Dream Walking

Written by RandomString Proofread by Knight of Cerebus

Twilight was running through a dark forest. The moonlight gave enough light to see by, but no colour; all she could see was shadows and silhouettes. There was something behind Twilight, something terrible, and she had to get away. With no clear path to guide her, she navigated through the undergrowth as best she could; brambles whipped painfully at her legs as she passed.

The ground fell away beneath her as she came across a small creek in the darkness. She tumbled into the water, hooves flailing, and landed hard. The shockingly cold water made her gasp, cough, and splutter. Scrambling ever forward, Twilight pulled herself out of the stream and up the other side.

She was running up a hill now, dodging trees, her lungs burning. It was getting closer. A panicked look up showed a foreboding castle at the top of the hill. No lights were on, but Twilight was desperate and this could be a refuge. Stumbling on the incline, Twilight left the trees behind and broke out into a gallop, pushing herself as hard as she could.

The castle drawbridge was down, but the great gates were closed. Twilight hammered on the gates with her hooves, but no sound was made. She tried screaming for help but she had no voice. All she could hear was her gasping breaths and the frenzied beating of her heart.

Desperately pushing on the unmoving gates, Twilight knew that it was surely nearly upon her. Terror overcame her and she moaned silently with despair, but didn't turn around. She could not face the horror. The slow clop of hoof on wood sounded behind her. It was approaching and Twilight collapsed, her heart trying break free of her rib cage, slumping against the door, still unable to turn her head.

She felt a breath on her back, no no no no, she thought.

"So, how did it go?" asked Luna.

--------------------

"You said you liked to be afraid! You said fear would add some spice. And you have not answered my question."

Luna and Twilight were quietly bickering as she lead them into the now lit and warm castle.

"I said 'a little fear can be fun', not full-blown, mind-numbing terror! And I think it went well, thanks."

"You were laughing quite joyfully when you recovered. And I need more details. Did you enjoy it?"

The two entered the castle main hall. Halfway down was a blazing fireplace with cushions for sitting on and an opened bottle of red wine next to some crystal glasses. Luna steered Twilight towards the cushions.

"I was laughing from relief! And I shouldn't have enjoyed pranking all those ponies like that. It was mean spirited!"

"So you did have fun," said Luna, happily.

Twilight sighed, "Yes, I had fun. Both times. Thank you," she leaned over and kissed Luna.

"You are welcome. Wine?"

"Thanks."

They settled onto their cushions facing each other, bathed in the warmth from the fire. The wine had a delicate, fruity aroma that hinted of autumn flowers. It was dangerously drinkable.

Twilight described her day, going into details about her pranks, and those of Pinkie and Rarity. The bottle emptied as the story went on and soon Luna was laughing delightedly.

"Thank you, Twilight. It's been long since I had fun like that. Even before... before... you know. I had to teach Tia how to have fun. She used to hate my pranks. Each time I pulled a little trick on her, she'd threaten dire vengeance and not speak to me for days. I kept at it. She couldn't stay mad at me, and she would always calm down after a while. Eventually, I dyed her coat pink just before the Grand Galloping Gala."

"Pink? Wow. Was she angry?"

"Angry? She was furious. She tried everything, but she couldn't get the colour out before the start, so she marched out there, a beautiful pastel pink pony, and didn't say a word about it. The nobles and dignitaries were all queued up to shake her hoof and everypony noticed the pinkness and not one said a word about it. Not one had the courage to ask or point it out. Apparently the looks on the faces of all the nobles struggling to hide their curiosity was hilarious.

"When the thing was done, she tracked me down in my hiding place. I thought I would be banished, but she couldn't hold back her laughter and she just hugged me. We got on a lot better after that, or at least after I gave her a solvent for the dye."

"What happened between you two?" asked Twilight quietly, sipping her wine.

Luna sighed, "Another time, maybe. I don't want to remember those days. I'm back now, and I can see that Tia can still laugh, which is wonderful. She, she acts almost as if she wants to be pranked. She even pranked me, a couple of times, I think. But I didn't laugh – I just got angry, just like Tia used to. I, I thought I had forgotten how. Thank you for reminding me, Twilight."

