Plagued Dreams

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he strolled through the colorful castle, his eyes more focused on the floor as he walked. His shoes made practically no sound at all as he strolled down the hallway, given how he natually has a light step and a gift for stealth. He looked horrible, however. There were dark shadows around his eyes, which were also horribly bloodshot beneath his glasses, and his hair was a bit scruffier than usual, combed back behind his ears in an attempt to make it at least somewhat presentable. Overall, it looked as if the young man had not slept in days... which was exactly the case. For the past few weeks, he had been plagued with horrible and very vivid nightmares, and had finally decided to seek out his Aunt Luna, the only mare he knew that might be able to look into his dreams to see just what was wrong. He finally made it to Luna's quarters and gently knocked on the wooden door. "Aunt Luna? Are you here?" He called softly, his voice much more raspy than usual.

[PrinceoftheNight]

Inside the room could be beard two different snorings. One was a really soft one and the other was louder compared to it, yet still soft. And that one was Luna's, as it got silent and some mumbling could be heard from the bed at the middle of the room. 

 

"Uhm...?" she said as she yawned and rubbed her eyes and sat on her bed

[AlextheAngel]

Alex listened carefully, before noticing the soft snoring coming from within the room. He sighed, realizing that she may still have been asleep, before suddenly hearing a bit of stirring from behind the door. Nervously rubbing the back of his neck, he knocked again, even softer than before. He silently hoped that Luna or Darkness wouldn't be mad with him for waking them up. "Aunt Luna?" He called again softly.

[PrinceoftheNight]

"A-alex?" Luna asked with a yawn as more of the mare could be seen on the bed. Luna had her husband sleeping on her chest, his head over it while she had her wrapped with a hoof around her belly, snoring softly. "W-what do you need?" She soon asked sleepy as she rubbed her eyes softly, her night sky mane a bit of a mess yet still waving around. One could wonder how Darkness could sleep with that on his face.

[AlextheAngel]

Alex carefully stepped inside, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I'm sorry to wake you at this hour, it's just..." He sighed, rubbing his darkened eyes. "I haven't been sleeping for the past few days because I've been having these really... horrible nightmares." He admitted, talking as softly as possible so that he wouldn't disturb Darky. "I need your help... do you think you can tell me what they mean?"

[PrinceoftheNight]

Although Luna deals with nightmares all the time, it had been quite some time since she had dealt with someone that looked like Alex. His eyes were black. It seemed he hadnt slept in days. "Tell me. When was the last time you had these? And what can you tell me about them?" she asked as she sat on the bed, her husband snuggling more the night princess as he snored into the fur in her chest. He seemed to be fast asleep. 

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded and rubbed his eyes a bit, seeming to be deep in thought as he tried to remember. "It's... difficult for me to remember all of the details..." He said softly, looking down at the darkly shadowed floor. "Canterlot in ruins, my father being stabbed, and it usually finishes off with me being sucked into a portal that leads who knows where..." He explained, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "And every time, I wake up crying. I know that they're only dreams, but they just seem too... real."

[PrinceoftheNight]

"Dreams can meam many things, my dear child." she said as she patted the area of the bed just beside her. There was enough room for him to sit with her. "Yet one repeating over amd over... Many times means something. Soe.thig worth looking into."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded, before walking over and gently sitting down on the bed next to her, being careful not to disturb Darky. "I really hope that these dreams are just the result of anxiety, and that they don't really mean anything." He said softly. "Do you think you can look into them?"

[PrinceoftheNight]

"Of course. But I need you to sleep first." she soon said as she wrapped a wing around him

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded, before taking off his glasses and gently laying down on the bed next to her, nestling within her wing. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and almost immediately fell asleep as a result of how exhausted he was. After a few long minutes, he began shifting uncomfortably in his sleep, seeming quite disturbed.

***

He stood in a completely ruined and desolated version of Ponyville, nearly every structure lying in ruins. It seemed no more than an empty, hallow shell of the happy and friendly place it used to be. Even the sky looked as if it were painted crimson, and an ominous solar eclipse blocked out most of the light. Alex shivered and rubbed his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. "It's... happening again."

[PrinceoftheNight]

"Easy my child..." Luna said as she appeared from one of the ruins of the buildings while she looked around. "So this is what you had been dreaming?" She asked as soon as she got to his side. "It seems... really odd.."

[AlextheAngel]

"Trust me, it gets worse." Alex said with a deep sigh, before walking forward and looking around cautiously at the burning and desolated ruins that seemed nothing more than an empty shell of its former glory. "I'm walking through this place for a few minutes, before I start to hear what sounds like an intense battle, along with the ground trembling at my feet..." He said. As if on cue, the ground began gently shaking, and the cries and curses of two voices could be heard in the distance. Alex froze in his tracks, seeming too afraid to even walk forward.

