Night Terrors
“AAAAHHHHHH!”
Dinky Doo sat bolt upright in her bed, shivering from the nightmare she had just escaped from. Around her, a few small objects quickly fell back to the ground, having been levitated by a burst of uncontrolled magic as she woke up. Dinky glanced around her darkened room, cold sweat dripping from her brow. After several tense seconds, she realised that she was still in her room at home and that there was nothing to be afraid of.
The sounds of hooves on floorboards echoed up past her door and a moment later Dinky’s mother, Ditzy Doo burst through the doorway, wings extended and ready to protect her daughter if needed. Ditzy’s wall eyes focused on Dinky sitting up in her bed, shaking slightly. “What’s wrong? I heard screaming,” she asked as she moved over to sit by Dinky’s side.
“I had a bad dream, momma. I was in a forest and then there was a statue but the statue came to life and it was Corona. I thought that she was going to get me again and I was so scared I couldn’t do anything,” she muttered before burying her face into her mother’s sides. “Please don’t let her take me.”
A short time after having been taken by Corona, the tyrant sun, along with 50 other ponies, Dinky had begun to have nightmares about her. Normally, she could handle them herself, she was a big filly after all, but this last one had been truly terrifying and she knew that they were getting worse.
Ditzy lifted her out of the bed and put Dinky onto her back, just behind her wings. Dinky loved riding in this position and they often went flying together like this. Dinky grabbed on tight, as if she didn’t want to ever get off again. “Don’t worry Dinky. I won’t let Corona anywhere near you ever again. You are safe with me and nothing will ever change that.”
“I-I know that momma, but s-she was there in my dream,” Dinky said, sniffling back tears. “I don’t wanna have to think about her again. She was so scary when she took me and I hate her.”
Ditzy let Dinky off of her back and put her back on her bed before she hugged her daughter, trying to shield her from the bad thoughts that were going through her mind. “Princess Luna said that it will be a long time before Corona is ready to hurt anypony again, and if she does return to Ponyville then me, Trixie and the others will stop her, just like last time.
“Can I-I spend the night with you momma? I don’t want to go back to my bed.”
Ditzy gathered her daughter up in her wings. “Of course muffin. You can sleep in with me any time you want.”
“Yay!” Dinky yelled out, dashing around Ditzy’s body and making for her mother’s room. A small number of letters and postal equipment, including Ditzy’s hat, scattered as Dinky ran through the stacks and opened the door to Ditzy’s room.
“Dinky, be careful. I have to sort that again now,” Ditzy said, bringing a hoof to her head. She should have seen this coming, but she had been disturbed from her sorting by Dinky’s screams and had dropped everything where it was to go check up on her.
“Sorry momma,” was the slightly muffled reply.
Ditzy worked her way a bit more carefully through her house, mostly avoiding the piles of letters and furniture that were scattered around. She generally didn’t have trouble navigating but right now she had other things on her mind; her daughter needed her tonight. Everything else would just have to wait.
Ditzy got to her room and pushed open the door. Inside, Dinky had already buried herself into the blankets and covers of her bed, looking more like a random lump under the sheets than a growing unicorn foal. Ditzy would have liked to have used a cloud bed for herself; they were far more comfortable than even the best of mattresses, but it would have meant that Dinky would have been unable to sleep on it with her. Ditzy didn’t mind and she made a sudden show of pretending to search for Dinky, whom she could just make out was looking at her from under the sheets.
“Oh no, where could my daughter have gone?” Ditzy said, putting a bit too much emphasis on the words. She walked over to the closet and pulled it open. “No, she’s not in here. Maybe she is behind the curtains?” As Ditzy walked over to the window, she heard what was clearly a small foal trying to suppress a giggle. She glanced over to her bed and saw the lump squirming around under the sheet. Gently she opened the curtains, looking behind each of them. “No, not here either. There is only one place she could be then.” Ditzy moved silently over to the bed and put her hooves on either side of the lump. With one quick motion, she picked the sheet up and revealed Dinky balled up on her mattress, grinning.
