NOW

The blaring sirens of the once peaceful town penetrates his drumming skull as he sprints between the falling structures and screaming, panicking ponies. His ragged breaths are uneven due to the relentless chase and fast pace, leaving no time to spare for any kind of respite. He dodges, ducks, dives, and does every maneuver he can to avoid the various missiles launched at his notorious figure, all while scanning for a place to find that elusive shelter from the hunt.

Unfortunately, the hunters are sharp, and learn fast.

A blue, exploding bolt of magic soars ahead of him, and rips through the support beams of a large, nearby house, causing a great section of the building to initiate a collapsing flood of wood, plaster, thatch, and brick.

There were a few seconds before the structure fell upon him, giving him time to gaze upon the looming doom that shadowed him.The torrent of building material elicited a deafening crack and rumble of debris, topping any other destructive noise in the disastrous town.

The hunters cheered!

They have finally brought the monster down after the long and wild chase, all ended with a well-aimed shot of clever strategy. Now all that is left is to remove his body from the rubble, lock him away, and clean up the town. Normally, they would be hesitant on the prospect of dropping a house on a single body, but from their experience, this particular body would only be stunned rather than killed. How lucky for them, they complete the hunt while keeping their moral standing intact!

Now if it were only for their dignity and confidence that have been oh so damaged since the monster is nowhere to be found under the wreckage.

His reflexes have gotten much better since he first arrived. Before the house fell, he had spotted an open window just ahead of the home's destined fall point. Using the last spurt of speed and strength, he cleared the area in two, long, unrealistically fast strides and dove through the window. The sound of impacting the wooden floor and crashing into the dinner table set had been covered by the rupturing building behind him, so none heard his entrance.

This gives him time, but first, some insurance would be smart.

He silently gets to his feet, avoiding any fallen objects that may have descended from his entry, and closes the window shut. He turns to place the table and chairs back in their original position, fixing the tablecloth while he checks for any scratches on the floor. Any marks were relatively invisible, and everything is now as they were before he came through the window, making wherever the others assumed he hid much less obvious.

He peers around the corners of the dining room, looking into the living room and hallways, making sure he is the only current inhabitant. He soon realizes that if anyone were to be here, they would have come running the second he leaped through the open window. The residents must have evacuated during the hunt. Whether it was a smart move to stay home and sheltered or away from the chaos but possibly open to it is a hard question, but he is just glad he didn't have to deal with another horrified family.

He leaves the kitchen and trudges down the hallway, taking deep and slow breaths to calm his fast, thick, rhythmic heartbeat. He opens a brown door to his left and takes a glance inside. He spots a bathtub, toilet, and sink, all part of the small bathroom that he is looking for. He quickly slides inside, closes the door, locks it, and makes for the sink. He removes his old brown cloak and lets it drop to the floor. He turns the faucet's knobs and hears the gracious stream of clear water splashing against the porcelain.

He splashes his face with the clean liquid, wiping off the grime, sweat, and blood caked onto his skin. It was then that he noticed he was trembling. He stops and leers at the strange claws which had taken the place of his old hands some time ago. He lightly wiggles the claws as the water ran between the hard, white plates and over the black, beaded skin underneath. He wonders back to when he discovered that he could not reverse his hands' scaly transformation anymore. He purses his lips and rolls his sleeves just past the long hollow spines that protruded from his elbows, waiting to spit the explosive, blue fire again.

He did not need to roll his sleeves further to remind himself of the scales, plating and muscles that were not his own, slowly spreading past his arms and across his chest. The same was felt about the same textures that had moved past his knees. His head darts up to the mirror, staring back at his fearful, hooded visage. It had been some time since he beheld the progress on his head, and truthfully, he never liked to, which is why he became so partial to that hood of his, no matter how ragged his blue jacket is now.

He tentatively reaches for the sides of the hood, being careful not to rip the sides with the tips of his claws. He lightly uncovers his head, and faces his face with a placid expression betrayed by shaky gulps. His head had strayed far from the anatomy he arrived with. The plates covered nearly half of his cranium, resembling a bleached, ridged skull and making his shiny black hair slightly spill over the edge. The plates stretched past his left eye, taking most of his upper lips, and covering his nose and ending in a sharp point, akin to a very small beak. The right half of his face was mostly untouched, save for the edges where the plates and black skin encroached like dark tendrils. His left eye had changed from its normal coffee brown shade to a blue sphere with shocks of white streaks, sort of like broken glass. The other feature was the slim, alabaster horn extending from the left side of his head, pointing forward, ready to skewer.

