Of Ponies and Bat Kingsby Guilt - UnderhellChaptersThe Nightmare Rises... An Eternal Rest...I Dream of Ponies... And TreesThe Nightmare Rises...Darkness. While it would have been his haven under normal circumstances, it was something he hated right now. It was a constant reminder of his defeat. If those two plumbers hadn't been there, he could have crushed Dreambert, and done the same with Bowser! But no... Now he sits in a plane between the worlds of Life and Death. A true god never dies, right? 'I know I vill return. Some day they vill remember me as the vun who crushed them in my hand...' He always thought. Though the time never came. At least he thought so. His eternal sleep was interrupted by something. Power. Even though he was blinded in the limbo he remained in, he knew the feeling of power. The power that only resonated from nightmares. He could feel only a spark for the moment. Then a wave of it. It felt as if he had been wandering in an eternal desert and found an oasis. It had been coming to him by the loads, being absorbed by him until he saw something... An opening in the darkness. One he knew very well, with it's bright colors and vivid movements! A Dream Portal! His day had finally come! He let out a distorted and deep laugh as he floated towards the Portal. Revenge would be his, and he wouldn't hold back this time! Never again will he taste defeat!!! NEVER!!! Luna had been cradling herself on the ground for what felt like forever as she was being bombarded with insults. The heads of ponies flew around her as they screamed at her. She couldn't do anything except plea to stop the names, but no matter what it wouldn't stop. A few names had been drowned out by only one name in particular. One that every pony had chanted. "MONSTER!" Even though her banishing and return as Nightmare Moon was in the past, it would never stop haunting her. Nearly every day she thought of what every pony thought about her, and she always felt they thought one thing. The one thing that was happening right now in her dream. Her tears would've filled lakes, and her collective pleas would've made a pony deaf when combined. And this happened every night! Luna had finally turned to face the angry mob of ponies that followed her... only to see a hoof flying straight towards her face at a speed that would've even surprised Rainbow Dash. Luna had winced and flinched for the oncoming blow, knowing she'd wake up soon, that this would be over once again... but it never came. She didn't even hear any pony now, and opening her eyes had led her to find that there was no pony there. Not even hoof prints. But then again the ground wasn't even there. Or the sky. Or anything at that matter. "Thank Celestia," the Princess of the Night stated with a sigh. It was almost an abyss of pitch black that surrounded her. Almost. The only thing that broke the abyss was an object that she knew almost immediately. A pillow. A large, purple pillow sat in the black abyss, with a set of dark, empty eyes. All was silent as the pillow sat in the void. "How odd..." Stated the princess of the night. This had never happened in her dreams before. Curiosity had filled her mind as she gazed at the empty scene around, but she was still in a nightmare. Chills had already been sprinting down her spine as she began to trot over to the pillow. She could feel something emanating from the pillow, but it wasn't pleasant. Not even in the least. Still, curiosity won over Luna's reluctance. She pushed on until she was stood right over the strange pillow, gazing with interest and curiosity at the pillow. She had gazed at the pillow for what felt like hours, but she knew it couldn't have been even a couple of minutes, before she had prodded it with a slightly shaking hoof. Which had caused a bit of what seemed like purple dust to fly off of it. Her response was almost instant as a "What in the..." had echoed across the void that she stood in, along with coughing. But that wasn't all. Her eyes shot wide open as she noticed something new. The previously empty eyes that remained on the pillow had a yellow glow to them... And it was following Luna where ever she went. She could only yell out,"What the-" before a plethora of the purple dust had erupted from the pillow, throwing Luna back on her side. To say Luna was merely shocked by the event would've been an understatement. She could only stare at the cloud as the dust had began to settle. And when it did, Luna could only stutter at what she was seeing in front of her. It was terrifying for her. Even with all of her years of life, she's never seen such a creature like this. It wasn't until what the creature had done next that Luna was truly left speechless. It had observed the princess with such intensity and then... it spoke with a deep, slavic accented voice "Vell vell, vhat do I have here? A small pony? Not exactly vhat I'd think to find in a dream, but it vill have to do..." The nightmarish creature said to Luna, who could only gawk at the spectacle speaking to her. It only smirked at what it got from Luna, and proceeded to hover straight over to her. It was easily about two and a half times her height as it... floated over her, its smirk transitioning into a small frown. "Vhat is vrong, little pony? You must be sentient if you are dreaming. So vhy not introduce yourself?" Luna scrambled to form her words but only stuttered as she stared sheepishly at the ominous being in front of her. She wasn't sure whether or not it was something evil or something nice. After all, she herself has been in those shoes during the aftermath of her "Nightmare Moon" incident. She took a risk at that moment and with as much confidence she could muster, she spoke. Antasma, while seeming quite mature on the outside, was practically giggling like Fawful on the inside. He just loved toying around with people like he was then, just like the old days in his nightmare-fueled life! Unlike then though, he wasn't bringing fear to his... victim. After what happened last time with those pesky plumbers, he didn't want to take his chances with being forceful and violent. He already had a plan for this world- A foolproof plan compared to his last one. To tell the truth, his last had plan practically revolved around his ex-partner, Bowser, so he already had set one ground rule: No partners. Without a partner, he couldn't be betrayed whatsoever. But his planning came to a halt as his new 'Friend' had finally spoken to him, but not in the way he had expected... "I AM LUNA! PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT FOR EQUESTRIA! STATE YOUR-" Luna had been cut off by a large, clawed hand clamping her muzzle shut as another had been clamped down on Antasma's head "Ach! Vhen I say I vant you to introduce yourself, I do not mean for you to MAKE ME DEAF!!!" Antasma had stated with aggravation in his voice. 'Vhat kind of vorld screams for introductions? Ugh...' He thought, as he put a clenched hand in the air, forming his favorite snack Antasmunchies©! (*Not in production anywhere! Don't buy now!) "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Said the worried pony in front of him. The pony was sitting on her haunches with her head down, seemingly ashamed of herself. Antasma already was worried he was getting off track. He didn't want to seem like the bad guy... yet. He needed knowledge of what he felt was a new world. After all, he's never heard of anywhere called Equestria in all of his time on Pi'illo Island. "Do not vhine over spilled milk. I am just fine! You have nothing to vorry about." Antasma said in the friendliest tone he could muster, even though he hated things like friends. Still, he was only doing this to get the information he needs, so it was worth it. "I understand Mister... what is your name?" Antasma nearly gloated out his title before catching himself. He was quite sure that 'Antasma, The Bat King of Nightmares' would NOT give a good impression upon this pony... thing in front of him, so he just tweaked his title. "You may call me Antasma, the Bat King of Dreams!" He called out in the dark void surrounding him and Luna, popping one of his spherical delicacies into his mouth with a glass-like crunching sound. 'Nailed it.' He thought. "You say that you are Princess Luna, am I correct?" "Yes, I am Princess Luna, but I've never heard of anyone like you... Surely I would have seen you in the dreams of others by now if you are the so-called 'King of Dreams'." Antasma was about to respond when he realized what this princess just said. With curiosity in his voice, he had promptly asked," Vait a moment. You say that you can enter the dreams of others? How exactly do you do so? Vith Dream Portals?" It was Luna's turn to be curious at that point. "I can't say so. I've never even heard of such thing as a Dream Portal... Why do you speak of such nonsense?" "Vell... I can't quite say that I am from around here... I think. Vhat do you call this vorld of yours?" "This is Equestria! I'm quite sure you would know that, am I correct?" "Vell, no. As I have said, I am not quite from around here... Tell me more about this 'Equestria'..." "Well, I cannot say much about it. It's actually quite peaceful- there isn't much violence or evil around here..." 