Capper opened his eyes.

He found himself lying on cold, hard ground. He stood up and looked at the world around him.

The sky was a rolling blanket of clouds, the color of wet ash. The world covered by a mist. Everything was dimmed and dark, making it hard to tell what anything was. He squinted, scanning his surroundings. Every surface, every blade of grass and twig was growing long ice crystals ten or more millimeters in length. They were little forests of ice, pure white "trees" growing without roots. He watched as the ice-crystals grew around him for a while, allowing his brain to be empty, content to exist, and just be.

A small seed of worry grew in the pit of his stomach as he began to feel his sense of vision fading away. He was a lost soul.

Where am I?

He looked down at his body and saw that though he was freezing, he had no physical marks or injuries.

A small yet comforting relief.

He shivered as the wind hit his face. Flakes of ice pelted against Capper's cheeks, clinging to his paws and fur. He could hardly feel them, let alone move them. He needed to get to someplace warm.

He walked aimlessly for what felt like hours. He didn't know where he was going. There was no sense of direction. Everything felt wrong. He was always able to find some sense of control in any situation, but there was nothing to work with here.

It also didn't help that he was someone new to Equestria. But that would be him assuming that he was still in Equestria.

As far as he remembered, nothing bad happened. There should have been no reason for anything to be as cold and unwelcoming as it was. He snuggled deeper into his coat. He had to find something alive in this strange place, if he could.

He caught sight of a large, dark silhouette roughly the shape of a building in the distance. Wasting no time, he started running towards it, the chilly crystals of ice pricking his paws. A small house soon appeared out of the mist as he came closer. He made his way up to its door and knocked.

"Hello. Anyone there?"

There was no answer. He knocked again.

Still no reply. He grabbed the doorknob and turned it slowly. It was unlocked. He knew it was wrong to enter without permission, but he could barely feel his paws anymore. It was only a matter of time before he would freeze to death. He opened the door all the way and slowly walked inside the house.

The house looked to be a few decades old and mostly empty. A few pieces of dusty furniture lined the room while the occasional bit of trash littered the floor. There were many holes in the walls and cracks in the ceiling. The hardwood floor creaked with every step he took.

He continued carefully down the hallway and saw that there was another door. It led into a small kitchen. He peeked inside and saw no one there. Besides the outdated appliances, everything else seemed to be damaged in some way, weathered through time or negligence.

He left the kitchen and kept walking down the hall. There was another door on the opposite side. He grabbed the handle and entered. It was a bedroom.

"Who are you?"

Capper jumped and turned around. Sitting in a corner of the room was a small foal who looked no older than twelve. Bangs of green mane fell over his puffy eyes, and tears streamed down his reddish brown cheeks. When the colt shifted a little, Capper caught a glimpse of his cutie mark-a hammer on a steel plate.

"Hey, you okay, kid?"

The foal shook his head, shaking. "I-I know h-he is looking for me. H-he is s-still here."

"Who?" Capper asked.

"The light monster," the colt whimpered, his eyes drawn to the floor. He shuffled closer to the wall.

Capper at him, confused. "Umm, what? The light monster?"

"It's the only light I ever see here."

"Well, where is he?" The cat's gaze traveled the room.

"I don't know. Did he put you here too?"

"Put here? No one put me here or something. I just woke up here." The cat slowly approached the foal so as to not frighten him even more.

The colt sniffed. "I did something really bad. I think I started this."

Capper stopped moving and raised an eyebrow. The foal finally lifted his head up, his teeth chattering as he shivered. Capper couldn't tell if he was shivering from the cold or from fright.

"I don't understand," the cat said, slowly crouching across from him. "Started what?"

Suddenly, the ground began to vibrate. The lights swung violently. Capper lost balance and tumbled to the ground. The colt covered his head with both of his hooves to protect himself as pieces of the ceiling fell onto them.

The world around them grew even darker. The sound of millions of voices screaming filled their ears and grated at their minds. Capper winced, clutching his head. The two looked out the doorway as a loud thump of the front door opening and slamming shut pushed through the cacophony.

"That's him. That is the light monster." The foal hugged his knees tightly. "You need to leave before he sees you."

Capper clawed up to the door and closed it. A small bit of light shone from underneath it.

Nodding, the cat carefully moved over the shaking floor to a window, opening it. He went back to the foal. "Come on, kid. Let's get you out of here."

"I can't." The colt pushed Capper's paws away from him and started to cry. "I let him in, and now he trapped me here. I can't leave this place."

He forcefully grabbed the foal by his hoof and pulled him closer. "What do you mean? Come on. Let's just go."

There was a loud bang that traveled through the house.

"There is nothing you can do for me. Now leave. If he takes you, you will be trapped too." He slipped from Capper's grip and ran to the door.

"Wait, w-what are you doing?!" the cat exclaimed.

"Whatever you do, whatever he shows you, don't ever let him in," the colt said as he grasped the handle. The door closed behind him before Capper could grab him.

He wanted to go after the foal, but he couldn't get himself to make any movement. The footsteps neared the door, the light getting brighter by the second. Now somewhat able to keep balance, Capper stood up and went to the window. He knew he couldn't stay any longer.

He crawled out of the window and landed on a pile of snow. He took one last glance at the house before running back into the forest. Soon enough, the building vanished into the mist. The ground was no longer shaking. However, the screaming still filled his ears. All around him, he could hear millions of voices screaming in agonizing pain. Some called for help, some asked for a way out, and others were just too unclear to make out.

