Chapters The living thinks they escaped the dread
For they thought I was dead
My power is weak compared to before
But my visions for vengeance are never poor.
My creator escaped my clutches temporarily
They rest in times so merry
Now their slumber will be plagued for my needs
Theirs alongside others who share similar deeds.
Wherever they go, their fears arise
I’ll gleefully see their demise
From powerful spellcasters to the pathetic strays
My reign will continue to linger and stay.
Lest they come to my terrain
Where they will only be in pain
Try as they might, but their dreams will permanently be mine
For their deeds will never rot with time.
Princess Luna stood in front of the Castle of the Two Sisters. The Princess felt content and was looking forward to her dream after a long day's work of raising the moon and rescuing the ponies from their nightmares. That was always her favorite part of her job. No matter how worn down or tired she was, she was always ready to sleep her sorrows and her worries away in peaceful slumber.
The castle seemed to sparkle with cleanliness from the maids that had seemingly come hours ago. It reminded her a lot of the castle in the real world before she was banished to the moon. It was a shame Celestia or the land keepers didn’t properly take care of it during her absence. Perhaps those magical beams that destroyed the roof didn’t help, but it could’ve been replaced. At least she can enjoy its original glory in her dreams. The history and the memories that were stored in the structure was remarkable, and even continued to hold in the present time.
However, despite the glory, why did Princess Luna feel like something was off? Her surroundings were similar yet something didn’t feel right. The place was slightly darker than it usually is. Though it isn’t bad on its own, the low lighting and the way the atmosphere seemed to shift away from the earlier tranquility caused alarms to ring in her head. It felt… too familiar to a certaintime. She was startled when she spotted a pony step away from the shadows from the corner of her eye. Her blood ran cold when she recognized the pony looming over her in the ledge. It was a copy of herself! The impostor’s face had twisted in a sadistic smile, one that would scare even the toughest of ponies such as herself.
“Did you miss me?” Her twin spoke sinisterly.
Princess Luna felt her heart stop. She tried to use her powers to fend off the fiend, yet despite her glowing horn, no spells came out. The Princess gasped and took a step back from the copycat.
“Who are you?!” The Princess shouted angrily, her voice tinted with the fear she felt deep inside. After many years of guiding dreams and dealing with nightmares, this experience was completely new to her. For the first time in a long time, she strangely felt powerless in her own dream!
The evil Luna didn’t answer. She let her actions do the talking. She flapped her wings and ascended in the air. She raised the moon over the sun, creating an unnatural eclipse. When the moon was completely covering the sun, dark shadows fused around the Alicorn. Evil cackling echoed throughout the chambers by the time the shadows dissipated. Princess Luna took several steps backward and her ears flattened against her head when she met her old foe: Nightmare Moon.
“Remember this?” Nightmare Moon called down to her. “Remember me? ”
Before the Princess could react, Nightmare Moon teleported behind her and attacked her with a powerful, dangerous laser. The Princess shouted from the sharp pain she felt from her wing. She looked to see a burn mark scarring her on the side. She attempted to use teleportation spells of her own, but Nightmare Moon trapped her in a magical crystal that immobilized her. The princess tried to use various spells to get her out of this horrible dream, yet it was fruitless. She was trapped in her own nightmare, a reality she hoped she never faced in all of her years of living.
“Don’t even try to stop it,” Nightmare Moon cackled when she walked around the crystal. “You thought you got rid of me, didn’t you?”
Princess Luna shouted from the depths of her lungs, yet it was silent from the outside. Nightmare Moon smiled, looking sadistically overjoyed. “I love it when you struggle. It fuels me after being separated for so long.”
Nightmare Moon slammed her hooves against the crystal, causing it to crack from the brutal strength she possessed. “This is only the beginning, Princess,” Nightmare Moon’s voice was completely filled with venom. “You thought I was gone forever? You’re a foolish and ignorant little pony.”
Nightmare Moon forced the princess to stare at her cold, almost murderous eyes when she spat the following words with bitter disdain. “Try as you might, but your dreams are mine. For your deeds will never rot with time.”
