Dream realm 2: Bogeymare Music by Nomine

 

(05/03/2022)

 

 

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Sable Plumes, Dream Spirit Extraordinaire, Weaver of Good Dreams, Beloved of Foals, and Babysitter of Wee Wynken, groaned to herself as she crumpled up yet another sheet of paper and flung it to the cloudy floor of her home, the soft surface accepting the offering and absorbing it properly.

 

The sandmare buckled down, head in her hooves as she sighed and shook her mane and feathers out, grains of stardust poofing all around her as she gave her wings a few flippity flaps. Of all the times to get an artist's block, she had to get one right before Nightmare Night. One of the nights each year that she tried so hard to make special for all the little foals after they went to bed stuffed with sweets and treats.

 

She had such a major bash and blowout planned! Wee Wynken was even onboard, allowed to stay up and play with the littlest ones and keep them happy as well. It was going to be great! She had slides and rides, games and prizes, and even some fireworks planned for the grand finale!

 

There was just one problem. One itty bitty problem. One teeny tiny eensy weensy but oh so very crucial detail…

 

Music.

 

She had absolutely no band available to her. And while whipping up music was nothing new to the eldest dream spirit, her powers weren't suited to the ghoulish music needed for a good Nightmare Night party dream anyways. Of course, even if she were, she was already going to be spending every grain of her sand on this.

 

Flopping her head onto her desk, Sable groaned again. There was really no help for it. There was no other way around it. She had to face the cold, hard truth. She would either have to cancel the party…

 

Or she would have to face Violet in her own realm, and beg her for help.

 

------

 

The wind was moaning and howling through the skeletally bare limbs of the trees on the path to Violet’s abode. The air was chilly, biting at her nose and ears, and it reeked of dust, filled with that scent you only find in a dark basement. Sable shivered as she pulled her wings around herself, unable to help herself from being more than a little creeped out by the atmosphere around her. As she always did, she wondered what Violet saw in this stuff.

 

Still, she steeled herself. She wasn’t about to let a few simple little scares drive her off of her mission. This party was that important! All the foals were counting on her, and so was Wynken. She had to…had to face her own fears. Had to face down the spirit of foalhood terror.

 

“Snap out of it, Sable!” she scolded herself, lightly slapping her own cheek as she flared her own wings, calling the last of her excess sand into a small aura of light around herself, driving back the darkness and gloom of the nightmare realm just a little bit. Just enough that she could catch her breath and keep walking. And walking. And walking.

 

She strode as far as she could before she finally had to stop and let her hooves rest. Sighing, she shook her head. She really should have expected this, Violet’s realm did this to all visitors, the oppressive atmosphere of gloom was entirely deliberate on her sister spirit’s part. Built from the ground up to make naughty foals who wandered in easier to scare. Easier prey for…

 

Wait…what was that clattering sound?

 

Sable looked down next to her hooves…why were those pebbles bouncing around?

 

Sable screamed suddenly as, with a yawning roar, the ground beneath her opened into a yawning chasm. Unable to even spread her wings, the spirit of dreams fell down to the ground, bouncing into a hole where the darkness engulfed her, closing behind her with a snap!

 

—---

 

She lost track of how long she had been screaming until she opened her eyes, looking around a dimly lit room. She was sitting at a table in what appeared to be the dining area of a large single room house. All around her were small figurines and toys, a four poster bed sat off in one corner, a kettle on the stove was softly starting to burble while two cups sat next to it. There was even a small television with a game station sitting there. Sable grumped to herself…how did Violet get that?!

 

“Ahem.” came a prickly voice, and Sable’s gaze was drawn over to the other side of the table, where Violet sat in all her emaciated fuchsia glory.

 

“Nice of you to drop in. Literally.” she said, the bogeymare shaking her head. “I’m going to cut to the chase…you know I told you never to enter my realm. But not only did you, you even dared to conjure that wretched aura around yourself. You dared to bring light into my lair.” she said, her voice fading into a guttural snarl towards the end.

 

Sable actually gulped at that last bit…she had forgotten how much Violet hated light.

 

“But…I won’t deny you have my curiosity, Sandy.” she continued, folding her hooves in front of herself as her voice lost its snarling tone. “You wouldn’t make the long trek out to and through my demesne for no reason. Certainly not because you wanted a cup of tea.” she said, then stood up and slithered over to where the kettle was now whistling and singing. Pouring tea into the two cups, she looked back. “I’d ask one lump or two, but knowing your sugary sweet self I’m going to guess the answer is four.” she said.

 

“Um...I…” Sable said, taken aback before Violet brought over a cup on a saucer to her, complete with a little spoon and the promised four lumps of sugar. “Thank you.”