Twilight deliberately ignored the tears welling in Luna's eyes as she hugged her.

"You certainly pull a few pranks during Nightmare Night. Maybe it's time to bring the old Luna back for good, not just one day a year."

"Maybe. No. Maybe. I'm not Old Luna during Nightmare Night. I just pretend. I act like her, act as she would. And I act like the other one too. I'm not either of them any more. I think they got rid of each other."

"Aww, there goes my chances for a foursome," said Twilight, trying to change the mood.

It worked well enough – Luna smirked, and then giggled, "It would not have gone well. Old Luna would be too busy trying to pull the other's tail, whilst the other would be trying desperately to smite her without losing her dignity."

"Well, maybe the other could make an appearance by herself, sometime. She was very scary and very sexy."

Luna stiffened, "No. No, no. You're mine, not hers. No–"

Twilight quickly grasped Luna's hoofs in hers, "Luna, she's gone. You said so yourself. We act and play – why not play as her?"

"No. We play with dreams, not Nightmares. Dreams can be so much more. Let me show you."

"You can't distract me that easily, Luna. I am not dropping this. Why are you afraid of her? Why can't you forgive yourself, as everyone else has long forgiven you? Talk to me."

"Twilight, I brought you here to teach you dream walking."

Twilight blinked. She was torn by two warring feelings inside her. One was her care and concern for Princess Luna, who seemed to be holding in something painful and the other was her constant, desperate need to learn. Oh well, she thought, We can talk about it later.

"I'm sorry, what were we talking about? Oh well, couldn't have been important. Tell me about dream magic."

Luna laughed, crisis averted.

"Let me tell you a story. It's a very old story, and it's told to every young dream walker by their mentor. We'll need a different backdrop."

Luna finished the last of her wine and then waved a hoof; the castle faded away. The ponies were transported high up in a fertile green valley, bathed in the rosy light of a setting sun. There was a crude mud road, barely more than a track, ahead of them, leading down into the valley. Near the river flowing through the centre of the valley was a large hut, surrounded by numerous smaller ones. It appeared to be a small village.

As Luna lead a deeply curious Twilight down the track, she spoke, "This is Ear – the first city, or it will be. These are the earth ponies that negotiated the first treaty of the three tribes: the pegasi ensure good weather, the unicorns keep the sun and moon under control, and the earth ponies share the bounty of the land. There's plenty for all and the tribes are growing as fast as the crops."

Twilight looked at the fields as she passed, and saw the beginnings of agriculture; seeds had been deliberately scattered here, and some of them had grown. An earth pony with a cutie mark depicting a sheaf of wheat lay dozing nearby, clearly having no great worries in the world.

"The corn and wheat grow high, the foals grow fat, and life is good. This is before the griffon wars, before the first return of Discord, before the wendigos. The village below knows no trouble, and the ponies sleep easy."

They soon reached the centre of the village, and saw more earth ponies lying around, chatting and grooming. The shadows were fairly long, and soon they were saying their ‘goodnight’s before heading back to their huts.

"The nights come early in the valley, but the chores have been done, the foals are fed and it's time to sleep."

The scene before them blurred, and suddenly it was deep in the night. Luna lead them into one of the huts. There was a small family sleeping together on a pile of rushes. The young colt appeared to be having a bad dream, twitching and making faint moans.

"When a pony falls asleep, they create a dream. When they wake up, the dream disappears. Except, now, there are enough dreamers that the Dreaming has appeared. It can sustain some dreams even while the ponies are awake. The dreams that survive are the ones that have common... architecture. Each pony keeps a little piece of it alive. Often, it is of shared places, like Ear."

Luna tenderly brushed the mane away from the colt's face, but did not wake him.

"But there are nightmares, too. And colts talk with other colts. They pass their dreams between themselves, sharing the fear and passing it on. It becomes a shared dream, sustained by the fear that it creates."

The scene shimmered again, and the hut changed. The shadows were darker now and the family was gone, leaving only the colt, alone and afraid. The sounds of peace in the valley were now replaced by a distant sobbing. This was the colt's nightmare.