'You von't be able to say that for long,' Was the only thing Antasma could ominously think for the moment, a smirk stretching across his face. "There are some things that come by though, looking for chaos or destruction to cause, but we have the Elements Of Harmony for those times!" Luna had cheered out with a smile. "The Vhat-aments Of Vhat now?" Antasma nearly growled out. "Um, yes! The Elements Of Harmony! They protect Equestria from the forces of evil! How would you not know of this?!" Antasma couldn't wait anymore. He had already gotten the information he felt he needed. He didn't need to hear anything else from this pony! "That is none of your business, you fool! SCREEK!!!" Antasma had yelled out. "Vhat kind of royalty gives out such precious information to something that has never even been seen before! SCREEGH!" Luna had immediately taken an angry demeanor towards the new arrival. "What do you mean!? Nearly everyone knows these facts! It's common knowledge!" "Yes. Maybe to your 'subjects' it is. Not to the thing who vill take this world for himself! SCREEKEE!!!" Antasma had boasted to the Princess ominously. "Farevell! Your highness!" And with that, his hand had raised. Seemingly from no where, as if it were a pet, a cloud had formed, with such magnificent colors swirling around in it. The same cloud of purple dust from before had exploded from the Bat King himself, and out from the dust flew a large, purple bat, squeaking in way that could only be taken as laughing. It wasted no time flying into the cloud. "Wait! Come back here this instant you fiend," Cried out Luna, as she jumped towards the cloud... And slammed right into it as if it were a brick wall. It was at that moment that Luna had awaken from her slumber in the middle of the night, her eyes wide and full of worry. "I have to inform the Elements and Celestia of this! Now!" Luna had yelled out before scrambling out of her bed. Author's Note Hey there mates! If you didn't read the description, then I'll go ahead and tell you now! Hope you've enjoyed the first chapter of this! If I get positive feedback then I'll continue this story, and as I'm sure you know: I'd like construcive criticism for this. Please. An Eternal Rest...An Eternal Rest... All was quiet over the small town of Ponyville. Not a creature was stirring... besides a certain purple unicorn and a young little dragon. But there was a newcomer to the friendly little town. A being that would turn the dreamy little settlement into a nightmare. The being that was squeaking over the village at midnight. Antasma had looked upon the town with disgust. He didn't see them, but he felt the energy of their dreams as if it was a Luiginary Hammer slamming straight into him. His early days of life were days of agony as a bat of Pi'illo Island. His parents had died shortly after his birth because of Native Pi'illos hunting for food, he had to survive off the sustenance provided by other mothers without being caught, and whenever he found other groups of bats, they'd tease and mock him for being a runt and an orphan. But that all changed the first time he'd absorbed the energy from the nightmare of a Pi'illo. He had become stronger, faster, smarter, and feared by the creatures that faced him. And he only grew from that point, absorbing as much "Nightmare Fuel" as he could every opportunity he could get. His hatred toward the world never faded away. No one could understand what he has been through, nor has anyone even touched what he has experienced in his past. And so his frown had morphed into a smirk across his face, the sounds of laughing squeaks filling the air as well as a purple fog. Antasma's deep laughter had filled the air as a near-black violet fog formed above him. His arms were outstretched as the night was filled with maniacal laughter. "You von't be vaking up from this nightmare any time soon! SCREEKIE!" The fog had descended upon the village like a sluggish downpour, covering its streets like a blanket before seeping into the homes of the many ponies that inhabited the equine establishment. The fog would be something quite horrific for the sleeping ponies of Ponyville, no matter who they were or what they feared... and Antasma was delighted by his work. He could already feel the power coming to him, and so once again, he cackled at his victims before dust had enveloped him. For the second time that day, a bat would be heard across the lands, squeaking as if it were laughing as it flew off in the moon light... Twilight had been up in her library attempting to decipher a seemingly ancient paper that had she had found in one of her many books that lined the walls of her home. Of course, this meant that she had kept her little dragon, Spike, up to help her keep track of the many notes she had been jotting down over the course of her intense road for discovery of the paper's meaning... "Twilight, are you sure we can't just finish this tomorrow? I'm too tired for all this work..." Twilight had turned away from her research, a small scowl on her face, glaring at her baby dragon, who was slumped over on a chair with a literal blanket of notes covering his body. "I already told you Spike. This is the last night of work I need for my research! It shouldn't take too long to finish up, so please be patient!" The dragon had groaned hearing her response. "But why not finish tomorrow!? We don't have any deadlines for this, so why rush- BRAAAAAAP!" A familiar green flame had erupted in the room, a scroll falling to the floor with a thud against the ground. Twilight could only groan at the unexpected delivery, trotting over to the scroll with clear frustration until she saw one detail on the scroll. A golden seal that was pinned onto the red ribbon that wrapped around the scroll. Twilight already had worry on her mind. Whenever the Princesses themselves send a letter to Twilight and her friends, it's almost ALWAYS because something is or has gone wrong. She opened the letter and read it herself out loud. "Dear, Mrs. Sparkle. I apologize for disrupting your slumber at this late at night, but Luna has brought me dire news. She spoke of a being that appeared in her dreams that has given clear indication of an ominous and evil nature towards Equestria. We have scheduled an emergency meeting between us and your friends in order to discuss this newcomer in our lands. We already know of its name, which Luna stated was Antasma, but we need the help of you and your friends to track down this 'Bat King,' and bring it to justice for its plans to harm or conquer Equestria. Please respond as soon as possible when you and the other Elements of Harmony are able to make it to Canterlot. Your Princess, Celestia" Twilight had just sighed at the note. She knew that this was a thing to worry about, but she also remembered the many villains she and her friends had faced in the past. Each and every one of those villains weren't able to succeed because of their friendship, so how would this villain win? "Uh... Twilight," asked the trembling baby dragon by the window. "Yes, Spike?" "You may wanna' take a look at this?" Twilight once again sighed, sure that whatever Spike was seeing was something silly, like a branch. But she noticed it as she trotted over towards the window. There was nothing visible except purple. A dark, thick, ominous violet fog swarming Ponyville. Both Twilight and Spike were gazing at the spectacle in front of them until Spike had noticed something. Something bad. The fog had started to leak under the door, spreading across the ground as if it were water. Spike could only yelp before jumping up onto Twilight, who had nearly copied the dragon's reaction as she leapt upon a table. She could only watch as the fog had quickly worked its way across the library, seeping into every nook and cranny and even somehow climbing up the stairway and into her bedroom. What happened next though truly raised her questions. The fog had just disappeared, leaving no trace that it was there whatsoever... Twilight was struggling to find any words to say for what just happened, but she could only say one phrase. "What in Equestria just happened?!" She yelled out, attempting to explain what just happened. "Let's not worry about that right now Twilight," said Spike. "We need to focus on gathering the other Elements for now!" Twilight was still struggling with the random event, but she was able to get her bearings together to stop shivering. She nodded towards Spike but she still couldn't move. She was stuck trying to rap her head around what just happened, but if anything there was one thing she definitely knew for sure. She knew that this fog would've changed something. It had to have a purpose if it was able to enter anyone's homes like it did with the library. Her mind was buzzing with questions at the moment, but one question stood out over all of them: "What did it do?" Spike had to actually shake her out of her spell of pondering to get her moving again, but she had gone right back into it in half a minute. This time however, she wasn't pondering the gas. "Who should we get first, Spike," Twilight asked as she scratched her hoof against her mane. She almost immediately regretted it, thinking that he'd automatically say,"Rarity," but she got a much different answer than she expected. It had taken three seconds before Spike responded with,"How about Fluttershy? She knows more about nature than the both of us, so she'd have to know what this fog-stuff was, am I right?" Twilight thought about it before she realized he was right. Fluttershy was much better acquainted with nature than any of the other elements, so she'd have a better time explaining this occurrence and what caused it. "You're absolutely correct there Spike! Let's go get Fluttershy!" The midnight walk through Ponyville was many things for the pony-dragon duo. It was awkward, strange, creepy and more, but one thing towered over the others: It was eerie. None of the usual welcoming faces or happy pedestrians walking the roads or exchanging small talk. Just... silence and darkness. And a strange breeze blowing across the streets that they walked. It wasn't until they found a pony on the ground knocked out that they were officially creeped out though. Against their better judgement, they had decided to approach the pony to help and possibly question him as to what had happened. That was, until they could see some kind of