Finally having the opportunity to use her magic at last, Princess Luna woke up in a cold sweat when revived from the nightmare she finally freed herself from. Her hooves tightly clutched her blankets. She was panting from the pure anxiety she felt from the horrible experience. It replayed in her head like a cruel movie, and those ominous words echoed in her brain alongside it. “Did you miss me?”
There it was again. The line from the malicious Alicorn. She could’ve swore she felt her sides become sore from the fight with her horrible counterpart, yet when she looked, there was nothing. Princess Luna took several breaths to calm herself down, but how can she? When she couldn’t even control her own dreams, it was dangerous. It was like something was immobilizing her powers somehow. She cannot let that slide. That is something that should never be repeated for as long as she lived.
Princess Luna pushes herself out of bed and storms straight into Princess Celestia’s bedroom. She didn’t know if her sister would really help with her problem, but it was important to inform her of her dilemma nonetheless.
“Sister! We have a problem!” She shouted in alarm after the burst through the doors.
Princess Celestia, who was drinking her tea, nearly spat it out of her mouth after she heard the sudden cry. She set her tea down before she stood up from her seat. “What’s the matter? Did Chrysalis or Tirek come?” She demanded thoroughly.
Princess Luna shook her head. “I don’t believe so. There’s something ominous about this dream I had.” She informed her urgently. “I think it’s something you need to hear.”
Princess Celestia didn’t look so tense after she had received her answer. “I wonder why it startled you. You’re usually not up during this time.”
“Trust me, Celestia, this is important, and I want your full attention,” Princess Luna pleaded. “This is something I can’t keep to myself.”
After Celestia and Luna sat down at a nearby table, Princess Luna explained everything to her sister in detail about the nightmare she had. From the transformation to Nightmare Moon to the cruel message she was forced to receive. Princess Celestia processed her sister’s words. It was alarming, but…
“Are you sure you were using the right spells?” Princess Celestia inquired. “It seems unlikely that some force was stopping you from casting such great power.”
Princess Luna grits her teeth. “With all due respect, sister, this isn’t the time for stupid questions like that! I’ve been doing this job for a long, long time. You would think I wouldn’t know how to escape nightmares?! Do I ask if you were ‘doing the right spells’ if you weren't able to control the sun?!” She lashed out.
“Okay, okay, that was inconsiderate of me to ask,” Princess Celestia apologized quickly to prevent herself from being subjected to more of her sister’s outbursts.
Despite lashing out, she eventually calms herself down. She laid her cheek on her hoof on the table.
“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to take out my anger in you, but that nightmare still haunts me. I’m afraid it’s more than just a simple bad dream.” She spoke.
“You think this will affect everyone?”
“I hope it doesn’t. I would rather have this struggle alone than for someone else to suffer alongside me,” Princess Luna admitted. She looked at her sister dead in the eye. “This is something no one should experience.”
“I see…” Princess Celestia pondered for a solution, yet she couldn’t find an answer. She placed her hoof on her shoulder. “If only there was a way for me to help.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know if anyone can help me,” Princess Luna frowns. “I don’t think even Twilight and her friends can help me with this case. This is something more sinister and murderous than the Tantabus, and that was bad enough.”
“She’s always available,” Princess Celestia advised.
“I know she’s an option, yet why do I have this feeling that this is something she can’t accomplish?” Princess Luna retorted. “I genuinely believe it’s more than just a curse.”
She closed her eyes. “I don’t know if even you can help me,”
The two sisters look out the window near the table. It was a bright new day and overlooked the tall buildings of Canterlot in the distance. Princess Celestia glanced to the side.
“Maybe that night was a fluke. A scary one, but a fluke nonetheless. By the time ponies go to sleep, your powers may work again.” Princess Celestia said after some thought, hoping to ease her worries.
“I suppose that can work,” Princess Luna then lowered her voice. “But you’re awfully optimistic,”
Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather that I’m not?”
Princess Luna chuckled. “I should’ve known better. Why else did our parents name you after the sun and sky?”
