I do not aim with my eye;
They who aim with their eye have forgotten the faces of their parents.
I aim with my horn.

I do not cast with my horn;
They who cast with their horn have forgotten the faces of their parents.
I cast with my mind.

I do not kill with my spell;
They who kill with their spell have forgotten the faces of their parents.
I kill with my heart.
-Creed of the Holy Order of Demon Hunters, as translated from pre-Wendigo unicorn tablet. Attributed to Rod and Chain the Gelded. {Gilded? May be a mistranslation. Unknown if this was one or two ponies. The original tablet is chipped at the questionable rune, no clarification can be gained.}

"Rainbow Dash!"

That voice startles Rainbow Dash immediately, making her jump upright and look around in the sky for its source. Too late, she remembers she had been napping on a cloud instead of in one of AJ's trees. A scarred and taloned set of claws breaks through the puffy surface and grabs her around the throat. "G-gordon?!"

The old griffon sneers at her, a look of supreme disgust in his predatory gaze as he lifts her up with a strength that she didn't know he still had. "Ah, then you do remember me. Perhaps you finally remember your promise about your intentions towards my daughter?"

She struggles to break his grip, but those old claws are quite firm. "I haven't seen Gilda in years and she ran out on me the last time we saw each other." Her wings beat more out of reflex than need at this point. She swallows as his grip relaxes to allow her to breathe easier.

"Oh, I know all about that last meeting. You pranked her back for all the tricks she'd pulled on your friends, even if it wasn't all targetted at her intentionally. Do I need to remind you of the exact wording of your promise?" He drags her towards him, holding her muzzle less than an inch in front of his beak. "I, Rainbow Dash, will never do anything to intentionally hurt Gilda unless she truly deserves it."

"You just said yourself that she wasn't the intended target for everything. I can't be blamed for the fact that she just happened to stumble into every single one of them. The pranks were random and anypony could have gotten the dribble glasses!" She recalled the promise that had been extracted from her after she had been rigorously questioned about every aspect of her life, as a child.

"You broke my little hatchling's heart, Rainbow Dash. You never once wrote to us or her after the one letter you sent detailing exactly what had happened so that we knew not to hold you responsible for the playful prank war. You know how she felt about you, even if you couldn't return those feelings and had been clear to her about why." His grip tightens once more around her throat as he slams her down against the cloud and plants his other claw in the middle of her back between her wings. "My little girl killed herself last week after three years of waiting for you to write to her one last time. Three years and you never once thought that maybe she wanted to hear from you again and couldn't bring herself to take that first step!"

"W-what? Gilda killed herself?" She begins to struggle harder, whimpering in pain from how tight the grip had gotten around her spine. "You're lying! Gilda would never do that! Get your claws off of me!"

"She cut her wings off and walked off the edge of our estate. Her feathers were painted blue with rainbow tips, in the custom of our people who are inconsolable over their dead lover. You assured me that you only liked males years ago, so when did you change your mind?" One sharpened claw rests against the base joint of her left wing, applying the faintest amount of pressure. "When did you decide it would be fun to lead my daughter on by giving her a taste of your slutty cunt, or did you eat her out?"

Anger surges through Rainbow Dash at this accusation and she pushes against the cloud with all her might, then bucks it out of existence in the hope that it would catch him off guard. She flips around and manages to break the grip on her neck in order to deliver three swift kicks to his face and a fourth to his stomach. "I! Never! Touched! Her! Gilda is...was my friend. She was never anything more than that to me." She hovers just out of reach, confident in her speed to get away if Gordon lunges again, now that she knows where an attack can come from.

"Prove it. Prove that you like males and not females. Suck my cock." The aged, raven-headed griffon grins exactly the same way his daughter did as he hovers in front of Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow sputters and shakes her head in confusion before flying backwards another few feet immediately. "WHAT?! You have no right to-"

"Actually, Rainbow Dash, according to chapter nine, paragraph three, subsection twelve, of the most recent version of the treaty with the Aeries: you are considered to be a murderer by griffon law since you are alive after Gilda killed herself, and the only accepted form of evidence against the charge is...physical proof of sexual preference." Twilight's voice comes from two feet behind and a yard to the left of Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow turns and stares at Twilight and the small contingent of guards behind her, then looks back at Gordon with nothing but fear in her eyes. "B-but he's old enough to be my father, Twilight! This is wrong."

