Chapters Of Nightmares and Dreamscapes
It was a chilly early morning in the city of Manehattan. The street cleaners finished their usual jobs as the markets, shops, and boutiques opened their doors. Everypony awakened to the shining embrace of Celestia’s sun...
Well, most ponies that is. One of the best dark fiction writers in the city was now exiting his dreamscape to meet the day. This pony’s name is Love Crafter.
Love awoke much to his annoyance at the stubborn yellow gaze piercing through his apartment window. He preferred the night or before the dawn as it sets his mood for the day. He rose from the black covers and bedspread and looked upon his apartment, it was nice, clean, and simple, just the way he liked it.
Love got out of bed and began to shuffle to his wooden breakfast table to finish off last night’s hay-ramen takeout dinner. While he was chewing on his breakfast a thought completely blindsided him. This idea could easily make for a great novel. When Love got an idea for a potential bestseller, he immediately jotted it down. So with that as him premise, Love, moving faster than he’d ever moved in days, made his way to his old typewriter and wrote the words as they appeared in his head.
‘The process of delving into the black abyss is to me, the keenest form of fascination…The darkness of the heart can be one of many forms of the abyss one can study…’
Love managed to get that far into his idea when the phone rang next to him, derailing his train of thought. Annoyed, Love picked up his phone preparing to yell at this bothersome pony when he stopped himself. It wouldn’t do to be unprofessional. It certainly wouldn’t help his career in any case. A second later, he was glad that he’d reined in his irritation when his caller was identified as his publisher: namely a pegasus named Star Wing.
“Hey there,” he could hear the pegasus’ voice on the other line. “I need to talk to you at my office about some of your books.”
“Oh… let me guess, most ponies don’t understand the concepts I craft, do they?” Love asked dully. It was hardly a surprise given that a lot of his works tended to be more abstract in nature.
“Well that is part of why I want to talk to you, just get to my office please,” Star Wing requested.
“Fine…” Love relented, “but I’ll have you know your little phone call interrupted a masterpiece at work.”
“Right…” Love could practically see Star Wing shaking her head at the writer. “Anyway, I’ll see you here.”
Love hung up the phone as he let out a sigh of irritation. He already knew his writing was darker and different than the puff pieces most ponies read nowadays but that’s what he was good at and he liked it that way. Love snatched up his notepad, papers, and quill as he placed them in his saddlebag before turning off the lights and leaving his apartment.
After a few minutes of good old fashioned traffic dodging in the big city, Love made his way to Star Wing’s bright blue office building and traveled to her personal office via the elevator. There, he meet with Star Wing, a yellow pegasus with a red mane and tail while wearing a blue suit as that per etiquette dictating. Star Wing sat at her large office desk and silently requested Love to take seat in the red chair next to him.
“So what is it that had me travel here in a foul smelling taxi to talk about?”
“See Love, it’s about your last book ‘The Night on Doom-Skull Mountain’. It did well… but it did not beat that newest Daring Do novel, again.”
“It’s not my fault that ponies don’t think or feel anymore!” Love pointed out indignantly. “My books are meant to enrich the reader's mind, not lull them to a stupor with action and adventure that, if you ask me, are just that same story over and over… Nothing new!”
“Look Love,” Star Wing sighed as she leaned back against her chair. “I know you're a great writer but you will never be the best in the eyes of other ponies if you don’t branch out into different things that are not dark and depressing… So I have an offer from somepony high up for you to do a biography of them.”
“A biography?” That had piqued his interest. “Well that would be a change of pace, but only if I can tweak it to my own style.”
“I can work with that,” Star Wing nodded before continuing, “and if it all goes well you may ever get a Writers Guild award for this one.”
“Okay, sounds good,” Love nodded before asking the million bit question. “So who am I doing this biography on?”
“Princess Luna…” Love had to actively stop his jaw from dropping on the floor at the prospect of writing her biography. Luna was one of the rulers of Equestria, but more interesting to Love has her nature with the dark side of magic. Star Wing, for her part, either didn’t notice or didn’t care as she continued on. “She wants to show ponies that she is more than just a princess to them now.”
“Well that could make for an interesting book,” Love conceded. “So when do I leave for Canterlot?”
“In an hour,” It seemed that Star Wing would simple not stop surprising him today if the assignment she’d had for him was any indication. “The office paid for your ticket so get going and good luck, Love.”
Nodding his thanks to his publisher, Love Crafter made his way out of the building before hailing down a taxi to take him to the train station. From there, he’d presented the ticket to the train attendants to allow him to board the train to Canterlot.
. . . .
