Sound could not believe his eyes. Before him sat a whole camp, a veritable town of trees and shacks, all hidden inside a cliff illusion! His jaw nearly dislocated from the sheer awe, and he was reminded of this when an unfortunate fly landed on his tongue.
"Urk!" Sound coughed a few times to get the offending insect out of his mouth, then re-assessed his location. "Princess, where are we?" he asked, wonder evident in his eyes.
"As I have said, young Sound, this is my Camp Pax Æterna, the place where your mind and body are attuned to the dream magic that I once was the sole controller of. It seems that since you passed the barrier, you are of the ability to Dreamwalk, therefore, you qualify for my Dreamscape Commando program." Luna lectured Sound softly, her demeanor much more relaxed now under the safety of the illusion.
"Dream Commandos sound like soldiers, like the Royal Guard! It's not dangerous, is it?" the colt's eyes widened. "What if you get injured in the dream? Does it hurt you in real life? What if-" Sound's comment devolved into murmurs as a midnight blue hoof found its way to his mouth.
"Do not worry, little one. We'll ensure your safety, however, I find it important for you to speak with Von Dreamy first, as he will set your agenda here. However, that is not the first matter at hoof." Luna extended her wing and placed it over Sound's back, encouraging him to walk further with her.
"O..Oh. Okay Princess." Sound mumbled, clearly not sated for safety. His legs, which had fallen asleep as he sat, felt as though he was being stabbed with tiny needles and his breath came short, having exhausted himself from the overload of information. He was going to be a soldier! Maybe even one to rival the Royal Guard! And what was that about passing the barrier? Weren't unicorns the only users of magic? Sound had a multitude of questions running through his head.
"Come now, young Sound, let us find you a bunk, and get you set up with Counselor Von Dreamy." Luna ushered Sound through a group of young ponies practicing their levitation. "You'll begin his class tomorrow morning. Von Dreamy will share the more precise information when you meet. Ah, here we are!" Luna gently motioned toward a rough assembly of shacks that could only be the bunk houses. "I'll let you get settled in. Von Dreamy will be waiting for you in his classroom, located atop the tree in the center of camp." Luna turned to leave, stopping suddenly.
"Oh, and Sound?" Luna spoke softer this time, almost sympathetic in tone.
"Yes, Princess?" Sound had chosen a top bunk, and now looked down to see Luna smiling.
"Do be careful. With you being the first earth pony accepted, I fear the other campers will treat you with hostility. I will be watching, Sound. Make us all proud." Luna lit her horn, and in a flash of light and a flourish of stars, she disappeared from the cabin.
"Us? Who am I trying to impress exactly?" Sound wondered aloud.
"Those no-good Dreamwalkers! That's who!" A unicorn colt shuffled in the bottom bunk, grumbling angrily.
"No-good?! You can't say that about Princess Luna! She'd never put her subjects in danger!" Sound found himself defending the only decider of his fate, as the colt below him raged and fumed about the 'Dreamwalkers'.
"Are you kidding me? I heard last year, a group of unicorns died during Von Dreamy's Basic Braining class! Just sat there, lost in his mind, when they...EXPLODED!" The unknown colt suddenly shouted, making Sound jump and slam his head into the ceiling.
"Ow! The hell? Don't scare me like that!" Sound slammed a hoof down on the mattress, sending a cloud of dust down onto the pony below him. A fit of sneezing and coughing followed the onslaught. Not a nose was saved from the dust-ocalypse.
*Cough* "If you're-hack scared that easily, then you're in for a world of hurt! Hahaha!" The colt was laughing menacingly. "So, Sound, was it? I don't think you know the real intentions of the camp, or of Counselor Von Dreamy or Luna. Or anypony here, for that matter. Let me fill you in, eh? Name's Broken Psyche, I'm sort of a veteran here." Broken didn't seem to care if Sound objected or not. He launched right into his tale.
