Soul Saga: Catching Dreams

Night after night, Dream lie in bed listening to the sounds of his father tossing and turning in his dreams. Dreams, he was sure, that were more nightmare than anything. Hellish visions of past regrets, future turmoils and present pains. Mirage hadn't had any brushes with the devilish Nightmares yet...and that was one thing to be thankful for. The fact that his father hadn't succumbed to the otherworldly might that the Nightmare held either was another. It was obvious by looking at his harrowed expression every morning that Oneiric's nighttime revelations were getting worse and worse.

Each night after work, the unicorn would come home slathered in alcohol, dragging another mare with him to bed as if to try and forget the dreams. Instead they grew progressively worse. Dream knew...he'd watch them from afar, rooted in place where he could no longer help. Without the magic of the dream catcher, there was nothing he could do to console his father's many worries without ' breaking the rules', as Soul Weaver would have put it. None that he could figure out anyway. As he listened to the fevered pitch with which his father rolled around beneath his sheets every night, Dream tried to think of something, anything that could help. But he kept coming back to the same answer.

He needed another way into the dreams.

Mr. Prosel hadn't been much help, if any. Dream had learned that he'd simply dismissed his ideas as foalish fantasy, and had then proceeded to inform his father about his ideas and adventures. The teacher couldn't be trusted.

Sunscape, the only other pony who believed him, had fallen victim to his own Nightmare, leaving Dream without anypony to turn to for help. Even if he hadn't...Dream wasn't sure he'd want the Plains Pony's help anyway. Not after learning of the stallion's misdeeds. Ponies like that were trouble, no matter which way you looked at it.

It was on a night like these that Dream sat in his room with Mirage, both of them listening to his brother's latest textbook read itself aloud: A Concentric Magical Study - The Innate Mystical Properties of Circles, Sigils and Signs, when Oneiric came home as usual, loud as can be as he walked into the living room. The brothers listened intently as their father stumbled his way upstairs; the sound of a bottle bouncing off the wall at intermittent intervals signaling his return from the local tavern, with nothing short of conjoined dismay and worry. Dream lie himself down from his sitting position, stretching out next to Mirage on the older pony's bed, leaving out a long, hefty sigh.

"He's only getting worse, big brother."

"I know kiddo. I know. There's nothing I can do though...believe me. I've tried time and again." Mirage's weight and pleasant body heat shifted next to him, drawing the little pony closer. "If there was anything I could do to help him, I would."

Dream puffed out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, as if a disappointment came with those words. He had known better though. Mirage was only one pony after all; he couldn't be expected to take the entire burden of their father's troubles on his shoulders, no matter how hard the unicorn colt was trying.

"But I know what's wrong with him Mirage."

"No. I won't be hearing any more of that dream-monster nonsense." Mirage put a hoof to his head, massaging his brow in mild irritation. "Just because he's having bad dreams doesn't mean that they're the source of pops' problems. They may not be helping, but I refuse to believe that he's becoming crazy because something's haunting his dreams, doing unspeakable things to him, and I won't hear another word of it."

He'd tried to explain it to the elder colt. He'd laid it out in as many words as he could to help Mirage understand. But even his big brother seemed resistant to the idea that a mirror-world Dream Catcher was causing Nightmares to become more than harmful. The very notion was crazy, as Mirage had put it.

So, with Mirage's opinion firmly stated, the two returned to their silent listening as the book before them continued to pour out its contents in a verbal magic lesson, attempting to shut out the sounds of distress from down the hall as their father climbed into bed. But, the lesson wasn't for naught. That night's topic had been one of varying interest to the little pegasus as he listened in carefully to everything the book was describing to the two.

