As You Dream, So Too You Shall Become

by Echo-Web Productions

Rating: mature
Tags: Starlight Glimmer, Original Character, Spike, Suicide / Self Harm, Tragedy, Profanity, Adventure, Discord, Violence, Death, Narcotics, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 2419

A MLP Infection AU set within the world of Pupil of the Night.

A vision of rot, vines and death plagues Painted Night every time she closes her eyes. What was thought to be a nightmare seems to loom on the horizon, threatening to be even worse than what she sees.

Desperate to avoid the possible coming disaster, she confides in her mentor, Princess Luna. Together, they come up with a plan to protect their beloved home and ponies, but will it be enough? Will they find the root of their worries in time? Or will all their preparations be for nothing?

Only time will tell.

Published 2024-05-13 19:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-05-13 19:30:01 UTC

It Was Just A Dream

Author's Note

Hiii everypony! :pinkiehappy:

Welcome to my second story and one of the few stories I worked on during my absence! As most of ya'll know, MLP Infection AU's took over a good portion of the fandom and I really wanted to make one, so here it is!

This story takes place within the world of Pupil of the Night and while it is nowhere near finished, I do recommend reading through it occasionally to learn more about my characters in this story as Pupil of the Night focuses more on their personal lives and such and this will mainly be about all the ponies living during the infection.

Anyways! My stories are not beta read, so it is completely possible I have mistakes. If you find any, don't be afraid to point it out, I would greatly appreciate it! And of course, if you have any questions regarding the story, characters or anything, ask them in the comments! I'll answer all I can! :twilightblush:

And most importantly, enjoy this chapter of As You Dream, So Too You Shall Become!

It Was Just A Dream

Blue.

It was encompassing, overloading and suffocating. Everywhere one looked, it was blue and in the midst of it all, a teal unicorn stood, head shifting back and forth as they looked around. Their dark blue mane was braided, resting over their shoulder, swinging gently with their movement. After a few more moments of searching, the unicorn sighed and took a step forward, shuddering when no sound came from their hoof.

“I’m dreaming.”

Voice echoing within the blue, the mare chuckled, putting her next hoof forward as she came to the realization, no longer fearing this reality. With a soft hum, she continued, opting to let this dream play out rather than control it. On and on she walked, boredness quick to settle within the her mind, nagging at her to change the dream and have some fun and as she slowed to a stop, she chose to listen, magic gathering as she grasped the threads of her dream.

A groan filled the silence just as teal magic coated her horn and her gaze snapped to her left, eyes widening at the sight of another pony hunched over and shivering. The other pony had a dark, royal blue coat, their mane a beautiful gold and a horn sat proudly on their head. Smiling worriedly, the unicorn trotted over to the other.

“Dusk Dagger? Are you okay, my friend? I thought I was in my own dream, but I must have sensed your oncoming nightmare and stepped into your dream without realizing.”

A soft chuckle escaped her, waiting for a response from her oldest friend. When none came, the unicron’s brows furrowed and she really took in her friend’s appearance. Up close she could now see the light orange smattered across Dusk’s coat and what looked to be tiny leaves and sticks poking through her fur. She also noticed how her friend slowly stopped trembling.

“Dusk? Talk to me. I can’t fight off the nightmare if I don’t know what exactly the nightmare is…”

Dusk merely began to growl, body straightening out as she stood. The unicorn didn’t miss the creaking Dusk’s body made, as if she was a tree leaning in the wind. Worry further encompassed the unicorn and she reached for her friend, turning her towards her. A gasp tore itself from her throat as her teal eyes met milky white, followed by a scream as her friend suddenly growled and lunged for her.

“Dusk?!”

Dodging her snarling friend, the unicorn backed away, chest heaving as she watched her friend slam into the ground, seemingly unphased as she immediately began standing, her body creaking and groaning worse than before. Terror seized the unicorn and magic swiftly gathered at the tip of her horn, blasting towards her friend in a heartbeat. The blast made direct contact, and yet her friend, no, this creature, was unaffected, crawling towards the unicorn before lunging once more.

