Sleep my jolly little foal
Sleep until you waken
When you wake you'll see the world
If I'm not mistaken...

Kiss a lover
Dance a measure,
Find your name
And buried treasure...

Face your life
Its pain,
Its pleasure,
Leave no path untaken.
- Neigh Gaimane, writer

"Dreams and their owners exist in more than one dimension at a time. There is a layer of reality where the dreaming mind and the immortal soul coincide, and where injuries can occur without logical explanation to the physical body. We call this state of sleep 'The Land of Feyr' because of its denizens. The common pony has named it 'The Land of the Night Mare' because it is where We are most commonly spotted in Our attempts to safeguard the dreams and lives of mortal ponies who stray into this dangerous state of sleep."

The sound of a dozen quills scratching against fine paper is heard faintly as Luna reads the text from her ancient tome aloud to facilitate the transcription spell. She waits for the sound to end before cutting off the magic maintaining the effect and placing a molted primary feather in the book to mark her place. "Never in the last thousand years had I even thought Celestia would allow this field to languish. Even without Feyrs that state of sleep can be dangerous." A quick glance out the window, followed by a look at her clock, confirms that it is almost ten in the morning, time and past for her to get some actual rest.

A knock on her door dashes all hope of rest from her thoughts. Her staff was under strict orders not to bother her after eight AM unless there was an emergency. With a sigh, Luna cast a quick refreshing charm that would keep her alert for at least another hour. "Thou mayest..." She snorts in irritation at herself and the ancient book that caused her slip. "You may enter."

A panicked-looking guard opens the door and enters quickly, giving only the briefest bow before she speaks. "Princess, there's been a pair of incidents in Ponyville this morning most likely related to that colt in Trotston. One filly, named Sweetie Belle, has been in the hospital since two thirty at the latest."

Two in one night? This is bad. "You mentioned two attacks, Sergeant Shield. Please continue." Luna cannot keep the displeasure out of her voice at this news. That attack must have happened during one of her patrol breaks.

"T-the other attack was against one Silver Spoon. She was found by her mother around seven AM. Inquisitor Glass wrote that she was spread around her bedroom like frosting on a cake."

"Inform my sister that I will be out of town today and she may reach me by contacting Twilight. It seems I must pay Ponyville a visit."

Monday, noon.

Luna is not happy. The list of reasons for this is quite long. Starting with the least important reason of simply being awake at this time of day with no notice, it is currently topped by the most immediate displeasure being her grip on Twilight's mane as the youngest Princess evacuates her most recent meals onto the lawn of one Gilded Lilly of Ponyville. "I did warn thee, Twilight, that I was told 'twas a most gruesome scene." Luna herself is so rattled by the room inside that she lapsed back into the old manner of speaking. She has been doing well lately with modern Equish, but this disgusting scene combined with her updating and transcription project on that ancient tome make such a slip all too easy. "If I were to send an image of this carnage to Celestia, how dost thou think she would react?"

Twilight misinterprets the question to refer to the state of the lawn and the multiple pools of vomit from herself and some of the guards at first. This causes her to take a couple steps back from her own contribution to the mess so she can take a few deep breaths of clean air. "I think her first reaction would be to wonder why so many ponies ate peas last night or with lunch, depending on the individual's rate of metabolism." A glance at Luna's raised eyebrow is enough to tell Twilight that the question was in regard to the other mess. Now that the initial reaction of horror and revulsion has passed, Twilight finds it odd how easy it is to think of a pony as a mess; as something to be cleaned up. She closes her eyes and tightens her jaw as another wave of nausea sweeps through her body. "I honestly can't predict that, Luna. My best guess, based on what I have seen in the past, would be her mouth hanging open while she tries to look away like when Discord stole the elements after being released. I'm surprised you're taking this in stride."

"Certain aspects of ancient life are more fresh to mine eyes than my sister's, and thou hast never seen their ilk. Thou shouldst be grateful for such simple mercies as living in times of peace, Twilight." There is an infinite amount of sadness in Luna's tone that speaks of eons witnessing the horrors of a more savage world than has existed in centuries. She frowns as a soft giggle comes from the bookish alicorn, and steps to the side so that she is no longer offering physical support in addition to the emotional support of somepony to speak with. "What have I said that could possibly bring thee mirth at such a time?"

"Thou art speaking the tongue of The Bard again, o Great and Merciful Luna." Twilight's smile falters as she notices Luna's scowl deepen at her playful jab.