“Awww, you found me, momma,” she said before jumping up and grabbing hold of her mother’s neck. Ditzy wrapped her wings around Dinky, drawing her in tighter and moved to put her back onto the bed.
“Sing to me, momma,” Dinky pleaded.
“For you, anything,” Ditzy replied before clearing her throat with a quick grunt.
♫Hush my dear and rest your head
You’re safe here now, snug in my bed
Corona’s wrath is far from here
So snuggle up, there’s nothing to fear
Luna’s night will guide your dreams
So let your sleep be filled with moonbeams
Along the way, be sure to play
With all your friends from among the day
Come tomorrow’s dawn, you will find
That the terrors so dark and scary
Are just the imaginings of your mind
And nothing of which you need be wary
So hush my dear and rest your head
You’re safe here now, snug in my bed♫
Dinky relaxed as she heard her mother’s voice and she quickly found her eyes getting heavy. Ditzy’s voice was smooth and calming and Dinky knew that she would keep her safe from the monsters in her dreams. Yawning into her hoof, Dinky rubbed her head against Ditzy’s chest and pulled her wings tighter around her. “I love you momma. Goodnight,” she said before closing her eyes fully.
“I love you too, Muffin,” Ditzy replied and she leaned down to kiss her daughter just below her horn. As Dinky fell asleep in her hooves, Ditzy wondered just how she had managed to get so lucky in her life. She had a stable job that put food on her plate, friends that cared about her, and the most wonderful foal anypony could ask for. She had had her ups and down, but she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Dinky was walking down a garden path, surrounded on all sides by thick forest. While nothing about the place was actually threatening to her, Dinky felt very uncomfortable walking down this way. The forest made her feel alone and it was unnaturally silent. No birds chirped, nor could she hear the sounds of insects that she normally would be able to hear. The path that she walked on stretched on in both directions for as far as she could see, never once making a turn. At the furthest reaches of the path, right on the edge of where Dinky could make out, a single stone statue sat along the path, revealing an Alicorn pony rearing up with her front hooves.
Dinky blinked a few times and looked around at the forest. All the trees were almost identical and she couldn’t see through them from more than a few metres. Dinky knew exactly where she was however. She was back in her dream. She knew what would happen if she tried to go down the path again. The statue would turn into Corona and she would try to abduct Dinky again; spiriting her off to some forgotten ruin where she would never be heard from again.
Dinky’s heart began to pound in her ears and she turned to run back down the way she had come and she fled down the path, her hooves striking hard against the cobbles as she ran. It seemed to work for a moment until Dinky blinked and skidded to a halt. The statue was once again before her, having appeared almost as if it had teleported from behind her. Dinky screamed and ran away from the statue, travelling in her original direction again. This time she kept her eyes on the statue behind her until it was only a speck in the distance.
Dinky’s eyes watered from her efforts at keeping them open. Once she was unable to make out the statue in the gloom of the forest, she turned back to face ahead. Just in time to see that the statue of Corona was right in front of her and she was about to run into it again. Dinky slammed into the pedestal and bounced off, landing on her backside. A spider web of cracks began to appear where she had hit the statue
The covering of the statue began to glow and crack, small lines running along every point. Pieces of plaster and rock fell to the ground, revealing a pure white pelt behind them. Eventually the cracks all converged on the head of Corona and in one fell swoop, the entire statue shattered apart in a billowing cloud of dust. Dinky tried to creep backwards, but she was rooted to the spot by her own terror.
The dust settled and in its place stood Corona, the tyrant of the sun, her mane ablaze with solar fire. Dinky shrank back and tried to hide, hoping that she would be able to wake up any moment now. She tried pinching herself, but that didn’t have any effect on her dream.
“Why, my little pony, why art thou so afraid? Dost thou not knowest I bring thee glad tidings?” Corona said, smiling softly at Dinky. She found the sight to be terrifying - far more so than if Corona had just been out for her blood. “Surely thou must be glad to see me again. After all, we had such a nice time together before, did we not? Art thou ready to worship me as the true ruler of Equestria? Well, ART THOU?”