The journey was long . Love Crafter, in lieu of a typewriter to get any writing done for his original idea, opted to stare out the window to gaze at the land of Equestria and seeing the sights even if he had a habit of imagining them in a rather morbid outlook. However, Love eventually arrived at the shining white city of Canterlot as he stepped off the train, mindful of keeping pace with the other ponies who were keen on getting off the train and out of the train station.
Stepping out the station, Love took a moment to take all the sights that made up Canterlot: the city museum, the busy marketplace, and the high end shops. He mainly did this in hopes of discovering ideas for novels.
Eventually, he found his way to Canterlot Castle and thanks to his special guest pass from the Princess of the Night, he had found his way into the building and was directed to where Princess Luna maybe at this time of day. The castle was huge as Love felt a air of dignified posture with every hoof step in the great hallways. Love walked through the large white castle’s hallways, turned a corner and bumped into a pony who once he got a look at realized it was Princess Celestia. Now most ponies would beg forgiveness as quick as lightning strikes, but Love isn’t like most ponies.
“Pardon me, I’m a tad busy today and didn’t see your there.” Princess Celestia looked on this unfamiliar pony who was wiping of the dirt from the ground from his cloths.
Love replied, “Ah yes. Princess Celestia, sorry for interrupting whatever it is your doing, but can you tell me where to find Princess Luna?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Princess Luna has commissioned me, Love Crafter, to write her biography.”
“Oh yes, I remember her mentioning that, she’s down the hall to your right...but may I ask, are you going to show my sister in a positive light? I’m not familiar with the types of books you write.”
“I will give Princess Luna the ‘positive light’ that I deem fruitful and worthwhile. If you think my writing may not be up to snuff then read this…” Love pulls out one of his books from his saddlebags and gives it to the Princess. Celestia looks through the pages for a few minutes with a confused look on her face.
“Oh my, this is… different than what I’ve see ponies write before.”
“Be sure to read it, might give you a whole new outlook on life. Now I must be off if I am going to do this biography on your sister. Ta-ta.”
Love quickly trots away from Princess Celestia found herself reading Love’s book ‘The Taming of The Dark Side by Love Crafter.’
Of Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Love Crafter trotted down the hall to his right to a large red door, checks to make sure his suit is clean, takes a deep breath, and knocks on the door. The door slowly opens with a loud cracking sound as Love takes initiative and walks into Luna’s room.
The princess's room was filled with high-end furniture, expensive the looking decoration, and a large bed covered in red velvet bedsheets. Definitely, a princesses room although Love did notice something, there was not much lighting in here, almost like his own apartment. Love quickly dashed that odd thought and noticed the Princess sitting at a fine wooden carved desk. If Love didn't know better he could have swore that she was reading one of his novels.
Luna sees Love out of the corner of her eye, she immediately put the book down and walks to the pony with an excited look on her face. Luna stops in front of Love Crafter and looks him over to Love's confusion.
"This is a fine day indeed for me to finally meet the famous Love Crafter." the Princess said with glee in her eye.
"Oh, you're embarrassing me, for it is I who should be grateful for this chance to work with the Princess of the Night."
"Well if everything goes right, then your book will show the ponies of Equestria that I am just like any other pony."
"A promising first step was in hiring me, so I take it you're a fan of my work?"
"Why yes, in fact on my first tour of Canterlot I visited a local library for a good book to read I saw one of your novels sitting on a shelf. It was so good and so different than anything I've read before, ever since then I always found the time to go and buy any of your new works."
Love found himself flattered by all this praise. In hindsight, he had never actually met anypony who had even read one of his books. he just knew some ponies did read them from his publisher. So after taking in all this unfamiliar praising, Love finds a wooden chair to begin the biography.
However before Love could get a starting sentence down Princess Luna asks if he can do it while she does some other business in the castle and around the city. Love agrees to her request and the two left her room to go around town. Love decided to observe the princess get a better idea of the pony behind the title. Around the castle, the princess attended various meetings with diplomats, mayors, and social workers from all over Equestria as Love jotted down what he saw of her. In her princess business, she was firm but fair and found a more than one easy solution to any problems.
After the castle meetings, the two ponies left to journey into the White city. Within the city's walls, the Princess by Love's perspective treated fairly and with high praises from other ponies. However, there was something odd about as Love noticed that many of the high society ponies would often say 'Celestia's sister' or 'The Second Princess" a few times. Love thought that would bother Luna but she remained a cool head. Love notices that Luna is treated roughly around the same way Princess Celestia might be. Which is fine except the ponies don't see anything but a title and a crown.