One perk among the many of them was that he didn't need his glasses anymore. The transformation seems to have corrected his vision, but he still keeps them in his jacket pocket.

He has another thought which had visited him in the past. Did this not all occur because of that book? He remembers when he carried it under his jacket wherever he went, foolishly oblivious to the evils it would hurl upon him and those nearby. He had thrown it far away from him some time ago, not giving it a second thought.

But by the time he pushed himself to toss it, it had been too late.

He looks into the reflection of the mirror and sees something perched upon the toilet's tank, angled to look back at him. There it sits, the book, it's leathery skull's eyes shining red and smiling gleefully. He was surprised the first time it appeared after the toss, but not the second, third, or countless other times it chose to torment him, so he decides to ignore it.

His eyes dart back to his reflected face, then he runs a finger across the transfigured skin and chokes the words from his throat, finally saying what he should have asked a long time ago, "Oh, Lord... when did things go too far?"

This is when the gravity suddenly feels as if it intensified and thickened. He had become quickly able to sense these things, and it only means...

Cheers and whooping fill the air outside his refuge, waking him from his trance, but there was one familiar voice shouting above the rest, "You can run, white fiend, but you only delay the inevitable!"

He pulls his hood back over his head and picked up his patchy cloak, "Great... now the princess is here for me...

An involuntary smile suddenly twists at the corner of his lip, "Heh."

Maybe the transfiguration extends beyond his flesh.

A great while before...

"TWILIGHT, get your grape-juice lookin' ass over here!"

Twilight's ear twitched in response to the hero's usual blunt call. The princess had been chatting with Applejack at her apple stand in Ponyville's town square on this bright and sunny summer day, and considering it was such a beautiful day, she thought it would be good to take Lee for an outing to meet with Applejack while Spike helped Cheerilee get some things ready for school.

She knew that Lee of all people needed it right now.

Twilight peered at Lee the legend and saw that he was examining the Equestrian Ledger at the newspaper stand. She and Applejack raised an eyebrow as Lee's intensely focused eyes scanned the words of the paper with apparent interest.

"Ah didn't think Lee was much fer readin' the papers." Applejack asked, her slow wording spelling the surprise in her voice.

Twilight shook her head while keeping eyes on his figure hunched over the stand, "Well, he's not. In fact, the last time he was actually reading anything from the stand was when that... swag.... disaster struck and he made a... oh he's about to throw a fit isn't he?"

Lee stopped reading to notice that Twilight was still talking to Applejack while studying him with her dissecting eyes.

He grunted and threw his arms to the side, "Are you just gonna f*cking stand there? Hurry up, damnit. And you too Breakfast Cereal. Because I like you."

Applejack snorted, "We better do what he says."

Twilight gave Lee a quick glance and quietly told her friend, "At least he's being his usual self for a little bit."

Applejack sighed and began walking towards Lee, "Ah know, but it ain't gonna last fer long. We're gonna have to deal with this sooner or later."

When they were close enough, Lee grabbed the two ponies and threw his arm around their necks, pushing their heads to read the papers in his other arm.

Before they could read anything, the clerk of the news counter shouted, "This ain't a library! Pay up or give it—"

"—BITCH!" Lee pulled a small pouch of gold coins out of his gym short's pocket and chucked into the salespony's muzzle, although the pouch was mostly filled with rocks, the pain of the package was more than enough to keep the clerk's attention off of them, "Now, read this sh*t."

Twilight decided to chastise Lee for the action later, and read the headlines:

WHITE DEMON CONTINUES TO TERRORIZE EQUESTRIANS WITH NO SIGN OF STOPPING! Royal Guard Captain, Shining Armor, now leads the hunt!

"Oh yeah, I think I remember Shiny telling me something about having to look for this White Demon thing the other day. Guess this monster has gotten past tabloids level of news... hm."

Applejack snickered, "Well, it only makes sense, Twilight, considerin' it tried to take the Crystal Heart under his watch and everythin'."

Twilight cocked her head to the side as she asked Lee, "Why the interest, Lee? You never really care about the Equestrian news."

"Think, dumbass," Lee snapped with a sneer, causing Twilight to flinch. He had been much more hostile than usual lately, and Twilight still was not used to it, "every monster or idiot villain in the news always has some no-shit-Sherlock plot or motivation for whatever the Hell they're doing, that's what I noticed. But what does this White Prick do?"

Twilight's ear flopped in curiosity, "It just leaves a permanent mark of terror wherever it leaves, and scares the heck out of ponies who see it."

