I spent an hour weeping. I wept my stress and pain away, soaking the shoulders of Lulu and Villhiem. Through my tears, I could see Abes' ears twitching as he listened to a voice only he could hear. With a slight nod, he waited for my waterworks to stop.
Once I had simmered down to sniffles, he leaned in and placed his forehead against mine. "Are you okay for now?" He murmured.
"No." I whined. "What if I start to make my nightmare a reality? What if I'm some sort of harbinger of doom? I don't want to hurt anyone!"
"Look at me!" Abes commanded, paws holding my face to his. "You are not going to hurt anybody. Last I checked, you weren't white with a dark horn. You're going to get through this, but right now, I need you to calm down, okay." His eyes locked onto mine, keeping me focused on him. "Take deep breaths, okay? Breath in, breath out. In, and out. There ya go." He smiled, letting go of my muzzle. "Don't worry about tomorrow, let us focus on tonight. I just spent the last while talking to Luna, and she's coming here to help. I give her..."
A soft tapping came from the window, before it was encased by a deep azure blue aura. It was cracked open slightly before the aura faded. A cloud of midnight blue flowed through the opening. We all watched in awe as the cloud formed into a very solid alicorn.
Princess Luna had arrived.
<<Oh, abouts now.>> Abes finished smugly. He turned to the Princess. <<I haven't yet told her the plan. She's been fairly distraught over this whole thing.>>
"I understand." Luna gave me a sad smile. "I am sorry I have not yet located your dreams, and I shall endeavor to do so. However, I do not know how long that may take, and this is obviously affecting your mental health."
<<This is not a permanent solution, but it should help mitigate the effects of whatever is going on.>> Abes spoke up.
Luna nodded to him. "That is the hope." She lay in front of me. "Leo, before you agree to anything, there is something I must stress. Dreams and nightmares are to be worked through. For all the pain they may cause, ponies, erm, creatures grow stronger for them. As such, I can not just remove the ability for you to dream. And yet, very rarely do they persist as this one has. This could mean one of two things, neither of which are good.
"The first, and preferred, is that this dream is representative of a major negative facet of your own persona. Which facet, I will need to find the dream to be certain. Only then can we begin to help you come to terms with it."
<<You mean treat it, don't you?>> I scowled.
Luna looked to Abes, waiting for him to translate. "Only if it is detrimental to you as a being. I assure you, that is very rare in this modern age. Many perceived negativities can be highly beneficial to beings. Dragon Greed is a prime example." We all gave her odd looks. "Imagine the fierce protectiveness they can bring to bear when what, or even who, they care about is threatened. There is noplace safer than a dragon's hoard." She smiled. "It takes many years for a dragon to reach this point in their lives, but some stop hoarding material wealth. They may instead hoard friends, family. Lady Tiamat hoards knowledge, and it is because of her that we still have records from before the Time of Discord's Reign."
With a sigh, Luna shook her head. "But I fear we have gotten distracted. As I have stated, there is a second meaning your reoccurring dream could have. It is very rare, and very dangerous." She looked me dead in the eyes and held my gaze. "This could be a nascent Tulpa attempting to fully come into existence. Judging from the dreamed events Abes has described to me, it will be very powerful and very malevolent if it does so. If it is, I dare not risk cutting you off from the dream realm, else it will jump to another to continue its growth."
<<Sounds very disconcerting.>> I frowned. <<What's a Tulpa?>>
Again, Abes needed to translate before Luna responded. "It is a being of thought and emotion made manifest. The last one to walk Equis was never truly defeated, only bound to a dark artifact that has in turn been sealed away in a magicless realm. Unless the artifact it is bound to is brought back here, its faceless gaze and coat of black will never again trouble us." With a shudder, she refocused on us.