"Fie on thee, Twilight, for making light of my lapse in dialect when there is a disemboweled filly upstairs HANGING FROM A HOOK ON HER DOOR! Two foals have probably died because of some unknown entity, and thou art standing there and laughing as if my speech is some method of grand buffonery! Where is that Inquisitor with the coffee? I become grumpy when denied proper rest, and thou needest something to focus thy mind unto proper channels of thought for the task before us." Luna's tirade ends with the elder mare taking deep breaths to both try and calm herself down as well as clear the floating spots from her vision. Shouting in anger is never a great idea; even less so when one is capable of rupturing eardrums with naught but a minor amplification enchantment.

"Luna, please don't make a scene. I wasn't trying to make fun of you. This is the first time since Nightmare Night that I've heard you relapse and I thought that it would be polite to point it out. I suppose I could have picked a better way, but I'm trying to counteract the harshness of what I saw up there." Twilight shivers again at the thought of what had been done to that poor filly, but this time there is no nausea at least.

Further rumination over the matter of what they were here to investigate is cut short for the time being by the familiar voice of Luna's Inquisitor, followed by two other stallions. "Alright, Mac, set the barrel down over there by the door. Sunshine, would you mind waiting here for a moment?"

Sunshine, Ponyville's coroner, simply nods in response while looking around the area. "Ah, yes, I recognize this house. I was called out here a few months back to examine the tragic conditions of another death. Accidental fire in a workshop and the poor stallion had fallen asleep from overworking himself for a project." He looks over to the house and frowns as his thoughts race and minor facts begin to flow together. Another death in the same family so soon is a bad thing to begin with, but even moreso when there were only two other members of the family.

Big Mac simply walks over and sets the hot barrel near the front door of the house before walking up to the two princesses. He gives a low bow to Luna and a nod to Twilight while clearing his throat. "Princesses, tell the mother she has the hospitality of the Apples if she wants it." Never being one to waste words, he walks away with a heavy heart.

"Inquisitor Shattered Glass, I assume there is a valid reason that your venture for the refreshments took so long?" Luna's irritation was almost a palpable aura around her, both at the situation as a whole and at having to wait.

"Princess Luna, have you ever tried to get enough coffee for twelve guards and two Princesses to last an indefinite amount of time before? In a small town like this, that takes some time to brew. It takes longer when the coffe has to be mixed with Princess Celestia's Royal Hangover Cure while brewing to ensure a clear head in addition to the heightened focus without the side effects of dehydration to contend with later that caffeine by itself can bring, or the crash." He levitates a number of edible or biodegradable cups(1) from a saddlebag and places them on top of the barrel while filling one and levitating it over to Luna. "And, Princess, please just call me Glass. Shattered Glass makes me sound clumsy."

Luna allows herself a smirk while taking the cup and a long draught of the liquid inside. She sighs in relief at both the heat and the flavor of the beverage before chugging the rest like a fratboy on a dare. "Ah, now that is what I needed. Inquisitor Glass, how many cups are in this barrel?"

"About fifty, and it is enchanted to stay at that exact temperature until all the liquid inside is gone. I figured fifty servings would be adequate for all needs including possible expulsion due to the nature of our business here."

"Very good then, and you are forgiven for the delay considering that local resources must have been hurrying to produce this. Twilight, partake of a small amount to rinse your mouth and throat at least."

The sound of a throat clearing comes from the yellow-coated stallion as he walks over to the door of the house. "Princesses, I must insist we proceed before the situation decays any further inside. The longer the body waits to be examined, the less likely I am to be able to make an accurate assessment. Even the kind of stasis spells the guard uses degrade quickly, and it has been hours since the Inquisitor cast his." His tone is appropriately dour at the thought of the task ahead of him and he idly brushes aside the cup being offered by the Inquisitor. "Sir, while I do appreciate the intent, I assure you I have seen some rather fierce maulings from manticores in the past. This will be a routine matter for me, even if is not the exact same situation."

Twilight does as Luna had told her to, and then finds herself gulping down a full cup just as eagerly as Luna had after the taste has been properly rinsed out of her mouth. "Wow, that is good. You said it has Celestia's Royal Hangover Cure in it?"

Inquisitor Glass nods while entering the house first. He looks back and speaks over his shoulder while leading the way to the filly's room. "It's an old remedy that Celestia imports from Roam. Good for hangovers and simply refreshing the mind after a sleepless night. It was discovered about nine hundred years ago after a time of erratic cycles." He pauses on the other side of the open door, turning around fully to face the royal pair and the coroner. "Ah, not solar cycles. It also has the effect of regulating heat cycles when taken over an extended period of time alongside a couple other specific ingredients. Princesses, you have already seen this, so I suggest we allow the coroner to make his initial examination. Meanwhile you can devise a spell to do whatever it is you need to do."