[PrinceoftheNight]

Luna turned towards where she heard the noises. She then turned to Alex and saw him. "Lets go." she said as she used magic to sit him om her back so the two could go together 

[AlextheAngel]

Alex flinched as he was suddenly levitated onto Luna's back, before taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. As the two of them progressed deeper into the ruins, two figures could be made out, both standing a few yards away from each other. As they came closer, one of the figures could easily be recognized as Zed, but the other figure was too covered in dense dark clothing to be recognized. However, it was clear that the other was humanoid, and gave off a heavily ominous aura. Off to the side, everyone - Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor, Twilight and her friends, Thunder, and even another copy of Luna and Darkness - were encased up to their necks in a sort of stone imprisonment, and they all looked heavily drained of energy.

"This is it..." Alex said, his heart pounding heavily within his chest, and he couldn't help but look away.

[PrinceoftheNight]

Luna was a bit surprised by what she saw in there. This was quite the scene. She wondered what was going on. "Lets go..." She said as she casted a spell and made the two invisible from the ponies on the dream before starting to walk towards them and investiagate

[AlextheAngel]

Alex's skin crawled as he felt Luna's invisibility spell take effect, his heart pounding with worry as she began to walk closer. He looked away from the two men confronting each other, huddling on Luna's back. "Be careful..." He whispered. "Let's not get too close..." Suddenly, Zed and the cloaked figure collided once again, the two throwing punches and kicks. At first, it looked as if the two were evenly matched... until closer inspection revealed that Zed was heavily exhausted, and reaching his limit.

[PrinceoftheNight]

(sorry! Forgot!)

 

Luna simply walked past them, keeping theur distance from them as she did so, before stopping at a safe distance from them to watch. She wondered who was the other one.

[AlextheAngel]

(No worries! )

After a short moment, the cloaked figure grabbed Zed by the throat and lifted him up as if he were nothing, watching as the human struggled for air. Finally, he spoke... an ominous  and masculine voice that practically ringed in their ears.

"A true angel doesn't grow attached to petty mortals like these. I think it's time for you to suffer a new punishment..." The figure's voice dropped low. "Everyone you love... I'm going to make them suffer." With that, he growled and slammed Zed into the ground, continuing to choke him out. "You think losing your wings and your rank is bad... imagine dying, knowing that your friends and family will be in the worst danger possible... and there's nothing you can do to save them." Suddenly, the man pulled out a large dagger from within his cloak... then plunging it directly into Zed's chest. Zed gasped and struggled with pain, before slowly going limp.

Alex gritted his teeth and quickly turned away, shivering. "I... I think I'm going to be sick..." He whimpered.

[PrinceoftheNight]

Luna simply watched as all that happened. "Lets go back for now." She whispered to Alex as her horn glowed.

 

The two were soon back at Luna's room right how they were when they started all this. Darky seemed to still be asleep though, yet it was almost all over Luna, his face against her cheeck.

[AlextheAngel]

Alex woke with a bit of a jolt with him as well cuddled closely against Luna. It took a moment before his racing heart slowed to it's normal rate, before wiping his eyes, finding them fresh with tears. "Every night, I go to sleep and see that... What does it mean? It can't be a... premonition dream, can it?" He asked worried, his entire body shaking violently.

[PrinceoftheNight]

"Dreams can mean a lot of thing dear child." Luna said as she gently patted his back trying to reconfort him. "This dream was quite... Vivid, to say the least. I will have to investigate it deeper. But for now I can use my Tantabus to control that nightmare so you don't 'have it' personaly." she soon started to explain. "It was thanks to the help of Twilight and her friend, and my dear stallion as well, that I was able to tame it and use it if needed." she added. "You wont see the nightmare again as the Tantabus will show you something else, and I will be able to investigate the nightmare. It will be still there, but you won't see it. Or feel it."

[AlextheAngel]

Alex nodded in response, his shivering beginning to ease up as she comforted him. "The Tanabus... I've heard of it. That was all long before my father arrived in Equestria." He said, lifting up his glasses to wipe more of the tears from his eyes. "All right... I'll try to get some sleep, then." He paused for a moment, biting his lip. "Is it all right if I sleep here at the castle tonight? I... don't feel comfortable flying back home right now."

[PrinceoftheNight]

"Sure. I will have a guard arrange a room for you." She said as a little black orb flew behind Luna towards him.
"I gave the tantabus a small physical form. Stay with him and you will be safe during your dreams." She said as the little night like orb followed Alex