<<So, you can't remove me from the dream realm, and you don't know when you can find my dream.>> I looked mournfully at my paws. <<And, by the sounds of it, there is a, albeit slim, possibility that I'm carrying the next apocalypse around in my head. Which may or may not pop out before you can locate my dream to stop it.>> I looked up at Luna, and growled. <<None of this sounds like a solution.>>
Lulu smacked a paw over my head. <<Play nice, she's trying to help!>>
"I understand you meant no offence, little one." Luna used her magic to rub behind my ears, soothing my frayed nerves. "There is an enchantment I can place on you. It will not stop you from having these dreams, but it will stop you from remembering them the morning after, which is when a Tulpa can draw the most nourishment. Unfortunately, this will not stop it from growing, but it will severely stunt its growth. That is assuming the very unlikely worst case scenario.
"This enchantment does come with a few side effects, however. You will not be able to remember any dream, good or bad, nor will you be able to receive a full night's rest. Expect either an increase in, as my sister would say, crankiness, or to be sleeping more. The enchantment will also make you a very light sleeper." A form appeared between us. "Because this is mental magic, I will need to receive your express permission to do this. I will also need your written signature, as well as those of all witnesses." A quill floated next to the parchment, ink pooling at its tip.
I carefully grabbed it in my paw, and, using my wrist to make the fine movements I had lost from my lack of fingers, I signed my name. It was a poor copy of what it used to be, but it was still mine.
Lulu signed next, turning her wrist into liquid to have her's flow better, while Villhiem extended a vine to write his. Lucky Abes got to use his Telekinesis. Once we had all signed, Luna took the form and signed it herself, as well as noting whose squiggles were whose. With a small snap, the form vanished.
I felt her magic run across my collar. I figured she was checking for any other enchantments on me that might interfere with what she needed to do. With a satisfied nod, she began.
Using her horn, she traced a circle of silver light into the air. With careful, precise movements, she deftly placed very fine lines of writing within the circle. With the small size, it looked like a spider's web had formed within the circle by the time she had moved on to the next step. In three columns coming from the circle's bottom, she wrote a series of thicker runes. With a sigh, she paused to inspect her work.
Her eyes shifted to look at the others. "Hold her down." She commanded.
<<Hehe.>> I nervously chuckled. <<W-what?>> Vines burst from the floor, binding me tightly. I felt a pressure on my back as Lulu forced me to the ground. Finally, in a triple redundancy, Abes' aura prevented even my tail from twitching. <<I-is this really necessary?>> I asked, fear creeping into my voice.
"I apologize in advance. This is going to hurt." She levitated a small bundle of cloth and jammed it into my mouth. She looked at Abes. "Hold her mouth shut, please."
As I felt his mental might clamp down on my muzzle as Luna cleared a space of any interference between my ears. She gently lowered the glyph to my head. I began trying to thrash against my bindings as agony lanced through my nervous system.
Eyes wide, I tried to focus on anything past the pain. I caught an image of a ghostly rainbow mane. I locked eyes with the worried magenta ones peering over Luna's shoulder. I still felt the pain, but my struggles ceased.
<<How much longer will this take?>> I barely heard Lulu ask.
<<What is she staring at?>> Abes asked after passing Lulu's question on.
"Not much longer now." Luna tersely answered. "She is likely seeing an image of those most important to her. It's a side effect of the spell. It will go away momentarily."
It was over in an eternity. I lay panting on the floor as everyone released me.
"It is done." Luna sighed. "Again, I am sorry about the pain, but what I have just done was to effectively brand the glyph onto your psyche. This glyph will remain until I, and only I, remove it."
<<Is that why it disappeared after it sunk into her fur?>> Villhiem asked while I attempted to give the princess a thumps up.
"It has not truly vanished," Luna answered once Abes relayed the inquiry, "if you look closely, you can see faint silver lines in her fur."
I staggered to my paws, and stumbled my way to the door. <<Mirror, mirror.>> After a few minutes of not reaching the door, I looked down to see I had been picked up by someone's telekinetic grasp. <<I hate psychic types.>>
Luna carried me back over to the group, a standing mirror fading into existence. Sure enough, I could see a smaller scale version of the glyph tracing through my fur. It was so faint, I would've missed it if I hadn't known what to look for.
With a tearful smile, I turned and glomped the Princess of the Night. <<Thank you...>> I wept into her fur.