"EXACTLY.This doesn't make any damn sense. All those jackasses are just calling it the scariest, evil-lookin'-motherf*cker that ever walked Equestria, but they can't remember a single detail about what it looked like? It just f*cks around for no reason. Why?"

"Ah dunno, Lee," Applejack interjected, "a lot of critters just do what they do around here for the sake of doin' it, and you can't trust a lot of ponies to remember things they don't want to..." her reasoning seemed to make Lee's tensed features relax a bit as it crept into his mind.

"And even if it is something out of the ordinary that required things to be done," Twilight added, "Princess Celestia would have
at least said something to the other princesses. So do you want to say or do something about it?"

Lee's shoulder slumped and any of his previous tension was already replaced by tired resignation evidenced by his sighs, "Um.. naw... I just thought it was something kinda weird. You're probably right, nothin' to notice."

And here was another example of unusual behavior on Lee's part. He simply gave into their explanations. Lee would fight the logic for the Hell of it with a couple dozen expletives, but he just gets tired now.

His pace was slower. His strength was very drained. His eyes were red and baggy. His movements were more like awkward shuffles.

He was very tired, and it was taking a toll on him, and luckily, his hoofed friends all knew why he was so tired.

"Lee..." Twilight tentatively said in a quiet tone, "... are we going to talk about it or what?"

Lee frowned and shook his head slowly, "Ain't nothin' to talk about. I already said that I'm fine."

Twilight rolled her eyes and nearly shouted, "Really, you're fine? I caught you trying to butter an orange for breakfast at least two times!"

"Can't a man try a new damn recipe every once in a while?" Lee grumbled as he walked away from the news stand and his friends, searching for a bench to sit down on.

Applejack followed closely and flatly told him, "Honey, take this from a farm worker who's experienced sleep deprivation in extreme forms, you haven't been gettin' any rest for weeks and it SHOWS."

Lee found the wooden bench he and Spike talked on some time ago and plopped himself down, "How the Hell would you know I haven't been sleepin'? You gettin' your horn on by watchin' me sleep or something? Ever thought I'm just sick?"

Twilight sat down next to him, and booped him with a hoof, "We know you haven't been sleeping because you've been having NIGHT TERRORS FOR THE PAST MONTH!"

Lee Newsom sleeps at the castle with Twilight Sparkle and Spike the dragon, all three were enjoying a night in the brand new, crystalline castle that sprouted after Tirek's defeat. This peaceful night would be one of the many rewards that came of overcoming Princess Twilight and friends' latest trials of ultimate friendship and heroism. Yes, this was all well deserved, even though Lee the Legend had nothing to do with the venture since he was helping with Vinyl Scratch's equipment at a concert in Appaloosa. Appaloosa of all places!

Even Lee merited a welcome rest after his days of helping a new friend.

"NO. NO. STOP, THOSE ARE MY BRAINS. DON'T EAT MY BRAINS YOU SPOOKY MONSTERS. GO AWAY MONSTERS. YOU'RE SPOOKY AS HELL. GO AWAY. NO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NO! SHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII—"

"We had to move out of that new castle because your screams kept echoing off the crystal walls!"

"ALRIGHT," Lee managed to shout over his tiredness, "I got a bit of a nightmare problem, I get it. But it's just a f*cking nightmare, I'll get over it. I'll either get a full eight hours of sleep, or eventually drop dead!" everything stopped as he uttered those words, as if he suddenly realized what he said, "Oh shit, man."

Applejack put a hoof on his shoulder, "Understand now, Lee?"

"Uh, yeah." Lee said in a hollow voice, most of his mind rooted on the idea of sleep.

Twilight craned her neck to Applejack's ear, "That went a lot quicker and easier than I thought it would, I'd figure he'd just argue about it the rest of the day like he usually does, and, I don't know, do some weird dance to go with it."

Applejack shrugged, "Ain't got enough energy to do that. Lack of sleep' can make a body complacent, or just the opposite, really."

Lee rubbed his tired eyes, hoping that it would rub out some of the weariness, "Anywhore, I don't see what we can do about these nightmares anyways, it's not like I can Inception the shit out of it."

Twilight blinked widely several times, "Are you serious?"

"Hm?"

"Do you not remember that Princess Luna, your MENTOR, has the ability to walk into dreams and nightmares, meaning she has all kinds of experience with these dream-related problems?"

Lee sighed and slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand, "I'm sorry, I'm more moronic than a seven-times-inbred-liberal who spits out logic terms so he can sound smart to his other seven-times-inbred-liberal friends when I get this sleep-deprived."