Gordon simply leers back while reaching down to scratch near his swollen sheath. "You either prove that you enjoy sex with males, or I rip your wings off here and now so they can accompany my daughter to her eternal rest. If you try to run, you'll die as a coward."

Rainbow looks back to Twilight with a pleading expression on her face, only to be met with a stony, disapproving look. "You brought this on yourself, Rainbow Dash, by abandoning an old friend that you knew to hold deeper feelings for you than you could comfortably return. As a Princess of Equestria, my duty is to preserve the peace between our nations. As your friend, I can only implore you to make the correct decision."

"Twi...I can't! I don't...I've never...I'm still a virgin for Celestia's sake..." Her voice trails off into a whisper that sounds more like Fluttershy as she freezes in place. Her panic only deepens as she feels those weathered claws wrap around her withers and a fleshy yet solid tube begin rubbing along a teat. "NO! No get OFF OF ME!" Her wings raise to give a powerful flap only for those claws to shift their grip to the sensitive bases of her wings.

"Your Majesty, that is sufficient evidence by my laws to constitute a guilty verdict by itself. To react with such blatant fear to the touch of the sex she has stated to prefer..." He tightens his grip around the blue wings, his talons beginning to pierce her flesh as his wrists start to rotate. "As such, it is time to clip her wings. Please be sure to heal the surface damage so that she doesn't die from blood loss. I want this worthless nag to suffer like my wife and I do."

"NO! No! I haven't done anything wrong! TWILIGHT!"

The world suddenly vibrates with a dull *thunk*, and Rainbow Dash feels her stomach drop as if she'd gone into an uncontrollable fall. She begins to scream wordlessly as the pain in her wings increases.

"Rainbow Dash! WAKE UP!" Applejack's voice is clear as another vibration shakes the sky. Rainbow Dash blinks to clear the tears of pain from her eyes, and is able to notice a bright red apple flying at her face just as the clear snap of breaking bones passes through her mind. Her body rolls to the side and falls off of the branch she was sleeping on, and she lets out another anguished scream as the broken ends of her wingbones rub against each other. Her right wing is caught in the juncture between two thick branches, and she just snapped it while avoiding the projectile produce. Her other wing begins pumping hard to try and avoid making this any worse, only for another cry of pain to be wrenched from her throat as the bones there seem to be broken as well.

She can't help but begin gasping for breath and kicking her legs to try and get herself back up onto the branch as she feels the bones in her trapped wing begin to strain under the weight of her unsupported body combined with the leverage from the branch keeping it at an unnatural angle. Blackness claims her as the pain becomes unbearable.

"Oh horseapples!"

Luna looks around the hospital room wearily as they wait for Rainbow Dash to regain consciousness. Sweetie Belle's bed is the other one in the room, and the filly is being comforted by her fellow Crusaders speaking in hushed tones while she can only respond with slight head movements. Her mouth is still bandaged shut at the moment. The only member of the elements that isn't present is Pinkie Pie; who is babysitting the Cake twins and could only send a tray of cookies and cupcakes along with her promise to get there as soon as the Cakes came home.

"Princess, Ah can't begin t-"

"Applejack, please do not apologize again. This was not your fault. One wing being stuck between two branches and breaking during an uncoordinated roll was a complete accident even if your actions did precipitate the event. It is the other wing being broken that concerns me, as you had mentioned there was no way it was stuck in the same manner. Was there anything unusual about her nap before you woke her up?" Luna's voice is calm, controlled, and only has the faintest hint of dread left in it from what Twilight and herself had witnessed earlier.

"Not that Ah could tell, Princess. She was twitchin' a little more'en usual, but that coulda been from her wing bein' stuck and her feelin' it while dreamin'. Ah wasn't payin' much attention t' how she was restin' since Ah just had t' wake her up." Despite the multiple reassurances from her friends and even Princess Luna, Applejack feels horrible knowing that at least one injury was the direct result of her choice of actions. She's sitting next to Rarity in the space between the two beds, looking down at the floor between her front hooves while the fashionista is paying a bit more attention to her injured sister than her friends.

"We will simply have to wait for her to wake up then. I will not subject her to a dream probe with foals in the room since there are innumerable possibilities for what they could witness as a result."

