//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Recreational Distractions // Story: Night Terrors // by TikiBat //------------------------------// The quiet hum of the fan in their room filled Silver’s ears as his perceptions slowly came back to him. For as weird and borderline crazy as his adventure in the dream realm had been, the one thing he could always count on was the cozy embrace of both Scarlet and his comfy bed. “Sleep well?” Scarlet groggily asked. “Mhmm.” Silver contentedly replied. “Had some weird run-ins though.” “Oh yeah?” She asked. “Wanna tell me about it?” Silver shifted his weight and rolled over to face her, but when he did he let out an unexpected yelp as he flexed one of his hooves.  Scarlet’s eyes bolted open and she hopped out of bed. “What’s wrong?” Silver held his hoof close to him and rolled out of bed. As Scarlet kicked on the lights she let out a surprised yelp of her own. “That’s what,” Silver replied as he looked at the bloody bed sheets.  “Ummm… Okay, wanna tell me how that happened then?” Scarlet asked. Silver held up his injured hoof and stared at the cut with a puzzled expression. “This is one of the weird things.” “Uh-huh. So what happened then?” “It’s going to sound crazy,” he replied. “Trust me.” “Weirder than waking up in a bloodstained bed?” Scarlet retorted. Silver let out a sigh. “Okay, yesterday I went exploring some weird dream with my friends, and my hoof got cut up on some broken glass.” “And it somehow got cut up out here?” Silver shrugged. “I told you it’d sound crazy. But unless I broke free of your cuddly death grip and sleepwalked out and somehow cut up my hoof that way then I don’t know what to tell you.” Scarlet looked around at the grisly scene and then over towards Silver, letting out a deep sigh. “Okay. Well first things first, we need to disinfect that and at least get it wrapped up so it doesn’t get any worse. Mind if I take a look at it?” Silver held the bloody hoof close and nodded. “Go ahead.” Scarlet gently guided it closer to one of the lights, turning it slightly and having Silver flex it. “Well the good news is it doesn’t look deep enough to need stitches, the bad news is that you probably need to walk around like a three-legged dog for a while so it doesn’t get irritated more. Not going to be fun, but at least it’s better than a trip to the urgent care.” Silver shrugged. “I’ve dealt with worse.” “We both have,” Scarlet chuckled. “But that doesn’t answer my question though, why did something that happened in a dream carry over into the waking world?” Silver considered how to answer, but was genuinely at a loss for words. No matter how hard he tried to reconcile what had happened and explain it, he just simply couldn’t. There was no logical reason why his injury had sustained itself unless what Psychic Calm had said carried more far-reaching implications than he understood. With an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, Silver scrunched up his muzzle and looked back at her. “I told Psychic about this and he seemed to think we were dealing with a whole different dream realm entirely.” “A whole different dream realm?” Scarlet skeptically raised an eyebrow. “Something to that effect,” Silver nodded. “I couldn’t tell you why this cut carried over to here, but I could probably come up with a wild theory.” “Yeah? Well lay it on me then,” She pushed further. “There’s a lot of things that would have been impossible years ago that aren’t now.” Silver nervously paused, unsure of whether he should actually say what was on his mind or not. He knew that he had no real reason to doubt himself— for as skeptical as Scarlet was, she was also surprisingly open to so many other wild ideas… but all things considered, this was a very wild theory and Silver had no clue how Scarlet would react to it. “What if I actually somehow crossed into a different realm?” Scarlet blinked a few times and furrowed her brow. “You mean like how I went to Equestria? I don’t want to discredit your theory, but that portal wasn’t something any regular old pony— especially a pony who uses dream magic and can’t manifest very much of it in the waking world, could make. Especially not while sleeping.” “I know, it sounds ridiculous, but hear me out. Psychic said it was a different realm— that much is confirmed. So what if whatever happens to my dream form in there… carries over to my waking body?” Scarlet glanced over to the window and chuckled. “Then tomorrow I want you to dream up that new telescope I’ve been wanting to get and that can be an early birthday present.” Silver laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think it works that way, sorry,” he held up his injured hoof. “I had a bandage wrapping this up in the dream realm, but that obviously didn’t carry over here. So I’m gonna guess that if my theory