Dinky took a shaking hoofstep back and she looked around for anything that could be of use. To her dismay, there was nothing, just the shattered pieces of the statue that had fallen to the ground around her. Corona extended one of her hooves out in front of her, holding it just off the ground before Dinky.
“Thou mayest kiss mine divine hoof and swear allegiance at any time, and I shall depart this place. Thou shalt be raised high in my service.”
Dinky watched on in horror as Corona’s burning hoof made its way closer to her body. She could feel the heat pouring off if it, and she knew that it was going to burn her to a crisp if she was touched.
‘Luna, please help me’, Dinky thought to herself. Nothing happened and Dinky shut her eyes, not wanting to see the end coming.
“HALT, VILE APPARITION. YOU SHALL NOT TOUCH THAT FOAL,” a stern, commanding voice boomed from behind Dinky, seemingly coming from inside the forest. In a burst of dark midnight, Princess Luna jumped from behind Dinky and put herself between Dinky and Corona. Corona instantly shrank back slightly but didn’t disappear from the scene.
“So you come to this little ones aid, sister? You know that I am your superior in all matters. Surrender to me my rightful throne and I shall forget all thine indiscretions and make thy my second,” Corona said.
“You are not Corona, spirit. Begone from this place,” Luna commanded, not allowing Corona to come any closer.
“MY NAME IS CELESTIA,” Corona screamed.
“No, you are but a phantom, a product of the child’s dreams and her memories of the real you. Leave her be or face my power, here in my realm.”
“Never. The child is mine and I shall never let her leave this forest again,” the phantom called out.
“So be it,” Luna said before gathering up magic in her horn. A beam of pure darkness launched from her tip and struck the phantom Corona. Corona flashed for a moment before breaking apart into a fine mist. The mist hung in the air for a moment before drifting down the path and into the distance. Soon Dinky and Luna were alone.
Luna turned to Dinky who was still cowering behind her. “Are you all right child?”
Dinky seemed to realise that Luna was talking to her and she quickly dropped into a bow before the princess. “Princess Luna, forgive me.”
Luna chuckled. “Arise, my little pony, this is your dream and I am answering your call.”
Dinky got back to her hooves. “How did she get here, princess? How did Corona bring me to this place. Where are we.”
“That was not my sister, little one. Celestia does not have the power to Dreamwalk as I do. What you saw there was a construct of your own mind, based on the memories of my sister. It was not real and it could never hurt you. We are deep inside your mind. This is your dream and everything here is a reflection of you. The creature that you have been facing on this path comes from your mind, cobbled together from your fears.”
“But it seemed so real,” Dinky protested. “I thought that it really could snatch me away.”
“The worst dreams often do, child. But know this: my sister or her phantom in this place will never threaten you again. Together we will defeat the fears that lurk inside this dream and I shall ensure peaceful slumber for you from now on. Corona’s phantom shall be no match for our combined might, little unicorn. You are the master of this dream, not your fears. Take my hoof and we shall walk this path to its end. Only there can we face your fear and free you from the shadow of my sister.” Luna turned and extended one hoof down to the cowering filly.
“You would do that for me?” Dinky asked, taking the hoof. She hadn’t expected Luna to actually come to her help when she had called out.
“Of course young one. It is my duty to ensure the safety of my subjects and it is one that I take most seriously. I would not abandon you to the mercies of my sister, even if it is just a memory of her.”
Luna pulled Dinky to her hooves and the pair made their way down the featureless path, keeping their eyes open for any sign of Corona’s shadow. Dinky could feel her fear growing the longer that she was walking, but being with the Princess was helping her to keep it in check. They walked down the path in silence with Dinky expecting the phantom to jump out at her at any moment. Luna moved with a flowing stride, one perfected through years of parades and royal appearances.
“What are other ponies’ dreams like?” Dinky asked, trying to pass some of the time.