The poor unicorn was helpless, unable to move as the creature collided with her. Her horn lit once more and she desperately tried grabbing for the dream’s threads, only to find none. Confusion bled into her panic, but before she could question it further, the creature made its move. All the unicorn saw was pale gums and sharp, yellowed teeth coming straight for her throat.

As the world began to fall into slumber, a pale yellow pegasus made her way down a path, heading to the cottage of her neighbor. She knew her neighbor would be waking soon and she had some honey and jams she had been meaning to gift to the other. The pegasus looked down at her saddlebags, just in time to see a yellow paw reaching for one of the jars.

“Discord!”

A soft slap sounded out as the pegasus batted away the paw with her wing. Her words were met with a loud whine as a dragon-like creature with the head of a pony poofed into existence, the paw once trying to snatch a jar now being rubbed by his eagle claw.

“But Fluttershy, I’m out of honey! You wouldn’t let me starve, would you?”

Discord got closer to Fluttershy, clasping his hands together and giving her his best puppy dog eyes. Fluttershy merely rolled her eyes playfully and gently pushed the god of chaos away, her pace not once faltering.

“Of course not, dear, that is why I have Angel preparing our food at home. Besides, you know I’ve been meaning to deliver these jars to Painted for a while. It wouldn’t be fair to make her wait any longer.”

Rolling his eyes, Discord crossed his arms and poofed away, only to reappear next to Fluttershy, walking with her. His lip jutted out in a fake pout as he grumbled.

“Mini moon has waited this long, she can wait a bit longer for one jar of honey. At least she should be able to, being the Element of Patience and everything.”

Another roll of her eyes and Fluttershy flapped her wings, taking air as she twirled around, face to face with Discord. Leaning forward, she quickly kisses his snout before taking off, softly laughing and calling back to him.

“Be good and you’ll get honey later~”

Red erupted under Discord’s fur and steam began to pour from his ears at the pegasus’s statement. He was quick to shake away the fluster, bounding after the mare just as she reached the door of the cabin, sun just disappearing below the horizon. Landing, Fluttershy smiled happily, raising a hoof to knock on the door, only for it to freeze mere centimeters from the wood as a blood curdling scream rang from within the house.

Panic rushed through Fluttershy, fear creeping in as she froze, her only movement the faint trembling wracking her body. Behind her, Discord’s eyes had widened and he was quick to pull Fluttershy behind him, pupils dilating before becoming slits as he stared at the door, ears straining to hear any more noise. Hearing nothing, he gestured for Fluttershy to stay behind him, his claw grasping the cottage handle.

“Stay behind me and keep the door open. If anything happens, run and get your friends, my dear.”

Despite her trembling, Fluttershy nodded and followed as Discord opened the door and stepped into the dark house. The draconequus looked around, eyes narrowed as he took in the clean and tidy interior of the cottage, searching for any signs of trouble. Just as he thought there was nothing, a bright flash of teal light came from under the bedroom door.

“Oh no…”

Fluttershy whispered, silently following Discord to the door, bracing herself for whatever hid beyond it. Once more, they stopped at the door, ears listening for more sound. Silence greeted them briefly, before the soft sound of crying could be heard. The pair share a look of worry, their friend never cried…

“Painted Night?”

Her name was called softly, Fluttershy’s hoof gentle yet firm as it knocked on the wooden door. The crying stopped almost immediately, doing nothing but worsening the fear and concern the pale pegasus felt. She went to knock again, freezing when the door’s latch unlocked and the wood opened to reveal reddened teal eyes and tear stained cheeks.

“Painted? Are.." Fluttershy hesitated, eyes widening as she noted her friend's face. "Are you okay?”

Discord noted the way Painted flinched, her eyes flitting between the two, as if she was searching them. He watched her eyes flick to theirs, then to their mouths and finally she began searching their… coats? She didn’t answer Fluttershy as she looked, not immediately, and the silence stretched on and on. The draconequus could see how the unicorn’s silence was bothering his love and he opened his mouth to break it.

“Fluttershy? Discord? W-What are you guys doing here?”

A sigh of relief escaped the god of chaos as the bearer of Patience opened her door fully, apparently satisfied with whatever she found. Fluttershy reached up, rubbing away the fading tear marks and Painted Night closed her eyes, leaning into the touch. Yet Discord saw the way she initially tensed, the fear- no, the terror that consumed her in that brief moment. Quirking a brow, he tilted his head.

