(Thanks to Mikokittah for proofreading)
“Thanks for helping me today Assistant! I really appreciate it!”
I nod in acceptance to the teacher pony's thanks.
“No problem Cherilee. I am always available to help.”
She smiled as we continued to walk towards her schoolhouse. She had asked me to carry a new chalkboard there since the old one needs a replacement. It wasn't to hard to carry and I could use the walk.
Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pinkie. I looked over to see what she was doing. She was trotting which I immediately got worried about. The happy mare usually bounces around from place to place. She says it is just her way. She also didn't wear a smile like always. She had a tired grimace look and a blank stare. Her hair was straight and her eyes were the same from when I saw her in her bed. She also avoided eye contact with the ponies that passed her on her trot.
Out of nowhere, she looked up and began to run towards the library.
“Hm... maybe I should watch her.”
“Um, Cherilee?”
“Yes Assistant?”, She said as we both came to a stop.
“I have to go and observe something that could be trouble. Do you mind if we teleport to the school to drop off the chalkboard?”
“Uh... sure, why not.”
I took that as a yes and with my free arm, I placed it on the teachers back and we both quickly arrived at the schoolhouse. She immediately regretted it as she was stumbling to focus her eyes.
“Sorry, but I have to go. See you later Cherilee.”
She was still stumbling a little before she finally spoke in a dizzy voice.
“You do that, then... and stuff.”
I quickly find myself back on the balcony of the library.
A loud knocking then proceed on the door below. I look over the railing to see Pinkie there knocking. The door opened with a slight creak as an unseen Twilight answered it.
“Oh, hey Pinkie Pie! Is this an invitation to a party agai...”
Twilight's voice stopped abruptly and there was a slight silence.
“Are you alright Pinky? You don't look so good.”, Twilight began again.
I thought this would be the perfect time to come in.
“Yes Pinkie. Are you?”
Pinkie then looked immediately up to me in surprise.
“Assistant? But you were helping Cherilee with her board a few seconds ago!”
“I took a shortcut because this is a far more pressing mater.”
She turned her head in confusion as she pondered on what that meant. She quickly raised her head with the realization.
“You Know!?”
“Not entirely but I think I have an idea. Tell Twilight.”
Twilight poked her head out to look up at me.
“Tell me what?”
I look over to her head.
“Inside, not here.”
Me, Twilight, and Pinkie were inside around a small round table. Pinkie took a sip of her coffee she asked for. An odd drink for the sugar crazed pony. Twilight then began her questions.
“Pinkie, what's wrong?”
Pinkie then began to grow massive eyes as she began to explain.
“Oh Twilight! It's awful!”
Pinkie put her hooves on her head to show more distress.
“It's the most awful thing that has ever happened to me! I can't even believe it happened to me, it's so awful! I can't sleep! I can't rest! Even parties aren’t helping! I need relief! I need to stop this but everything I tried makes it worse!”
She put her head on the table and began to sob. Twilight looked surprised at the pink mares fear and mental pain. I was in deep thought about it.
“Can't sleep... needs relief... tried some things already...”
“What exactly is it that happened to you Pinkie?”
Pinkie raised her head to meet Twilight's reassuring smile. It didn't help. Pinkie took in a massive breath of air before speaking.
“I have been having nightmares. Awful, horrible, relentless nightmares. I kept throwing parties to forget them, but they kept coming back. I tried changing my diet, I tried relaxing before bed, I even tried falling asleep in a handstand with a lemon in my mouth wall in the shower!”
“What???”
“Nothing works! And my last nightmare...”
She began to cry and set her head back on the table. A realization pops into my head.
“That was the dream I saw her having last night. I have to get her to say what it was.”
“Nightmares?”, Twilight questioned tapping her chin.
She then got up from the table and walked over to a book shelf. She began to scan the books spines for the right one.
“No... not this one... no... no...”
This went on for a couple minutes before she finally found the right book.
“Ah-ha!”
She began to flip through the pages as she trotted back over to the table.
“A nightmare is a dream of strong negative emotions. A common occurrence that most ponies will experience. If there is a recurring dream or it becomes more terrifying with each episode there could be several reasons.”
“Medication, diet, recent events, and deep scars from the past”, I interrupted.
Twilight looked over to me with a look of shock.
“How did you know?”
“I have been to many places as you know. One place in particular was a world controlled entirely by a single persons dreams. It is where I learned how to go on without sleep and I learned more about the subject..”
She then looked over to Pinkie Pie.
“Do you think it is any recent events or things from your childhood?”, Twilight asked Pinkie.
Pinkie lifted her head wiping her eyes and thought for a moment before answering.
“Um... Maybe the incident with Rainbow a couple weeks ago could be it, but it was to terrifying for that, and I can't remember anything from my childhood that was scaring.”
Twilight looked back into the book and saw something that made her smile.
“Ooh, there is a spell in here that can make me see the memories of your dream Pinkie! Maybe if I see it we ca-”
“NO!!”, Pinkie yelled out shaking her head.
“You can't see my dreams! They're... they're...”
She covered her face with her hooves.
“They're to horrible Twilight! I don't want anypony to see what I've seen!”
Me and Twilight looked at each other before we walked over to Pinkie. We both set one of our arms on both of Pinkie's shoulders to comfort the terrified mare.
“Don't worry Pinkie.”, I began.
“We won't judge you for the dreams you had. But if they are this bad, it is best for your friends to see them so we can help you out with them.”
