Soul Saga: Catching Dreams

Time seemed to pass by quickly. No sooner had the dreams begun to really take effect on his life did they begin to come and go at complete random. One moment, Dream would be sound asleep without having had a 'special dream' in days, only to find himself in the grip of a powerfully strong vision starring some pony he'd never met. After his first incident with sharing Mirage's subconscious visions two months ago, Dream began to grow accustomed to waking up with sore eyes and a throbbing head...though the need to be hospitalized didn't present itself again. Fortunately, his eyes seemed to feel that bleeding like a sieve once was enough and hadn't bothered to attempt it again. He wasn't about to argue with that nice little notion either.

Mid-Autumn had arrived quite quickly, despite the still warm temperatures of Summer hanging around late in the season. With the Running of the Leaves tradition coming, many vendors had taken advantage of the good weather and had set up shop a few days in advance just to catch the crowds.

Dream and Mirage wandered by a few of these on their way to the market, the young colt taking an earnest interest in the festivities. Already, street vendors and merchants were setting up their wares on display to make ready for the festival as stores and restaurants alike changed up their selections. He couldn't help himself but explore each stand they passed with an inquisitive eye. Anything that shone in the sunlight or sparkled in the slightest caught his attention and drew him to it immediately.

"You keep that up and I'll have father diagnose you as ADOS." Mirage laughed, watching his younger brother flit from shop to vendor to stall.

"ADOS?" Dream halted in his tracks momentarily.

"Attention Defecit...OOOOO SHINY." The older colt joked. "If you stared at those things any harder, your eyes are going to bug out of your head."

Dream Catcher immediately threw both hooves up to his face, covering the aforementioned orbs.

"No! I don't want that to happen again!" He cried out, pressing the limbs practically into his sockets. "That hurt last time they tried..."

"Relax Dream. I was only joking." Mirage nudged him as he approached the next stop in the long line of vendor stalls.

Dream's gaze had fallen upon a circular object, wrapped with a web of twine, a few elegant feathers falling off of the bottom of it on strands of silk. The young pony's eyes gleamed as he looked at the simple construct, a single bead fixed to one of the many strands of the web.

"Hey Mirage...what's this?" He asked.

The stall owner, whom had been preoccupied behind the counter, turned his attention on the colt. Dream looked up to the older stallion quizzically, noting a rich brown coat that had obviously weathered many seasons in the elements, his coal colored eyes focused gently upon Dream.

"This, my young friend, is a dream catcher."

"Hey...that's my name." Dream piped up, his curiosity with the simple ornament now piqued.

"Really now?" The stallion chuckled. "Well...do you know want to know what it does?" His grin softened even further as the colt nodded rapidly. "While I was living with the Buffalo tribes on the Great Equestrian Plains, I learned of many great and wondrous things. This little trinket is one such treasure. You see...it keeps us from having bad dreams."

"How does it do that?"

"You see this web?" He picked up the dream catcher, bringing it down to the colt's eye level. "All through these holes, good dreams are allowed to pass. They are such tiny things, yet they bring us great joy. The bad dreams though, which are made of big problems and nasty thoughts...they can't fit through the holes. Much like a spider's web, they get caught in this web where they eventually fade away. Just like a web, the dream catcher only lasts so long though, so you have to make a new one every so often. It will eventually break if you leave it alone...and that will cause all the bad dreams to escape."

Dream gazed in awe at the simple device. His mind spun with thoughts about Mirage's bad dreams of school and of some of the dreams he'd been having as well.

"How do you keep the bad dreams from escaping?" He asked.

"Well, when the dream catcher gets old and starts to dry out, since it's made of wood and string, you bury it in the ground. That way, all of the negative thoughts and dreams that are caught in it can be purged by the healing powers of Nature. That's what the Buffalo believe."

Dream turned to look up at his brother.

"Can I have it, please?" He asked sincerely.

"I don't know kiddo. There's something odd about this dream catcher. What did you say it was made out of again?" Mirage gave it a closer inspection. Something felt wrong about it, even if it was supposed to do good.

"I make all of these dream catchers myself from timber gathered in one of the most magical places of all of Equestria. The twine itself was blessed by a Buffalo shaman so as to ensure its purity. It is a powerful device, I assure you that my young friends, and it does work if given proper care."