"This dream must be created anew each time the story is told. You see, the dreams were sustained, and the denizens of the dreams were sustained too. Night after night, the monster survived. As it survived, the monster learned and remembered. Over time, the monster became alive. It became self-aware, the first Nightmare."

The colt, clearly fearful, crept out of the hut, oblivious to Twilight and Luna following him. He headed towards the sobbing, which was coming from the great central hut. The fire in the centre of the hut was burning low, but lying in front of it was the crying figure of an old mare, black as night with black billowing mane, the fire casting a long shadow that looked to be a part of her. The figure turned to the colt, who froze with fear. Blazing red eyes looked down on him as the Nightmare stalked closer.

Twilight could barely hear the colt whisper, "No no no no...".

Luna spoke quietly as the scene unfolded, "The colts had dreamed this nightmare so many times, the monster became aware. Aware that there was life beyond the dreaming, and it wanted to taste it. Watch."

Twilight wanted desperately to help, or else turn away, as the shadow cast by the Nightmare wrapped around the colt as he finally tried to run. It dragged him towards the horror and finally consumed him. Twilight shuddered at his screams.

The scene shifted again, this time to a featureless starfield.

"The Nightmare possessed the colt's body. You do not need to see the evil it did in the waking world while using it. They killed the colt to drive the Nightmare away, but such things are not so easily killed. It took a filly a few days later. Soon, everypony was dreaming the same dream, living in terror, never knowing who would be taken next."

The scene changed one more time. The nightmare village again, the mare, now larger than any pony, was sitting by the fire. Another colt, grey coated, white maned, so young that he did not sport a cutie mark. But this colt was not afraid. He was angry. He galloped into the hut and attacked the Nightmare, surprising her.

"Grey Thoughts. He had lost his sister to the Nightmare, and he burned for revenge."

The colt struggled with the Nightmare, their fight casting strange shadows in the dust. She bit him on the shoulder, drawing blood that was glossy black in the firelight, but he kicked her into the fire. As the Nightmare tried to escape, the colt held her down in the fire with grim determination, ignoring his own terrible burns. The fire embraced the Nightmare and she screamed as she died.

"That wound on his shoulder was the key. The burns were gone when he next slept, but the shoulder wound would not heal. Whenever he dreamed, Grey Thoughts would feel the bite. He would know then that he was in a dream. Over time, he learned to control his dreams, and then how to travel to the dreams of others."

Grey Thought's flank shimmered, and where once it was blank, there now was a crude round shield against the backdrop of a cloudy night sky. It looked somewhat similar to Luna's.

The scene faded away, back to the starfield.

"There were more lessons learned, over time, knowledge earned through suffering and loss. If a dream walker enters the dream of another and marks them, they too can walk in dreams. It could be dangerous, as ponies lost in dreams seldom return to the waking world. The 'gift' was passed on, and the dream walkers carry on even now, protecting the dreamers from the Nightmares."

Twilight was staring at Luna with awe. She then shook her head and asked, "But there are so many more ponies now. Why are we not over-run with Nightmares? There cannot possibly be that many dream walkers.”

"If enough ponies stay awake on one day a year, the Dreaming briefly shrinks. The weaker dreams that it sustains fade away. Dream walkers can guide the cull, driving nightmare dreams to the edge of the Dreaming so that they are the first to go. Nightmares fade away before they can surviving long enough to become aware."

"The Summer Sun celebration!" said Twilight, "All the ponies stay awake to party, and welcome the rising sun!"

"Precisely. It has a greater purpose than merely praising my sister's work, but the ponies don't need to know that, and it may be better that they don't. If they don't focus on their nightmares, they are less likely to be haunted by them. The other dreaming races do something similar.

"There are still Nightmares out there, Twilight. We cannot patrol the entire Dreaming and nightmares will always be born anew from ponies' fears. The first Nightmare was violent, but later ones learned subtlety.

"If you accept the gift and agree to become a dream walker, you must always maintain your guard and prevent the Nightmares from escaping into the waking world, destroying them if you can. It need not be violent, merely resolve the fears of the dreamer, so that they stop having the same dream, and the Nightmare will fade away."