"Not to mention the fact that it would violate the laws of consent to have one's dreams displayed to any group of ponies that are not also asleep without permission. That is, of course, unless the dream is considered for evidence in a trial such as in the case of a recurring dream provoked by a traumatic event caused by a single individual." Twilight chuckles nervously and looks away for a moment. "Though in a case like this where it is Luna doing the display, I'm sure there would be some legal wiggle room."

"I am sure that would be a bad idea. Exploiting loopholes available only to those in a unique position of authority is a quick path to tyranny. Celestia may have her vices in being somewhat manipulative to those under her, but even she does the best she can to operate in an entirely legal manner." Luna turns her attention from Rainbow to Sweetie Belle and walks over to Rarity's side. "I need to get an image out of your sister's mind, Rarity. We all need to know what attacked her; myself most urgently so that I can-"

From outside the room, there come the sounds of a commotion; at least three sets of hooves clattering against the hospital floor with one closer than the other two. "Halt and identify yourself! I said stop!" The lone guard stationed outside the room challenges the approaching group, and those inside hear the sound of at least one hoof connecting with armor as well as the clatter of something small and made of metal hitting the floor just before a filly starts bawling.

"NO! It's not fair! It's not fair!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders share a glance and a shrug as they hear the familiar voice on the other side of the door.

"Diamond Dazzle Tiara! What did you think was going to happen after kicking a guard in the face?" The masculine voice is out of breath as the other sets of hooves slow down, and he takes the time to clear his throat. "I think that's enough, Sir. She's half your size at most and I'll freely take responsibility for any charges or fines that should result."

Applejack stands and walks over to open the door, her eyes narrowing at the sight of a thoroughly dishevled Diamond Tiara being pinned against the wall by a silver-armored thestral. "You let that filly go before Ah buck yer head so hard y'll wake up after Hearthswarmin'. Her best friend was the one that had y'all pukin' this mornin'."

The guard takes one look at Applejack; noting the thick muscles and minimal fat to hide them under her coat as well as the slightly larger than average hooves. He immediately moves away from the wall while keeping Diamond Tiara pinned with one hoof. "With all due respect, the filly was charging at a room containing two princesses and an injured Element of Harmony. I believe a little caution was warranted on my part."

"But it's NOT FAIR! Silver Spoon's gone and that stupid, squeaking, stub-horned blank flank is still here! I want my friend back!" Diamond's voice cracks a bit, her tears still running down her cheeks as her breath comes in hitching sobs. These sobs only increase in volume as her father gives her a light swat across her rump.

"I thought I told you that I wasn't going to tolerate that kind of treatment of your classmates anymore, Diamond, especially not the friends of the Apple family? Three reports last week about your bullying, ten in the last five, over sixty in the last two years. This is not how you create long-term partnerships, young lady! The only reason you haven't been expelled is that there is no other school within a reasonable distance, and I didn't want to separate you from your only friend." Filthy Rich's voice is hard, and his expression equally so as he picks his daughter up and places her on his back in an intentionally awkward position. "Sorry for the disturbance, your majesties. We came to visit Gilded Lilly, but I'll be taking her home so that we can have a conversation with her mother about her continuing behavioral issues."

"Oh, um, Mr. Rich? You should be gentle on her about this particular outburst...if you don't mind me suggesting so that is. I mean, she did just lose her friend, after all. I know that if I lost one of my friends I'd be crying my eyes out at least." Fluttershy hovers in the doorway, looking concerned as Diamond Tiara continues to kick and scream in an ineffectual tantrum on her father's back. All she manages to do is put her mane into complete disarray while rumpling her father's jacket.

"I don't care! I don't care! That blank flank should be dead, not Spoon!" That's the point where Rarity loses her cool and slams the door with her magic before anything more can come from the hate-filled filly's mouth.

The sound of her teeth grinding can be heard by those in the group with sharper ears, and Rarity has an expression on her face that speaks volumes about what she is struggling not to say. She takes a few deep breaths and allows one unladylike snort before she looks over at Sweetie Belle with the most caring expression she can manage. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Sweetie. I know that young brute of a filly isn't good company on the best of days, but I hope you can forgive her for this latest transgression in time. I know I'll be charging Filthy Rich a much higher premium for any services in the future. Generosity only goes so far, and my patience with his brat has run out."