Mirage felt a tugging at his shoulder, looking down to find Dream staring up at him with pleading eyes. With an exasperated grimace, he withdrew a hoofful of bits from the coinpurse about his neck.

"How much?"

The stallion took himself back a few paces. Glancing either direction, he motioned the two colts behind the counter of his cart and into the tent set up to the rear of it. Dream made to follow him but was halted by his brother.

"Sir? I asked how much it was?"

"Actually...I'd like to invite you two inside for a moment. There's something personal I'd like to ask of you, if you don't mind." The stallion leaned down closer to them, eying the canvas of his tent with something akin to urgency. "It's something I'd rather not ask in public. While not of any harmful measure, the question is one of an important nature regarding the little one here."

Mirage looked down at his brother. Dream had a look of pure confusion on his face, but was still attempting to move forward. It was almost unusual enough to be down-right disturbing.

"And just what do you have to ask there that can't be asked here?" He steeled his gaze.

The stallion rubbed the midnight black mane that hung off of his neck, trying to think of how best to word his inquiry before it seemed to come to him. He leaned down close to Dream, sinking to almost a laying position to be eye level with the little colt.

"Tell me young one...do you see things at night? Things that are like dreams...but ones that don't feel like yours?"

Dream's eyes went wide the second the words were spoken, immediately nodding his head up and down. Mirage took another step towards the older stallion, placing himself between his brother and the stranger.

"And just what does this have to do with the object at hoof?" He asked in a hushed tone, a hint of irritation grating at his voice.

"Well, the Buffalo believe that those with multi-color eyes like this little one's are the signs of Dream Wardens. Those who are able to safe-guard our minds from nightmares while we sleep." He continued, just barely above a whisper. "Their vision is beyond that of our own, capable of seeing into the realm where we cannot and guiding us safely through the burrows and thorns of the subconscious."

Mirage huffed, not one to take such superstition. He knew from listening to his father what dreams and nightmares were made of. None of this nonsense would find root.

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot have you filling my little brother's head with such notions. While I respect the beliefs and opinions of others, our family is one of science. If my father were to hear of this, he'd laugh and jeer us for taking stock in these words. Come on Dream, let's get going." He said dismissively, only stopped by his brother's weight not moving against his legs.

"But...can't I have it? It's so pretty." The little foal put on the best sad-face he could muster.

The older colt looked down at the act and with a sigh, resigned his coin purse to its fate.

"Very well...but no mention of the things this pony has spoken of to father, understand?"

"You got it!" Dream's eyes lit up.

"Let's try this one more time. How much, sir?" Mirage shook his head in exasperation as he turned towards the stallion again.

"For one whom bears the title of a Dream Warden, I couldn't possibly charge for it. He should have such a gift by birthright. It is only fair, after all that he be given every means neccessary to ward off the evil of nightmares." The stallion's expression changed back into his kind smile again as he stood up, grabbing the artifact. He passed the dream catcher to Dream with a nod and a wink. "You take good care of this now, little friend. But do be careful, it isn't a toy. It will work its magic of its own will, but remember to treat it like a treasure."

"Don't sorry sir! I will!" Dream's head bobbled up and down rapidly, nodding as fast as he could. He gently took hold of the dream catcher, tucking it away under one of his wings for safe keeping...a habit he'd grown accustomed to since he couldn't quite use them to fly yet. "Thank you a lot!"

As the two brothers turned to leave the store, the bell tower in the center of town chimed out. Mirage glanced up at the clock, noting the time quickly.

"C'mon squirt. We're gonna be late. Dad's meeting us for lunch."

"Okay. Thanks again sir!" Dream shouted as the two took off at a leisurely pace.

The stallion watched them go, feeling a soft breeze ruffle a few feathers tied into his mane. He perked an ear to the wind as he kept an eye on them.

"Oh that poor boy. I only hope it's enough..." He sighed, settling down upon the chair behind his stall.

===D.W.===

"And then, they went racing down the alleyway like 'WHOOSH!' Next thing you know, they turned around and BAM! Up into the sky, man it was so cool!" Dream recounted some of the events of the day, a small pegasus race in particular, as Mirage, Dream and their father Oneiric made their way home.