Sigil Magic, Runic Magic and Symbolic Magic were the entire course of study between its pages. But tonight, the book's lessons had come to specific items of value that Dream had been waiting for ever since the book had first read aloud its page of contents. As it were, these types of magic had been developed by the Earth Ponies long before their bodies had naturally become adapted to working the sources of wild ether that freely traversed the world. Over the years, Unicorns had refined them into something of a graceful art form of sorts, only making them more powerful by combining basic Symbolic Magic with the artistry of both Runes and full Sigils. The book didn't discuss the topic of combining them together in great detail, suggesting that anypony who tried would have to have serious knowledge into the topic before even thinking about attempting it; but it did state that when the three skills were creatively and expressively crafted together: few other forms of magic could out-class the power wielded by the holder of such knowledge. The three classes were forms of magic that were attempted by many and mastered by few.

Up until that night, the book had been all about history and names. Spinning tales of ponies who succeeded and failed at the various forms of the three magics, and all of their outcomes. But now, the book was talking its way into actual practical application; the part that Dream had been most interested in since the topic had first arrived at their home in Mirage's school bag.

===D.W.===

~In any instance of Sigil, Runic or Symbolic Magic, everything used in the spell has its own merit. Its own designation; an idea or thing that it represents. For example: if one were to attempt to cause Lunar Flowers to bloom, one might choose the runes for Moon, Flowers and Growth. Or to look at it from another, much harder way, that same pony might draw a Crescent Moon inside a blank Sigil-base, complete with the runic engravings for Growth, and then drop a few petals of said flower into the circle. At the end of all of the excersize and practice, all it takes is a bit of magic to spark the spell to life, and it will work on its own accord.

What really matters though, past all of the various symbols, runes and blank circlet basings, is the intent behind the spell. A pony with the proper magical ability and mental discipline could designate a simple toy ball to symbolize the Earth, a tuft of cotton swabbing to act as clouds, and make their own runes with their own meanings, and the spell could still work. It is all in the idea of the spell, as the symbols and objects are just a way to focus those things into coherent thought.~

===D.W.===

Already, ideas were scoring themselves into Dream's mind like so many chalk outlines on a blackboard. Different shapes he could use. Different runes with their own meanings that he'd either had Mirage describe to him or had concocted on his own danced around inside his head. Above all of that though...the one thought that disturbed him most was seemingly the one he also enjoyed the most. It was going to be difficult; likely near impossible to pull it off. But if he could do it, he'd have a way to help other ponies in their dreams again as long as the spell lasted. There were certain perks to having a Unicorn for a brother and learning first-hoof about magic was one of them. Tonight, when everything was set, he'd make it happen.

A sudden shift in weight jolted him out of his mental reverie as a soft sound came to his ears. A light breeze ruffled his mane every few seconds with the tell-tale hint that Mirage had fallen asleep beside him, his brother's easy snoring making the young pony chuckle quietly to himself. Carefully, he closed the enchanted book, cutting off its continuous speech now concerning the possible dangers inherent in attempting combining the three magical art-forms with a quiet -thud- as the pages met. Extricating himself gently from his brother's bed, Dream made his way across the room to his own bed, mounting it with nary a squeak from the mattress springs before curling up under his covers. The only light source in the room would've faded by that point as Mirage's horn dimmed out when he slept, the magic no longer flowing through it, so Dream didn't worry about leaving a candle or lantern lit, his mind now focused on the task at hoof.

The idea itself was daunting. There'd be very little room for error. But it would have to work.

With the thought pattern firmly rooted in his mind, Dream lay his head down upon the soft cushion of his pillow and shut out the world, drawing himself into the world of the dreamscape.

===D.W.===

"So...the young masochist returns for another night of fun? How interesting. I thought you'd have given up by now...but I must say I'm more than pleasantly glad that you haven't."

Dream spun around, opening his eyes to see a similar pair gazing back at him from across a shadow-stricken carbon copy of his bedroom, the other end of it completely black save for the blue and gold orbs hovering around within the inky darkness. They seemed amused beyond belief, if one could put an emotion to a set of eyes; a light almost dancing in them that Dream was beginning to become accustomed to seeing whenever he returned for another go at the Nightmare.

"Come to watch another pony fall to their own failings? Are you beginning to enjoy watching it as much as I?"