"Applebloom, how many o' them bullyin' incidents were against you and yer friends? Ah think it's time we renegotiate our contracts with Mr. Rich."

"Um, girls, I think maybe you're taking this just a little hard. She's just a filly who's in a very sad place right now, and, even if she has done things that deserve punishment, she needs at least one kind ear. I'm sure she didn't really mean it. Even if she did, it's not like she could actually hurt Sweetie Belle...umm, physically."

Luna raises an eyebrow at all this and simply shakes her head while looking to the trio of fillies. "Sadly, while we wait for Rainbow Dash, we must also extract information from the young Sweetie Belle. I know that the stitches to heal the injuries to her mouth will prevent her from talking. With care and the magic in the stitches; she should be healed within the next twelve hours and able to sing again tomorrow. Unfortunately, in order to protect other ponies, I am going to require a look into Sweetie's last dreams."

"But, since she is a minor, you need an adult with guardianship to consent to the spell." Rarity lets go of the remaining anger with one long breath and a look at her younger sister. "What are the risks to her?"

"Only of reliving the memory of the dream as we extract it. If my hypothesis is correct about this being a dream demon, then there is no risk of further injury. If my hypothesis is wrong, and this was something other than a demon, there is no risk whatsoever. She is currently awake, which negates all potential avenues of attack for an entity that resides solely in the realm of dreams. Modern surgical sedatives, both spells and chemicals, work in a way that supresses the mind while inducing sleep. She should be able to get some proper rest tonight, though I imagine there will be some itching from her flesh knitting itself back together."

"I see. Give me a minute to talk to my sister." She graces Luna with a genuine smile before walking over to her sister's bed and clearing her throat. "Excuse me, girls, but Sweetie and I need to have a talk. Why don't you two go with Applejack and get us all something to eat and drink from the cafeteria?"

Luna picks up on the unspoken part of that suggestion and winks at Rarity while walking over to Twilight. "I've never had to record this kind of display before, Twilight. It used to be that such things were simple affairs and my word was enough for proof." One eye follows Applejack, Applebloom, and Scootaloo as the three walk out of the room.

"In this case, Luna, we're potentially registering a brand new being in Equestrian jurisdiction. Even if the basic type of creature is known, certain beings do have a wide variety. According to Starswirl's first Collected Compendium of Chaotic Creatures, demons and their spawn have the widest variation in possible physical manifestation of all known otherworldly beings. Dream demons in particular are virtually unknown at all, and documented only in that they exist. Aside from documentation for posterity, I also need to record what we can get out of Sweetie's mind so that I can compare it to what, if anything, attacked Rainbow using my Memory Imprint and Arcane Signature Matching Algorithm." Twilight's voice catches as she mentions the possible attack on Rainbow. "I know we need to be impartial, Luna, but an attack on my friend and an attack on another's family. If it is the same being, I want a piece of it."

"I know the feeling, Twilight Sparkle, but your expertise in magic and science as they work in reality would be an immense hindrance should it come to a battle in the realm of dreams where possibility trumps probability. Combat in the dreamscape is pure art and imagination rather than rote spells and data." Luna does sound genuinely sorry about this revelation, and leans down slightly to give Twilight a combined nuzzle and hug. Her voice drops to a whisper as she speaks again. "We know it was a demon that got to Silver Spoon. It is most likely the same being attacked Sweetie Belle, given the nature of the injuries both fillies sustained. Beings that exist solely in dreams can vary their physical forms with ease, and their method of attack can vary. I recall one victim of Gentor that had so many bones broken that his body was a misshapen lump of flesh while most of the rest had been ripped apart. It is not impossible that it could have attacked Rainbow Dash in a different way."

Twilight's own voice drops into a worried whisper. "Ripped apart? Like Silver Spoon?"

Luna shakes her head quickly. "Nay, Twilight. That poor filly was cut open, not ripped open or apart. From what I can recall, these beings escalate their attacks. What starts with cuts and slashes evolves to more elaborate torments before the kill. Gentor killed by dismembering through pure strength. Even at his worst, it was simply the number of joints he ripped off before the victim died that varied."

