Floating.
I am floating, floating in the darkness.
I am floating in the darkness, and there is no sound. No sound at all, save for my quiet heartbeat and my steady breathing.
Inhale, exhale. Inhale again.
I am floating in the darkness, and there is nothing there.
This is peace, I tell myself. I am safe.
I tell myself this every time I am here, but I know I am wrong.
I am floating in the darkness, and the pain begins.
“GYAHHH!”
Lucid Dreamer bolted upright in his bed. Sweat dripped profusely from his forehead, his hooves trembling as he gripped the edge of his duvet, shaking and shuddering violently as he spluttered and gasped for air. His eyes were widened to perfect circles, his pupils merely tiny pinpricks in his red-laced eyeballs.
No. Not that nightmare again. Please, not that again.
Still quivering in fright, he fumbled for his alarm clock in the blackness, knocking his glasses to the floor in the process, squinting at the red glow emanating from the digital display. 2:37 a.m. Still another five hours of sleeplessness till he was due to arise in the morning. He groaned, trying to massage the horrific images from his racing mind.
“Daddy?”
His bedroom door creaked open, letting in the silhouette of a sleepy, yet very concerned-looking filly. She yawned, rubbing her eyes with her tiny hooves. “Daddy, is everything okay?”
Lucid hurried to steady his breathing and sighed, smiling at his daughter. “Yes, Sweet. Everything is fine.”
Everything is not fine, and I want it all to stop!
“Everything is perfectly fine,” He repeated slowly, mostly just to reassure himself. “Daddy just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep, darling.”
Sweet Dreamer paused in deep thought. “Well, can I sleep here with you, daddy? Just for tonight?”
“Not tonight, Sweet. Go back to your room.”
“Please, daddy? Pretty please? You’re always so busy, so we barely ever get to spend time together… please? Just for tonight?”
Even in the pitch-black darkness of the room, Lucid could still make out his daughter’s imploring puppy-dog eyes glinting in the moonlight that beamed through the window behind him. Her mouth was curled up into a pout, her little pink ears flopped downwards pleadingly.
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, just this once.”
Sweet Dreamer’s ears perked back up as she broke into a wide grin, immediately clambering onto the bed eagerly. “Now you don’t have to worry about nightmares anymore, daddy. I’ll protect you!” She snuggled under the covers, her father lovingly ruffling her lilac mane.
“Goodnight, daddy!”
“Goodnight, Sweet Dreamer.”
Lucid turned onto his side and shut his eyes, allowing his weariness to pass over him like a wave of tranquility, his muscles relaxing one by one as his heartbeat slowed once again to a silent, steady rhythm…
“Daddy?”
His eyes snapped back open and he groaned in slight exasperation. “What is it now, Sweet?”
“What do you think my cutie mark is going to be? Everypony in my class has their cutie mark, and I’m the only one left with this stupid blank flank.” Sweet Dreamer sighed, staring up at the ceiling. “Maybe it’ll be a paintbrush. I’m good at painting. Or maybe a bicycle. I’m good at —”
“I’m sure whatever cutie mark you get, it’ll be worth the wait,” Lucid interrupted, eager to get back to sleep.
“But what if I never get my cutie mark? What if I stay a blank flank forever?”
Her father sighed, turning to look at her. “Sweet, you know nopony stays a blank flank forever. Besides, cutie mark or no, your mother and I will always be proud of you. Just let your hooves follow your dreams, and everything else will fall into place as it should be.”
Sweet smiled. “That sounds good enough for me. Goodnight!”
“Goodnight.”
And so Lucid shut his eyes once again, but only after he took one longing glance at the photo frame sitting on his nightstand. In it, it was a lovely, warm summer day, and he and his beloved wife were pushing Sweet back and forth on the swings, each of them bearing a huge grin on their face, though Sweet’s had chocolate ice-cream smeared all over hers. Lucid smiled, relishing the memory. It was one of his favourites.
How he wished it could always remain like this. How he wished his daughter would never have to grow up and leave him behind.
What a silly proposition, he chided himself. Of course he wanted Sweet to grow up. Like everypony else, she had a destiny to fulfil, a real-life purpose to carry out. And he couldn’t wait to find out what that was.
It was just that… he was so swamped with work right now — so many projects and tasks bombarding him like a torrential downpour of stress. He wished he had more time to spend with Sweet… but he didn’t. That was a good enough excuse, right?
He curled back up into a comfortable position, getting ready to go back to sleep.
“… hey daddy? How do wings work? I mean, it’s easy for all the pegasus ponies, but we’re unicorns, so I always wondered —”
“Go to sleep, Sweet,” Lucid warned.
“Oh. Right. Sorry,” Sweet chuckled, closing her eyes as well. Before long, she was fast asleep, her chubby little tummy going up and down as she breathed in and out.
Lucid smiled and shut his eyes yet again, letting out a hushed whisper:
Sweet dreams, my dear.
I am floating.
I am floating, floating in the darkness.
I am floating in the darkness, and there is no sound. No sound at all, save for my —
Wait. Who’s there? Where’s that laughing noise coming from?
Who are you? Why are you laughing at me?
Please, show yourself!
…
Hello?
Please, I just want to know what’s going on. Why do I keep having this dream? What does it all mean?
Why does it always end in —
…
I am floating in the darkness, and the pain begins.