 

“Don’t mention it. Ever.” she replied, taking her own cup and reclaiming her seat. “I had just put the kettle on when I felt you enter my realm. I let you wander a while so it would have time to boil before I pulled you down here.” she said, stirring two lumps of sugar into her cup.

 

Sable looked down at her own cup, wondering just what was with this filly…first she gets nasty and then offers her a cup of tea? Still, she stirred the four lumps of sugar into her own cup, ignoring Violet’s smirk as she did so. She did like her tea sweet.

 

“I wanted to ask you for help, Vio…”

 

“Terror!” came the snapped response. “I told you not to call me by my name, Sandy.”

 

“S-Sorry. I wanted to ask you for help, Terror. I’m planning a Nightmare Night party, and I have almost everything else done. The decorations are ready, the treats and snacks are in place, I’ve put all the games up, but I’m missing the band. And I…”

 

“Let me guess, you’re out of sand after setting all that up.” Terror snarked, baring her fangs as she set her cup down, those steely eyes looking at her. “And you want me to try and summon one for you. Why? Why didn’t you ask Wynky?”

 

“He’s going to be there…”

 

“It’ll be long past his bedtime.”

 

“It’s Nightmare Night, we can all take the day off tomorrow…”

 

“Fine, I suppose that works. But why not ask him to do the music?” Terror asked again, then held up a hoof. “Wait, let me guess, because he’s going to be busy playing, right?”

 

Sable nodded and Terror let out an annoyed huff. “Let me finish my cup of tea and I’ll think about it. I still have to consider how I’m going to deal with you coming into my realm unannounced and uninvited.” she said.

 

Sable nodded again, and what followed were the longest ten minutes she could remember. Pure unadulterated silence as both of them sipped from their cups. Funnily enough, she noticed Vi actually had excellent table manners, and her teacups and saucers were very pretty.

 

“Very well.” came her answer into the silence, startling Sable out of her reverie. “I will help you. I’ll summon an entire herd of fear spirits to serve as your band.” she said, and Sable started to smile before Terror held up a hoof.

 

“However, there are three conditions to my doing this. And you have to agree to all three of them or I walk.” she said.

 

Sable gulped. “Name them.”

 

“Condition the first,” she said, levitating a small spoon in her magic. “I get to pick the music. Your goody four-hooves sugar-plum self wouldn’t know proper spooky music if it grew fangs and bit you on the tail.”

 

Sable blushed, but she had to admit she was right. Being the spirit of good dreams didn’t lend itself to spooky scary skele-tunes very much. “Agreed.”

 

“Condition the second: I get to attend the party, and while I am there I get to scare you whenever I want. It IS Nightmare Night after all, and I AM the spirit of fear.” she continued.

 

Sable sighed. Tough call but…hey. “Hey wait a minute! That’s three right there!”

 

“Nope. Only two, that second one is a two-parter.” Terror said, grinning and showing those fangs. “Now, do you agree?”

 

Another sigh came from the Sandmare as she slowly nodded. “Fine, I agree.”

 

“And thirdly, though this one doesn’t apply to the party…you have to let me give you a spanking.” Terror said, folding her hooves once more and giving Sable an evil look.

 

“Wait what?! Why? No! That’s not part of…”” Sable stammered out, standing up and backing away.

 

“Well, for one, I have wanted to give your goody goody flank what was coming to it for a very long time, little Miss Sweet Dreams. And for two, you came to my realm without asking, entered unannounced…both of those in spite of the fact I told you never ever ever to come here. And on top of all that, you conjured light in my domain. So, all those together…it comes down to your choice. Spanking, or no music for your party.” Vi said, standing up herself.

 

Sable gulped then. She had her. She had her pinned in a metaphorical corner. She couldn’t disappoint the foals, and she needed the music for the party.

 

Hanging her head, the Sandmare groaned. “V..very well. Agreed.”

 

—----------

 

The metaphorical corner had turned to a literal one, as Violet…Terror, she reminded herself… ordered Sable to go and stand in one of the corners of her house while she cleaned up after tea. Sable had offered to help, but…

“If you think I’m letting your sandy self anywhere near my good teacups, think again!”

 

So, here she was, wings folded, nose pressed against the wall, hooves behind her head, tail down, and dreading what was to come. Already she was very uncomfortable, her hind legs starting to cramp up.

 

She heard the sounds of water running, of Terror scrubbing away at her cups and her teapot, and snuck a small peek out the corner of her eye. Interestingly, she noticed that the wall itself was…immaculate, really. Even cleaner than her own house. Not a cobweb to be seen anywhere, nor a speck of dust. She honestly hadn’t expected Terror to be such a good…

 

“Alright!” came that voice, and Sable winced…apparently it was time.

 

She turned around to find Terror sitting on her bed, with what appeared to be a hairbrush sitting right next to her. Sable gulped a little more as she carefully came out of the corner and approached. “T…Terror…is the hairbrush really necessary?” she asked.