is right, then whatever happens in there only carries over if it’s something that physically affects me.” “Right…” Scarlet started. “So that’s more concerning then, and I’m going to guess that you closed off whatever magical portal you used to get there then?” Silver nodded. “Yeah. Psychic suggested that given the fact that clearly, we don’t know enough about it to actually do anything safely.” “Good. I don’t need to say this then, but I don’t want you going in there again, as tempting as it might be.” “Trust me,” Silver began to reassure her. “I learned my lesson about messing with things I don’t know the full scope of before, and well, you know how that went.” “Yep, I still think about that big scary storm that almost washed away our home, and I’d rather not have any kind of magical dream realm repeat seeping out.” Silver smiled. “Why don’t we get cleaned up? The sooner we can get our day started the sooner we can put this on the backburner, and the sooner it fades away into another item on the list of experiments that we don’t need to revisit.” “I think that sounds like a good plan,” She looked back at the bloodied sheets and let out a sigh. “We need to do the laundry and shower off too— and I’d probably shower first if I were you.” “You don’t want to go do the laundry covered in blood?” Silver teased. “Nope!” She replied. “Unless you want to mop the floors, that is.” “Alright,” Silver took a glance towards the bathroom door. “I guess that’s a fair enough point.”  “Of course it is,” Scarlet laughed. “Why don’t you go get the water running, and I’ll check on Orion. Then we can get our day started the right way.” Silver finished drying himself off and laughed as he watched Orion try his best to avoid the same. Scarlet was quicker than him though, and in a moment the colt was quickly being enveloped in a towel.  “So what’s on your mind for today?” Scarlet asked as she continued to dry Orion off.  “I dunno,” Silver smiled as he trotted over to help her. “I’m at a loss for what we should do.” “That’s a surprise,” Scarlet laughed. “Guess that dream really did shake you up, eh?” “Mhmm. Something like that.” Finished with her task, Scarlet ushered Orion out of the bedroom and beckoned Silver to follow. “There’s a lot we could do.” “Surprise me?” Silver offered. “I don’t want to make you plan everything out on your own, and I certainly don’t want you to think I can’t do it myself.” “But you’re burned out and exhausted from everything and just want to be told what to do this weekend?” Scarlet finished for him.  “Something like that,” Silver nodded. “It’s always fun thinking of stuff together but truth be told my mind’s been racing and I just need a couple of days where I can just go with the flow and not have to think too much.” A sly smirk started to spread across Scarlet’s face as they trotted into the kitchen. “You’re giving me a lot of power, you know?” “Yep, and I’m fine with that.” “Good. So you won’t fight me if I want to give you a makeover then?” She asked teasingly.  “Only if we can get some matching comfy outfits after,” Silver played along. “I’m honestly fine doing whatever, just as long as I get to spend some quality time with you and Orion.” “That’s fair. Guess I’ll think it over while you make breakfast.” “Can do,” Silver cheerfully replied. “Want your usual?” “Maybe some French toast today? That’s kind of your speciality.” Silver smiled. “Coming right up.” Like an artist in his studio, Silver gleefully assembled all of the ingredients and tools that he’d need to prepare his delicious, if not a little gourmet, breakfast. A few fresh eggs, some of the good bread, and even some freshly squeezed orange juice from the other day. Combined with the help of a few handy gadgets it was all he needed to craft the perfect meal to start their day off right. As he started to organize and prepare everything he couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that before meeting Scarlet he rarely ever did this kind of thing for himself. It wasn’t as if he was a bad cook, but he simply never had the need to make anything more than a small meal. Starting with the eggs, he flipped on the stove and reached into the carton with one of his tools, cracking it over the pan with ease. The French toast soon followed and with some well-practiced precision, breakfast was made up in no time at all. With a small sense of pride, Silver trotted to the table and started making their plates. It wasn’t long until the savory smells of a lovingly made breakfast attracted the attention of Scarlet and Orion. “So, think any more about the plans for today?” Silver asked in between mouthfuls of french toast. “Mhmm,” Scarlet replied. “I thought it’d be fun to go do something as a family that’s a little more… varied than what we usually do.” “Oh? What’s your idea?” “Remember how my