"Two years ago, Luna returned from her imprisonment in the moon, as I'm sure you're aware. She had been controlled by a powerful mental presence known only as 'The Nightmare', and the Elements of Harmony purged it from her body. However, the Princesses fear that the Nightmare may be able to encompass so much more, able to control not just a Princess...a whole nation!" Broken took a breath and sat up, getting out of the bed to take a look at the newcomer. He stopped mid-thought when the new unicorn was anything but. "Y..You're an earth pony! They don't let you mudponies in here!" Broken spat the racial term as though it was nothing.
"Who're you calling a mudpony, you jerk!" Sound raised his voice in an attempt to defend his heritage.
"The bloody mudpony right in front of my eyes!" Broken was practically screaming at Sound, his eyes bulging and his muscles tense.
"I'm not a mudpony! Maybe if you didn't have your horn so far up your-" Sound found his speech cut off, a magical hampering of his voice cast by the recent addition to the cabin: Von Dreamy.
"Colts! Vat is the meaning of this pointless argument?!" Von Dreamy had taken authority, suspending both colts midair whist silencing them. "Herr Broken! Explain at once!" Von Dreamy's eyes were anything but nice. He was staring murder into Broken, the colt shaking in fear.
"I..I thought we didn't accept any ponies except unicorns! He can't even do magic! Why do we have to live with this mud-urk!" Broken found his air supply cut off again, Von Dreamy having silenced him again.
"I VILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR RACIST REMARKS! IN! MY! CAMP!" Von Dreamy was outraged, to say the least. Broken's body had swayed back and forth through the air as Dreamy made his motives clear. "You vill NOT, und I mean NOT use those terms in my camp, und certainly not toward our new recruits. Broken Psyche, until I see that you can improve in your treatment ov your fellow ponies, you vill be staying by MY side for the remainder ov this veek!" Counselor Von Dreamy was a sight to behold, fiery strands of psychic energy were lashing at his silhouette, threatening to burn his coat and mane off.
The Counselor focused his magic, and Broken disappeared with a slight pop. "Off to Luna, Broken!" He set Sound back atop his mattress as the flames dissipated. "Vell, now that you've gotten yourself into a bit ov a quarrel, I vill be watching you closely as vell. Now, ve vill meet tomorrow at 0700 hours at my classroom atop the center tree. I expect to see you there, herr Sound." The Counselor wiped sweat from his brow with a kerchief in his shirt pocket. "Do not disappoint me, or ve vill not have a place for you in our camp. I look forward to your Basic Braining, herr Sound Slumber. Dismissed!" The Counselor threw a salute, and Sound, still in shock of the last two minutes, numbly raised a forehoof in a weak salute back.
Sound watched the distorted sunset from his bed. He hadn't moved since the conflict with Broken Psyche, except to scribble his name on the chalkboard hanging from his bunk. Aside from him, the bunk house was empty, save for a small sleeping form three bunks over. When had that pony arrived? Had they slept through the madness? Sound mused the questions in his mind, running a mental check over everything that happened in his eventful day. He shimmied under the blanket, causing an unearthly wail of squeaky springs to echo the building. Soft snoring ensured the sleeping pony was still at it.
"I wonder what Broken was meaning by The Nightmare...can it really control an entire country?" It had taken a Princess of Equestria! Surely it held the power to control a small army, Sound reasoned. He left those thoughts on the back burner while he tried to get comfortable in bed, ready to end the hectic day and begin his venture into the mysterious cloaked Camp Pax Æterna. His eyes closed in finality, the soft snoring from his mouth proving him to be in sound slumber indeed.
Patterns crossed his peripherals...was that a face?
"Hello there, young'in! Lord Cruller at your service!"
Author's Note
Here we are, second chapter. I'm wondering what you all think so far!
Join Sound as he explores his Dreamscape with Lord Cruller in chapter 3! coming soon!
