twilight Sparkle and I shall purge the bedbugs from everypony's dreams," she took charge as she stood. "Spike shall continue to concoct the powder, and, Rainbow Dash; wouldst thou mind delivering the cure to Twilight Sparkle and me as Spike finishes it?"

"No problem!" Rainbow Dash confidently claimed with a smile, even if she was still a little in the dark as to what was going on.

Twilight pointed upstairs as she dragged one of the finished pouches over to herself with her magic. "Sweetie Belle is upstairs, I can start there."

"Sweetie Belle is but a filly, is she not?" Luna asked before Twilight could make it a couple of steps. Twilight nodded, eliciting a frown from Luna. "Do not attempt the dreamwalking spell on that one," she warned. "The dreams of fillies, colts, and foals can be a dangerous and unstable thing. I shall see to it."

Twilight allowed Luna to take the pouch as she walked by and towards the steps. "If you think that's best," she deferred to Luna's superior experience. Turning back to Spike, she looked to the complete pouches on the table. "How many have you finished?"

"Eight," Spike said as he worked a mortar and pestle. "Well, seven since you took that one."

Lifting three from the table with her magic, she placed them in her saddlebag and put it on. "Okay. Let Luna have the rest," she instructed. "Luna and I will have everypony back to normal in no time!"

Many, many hours later…

Twilight stumbled back into her library. She didn't even bother to hang up her saddlebag, instead letting it fall on the floor. "Luna went to the dreamscape to make sure we didn't miss anypony," she announced as she kicked the door closed behind her instead of using what little magic she had left in her. "But I think we got everypony."

"Ah, that's good," Spike announced as he presented the mixing table. All the herbs and leaves had been mixed and only a few pouches remained. "We still have a few leftover pouches. Did you remember to thank Zecora?"

Twilight's mouth fell open as her eyes widened. She forgot about Zecora! With a weary sigh she put her saddlebag back on and turned back to the door. "I'll be back in a little while."

Spike just laughed a little as he shrugged. He then looked down to the pouches and was reminded that Twilight would need one to prevent Zecora from getting re-bitten. Twilight had just left, but he wasn't going to go chasing after her. The tiny dragon tossed one last pouch onto a napping Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight forgot the last one," he announced as the rainbow pony stirred. "She's headed for Zecora's. Maybe you should give her a hoof."

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow Dash yawned as she grabbed the pouch in her teeth and took to the air. "'his is 'ah lasht one, righ'?"

"It's the last one," Spike assured. "You can go home when you're done." A blur of rainbow and Spike was left alone in the library.

"Who?" Owlowiscious hooted as he stirred.

Well, Spike was almost alone. Stretching, he turned to the pet owl and Twilight's number two assistant. "You got to sleep through the whole ordeal. Lucky you," he claimed before yawning.

"Who?"

"Well, you can take care of Twilight now. She should be back before too long," he continued as he headed towards the stairs. "Everypony but me got sleep all day. It's my turn!"

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Author's Notes – With this the story is essentially complete. Though I did rather enjoy writing for Luna. She is awesome! I might do some sort of epilogue at some point in the future so I can write more of her.