coworkers said they were going to have a little tournament at the rec center? Well, it’s only open on the weekends right now and I figured that’d be a fun thing to check out instead of doing our usual stuff.” Silver smiled. “Sounds like a nice change of pace to me.” “Yep. Then when we’re done we could go play in the park across the street then maybe go to the lake if you wanted to. That’ll probably wear Orion down a lot.” “Which is always a good thing,” Silver chuckled. “It might just be the kind of thing I need to clear my head too.” “Exactly, so once you’re ready we can head out.” Silver nodded and finished up his breakfast. Together with Scarlet, they rinsed the dishes off and dropped them off in the dishwasher before collecting their things. Loud music echoed in the tightly packed room and the bright blinking lights of the quaint selection of games bombarded Silver’s senses, bringing forth both a glowing nostalgia and perhaps a small amount of irritation with it. He had never paid it much attention as a human, but as a pony that kind of sensory overload was all the more present and hard to tune out.  Upon entering, Scarlet immediately trotted over to greet her two coworkers, who were deep in a game of Galaga. Silver took a quick peek over at the trio, keeping mind of Orion who was hiding between his legs and staring around in awe of the strange new surroundings. The older stallion couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head as he nudged the colt forward.  “Come on Orion, if you think this is cool then you’re gonna love the actual games.” Orion looked up at Silver with a giant grin on his face and slowly nodded his head. Silver led him over to Scarlet, and he couldn’t help but twitch his ears as the two humans’ shouting picked up in intensity.  “The eastern observatory is sooo gonna be mine, I hope you know that,” Tyler taunted.  Sarah shrugged. “It’s a little early to call it, don’t you think?” “She’s got a point you know,” Scarlet added. “What’s so good about the eastern one anyways?” “I’m right handed,” Tyler replied.  “Riiiiiight,” Sarah nodded. “And that means you need to get the right observatory?” “Mhmm,” Tyler smirked. “And with that…” his last life ran out, but nonetheless displayed the new high score. “I think I’m well on my way to winning it.” “You think?” Sarah chuckled. “Because I think we’re pretty close to being evenly matched right now.” “Might I interject?” A dark blue pony with a tattoo on one of her webbed wings asked as she trotted up. “I think it’s pretty obvious that both of you aren’t going to get anywhere further… that said, I’ve got an idea.” “Do you now?” Sarah asked. “Lay it on me then.” “How about a nice game of air hockey? Some intern brought one over and set it up out in the back room, i'm thinking it might be the perfect way to break a tie if you ask me.” Tyler looked over at Sarah with a confident grin. “What do you say? Wanna give it a shot?” “Only if you’re okay with losing,” Sarah replied with a devious grin.  Sine Wave gestured towards an unmarked door behind her. “Then that settles it, you two can duke it out and see who’s really the ultimate gaming champ.” As the two humans scampered off to the adjacent room, Sine leaned in towards the three other ponies. “I dunno about you guys but they can get so loud sometimes. I hope you don’t mind that I sent them off on their own for a bit.” Scarlet shook her head. “I have to work with them, so that’s all fine by me.” “Poor thing,” Sine flashed a mock look of pity. “So what brings you two here?” “Scarlet figured it’d be a fun family outing,” Silver answered. “Truth be told, I was kind of looking for an excuse to come down here anyways.” “Seeing one of your closest friends wasn’t a good enough excuse?” Sine countered back with an over the top tone carrying in her voice.  “That was maybe a part of it,” Scarlet admitted. “I heard about what happened with your garden yesterday and figured you’d probably bury yourself in work here or something.” As if those words were cursed, Sine’s entire disposition changed in a heartbeat. “Oh, you did?” She replied. “Guess I can’t be surprised, must have been some big spectacle for everyone to see.” “What even happened?” Silver innocently asked.  Sine let out an annoyed grunt. “That dumb bird brain damaged my property is what. He’s lucky I’m not some instinct driven ghoul otherwise he’d be in for a world of pain.” Scarlet cringed back a little at the sound of what Sine was implying. “Gee, I can’t blame you for pulling more hours here then. I’d be pretty mad too.” “He’s lucky I’m so… distracted with my work,” Sine replied, evidently doing her best not to curse out the thought of the troublesome pegasus in question in front of the Eclipses.  