Dream's face hung into a carefully guarded frown, knowing that the plan needed to be set into motion. To his relief, he was able to move, indicating that they hadn't yet been thrown into the realm of somepony else's dream, leaving him free to interact with the surroundings of his own for the moment. How long that would last though, he wasn't sure...and didn't have time to waste finding out.

"Not really." Dream replied casually, making sure his tone of voice matched his usual distaste for what his doppelganger so willfully enjoyed and promoted. "But I am here for something tonight. I'm glad I caught you before we left."

"You...glad to see me? Well, this certainly is something new! Wonderful! I was beginning to think that you were just a one-trick pony. So...what is it then, hmm?"

"Nothing really. Thought we could play a game together before you decided to go destroy another pony's life to change things up a bit, that's all."

Soul Weaver's eyes practically lit up with happiness as he bounded out of the shadows, stopping mere inches from Dream. If one were to look at the two of them in that moment, somepony could've mistaken them for each other just given their current expressions. That sickening revelation only made Dream more urgent to finish the business at hoof.

"Splendid! What sort of game did you have in mind? Shall it be Which Pony is that Anyway? Or perhaps a rousing bout of BattleZepplin? Oh! Oh! Truth or Mare! There's just too many to pick from!" The mirror image hopped about the room as he listed off each title, all games Dream had been forced to play with him before...and none of which he was too eager to play again for various reasons. His mind still recalled images of a massive dirigible crushing down on the trapped , charred pony inside it as Soul Weaver had eagerly chanted 'I Shot Down Your BattleZepplin!'. All the while, flames engulfed the surrounding countryside, explosions rocking through trees that had been set ablaze while the pony who'd been piloting the craft burned alive while being compressed under the weight of a support girder.

The good part was: Dream knew he could take advantage of Soul Weaver's love of and seeming addiction to games for this plan. The shadow pony, as dark and deceptive as he was...was still as much a child as Dream. He enjoyed having fun as well, even if his version of fun was often gory and indiscriminate as to whose life it ended.

The bad part? As much a Soul Weaver loved games...Dream's game would have to have high stakes and strict rules before Soul Weaver would ever consent to playing. Dream didn't have much in the way to lose at that current point...but not much was still plenty more than he was comfortable giving.

Now came the tricky part.

"I've got one, don't worry. It's a simple game. The object of the game is to create a dream world. Using things from around the room, you need to put together a convincing representation of a pony inside the dreamscape. The rules are that the world must be circular in shape, the pony has to look like a pony, and each item you use needs to be labeled. You also may not use anything that isn't in this room. Whoever makes the better world wins." Dream calmly explained, watching behind a calm facade as Soul Weaver soaked up every word with a disturbingly cheerful smile.

"What are the stakes then?" Soul asked, his smile not fading an iota.

Dream put a hoof to his chin as if in thought, though he already knew what he wanted. The trick now was to make said stakes so high that Soul Weaver would have no choice but to accept. A victory so complete that he wouldn't be able to bring himself to deny attempting to attain it.

"Well...if I win, you don't mess around with anypony for a month."

Soul Weaver's face instantly came crashing on high from elated to downright dead serious.

"And if I win?"

Dream hesitated, thinking of only one thing that could match his wager. If he'd made his prize too high, Soul Weaver wouldn't have ever accepted it. It was amazing that he was considering a simple month. That alone would've been a huge respite for Dream's weary mind. Now though, it was time to put his bits where his muzzle was.

"If you win...I'll let you choose your prize, as long as it doesn't involve killing anypony."

Soul Weaver sat down and considered that for a moment, Dream noting the serious temptation lingering just behind his doppelganger's creased brow. As each moment ticked by, Dream grew evermore doubtful that Soul Weaver was going to fall for his trap. If one looked at it, it was an obvious ploy, right down to the very wording of the rules.

"Who shall be the judge of this competition then?" Soul Weaver spoke up after a moment of pondering.