Pinkie uncovered her face and looked up to me. Her eyes were watery and still bloodshot.
“Really?”, She asked.
I smiled.
“Really.”
“Okay.”
Twilight's horn began to glow as she lowered it down onto pinkies head. I can feel Twilight's magic around my head as well. As soon as her horn touched Pinkies head, her dreams filled both my head and Twilight's. They were horrid dreams of pain, anguish, terror. It started out with a simple monster dreams. The dreams of the monsters were for the most part, blurry as they passed through my mind. Next was a dream of herself. She was the monster in this dream. She had long sharp claws and teeth. That dream didn't go on for long. It almost immediately ended and cut to Pinkie Pie in her normal body, but she was different. She was running around Ponyville and causing chaos. She knocked over other ponies, destroyed property, she even went to the schoolhouse and destroyed all the fillies toys. Finally, there was the last dream. The one she had last night. It was Rainbow Tied to a table. Her wings were gone and blood dripped out of where they should be. She was speaking, but the audio didn't seem to come through my head. Pinkie then appeared out of the darkness next to a medical tray. She picked up a scalpel and proceeded towards Rainbow Dash. She seemed to be motioning in a questioning manor as she spoke, but it was inaudible to me. Rainbow began to sob as she mouthed words towards the pink menace. Pinkie then patted Rainbows head and leaned in close. She mouthed more dialog before beginning her operation. Pinkie sliced down Rainbows leg with the scalpel. The pain was shown on Rainbows face as Pinkie continued.
Twilight fell back away from Pinkie trying to forget the horrors. I just stood next to Pinkie and began to think.
“Those dreams would have driven me to insanity a thousand years ago. Lucky for me that I have seen much worse.”
Twilight crashed into a book case causing it's contents to spill out and onto the floor. She was panicking from the sight of such monstrosity. She could not take horror or gore like I could.
“Pinkie... I... I had no idea.”
She slowly got back up and shakily walked back over to her friend. Pinkie sniffed as she looked over to both of us.
“I'm... I'm so sorry you both had to see that.”
I rubbed her shoulder to try and comfort her.
“Don't worry about me, I have lived long enough to see such things, but Twilight's reaction is totally normal.”
Pinkie looked back at Twilight who finally made it back over. Pinkie began to sob into Twilight's shoulder and Twilight held her close.
“It's okay Pinkie. I can see why these dreams have been eating at you. The Pinkie in those dreams is not you. We just have to figure out why you are having them and the dreams will disappear.”
Pinkie nodded in Twilight's hooves before lifting herself away from them. Twilight turned back to her book. She flipped through some pages while she talked.
“Since we know it isn't diet related we need to find out if it was a recent event or something in your physique. Has anything recent happened that you can think of besides the Rainbow incident?”
Pinkie tapped her chin to think harder.
“Well... I recently got a letter from my sister Octavia. It was just to tell me to send letters directly to her since she will be touring around Equestria.”
“Is that when the dreams started?”, I asked.
“Um... yeah!”, Pinkie answered.
“But it wasn't negative so... how could it cause the nightmares?”
Twilight and Pinkie both began to think deeply. The answer then popped into my head.
“Repressed memory.”
Both Twilight and Pinkie looked over to me.
“Repressed memory?”, They both questioned.
“Yes. It is when your mind blocks out a bad or scaring memory or moment in your life. That letter from your sister must have reminded you of something that happened to you.”
They both thought for a while before Twilight broke the silence.
“Maybe there is a spell in this book that can help.”
She began to flip through the pages of the book. She came to a stop with a “Ah-ha!” before addressing me and Pinkie.
“This spell can help find out the problem, so maybe it can make you remember the thing that happened to you! It says it can be disorienting at first but you'll get used to it.”
Pinkie thought a little at first before coming to a conclusion.
“Okay Twilight. I want you to do that spell on me.”
Twilight closed the book and turned to me and Pinkie.
“Okay Pinkie! Get ready.”
Pinkie lowered her head and closed her eyes. Twilight's horn began to glow as she lowered her horn onto Pinkies head.
Then out of nowhere, I fell forward. An unforeseen force pushed me towards Pinkie's head. My head made contact as Twilight touched Pinkie with her glowing horn. My mind went completely black as I felt out of body. I felt like I was falling but something was gliding me down slowly. As Quickly as it happened, it ended. I find myself lying face up on the wood floor of the library. I lift my head to see Pinkie also getting up.
“Twilight?”, She said aloud as she opened her eyes.
I looked around and saw no sign of Twilight. I got up and walked over to Pinkie. She stood up with me and looked around.
“Where's Twilight?”, She asked me.
I try my best to access my memory, but to no avail.
“I don't know. I only remember falling on you as Twilight did that spell.”
She quickly remembered that as well.
“Maybe we were knocked out?”
I just shrug as I notice something different. I look down at my body. It looked normal, but something was off. I quickly looked around for something sharp or blunt. I don't see anything.
“Hey Pinkie. Can you do me a favor?”
“What?”
“can you punch me in the gut?”
Her eyes grow into a questioning state.
“What!?”
“Just do it. Don't worry. If all goes well, it won't hurt me a bit.”
She pondered for a minute before answering.
“Okay...”
She raised her front hoof and punched it into my stomach. A feeling of breathlessness and pain shot into my midsection as I tumbled over to the ground.
“Oh no! Are you okay!?”
I couldn't answer. The mix of breathlessness and shock in my head as I come to a realization.
“That hurt more than it should have...”