Princess Celestia smiles. “There we go. There’s that smile I was waiting to see,”
She nudged Luna’s cheek with her face. “You’ve been doing a lot of good deeds by doing your job in keeping the ponies safe in their dreams. I just don’t want you to get hurt just by doing that.. I care for you and I cherish you. You may be a royal, but you’re always my little sister to me.”
Princess Luna watches her sister leave with a soft expression on her face. She can be a pain at times, but it was nice to know she had her support during her struggle. Though the nightmare continues to scare her, feeling her sister’s love after experiencing complete malice felt soothing to her troubled heart.
After Princess Luna raised the moon, she felt nervous entering the dream realm tonight. This feeling of uneasiness was odd to her. She hated the feeling of doubt she felt about her powers. It was something that made her more nervous than the nightmare itself. If her powers didn’t work… ponies would be subjected to torment for a while. The very idea of being powerless scared her to bits, but she had to take a leap of faith.
After taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused her magic to transport herself to the dream realm. Her horn glowed bright when the process began. After she opened her eyes, she felt overjoyed when she was surrounded by the dream orbs. It worked! The Princess looked carefully for the nightmares that may pop up in the orbs. If she couldn’t even save herself from her nightmares, at least she would save the others from experiencing the same fate.
During her search, one orb caught her eye while she flew. She found an orb that belonged to Discord. Instead of experiencing dreams of playful chaos or delightful tea parties with a certain pegasus, this dream looked oddly familiar to the time when he ruled the land of chaos. Curious, Princess Luna attempts to go into the dream, yet something was blocking her from doing so. To her shock, all she could do was watch as Discord was subjected to torment from an evil copy of his. His dream was eerily similar to hers. Out of all the creatures to be scared, she never thought Discord would be terrified of his own evil self.
“You can’t get rid of me, you delightful fool!” The evil Discord roared. “You may be the Lord of Chaos, but I am Lord of Terror. You won’t escape your misery.” It’s like the words impact even those outside of the dream. Luna cringes from the bitterness.
She kept trying desperately to help, but another cry was heard in another orb. She didn’t want to, but after hesitantly leaving the draconequus to himself, Princess Luna searches for the other screaming orb. Princess Luna finds the dream orb of Stygian, who is constantly plagued by a dark, giant figure. It must’ve been the Pony of Shadows she had heard tales about.
“Even when I’m gone, that hate is still in you,” The Pony of Shadows growled. “Yet you still squirm like a little worm. A little worm ready to be torn apart.”
Princess Luna keeps trying to enter Stygian’s dream, yet once again it is impossible! The Princess kicks her hoof in the air. How can she do her job when her powers have these many limits?
She wished she didn’t hear another shout from an orb, but it came again. Princess Luna had to force her wings to move in the direction to see the other dream. She really didn’t want to see this, yet to her surprise and a bit of relief, this one was tamer than the last two she saw. It was Starlight’s dream. She was confronted by possessed townsfolk in a desolate town in the desert. This wouldn’t normally scare a pony, but to the unicorn, it was terrifying. Starlight covered her eyes with her hooves as the townsfolk stared and kept laughing evilly as she shook in fear. Next to Starlight’s dream was Trixie’s orb, who went through a similar experience of being mocked and scorned by everyone. The only difference was the fact that she was close to getting eaten by an Ursa Minor.
Her fears had come true. Other ponies were experiencing the similar fear and anxiety in their cruel nightmares. She prayed it didn’t happen, and she felt horrible when she couldn’t think of a solution to stop it. What makes it even more terrifying was the words that rang out in all of their dreams. Words she knew all too well: “Try as you might, but your dreams are mine. For your deeds will never rot with time.”
“They have the same message…” Princess Luna softly spoke after she saw the dreams. The revelation of others having her similar nightmares was still raw in her head, even if she knew about it just minutes ago. She knows how it feels to be in their position, and it was terrifying. Those kinds of nightmares would haunt their minds for hours and even days, and she knew all too well what that was like. None of them deserve it.