Dream's mental thought processes came to a halt just then. He hadn't thought about that. He'd been too concerned with how it would work that he didn't give thought as to who would act as the impartial observer.

"If you've no one in mind, I'm sure I can find a fair overseer for it. Unless you have any objections?"

With nothing coming to mind, the pegasus merely shrugged, almost afraid of who might come stepping through the door to the room.

"Sure." he replied.

No sooner had his agreement been voiced did the door to the room slam open with enough force to splinter the wall where the handle had come crashing into it. The light shining through the portal was blinding compared to the dark shadows that pervaded the opposite side of the space where the two colts sat, game ready to begin. Silhouetted in said light was the shape of yet another colt, one whom also bore a striking resemblance to the two ponies who already occupied floor space.

"HELLO EVERYPONY! The Fun Has Arrived!" It shouted in a voice that belonged to Dream Catcher, the colt stepping through the doorway and into the room proper.

It was another clone of himself. The only differences to this version of Dream Catcher were few and far between, being that his mane was tossed to the right side of his head instead of left, and the color of his eyes were reversed. To add to that, his wings were abnormally large for a small pegasus of his size, giving him more bulk and a larger appearance than the other two.

Dream stared slack-jawed at this new arrival, unable to believe that he'd be sharing company with yet another copy of himself.

"You're kidding, right? Another us?" He deadpanned, looking back to Soul Weaver. The other pony merely shrugged.

"Aww, now who's this stick in the mud?" The new Dream asked, his overtly happy mood suddently turning dour.

"Well, I'm not You, that's for sure." Dream retorted.

Soul Weaver chuckled at that.

"Perhaps we should call him Not-You, then?"

"Of course he's Not-Me. I'm sitting right here, and you're right there." Dream sighed.

"Me thinketh the young colt doth protest to much...eth...or some such jazz like that." Not-Dream Catcher smirked as he stepped up two the two ponies. "So...what's it going to be? Need me to judge something I hear?"

"Yes, now sit down and be ready." Soul Weaver nodded quickly. "As much as I enjoy games, I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible. I have other ponies to play with tonight and I hate cancelling my appointments."

"All right, all right. I get the idea of the rules. It's why I'm here after all, isn't it? So get playin already!" Not-Dream insisted.

Dream turned to look at Soul Weaver, for once seeing an unsettled look on the dark colt's muzzle. This pony, of his own calling...was actually getting under his nerves? So the powers that be made Soul Weaver play by the rules too...that was an interesting little idea. Not that Dream would've expected any less. Of course there'd be a price for bringing a new player to the game. Apparently, it was Soul's comfort zone, for lack of better words.

"Remember, your objective is to make a dream. I wanna see a clean game out of both of you. Now...let's get to Dream Weaving!" Not-Dream gave a flagging start symbol and the two ponies were off, collecting various things from about the room.

Dream quickly nabbed two of his brother's action figures and a ring of dried up tree branches that he'd had made to begin a new dream catcher some time back. The pony who'd made it had been curious as to its use, but even if it was unfinished, it'd still be serving its original purpose if Dream had his way. He noted Soul Weaver grabbing his old Loopty Hoop and a stuffed pony doll plus a few other things, knowing that Soul didn't intend to lose. But Dream still had a little trick up his proverbial sleeve to play yet. Setting the action figures down inside the ring of branches, he grabbed a quill and a piece of parchment from his brother's desk and began to label the objects he'd already found in some of his conjured up runes.

With that done, Dream turned towards the door, spying one of the small potted plants that his brother insisted on keeping. Something about helping the older unicorn relax, it was a miniature tree that would only ever grow so tall. He deftly swiped that up in his hooves, turning around to see Soul Weaver come barreling towards him with a slightly angered look on his muzzle. Apparently he'd been planning on using it too.

"Got to it first." Dream stuck his tongue out, not wasting an opportunity to torment his doppelganger.