It had been a rather eventful day for the three of them in total. Between the festivities the boys had been perusing, the impromptu events that took place on the streets, and their father's half-day work schedule, all three of the ponies were thoroughly tired out and ready for bed.

"Sounds like you two had a busy day, even before our lunch and the carnival afterwords." Oneiric chuckled as he tousled Dream's mane. The unicorn sighed inward, a smile crossing his face as he watched his boys rove about the house getting ready for bed.

"Yeah, it was a pretty good trip over all." Mirage nodded, heading upstairs with a wide yawn.

"Yeah! And then, this cool old pony gave me this!" Dream came running up to his dad, pulling the dream-catcher out from under his wing. "He said it's got the same name as me! Isn't that awesome dad?"

Oneiric took the small circular object, examining it. The piece was ornately crafted, even for carnival fare, he noted.

"He just gave it to you? That was nice of him." The older pony handed the object back to Dream. "I hope you thanked him."

"Don't worry dad." Dream motioned his father down with a rather comical expression appearing on his face. The little pony obviously had work to do on his 'covert discretion' look. "He said it helps keep away bad dreams. I'm gonna hang it in our room. Maybe it'll help big brother not worry about school so much." He whispered behind a hoof to Oneiric.

"Oh really?" Oneiric asked with a mock-serious face. He held it for as long as he could before the two broke out into a case of the chuckles, proceeding to Dream playfully on the flank. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will help. Now come. Off to bed with you."

"Yes Sir, dad pop pony sir!" Dream saluted with each moniker applied, his serious face returning.

The little colt tore off up the stairs and into the bathroom, putting the dream catcher aside only long enough to brush his teeth and mane. Carefully picking it up, he walked into the bedroom and quickly hid it underneath his pillow to hang later when Mirage had gone to sleep.

That proved to be a rather moot point though. As usual, Mirage stayed up late into the night reading his course books and before the little pony had even realized it, Dream found his eyes slowly drooping closed.

'No! Gotta Stay Awake!' He thought to himself as he watched his brother turn page after page from behind half-lidded eyes. 'This will work, I know it will!'

Dream kept his eyes peeled as far as he dared to make it believable that he was sleeping. Vague images began to swim in his vision as his brother got up and moved towards his desk, but a few blinks of the eyes cleared them away, now that Mirage was out of sight. Shifting his position a bit to keep an eye on his brother, Dream heard a soft crack as the older pony swore under his breath, leaning down to pick something up out of his range of sight. Finally, the older colt returned to bed and shut out the light. Once the older pony began to lightly snore, he made his move with a sigh of relief. Dream steeled himself for the trek across the room, reaching underneath his pillow for the dream catcher...

"Ah...there you are." He whispered to himself, feeling the circular object beneath his hoof. As he stood up from the bed, he let the soft light from outside adjust his vision. Once he could see well enough to move without bumping into things, the little pegasus crossed the carpeted section of the floor, dream catcher firmly gripped in his mouth. Feeling out for the string on the device, he wound it around Mirage's bedpost and nodded at his handiwork.

"That should do it. Sleep good, big brother." He smiled to himself in the darkness.

Turning back for his own bed, Dream took a step onto the carpet...

And felt his hoof slip out from underneath him. His balance skewed instantly in the shadows and in seconds, the pony was tumbling end over end down into the pitch black. A scream managed to work its way through his shock as the world rushed upward around him at impossible speeds.

Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of him as he hit ground. Something wet was falling all around him but he couldn't open his eyes past the pain in his chest. It took him a few moments to regain his senses and his breath, but as he did the young pony took a good look around where he was.

A vast pipe stretched out before him, cascaded in shadow and darkness between strung up lights along its length. Water rushed underneath him somewhere in the darkness, and a steady drizzle of it rained down upon him from the opening above his head. A nasty chill chose just that time to work its way up his spine while the little colt got his bearings.

"Hello?" He called out. "Is anypony there?"

No answer.

"Hello? Somepony? Where am I?"

Still, nothing but the sound of moving water fell upon his ears, outside of the echo of his own voice that responded to his unheeded queries.