dark, violet, translucent sparks were rising off of him that they stopped in their tracks. The questions would have to wait. After the long, errie walk through Ponyville, they'd finally arrived at Fluttershy's home, and just like the streets of Ponyville, not a sound could be heard by the small cottage. Not even the animals made any noise, and that was saying something. The only sound that broke the silence was the sound of knocking on wood. "Fluttershy! Wake up, please! The princesses need us!" Twilight had yelled as she stood at the door of the small cottage. She didn't receive an answer. "Fluttershy! ARE YOU IN THERE!?" She yelled once again, knocking even louder. She was just about to knock again when a small scaled hand had blocked her. Spike gave a small harrumph before jiggling the knob and opening the door. It had been unlocked. That was strange for any pony to do, even for some pony as sweet as Fluttershy... and that raised an alarm for both Twilight and Spike. The duo had stormed right into the house, looking everywhere for Fluttershy or Angel, but luck wasn't on they're side. "Fluttershy! Are you ok!? Please answer me! Flutter shy!" Twilight had screamed out in the rooms, worry filling every crevice of her being at that point. It wasn't until Spike made a discovery that Twilight had stopped. "Uh, Twilight? I found Fluttershy..." Twilight almost brightened up before realizing that Fluttershy would've had to hear her yelling in her own home, especially with the knowledge of Fluttershy being a very light sleeper. Twilight had inched towards the room Spike was in until she could see Fluttershy. Something was off about her though... Fluttershy was still sleeping, despite the racket the Twilight had made earlier, and there was something emanating off of her dozing body. Just like the stallion they saw on the streets, Fluttershy had dark, violet sparks emanating off of her. She didn't look happy or peaceful either. She looked... scared as she slept. "Spike..." "Yes, Twilight?" "I need to send a letter... Now..." Twilight had been trotting in circle at the front of Fluttershy's cottage, trying to think of what is happening to Fluttershy at the moment with a nervous feeling filling every part of her trembling body. She constantly looked up and listened out for a certain noise as she trotted along the grass. Soon enough though she could hear it: The flapping of wings. One hopeful look up had confirmed her thoughts, and a smile had spread across her face in an instant as she saw the figure descending from the heavens... It was Luna who had flown down to rendezvous with Twilight. Luna had seemed quite uneasy as she landed on the grass, stumbling a bit as she walked over to Twilight. The fact that Twilight was ecstatic that Luna was there was even more unnerving for her. No one would be this happy for someone to arrive unless the situation was critical... "Oh by Celestia! I'm so glad you could make it Luna! Please, follow me!" Luna was taken aback by the sudden outburst coming from Twilight, and even more by the fact that she was almost commanding her to follow her. 'This must be serious. It has to be,' she thought as she trotted along the path to the lone cottage, anxiety taking over her mind. It had only been a moment before Luna had realized what was wrong with Fluttershy, with the violet sparks coming off of her, but one other thing struck her mind. 'Isn't Fluttershy a bit brighter than she is here,' she thought as she stared at the unconscious body in front of her. It wasn't long before another thing struck her- and she hoped that what she was thinking wasn't correct. Butterflies began fluttering in her stomach as she began to speak. "Twilight?" she asked. "Yes, Luna?" "Did you happen to see anything... off before you came to retrieve Fluttershy?" "Well, there was some sort of purple gas that came upon the town. It had actually found its way into my library through the cracks of the door... and there was some pony that was knocked out on the streets. He had the same type of thing as Fluttershy; The sparks coming off of him I mean. Why do you ask?" "No reason, Twilight. Can I ask you one more thing though?" "Yes, ask away," Twilight responded with a nervous sigh. "Did you hear anything outside when this happened?" "Come to think of it, I think I heard some sort of squeaks outside before these events occurred... Can I ask why you want to-" "There's no reason for it! Besides, your friend may be in danger as well as many of the other ponies in Ponyville!" Luna exclaimed. She knew exactly who caused this. The thought of such power in one individual had truly frightened. If any more butterflies could fit in her stomach right there, it would have flown out of her body. Luna did not want to cause a panic for Twilight or Spike though, so she hid her worry as best as she could. Twilight didn't say anything about her, so she expected that she was doing quite well concealing. "Ok Princess Luna, but what makes you think that Fluttershy could be in danger?" asked a curious and worried Twilight. Luna was quick to respond to her, as she almost automatically stated,"Fluttershy is unable to wake up from what I can tell from what you've given me so far. She is locked in an eternal dream, but I can sense the presence of darkness in her though, and that darkness is coming from every place in Ponyville if I'm... If she gets knocked out or... worse in the dreams she seems to be having, then she will never have a chance of waking up again!" Twilight has gasped at the new information she was getting. She had basically been told her friend would be locked in an eternal rest if they weren't able to wake her up. Anxiety kicked into to Twilight and she began entering "Freak Out" mode before she remember another small detail from Luna... "You said that there's a chance that she could be woken up! What do you meant by that!?" She nearly yelled out in the room. "You are correct, Twilight. There is a way we could wake your friend up, but it's risky... I remember a spell I had taught myself long ago- a spell that could open a gateway into a pony's dreams. It required two different ponies to be asleep, and a third one was needed to enter the dream. The problem here is that I have to be the one keeping the gateway open, and we need to more ponies to do this... I already know you'd be mature enough to enter another ponies dream Twilight, but we need a third pony to sleep-" Spike had almost shot up at the mention of sleep, zooming straight towards Luna and stopping with a screeching halt. "You said you need some to sleep? I CALL SLEEPING DUTIES!!!" He cheered out with a smile on his face Luna on the other hoof had a worried expression covering her face. "I'm not sure that we can use another species to do this, but we have no choice I suppose..." Luna had pondered before finally letting out a sigh. "Okay Spike. You may be the one to sleep, but-" "Oh thank Celestia! I swear, if I had to stay up for even a minute more, I'd-" Spike had nearly been leaping in joy before he noticed a certain purple pony glaring at him out of the corner of his big, green eyes. He instantly calmed down, blushing as he shyly apologized for his behavior. "As I was saying Spike, You will need to sleep next to Fluttershy in order for this to work. Do you understand that?" "Yeah, I get the gist..." Spike stated with boredom in every syllable of his words, but his mind was filled almost entirely of anticipation of Rarity. If she was in the same situation as Fluttershy, that was... Spike had walked straight over to the bed that Fluttershy lay on at the moment, plopping down and dozing off nearly instantly. Luna could only stare with wide eyes, wondering how anything could fall asleep that quickly. Twilight had only tapped her on her side and, as if she knew what she was thinking, said," Don't question how he does it," with a small chuckle. "Ok Twilight," she said before she had realized she'd gotten off track. She got straight to the matter at hoof, and readied herself to cast her spell. "Here goes nothing," She stated with a nervous chuckle, as her horn grew bright with a haze of blue. Twilight had observed the scene in front of her, looking between her friends and the Princess who was at work, and she almost questioned why wasn't anything happening, but she remembered a certain situation in the past that involved cutiemark swapping, and kept quiet. That was when she saw it. Small, colorful clouds began to sprout from Spike's small head, growing in size as they formed farther away from the snoring dragon. Twilight could notice the same happening with Fluttershy as well. Soon, the trails of clouds had converged with one another, and a huge, bright, and colorful cloud had formed right above the two sleeping beings in front of her... Oh Rarity would have a field day if she were here to see this! The colors were so vivid and the movements were so dreamy! It was the most beautiful sight Twilight has ever seen! Not even a sonic rainbow would top this! But alas, Twilight had to get back to the task at hand. Before she could even ask what to do next, Luna had already spoken out to her with authority in her voice. "Travel into the gate way, Twilight. Now." "But Princess, didn't you say you were unsure about this-" "Just do it. We don't have any other choice." Twilight felt nervous as she began to trot up to the portal, her hooves clopping against the wooden floor loudly. She had stood right in front of the hazy cloud in front of her before taking a deep breath that punctured the silence of the night as if it were a knife cutting into warm butter. Then she leapt into the portal, which contracted behind her until it was no more. Luna could only slouch down at the sight in front of her, letting out a sigh of her own as thoughts raced in her mind. "Please be safe, Twilight..." Author's