[Third]
As a Princess vainly tried to dislodge an affectionate furry growth, a rainbow maned pegasus painfully rolled from her bunk. The sleeper car rocked with the train's motion as she gently woke the only other winged pony there.
"Hey, Fluttershy?" Rainbow groaned as her friend awoke. "Did you bring any painkillers? I just woke up with this massive headache, and I want to be on my best game tomorrow when we reach Dodge."
With a nod, Fluttershy reached for her carry on. When did she get silver hairs? She passed a pill bottle to Rainbow. No, it's probably the moonlight playing tricks on me.
Oh, Leo and Rainbow are more linked then we thought.
Soul bond?....
That's... that's a bit of a problem
Last I checked, you weren't white with a dark horn.
Poor Absol, always getting a bad reputation.
I’m sure everything will be fine.
so rainbow and cy are connected some how
Tulpa
Edit: You did spell it right at least once. (I mostly know the word because of the Petriculture cycle. It's from quite early in FiM's run, and the first story is only one chapter. It's in the Top Favorites on my profile if you're interested.)
I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Does Leo's connection to Dash also result in Leo speaking something (red font) that she didn't remember?
i give it about a weak before Rainbow Dash goes to see Luna so she can see why she can't remember any of her dreams and Luna (upon further inspection) sees the glyph she just put on Leo and they finally realize the mental link the two have
9014709
Leo not Cy
Oh this should be good
9014762
sorry i'm having trouble keeping track of all the charecters
9014777
that's why Adenbadens made this Google docs so everyone has a summery of who everyone is and whatnot
9014787
meh
9014791
?
9014801
still a good story
9014666
I kinda figured after Rainbow mentioned having odd, embarrassing dreams around when Leo was in Heat. Either their connection is a result of their Element, or Leo has somehow subconsciously formed a psychic bond with Rainbow despite only being an Eevee and not an Espeon.
This just gives further credence to the Leo => Espeon theory
Faceless gaze and coat of black...? We're not talking about Slenderman, are we!?
9014811
it's been hinted at that all of them have a link of some kind to the pony they've bounded with the most; not only have they been slowly syncing up with them in the personality department but the ones who have bounded with one of the elements have had moments where the color of there eyes and the words they say turn to what there respective element is
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It's been hinted at, sure, but Leo's has always seemed a bit more... Intense than the others. The other Eevees think her overreactions during the Mare Do Well and Pet Competition incidents we're because she is so attached to Dash, which isn't entirely untrue, but in both incidents she knew what was coming, however neither new when exactly they would happen, and had made resolutions for herself to be there for Rainbow Dash after the fact but not to interfear. But as soon as she Sensed Rainbow was in trouble, either emotionally or physically she completely flipped out and tried to get to her.
Further, while we know the pack are taking on Aspects of their bonded, only Rainbow Dash and Leo have been hinted at as having a greater awareness of Each Other, though neither are aware that this is what is actually happening. Only Rainbow Dash is known to have experienced "strange dreams" while the pack females were in heat through her conversation with Twilight after the heat passed. If their bonds were all the same then Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy should also have had strange dreams during that period.
My belief that Leo is latently Psychic without realizing just seems to get stronger and stronger the more I think about things.
"Unless the artifact it is bound to is brought back here, its faceless gaze and coat of black will never again trouble us."
...Slendy? That you?
I'm probably wrong, but in regards to the faceless gaze and coat of black deal, I get the feeling it's referring to a certain Mythical pokemon that feeds on dreams.
Yay, new side story! That’s going on the doc for sure.
9014902
While I’m not saying you’re wrong about them having a stronger bond, Leo’s also the only one having the nightmares. And her freak outs are directly tied to her needing to be with Rainbow because Loyalty would mean that she should be by a friend in their time of need. How would that even work for Lulu? “Let go of me! Raritu’s been in a creative slump and she needs these sketches! I need to give!” Silliness.
Also, Rarity would probably never come forward about such unladylike dreams. She probably just...takes care of herself... Could you imagine that conversation between Rarity and Twilight, or Rarity and Fluttershy (the most likely confidant I feel)? Because she’s bonded to Lulu, who is now a Vaporeon? Puns about wet dreams for days.
