//------------------------------//
// Nightmare (1/9/2018) 
// Story: A Pony a Day 
// by OfTheIronwilled 
//------------------------------//

The wind whistled softly against the tall coarse grass, sending it whipping against your legs. It itched. Pieces of it broke off and flew into your socks, so you dug at your ankle with the tip of your shoe mindlessly. The cold clung to your skin like a wet blanket, and the air cut you down to the bone with how chilly it was.

The darkness hummed. Your ears rang. Everything around you sang in a numb nothingness, still except for the muddied shadows of swaying trees. There was a road to your left, but no cars passed.

You stared ahead. Like you had been for a while now.

You saw teal eyes blink in front of you.

Your pulse had been racing for what felt like hours now. The thing in front of you wouldn't move. By now your eyes had adjusted, and you saw that it was what looked to be a horse with wings. Its feathers ruffled. Its chest rose and sank with hushed breath. Steam rose from its nose.

It hadn't blinked in a long, long time. Neither had you.

Eventually it opened its mouth and more steam puffed into the air, rolling off of its tongue.

Now that you looked harder, and now that its whipping hair moved just the right way, the thing looked like it had a giant bump on its head. Like a spike.

It waved around, looking deathly sharp and too close to you, as the horse spoke.

"You can't escape," it said. "No matter where you go, it will follow you."

You said nothing.

"It will hang over you like a shroud."

You said nothing. The horse stepped closer.

"You'll live with it for the rest of your life," it said.

You didn't answer. Your mouth felt tight. You tried to open your lips but couldn't.

"Do you know why?" the horse asked.

With shaking hands, you watched as it came ever closer.

"Because I said so. Because I decided so. Because these are the types of things that never truly go away."

Your face felt strange. You wanted to say something or run away, but your legs weren't moving.  So you tried to say something again. Nothing came out. You didn't feel your face move at all, even though you were trying so hard.

"The fear shall be a constant," the horse laughed. Its horn was getting closer. You didn't know what was wrong. Why did your mouth feel so numb?

You lifted your hands up to your face.

There was nothing there.

The horse smiled at you. Her teeth were brutally sharp.

"It's always missing here," she said.

You were scared.

"Good," she said.

You wanted the nightmare to end.

"Another one will come. Don't you understand, you little fool?"

You didn't.

"I am the Nightmare. And the Nightmare shall last forever."





You woke up covered in sweat. The blankets were hot, so you kicked them off with shaking legs. There were tears rolling down your face and collecting at the edges of your lips. You wiped at your cheeks and nose with the back of your hand.

You couldn't remember the nightmare anymore.

After a few moments, you collected yourself and blinked irritably at the clock. Of course. Yet another night spent tossing and turning , of waking before your alarm. And of course this had to continually happen on the nights you most needed your sleep.

You turned off your alarm seconds before it was set to go off.

You laid in bed for a few more minutes until there was a knock on the door.

"Luna?" your sister asked. Of course she was well-rested. She probably already had her suit on. "Are you awake?"

"Yes, sister," you said. You rubbed your eyes again. Then you got up for the day.

As you ate breakfast and thought of the students you would see today, you felt strange.

It felt like something was watching you.