Heh, both chapters have the same word count! Totally not planned!
Daylight broke over Whitetail Woods, bringing with it the promise of a new light, and returning Sound Slumber to the world of the waking. Sound opened his eyes and blinked away the sleepiness attempting to pull him back to the Dreamscape. For weeks now, Sound had been slowly been discovering that he could access dreams and control his own at night, a task which should have been impossible, his lack of a horn notwithstanding.
The young colt stood up and trotted over to the small pond near his tent, gazing into it and watching his exhausted reflection smile back. Weary blue eyes stared back at him behind a short silvery mane. His coat, a dull gray, shifted as the breeze flowed over him. His flank was bare, being just a colt when he ran away from the circus life his parents wholly embraced. Sound wiped his brow and shivered, remembering last night's cryptic dreams in full detail.
The darkness closed in around the young colt as he floated through the Dreamscape, each moment bringing the shadows closer to him. His hoofsteps echoed endlessly through the void as he wandered the misty plane. Deep blue eyes stared back at him through the mists, pondering his explorations and following his every move. Sound could hear manic laughter in the distance, but could not determine the direction at which it assaulted his ears. The darkened aura closed in, threatening to suffocate him in its dark embrace. The mists quickly overwhelmed him, and as he awoke, he swore he could see the outline of an alicorn flying in the distance.
Sound snapped back to reality as a twig crunched behind him. He spun around, expecting to see a squirrel, but instead, it was a small blue colt with what appeared to be a tin foil 'hat' wandering aimlessly through his campsite.
"Hey! Who're you?" he called out to the colt, but the pudgy foal kept wandering past his site and toward the bushes, completely unawares to Sound's calls. "Hey! I'm talking to you! You hear me?" The colt did not stop in his mindless stroll, and soon walked through the bushes, the sound of rustling leaves covering Sound's missives.
Sound chased after the colt, following him through the brush, the thickets scraping against his skin and pulling on his mane. He popped out on the other side, only to come face-to-face with the Princess of the Night. Princess Luna looked down at Sound inquisitively, much like a kitten to a mouse.
"Well, what have we here? A young colt, alone in the woods? This is hardly the place for you to be, young one." The calm demeanor of the Princess's words soothed the fear that was bubbling up inside Sound.
"Prin-Princess! I was...I was just...that colt...tin foil...what?" Sound stammered. 'Shoot! now she'll wonder where my parents are, and I'll get sent back to them, what to do, what to do...'
"-andos, little one?" Luna's voice cut through his thoughts, bringing him back to the situation at hoof.
"I'm sorry, Princess, what was that?" Sound requested of the Night Princess.
"I ask, young colt, what your name is, and how you managed to harness the power of my Dream Commandos." Luna said, a slight frown taking her mouth hostage.
"I'm..I'm Sound Slumber, Princess. But I don't know what Dream Commandos are. I don't even know what they do!" Sound stuttered a bit, shakily shifting from hoof to hoof in front of Luna.
"You are but an earth pony! How have you figured out the Dreamwalk? Who taught you my sacred art?" Luna pressed Sound for answers, advancing as he backed up.
Sound's rear bumped into something warm and fuzzy. Startled, he turned about, expecting to see a beast, but instead was met with a portly unicorn stallion wearing what appeared to be a poor rendition of a Daring Do costume, the adventurous getup consisting of a wrinkled tan work shirt, a monocle, and a large brimmed round hat. The stallion reeked of heavy cologne and spoke up in a heavy Germane accent.
"Oh! Look vat ve have here, herr Princess! A young colt! Und he is but an earth pony! Tell me, son, vat brings you here today?" The stallion laughed heartily, his accent grating against Sound's eardrums.
"Ah, Counselor Von Dreamy! A pleasure to see you not grilling our campers in your "Basic Braining" as you like to call it." Luna turned to look as Sound glanced back and forth between the two.