Now, with the miniature tree firmly within his ring of branches, sitting nicely between the two action figures, Dream labeled the tree with a slip of parchment, and then one more special slip with a final set of runes inside the circle, then sat back and waited for Soul Weaver to finish his work.

When the other pony stopped gathering his materials, he moved aside, allowing Dream to see that within the Loopty Hoop, Soul has assembled a pegasus plushie ontop of a ripped open pillow, the stuffing pouring out to resemble a cloud. His labels read in plain Equestrian "World", "Dreamer" and "Cloud".

Not-Dream merely looked over both of them before stepping forward.

"All right, you first Soul Weaver. Any last minute items you wanna add?" the new Pegasus asked.

Soul Weaver shook his head.

"No, I do believe my image speaks for itself. It's obviously a dream about flying." He said with a half smirk, confident that the easy imagery and use of materials would make it plain to anypony. Dream had to admit, it was a good idea.

Not-Dream laughed, looking down at the destroyed remains of the pillow.

"Well, I give ya an A for effort, Soulie boy...but design? Nope. You get an overall B."

Dream had to restrain himself from busting out as Soul Weaver's jaw almost quite literally dropped to the floor in shock.

"You give me a B? Is that all your simple mind can make of this easy to understand work of art?!" The black shadow-colt fumed. "Just you wait until we're done here...you and I shall have words..."

Not-Dream shrugged, turning to look around at Dream's work.

"What about you, Other Me? Any last minute touches?"

Dream's mind quickly snapped on a candle as he nodded, grabbing the quill he'd used for labelling and drawing a simplistic circular design within the confines of the ring of branches. This was going to be the part that depended all on luck.

"Yeah...now check this out."

Dream took a deep breath, imagining a sunny day with two ponies relaxing under a tree. A slight breeze was blowing through the air. He could almost feel it rustling his mane as he left his breath go slowly and gently across the diorama...

"Well? Is that it? You're gonna blow on it?" Not-Dream asked.

Dream focused harder on the image in his head, trying to feel the breeze, to feel the sun on his fur. He knew there was magic all around, all he had to do was feel the significance of the moment. To know the depths of the symbolism he was trying to express. That the runes spelled out. It would respond if only he could...

The diorama gave a spark of magic and then sprung to life as the runes of every paper save one lit up, the action figures moving of their own volition. The combination spell had worked.

Not-Dream whistled in amazement.

"Well Soulie, I think it's safe to say that Other Me has you beat there." Not-Dream Catcher's eyes lit up as he stared at the little living world on the floor.

"I call it: Dreaming of a Warm Summer's Day." Dream took a mock bow, just to add insult to injury.

Soul Weaver was absolutely livid.

"I see what you've done there, little pony. You're smart. Smarter than I've given you credit for." The shadow colt seethed quietly, obviously boiling beneath his skin. "Trust that I won't make that mistake again."

"You think that's good..." Dream began, looking down to the final sheet of runes that hadn't been activated by the spell. "...just watch this."

He closed his eyes, pressing his hoof to the slip of parchment, tracing both along the hastily inked sigil he'd made at the last minute, feeling an intense light growing before him. He could hear the startled gasps of the other two copies of himself, their hooves slowly backing away in apprehension of what was to come.

There was a sharp crack that split the air. A dazzling light exploded in a flash of brilliance, and then faded as quickly as it had come. Daring to open his eyes, Dream was met with the sight of his father's bedroom, the sleeping stallion lying quiet for the first time in weeks. Quickly, he retreated to his own room to find that he was not in bed.

There was only one explanation for his current circumstances. He could see. He was not in his bed. His father was sleeping peacefully, and best of all: Soul Weaver was absent.

Not only had he won the game, and by proxy, expelled Soul Weaver from dreams for an entire month...but he was no longer bound to the sidelines to simply sit by and watch. Lifting up the hoof that had traced the runes for "Walking" along a basic sigil for "Dream", he saw the runes and sigil inscribed into the bottom of his hoof with magic.

For as long as the spell was fueled with untapped natural magic...he was able to Dream Walk again.