Unsure what to do, he kept walking, the voices resonating in his head. He caught a glimpse of something bright in the distance. His heart fluttered. He couldn't make out what it was, but something told him that he needed to go there. He didn't know where it led to or what it was. He usually wasn't the type to follow the unknown, but what else could he do at this point? Everything in this place was unknown.

The air was so chilly it hurt to breathe. He was hardly able to keep his eyes open. Every so often he would close them, until a more vigorous breeze roused them suddenly. The pain throbbed in his paws as if there were icicles that pierced deeper with even the slightest push of wind.

But he kept on walking toward the light. As he got closer, everything began to warm up. The color started to return to the world and the snow on the ground slowly melted away. The sounds of screaming lessened and the pain in his body was no more. The glowing dot became bigger and far more noticeable the closer he got.

He passed a few more branches, the light shining brighter than ever. He finally saw what he was following; a tiny orb floating in mid-air.

He walked up to it and stared at it for a moment. Just looking at it made him feel safe; all the worries that he ever had and the troubles of his past seemed to no longer exist. He reached out with his paw and grabbed it.

His eyes opened, to find he was lying on a bed. He stood up and realized he was back in his bedroom.

"What?"

Before he could process and think about what just happened, he heard someone humming. It sounded sweet and innocent like a child. He looked under the door to see if anything was there. All he could see was light. But unlike before, this one didn't have the same security. This one felt much more aggressive. He gulped.

Loud, heavy footsteps vibrated throughout the floor. Tension grew in his face and limbs. He backed away from the door, knowing whatever was behind it was nothing good.

The screaming returned. At first low, then slowly becoming louder to the point that it started ringing in Capper's ears.

He felt cold again as a strong wind began to blow all over the room. It nearly knocked him over.

Everything was shaking, everything was freezing up again. The walls, the floor, the ceiling were now covered in snow and ice. The light underneath the door was getting brighter every second.

Capper went on his knees, covered his ears, and closed his eyes. He let out a loud scream, hoping someone would hear him. But that was when he remembered; he was all alone. Suddenly, his body wracked with raw sobs and he shook like a leaf. Fright consumed every cell in his body, swelling them with terror.

It got harder for him to breathe. He tried to move his chest, tried to suck in air, but none came. He felt nothing. He clawed at his chest helplessly. Realization dawned on him.

I'm going to die.

Then the world went quiet.

"It's okay now. There is nothing to be scared about," a voice said.

He looked up and saw none other than the Princess of the Night herself smiling down at him.

"P-Princess Luna?"

"Hello, young one. It was brought to my attention that you were having a nightmare."

Capper noticed that everything was normal again. It was as if nothing had happened. It was just his ordinary, slightly messy bedroom.

"None of this is real?"

"A nightmare is only as real as you make it," Luna answered.

He sighed in relief and laughed. "For a moment there I thought the world was ending or something. Oh boy. That makes me feel better. It felt so real."

"Most dreams do," Luna said.

"I mean, I can tell when I am dreaming. I kind of just play along with it or just watch it play out," Capper explained.

"I can tell when I'm dreaming too, but that's most likely the result of my powers."

"I'm just glad that it was a dream." Capper let out another sigh of relief and sat down on his bed.

"Yes, of course. But there is something that is bothering you, is there not?" Luna asked. She trotted closer to him.

"Let me guess, this is supposed to be the part where you try to see if there's anything wrong in my life that is causing this. Sorry to say this, but nothing is bugging me," Capper countered.

"But there is a reason you had this nightmare. It seems that there is something that's been on your mind," Luna simply stated.

"Can't you just have a nightmare for the sake of it?" Capper asked, slightly annoyed.

"Sometimes it's from guilt and trauma. Other times it's from sleep deprivation. Regardless, there's always a reason for a nightmare if you wish to acknowledge it." She sighed. "Your dream seemed troubling to me."

He smirked and leaned towards her. "From the looks of it, it seems like you've been stressed out about something."

"W-what?"

"You sound tired and worn out like you know you need to do this 'cause it's your job, but you'd rather be doing something else."

"I don't let my personal life stop me from aiding ponies in their dreams," Luna snapped.

"But that doesn't make me wrong."

Luna groaned. "So what? That's not the point. I'm here to help you based on what I saw."

"Considering that you just popped in, something tells me you didn't see everything I saw," Capper pointed out.

Her face flushed red. "What makes you so sure?"

"You would be questioning me a lot more if you saw everything."

"That is… a good point," Luna admitted. "But there had been times I let the nightmares play out when needed. It helps me see what they're going through and get a better understanding of what is frightening the sleeper. Also, I personally believe that in some circumstances, one should face his fear to learn from it. "

"But this ain't one of those times."

"I saw what I needed to see..." Luna paused. "...Tell me, what did you see?"

"I was stuck in some weird place; everything was cold and dark. There was this kid and some weird light monster," Capper started.

Luna nearly laughed. "Light monster?"

"I don't know. But I can assure you, Princess, that ever since I came here, my life has only gotten better. I finally have what I could ever want and more," Capper said. "I have nothing to be upset about."

Luna sighed in defeat. "If everything is truly fine as you say, I won't need to return." She lit up her horn and a small portal appeared in front of her.

He stood up. "That's it?"

"You said it yourself. This was just a bad dream. If that is the case, then there's no need for my presence here."

"You're challenging me."

"If I come again, then that means I was right. We'll just see what happens. Til then I bid you farewell," she spoke quickly and with one last look at him, she trotted into the portal.

Author's Note:

I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone who edited/proofread this chapter. I honestly didn't think I could do this but I wanted to challenge myself. So let's see how it goes. The next chapter will come out tomorrow.

Till Next Time!