Note Hey there, fellow Luiginoids! I hope that this chapter doesn't feel too rushed for as long as it took. My laptop access is rather limited right now, so I gotta work quickly whenever I get the chance to type out this story, so... Yeah. Anyways, the questions arise! What will Twilight face in Fluttershy's dreams? Will Spike get his moment to shine in the dream world? WILL I EVER GET MY HANDS ON SOME FREAKING ANTASMUNCHIES!? Find out next on Dragon Ball Z!!! (Yep, I just did that. :3) I Dream of Ponies... And TreesTwilight could only gasp as she watched the colors flying past her. Traveling into a dream never was something she thought she'd do, but she could already say quite a few things about it. The feeling of weightlessness had ended soon as the color the once surrounded her disappeared. She didn't even get a second to think before she fell to the ground with a echoing thump. "Well... That was fun..." She stated as she began to pull herself up from the ground. It only took one glance for her jaw to hit the dreamy ground below her. The whole landscape around was completely... floaty. Clouds shaped like animals drifted in many different directions across the sky, which was softly colored as if it were a faded rainbow. Trees shimmered and glowed a wide array of soft colors, which danced across the bark gracefully, like a lava lamp. The ground below her feet felt so grassy and was a light green, but it was also slightly transparent- enough to let the pony partially see through the ground. She began to trot along before noticing that flowers sprouted up in her trail, fading away shortly after. 'This is interesting to say the least,' she thought as she continued her walk through the path of trees before finding a brightly lit opening between the trees. There was nowhere else to go, so what could happen if she traveled through the only pathway in the area? With this in mind, she started her trot into the blinding light ahead. It didn't take long for her to reach the other side of the path of light. There was one thing that was off though; The fact that a small, white bunny sat on the grass right in the middle of the room. "Angel? What are you doing here?" Asked Twilight before the realized what she just said. She slapped her hoof into her face, knowing that animals can't talk- "Whaddayah' mean Misses Twinkle Hooves?" said a high-pitched grouchy voice in reply. Another hoof hit Twilight's face, once again realizing one detail. This time was that she was in a DREAM, and anything can happen in a pony's dreams. "I was just wanting to know what you're doing here. You don't have to be so grumpy when you tell me!" "Well alright den'! I just sensed something going' on over here in the dream world, so like anything would do, I checked dis' area! Who are you anyways?! And how do yah' know me!?" "My name is Twilight Sparkle", the unicorn stated pointing a hoof at herself. "I found my friend in the... Uh... real world, and I was told she would be stuck in an infinite sleep unless an outside force could awaken her from within. I'm sure you can guess who the outer-" "Wait just a second dere' Sparkle flank! You're saying dat you're a real world bein' traveling into dah dream world to wake up yah friend?" "Well, yes. That's the basic idea, but I have a reason-" "Well first, let me give yah a big pat on dah back for bein' the first to do dis! Second, let me tell yah dat yah basically screwed if yah fall asleep in dis place!" Twilight went straight into panic mode upon hearing the bunny's last sentence. "WAIT, WHAT!?" Angel shifted around in annoyance as he sighed. "Well, whaddaya expect? The dream world is dah place yah go when yah sleep! There ain't nothin' else after dat. Yah gonna be snoozing' for a long time if yah starting snoozing round' here." Twilight could definitely understand what the small bunny meant, but just the thought of failing Equestria and the princesses... It scared her. More than anything she could ever think of. "Now, I wanna' know dis' ; How did yah get here in dah first place?" "Well, my assistant was told to sleep next to my friend, and Princess Luna opened a gateway into both of their linked dreams apparently. Why would you-" "Alrighty den'. Now let me ask yah dis' ; Is yah assistant a green an' purple baby dragon?" "Yes, actually, but how would you know this?" "Cause' he's standin' right behind yah'." Twilight let out a chuckle as she began looking around. "What do you mean by that? Spike is sleeping in the real world, so he can't be here!" That was when she saw something. Something that widened her eyes. Spike stood right in front of her, but he seemed... different somehow. Small things were changed about him, she knew it, yet it feels like he was... the same. But, Twilight didn't care about that right now. What she cared about was the fact that Spike is somehow here and outside at the same time! She jumped with a yelp, landing right on her behind as she stared at the Spike in front of her. Angel almost automatically took to defusing the problem at hand. "Woah dere'! Don't getcha' head up in a knot here! Dat ain't dah real Spike right dere'! Dis lil' fella is how he sees himself in dah dream world. Ain't nothing to worry about, eh?" Twilight understood exactly what the bunny was saying, but she still had trouble wrapping her head around the situation. "So... this isn't the real Spike. Just him as he sees himself in his dreams?" Angel nodded carelessly. "So, that would mean there's more than one of him here, right?" Angel nodded once again, annoyance plastered across his demeanor. "Wouldn't that mean that he could clone himself here-" "DAT'S ENOUGH QUESTIONS! Didn'tcha say yah had a friend to save or somethin'!?" Twilight's geek-out was ended once she heard Angel's last sentence. How could she have forgotten about Fluttershy? It was a shameful moment for her, but she didn't show it. She just nodded and tried her best to act normal. "Yes. Yes I do, but you wouldn't happen to know where she is, correct?" "Ugh... Here's only one path through here, don'tcha see dat?" The bunny said as he thought about the situation at hand. It didn't take long for him to let out an aggravated sigh and look up to Twilight. "Alright, here's dah deal. You ain't gots a clue about anything here, so I'm gonna just come with yah, OK?" Twilight didn't have a chance to reply before Angel leaped up onto Twilight's back with one great hop. The dream Spike behind her nodded to her as she turned to look at him. She trotted straight up to him, examining him closely, and soon was trotting around him, observing the dreamy dragon from every angle. It didn't take long for her to finish as she extended a hoof to him. "What are you doing Twilight? It's not like i'm a different dragon or something!" Spike said to Twilight as he took her hoof. Soon, the trio were on their way through the dreamy forest, treading carefully along the path of translucent grass. The mountains of Equestria had stood tall over the land, as if it were proudly boasting out superiority over the land surrounding it. Snow fell fell to the sloped ground and empty path ways that led throughout the terrain. Spruce Wolves could be heard throughout the mountains, their howls echoing through the cold air. Something was added to the atmosphere though. A soft flapping could be heard moving through the mountains, the producer of the noise in deep thought He was many things at this point: Disgusted. Intrigued. Curious. Enraged. The Bat King could only find an overwhelming supply of happiness everywhere he looked as he flew through the new world. Of course, remembering his past, he was disgusted by this abundance, yet... curious to say the least. How could such a world exist to thrive with life, yet not have much negativity at all? He could only think two explanations. First was that he wasn't looking hard enough to sense enough negativity in this world. The second was that he himself might be stuck in a nightmare, but that couldn't be true. He is the King of Nightmares, is he not? It was at that point that he thought of something. Something uncomfortable. He thought of standing alone against an entire empire. Of course he stood against the Pi'illo kingdom in the past, but at least he knew what he was up against... He had to find a partner. His conscience had screeched out to him about what happened last time, but he knew it was the only way to go. For all he knew, he could be up against a force much stronger than he could ever imagine. Logic had won out over his dark conscience as he flew to the top of one of the numerous mountains before allowing the familiar sight of violet smoke envelope him, revealing his true form. His clawed hands raised high into the air before slamming into the mountain top, burrowing in the rough dirt and snow that covered the ground as dark, violet vines sprouted into the mountain, digging deeper through the mountain. It didn't take long before Antasma sensed something in the region. Negativity. He felt an abundance of negativity pulsing from a nearby location, but there wasn't just one signal. He felt countless signals of negativity erupting from one certain area, each one pure. He knew that "Nightmare Fuel" could only be produced by sentient living beings, but the amount of sources he sensed in this one single area was unbelievable. If he had to describe it, there was a... swarm of beings in this one area. Razor sharp teeth were exposed as his lips curved into a sinister smile as he released his hands from the ground. He was sure he found what he needed. He didn't even bother to leave his true form as he took off through the mountains. It didn't take long before he could see a cave along the side of one of the mountains, and he could almost feel the nightmare fuel wafting out of its entrance. And so he floated into the darkness, unbothered by the sound of soft buzzing emanating from the darkness.