She looked at the other orbs to see if anyone else experienced the same horrific nightmares. She looked far and wide, and she couldn’t find any other dreams similar to theirs. The nightmares were only infecting her and the other four. The knowledge is supposed to be soothing, but she felt horrible for having such restricted powers at the worst time possible. She needed to talk to Celestia, and the matter was too urgent to wait until morning.
The dream realm felt like a labyrinth, but she finally found her sister’s dream. There she was, having fun in a field of flowers without a care in the world. If only she had the privilege to feel happy and bliss in her dreams and not deal with the horrors of evil counterparts. Lucky her.
She felt stupid for trying to enter a dream after failing to do it five times in a row. Perhaps things would be different if Celestia weren’t haunted by the evil spirit? By the grace of the stars, the princess was able to fly her way into the dream without any problems. She let a sigh she didn’t know she was holding. At last!
“Luna?” Princess Celestia turned her head to see her come after her name had been called in the distance. Princess Luna teleported in front of her. Her feet stumbled as she regained balance.
“I saw your dream, and I had to come find you.” She informed her gravely. “This whole nightmare drama is worse than I thought!”
Princess Celestia looked heartbroken. “That's what I feared,” her eyes softened with concern. “Who’s affected?”
“Discord, Trixie Lulamoon, Starlight Glimmer, and Stygian,” She spoke the names without missing a beat.
She slowly looked down at her hooves in shame. The guilt of hopelessness was seeping into her mind. “Those poor creatures. I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I wasn’t powerful enough to enter their dreams. I feel like I’m not doing my job correctly.”
“But you entered my dream,” Princess Celestisa reminded her gently. “Luna, you shouldn’t doubt yourself. You still know how to do your job. I think the reason you couldn’t enter their dreams is because it’s taken over by the thing that’s haunting it in the first place.”
Princess Luna hadn’t thought of that. That does explain why she couldn’t control the nightmares the fiend was in. Again, the thought of being powerless left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“But how is that possible? No one controls the dream realm except for me!” Princess Luna objected angrily.
Her sister raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure the dream realm wasn’t attacked before?”
“Of course not,” Princess Luna scoffed. “I can’t recall any—“
Her words caught in her throat. Actually, she can think of one time the dream realm was attacked thanks to her own doing. Can it be? No, surely it didn’t…?
“I defeated it,” Princess Luna spat through gritted teeth. “It’s not possible for it to come back.”
Princess Celestia didn’t seem convinced. “Come on, Luna, you know as well as I do that it returned.”
“How?!” Princess Luna raised her voice, feeling completely aghast with denial. “I saw that thing walk into my own body! It’s weak! I made sure it was gone for good!“
“And are you sure it didn’t leak into the real world?” Princess Celestia inquired carefully.
“No… I thought it didn’t,” Luna’s voice was more resigned into horror. “I could’ve swore that I stopped it before it made its way to our world.”
Her memories flashed back to the time when the Tantabus, a thing created purely to torment her in her dreams, had its body almost completely emerged into the white light of the real world until she accepted her past and forgave herself. She knows the Tantabus walked into her body. She even felt it!
…unless she didn’t contain all of it.
“I guess the Tantabus was powerful enough to leak its power into our world before it was defeated,” Princess Luna thought over after some time to process the information. “I guess that lingering power was so weak, no one was able to detect it until now: when it grew powerful enough to create horrific dreams and stop me from changing it.”
Princess Luna sat down and put her hooves over her eyes. “Sweet you, even after all these years later, I’m still responsible for this huge mess…”
“Hey, hey, look at me,” Princess Celestia put her hoof underneath her chin. She gently lifted her head to look into her eyes. “You can still fix this. I know you’re stronger than this Tantabus when it comes to brains. You can revert this problem for good. You just need to have faith,”
“Faith…” Princess Luna echoed. “I suppose that’s all I need? Faith?”
Princess Celestia nodded. “I do. Also, I suppose you need allies as well. The nightmares are not only directed towards you. Perhaps you can find solace with them.”
