Dark Dreams

[James Knight]

After he had fallen asleep on his journey, and began to dream, Warren was having anything but a pleasant dream. The dream he was currently in involving an event that he hadn't experienced. In this case, a mob of  Xx_Yandere_Lo♥er_xXs were pounding Warren. 

"Hecate-Sama!"  Several of them were punching him in the ribs, or kicking him in the gonads in the dream. Of course this was symbolism of how his efforts outside of the Astral verse had dashed Warren's dreams like a piece of pottery. Some of the even poured lemon juice in his eyes, or broke his legs. 

"Is."  One of them tied up Warren, to a railroad track that appeared. 

"Ours," stated another, who was in the caboose of a train that had just materialized in the dream. 

The dream was one that was making Warren panicked. This couldn't be real, and yet he was feeling it. Warren tried to slap himself, but could not because of his broken arms, and being tied down. Really this could not be real. 

If this was real, he was doomed. 

[Celestia]

Patrolling dreams had become a routine for Luna.  It was not always the most exciting, she'd been doing so for long enough that many types of dreams were now commonplace to her, there was a rhythm to the task that provided its own sort of comfort.  After what she'd done, it was nice to have a reliable way to help others.

The dream Luna was currently in was no exception.  The area was indistinct, as many such dreams are.  Being crafted predominantly from the mind of the dreamer, the landscape would only be visible in detail if it was important to the dream's concept, or if the dreamer was someone who payed particular attention to those sorts of things.  Apparently, this case was neither of those.  Her own arrival in the dream had been similarly indistinct.  Between her understanding of dreams and her own inherent magic, she knew exactly when she had entered the dream, but there was no attached doorway or means of entry she had arrived through.  She simply found herself there, after having decided to enter from the outside.

The nature of the dream itself meanwhile was much more clear.  The dreamer, crumpled on the ground, was in the middle of what was essentially a crowd of identical individuals.  It was a little more direct than she might have hoped for, thought unfortunately common in the Omniverse: this particular dreamer felt overwhelmed by an enemy.

Luna frowned, as she considered how to approach this.  She could fight them off, she was not averse to combat, but that might not truly accomplish her goal.  More important was helping others understand the causes of their strife.  That way, their relief wouldn't be limited to their time in the realm of dreams.  She therefore preferred to avoid fighting other's battles for them, instead giving them the tools by which they could fight the battles themselves.

Luna decided on a course of action.  Her horn glowed as she cast a spell, and suddenly a full moon appeared in the otherwise empty sky.  The moon bathed the area in a pale light, rendering all but one of the identical individuals transparent and revealing them for what they were, projections.  Those so revealed were suddenly unable to do any harm, still playing out their various attacks but now passing harmlessly through the dreamer's form.  The lone remaining individual, though technically also a projection, represented a truer form of the dreamer's adversary.

Luna landed between the dreamer and his actual foe, to give the former time to get his bearings.  “Thine enemy is not as dominant as he appears,” she said to the dreamer, “with the right approach he can be rendered beatable!”

Working off of the permission given here for someone to use Luna in this thread.  Let me know if I've misinterpreted either that or how it works.

[James Knight]

"Oh?" asked Warren, to the Princess of the Night. "And what are you?" Warren didn't believe his eyes, at first. Of course he had never seen an Alicorn before in his life, so that could partially explain his confusion. Her help had been invaluable, as Warren doubted he could have beaten the horde of Yanderes on his own, in this, or any universe. Warren really absolutely entirely loathed the existence of the horde of Yanderes. Each and every one of them had to go away, because he didn't want them to continue to exist. In truth he was grateful that his number of enemies had been reduced greatly, and now there was only one of the bastards remaining. Of course the dream chose that moment to shift into something else. The moment that Warren lost his life, and was evicted from his home by Yandere Lover. 

"This is the last time you will ever see Hecate, or come here again!"  And then the blade plunged into his heart, yet as it was a dream it did not damage to him physically. Still, the memory made him cross his arms defensively across his chest.

[Celestia]

Just as things were starting to turn around, the scene shifted.  The area was still a barely defined void, but the tone had decidedly, if indescribably, changed.  There remained only one adversary, but this time that seemed to be design – at least as much as any part of the dream was designed.  Said adversary, close to the dreamer already, suddenly plunged a blade through the latter's heart.