The Nightmare Rises...Darkness. While it would have been his haven under normal circumstances, it was something he hated right now. It was a constant reminder of his defeat. If those two plumbers hadn't been there, he could have crushed Dreambert, and done the same with Bowser! But no... Now he sits in a plane between the worlds of Life and Death. A true god never dies, right? 'I know I vill return. Some day they vill remember me as the vun who crushed them in my hand...' He always thought. Though the time never came. At least he thought so. His eternal sleep was interrupted by something. Power. Even though he was blinded in the limbo he remained in, he knew the feeling of power. The power that only resonated from nightmares. He could feel only a spark for the moment. Then a wave of it. It felt as if he had been wandering in an eternal desert and found an oasis. It had been coming to him by the loads, being absorbed by him until he saw something... An opening in the darkness. One he knew very well, with it's bright colors and vivid movements! A Dream Portal! His day had finally come! He let out a distorted and deep laugh as he floated towards the Portal. Revenge would be his, and he wouldn't hold back this time! Never again will he taste defeat!!! NEVER!!! Luna had been cradling herself on the ground for what felt like forever as she was being bombarded with insults. The heads of ponies flew around her as they screamed at her. She couldn't do anything except plea to stop the names, but no matter what it wouldn't stop. A few names had been drowned out by only one name in particular. One that every pony had chanted. "MONSTER!" Even though her banishing and return as Nightmare Moon was in the past, it would never stop haunting her. Nearly every day she thought of what every pony thought about her, and she always felt they thought one thing. The one thing that was happening right now in her dream. Her tears would've filled lakes, and her collective pleas would've made a pony deaf when combined. And this happened every night! Luna had finally turned to face the angry mob of ponies that followed her... only to see a hoof flying straight towards her face at a speed that would've even surprised Rainbow Dash. Luna had winced and flinched for the oncoming blow, knowing she'd wake up soon, that this would be over once again... but it never came. She didn't even hear any pony now, and opening her eyes had led her to find that there was no pony there. Not even hoof prints. But then again the ground wasn't even there. Or the sky. Or anything at that matter. "Thank Celestia," the Princess of the Night stated with a sigh. It was almost an abyss of pitch black that surrounded her. Almost. The only thing that broke the abyss was an object that she knew almost immediately. A pillow. A large, purple pillow sat in the black abyss, with a set of dark, empty eyes. All was silent as the pillow sat in the void. "How odd..." Stated the princess of the night. This had never happened in her dreams before. Curiosity had filled her mind as she gazed at the empty scene around, but she was still in a nightmare. Chills had already been sprinting down her spine as she began to trot over to the pillow. She could feel something emanating from the pillow, but it wasn't pleasant. Not even in the least. Still, curiosity won over Luna's reluctance. She pushed on until she was stood right over the strange pillow, gazing with interest and curiosity at the pillow. She had gazed at the pillow for what felt like hours, but she knew it couldn't have been even a couple of minutes, before she had prodded it with a slightly shaking hoof. Which had caused a bit of what seemed like purple dust to fly off of it. Her response was almost instant as a "What in the..." had echoed across the void that she stood in, along with coughing. But that wasn't all. Her eyes shot wide open as she noticed something new. The previously empty eyes that remained on the pillow had a yellow glow to them... And it was following Luna where ever she went. She could only yell out,"What the-" before a plethora of the purple dust had erupted from the pillow, throwing Luna back on her side. To say Luna was merely shocked by the event would've been an understatement. She could only stare at the cloud as the dust had began to settle. And when it did, Luna could only stutter at what she was seeing in front of her. It was terrifying for her. Even with all of her years of life, she's never seen such a creature like this. It wasn't until what the creature had done next that Luna was truly left speechless. It had observed the princess with such intensity and then... it spoke with a deep, slavic accented voice "Vell vell, vhat do I have here? A small pony? Not exactly vhat I'd think to find in a dream, but it vill have to do..." The nightmarish creature said to Luna, who could only gawk at the spectacle speaking to her. It only smirked at what it got from Luna, and proceeded to hover straight over to her. It was easily about two and a half times her height as it... floated over her, its smirk transitioning into a small frown. "Vhat is vrong, little pony? You must be sentient if you are dreaming. So vhy not introduce yourself?" Luna scrambled to form her words but only stuttered as she stared sheepishly at the ominous being in front of her. She wasn't sure whether or not it was something evil or something nice. After all, she herself has been in those shoes during the aftermath of her "Nightmare Moon" incident. She took a risk at that moment and with as much confidence she could muster, she spoke. Antasma, while seeming quite mature on the outside, was practically giggling like Fawful on the inside. He just loved toying around with people like he was then, just like the old days in his nightmare-fueled life! Unlike then though, he wasn't bringing fear to his... victim. After what happened last time with those pesky plumbers, he didn't want to take his chances with being forceful and violent. He already had a plan for this world- A foolproof plan compared to his last one. To tell the truth, his last had plan practically revolved around his ex-partner, Bowser, so he already had set one ground rule: No partners. Without a partner, he couldn't be betrayed whatsoever. But his planning came to a halt as his new 'Friend' had finally spoken to him, but not in the way he had expected... "I AM LUNA! PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT FOR EQUESTRIA! STATE YOUR-" Luna had been cut off by a large, clawed hand clamping her muzzle shut as another had been clamped down on Antasma's head "Ach! Vhen I say I vant you to introduce yourself, I do not mean for you to MAKE ME DEAF!!!" Antasma had stated with aggravation in his voice. 'Vhat kind of vorld screams for introductions? Ugh...' He thought, as he put a clenched hand in the air, forming his favorite snack Antasmunchies©! (*Not in production anywhere! Don't buy now!) "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Said the worried pony in front of him. The pony was sitting on her haunches with her head down, seemingly ashamed of herself. Antasma already was worried he was getting off track. He didn't want to seem like the bad guy... yet. He needed knowledge of what he felt was a new world. After all, he's never heard of anywhere called Equestria in all of his time on Pi'illo Island. "Do not vhine over spilled milk. I am just fine! You have nothing to vorry about." Antasma said in the friendliest tone he could muster, even though he hated things like friends. Still, he was only doing this to get the information he needs, so it was worth it. "I understand Mister... what is your name?" Antasma nearly gloated out his title before catching himself. He was quite sure that 'Antasma, The Bat King of Nightmares' would NOT give a good impression upon this pony... thing in front of him, so he just tweaked his title. "You may call me Antasma, the Bat King of Dreams!" He called out in the dark void surrounding him and Luna, popping one of his spherical delicacies into his mouth with a glass-like crunching sound. 'Nailed it.' He thought. "You say that you are Princess Luna, am I correct?" "Yes, I am Princess Luna, but I've never heard of anyone like you... Surely I would have seen you in the dreams of others by now if you are the so-called 'King of Dreams'." Antasma was about to respond when he realized what this princess just said. With curiosity in his voice, he had promptly asked," Vait a moment. You say that you can enter the dreams of others? How exactly do you do so? Vith Dream Portals?" It was Luna's turn to be curious at that point. "I can't say so. I've never even heard of such thing as a Dream Portal... Why do you speak of such nonsense?" "Vell... I can't quite say that I am from around here... I think. Vhat do you call this vorld of yours?" "This is Equestria! I'm quite sure you would know that, am I correct?" "Vell, no. As I have said, I am not quite from around here... Tell me more about this 'Equestria'..." "Well, I cannot say much about it. It's actually quite peaceful- there isn't much violence or evil around here..." 