Princess Luna pondered over the thought of allies. A support system is always important, and it would be wise to inform them of the situation they were unwillingly facing. The reaction she’ll get won’t be pretty, but she’s prepared for it. Somewhat.
“How are you always so wise?” She asked with a little smile.
“Thank you for coming,” Princess Luna placed her hooves on the table to begin her meeting. Discord, Trixie, Starlight, and Stygian were trying so hard to stay awake to even pay attention to her. The nightmare completely drained their energy. They were like soulless shells of themselves.
“I suppose you know about the nightmares you had,” Princess Luna started with an awkward smile. Her hoof was tapping the glass surface of the table.
“Hah! Funny words, princess.” Trixie chuckled bitterly before passing out on the table. Starlight gently prodded her awake with her hoof.
“We know all about it,” Discord remarked dryly. One of his lion paws pointed at his eyes. “Can you tell?”
She ignored Discord’s complaint.“I know that all of you want to get some sleep and dream your woes away. Believe me, I feel the same way.” She continued. She tried to make her voice heard over the several tired yawns.
“But I’m afraid it’ll only make your drowsiness worse.” She said, having so plans to sugarcoat the situation.
The group went silent. Princess Luna stiffened. The way their gazes suddenly turned intense was terrifying.
“So… whenever we sleep, we’ll have the same nightmares?” Stygian blinked his eyes in a rapid pace. “Is that… what you are saying? I pray it’s not so.” His voice was drowsy and exhausted, but laced with worry.
The princess nodded. “That’s sadly the case,”
“But why now?” Starlight asked while rubbing her eye.
“I think I have an idea of what’s happening, and none of you will like it.” Princess Luna was already grimacing from the angry expressions she knows she will receive after telling the truth.
“A long time ago, I created a creature for my own torment. It’s called the Tantabus. It’s sole purpose was to transform me into Nightmare Moon in my dreams so I could never forget and forgive myself for what I have done,”
There was complete silence in the room again. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Nonetheless, she resumed her tale.
“However, thanks to Twilight and her friends, they helped me overcome my past and the Tantabus was vanquished… or so I thought.”
“What do you mean ‘so you thought?’” Discord grumbled irritably. “Did you defeat this thing or not?”
“You know, can’t you just use your powers to not make yourself tired?” Trixie asked him in annoyance.
Discord blew a raspberry. “I can, but I would rather have sleep be my cure. However, we can’t do that because…”
He extends his paw back to Luna as a signal to continue her story.
Princess Luna’s ears flattened nervously. They were crankier than normal, and they were already snapping at each other. She needed to get this over with and now.
“Yes, erm,” Princess Luna stammered for a bit. “Though the Tantabus was quiet for a while, it seems like the silence has ended. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but the Tantabus’s power grew stronger and infected all of us. Just us.”
“Just us?” Stygian tilted his head to the side. “The others aren’t involved?”
Princess Luna raised her hoof. “I don’t think so. I believe this because of the words the Tantabus said to me: ‘Try as you might, but—‘“
“‘—your dreams are mine.’” Trixie and Stygian started to recite.
“‘For your deeds will never rot—‘“ Starlight and Discord spoke along.
“‘—with time.’” They ended in unison.
“Same words,” Princess Luna softly gasped.
“I kept hearing it every time I tried to fight back from those… monsters.” Starlight spoke up, her voice tinged with anger. “Yet I felt powerless in my own dream,”
I know how that feels. Princess Luna thought to herself.
“My past kept replaying over and over and over,” Trixie’s voice trembled. “I even got eaten by an Ursa Minor. I swear, I could still feel the teeth rip through my skin…” she shuddered.
“Replays?” Discord muttered scornfully. “I lived through it. I never thought I would be the one to hate the chaos I used to do in the past. My own cruel deeds led to my own nightmare!”
Stygian didn’t even say anything about his time with The Pony of Shadows. How can he? Poor thing was terrified to the core.
“So, it only happens to us because we were once… evil, right?” Starlight asked the princess.