"It's a lot to take in, but yes, I want to help."

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. There are few of us, and more ponies of courage and caring are always welcome."

"Luna..."

"Yes, Twilight?"

"What happened, a thousand years ago? I think I need to know."

Luna sighed, "The Nightmare was subtle, seductive. It appeared to be a normal dream, at first. It said it just wanted to talk.

"It wasn't even evil, in itself. It just wanted the Dreaming to expand, the sustained dreams to survive forever. If the night lasted forever, the ponies would always be dreaming and the Dreaming would grow. Nightmares are not intelligent. It could not see the consequences of its actions.

"I felt isolated, alone. Unloved. It didn't possess me against my will, how could it? I just offered myself freely to the only thing that said it loved me."

Luna looked away, and fell silent, but did not resist when Twilight hugged her.

---------------------

"So," said Twilight after a while, "you need to give me a 'mark'. That's a wound, right?"

"It need not be something so blatant as an open wound. Merely a lasting bruise will do. A wound created by a dream walker, made so that it will not heal in dreams. I have a bruise on my flank, near my cutie mark. It cannot be seen under my coat, but I always know it is there.

Twilight nodded, and stood still. Luna kissed her fully on the lips, and then pulled back. Twilight didn't even have time to flinch before one of Luna's hooves lashed out and stuck her rear thigh. It hurt, but not badly and it would not affect her walking.

They spent some time hugging each other.

----------------------

Luna was an inexperienced teacher, but Twilight was an expert student. Twilight carefully guided Luna through the teaching process, encouraging her to find a style that let her share her knowledge at a pace that suited them both.

It didn't take long for Luna to teach Twilight the basics of dream walking, or for Twilight to teach Luna the basics of teaching. They both promised to send the other books with more detailed information.

They were discussing the practical limits to the skills when Luna suddenly became distracted.

"Luna, what's wrong?"

"I believe one of your friends is having a nightmare – look over there."

Luna pointed down, through the ground and beyond the dream that they were in. From the outside, other dreams appeared as soap bubbles, each floating in free dreamspace. Luna had assured Twilight that they were connected, but the strands would not yet be visible to a beginner.

The dream that Luna was pointing at was not a smooth bubble – the sides rippled and bulged wildly.

"When the edges of a dream act like that, the dreamer is experiencing strong emotions. If it were pleasure, even a surprise, the bulges would not be as chaotic and turbulent. We may find a dream of ponies in pleasure later so that you can see the comparison, but for now, your friend needs our help."

Both ponies measured the distance between their dream and the nightmare, and leapt. Unable to guide their path much after launch, Twilight drifted towards her target. As they got closer, Twilight could start to see and hear through the dream's boundaries. Flickering impressions came at her in a blur: a great roaring noise, fire and darkness, and dead apple trees in winter snow. Twilight knew what she would be seeing before they arrived.

The burning house looked huge, with flames bright against blackened timbers. Applejack stood a little way off, screaming hoarsely. She was being blocked from entering the house by a terrified looking Granny Smith, who clutched a baby foal in her arms. Big MacIntosh was lying nearby, bleeding from his shoulder. He was coughing between short gasping breaths, his eyes weren't properly focused, and he looked confused. Smoke inhalation, thought Twilight clinically, as the distance between the nightmare and her shrunk and then disappeared.

She rushed to Applejack's side the moment they entered the dream. The panicking mare turned to her with tearful desperation, "Twilight! Twilight, thank Celestia! Save them! Twilight, save them!"

"Applejack! It's me, Twilight. Breathe, Applejack. This is a nightmare."

"Save them, Twilight! Magic away the fire! Why ain't you saving them?"

"Applejack, listen to me. This is a nightmare. This happened years ago. I can't stop the fire. It's too late."

It took time, but slowly Applejack recovered her wits. Twilight discretely faded the tragic scene away until they were standing on a grassy field on a bright sunny day. Applejack's breathing had calmed and she'd wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Thank you, Twilight. Ah thought those nightmares had stopped. Ah reckon talking about it at the picnic an' then goin' to sleep in front of a fire wasn't such a good idea, particularly at this time of year."