Luna and Love traveled to The Canterlot Museum to see some of the fine art and well-polished statues. Once inside ponies flocked to the pair with praises and gratitude for her presence. Love sets back from the crowd of ponies. once Luna breaks away from the crowds she find Love Crafter and asks what is wrong.
"I am truly sorry Princess..."
"Just call me Luna, please ."
"Ah yes, Luna you want me to show these ponies that you are more than just a Princess, but it's rather hard to get what you are like when everypony acts so stiff around you."
"I have an idea, follow me please." Luna motioned Love to go sneak past the crowds of ponies.
So Love and luna moves to a quiet and empty spot in Canterlot Museum and quickly changes using an old spell into the illusion of a simple unicorn. Luna now acts completely different as now other ponies don't care who she is. Love now writes down his ideas. The day was spent by the two ponies who enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city of Canterlot. Luna went dancing, dining, and showing a joy in life that one would not see in a Princess. After the day is done Love and Luna traveled back to the castle, and back to the princesses room. Luna removes the spell to turn back into her old self as Love thinks he got what he needed from today's little journey.
"I had so much fun today, and to hang out with my favorite writer to boot."
"It was an enjoyable day Luna and I have many ideas for the biography, now all I need to do is get some shut eye."
With that Love bids Luna a goodnight and trots to his guest room in the castle. His guest room was much bigger than his own apartment with fabulous furniture and decoration. Love, after reading what he wrote down today got into the large guest bed and dozed off into slumber.
Without his knowing a sinister shadow loomed from the balcony, starting at Love Crafter with bright yellow eyes. The shadow was from a cloaked pony who walked to the bed and began to chant something into Love Crafter's ear.
‘Your dark dreams are like a beacon to me...With them, I shall grow stronger.’ The cloaked pony then cast a spell on Love Crafter, who now finds himself not in a dream but a dreaded nightmare as he tossed and turned around in his sleep.
Of Nightmares and Dreamscapes
It started as a normal dream for Love, The luminous shadows lighting his way to a garden of stars. Typical but enjoyable to Love as he had a fondness for the stars and heavens beyond. However, this dream quickly changes to something different. Love’s nighttime garden changed into a foggy forest that stretched onto the horizon. He walked its treacherous path for some time until he heard a noise, something faint like a mosquito buzzing around one’s ear.
Love turned around to see a cloaked pony standing in the fog. he tried to talk to it but his voice had failed him as the cloaked pony moved closer to him with tiny steps. Love slowly backed away as the pony's head moved up to show bright yellow eyes. In an Eyre voice, the cloaked pony spoke.
‘You love the unknown...you should fear it...either way, I am going to enjoy your dreams…’
Love found himself confused but fascinated by this dream, until he felt a tingle in his throat. This tingle turned into a shaking feeling as Love’s bones ached and his muscles burned. Love opened his mouth to talk to the cloaked pony when out of his mouth came not words but a dark ooze that filled his mouth. This ooze crawled as if it had limbs from Love’s mouth all over his body as the cloaked pony smiled with a wicked grin. In seconds, the ooze consumed Love’s body leaving a dark puddle in his place.
Love awakens, covered in sweat and tears in his eyes. Love’s mind races as he catches his breath. He never had a dream like that, as if he was being suffocated by darkness and fear. Love quickly began to think on what his dream means as most dreams have a subtle tale to tell.
Love gets out of the bed and blows to the writing table Luna had put in the room for him. He levitated a quill and begins to write down his dreams and a few new ideas for future books.
‘The oldest and strongest emotion of pony-kind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown…’
Love wrote into the early morning and unto dawn.
. . . .
Love finally finishes his thoughts as Luna opens the guest door, He turns to see the Princess of Night smile.
“Why, Luna what time is it?”
“It’s morning, I wanted to get you for breakfast.”
“Ah yes...Let me put away my papers.”
“Did you say up all night?”
“Well it wasn’t my intent too but it seems my mind has given me some new ideas so I had to write them down.”
Luna shrugged as Love place his papers in his travel saddle. The two trotted to the dining room of Canterlot Castle. Luna during the walk talks about wanting to continue the Biography which Love agrees must continue.
Love and Luna arrive at the dining room which to Love’s surprise was bigger than he thought it would be. It’s fancy drapes and gilded table put Love’s breakfast table back in the big city to shame. The two eat some privately grown royal fruits whose taste was fantastic to the city pony.
“I must say this food is overwhelmingly good...not use to this kind of treatment.”
“Really? it can’t be that different.” Luna says.
“Well, in the big city I usually just eat hay-ramen all the time, it doesn’t have the same taste as this stuff.”