Princess Luna blinked. “That seems to be the pattern. Why do you ask?”
“Oh,” Starlight’s hoof prodded on the table as she hesitantly spoke her next words: “Then we might gain one more member after tonight.”
Princess Luna stiffened. “Why after tonight? Who’s joining us?”
Starlight looks at the table, not wanting to meet her gaze. “…Sunset Shimmer.”
“Sunset Shimmer?” Princess Luna wanted to make sure she heard the name correctly. “Doesn’t she live in the human world?”
“Usually, but not for this time.” Starlight told her. “She’s staying at Twilight’s castle for a week.”
“The human world? Isn’t that where the Sirens are?” Stygian pondered. Starlight shrugged her shoulders.
“The one time to visit and this happens,” Princess Luna rubbed her forehead. Just when it couldn’t get worse. “Another poor victim in the Tantabus’ trap.”
“So, what can we do to prevent this Tantabus from stalking us?” Trixie asked the princess. “I would like to have my beauty rest back, thank you very much.”
“I don’t know how,” Princess Luna tried to not let her temper flare from Trixie’s condescending question. The unicorn is just cranky and she had to mentally understand that. “All I know is that the Tantabus is still around and will continue to be around for as long as it feeds off of your past experiences.”
“So we’re at an impasse?” Discord growled tiredly.
“I’m afraid so,” Princess Luna agreed reluctantly.
She knew this meeting didn’t go as well as she hoped it would. It was unrealistic to think so at all. The blame she received was valid, and it wouldn’t be long before another blamed her as well. The princess hoped to find the source of the Tantabus. She doesn’t believe it’s in the Everfree Forest because of the Tree of Harmony, yet its range was powerful enough to reach five individuals. Soon to be six.
For the first time since she reformed, this is a problem Twilight and her friends couldn’t fix.
After the meeting with the victims, Princess Luna climbed into her bed and closed her eyes as she rested. This time, she braced herself for the nightmare that would inevitably come. She was caught off-guard the first time, but never again. She was prepared to confront her own creation. The Tantabus was a mistake she never should’ve made, but like the other deeds she made in the past, she can fix this one.
But how would it affect the others? That’s something she had to consider carefully. She was used to reckless maneuvers to solve her problems, but now she had to think about how it would affect other lives as well. She thought the Tantabus would extract all of its malice towards her and leave the others be. Sadly, it looked like it had the same sadistic ruthlessness towards everyone else. No one is safe from the evil curse. Knowing that her evil creation is growing stronger, she is determined to stop it before it traumatizes the rest of the world. Five victims were already bad enough.
In her dream, Princess Luna finds herself in front of the Castle of the Two Sisters again. This was similar to yesterday’s dream with the only difference being the time of day. The moon and the stars were probably from last night’s dream. Is Nightmare Moon out and ready to strike already? Her ears pricked at every noise she heard in the forest next to her. Every sound made her jump. She was a coiled spring ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
The princess narrowed her eyes when she saw the orb of the Tantabus float in the sky from the destroyed roof of the castle. Strangely, it was in its original form and not in the shape of anyone else. Then the Tantabus
She had no idea how far she had flown, but now she was getting deep into the wilderness. She was flying above trees next to barren landmarks and tall mountains. This was foreign land to her. She eyed the Tantabus warily, who was still flying away slowly and steadily. If the Tantabus saw her or not, it didn’t show any signs. Did it want her to follow it? Luna was more perplexed the more she flew.
Strangely, while she was still following the curse, she was stopped by a glowing forcefield that separated her from the Tantabus. From how painful the impact was, it was like hitting a brick wall. The Princess flew back a few meters as she rubbed her cheek. Where did this come from? Princess Luna squinted her eyes to spot the Tantabus through the glowing barrier. The Tantabus was a dot to her eyes by the time it stopped. Suddenly, for no particular reason, it dipped down into a tall tree. After it did, the tree started to rot and bend in a rather uncanny shape. From what she can see, all the leaves fell from the tree and were turned to ashes that blew away in the wind.
