Minty Shine Plays a Game

Minty's eyes snapped open as she shot bolt upright in her bed with a gasp. she quickly examined herself, feeling her body as if to make sure she wasn't a ghost. To her relief, she was unharmed. She wasn't even wet, well, mostly anyways. She took several deep breaths until her heart slowed to a somewhat normal pace. Shouldn't she be covered in stomach acid? How was she still alive, much less back in her bed for that matter? Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a voice.

"Thou hadst a nightmare, and a powerful one at that."

Minty snapped her head to the left to see none other than princess Luna sitting at her bedside. Minty squeaked, pulling the covers up instinctively. "P-princess Luna! Wh-"

Luna raised a forehoof calmingly, "Fear not, dear subject, we still reside upon the dream plane. You needn't worry about formalities inside your own head." She cooed.

Minty blinked. Letting the blankets fall back to the bed, she replied. "W-wait, so... t-that was just a nightmare...? B-but it felt so real... and if I'm still dreaming, why are we in my room?" Suddenly a realization dawned over Minty, causing her to cringe with folded ears, shying back slightly. "O-oh you s-saw what it w-was then, didn't you. I p-promise I don't normally have s-such weird-"

"Be at peace, Mrs. Shine," Luna interjected, the tiniest smile on her muzzle, "As guardian of the dream realm, it is our duty to banish nightmares from the dreams of our subjects. In our many years we have seen very, ah, peculiar dreams." Luna cleared her throat, looking away for a moment in which Minty could swear it almost looked like she was blushing, before continuing. "As for our presence within thy bedchambers, this was simply the first place thy mind created upon our banishing of thy nightmare." She placed a hoof on Minty's shoulder reassuringly. "Be not ashamed, Minty Shine, for in truth thy nightmare tonight was not summoned by thy mind alone."

That piqued Minty's curiosity. "W...what's that supposed to mean? N-not summoned by my mind alone? As in... s-someone else was involved...?" Someone else? Controlling her dreams? The thought sent a chill down her spine.

"Indeed," Luna confirmed, backing up to give Minty more room. "We believe this to be the work of a Fae Spirit. Unsavory beings that feed on emotions found in dreams. Most Fae feed on darker emotions, such as fear, terror, and lust. They draw upon one's mind to create visions of their worst fears or desires so deep even the affected individual does not know of them, sometimes both at once, to feed on the powerful emotions generated by such." Luna paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in.

"S-s-so that's why y-you're here? B-because I'm possessed??" The thought was not pleasant, but it would explain her dream. Nightmare. Whatever it was. Wait what did she say about desires and lus-

"No. Thou art not possessed." Luna said firmly, before softening. "We art here to allay thy fears. Although the presence of a Fae spirit here is not to be ignored, Fae only have power in the dream realm. They cannot harm thou in the waking world. Furthermore, though not common, Fae meddling is something many experience in their lifetimes, it is merely another aspect of our vigil. Fae are only dangerous if allowed to feed from the same individual many times, however such a thing shan't happen under our watch."

This calmed Minty greatly. "W-well that certainly explains things." She was at a loss for words to say anything else.

Luna merely nodded, standing up. "Thou hast nothing to fear, Minty Shine." She walked out the bedroom door and turned back, "Now Rest." she murmured, before closing the door softly, and was gone.

As her bedroom began to fade, Minty contemplated the night's events. She would need time to process everything that had happened, but at least she could rest easy knowing she would be free from another experience like that. With a yawn, Minty lied back down in her bed as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

~ ? ? ? ~

Once the Dream Guardian had left, it emerged from hiding. The Fae observed Minty's slumbering, dreamless state with its red eyes, hungry for more but knowing that the Dream Guardian's spell protected her... for now. With a sly grin and a chuckle it... she... Midnight, withdrew herself from Minty's mind. "I'll be seeing you~" She cooed, and was gone.