Luna and Love finished their breakfast and leave the castle to travel thru Canterlot to the train station. Love asks where they are going as Luna says.
“We are going to Ponyville for a ribbon cutting ceremony for Princess Twilight’s new library.”
“Oh...well this might actually help with the biography, you interacting with ponies in a simple village compared to the city.”
“Trust me, Ponyville sometimes isn’t that simple.” Luna smiled as Love had a confused look on his face.
On the train ride, Love and Luna were in a private cart as they moved closer to Ponyville. During the ride, Love falls asleep across from Luna. Out of curiosity, Luna uses her dream magic to see into Love Crafter’s dream.
In the dream, Luna enters a garden, but a garden only possible in a dream. The trees, flowers, animals, and lawn furniture were made of shadows with stars shining brightly. It was like looking into the night’s sky. In the middle of the garden was Love Crafter who had his eyes closed as a stray shadow formed in front of him. To Luna’s surprised the shadow forming into her. This copy of Luna began to sing a lovely opera as piano music filled the air. This dream filled Luna’s heart with joy mixed with amazement.
The train stops at Ponyville which made Luna lose her concentration to the dream. Love awoke to see Luna with an innocent look on her face.
“Did I miss something?”
“Oh no, nothing really,” Luna said as she hummed the tune of the dream opera next to Love Crafter as they next the train.
Of Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Love Crafter and Princess Luna exit the royal train-car to meet two ponies who were expecting them, One was marshmallow white while the other was bright pink. The two ponies bowed to Luna who returned the gesture.
“Greeting Rarity and Pinkie Pie, how is the preparation for the ribbon cutting ceremony?” Luna asked.
“It is almost ready Princess, Pinkie Pie and myself have worked on the decorations personally.” Rarity mentioned.
“Ya, there extra super special just you and...who's that?” Pinkie Pie pointed at Love.
“Ah yes... this is a friend of mine and my favorite author, Love Crafter.”
“Oh, It’s nice to meet you Lovely!” Pinkie Pie instantly nicknamed him to his annoyance.
“Yes...well I am merely here for Princess Luna’s biography she had me comittion, so pretend I’m not here so i can see how Luna acts with you all.” Love pulled out a note pad and quill from his saddle.
“Sounds fun to me!” Pinkie yelled.
“Quite, but I do love your outfit darling…”
“This old thing? I’ve always were a proper outfit even in the field, as my father once said ‘Better to be probably dress then look like a fool.’, anyway thank you Miss Rarity.” Rarity smiled at Love’s polite nature.
The four ponies left the train station and entered Ponyville. Love looked around to get a good feel for this town. The idle chatter of the town’s ponies and the clacking of hooves on the cobbled stones of the little town's streets were the only sounds that permeated the air. All around where little houses with thatched roofs, brick and stucco walls, and happy ponies in the doorways. Vendors called to ponies from behind their stalls and in front of their carts. The smell of baked goods and fresh produce wafted from every corner. Within eyesight was the castle belonging to the Princess of Friendship.
“Meh…” Love summarized this town in one word as he walked thur the town with the other ponies.
During the walk to the town center the group meet three more ponies, a orange earth pony, a yellow pegasus, and a pegasus with hair that made Love vomit in his mouth a bit. Luna introduced Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash to Love.
“Well, Hi there Princess Luna, nice to run into y'all.” Applejack said.
“It is rather convenient isn't it, all my freinds meeting with my favorite author.” Luna pointed at Love as he wrote in his note pad.
“Oh nice to meet you, What’s your name?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m Love Crafter, though I have a feeling none of you read anything of mine.”
“Wait one minute…” Rainbow Dash flies quickly to her house.
“Is she always like that?” Love asked the group.
“Eyep.” Applejack replied.
Rainbow Dash returned in less than a minute with a book in her hooves which she handed to Love.
“Can you sigh this please?” Dash stared at Love as he looked at the book. It was his one dark adventure style book he tried a long time ago…’The Pegasus of Storms.’.
“Wow, I almost forgot about this…Sure I’ll sign it.” Love sighing his name into the cover and gave it back to Rainbow Dash who smiled.
“I thought you liked Daring Do novels, Dash?” Fluttershy asked.
“I still do, but Twilight suggested I branch out into other stuff, either way it's a good read.”
With that said and done the group of ponies walked to the town's center where they met Twilight Sparkle, Spike the dragon and Discord. Twilight greeted Luna and Love as she and Spike were finishing the decorations. Discord was napping in a hammock nearby but awoke when he heard the ponies talking.
“Well, hello dear Princess Luna...out performing your royal duties I see.” Discord said.