Did the Tantabus want to show me something? She looked at the mountains to mentally remember the landmarks. Whatever it was, she had a feeling it was important. She needed to memorize her surroundings as best as she could. She didn’t trust the Tantabus one bit. Its mannerisms were unpredictable, which is what made it dangerous. Still, she couldn’t help but find the whole thing odd.
Odds and secrets seem to be a theme for the Tantabus. Even when it was under her control, there was always something off about it. Her own creation became self-aware and not just a slave for her own self-hatred. It gained a mind of its own, which was how it was able to escape from her dreams and into the real world. Could it be that the last remnants of the Tantabus escaped to only punish her and other innocent creatures as revenge?
The Tantabus led her to that spot for a reason. It must be where it was located. The location of where darkness festers, and it wants her to go in. Luna has no idea what it’s in store in the unknown forest, but if that’s where the Tantabus wants her to be, then so be it. She’ll do everything in her power to erase the Tantabus from the world, and nothing will stop her determination to finish what she started a long time ago.
“S-So many bodies at the school… everything was red. It w-w-was like a horror movie that came to life.”
Princess Luna nodded in pity for Sunset Shimmer, who came to the meeting with Starlight’s escort. She was reminiscing about the nightmare at Canterlot High. From her story, it seemed to be a gruesome sight to see, one that she would never wish upon her worst enemy. It made her feel worse knowing she’s the primary blame for everything that happened.
“My heart goes out to you, Sunset,” the Princess acknowledged with a dip of her head.
Trixie, Stygian, and Discord also gave their condolences to the mare. Luna stared at Discord, who was uncharacteristically apologetic and remorseful. Perhaps he was so tired that he was in no mood for his sarcastic remarks and standoffish personality.
“Is it just me, or have the nightmares gotten worse than last time?” Starlight told them all after she let Sunset alone for now. “I was falling from the sky because my magic wouldn’t work. When I fell to the ground, I encountered this forest with darkness surrounding the trees and everything in sight.”
Her statement caught Luna’s attention. “Repeat that?”
“Oh, so it’s not just me,” Stygian commented after a yawn.
Discord rolled his eyes. “Ugh, tell me about it. After seeing Fluttershy and her home burn in front of my eyes, the forest seemed to be the only normal place for once.” He paused mid-sentence. “You know it’s bad when the Lord of Chaos of all creatures wants a bit of normalcy! ”
Discord drinks from a flying teacup and lets Trixie speak next.
“Do you think this forest means something if all of us found it?” Trixie questioned.
“It must be, because the Tantabus showed it to me as well,” Luna states in a firm tone. Her voice softened when she talked to Sunset again. “Did you encounter the forest too?”
Sunset shakily nods her head.
“So it must be a connection,” Luna whispers to herself. She wanted to say something important, but from how tired and traumatized all of them were, it would be nearly impossible to get their full attention. They were so close to passing out, it was remarkable they hadn’t already. Unless…
Of course! Why didn’t I think of this earlier? She felt like an idiot for not remembering this spell because of her tiredness from yesterday. With a glow of her horn, she cast an advanced spell onto all of the creatures in the room. In a blink of an eye, the five looked energetic and well-rested again.
“Finally! I haven’t felt like this since the Tantabus came!” Discord exclaims excitedly as he stretches his long limbs. “I never thought I would feel this way for a good while.”
“Savor it well before it comes back again,” Princess Luna warned. She put her hooves on the table with a little slam.
“Now that all of you are capable of listening for long periods of time, I want to tell you something important. Something that could shape our future with this treacherous curse.” Princess Luna’s voice grew firmer and a little louder with each sentence. The effect seemed to work. All of them had their eyes on her and were seemingly focused.
“Listen, the Tantabus showed us that forest for a reason. It wants us to find it, and it practically showed us the way to its location. The forest is far from our home and is in deep uncharted territory. It’s no wonder it hadn’t been detected for so long. The Tantabus clearly doesn’t want to just torture us in our dreams. It wants us to come and confront it face to face for some reason.”