Picking up on her anger, Silver changed subjects as best he could. “On the bright side, it’s giving people more to do at night, the extra weekend hours are great if you ask me.” “Yeah,” Scarlet agreed. “We might have to make this a more regular thing.” “By all means, feel free too. Maybe more people coming here could convince the city planners to let me build out a proper arcade.” Silver tensed up at the reminder of the other part of his job. “You never know,” he meekly offered. “I know they’re a pain to deal with but I’m sure even more night life would be a fantastic idea.” “Mhmm, guess we’ll wait and see then. I could use another big project to clear my mind anyhow.” “In the meantime…” Silver started, nudging Orion forward. “Got any suggestions for something the little one might enjoy?” Looking down at Orion and seeing his adorably excited smile seemed to almost immediately improve Sine’s mood. “You know what? I think I do.” With a less angry spring in her step, Sine led the trio towards a space-themed pinball machine that had evidently been modified to sit at a more pony-friendly level. “Now we’re talking,” Silver grinned. “You think he’ll like it?” Sine pressed a button on the back of the machine and it suddenly came to life, immediately capturing Orion’s attention as it booted up. “I’m pretty sure,” She smiled. “It’s on free play so why don’t you let the little one find out for himself.” Silver looked down at Orion and smiled. “I was always a little bummed that I’d never get to teach you how to ride a bike… but I think this’ll be an even more adorable memory to make.” Scarlet couldn’t help but chuckle at how dorky Silver was being, and simply held up her gauntlet. “Want me to film it for you?” Silver broke his gaze from the flashy machine for a moment and nodded. “Of course, we’re gonna wanna rewatch it again.” “Right,” Scarlet flipped on the recorder. “Well let’s start making another adorable family memory.” The trip to the rec center’s tiny game room had proved to be the perfect diversion that the family needed. With as stressed out as Silver had been lately, spending a fun day together with his family was exactly what he needed to get his mind off of the weird and almost frightening dream discoveries that he had been embarking on as of late. It was weird to think, but just having an enjoyable day with the two ponies he loved most made things feel almost painfully normal— which was perfectly alright by him. A trip to the park had followed, but in surprisingly stark contrast to the usual, Orion almost seemed less interested in playing around there. Be it the lack of his two new friends, or maybe the allure of the arcade still holding his attention, he just didn’t seem to want to run around and play like he usually did. If it wasn’t for the fact that he lit up at the idea of going to the lake then Silver would have almost been seriously concerned. Given how much Orion genuinely loved the family lake visits, Silver knew he had nothing to worry about.  As they calmly trotted along the path towards the lake, Scarlet’s gauntlet buzzed a few times, giving her a moment of hesitation as she glanced down at the device’s screen. With widened eyes, she let out a small gasp and double checked that the readout wasn’t being misread or anything.  “What’s up?” Silver furrowed his brow and tried to sneak a glance at the screen.  “Nothing,” Scarlet clearly lied as she pulled her foreleg away, blocking his view.  This might normally be cause for concern, but just reading her body language told Silver that this wasn’t some terrible news his wife had received, but rather it was likely something that was the complete opposite instead.  A small smirk creeped across the stallion’s face and he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. “You’re a terrible liar.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Scarlet replied.  “It means that clearly, you got some amazing news because we’re stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and you’re all giddy over something that you’re obviously trying to make into a surprise.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head, playfully jabbing his side. “What can I say? I already used my best lines the first time around.” “So what’s the text say then?” “Something something… I have approval for the research trip and I’ll be hearing about the next steps soon.” With a loud cheer, Silver flew up into the air, earning confused and annoyed glares from the passing ponies around him, and more importantly the excited and embarrassed looks from Orion and Scarlet.  Coming back down, Silver pulled the two of them into a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you! I just knew you’d get in!” Scarlet embraced the pair and smiled. “I honestly knew too, but it’s just so good finally having that actual confirmation, you know? I mean— I’m actually going to get to go to Equestria again, and I’ll even be able to bring you two!” “I know! I can’t wait,” Silver replied. “I don’t even care about how much prep work it’s gonna take.” Finally breaking the hug, Silver continued down the path towards the lake near their home.  “It’s going to be a lot,” Scarlet warned as she looked over to their home. “Background checks, lots of forms— some very boring sessions of figuring out how scheduling is going to work out when we get to the summer… just to name a few.” Silver nodded. “We’re a team so it shouldn’t be that hard. We’ve got a lot of time to plan this all out too.” “Which is why you’re going to take things easy from now on, right?” Silver looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “You mean more than I said I would do already?” “Mhmm. A lot more,” she gently rested a hoof on his recently bandaged leg. “I haven’t forgotten about this so quickly. So I think this news warrants doing more than just taking it easy for a few days.” “Alright, you have a fair point. I promise I’ll try to keep things simple from now on.” “Thanks Silver,” Scarlet hugged him again. “I’m so excited to show you and Orion around Equestria someday.” “I can’t wait to see everything,” Silver said with a warm smile. “For now though, why don’t we wrap up the day with some fun? I know Orion’s probably itching to play in the water with Cosmo, isn’t that right?” The colt, hearing his name and recognizing where they were at, excitedly buzzed his wings and jumped up, clearly conveying his thoughts on such a proposition.  “Of course,” Scarlet replied. “We just have to get his life jacket on first… now you’re going to be a good colt and let me do that, right?” Orion narrowed his gaze and let out a small hiss, and was soon met with a stern look from Scarlet. “Guess we’re doing things the hard way…” Silver and Scarlet sat off to the side in the shade, enjoying their afternoon and watching Orion splash along the shallow shore of the lake with their dog. Orion certainly had little objections to this plan, save for his clear disdain for having to wear his life jacket. Cosmo’s joy at being able to run around the water with Orion was enough to make him forget about the added apparel at least, and the prospect of playing in the lake was enough to put that in the back of his mind. For a winged pony Orion sure loved everything about the water, and the sight of him playing around in it with their dog and looking for shells was one of those adorable sights that Silver and Scarlet couldn’t get enough of. Silver broke his gaze for a few moments to take in the relaxing sights and sounds around him, making sure to keep Orion in his peripheral vision just in case the colt decided to cause any mischief. Unbeknownst to Silver however, a lone goose began to make its way towards Orion, loudly honking at him as he got close. A loud whimpery growl and a scared cry from Orion rang out, pulling Silver’s attention to the scene. Without so much as a single thought, Silver instinctively snapped his head towards the source of the disturbance, letting out a loud, almost involuntary hiss as he ran towards the irate bird with flared wings and bared fangs, scaring the goose away from the colt with a loud growl. The other beach goers looked on in surprise and concern, in shock at seeing Silver aggressively lash out at something, a sight that was incredibly rare to see in public. With a cry, Orion ran towards Silver and tried to hide under his legs for protection. Silver crouched down and pulled the colt close, lowering his voice to a calm, reassuring tone, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you little buddy. The big mean bird’s not gonna bother you anymore… and if he ever does again I’m gonna make sure he won’t live to honk another day!..” He blinked a few times and glanced around at the slack jawed, wide eyed stares he was getting from the other beach goers. His face suddenly reddened as the realization of what he had just very publicly done set in. With a nervous smile he stood up, making sure Orion was close by, “I uhhh… sorry about that, kind of got a little heated for a moment— that goose scared my son and I needed to make sure he was okay...” A few of the patrons returned awkward nods and wordless replies, sparking another wave of regret and embarrassment in Silver. Scarlet slowly trotted towards him, leaning close and letting out a small chuckle, “Nice save ace, I think you really convinced them.” A series of frantic yells and honks dragged Silver’s attention away from Orion and over to the opposite shore, where Zipper was currently fleeing from an angry looking flock of geese. Silver began to let out a few laughs in stark contrast to the awkward moment before, drawing a confused look from Orion, Scarlet, and the nearby beach goers.  “What’s so funny, Silv?” She asked in confusion. Silver tried to stifle his laughter, but could only manage to gesture over towards the frantic pegasus. Scarlet smirked, “Huh, well that’s a classic Zipper moment right there if I’ve ever seen one,” she paused for a moment, “should… should we go help him?” Silver took a few deep breaths, looking from Scarlet, to Orion, and then finally back towards Zipper, “Nah, I think he’s gotta figure this one out on his own. Plus I think Orion still wants to look for some more shells.” She looked back with concern, “You sure? You know how he handles stuff like this.” Silver nodded, “Well he is the weather captain, that makes him in charge of the sky above the Oasis and all its inhabitants so technically this is his problem to work through. He’s not a foal after all, and it’s not like the geese are going to actually hurt him, they’re just defending themselves.” Scarlet slowly nodded in agreement. “Alright, well you’ve got a point… but maybe we could just record this for posterity?” Silver chuckled, “You mean record this so we can bring it up at the next Christmas party? Sure.” He raised his leg up to speak into his gauntlet, “Navi, begin recording all feeds on Oasis Cameras four through seventeen.” Standby Director Eclipse… Recording on Lakeside Cameras, came the robotic reply.  Silver smiled and turned back towards his wife, “Plus, I’ve got that business trip coming up in a couple weeks, the more time I can spend with you two the better.” She nodded, “Sometimes I forget you still go on those, it’s kind of nice that you don’t have to travel as often for work anymore and I know that Orion definitely loves it.”  “He’s not the only one that loves it, I’m glad I don’t have to be away from you two as often. As much as I love travelling around, nothing beats spending time with my two favorite ponies in the whole wide world.” Scarlet smiled and looked back over towards the purple colt, watching as he hesitantly dug around the sand with Cosmo, in search of a few shells. “So how about a quick dip in the lake before we head out? You could even take Orion for a quick fly if you wanted to, you know how much he likes that.” Silver nodded “I’d love that, make sure you get a few pictures too so we can add them to the scrapbook.” She smirked and rolled her eyes, “Alright shutterbug, but only if you make a few goofy faces too.” He smiled, “Alright, but only if you promise not to share those ones again.” She laughed, “Okay fine, I won’t share them at the party.” “Just the party? You mean you’re going to share it elsewhere?” She let out a few chuckles, “Well just with my parents, you know how much they love seeing pictures of the happy family, we don’t get down to Florida to see them as often and they sure love their grandson.” “With your parents? Come on, they’re never gonna let me live those down.” He said pleadingly. “Oh come on, my parents think it’s adorable when you switch into proud dad mode with Orion.” Silver laughed and rolled his eyes, “Alright fine, you win again.” She struck a victorious pose, “Another point for me,” She looked over towards Orion and Cosmo, “You should probably go get him before he’s all worn out, I’m sure he’s going to be so excited to fly around with you.” “What about our quick swim?” Scarlet shrugged, “The lake’s not going anywhere, plus I know how much you love taking Orion along when you fly, you go have fun and we can go swimming tomorrow.” Silver nodded and gave her a quick hug before turning towards Orion. He quickly trotted over to the colt and greeted him with a big smile, “Well I heard that someone likes to fly! I wonder who that could be?” He said, looking around and over the colt in an exaggerated fashion. A big grin began to spread across Orion’s face as Silver turned back towards him. “Is it… You?!” He shouted as he jumped into the water, earning some happy giggles from the foal. “So how about it little buddy, do you want to go for a quick fly before bed?” The purple colt jumped up and responded with a big happy grin, earning a couple of big smiles from Silver and Scarlet.  Silver looked back over towards Scarlet, “Well I think that’s a yes if I’ve ever seen one,” he lowered down to Orion’s level. “Well buddy are you ready to go?” Orion nodded and ran over, giving a few happy flaps of his wings as Silver carefully wrapped his front legs around him, making sure that he had a tight grip on the excited colt, “Alright buddy, we’re gonna have so much fun!” He carefully lifted off and began to fly over and around the lake, much to Orion’s delight. Even though he kept to a slower pace and lower altitude, Orion enjoyed it all the same. By the time Silver touched down the colt was well beyond exhausted and quickly curled up in the sand next to Scarlet and Cosmo. Silver smiled and helped lift the sleeping foal onto Scarlet’s back as the two departed for their nearby home.