“Yes, and this is my friend Love Crafter and...Love?” Luna looked as Love had his mouth opened in shock.
Love quickly ran to Discord, grabbed his clawed arm, and shook it like a fan meeting his star in real life. This surprise all the ponies, Luna, and especially Discord.
“This is the best day ever! To meet the ancient spirit of chaos in the flesh. Oh I have so much to ask you!.”
Oh, I think I left the Teapot on, bye bye…” Discord snapped his fingers and vanished as Love was dazzled by his magic.
After that little display of fan-boying Love regained his composure. Luna giggled at that as the other ponies looked away with smiles on their faces. The ponies begin the final preparations for the ceremony as the town’s ponies arrived to watch. The new library was where the old one was but made of concrete instead of a tree. Luna took the stage as all the ponies looked on, Love took this ceremony a chance to take a small break from writing the biography.
However Love noticed something lurking in an alleyway nearby. It was hard for Love to believe but it was the cloaked pony from his dream last night, the one with yellow eyes. The pony quickly bolted away as Love chased after it. He followed the cloaked pony thur a few alleys and streets until it ran out of Ponyville and into the Everfree forest. Love needed to see this pony, it wasn’t just an illusion of his mind but something real. So Love gave full speed gallop into the Everfree Forest, hunting down this pony from his dreams.
. . . .
Love Crafter found himself in the legendary Everfree Forest, hunting down the cloaked pony from his dreams. Love in all his life has never been in a forest before, it's dark lighting and moving shadows gave him both joy and concern. Love evenrally found himself lost in this gloomy forest with no pony for miles around. Love quickly tried to go back to town but in his pursuit of the mystery pony he got turned around at some point.
“You are so fascinating…” a erey voice echoes in Love’s ear.
“Where are you? Why did I dream of you?!” Love yelled at the nothingness in the air.
“You, out of all the worthless ponies I have ever seen merit my attention...you think out of the narrow views of pony society, you are of a darker nature, and you are brilliant beyond your years…You are worthy of my plan.”
“Stop speaking in riddles! What does that mean?!”
“You will find out...but first let's have some fun in your mind.”
Suddenly Love grabs his skull with his hooves in pain as his brain expands. His eyes become bloodshot and his mouth dyes as visions danced before him. Black tentacles reached out from the surrounding shadows at Love who tried to back away but found himself frozen in fear.
. . . .
With this cutting of the ribbon I do declare the new Ponyville Library open!” Luna cut the ribbon as the crowd of ponies cheered loudly. Everypony trotted into the Library to see its splendor, Luna walked off the stage to join in when she noticed Love Crafter was missing. So the Princess of the Night began to search for her author friend. Luna looked around the Library and the surrounding area to find nothing at all. She thought it was strange for him to leave all the sudden, it seemed out of character for him.
Just then Luna bumped into the Cutie Mark Crusader who were having fun in the street. Luna figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.
“Girls, have you seen a light brown stallion in a nice suit have you?”
“Actually Princess Luna we did see somepony like that.” Sweetie Belle said.
“You did, where did he go?”
“It was weird, he was standing there watching you on mitie then he was chasing a cloaked pony into the Alleyway over there.” Applebloom said.
“Thank you girls.”
“No problem Princess Luna.” scootaloo said as Luna golloped over to the alleway.
Luna didn’t find Love but she felt a cold feeling in her blood, something so familiar she knew what it was imminently. She used her magic to scan for Love’s tracks which she followed thru Town until she stopped at the border of the Everfree Forest. Luna spread her wings and took to the sky to have a better view of the forest.
. . . .
After searching above the forest for an hour she found Love’s trail and followed it on hoof. She arrived to see Love Crafter in agonizing pain, screaming gibberish as he held his skull in his hooves. Luna places a sleep spell on Love knocking him out and relieving his pain, Luna circled Love as she sensed the familiar cold and dark aura.
“You…” Luna turned to see a Cloaked Pony appear out of the shadows of the forest.
“The Pony of Shadows, The one who turned me into Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago.”
“Ah you remembered me, I’m touched.”
“What are you doing to Love Crafter?!”
“Isn’t it funny that ponies think I’m a fragment of your old self? Not knowing I’m the one who showed you the power of Darkness and Nightmares.”
“I said what have you done to Love!”
“Oh him...Isn’t he fansianting...a true gem of a stallion, perfect for what I have planed...and no I’m not telling you anything...not yet anyway.”
Luna fired a bolt of magic at The Pony of Shadows, only for it to disappear into thin air. Luna picks up Love in a levitation spell and takes him back to Ponyville.