Luna winced and looked away, silently cursing the inevitability of it.  There were some dreams she found she couldn't change or halt, at least in any safe or meaningful way.  She hated those kinds of dreams, at least on arrival, though sometimes she could still change things around by working with the dreamer.  It became a question whether she could get the dreamer into the right frame of mind or to see the right perspective that they could solve their challenge themselves.  It was arguably an even better result than if she'd helped the dreamer directly, when she could manage it.

In this case however, therein lay the problem.  There was so little to this dream, what could she possibly do to make this situation better?  The dreamer had a clear enemy, one who had caused them serious physical harm.  But that was fairly common, between the various competing factions.  Many struggled with a foe who's capacity and cruelty exceeded their own, and in those cases Luna would provide help in ways such as assessing their threat, of finding ways of escape.  Here though, even what could be done was unclear.

Perhaps Luna would have to settle for dreamed comfort after all.  She would just have to accept that this one was effectively beyond her help, and provide what temporary comfort she could.  The dream seemed to have calmed down, at any rate, and now it was a question of whether anything would happen next.  She walked over to the dreamer.  “Thou hast my sympathies.  I am not sure what I could do to help thee, but if there is something, speak it and I will see what I can do.”

[James Knight]

Warren looked at her for a moment, and then realized that this couldn't possibly be real. Yet it was. She wanted to help him.  "Give me a moment, and we'll talk,"  Warren then held out his hand. Purple energy formed in his hands in the dream, becoming a weapon that he used to promptly blast or in this case completely annihilate Xx_Yandere_Lo♥er_xX from his dream. Once the unwanted part of his dream had been annihilated, Warren gazed on her for a moment.  "Now we can talk," said Warren, changing his outfit in the dream to a black and gray, and purple business suit. Chairs appeared in the dream, and he sat down. "Wish I could do that to him in the real world, but with how entrenched he is in my old home that I can't go back to, I can't do anything to him sadly," groaned Warren. Really he was not usually the type of person to wish ill on anyone. However, there were extenuating circumstances. One of these was that Warren had been rendered homeless, and humiliated. In addition of course he had somehow gotten slower, and weaker. When he woke up, he knew he was going to probably still be sluggish. "Question for you. Know anywhere abandoned that is far away from the Tangled Green where I could make myself a new home that has an absence of the individual, and the other Prime he attached himself to, who I should have never tried to help at all?" asked Warren.

[Celestia]

Luna gave dreamer the moment he requested, although she wasn't entirely happy about the result.  Pain had a way of begetting pain, where revenge was involved, and she had some hope that she might convince him to focus on something other than revenge.  Still, she could not deny that some dreamers simply needed the catharsis, nor that the dream ended up being much more peaceful once the agitator was removed.

The dreamer changed his outfit into something more formal, and conjured some chairs.  Luna declined sitting down, seeing partially as the chairs weren't built for it.  Fortunately she didn't particularly need to sit at the moment, and if she did she could always create a cushion or cloud for herself.  She was focused on the dreamer anyways, who was lamenting his inability to replicate the events in the dream in the real world, before asking the alicorn a question.

Luna considered the question for a moment before shaking her head.  “I'm afraid I don't know much of the lands beyond this realm of dreams.”  She waved a hoof around, vaguely indicating the void they were currently situated in.  “As such, I could not say what would be the best place for thee to escape thine foe, save perhaps knowing that the realms are expansive.  I am sure there is a place of sufficient distance or obscurity for thee to reside comfortably.”

Luna regarded the dreamer for a moment.  “It is good to hear thine talk of finding a new place.  With thine previous actions, I had been concerned that thou desired revenge but,” she smiled as she spoke, “if thou truly wish to find a place far away from them to continue on, that is good to hear.”  Her expression then grew grave.  “Revenge has a way of begetting more pain over time, as often as not to the one who sought revenge as the one on whom that revenge is visited upon.”

Luna fell quiet for a moment, as she observed the dream around her.  Things seem to have calmed down, the cause of strife in this particular dream had been removed and the dreamer was now in control.  “I'm afraid I must go,” she said eventually.  “thou are not the only dreamer suffering from traumatic visions this night, and I should not be neglecting my duties.”  She ruffled her wings, as she prepared to leave.