"I'm sorry I reawakened these memories, Applejack. I should have been more considerate about the fire. I just didn't think."

"'s okay, sugarcube. Ah hadn't noticed either. Ah reckon it's just one of those unconscious things that ya don't think about."

"Subconscious,” said Twilight, automatically correcting her, “I understand, Applejack. But if you really want the nightmare to go away, talking to your friends might help you heal."

"Ah'll think about it. Thank ya kindly for taking the nightmare away. Ah guess Ah should wake up now, right?"

Luna had been standing back at a discrete distance, but started walking forward when the mares pulled apart from the hug. She overheard Applejack's question, and answered, "If you wake now, Applejack, you will not be well rested for the coming day and you will have difficulty getting back to sleep. I suggest simply moving to a more pleasant dream."

"And how do Ah do that? Er, your highness."

"We shall aid you. What dream do you desire? Memories of happier times with your parents? A victorious occasion at a 'roh-dee-oh'?"

Applejack shook her head, "Thank ye kindly, your Highness, but waking up from good memories before the fire tends to be as bad as having the dream of the fire itself, if you take my meaning. Maybe waking up would be best..."

"Come on Applejack, you know that's not a good idea. There must be something you'd like. How about a flying dream? Or a sexy one?" Twilight batted her eyelids at her suggestively.

"Ah, c'mon Twi. We don't talk about that sort of thing."

"Why not? I just told you about Luna spanking me"

"Yeah, about that. Ah know it's good to share, but Ah reckon ya might have taken it a bit too far last night. Some things should stay private."

"Nonsense! How could I explain Pinkie's joke with the paddles if I didn't? Now, I know you got really interested when I talked about the stocks, I saw you blushing. Do you want something like that? It'd just be you by yourself with a dream partner. Private dream. Don't be shy, I'm your friend."

Applejack wanted to look anywhere but at her friend. Finally breaking down under Twilight's insistent, helpful smile, Applejack muttered, "Ah ain't dreamed it before."

"I'm sorry - didn't quite catch that."

"Ah said, Ah ain't dreamed it before. But, look. When Ah was a filly, my pa taught me how to handle a rope, tie a knot an' use a lasso. Useful skill on the farm. Ah found it really interesting, so Ah went down to the library to look up more stuff 'n he could teach."

Twilight nodded attentively.

"Now Ah don't know which pony put that book in the stacks – it just wasn't decent – but Ah couldn't stop reading. Not right that a filly could just stumble across such a thing. Ah think it was Neighponese. It said they didn't have much iron or anything much else over there. They couldn't just chain up prisoners, so they tied 'em up instead."

"Oh, I think I know the book you're talking about, Applejack. I was surprised to find it in the little Ponyville library. Keep going."

"Well, they didn't just tie 'em up on the ground, they strung them up with ropes from trees, tied to legs and hooves. Kept 'em there for a day or two. Mighty humiliating punishment, it was. An' then some mares took a liking to it.

"There were pictures in the book, of pretty young mares all tied up, hanging from their the ceiling like, like decorations. They looked so relaxed. Elegant, almost. Ah don't rightly know why, but Ah saw it an' thought Ah'd like that. Oh Celestia, this is so embarrassing. Ah swear, you tell anyone about this Twi-"

Twilight cut Applejack off with a hoof on her shoulder. Luna nodded at her out of the corner of her eye and started to shape the dream. The field turned hilly, a rough path lead up the hill towards a large, sprawling, oriental house. Applejack swallowed, and walked up the hill, leaving the other two mares behind.

As Luna and Twilight departed back to their original dream, Twilight suddenly remembered, "Oh! Pinkie Pie! She really wanted to visit the Chocolate Factory. Is that okay?"

Luna raised an enquiring eyebrow.

"Oh, not like that. She doesn't want the 'guided tour', she just wants to drink a river of chocolate."

Luna laughed. Soon she was able to show Twilight what two pleasant dreams looked like from the outside, one of joyful exuberance and one of quiet ecstasy. Twilight always did enjoy learning new things.