'You von't be able to say that for long,' Was the only thing Antasma could ominously think for the moment, a smirk stretching across his face. "There are some things that come by though, looking for chaos or destruction to cause, but we have the Elements Of Harmony for those times!" Luna had cheered out with a smile. "The Vhat-aments Of Vhat now?" Antasma nearly growled out. "Um, yes! The Elements Of Harmony! They protect Equestria from the forces of evil! How would you not know of this?!" Antasma couldn't wait anymore. He had already gotten the information he felt he needed. He didn't need to hear anything else from this pony! "That is none of your business, you fool! SCREEK!!!" Antasma had yelled out. "Vhat kind of royalty gives out such precious information to something that has never even been seen before! SCREEGH!" Luna had immediately taken an angry demeanor towards the new arrival. "What do you mean!? Nearly everyone knows these facts! It's common knowledge!" "Yes. Maybe to your 'subjects' it is. Not to the thing who vill take this world for himself! SCREEKEE!!!" Antasma had boasted to the Princess ominously. "Farevell! Your highness!" And with that, his hand had raised. Seemingly from no where, as if it were a pet, a cloud had formed, with such magnificent colors swirling around in it. The same cloud of purple dust from before had exploded from the Bat King himself, and out from the dust flew a large, purple bat, squeaking in way that could only be taken as laughing. It wasted no time flying into the cloud. "Wait! Come back here this instant you fiend," Cried out Luna, as she jumped towards the cloud... And slammed right into it as if it were a brick wall. It was at that moment that Luna had awaken from her slumber in the middle of the night, her eyes wide and full of worry. "I have to inform the Elements and Celestia of this! Now!" Luna had yelled out before scrambling out of her bed. Author's Note Hey there mates! If you didn't read the description, then I'll go ahead and tell you now! Hope you've enjoyed the first chapter of this! If I get positive feedback then I'll continue this story, and as I'm sure you know: I'd like construcive criticism for this. Please.
An Eternal Rest...An Eternal Rest... All was quiet over the small town of Ponyville. Not a creature was stirring... besides a certain purple unicorn and a young little dragon. But there was a newcomer to the friendly little town. A being that would turn the dreamy little settlement into a nightmare. The being that was squeaking over the village at midnight. Antasma had looked upon the town with disgust. He didn't see them, but he felt the energy of their dreams as if it was a Luiginary Hammer slamming straight into him. His early days of life were days of agony as a bat of Pi'illo Island. His parents had died shortly after his birth because of Native Pi'illos hunting for food, he had to survive off the sustenance provided by other mothers without being caught, and whenever he found other groups of bats, they'd tease and mock him for being a runt and an orphan. But that all changed the first time he'd absorbed the energy from the nightmare of a Pi'illo. He had become stronger, faster, smarter, and feared by the creatures that faced him. And he only grew from that point, absorbing as much "Nightmare Fuel" as he could every opportunity he could get. His hatred toward the world never faded away. No one could understand what he has been through, nor has anyone even touched what he has experienced in his past. And so his frown had morphed into a smirk across his face, the sounds of laughing squeaks filling the air as well as a purple fog. Antasma's deep laughter had filled the air as a near-black violet fog formed above him. His arms were outstretched as the night was filled with maniacal laughter. "You von't be vaking up from this nightmare any time soon! SCREEKIE!" The fog had descended upon the village like a sluggish downpour, covering its streets like a blanket before seeping into the homes of the many ponies that inhabited the equine establishment. The fog would be something quite horrific for the sleeping ponies of Ponyville, no matter who they were or what they feared... and Antasma was delighted by his work. He could already feel the power coming to him, and so once again, he cackled at his victims before dust had enveloped him. For the second time that day, a bat would be heard across the lands, squeaking as if it were laughing as it flew off in the moon light... Twilight had been up in her library attempting to decipher a seemingly ancient paper that had she had found in one of her many books that lined the walls of her home. Of course, this meant that she had kept her little dragon, Spike, up to help her keep track of the many notes she had been jotting down over the course of her intense road for discovery of the paper's meaning... "Twilight, are you sure we can't just finish this tomorrow? I'm too tired for all this work..." Twilight had turned away from her research, a small scowl on her face, glaring at her baby dragon, who was slumped over on a chair with a literal blanket of notes covering his body. "I already told you Spike. This is the last night of work I need for my research! It shouldn't take too long to finish up, so please be patient!" The dragon had groaned hearing her response. "But why not finish tomorrow!? We don't have any deadlines for this, so why rush- BRAAAAAAP!" A familiar green flame had erupted in the room, a scroll falling to the floor with a thud against the ground. Twilight could only groan at the unexpected delivery, trotting over to the scroll with clear frustration until she saw one detail on the scroll. A golden seal that was pinned onto the red ribbon that wrapped around the scroll. Twilight already had worry on her mind. Whenever the Princesses themselves send a letter to Twilight and her friends, it's almost ALWAYS because something is or has gone wrong. She opened the letter and read it herself out loud. "Dear, Mrs. Sparkle. I apologize for disrupting your slumber at this late at night, but Luna has brought me dire news. She spoke of a being that appeared in her dreams that has given clear indication of an ominous and evil nature towards Equestria. We have scheduled an emergency meeting between us and your friends in order to discuss this newcomer in our lands. We already know of its name, which Luna stated was Antasma, but we need the help of you and your friends to track down this 'Bat King,' and bring it to justice for its plans to harm or conquer Equestria. Please respond as soon as possible when you and the other Elements of Harmony are able to make it to Canterlot. Your Princess, Celestia" Twilight had just sighed at the note. She knew that this was a thing to worry about, but she also remembered the many villains she and her friends had faced in the past. Each and every one of those villains weren't able to succeed because of their friendship, so how would this villain win? "Uh... Twilight," asked the trembling baby dragon by the window. "Yes, Spike?" "You may wanna' take a look at this?" Twilight once again sighed, sure that whatever Spike was seeing was something silly, like a branch. But she noticed it as she trotted over towards the window. There was nothing visible except purple. A dark, thick, ominous violet fog swarming Ponyville. Both Twilight and Spike were gazing at the spectacle in front of them until Spike had noticed something. Something bad. The fog had started to leak under the door, spreading across the ground as if it were water. Spike could only yelp before jumping up onto Twilight, who had nearly copied the dragon's reaction as she leapt upon a table. She could only watch as the fog had quickly worked its way across the library, seeping into every nook and cranny and even somehow climbing up the stairway and into her bedroom. What happened next though truly raised her questions. The fog had just disappeared, leaving no trace that it was there whatsoever... Twilight was struggling to find any words to say for what just happened, but she could only say one phrase. "What in Equestria just happened?!" She yelled out, attempting to explain what just happened. "Let's not worry about that right now Twilight," said Spike. "We need to focus on gathering the other Elements for now!" Twilight was still struggling with the random event, but she was able to get her bearings together to stop shivering. She nodded towards Spike but she still couldn't move. She was stuck trying to rap her head around what just happened, but if anything there was one thing she definitely knew for sure. She knew that this fog would've changed something. It had to have a purpose if it was able to enter anyone's homes like it did with the library. Her mind was buzzing with questions at the moment, but one question stood out over all of them: "What did it do?" Spike had to actually shake her out of her spell of pondering to get her moving again, but she had gone right back into it in half a minute. This time however, she wasn't pondering the gas. "Who should we get first, Spike," Twilight asked as she scratched her hoof against her mane. She almost immediately regretted it, thinking that he'd automatically say,"Rarity," but she got a much different answer than she expected. It had taken three seconds before Spike responded with,"How about Fluttershy? She knows more about nature than the both of us, so she'd have to know what this fog-stuff was, am I right?" Twilight thought about it before she realized he was right. Fluttershy was much better acquainted with nature than any of the other elements, so she'd have a better time explaining this occurrence and what caused it. "You're absolutely correct there Spike! Let's go get Fluttershy!" The midnight walk through Ponyville was many things for the pony-dragon duo. It was awkward, strange, creepy and more, but one thing towered over the others: It was eerie. None of the usual welcoming faces or happy pedestrians walking the roads or exchanging small talk. Just... silence and darkness. And a strange breeze blowing across the streets that they walked. It wasn't until they found a pony on the ground knocked out that they were officially creeped out though. Against their better judgement, they had decided to approach the pony to help and possibly question him as to what had happened. That was, until they could see some kind of dark, violet, translucent sparks were rising off of him that they stopped