"Ladies, Sweetie Belle has agreed to the procedure. She only wants to know if she will have to feel the pain again." Rarity's voice is almost cheerful as she nuzzles against the top of her sister's head. Getting meaningful answers when you're restricted solely to yes or no questions can be a challenge, but family has an advantage in reading body language.

Luna looks over to the bed with the two unicorns, then back to Twilight before walking over. "There may be an uncomfortable tingle, or a sensation of phantom pain involved in seeing the memory of the dream, but it will not be as intense as when it happened." Her attention shifts back over to Twilight after answering the question. "Is there anything special that needs to be done for your array, Twilight?" Her horn is already surrounded in the inky aura that almost seems to absorb light rather than create it.

"No. I just need to wait for you to pull up the residual memory. I've already scanned her so that we can eliminate Sweetie's own arcane signature from the scan, and I've built that into the spell itself for this casting."

"Creating spell arrays that complex entirely within your own mind without needing to draw them...I am jealous. Even I don't feel entirely comfortable casting a new spell from scratch without diagraming the intended effects. First there were pictographic abstractions, then verbal rituals...spellcasting has come a long way since I was a filly."

Luna completes her spell first, followed immediately by Twilight as the image coalesces over Sweetie Belle's bed. The filly trembles and squirms against the bed before Rarity wraps her up in a hug to provide comfort. Fluttershy only watches out of the corner of one eye while watching Rainbow Dash intently for any change in her condition.

The two alicorns both gasp as the image resolves and begins to move, Twilight cringing as she notices that this dream took place in the hospital. Luna gasps for a different reason, and quickly reaches a hoof out to begin rotating the image. "The detail here is...exquisite. While I have visited your dreams before, Sweetie Belle, I never imagined that you remembered them in such vivid detail. Oh dear..."

Rarity is the one that lets out a whimper and holds onto her sister tighter as the implications of this sink in. The dream playback continues with the stallion leaving and the dream image of Sweetie looking around the room as boredom begins to set in. The room image gains some extra clarity as the details are further refined by this period of observation.

Luna pauses the playback as the patchy minotaur walks into the room, studying its face and then looking to the trembling filly. Sweetie shakes her head no even as Luna opens her mouth to ask a question. Luna nods and resumes the progression of the memory. None of them notice the door to the room open as they watch dream-Sweetie's tongue engorge and push itself out of her mouth, then extend down to the floor, and the adults all gasp as the minotaur's face begins to melt. Luna freezes the spell again as the girls playing jumprope materialize in the room, and forces the image to focus on the scarred, burned, and alien face.

"It looks like one of the beings on the other side of the mirror to Canterlot High! I mean, it's obviously burned and slightly deformed, but I've seen something like this before!" Twilight practically dances in place as her spell continues to record this, her eyes darting all over the disfigured male's face and body before Luna resumes the effect of her spell and the projected dream begins to move again.

A pained scream is torn from Rarity's throat as she notices the way the vile thing is touching her sister, and she looks away as it buries a finger entirely while dream-Sweetie begins screaming for her mother. Sweetie merely whimpers and brings a hoof to her muzzle as that clawed glove comes in and begins hacking at her tongue and the flesh at the corners of her mouth. The image begins to fade and waver as dream-Sweetie's engorged tongue is severed and falls out of her mouth while the demonic intruder raises the clawed glove for one last strike. "What's the matter, little girl, cat got your tongue?" Before the lethal blow can connect, the figure begins to dissolve along with the dream image.

Luna's eyes are wide open with her mouth parted in an expression of shock and disgust. Twilight is staring at the space the image occupied, her eyes narrowing as she calls up the recording and rewinds to the playing children. The spell sets their song to loop while Twilight filters out the other sounds. "I think...I think we have a name for it."

"I don't care about the name, Twilight! That...that THING violated my little sister! Please tell me you plan to destroy it, Luna, and not coddle it like we did with Discord?" Rarity has nothing but venom in her voice; something that is perfectly understandable considering what she just witnessed.

"Whut...whut did we just see, Scootaloo?"

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you.
Three, four, better lock your door.
Five, six, grab your crucifix.
Seven, eight, better stay up late.
Nine, ten, never sleep again."

Author's Note

Those familiar with Stephen King and the Dark Tower series should find the top bit somewhat familiar as well.