9015056
Don’t worry. Even if the artifact is returned, eight pages were scattered across that alternate world, so it will never really be freed. I’m sure.
9015092
Except Leo was still with Yomega during "That Time of the Year", who is most closely connected to Twilight, who was puzzled over Rainbow Dash's dreams. And while I'm not debating that part of Leo's reaction to Rainbow being in trouble is a result of their shared connection to Loyalty, it's the Timing that I find suspicious:
Leo didn't know for certain that that specific pet play-date would be the day. Yes, Rainbow dropped her off beforehoof but I doubt that was the first time she'd left Leo over somewhere for various reasons. The red text later on leaves no doubt that the Element of Loyalty is involved somehow,
This time it's Rainbow hearing Leo. Again, Loyalty is clearly involved, but again, none of the others have experienced an actual transfer of emotion or thought between one another despite taking on attributes of each other. Not even Pinkie when Zann was falling into despair as he was dying in the oven before he evolved.
I think the Elements may be an Amplifier, but there are a lot of other little things that go on between Rainbow and Leo that are hard to pin down that lead me to believe that Leo might on some level be naturally (but currently latently) psychic despite not being a Psychic Pokemon at this time, which, if my theory about Discord mucking about in her head is true may be a contributing factor to why he would bother with her specifically, and if the Tulpa is the cause of her dreams, may be why it was so attracted to her in the first place, as a stronger mind naturally attuned to projecting itself outward would likely make manifestation easier.
Last I checked, you weren't white with a dark horn.
Athena's eye twitched. "I'm going to slap a dark fox."
I wonder... What if Luna can't find Leo's dreams because her dreamscape is linked with Rainbow's in some way? If Luna is looking for a distinct dream, it may be overlooked. Finding Leo's dream may require finding the connection from Rainbow's first. Of course, they have to discover there is such a connection before that becomes an option.
good chapter hope to see more soon
9014713
Fixed, thanks for the catch.
Tulpa always make me cringe. Because even were it true, it would be aweful.
Looking forward to more in the future!
When are the eggs gonna hatch?
9023108
At the blistering speed of plot! Which we are approaching like a stampeding herd of turtles!
9023923
So Tank is leading the way then?
9023923
Cool!
9028594
i have to agree on all accounts here; the only reason i'm not worried about the other movie that is apparently being made now is that its going to have nothing to do that first one in anyway (be it continuity or the studio that made it) but also Nintendo has stated that they will be closely involved in making it
I think I know who it is that is the claw. It took me a moment to piece it together after another reading. We might have to "hunt" Freddy this time around.
9029263
And I thought hearing about the new live action Gundam movie was good news? I can't wait to see this happen.
So, because I like this story, I did a thing...
(Warning: spoiler)
i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/CrazyxSquirrel/Capture_2018-07-10-08-29-42.png
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That is Awesome!
9036807
I think it's sweet. Now you got him on the go with you.
moving on ...
Missing Word Error: if I'm some sort of harbinger of doom
Punctuation Error: remove
Take deep breaths, okay.
Punctuation Error: needs to be a question mark
Stylistic Suggestion: noplace
Punctuation Error: dragon's
Tense Error: remove
Grammar Error: were
Leo is almost definitely going to be Espeon. The hate for psychic types and Rainbow link makes it obvious.
9036807
Damnit, it's gone. Shame too, since it sounded really good.
O crap i almpst prget this two are connected... That cant end well
Imagine
Dang even this passes through the link.
9014713
I know it from other sources.
Seriously, those things are dangerous. Some people create them purposefully, and view them as beneficial, but even THOSE people say that once one is created, getting rid of it can be extremely mentally traumatic. And they can be malicious if you are not super careful when creating them. I always wondered if whatever writers made that Tantabus episode knew about this sort of thing.
(On a not-entirely-unrelated side note, I found that I am extremely resistant to hypnosis. No, I never tried to create a tulpa. I'm not that stupid. But I did try experimenting with my own brain.)