“That is a hard question to answer. Everypony’s dreams are different, though few are as fantastical as they are made out to be. Most are simply a reflection of the desires or hopes of the dreamer, though often they are but a mundane chore or task that the pony is worried about. A select few have the ability to Dreamwalk within their own dreams, much as you are doing now,” Luna replied.
“Dreamwalk? What’s that?” Dinky asked again, puzzled by the odd term. Luna had mentioned it before, but hadn’t elaborated on it.
“It is when a pony realises that they are within their own dream and may take control of it, alter it and reshape it as they see fit. Only I have the power to dream walk within another’s dream and it is a power that I hold sacred. Your dreams are your own and should be private. Fear not that I will mention what I see here to anyone.”
Dinky nodded before she looked up again to find that they had reached the end of the path. Before her stood a wide clearing in the forest. A large throne was placed at the centre of the clearing and in the throne sat the phantom of Corona.
“Welcome to my grove, dear sister,” the phantom said, smiling broadly. Her flaming mane burned brightly around her, lighting the grove.
“You are not my sister,” Luna replied. Instead she turned to Dinky and knelt down beside her. “It is time to face your fears. Only you can banish your fear and end this nightmare. Face her and see that she holds no power here. Do not fear her as I will be at your side.”
Dinky nodded and stepped forward to look at the phantom. The phantom stopped smiling and rose up from her throne. “Oh, and what do you plan to do to me? I am the rightful ruler of Equestria, while thou art but a filly who doesn’t even have her cutie mark.”
Dinky swallowed hard and picked up a small rock in her magic before throwing it at Corona. The rock didn’t cover even half the distance before it was incinerated in a burst of the phantom’s power.
“Is that it? Pitiful. Thou are not worthy to stand in my divine presence,” the phantom laughed. “Let me show thee true power.”
Dinky found herself picked up in a far more powerful magical aura and she struggled hard against it, but couldn’t do anything to break free. Her horn sparked a few times, but she was held fast. Corona flung her hard against the edge of the clearing and she landed on the cobblestones, rolling over several times in the dirt.
A ring of fire rapidly engulfed the area around her and Dinky stared over at Luna, only to find that the night princess was dealing with her own ring of flame, this one far higher and hotter than the one surrounding Dinky. The rings began to close and Dinky felt the heat rising off the flame threaten to burn her fur from her body.
“Get your hooves off of my daughter,” a familiar voice came from the edge of the clearing. Dinky looked up through the fire to see her mother and the other Elements of Harmony, Cheerilee, Lyra, Carrot Top, Raindrops, even Representative Trixie gathering together. Each of them wore a gleaming necklace that matched their cutie marks, with Trixie wearing some kind of tiara.
“MOMMA!” Dinky called out. Behind her, she could just make out the phantom backing away slightly. Even if she was just a memory, she knew exactly what those necklaces meant. The rings of flame surrounding Dinky and Luna vanished, leaving not even a trace of their existence behind.
“Corona, you shall not touch her again,” Ditzy said, her misaligned eyes coming almost level as she focused on her enemy.
Dinky watched as each of the Elements began to glow with magic. A wave of power from each Element washed over her and she felt the sensation of Generosity, Magic, Honesty, Laughter, Loyalty, and her favourite: her mother’s Element of Kindness.
Beams from each Element lanced out and converged on Trixie’s tiara. Corona began panicking and extended her wings, preparing to fly away.
“Hold, demon,” Luna called out, catching the phantom in a dimensional lock spell. Corona slammed into the magical barrier surrounding her, but she couldn’t break through and instead beat her hooves on the barrier in rage.
Dinky watched in amazement as a pulse of rainbow light burst forth from Trixie’s crown and shot its way through the grove towards the imprisoned phantom.
“NOOOO,” it yelled as the rainbow blasted into it. Dinky could just make out its body dissolving under the barrage of harmony. In one last moment of rage, it turned to look at Dinky, fire consuming its eyes. “Don’t think this is the end. You may have won this round, but fear is never truly beaten. I will return for you,” it screamed before vanishing totally into the rainbow.