“We were bringing you the honey and jams Flutters promised you, but we heard you scream and just had to ensure our dear friend was okay.”

Despite the sassy manner in which Discord spoke, Painted snorted, rolling her eyes playfully as she rubbed her other cheek. The unicorn focused on Fluttershy, giving the pegasus a reassuring smile.

“Sorry to have worried you two. I just had a bad dream…”

Shaking her head, Fluttershy gently ushered her friend out of the room and to the living room. She sat Painted down and turned on the light, taking a detour to the kitchen to put away the jars she carried. Once the sound of running water reached their ears, the unicorn and draconequus stared at each other.

“What really happened? I’ve never seen such an old being have that much fear before.”

Just like before, Painted Night was silent, though Discord couldn’t tell if it was because she didn’t want to talk about it or couldn’t. Sighing softly, Discord leaned back on nothing, arms coming to a rest behind his head, raising a brow at the other’s continued silence. The call of a kettle sounded from the kitchen and Discord knew he didn’t have much more time to question the other.

“Is it at least something we should be worried about?”

More silence. Frustration grew within the chaotic being, if something posed a threat, especially to Fluttershy, he wanted to know. It looked like the other would remain quiet and already he had plans to get the information he sought.

“I…" The unicorn's voice was so soft it almost went unheard. "I don’t know.”

Painted’s voice was soft, so unsure and lost, things the unicorn typically wasn’t. It threw him off and unnerved him greatly. He wasn’t sure what to do now, but thankfully he was saved as Fluttershy came walking back in, now sporting a tray with a kettle, three cups and some crackers and honey.

“Oh! I’m sorry for using your kitchen without asking.”

Shaking her head with a soft smile, Painted waved off her friend’s concern, once more reminding Fluttershy that she was always welcomed to Painted’s kitchen any time. Seeing Fluttershy nod in understanding (she knew they would repeat this exchange next time Flutters visited) Painted’s horn sprung to life. Teal encompassed her horn and with a tilt of her head, her cup and a cracker. Dipping the cracker within the provided honey, Painted Night popped the treat into her mouth, melting as the sweetness flooded her palate.

If she was a feline species, she knew she would be purring. The company of friends, the warm tea and delicious honey allowed her to finally begin to relax, her dream nothing more than a disturbing memory, even if she could still feel it lingering at the edge of her conscience. She knew she would eventually have to face the dream… Could she even call it that? Briefly, she remembered reaching for the dream’s threads and finding none. In all her years of training and living, she had never been unable to grasp, let alone find the threads! Not even with Luna’s crafted dreams and nightmares!

Faust, she was letting it creep back up on her, she was better than this! She was Luna’s student and the Element of Patience for star's sake! A groan escaped her, her magic gently placing the teacup back on the tray before she raised a hoof to rub at her forehead. The action caused her to miss the concerned glance her friends shared, only looking back up at the sound of another teacup tinking against the tray.

Looking up, Painted met the pegasus’s aqua gaze, filled with so much kindness that even the loneliest creatures would feel love and companionship. Painted always mused of how well the other Elements match their bearer and right now, she could only see how right it was for Fluttershy to be the Element of Kindness.

“Painted Night." She barely hid her flinch at the soft call of her name. "Forgive me if I overstep, but… would you like to talk about it?”

Desperation flooded her body, everything in her suddenly screaming to tell the others of her dream and what happened. It was so sudden and harsh, the unicorn had to dip her head, biting her tongue to silence herself. She couldn’t be so rash, even if she was speaking with an Element and the god of chaos, Painted knew better than to reveal her worries and possibly cause a mass panic over nothing.

Strategizing was the key here, she would speak with Luna on the matter before anyone else. The Lunar Princess would know what this meant and would know the action to take, Painted Night was sure of it. So with a soft smile, the unicorn looked back up to reassure her friends once more that it was merely a bad dream and she was briefly shaken up. However her smile dropped almost as fast as it rose, eyes widening in pure terror at the two before her.

For the second time that night, she was met with the view of sharp, yellowed teeth aimed straight for her throat.