 

The bogeymare nodded, smirking a bit. “Unless you’d rather I take my nightmare form and spank you with my claws, I do believe it most certainly is necessary.” she said, grinning. “Now, over my lap. You’ve been in this position before, I’m sure.”

 

Sable didn’t want to admit it, but it was true. She had been spanked more than once during her time among ponies, and even after becoming the sandmare she had on occasion wound up over a knee. She whined a bit as she climbed onto the bed, putting herself across those offered knees.

 

She felt those hooves, stronger than they should have been, move around her body, picking up her tail and pinning it to her back, pinning her wings to her sides. “Now, I’m not going to bind you like I do some naughty ponies when I spank them in their dreams…I am going to assume you’re a big enough filly to know not to kick and bite and try to escape.” came that voice.

 

Sable nodded, wiggling a little bit more. Then felt that hoof rubbing over her flank cheeks, and winced. “H…How many?” she asked, only to get a firm pat in response.

 

“No number. This is going to be for a length of time, just like I give other naughty foals. They don’t get to know when their nightmares will end, or their spankings. Neither should you.” Terror said.

 

“T…Then how long will it la…Oh.” Sable started to say, but the second sentence put the end to her words.

 

“Until I think you’ve learned your lesson.” came the ominous response, as that hoof left her bottom.

 

And then Sable let out a yelp as it clapped down onto her flanks, leaving a small patch of skin protesting such a blow. “Ow!”

 

Terror chuckled, and then smacked her three more times, each one causing the sandmare to wince and wiggle. “Goodness, you’re wiggling just from four swats? Am I spanking Sable or Wynken here?” she taunted, continuing to swat and spank her elder spirit.

 

Sable was already sniffling. Terror was no weakling, and those hoof spanks hurt so much! She felt like her bottom was already beginning to turn red, even through her tawny fur. And she wasn’t stopping, not even to give her a break!

 

Left and right, left and right, Terror spanked her on and on, each blow of hoof to rear making Sable cry out again, yelping and sobbing out. No tears had fallen from her eyes just yet, but it was only a matter of time.

 

And then Terror did something that made Sable shriek, as her hoof danced down and began spanking over those untouched sit spots, the bogeymare expertly placing her swats exactly where Sable was mentally begging and pleading for her not to aim for.

 

It took only about ten swats there before Sable finally gave in and started to cry, her bottom hurt! “Please! Please, I just…”

 

“Save it.” came the harsh interrupting response, as her cries and pleas were drowned out by a quartet of spanks up and down her crease. “You know what you did that landed you over my knees!”

 

Sable wriggled then, the pain too great to bear anymore as she tried to flare her wings, but couldn’t. There was something binding them, holding them to her sides.

 

And then the spanking stopped for a moment, and she felt Terror twist around. Knowing what was going to happen, Sable tried to jump up. “NO! No, I’ve been punished enough!” she said, calling her light into herself, the last vestige she had to snap that binding on her wings.

 

Terror winced as the light pierced the gloom, watching as the band of shadows around Sable’s wings snapped like a twig.

 

Sable rose up a little bit, only for her light to suddenly fade out entirely as she dropped back onto Terror’s lap, looking up at her sister spirit and gulping.

 

Terror stared down at her, then shook her head. “That was your last chance to really get out of it. Now you’re really going to get it.” she said, then Sable found herself grabbed and yanked down hard. Another band wrapped around her wings, and her forehooves were pulled up and forced into a different band along with her tail. Now all she could do was kick her hind legs.

 

And then Terror really started spanking, that awful hairbrush bringing back every bit of pain from before as Sable began to cry and buck and sob, unable to stop her hooves from drumming on the bed.

 

Left and right, up and down, Sable felt the hard wood of that brush impact her poor flanks, which she was sure were now as red as a tomato. Even without her sand they would probably glow.

 

Terror wasn’t stopping either, in fact she was picking up speed. Where she had once had a measured pace, now she was simply bringing the brush down as fast as she possibly could as her captive sobbed and cried and hiccupped.

 

Sable lost track of time as she hung there over Terror’s knees, each strike seeming to meld with the last one to create a single cacophony of pain on her poor bottom. But then, right as she was about to simply give fully in and cry…

 

“What did you do wrong?” came that voice, and the spanking paused, though the brush went down to rub over her sit spots.

 

“Please…please not there…” Sable begged, only for her words to be met with a swift five swats to each spot, leaving her bawling for a few seconds.

 

“I asked you a question, Sable Plumes.” Terror’s voice came again. “What did you do wrong? I expect an answer.”

 

“I…I…I came here without asking you…” Sable said, tentatively. She expected more swats, and was not disappointed as that brush smacked over her sit spots again, and she kicked her legs in response.