With its banishment, the dream around Dinky rapidly began to break apart. The forest vanished and Dinky watched as the Elements of Harmony began to disappear. The last one to vanish was Ditzy and she gave Dinky a warm smile. Soon though, that smile was all that was left. “Don’t worry little muffin, I’ll see you again in a moment.”
Eventually all that remained was Luna and Dinky, floating in an empty void.
“Where are we?” Dinky asked. She couldn’t see anything, but it felt like her hooves were touching something solid.
“We are in the void between dreams. It is from here that I am able to step from one dream to another. Normally, only I would be able to come here. You are most fortunate to ever see this place. ”
“Oh. Does this mean it is over?”
“Yes child. Soon you will wake up. The spectre will not trouble you again.”
“How did mommy and the others get into my dream?” Dinky asked. She wasn’t sure about that part yet.
“Just like Corona, they weren’t really there. What you saw was merely your memories given form. They were simply the part of you that wanted to be free from Corona’s nightmare called forth to do battle with your fears, and you have prevailed against your terror. Be at ease young filly.”
“But what about what it said at the end, that it will return for me?” Dinky asked. She wasn’t convinced that it was over.
“Mere blustering at the end. Do not dwell on it. Now wake up and return to the day. Your mother is worried about you.” Luna waved a hoof and a small portal appeared behind Dinky. Dinky felt herself being sucked through the portal and into the darkness beyond it.
Dinky woke up to find that Ditzy was hugging her. Her throat felt parched as if she had gone for hours without drinking anything.
“Just wake up please, Mommy loves you. Luna please, bring my daughter back,” she heard her mother say softly.
“Momma?” Dinky said. “What’s going on?”
“Dinky!” Ditzy cried out, tightening her hug on her daughter. “You had me so worried. You went to sleep with me last night and you didn’t wake up. I didn’t know what to do. Trixie tried to wake you with magic, but nothing happened. I was afraid that something happened to you.”
"Momma, I...can't...breathe....hurting...me," Dinky wheezed out, her head slowly turning an even darker shade of purple.
Ditzy realised what she was doing an instantly let go, dropping Dinky back to her bed. Dinky gasped for air a few times, her face returning to its normal lavander.
"I was afraid that I had lost you, Dinky. What happened to you?"
“I was dreaming about Corona again, momma. She was chasing me through a forest, but then Princess Luna came and she helped me to beat my fear of her. You were there, and all the other Elements were, too. You did that sparkly rainbow thing and banished her away. I don’t think I will be dreaming of her again any time soon.”
“That’s great news, muffin! But, are you sure you are okay? You were asleep for nearly a full day. I had to miss my deliveries to look after you."
"I think so. I'm a little thirsty, but I think that I am okay. You can let go of me now," Dinky said. Ditzy reluctantly released her daughter from her grip and sat back slightly. Dinky slowly got up and stretched out her limbs. She heard several loud pops and cracks as she moved her legs around. Ditzy offered her a glass of water that had been put on her nightstand and she gulped down about half of it, the water cool on her throat. "You said that you had Miss Trixie around to wake me? What happened?"
"Raindrops came around to see why I hadn't opened the office this morning and I had her go and fetch Trixie. She tried several different spells, but none of them seemed to work. She did say that she could feel Luna's magic on you as well and that I shouldn't worry. I couldn't help myself though. You are the most important pony in my life, even more so than my friends. Without you, I don't know if I could go on."
"Luna helped me out and then showed me the place that she watches dreams from. It was kinda boring though," Dinky said, beginning to walk about her room. Ditzy seemed to relax slightly when she saw her daughter was able to walk normally and hold down a conversation. Trixie had told her that Dinky would be fine, but she didn't believe it until she could see it for herself.
"I'm glad that you made it out safely, but it sounds like you had quite the adventure. I don't know what I would do if I lost you again," Ditzy said.
"You would just come and get me, along with all your friends, and save the day. Just like last time," Dinky said eagerly.