"Uh...what's going on here? Princess, why are you here in the Whitetail Woods? Shouldn't you be in Canterlot?" Sound poked into the conversation, his brow furrowed in thought.
"I should ask of you the same, my little pony." Luna smirked, seeing Sound twitch in discomfort.
"Well, I...I ran away...from my parents, from home, it wasn't home anymore!" Sound began to shake slowly, tears beginning to build up as he realized he'd be returning to the home he scorned soon enough. "They forced me to perform for their circus, their acts never involved us together, just me, doing the hardest and most dangerous stunts. I've broken bones...and my heart is far more shattered..." Sound threw himself at Luna's hooves. "Please, Princess, I can't go back, I just can't!" He wailed as tears streamed down his face, dampening his coat and wetting the earth beneath him.
"I will be the one to make that decision, Sound Slumber. I'm sure your parents miss you very much." Luna draped a wing over the foal, encouraging him to hug the alicorn, and let his tears out. Sound reached for her and the maelstrom of crying began again inside him.
"Please, Princeh-eh-ess! I'll tell you everything I know about my dreams! Just don't...don't send me ba-a-ack!" Sound cried into her shoulder, weeks of torturous living alone coming back to pile up on him. The poor colt was overwhelmed.
Luna made to stand up, encouraging Sound to rise as well. "I cannot say for certain that it is the best choice, but I will allow you to remain here for a few days' time. However, if you cannot hold up to expectations, I will not hesitate to return you to your parents." Luna smiled at Sound, then turned and began walking through the clearing toward what looked like a cliff face.
Sound reached out for her with a hoof as she took to the air, flying right at the cliff face, only to disappear through it as ripples flowed up the "rock". Sound's jaw hung open. That should not have been possible! How could one make a rock face like a lake surface? Was it an enchantment? A spell? Sound lost himself in his thoughts before being brought back by the heavy voice of Von Dreamy as he called to the colt.
"Vell? Are you coming, herr Sound? Allow us to introduce you to Pax Æterna, Her Majesty's premier camp for the teaching of dream magic!" Von Dreamy chuckled as he approached the cliff face, Sound Slumber in tow. He stretched his hoof out and ran it along the rock face, creating tiny ripples, as though playing in the water. He then took a step and disappeared through it.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Sound cried out as he ran towards the wall, half expecting to slam into it as he closed his eyes. Instead, he was met with the strange feeling of passing through the illusion barrier, not unlike trying to stretch through plastic wrap. The barrier resisted, but with a snap! he rocketed through the barrier and rolled across the grass within.
He opened his eyes and was met with the sight of numerous buildings and trees, arranged as though to simulate a small town. The buildings were small and rounded, with thatched rooftops and glassless windows. Wooden bridges extended from the tops of the buildings, connecting them to the trees, which held huts in their canopies. Each tree had its own hut, and right in the center of it all was a large oak, bigger than any Sound had ever seen. The trunk was as wide as three of the ground buildings, with staircases and rope ladders and bridges, oh my! And in the top, Sound could see fillies and colts looking down through the leaves at him and his unexpected arrival. The far side of the "camp" had a lake with a few docks, but no boats. The area was lit by the sunlight, distorted by the barrier as it filtered through, leaving a hazy glow around every building.
Sound glanced up to see Princess Luna and Counselor Von Dreamy looking down at him with pleased smiles on their faces. "What is...what is this place, Princess?" Sound asked, short of breath from the amazement.
"My dear Sound Slumber, this is your new home. Welcome to Camp Pax Æterna, my little Dream Commando."
Author's Note
So the idea came to me to write this after digging up my PS2 and my old copy of Psychonauts. That game was so ridiculously animated and the plot was so dark in its own special way. I mean, come on, the kid travels through dreams, how hasn't this been done before?? I wanted to try my hand at a darker story style (you'll see it in later chapters.) Hence the dark tag.
Let me know what you think of the first chapter!