in their tracks. The questions would have to wait. After the long, errie walk through Ponyville, they'd finally arrived at Fluttershy's home, and just like the streets of Ponyville, not a sound could be heard by the small cottage. Not even the animals made any noise, and that was saying something. The only sound that broke the silence was the sound of knocking on wood. "Fluttershy! Wake up, please! The princesses need us!" Twilight had yelled as she stood at the door of the small cottage. She didn't receive an answer. "Fluttershy! ARE YOU IN THERE!?" She yelled once again, knocking even louder. She was just about to knock again when a small scaled hand had blocked her. Spike gave a small harrumph before jiggling the knob and opening the door. It had been unlocked. That was strange for any pony to do, even for some pony as sweet as Fluttershy... and that raised an alarm for both Twilight and Spike. The duo had stormed right into the house, looking everywhere for Fluttershy or Angel, but luck wasn't on they're side. "Fluttershy! Are you ok!? Please answer me! Flutter shy!" Twilight had screamed out in the rooms, worry filling every crevice of her being at that point. It wasn't until Spike made a discovery that Twilight had stopped. "Uh, Twilight? I found Fluttershy..." Twilight almost brightened up before realizing that Fluttershy would've had to hear her yelling in her own home, especially with the knowledge of Fluttershy being a very light sleeper. Twilight had inched towards the room Spike was in until she could see Fluttershy. Something was off about her though... Fluttershy was still sleeping, despite the racket the Twilight had made earlier, and there was something emanating off of her dozing body. Just like the stallion they saw on the streets, Fluttershy had dark, violet sparks emanating off of her. She didn't look happy or peaceful either. She looked... scared as she slept. "Spike..." "Yes, Twilight?" "I need to send a letter... Now..." Twilight had been trotting in circle at the front of Fluttershy's cottage, trying to think of what is happening to Fluttershy at the moment with a nervous feeling filling every part of her trembling body. She constantly looked up and listened out for a certain noise as she trotted along the grass. Soon enough though she could hear it: The flapping of wings. One hopeful look up had confirmed her thoughts, and a smile had spread across her face in an instant as she saw the figure descending from the heavens... It was Luna who had flown down to rendezvous with Twilight. Luna had seemed quite uneasy as she landed on the grass, stumbling a bit as she walked over to Twilight. The fact that Twilight was ecstatic that Luna was there was even more unnerving for her. No one would be this happy for someone to arrive unless the situation was critical... "Oh by Celestia! I'm so glad you could make it Luna! Please, follow me!" Luna was taken aback by the sudden outburst coming from Twilight, and even more by the fact that she was almost commanding her to follow her. 'This must be serious. It has to be,' she thought as she trotted along the path to the lone cottage, anxiety taking over her mind. It had only been a moment before Luna had realized what was wrong with Fluttershy, with the violet sparks coming off of her, but one other thing struck her mind. 'Isn't Fluttershy a bit brighter than she is here,' she thought as she stared at the unconscious body in front of her. It wasn't long before another thing struck her- and she hoped that what she was thinking wasn't correct. Butterflies began fluttering in her stomach as she began to speak. "Twilight?" she asked. "Yes, Luna?" "Did you happen to see anything... off before you came to retrieve Fluttershy?" "Well, there was some sort of purple gas that came upon the town. It had actually found its way into my library through the cracks of the door... and there was some pony that was knocked out on the streets. He had the same type of thing as Fluttershy; The sparks coming off of him I mean. Why do you ask?" "No reason, Twilight. Can I ask you one more thing though?" "Yes, ask away," Twilight responded with a nervous sigh. "Did you hear anything outside when this happened?" "Come to think of it, I think I heard some sort of squeaks outside before these events occurred... Can I ask why you want to-" "There's no reason for it! Besides, your friend may be in danger as well as many of the other ponies in Ponyville!" Luna exclaimed. She knew exactly who caused this. The thought of such power in one individual had truly frightened. If any more butterflies could fit in her stomach right there, it would have flown out of her body. Luna did not want to cause a panic for Twilight or Spike though, so she hid her worry as best as she could. Twilight didn't say anything about her, so she expected that she was doing quite well concealing. "Ok Princess Luna, but what makes you think that Fluttershy could be in danger?" asked a curious and worried Twilight. Luna was quick to respond to her, as she almost automatically stated,"Fluttershy is unable to wake up from what I can tell from what you've given me so far. She is locked in an eternal dream, but I can sense the presence of darkness in her though, and that darkness is coming from every place in Ponyville if I'm... If she gets knocked out or... worse in the dreams she seems to be having, then she will never have a chance of waking up again!" Twilight has gasped at the new information she was getting. She had basically been told her friend would be locked in an eternal rest if they weren't able to wake her up. Anxiety kicked into to Twilight and she began entering "Freak Out" mode before she remember another small detail from Luna... "You said that there's a chance that she could be woken up! What do you meant by that!?" She nearly yelled out in the room. "You are correct, Twilight. There is a way we could wake your friend up, but it's risky... I remember a spell I had taught myself long ago- a spell that could open a gateway into a pony's dreams. It required two different ponies to be asleep, and a third one was needed to enter the dream. The problem here is that I have to be the one keeping the gateway open, and we need to more ponies to do this... I already know you'd be mature enough to enter another ponies dream Twilight, but we need a third pony to sleep-" Spike had almost shot up at the mention of sleep, zooming straight towards Luna and stopping with a screeching halt. "You said you need some to sleep? I CALL SLEEPING DUTIES!!!" He cheered out with a smile on his face Luna on the other hoof had a worried expression covering her face. "I'm not sure that we can use another species to do this, but we have no choice I suppose..." Luna had pondered before finally letting out a sigh. "Okay Spike. You may be the one to sleep, but-" "Oh thank Celestia! I swear, if I had to stay up for even a minute more, I'd-" Spike had nearly been leaping in joy before he noticed a certain purple pony glaring at him out of the corner of his big, green eyes. He instantly calmed down, blushing as he shyly apologized for his behavior. "As I was saying Spike, You will need to sleep next to Fluttershy in order for this to work. Do you understand that?" "Yeah, I get the gist..." Spike stated with boredom in every syllable of his words, but his mind was filled almost entirely of anticipation of Rarity. If she was in the same situation as Fluttershy, that was... Spike had walked straight over to the bed that Fluttershy lay on at the moment, plopping down and dozing off nearly instantly. Luna could only stare with wide eyes, wondering how anything could fall asleep that quickly. Twilight had only tapped her on her side and, as if she knew what she was thinking, said," Don't question how he does it," with a small chuckle. "Ok Twilight," she said before she had realized she'd gotten off track. She got straight to the matter at hoof, and readied herself to cast her spell. "Here goes nothing," She stated with a nervous chuckle, as her horn grew bright with a haze of blue. Twilight had observed the scene in front of her, looking between her friends and the Princess who was at work, and she almost questioned why wasn't anything happening, but she remembered a certain situation in the past that involved cutiemark swapping, and kept quiet. That was when she saw it. Small, colorful clouds began to sprout from Spike's small head, growing in size as they formed farther away from the snoring dragon. Twilight could notice the same happening with Fluttershy as well. Soon, the trails of clouds had converged with one another, and a huge, bright, and colorful cloud had formed right above the two sleeping beings in front of her... Oh Rarity would have a field day if she were here to see this! The colors were so vivid and the movements were so dreamy! It was the most beautiful sight Twilight has ever seen! Not even a sonic rainbow would top this! But alas, Twilight had to get back to the task at hand. Before she could even ask what to do next, Luna had already spoken out to her with authority in her voice. "Travel into the gate way, Twilight. Now." "But Princess, didn't you say you were unsure about this-" "Just do it. We don't have any other choice." Twilight felt nervous as she began to trot up to the portal, her hooves clopping against the wooden floor loudly. She had stood right in front of the hazy cloud in front of her before taking a deep breath that punctured the silence of the night as if it were a knife cutting into warm butter. Then she leapt into the portal, which contracted behind her until it was no more. Luna could only slouch down at the sight in front of her, letting out a sigh of her own as thoughts raced in her mind. "Please be safe, Twilight..." Author's Note Hey there, fellow Luiginoids! I hope that this chapter doesn't feel too rushed for as long as it took. My laptop access is rather limited right now, so I gotta work quickly whenever I get the chance to type out this story, so... Yeah. Anyways, the questions arise! What will Twilight face in Fluttershy's dreams? Will Spike get his moment to shine in the dream world? WILL I EVER GET MY HANDS ON SOME FREAKING ANTASMUNCHIES!? Find out next on Dragon Ball Z!!! (Yep, I just did that. :3)