"You're right," Ditzy said, not wanting to say that hadn't been quite what she had meant. "Now does my number one postal assistant feel like helping mommy sort through today’s mail?”
Dinky squealed in delight and grabbed her mothers postal cap with her magic, levitating it over to her with some difficulty. Placing it on her own head, it was comically oversized and didn’t sit well over her horn. “I’m ready,” she called out, giving Ditzy a mock salute.
Ditzy leaned in to give her daughter a hug. “Did I ever tell you that you are the most wonderful daughter a pony could ask for?”
“Only because I got the best mother in all Equestria,” Dinky replied, jumping down the stairs leading from their apartment to the postal office.
“Be careful Dinky, no jumping,” Ditzy called after her as she herself slowly flew her way down so as to avoid risking a fall on the stairs again.
“Sorry momma,” was the reply.
Ditzy paused at the head of the stairs to look out a window at the distant city of Canterlot. 'Thank you, Princess for watching over my daughter. She means the world to me.’
Downstairs, Ditzy found Dinky already looking through several piles of letters that had been deposited for sorting. She watched her daughter carefully, looking for any signs of lasting trauma or odd behaviour, but from what she could see, Dinky seemed fine. A light knock on the door caughter her attention, and Ditzy looked up to see Trixie and Raindrops crowding around the door. She quickly flew over and opened up to let them in.
Trixie walked in and instantly noticed Dinky up and about. "I see that Dinky is awake again. Did she mention anything about what happened to her?" she asked, not bothering to ask if she was even okay.
Raindrops however had to good sense to ask after she gave Trixie a stomp with her hoof. "What Trixie meant was 'is Dinky okay?"
Ditzy looked back at her foal. "She seems to have recovered well. I want to take her to the doctors however, as she was asleep for nearly a full day. I'm still worried about her, as she seemed fine the last time as well," she said. Dinky appeared to be a bright, happy foal again, eager to help out in any way that she could. "I don't suppose that you two could watch the office for a few hours?"
"Well actuall...OWW!" Trixie exclaimed as Raindrops hoof landed on her leg a second time.
"Sure we can. You go get Dinky checked out. We'll man the fort until you get back," Raindrops said with a grin. Trixie shot her a black look.
"Thanks girls. Trixie, Dinky said that Princess Luna came to her in her dreams and helped her overcome a nightmare. Does that make any sense to you?"
Trixie nodded before speaking. "Yes it does. Princess Luna has the ability to Dreamwalk, that is, the ability to enter the dreams of others and alter things as she likes. She has often contacted me that way when a letter was out of the question. If Dinky said that she saw her there, then I believe her. She would have made sure that Dinky was alright before sending her back here."
Ditzy gave the pair a relieved smile. "That's good to know. I'll try to not be long." She turned to the office counter. "Dinky, we are going out for a moment. can you come here please?"
"Sure, momma." Dinky replied before putting down her current letter into its correct pile. "Bye, Miss Trixie. Bye, Miss Raindrops."
Raindrops gave her a friendly tap of her hoof. "She seems fine. Seeya soon, Ditzy."
Trixie held Ditzy up for a moment. "I'd like to speak to her about what happened at some point, idealy while it is still fresh."
"We'll see, Trixie. Only if she feels up to it, alright."
Trixie humphed slightly. "Fine. Better not keep her waiting too long," she said, pointing to Dinky, who was now jumping up and down next to the exit door in impatience.
"Come on, momma. Let's go."
Off in the distant city of Canterlot, the Princess of the night was watching the activity of the day wind down to a close. Her eye was on one foal in particular and through her magic, Luna could see Dinky Doo begin sorting letters with a gusto that could only be found in the innocence of a child.
“Rest well, child,” she said as she gazed out over the settlement of Ponyville. No doubt she would be getting a letter of complaint about her student and representative to the town, Trixie Lulamoon, at some point soon. She always did on a Thursday.
‘And to you, Corona, I know that you are still out there, plotting your return. If that return takes a year or a century, I will be waiting for you. I just pray that you can return to your senses. I miss you, big sister. I miss you so much.’