 

“What else did you do wrong?” came that voice, and she gulped.

 

“I…I came here without saying I was coming either…” she said, and that same brush came down across both of her cheeks, even as her legs kicked out again…it really hurt so much.

 

Then she felt herself moving, being pushed forward. Suddenly the angle she was bent at became much smaller, and she felt Terror closing her own legs around hers. She was really pinned now, bent over one knee and not even able to kick. Her bottom was at Terror’s mercy.

 

“What else did you do wrong?” came the voice, and there was a sound of magic as something much bigger tapped her bottom now. A…A paddle.

 

Sable knew why she was going to get paddled too. “I…I conjured light…where not light belongs.” she hiccupped. “And tried to escape my spanking by doing it again.” she said.

 

“That’s right. Now accept your punishment.” came the voice.

 

And then Sable found out how nonexistent that mercy was, as that huge paddle came down over her entire rear at once. She howled out as the pain erupted along her flanks, only to cry even more as it spanked her again and again.

 

There were no more words from Terror now, only the rhythmic sound of a naughty filly rear being justly disciplined for her misdeeds. A cadence of claps against a bright red sandy bottom, a paddled posterior protesting its treatment as its owner sobbed out her remorse for her misdeeds.

 

Poor Sable was lost in her tears, unable to even think anymore. Half-formed apologies, begging for Terror to stop, all could only form and die in her throat. There was only her crying as that paddle came down again and again.

 

Finally, as she was succumbing entirely to the pain, she felt the paddle come down five times fast, and then the spanking stopped. It was finally over.

 

She felt her bindings snap as she laid there, draped across a single knee of a filly two years her junior…sort of. She no longer cared as she felt herself be lifted up, able only to cry as she was carefully laid onto the bed with her head on a pillow.

 

Finally, after who knew how long, she was able to stop sobbing, to look up. And to see Terror sitting there in a rocking chair, reading a book. “Finally caught your breath, Sugar Plum?” she asked, and Sable nodded, wiping an eye with a feather.

 

“Good. Then go and get back in the corner. You can stay there until you stop crying entirely, then wash your face and get out. I’ll be there at your party tonight, and keep up my end of the bargain. A whole herd of fear spirits, as I promised.”

 

Sable winced, but moved to obey, carefully stepping back towards the corner as she clambered off the bed, wincing with every step. As she planted her nose back on that immaculate wall, she tried to take a deep breath. The sooner she stopped crying, the sooner she could leave.

 

—----------

 

“So, Wynken, that’s why my bottom is still rather red.” Sable said to her junior spirit, the small colt smiling up at her as he sipped from a foal’s cup of punch. “But hey, it was definitely worth…”

 

“BOO!” came a shriek from behind her, right under her spanked bottom. Sable jumped as Violet grinned a snarky grin at her before slithering off again.

 

Sable composed herself, looking down at Wynken. The party was in full swing now, and the two of them had stolen a quick moment to refresh themselves at the snack bar. The rides were all full of happy foals, the candy and punch were being consumed in crazy amounts, and even Wynken’s ship had been converted into a pirate-themed playground for a while.

 

Best of all was the music, though. Lots of foals were simply dancing away the night as spooky tunes played over the entire shindig, courtesy of the band Violet had summoned. True to the shadow filly’s word, a whole herd of fear spirits had answered her call, forming into a gruesomely ghoulish band straight out of a scary movie!

 

“Ahem. Yes, Wynken, even though I got spanked and had to let Violet scare me all night, it’s very much worth it. I mean, look at all these happy foals! And we can all take the day off tomor…”

 

“BOO!” came that shriek again, right under her troubled tushie, and Sable jumped a few feet in the air as she flared her wings, grumping as Violet smirked before melding back into the shadows.

 

Wynken was giggling as she came back down, and she gave him a playful glare. “Well, I’m glad you think it’s funny.” She said, leaning down to nuzzle him. “I wouldn’t laugh too much if I were you though, or she might come after you too.” she teased.

 

Wynken stifled his giggles with a spooked ‘EEP’, and Sable smiled as she picked him up for a hug before setting him back down. “Don’t worry, Wynky, she’s focused on me right now. And besides, like I said, it was completely worth it.”

 

“Was it really worth a big bad spanking, and being scared all the whole party?” Wynken asked, and Sable smiled and kissed the top of his head.

 

As he yech’ed and pulled back, she nodded and looked at the band of spirits, a whole herd of them playing their nonexistent hearts out.

 

“BOO!” came Violet’s voice from behind her, and Sable leapt forward, right over Wynken!

 

She sighed as she looked back at the youngest of them, seeing him look at her with a giggle again. “It was indeed, Wynky.” she said. “After all…”

 

“A Herd in the Band is worth Boo in the Tush.”