Sunshine nods and steps around the door, his only reaction to the display before him is a slight widening of his pupils and a deep breath. "I will need one of you to enact the official recording spell. I am suddenly feeling less emotionally stable than I had thought possible." At a nod and brief purple flash from Twilight, the coroner clears his throat. "This is Sunshine, coroner for Ponyville delivering my initial observation in person to Princesses Twilight and Luna as well as being recorded. The descedent appears to be one Silver Spoon, daughter of Gilded Lilly and Copper Knife. The corpse is reasonably fresh and has been preserved by a stasis spell enacted by Inquisitor Glass. A cursory examination reveals that the epidermis and subdermal layers of abdominal muscles have been slashed with a sharp instrument and not a set of natural claws. Subject's intestines have been removed from the body cavity and spread on the floor, though they do remain connected to the body via the rectal passage. Subject is a filly, age...approximately nine. Uterus appears to be intact, though vaginal passage has been lacerated, and is at the current expected state of maturity for the subject's body. I only remark on this because the organ is visible. Other immediately notable injuries are the transected jugular complex and the subject's eyeballs having been cut out."

Luna and Twilight watch and listen while conversing quietly together. Luna is shaping a unique spell frame while Twilight offers opinions on strengthening portions of the assembly to make the result more stable. Shattered Glass walks carefully around the room, staying away from the body. It is a typical child's room, filled with knicknacks and toys. A couple pictures of family grace the bedside table and have remained mercifully free of blood. One poster for a music group covers the wall above the bed, and is in turn spattered with enough blood to conceal the members. The name remains mostly clear, though lacking in spelling. His eyes roam to another wall covered with spots and streaks of blood, tracing the arc and maximum height of the marks before shaking his head and moving on to categorize the remainder of the carnage.

"The cut to the throat appears consistent with the cuts in the abdominal flesh; suggesting that the same weapon, or same kind of weapon, was used. The abdominal cuts appear to run mostly parallel with terminus points that are nearly identical; suggesting that they were made simultaneously rather than sequentially. Since the intestines and other loose viscera have not simply been allowed to slide out, their location can give no further evidence. Plain sight examination reveals there to be flowing blood at all injury locations; suggesting that the subject was still alive when all injuries were sustained that are visible without removing her from the door." His own horn glows at last, a murky brown that mirrors his eyes, as he casts a spell to perform a detailed scan of the remaining internal organs. He falls silent as his spell runs, his face twisting in rage.

The other spell framework solidifies, Luna adds specific runes and Twilight the power to sustain the effect. A brief shimmer settles over Silver Spoon's corpse before it peels away as an illusion of her body retracing its last movements in slow motion. The spell provides only for large motions, which leaves such details as limbs moving blurred to the point of being invisible. The illusory corpse floats to the center of the room before rotating around in midair onto its back. The head snaps back and the body twists in alignment with the arterial spray along one wall. Another series of jerks and rotations of the illusory corpse lines it up with the spray on the wall opposite the poster while another brief contortion and the disappearance of the cut itself reveals the mess on the poster to be cast-off from the initial throat injury. This entire time, the body has been floating in the air above the massive bloodstain on the carpet.

Luna's expression is no longer stoic, and Twilight looks nauseous once more. They exchange a glance before looking back to the body as shadows of the intestines fly back up in the air before reentering the body in an arc that nearly reaches the ceiling. Twilight shivers and gags audibly before the spectral image winks out as she cuts the power off entirely. "I think we've seen enough to determine that this was either a powerful unicorn or some other magical force. Since there is no sign of a unicorn having cast a spell in the vicinity that could do anything close to this magnitude of viciousness, simple reasoning provides that the only possible explanation is some other force."

"I agree, Twilight, though for different reasons. I have witnessed an attack like this in the past. This is the work of a greater dream demon. The problem is that I only know of one that has ever been to this world before." Luna's voice trembles as much as her wings, twitching in both agitation and fear as she begins to pace around the collection of blood and viscera on the floor. Rather than stepping over the portion connecting back to the body, she turns and heads the other way when completing the circuit.

"I don't see why that's a problem, Luna. If there's only ever been one then..."

"Twilight, the only one I know of was Gentor. He was killed by my father five thousand seven hundred and fifty two years ago."

1) The cups are either edible or biodegradable as opposed to being made of a material that will take an eternity to dissolve after being disposed, like plastic.

Author's Note

As should be obvious, the starting quote here comes from none other than Neil Gaiman, with the first line modified for ponies.

I realize that I am flirting with danger by associating my pointless piece of derivative fluff on the internet with such respected artists as Gaiman and Poe, but I feel that there is a certain symbolic relevance.

Yes, I know real horses cannot vomit. It was firmly established in season 1 that ponies CAN.