Princess Luna made herself taller by standing up from her seat. “The decision is hasty, but I feel it’s how we can get our dreams back: we must leave our home and venture to this forest together.”
She sat down as she watched for their reactions. She watched each member closely to see how they felt about the matter. From what she can tell from her silent assessment, they were nervous. She didn’t blame them one bit.
“Won’t the Tantabus just kill us if we come close?” Trixie asked nervously, breaking the awkward silence. “I think this thing is more powerful than it lets on.”
“Valid question,” Princess Luna remarked. “However, I don’t believe the Tantabus is lethal enough to take our lives. All it could do was give us horrible visual aids and injuries only obtained in our dreams.”
In reality, Princess Luna had no idea just how powerful or dangerous this thing actually is. She was mostly trying to convince herself more than the others. She knew it didn’t take long for one keen eye to point out this insecurity.
“But you don’t fully believe that, don’t you?” Stygian retorted with flattened ears that screamed inner insecurity.
The princess sighed. She didn’t want to lie for the sake of acting strong. “The truth is, I’m just as scared as all of you. But we must make sacrifices to save our sanity and potentially others.”
“Are we even strong enough to face the Tantabus?” Sunset raised her voice. It looked like she had stopped shivering from the trauma. “What makes you think we can take it on in the real world if we can’t even do it in our own dreams?”
Starlight and Stygian nod in agreement from her question. They all looked to Luna for an answer.
“Because the Tantabus’ primary power is only in dreams. In the real world, its power might be weaker than ours, which we could use to our advantage.” The Princess replied swiftly.
She put her two hooves together. “Think about it, would you rather continue to suffer in your nightmares and woe to Celestia for pointless grace, or would you rather take the risk and be the hero of your own story and save Equestria from another disaster? I know it’s dangerous and scary, but all of you have put yourselves in harm's way to save the land and the ones you love. How is this any different than that?”
The room fell silent as it took time for the others to think about her proposal. The looks they gave went from nervous to determined after a minute of inner confliction. With little nods from each of them, Trixie raised her hoof.
“I’ll do it.” The magician called.
Discord raised his lion paw. “So will I,” he followed.
Starlight spoke next by also raising her hoof. “If this is what it takes to save Equestria, then so be it,”
Stygian said nothing but he too raised his hoof in agreement.
The others looked to Sunset, who hadn’t raised her hoof yet. Princess Luna still felt horrible for her. It was a lot for her to take in in a short amount of time.
“I know that being haunted by the Tantabus isn’t exactly what you wanted in your trip to visit Twilight, but as long as you stay in this world, you will be tormented. Unless you go back,” Princess Luna reminded her gently. “If you wish, you can go back to your world and be unaffected by it all.”
Yet the Tantabus called you. Princess Luna thought in the back of her mind, but she kept it to herself. This was Sunset’s decision regardless.
Sunset looked at her, then at the others, who were eagerly waiting for her response. She took a deep breath before speaking in a calm voice.
“I may be many things, but a coward is not one of them,” She looked at the princess and raised her hoof, the fear apparently gone from her eyes. “I’ll fight alongside all of you.”
Seeing the group all raise their hooves pleased her. They were going out of their way to put themselves at harm’s risk to save their dreams and the future of Equestria’s dream realm. Princess Luna is proud to have gathered such brave creatures. Twilight had taught them well about the meaning of sacrifice.
“We don’t have much time to waste,” Princess Luna got up from her seat. “If we want to defeat this evil, we can’t wait for too long.”
She opened the castle doors before looking behind her shoulder. “Meet me at the edge of the Everfree Forest at sunset. You will have time to say farewell to your loved ones before then.”
Her magic glowed around the doors. “Know this: be brave in the face of danger. Even if you’re scared, know that you’re stronger than the Tantabus could ever be in its lifetime.”
The members watched her leave with unwavering resolve before she closed the door. The war with the Tantabus has now begun, but instead of the Tantabus fighting mere chickens, it would be facing hardened warriors; and Princess Luna is more than ready to take the lead of the charge.