I Dream of Ponies... And TreesTwilight could only gasp as she watched the colors flying past her. Traveling into a dream never was something she thought she'd do, but she could already say quite a few things about it. The feeling of weightlessness had ended soon as the color the once surrounded her disappeared. She didn't even get a second to think before she fell to the ground with a echoing thump. "Well... That was fun..." She stated as she began to pull herself up from the ground. It only took one glance for her jaw to hit the dreamy ground below her. The whole landscape around was completely... floaty. Clouds shaped like animals drifted in many different directions across the sky, which was softly colored as if it were a faded rainbow. Trees shimmered and glowed a wide array of soft colors, which danced across the bark gracefully, like a lava lamp. The ground below her feet felt so grassy and was a light green, but it was also slightly transparent- enough to let the pony partially see through the ground. She began to trot along before noticing that flowers sprouted up in her trail, fading away shortly after. 'This is interesting to say the least,' she thought as she continued her walk through the path of trees before finding a brightly lit opening between the trees. There was nowhere else to go, so what could happen if she traveled through the only pathway in the area? With this in mind, she started her trot into the blinding light ahead. It didn't take long for her to reach the other side of the path of light. There was one thing that was off though; The fact that a small, white bunny sat on the grass right in the middle of the room. "Angel? What are you doing here?" Asked Twilight before the realized what she just said. She slapped her hoof into her face, knowing that animals can't talk- "Whaddayah' mean Misses Twinkle Hooves?" said a high-pitched grouchy voice in reply. Another hoof hit Twilight's face, once again realizing one detail. This time was that she was in a DREAM, and anything can happen in a pony's dreams. "I was just wanting to know what you're doing here. You don't have to be so grumpy when you tell me!" "Well alright den'! I just sensed something going' on over here in the dream world, so like anything would do, I checked dis' area! Who are you anyways?! And how do yah' know me!?" "My name is Twilight Sparkle", the unicorn stated pointing a hoof at herself. "I found my friend in the... Uh... real world, and I was told she would be stuck in an infinite sleep unless an outside force could awaken her from within. I'm sure you can guess who the outer-" "Wait just a second dere' Sparkle flank! You're saying dat you're a real world bein' traveling into dah dream world to wake up yah friend?" "Well, yes. That's the basic idea, but I have a reason-" "Well first, let me give yah a big pat on dah back for bein' the first to do dis! Second, let me tell yah dat yah basically screwed if yah fall asleep in dis place!" Twilight went straight into panic mode upon hearing the bunny's last sentence. "WAIT, WHAT!?" Angel shifted around in annoyance as he sighed. "Well, whaddaya expect? The dream world is dah place yah go when yah sleep! There ain't nothin' else after dat. Yah gonna be snoozing' for a long time if yah starting snoozing round' here." Twilight could definitely understand what the small bunny meant, but just the thought of failing Equestria and the princesses... It scared her. More than anything she could ever think of. "Now, I wanna' know dis' ; How did yah get here in dah first place?" "Well, my assistant was told to sleep next to my friend, and Princess Luna opened a gateway into both of their linked dreams apparently. Why would you-" "Alrighty den'. Now let me ask yah dis' ; Is yah assistant a green an' purple baby dragon?" "Yes, actually, but how would you know this?" "Cause' he's standin' right behind yah'." Twilight let out a chuckle as she began looking around. "What do you mean by that? Spike is sleeping in the real world, so he can't be here!" That was when she saw something. Something that widened her eyes. Spike stood right in front of her, but he seemed... different somehow. Small things were changed about him, she knew it, yet it feels like he was... the same. But, Twilight didn't care about that right now. What she cared about was the fact that Spike is somehow here and outside at the same time! She jumped with a yelp, landing right on her behind as she stared at the Spike in front of her. Angel almost automatically took to defusing the problem at hand. "Woah dere'! Don't getcha' head up in a knot here! Dat ain't dah real Spike right dere'! Dis lil' fella is how he sees himself in dah dream world. Ain't nothing to worry about, eh?" Twilight understood exactly what the bunny was saying, but she still had trouble wrapping her head around the situation. "So... this isn't the real Spike. Just him as he sees himself in his dreams?" Angel nodded carelessly. "So, that would mean there's more than one of him here, right?" Angel nodded once again, annoyance plastered across his demeanor. "Wouldn't that mean that he could clone himself here-" "DAT'S ENOUGH QUESTIONS! Didn'tcha say yah had a friend to save or somethin'!?" Twilight's geek-out was ended once she heard Angel's last sentence. How could she have forgotten about Fluttershy? It was a shameful moment for her, but she didn't show it. She just nodded and tried her best to act normal. "Yes. Yes I do, but you wouldn't happen to know where she is, correct?" "Ugh... Here's only one path through here, don'tcha see dat?" The bunny said as he thought about the situation at hand. It didn't take long for him to let out an aggravated sigh and look up to Twilight. "Alright, here's dah deal. You ain't gots a clue about anything here, so I'm gonna just come with yah, OK?" Twilight didn't have a chance to reply before Angel leaped up onto Twilight's back with one great hop. The dream Spike behind her nodded to her as she turned to look at him. She trotted straight up to him, examining him closely, and soon was trotting around him, observing the dreamy dragon from every angle. It didn't take long for her to finish as she extended a hoof to him. "What are you doing Twilight? It's not like i'm a different dragon or something!" Spike said to Twilight as he took her hoof. Soon, the trio were on their way through the dreamy forest, treading carefully along the path of translucent grass. The mountains of Equestria had stood tall over the land, as if it were proudly boasting out superiority over the land surrounding it. Snow fell fell to the sloped ground and empty path ways that led throughout the terrain. Spruce Wolves could be heard throughout the mountains, their howls echoing through the cold air. Something was added to the atmosphere though. A soft flapping could be heard moving through the mountains, the producer of the noise in deep thought He was many things at this point: Disgusted. Intrigued. Curious. Enraged. The Bat King could only find an overwhelming supply of happiness everywhere he looked as he flew through the new world. Of course, remembering his past, he was disgusted by this abundance, yet... curious to say the least. How could such a world exist to thrive with life, yet not have much negativity at all? He could only think two explanations. First was that he wasn't looking hard enough to sense enough negativity in this world. The second was that he himself might be stuck in a nightmare, but that couldn't be true. He is the King of Nightmares, is he not? It was at that point that he thought of something. Something uncomfortable. He thought of standing alone against an entire empire. Of course he stood against the Pi'illo kingdom in the past, but at least he knew what he was up against... He had to find a partner. His conscience had screeched out to him about what happened last time, but he knew it was the only way to go. For all he knew, he could be up against a force much stronger than he could ever imagine. Logic had won out over his dark conscience as he flew to the top of one of the numerous mountains before allowing the familiar sight of violet smoke envelope him, revealing his true form. His clawed hands raised high into the air before slamming into the mountain top, burrowing in the rough dirt and snow that covered the ground as dark, violet vines sprouted into the mountain, digging deeper through the mountain. It didn't take long before Antasma sensed something in the region. Negativity. He felt an abundance of negativity pulsing from a nearby location, but there wasn't just one signal. He felt countless signals of negativity erupting from one certain area, each one pure. He knew that "Nightmare Fuel" could only be produced by sentient living beings, but the amount of sources he sensed in this one single area was unbelievable. If he had to describe it, there was a... swarm of beings in this one area. Razor sharp teeth were exposed as his lips curved into a sinister smile as he released his hands from the ground. He was sure he found what he needed. He didn't even bother to leave his true form as he took off through the mountains. It didn't take long before he could see a cave along the side of one of the mountains, and he could almost feel the nightmare fuel wafting out of its entrance. And so he floated into the darkness, unbothered by the sound of soft buzzing emanating from the darkness.