[James Knight]

This individual had helped with his issues with the dick that had made him homeless in the dream. She seemed to believe it was her job to go and assist other people in the dreams. Really, in the future he was going to find a way to thank her. After all, she had helped him to break free of that horde that had attacked him. Still, he was going to have to make sure that this dream did not repeat in the near future. It was not one he particularly enjoyed having, nor wanted to deal with again. "You do one nice thing for a Prime, and it comes back to bite you in the buttocks," growled Warren remembering how he had attempted to help Hecate, only for this to happen. It was the last time he was going to attempt to assist anyone at all with anything, because of what had transpired. Of course being forcibly removed from your own home could have that effect. It was not just that, though. No, it was the fact that he had been so utterly humiliated that he wanted to punish the individual. Warren knew he was not going to go back there, though. It was simply not the right call to return to his home, or even to that verse, and try to reclaim it. At present it was only going to result in pain for him, and suffering. More on his part, than on theirs, as his skills were not good enough.  "Believe me, had I the strength, I would go, and cleanse my home of the no longer welcomed guest, and the one who has a crush on her. The latter is the one who used that blade to pierce my heart, and well, you saw what happened." sighed the Quarterback of Chaos. 

"If it were not for the fact that the Prime I tried to help has a Psychotic Alter Ego that Xx_Yandere_Lo♥er_xX  has attached himself to, and also has a massive crush on, and who possesses Ice powers, it would be easier to reclaim my home. Sadly, as they already managed to force me into a weakened state upon rebirth here in the Omniverse, I'm pretty sure I don't want to learn what they'll try next, should I attempt to reclaim my home. After all, they are both the type that wish to kill unrestrained. However,  as I said before, I'll be seeking a new place. Somewhere more isolated that they are not, and that has few other people."  It was clear to Warren Zimmer that she wanted to perform her other duties, and he knew that he shouldn't stand in the way of that. While he may be a villain, Warren was also not willing to stand in the way of something someone honestly needed to do. As a result of that, Warren was going to let her go. While part of him could use the company he knew he had to wake up, and resume his plans. Thus, he could not let the dream continue much longer. 

"Before you go, how does one wake themselves from a dream?" asked Warren.  "I've got a lot of things I need to do, including locating a suitably isolated base that has no Imperial Presence nearby, since they deem to confuse me for someone else, in the case of the Storm Troopers, and beat me up, as a result of their confusion. Also, as a result of my attempt at being kind to a new Prime backfiring in such a spectacular fashion, I am not sure I should help other Primes anymore. " 

[Celestia]

Luna regarded the dreamer with a sad expression.  It would seem that he wasn't really listening to what she was saying.  Although on the surface he did agree with much of what the alicorn was saying, the moment he got into the reasoning behind his choices it was clear he hadn't given it a moment's consideration.  He wasn't truly taking to heart her cautioning against revenge, as something destructive for the one who enacts it as well they that it is visited upon.  Instead, he would avoid his agitators due to their ability to beat him in combat.  She began to be convinced that, should the tables ever be reversed, the dreamer would gleefully continue the cycle.

Still, there was a faint hope.  “Heed my words now, dreamer, if you remember no other words I have spoken this night.  I know well the places revenge can lead, and I can say with confidence that it does not lead anywhere one wants to be.”  Luna hoped he would listen.  While she had some doubts about this dreamer, given the way he spoke and in particular how he seemed to view violence, but her interactions had been overall positive, and she still wished him well.  Part of that was hoping to guide him on to a better path than it sounded like he was currently on.

Luna fell silent, not sure there was much more she could say, which was just as well as it turned out the dreamer had a question.  He wanted to know how one left a dream.  Luna considered for a moment, smiling.  She was always happen to answer a question relating to her area of particular expertise.  “There is no specific technique I know of.  I have seen means to accomplish such a feat, but thus far each was specific to the dreamer in question.”  She frowned, adding, “I know a means to force one from their dream, but it is...unpleasant.”  She brightened again.  “Fortunately, I do not think either such thing should be necessary.  Dreams have a way of ending once the message is delivered or the theme is concluded.  This one is close to ending already, I am sure.”  She could already feel it, the edges of the dream fading into nothingness as the dream drifted toward its natural conclusion.  She turned to leave.

Then the dreamer said something truly concerning, and she froze.  Luna turned around, and eyed him.  She didn't have long, the dream was already coming to a close.  She still took a moment, as she had to choose her words carefully.  She would only get one more chance to speak.  “There is a difference between being cautious, and isolating oneself.  I implore thee to think on this, and not cut thyself off from the world.  Down that path lies only suffering.”  The dream's boundaries were drawing close.  She sighed.  “Farewell, may you find peace.”  She nodded to the dreamer before turning away once more and flying off.  She left the dream much the same way she entered it, reaching a certain distance away before effectively winking out of the dream's existence.