Dream took a few timid steps forward, tucking his little wings in tight against himself. He glanced back up at the hole he'd fallen through one last time, amazed he wasn't hurt more than he was. The only side effect from the fall was a striking pain in his chest that thudded out a sharp angry wail every time he drew a breath. He regarded the drop from the hole to the ceiling one last time, sure that there was no way he'd be able to get back up to it and climb out.

Before him, the tunnel stretched out to what seemed like forever. Shaking his head to clear the last of the stars from his vision, Dream began his trek down the pipe putting hoof before hoof unsteadily. He passed light after light in the expansive corrugated structure, not sure how far he'd gone or how much further the pipe continued. The colt glanced over his shoulder every now and again just to be sure that he'd been actually going somewhere, only to find that the pipe behind him looked exactly like it did in front of him. The hole he'd dropped through had vanished sometime between his last backwards glance and this one, leaving the pegasus totally trapped in the seemingly endless corridor.

"Aw jeez...I don't like this..." He moaned, cringing as his chest gave another bursting pound of anger, the impact still very fresh. "Hello?" He tried again, his voice reverberating off the interior of the steel structure and morphing into something indistinct somewhere down the line.

"Little one, come this way."

Dream's ears caught the sound and swiveled to hear it before his brain had even registered that he'd heard anything. He returned his gaze before him to the direction he'd been traveling, only to find that there was a fully furnished room there now not more than ten hooves away. The little pony cautiously edged his way into the somewhat lavish decorations, finding the room to be well lit and warm, if a bit disconcerting. Why a room as decorate and expensive as this was in a sewer, he had no idea.

"Is there somepony here?" He asked out into the room. As if to answer, a drawer lock clicked from behind a writing desk in the far left corner. Curiosity getting the better of him, Dream approached the desk to find an open drawer awaiting. Inside, he found a small music box and a bottle of red liquid. Pulling the two out, he unstopped the bottle and took a sniff. The contents didn't smell all that good, but there was a subtle cherry after hint to the aroma.

Just as he was about to put the bottle down, the music box clacked to life, playing out a wistfully dramatic melody. Dream dropped the bottle in surprise, most of the fluid inside of it spilling onto the floor. He paid little attention to that at the moment though, as the tune of the music box grew in volume and began to sound off. Dream opened the wooden case and looked inside, not sure what exactly he was searching for. The box looked as though it was put together properly from what little he knew of them, but the melody was all wrong.

Suddenly, a door burst open in the room. Dream dropped the music box as well as he looked up to see that from where he'd entered the room, a full wall now sat with an open doorway. Somepony rushed inside and shut it, locking it behind them while panting like they were out of breath. Dream ducked down behind the desk as the music box got louder, not sure who the intruder was or why the box continued its cacophony of what it apparently deemed to be music.

The sound of the pony searching through the room became evident as objects were overturned and things shattered. Dream kept to his hiding place, afraid that if the pony had broken in, that they were attempting to find things to steal. He'd heard of what robbers did to ponies they caught unaware and didn't want to risk being put through the horrors he'd been told of. As he hunkered down tight behind the desk, the sounds of the rampaging pony became closer until they stopped all together. Opening his eyes, Dream looked up to find himself staring into the face of the odd stallion from the festival earlier that day, his mane a complete mess. Small cuts covered his body here and there and the feathers that had been tied into his mane before were now blackened as if they'd been burnt.

"You!?" The stallion asked in astonishment as he gazed down at the little colt.

"I know you!" Dream stood up, coming out from his hiding spot.

"Then I was right..." The older pony thought for a moment. "But now is not the time for that. Quickly my little friend, we must get away from here. This place is not safe." He motioned for Dream to follow him out into the room. "Tell me...have you seen anything strange here?"

Dream nodded.

"I was trying to wrap the dream catcher around my brother's bedpost when I fell into a hole. I landed in some big pipe that had water coming from somewhere...but no matter how long I walked, it all looked the same. Then, I turned around and saw the hole I came through was gone." He recounted to the older pony. "And when I turned back around to keep going, this room was here."

"I see. Yes, this is definitely sounding like one of the visions the Buffalo described to me." The stallion carefully stepped around the wreckage he'd created, his ears tuning in on the sound of the music box. "Did you start that box, little friend?"