Twilight squinted as she repeats Lee's remark silently, "Well that's more long-winded than the usual ones, but that doesn't matter. What DOES matter is that you're finally willing to get help for your affliction."

Applejack gave Lee a quick hug, "Know that we care greatly for ya, ya big goofball!"

Twilight followed Applejack's example and embraced him tightly, both mares pressing themselves close, "You've been a wonderful friend, and we hate to see you like this. Thanks for accepting the help."

Lee briefly raised his arms to hug them back, and pulled away after a few seconds, "We done f*cking now?" Lee separated, rose from the bench, and stretched before saying, "We're gonna need Spike, I gotta take a letter."

"My student, it was far too foolish of you to refuse any sort of help of this matter! Dreams of this variety are an especially nasty thing if they become capable of doing this much damage."

Lee groaned from the makeshift bed of straw in Applejack's barn, "Yeah, yeah, I know, Princess of Bitchiness and Snapples already gave me shit for it. I was dumb, and an asshole, and too sexy for this shirt, and all too real for this shit, but I'm here now, aren't I?"

Princess Luna rolled her eyes as she circled his laying figure, "Yes, no point in chastisement now. Now, what can you remember from the nightmares? It is best to be as prepared as possible for any surprise dangers while I dreamwalk with you."

Lee grimaced, "That's the thing. I can't. All I know is that it's scary as Hell. Any memory disappears when I wake up."

Luna froze and looked down at him, "Well, that is... most strange, considering recurring nightmares do leave a large spot in the dreamer's nightmares..." she put a hoof under her chin and thought aloud, "then again, I never sensed any bad dreams especially frightening from this town either. I usually detect the problem before it even becomes this noticeable. Hm. Well, any questions before we begin, student? Dreamwalking in this direct process is quite unorthodox, so it's best to get any confusions out of the way."

Lee glanced around the empty barn, seeing only piles of bundles of hay, "Why are we alone? Don't I need emotional support or something gay like that?"

"Considering the nature of the nightmare," Luna explained in a strangely cheery pitch, showing her happiness in being able to teach someone about something that only she could do, "it is best to dreamwalk alone so that there are no possible distractions, or worse, they also become absorbed in the nightmare. Therefore, it should only be me and you, my pupil of the Night."

"As long as you don't molest me and make me call you uncle, that's fine."

Princess Luna frowned, "But would it not make more sense to call me aunt?"

"Okay, I'm just going to ignore that rapey-comment and ask how this dreamwalking shit starts."

To answer Lee's question, her horn hummed before streaking out the midnight blue veil of magic, congealing and bursting into an explosion of stars that overtook his senses, sending him instantly to sleepytimes.

Lee hesitated as he opened his eyes. He knew where he was. He knew the inky landscape full of the abstract terrors that haunted him for the many weeks well enough that he could recognize it with his eyes closed.

At least this time, he had his powerful, Alicorn princess of a teacher by his side to make it all go away.

And there she stood, mane billowing against the winds, mouth open in awe, examining the writhing and frothing dark's spectral images and malformed creatures with a fascinated horror.

Then she heard the screaming crescendo's beginning. The wails pierced her skull like a million running drill guns, but she barely flinched.

Lee covered his ears as he ungainly walked over to her stalwart form, "So you gonna do some dream-ghostbusting or what, Auntie Luna?"

Luna's eyes skittered to Lee's, and she furrowed her brow, "I can't."

Lee's hands dropped to his side, his jaw hit the floor, and he screamed,"THE F*CK YOU TALKING ABOUT, AUNTIE?!

Luna spied the tendrils of darkness coiling and uncoiling around them, waiting to grab and squeeze, "You don't understand, Lee, these aren't just any dreams or nightmares..."

"Then WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

Princess Luna's eyes widened as the grotesque figures began to take form and march closer, "These aren't nightmares..."
she unfurled a wing, enveloped Lee, and brought Lee's trembling body close, "... these are visions!"

Author's Notes:

GUESS WHO'S BACK...

BACK AGAIN.

LEE IS BACK.

TELL A FRIEND.

Yeah, I ain't letting this story stagnate or die, so I'm finally moving ahead with it. A new chapter, with lots of hangers. It does seem kinda fast-paced and all...

"We want proper pac—"

—SHUT UP, AT LEAST I CONTINUED THE DAMN STORY UNLIKE MANY WHO JUST LEAVE THEIRS INCOMPLETE FOREVER.

lol seriously, no animosity or anything. It feels good to be back.