"No sir. It just began playing on it's own. It sounds like it's broken though."

The brown coated pony moved over to it and picked the box up, investigating it as Dream had.

"This object...if it's like the other I found, it will be of great use to us." He nodded before his eyes caught sight of the bottle on the ground, most of the contents spilled. "But this...this would have been better." He sighed.

"What is it?" Dream asked.

"This is a special type of medicine. It will help to fix any injuries. Are you hurt little friend?"

"No sir." Dream shook his head. "And my name is Dream Catcher, remember?"

"Ah yes. Dream Catcher. And I am Sunscape. I wish I could say it's nice to see you again, but under the current circumstances, I really wish you were not here." Sunscape spoke, noting quickly a change in the little pegasi's demeanor. "Oh no, I don't mean it that way friend. I simply mean that this is a dangerous place and it'd be better if you were somewhere safe. That is all."

Dream watched as Sunscape quickly drank what was left inside of the bottle, a shiver running through the stallion's body as he seemed to perk up a bit. Some of the cuts on the older pony faded away instantly as if they'd never been there.

"Wow...guess I'd better listen to dad when he says to take my medicine." Dream stared wide eyed at the effect of the red liquid, not quite sure he'd seen what his eyes were telling him.

"A good lesson to learn." Sunscape nodded as he moved about the room again, picking up seemingly useless objects here and there, looking them over with a discerning eye before putting one or two away in the saddlebag strung across his back. "But now, we must go. I don't dare linger here any longer than we have to. Are you good to walk, Dream Catcher?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Sunscape. I'm all right."

"Good. Be ready to run the second I open this door."

"Why, sir?"

"Just trust me. Be ready to run, and stick close to me. You'll be all right."

Dream followed the stallion, a bit confused as to the words he'd just been told. But he was ready none the less. If the older pony thought it was a good idea to run, then he wasn't going to say anything. After all, things had been really weird since he'd arrived. At least now there was an adult to help him understand some of it.

Slowly, Sunscape opened the door. Immediately, a cool breeze hit the two of them as a light bank of fog drifted in through the now open portal. Sunscape led the way outside and Dream found the two of them were now in the streets of Ponyville, unlike the sewer tunnel he'd expected to be here. The town was covered in a thick haze of moisture, the fog rolling along like it was the evening after a heavy summer rain. It was dark, almost incomprehensibly so, to the point that it was hard to see more than a few lengths in any direction from the doorstep. But that wasn't the worst of it.

As Dream listened, just over the top of the breeze blowing he could hear something groaning. Something stomping. Something being drug across the ground. And what sounded like somepony screaming in the distance.

He tucked his ears down against his mane as he looked up to the older stallion beside him. Sunscape's eyes were flicking about in all directions, taking in the surroundings. He stepped forward out into the mist with the young pegasus close on his heels, stopping every few paces to reevaluate the situation.

"It appears...we're safe for the time being." Sun looked down to Dream and nodded.

"What are those sounds, Mr. Sunscape?" Dream asked.

"Things that nopony your age should be subject to." He sighed, looking out into the mist wistfully. "Don't you worry though. I won't let them get to you."

Just as Dream was about to say thank you, another sound caught both of their ears.

From above, a huge black shadow descended quickly, careening into the stallion at high speed. Dream was thrown back as the shape crashed into Sunscape, a sound like snapping bones erupted in the impact. Sunscape left out what had to be all of the air in his lungs as he was pressed flat into the ground, only to be hauled back up into the air by the black shape above him.

Dream could only watch on in horror as the older pony was pulled away into the sky, suddenly feeling something raining down upon him. As the last of Sunscapes fading cries cut out, Dream pulled a hoof up to his face to wipe away at the liquid that had splashed him. As he removed his hoof, it came away red.

Staring down at the blood on his hoof, Dream felt the world around him go cold. Freezing almost. Then, with a force that he wasn't sure of the origin of, he felt himself being pulled away from the fog and shadows, the entire world spinning around him to the sounds of a siren and the cries of unseen monstrosities. Finally, with the dying drone of the warning signal, Dream's entire world went quiet and black.